The wRap Indonesia: Sept. 11, 2014

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The wRap Indonesia: Sept. 11, 2014

AFP

Why the Jakarta deputy governor quit his political party, no more Mercedes-Benz cars for Jokowi's ministers, harsher punishments for Islamic law violators in Aceh, and more

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Read about the Jakarta deputy governor’s resignation from his political party and harsher punishments for Islamic law violators in Aceh in our wrap of stories from Indonesia the past day.  

1. Jakarta deputy governor quits Gerindra over regional election bill

The fiery Jakarta deputy governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, on Wednesday, September 10, made good on his threat to resign from Gerindra in protest over the Regional Elections Bill (RUU Pilkada), according to this Rappler report. The controversial bill being pushed by Gerindra – Prabowo Subianto’s party – and its allies in the House of Representatives seeks to do away with direct elections for local government leaders, and give back the task to the local legislative council (DPRD). But as Ahok previously pointed out, he and the Jakarta governor, President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, would not have won in Jakarta if not for direct elections. Angry Gerindra members called on him to also resign as Jakarta deputy governor and labelled him a “head lice” that jumps from one party to another, while Jokowi’s party, PDI-P, said they would welcome him if he chooses to join. But Ahok, who would be governor soon, said he was ready to lead Jakarta without political support from any party.

2. Plan to buy Mercedes-Benz cars for Jokowi’s ministers dropped

Following the wave of criticisms, including from the president-elect himself, that erupted when news came out that 72 new Mercedes-Benz E-Class units worth a total of IDR91.94 billion ($7.9 million) were being purchased for Jokowi’s ministers, the purchase plan has been dropped, Kompas.com reported. The total budget allocated for the cars, IDR104 billion, will be returned to the state treasury, State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said.

3. Aceh set to impose harsher penalties for Islamic law violators 

PUBLIC FLOGGING. An Aceh resident receives lashes in a public courtyard in this 2010 file photo. Photo by Nurdin Hasan/Rappler

Aceh, which enjoys a special autonomy from Indonesia’s central government that allows it to implement Sharia law, is in the final stages of passing a criminal code that would impose harsher penalties for more violations. For instance, existing laws only punish the consumption of alcoholic beverages with up to 40 lashes, but the in the proposed criminal code the mere purchase or possession of alcoholic beverages can earn a person 20 lashes. Offenses not previously regulated such as adultery and homosexual relations are now also in the proposed criminal code, with punishments of up to 100 lashes. The full Rappler story is here.   

COORDINATION. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Chairul Tanjung with members of Jokowi's transition team after meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Photo by Handoko Nicodemus/Rappler

4. Jokowi seeks to revise proposed 2015 state budget to reallocate funds for his programs

The proposed 2015 state budget, expected to be passed into law before the end of the month, would undergo major revisions before the end of the year if the president-elect had his way. Normally, revisions to the state budget are made the middle of the following year, but transition team deputy Hasto Kristiyanto said they would need to revise the state budget to allocate funds for Jokowi’s priority programs, like the Kartu Indonesia Sehat (Indonesia Health Card) and Kartu Indonesia Pintar (Indonesia Smart Card), according to this Rappler report.  

5. With HIV infections rising in Indonesia, UN calls on Jokowi to fill funding gap 

Indonesia is one of only 3 countries in the Asia-Pacific region that is seeing a trend of increased HIV infections, Indonesia country director for the UN Programme on HIV and AIDS Cho Kah Sin said on Wednesday, as quoted by ReutersThe domestic budget for tackling HIV/AIDS has increased from $27 million in 2010 to $37 million this year, the report said, but the current funding gap is estimated at about $30 million and is expected to increase to about $175 million by 2020. About 0.43% of the adult population, or about 640,000 people, are infected with HIV in Indonesia.

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