The wRap Indonesia: Sept. 5, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia – How Energy Minister Jero Wacik’s financial records could lead to bigger fish and a judicial review of an article in Indonesia’s Marriage Law lead our wrap of stories from Indonesia the past day. 

1. Suspicious transactions found in energy minister’s bank account, could lead to other suspects

Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) said on Thursday, September 4, that it had found suspicious transactions worth “billions of rupiah” in the bank accounts of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik, who has been named a suspect in an extortion case by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). PPATK said it had sent the financial records to KPK, as it could reveal other parties that might have been involved with Jero in the extortion scheme, the Jakarta Post reported. Political analyst Ari Dwipayana told Tempo.co Jero – a high-ranking Democratic Party official – was not KPK’s main target, as the anti-graft body employed the “pyramid strategy” by arresting sidekicks prior to approaching the main actors.

2. Petition seeks to annul religion clause in Indonesia’s marriage law 

A group of law students and alumni from the University of Indonesia is seeking to have an article in the country’s 40-year-old Marriage Law be declared unconstitutional. Anbar Jayadi, one of the petitioners, told the Constitutional Court on Thursday that Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the 1974 Marriage Law, which states “a marriage is valid if conducted according to the laws of each one’s religion or belief”, created legal uncertainty for couples from different religions. Read the full story on Kompas.com.  

3. State train operator Kereta Api launches ticketing app 

State-owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is catching up with modern technology with the launch of an app that allows passengers to check train schedules, book tickets and more through their smartphone, local media reports said. The app, called Kereta Api Indonesia Access, is available at the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, and BlackBerry App World.

4. Xiaomi sells out budget smartphone in 7 minutes

The strong appetite for Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi’s products in Indonesia was seen on Thursday, when 5,000 units of its Redmi 1S budget smartphone were sold out in 7 minutes in a flash sale at online store Lazada.co.id. The smartphone, its first in Indonesia, retails for IDR1,499,000 ($127). However, it was comparably slower than the 4 seconds it took for 40,000 units of the same phone to sell out in India. Read more at TechinAsia. Another flash sale is scheduled for September 11.

5. Exporters warn of imminent Russian ban on Indonesian palm oil

In October 2014, a new Russian regulation stating that the hydrogen peroxide content of Indonesia’s palm oil must not exceed 0.9% upon arrival at Russian ports is scheduled to go into effect, Tempo.co reports. Togar Sitanggang, a corporate affairs officer from palm oil exporter PT Musim Mas, said Russian authorities knew that Indonesia could never meet such stringent requirements, because the average hydrogen peroxide concentration in Indonesian palm oil is around 5% and rises up to 8-9% during the transport process. This is expected to affect 100,000-150,000 tons of Indonesian palm oil.