The wRap Indonesia: Aug. 27, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A much-awaited new law on geothermal energy and talks on President-elect Joko Widodo’s cabinet lead our wrap of top stories from Indonesia the past day.

1. New law to boost geothermal energy in Indonesia

With a new law passed on Tuesday, August 26, Indonesia – home to an estimated 40% of the world’s geothermal potential – expects geothermal energy development to grow faster. Indonesia is estimated to have more than 28,000 megawatts of geothermal potential, but it is currently producing just over 1,300 MW of its electricity from the clean source. Under the new law, exploration for geothermal energy and development of plants is no longer considered mining, and would therefore be allowed in protected forests. Read the full story on Rappler.

2. All eyes on Jokowi’s cabinet

President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will announce his cabinet team in early October, according to Reuters, as speculations on who will be in it heat up. Jokowi has formed a transition team to help him prepare for the presidency and draft a cabinet lineup, but the Jakarta Globe writes that some of the president-elect’s backers feel left out in the post-election process and criticize this 5-member team as being too “exclusive”.

3. Suspected terrorist arrested in Banten province

The National Police’s counterterrorism unit Densus 88 arrested on Tuesday a suspected terrorist believed to have been involved in the terrorist training camp in Aceh, supplying bullets for the military-style camp. Police also say he was involved in the CIMB Niaga Bank robbery in Medan, North Sumatra, in 2010. Police detained two persons found with him, including one who claimed to be his wife, at a shop house in Serang, Banten. Read more at BBC Indonesia and the Jakarta Globe.

4. Indonesia reiterates its support for Timor Leste’s membership in ASEAN

Indonesia has reiterated its pledge to support Timor Leste’s bid to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “Indonesia does not only support, but lobbies ASEAN members (to support Timor Leste’s bid),” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was quoted as saying by Kompas.com. The statement was made during Yudhoyono’s visit to one of the world’s youngest countries on Tuesday.

5. Suspects in Jakarta school sex abuse scandal face 15 years jail

A janitor who worked at the prestigious Jakarta International School was charged in court on Tuesday with abusing a 6-year-old boy and could face up to 15 years in jail. Agun Iskandar, 25, is the first of 5 to be charged in the scandal that began when a parent alleged in April that outsourced cleaning staff sexually assaulted her son inside a school restroom. The janitors claim they are innocent and that police beat confessions out of some of them. Read the full story on Rappler.