The wRap Indonesia: March 5, 2015

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The wRap Indonesia: March 5, 2015

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Indonesia to announce execution date in a few days, the 2015 Jakarta Regional Budget is still in limbo, the KPK questions former Supreme Audit Agency chief today, and more

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In today’s wrap of stories from Indonesia, the attorney general says execution date will be announced soon and the rupiah hits its lowest since 1998.

1. Indonesia to announce execution date for foreign convicts ‘in a few days’

Indonesia’s attorney general will decide in a few days on the date for the execution of up to 11 convicts, mostly foreigners, a government official said on Thursday, March 5, as reported by Reuters. “It will be announced later. In a few days, but definitely not today,” attorney general’s spokesman Tony Spontana told reporters after he was asked when the date would be announced. 

Indonesia on Thursday also rejected the offer of a prisoner swap proposed by Canberra in an 11th-hour bid to save two Australian drug smugglers facing execution, saying it is determined to put to death those “who have poisoned our nation”. Read the full story on Rappler.

2. Jakarta council deputy speaker says Governor Ahok is ‘a thug’  

FOR AHOK. Protesters write notes in support of Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama during a demonstration on Sunday, March 1, 2015. Photo by Gatta Dewabrata/Rappler

In a bid to finalize the much-delayed draft 2015 Jakarta regional budget, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama on Thursday met with legislators from the City Council in a closed-door meeting, mediated by the officials from the Home Affairs Ministry. But Ahok and the council apparently failed to meet eye to eye, with Deputy Council Speaker Abraham “Lulung” Lunggana walking out of the meeting shouting, “The governor went berserk!” 

Lulung later told reporters that he said during the meeting that the council never added the questionable uninterruptible power supply (UPS) machines in the budget, items that were not approved by the governor. After the two-hour meeting, Lulung said, the “governor (is a) thug!”

3. Rupiah drops to IDR13,000 per US dollar

DOWN. Indonesian rupiah has been hit by signs of recovery in the American economy. File photo by AFP

The rupiah dropped to its weakest level since 1998 on concern slowing economic growth in China may worsen the nation’s trade balance, Bloomberg reported. The currency fell as much as 0.3% to 13,028 a dollar on Thursday, the weakest level since August 1998. “There’s a sense that further gradual weakness in the rupiah is being encouraged by the officials,” Mitul Kotecha, head of Asia-Pacific currency strategy at Barclays Plc, said. Both Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro and Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said there was no need for panic as the performance of the rupiah is still in line with the performance of other currencies versus the US dollar. 

4. KPK questions former Head of Supreme Audit Agency as corruption suspect

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to question the former head of the Supreme Audit Agency, Hadi Poernomo, as a corruption suspect on Thursday. “Today, HP (Hadi Poernomo) is scheduled to be questioned as suspect,” KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said, according to Kompas.com. Hadi, who was named a suspect in April 2014, is accused of causing state losses by approving the tax objection filed by Bank Central Asia (BCA) when he was the Finance Ministry’s director general of tax in 2002-2004. Read the full story in Bahasa Indonesia on Rappler.com.

5. Indonesia World Records Museum names ex-police chief Hoegeng as ‘most honest’ 

Former Indonesian Police Chief Gen. Hoegeng Iman Santoso was awarded as the most honest police officer by the Indonesia World Records Museum (MURI), on Wednesday, March 4. In a speech, MURI Director Jaya Suprana appreciated Hoegeng’s dedication throughout his tenure from 1968 to 1971 under former President Soeharto’s leadership. Hoegeng passed away in 2004, aged 82. Jaya quoted the late former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid as saying there were only two honest police officers in this world: The first is a police statue, and the other is Hoegeng, as reported by Detik.com. During his time, Hoegeng reportedly fined ministers for corruption and forbade his family to start businesses, according to Merdeka.com. – Rappler.com

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