The wRap Indonesia: Sept. 24, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Can Indonesia really return to the digital dark ages? Did the king of Solo rape a 15-year-old student? These and more are in our wrap of stories from Indonesia the past day.

1. Courts will kill Indonesia’s Internet industry, operators warn

The dire warning stems from new legal developments against former PT Indosat Mega Media (IM2) president director Indar Atmanto. Indar was in 2013 sentenced to 4 years jail for IM2’s use of an Internet frequency that was granted to its parent company Indosat – a common industry practice, the defense argued. Even the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology sided with IM2. The entire case has been a cause of concern for other Internet firms who use the same business model, and they’re even more worried now after the High Court doubled Indar’s sentence to 8 years. Worse, the Supreme Court rejected to hear a final appeal. If they receive no legal certainty, Internet providers said on Tuesday, September 23, they’ll have to shut down and return Indonesia to the dark ages.     

2. King of Solo accused of rape

A 15-year-old student in Solo has turned to the media after she said local police ignored her report that she was drugged and raped by the king of Solo, Pakubuwono XIII. The incident supposedly happened in March and the police report filed in July after she found that she was pregnant. It started, she said, when a friend told her of an easy job to help pay for school. This led to her to getting in a car, passing out after eating a candy, and waking up later naked in a hotel room with the king. Her parents said they went to the police after talks with the king failed, but given the developments they’re ready for the baby to undergo a DNA test after being born. Read the full report on Detik.com. 

3. Ahok shrugs off FPI protest against him 

Jakarta’s tough talking would be governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, says he’s ready for the protest against him on Wednesday, September 24, by the militant Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). The FPI, which is seen more as a group of thugs, has claimed they were “ready to be arrested, jailed and even die” to prevent the non-Muslim, ethnic Chinese politician from becoming Jakarta’s governor. The Central Jakarta Police said 300 police personnel would be ready to control the 500 expected FPI members during the rally in front of the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD), according to state news agency Antara.

4. What’s the difference between 4×6 and 6×4?

Netizens and experts have been tackling this question the past couple of days after an engineering student’s Facebook post about his younger sister’s homework went viral. Diponegoro University student Muhammad Erfas Maulana said his sister wrote that 4+4+4+4+4+4 = 4×6. Right? Wrong, said her teacher. It should be 6×4. Netizens scratched their virtual heads and were quick to criticize the unnamed teacher, but some argued that it was important for students to learn the difference in process and not just focus on the results. Some academics pointed out that there would be a difference if the numbers were qualifying different units. For example, 4 boxes of 6 oranges each would not be the same as 6 boxes of 4 oranges each. But that wasn’t really the homework question, was it? In an attempt to end the debate, Erfas on Tuesday posted an apology, saying the teacher who was just following the textbook shouldn’t be blamed. 

5. SBY will formally accept his new job today

Outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will on Wednesday, September 24, formally accept his new role of “taking care of the earth”. Former Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will handover his position – chairman of the Seoul-based international environmental organization Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) – to Yudhoyono in New York. This comes a day after Yudhoyono addressed the UN Climate Summit saying the war against climate change in Indonesia should start from what contributes the most to emissions: the forestry sector.