The wRap Indonesia: Oct. 29, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia – President Joko Widodo’s first impromptu visit and the arrest of a man for allegedly insulting the president on Facebook lead our wrap of stories from Indonesia the past day. 

1. Jokowi goes on his first blusukan 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo dropped in unannounced at the office of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) on Tuesday, October 28, in his first blusukan (impromptu visit) since his inauguration. The president checked the existing process for issuing business permits, which he repeatedly said during the campaign he wants to streamline and expedite. “We want to build a one-stop shop for national licensing,” he said after the visit, according to Vivanews. While he appreciated the BKPM office and online system in place, he said he found that some permits that should be issued within 3 days still take up to 12 days sometimes, Tempo.co reported. He gave BKPM 3-6 months to integrate its investment licensing processes. On Wednesday, Jokowi is expected to visit residents in North Sumatra displaced by the erupting Mount Sinabung. 

2. Sate worker arrested for allegedly insulting Jokowi on Facebook 

Local media reported on Tuesday that a 24-year-old man from East Jakarta – identified only by his initials MA – was arrested on Thursday, October 23, for allegedly insulting President Joko Widodo on Facebook in violation of the country’s Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) law. He was named a suspect the day after.  

MA’s lawyer, Irfan Fahmi, told Okezone.com they did not know who filed the defamation complaint, which according to police was dated July 27, 2014. But Irfan said his client came from a poor family, only finished high school, and made a living skewering sate. He added that his client admitted posting insulting comments against the president-elect at the height of the divisive presidential elections, but that he was just going along with the political developments. The comments have since been deleted. If MA’s family would be allowed to see Jokowi, Irfan said, they would apologize in order for the case to be dropped, Tempo.co reported.

3. Administrator of controversial Twitter account TrioMacan2000 arrested

In another IT-related case, Jakarta Police said on Wednesday, October 29, they’ve arrested Edi Saputra, one of the administrators of the controversial Twitter account TrioMacan2000, for extortion. The TrioMacan2000 account, now @TM2000Back, has more than 200,000 followers and but has a reputation for tweeting slanderous accusations against various politicians and businessmen. One of its common targets are executives of state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom. But Telkom staff told police they were asked for money to stop the attacks, according to Detik.com. And so on Tuesday night, police were there to arrest Edi as he was receiving IDR50 million from the employee who reported it. The account’s last tweet at 8:16pm on Tuesday called former Telkom president director and newly appointed Tourism Minister Arief Yahya the “world corruption champion”.

4. Indonesian fighter jets intercept another foreign aircraft 

Indonesian Sukhoi jets have been busy. After intercepting an Australian plane last week and forcing it to land in Manado, they intercepted a Singapore aircraft on Tuesday and forced it to land in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The aircraft – owned by Singapore Technologies (ST) Aerospace and operated by its pilot training arm, Pacific Flight Services – was en route from Sibu, Sarawak, to Seletar Airport in Singapore when it was intercepted. Indonesian Air Force officials said it flew over Indonesian territory without permission, according to state news agency Antara. But ST Aerospace told The Straits Times that the required approvals had been duly sought before the flight.   

5. Ani Yudhoyono’s instagram shows life after the presidency 

On Tuesday morning, a week after leaving the State Palace, the former first lady, Ani Yudhoyono, posted a photo on her popular Instagram account showing how she and former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are enjoying life after the presidency. “Enjoying the morning at my home, my castle,” the caption stated. The former first couple live in Cikeas, Bogor, about an hour outside Jakarta. About 23 hours after it was posted, the image had already received more than 43,000 likes. The former president has been named chairman of the Seoul-based intergovernmental organization the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), but that has yet to start, nor will it require him to stay in South Korea. – Rappler.com