The wRap Indonesia: Oct. 31, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian netizens ask President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to show mercy for the uneducated sate worker who posted lewd edited images of him, while losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto called the political parties supporting the president “immature” as tension heats up in the House of Representatives. These lead our wrap of stories from Indonesia the past day.

1. #SaveTukangSate trends on Twitter, but no forgiveness so far 

Indonesian social media users stormed Twitter on Thursday, October 30, with the hashtag #SaveTukangSate (Save Satay Worker) in support for Muhammad Arsyad, the 24-year-old sate worker who arrested last week for posted lewd edited images of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri on his Facebook page. Netizens demanded that authorities free Arsyad – who was taken to a hospital on Thursday because he was refusing to eat – considering his poor educational and family background. Arsyad’s mother pleaded for Jokowi to free her son. “If needed, I would kneel in front of Bapak President. I want to see Bapak, kiss your feet, apologize on behalf of my son,” his mother said, as quoted by Tempo.co. But Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the law must be upheld. “Under the law, people cannot just apologize,” Kalla said. “We have to look at the offense, not the profession” of the perpetrator. 

2. Jokowi-allied ‘shadow legislature’ to hold first plenary meeting

The 5 factions under the Jokowi-allied Great Indonesia Coalition (KIH) in the House of Representatives (DPR) are set to hold their first plenary meeting on Friday, October 31, after their requests to nominate House commission leaders were not accommodated by the Prabowo Subianto-allied opposition, the Red and White Coalition (KMP). The so-called shadow legislature was formed by KIH after KMP, which controls a majority of the House, earlier this week installed its members as leaders of all 11 legislative commissions. Prabowo on Thursday slammed KIH’s decision to form this shadow legislature. “I think such competition is a form of immaturity. It harms the nation. So harmful,” he said, as quoted by Detik.com.

3. Political figure Soegeng Sarjadi dies at 72

#RIPSoegengSarjadi RT @paramadina: Berpulang Bp. Soegeng Sarjadi pendiri @paramadina cc: @fadjroeL @PedomanNEWS pic.twitter.com/MJP7NGKGni

— Fadjroel Rachman (@fadjroeL) October 30, 2014

The president and vice president paid their respects to respected political analyst Soegeng Sarjadi, who passed away on Thursday morning in a hospital in Sentul, Bogor, West Java. The founder of research company Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate (SSS) died of an undisclosed illness. He was 72 years old. He was buried in Selabintana, Sukabumi, West Java.  Read the story on Tempo.co.

4. Jakarta gears up for heavy rain in November and December

Get your rain and flood gear ready. The country’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophyiscs Agency (BMKG) forecasts heavy rain over the capital in November and December, and the Jakarta Disaster and Mitigation Agency (BPBD) warns that around 125 urban wards — most of them in West and North Jakarta — will be vulnerable to flooding. But Acting Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama says the capital is better prepared for the upcoming rainy season. “Compared to the last two years, we are more ready,” Ahok said as quoted by Detik.com. However, to truly solve the annual flooding problems, he said the Jakarta administration needed more funds. “With the Jakarta budget, it’s impossible to solve flooding,” Ahok said. “There’s only one way to solve the root case of the floods in Jakarta: Fix corruption.”

5. Court sides with 90-year-old grandma in IDR1 billion land dispute with daughter  

Fatimah, a 90-year-old grandmother from Tangerang, is now at ease. The local court on Thursday ruled that she does not have to pay her daughter Nurhanah, 50, and her husband Nurhakim, 70, a whopping IDR1 billion ($82,500) for living in their land in Tangerang – which she has done so for the past 26 years, according to  Metrotvnews.com. The presiding judge said the lawsuit filed in Septmber was outdated and unclear, with no evidence Fatimah had broken any laws. —Rappler.com