The wRap Indonesia: Jan. 16, 2015

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The wRap Indonesia: Jan. 16, 2015

Dhemas Reviyanto Atmodjo

Jokowi meets with Sutarman and Budi Gunawan, divers try again to reach AirAsia's main body, Amnesty International calls on Indonesia to stop imminent executions, and more

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The latest developments in the controversy over President Joko Widodo’s police chief nominee and the search for the rest of the AirAsia victims lead our wrap of stories from Indonesia today.  

1. Jokowi meets with current police chief and controversial nominee, but no decision yet

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo kept an event he was supposed to attend waiting for about an hour on Friday morning to make way for what appears to have been an unscheduled meeting with the current National Police chief, Gen. Sutarman, and the highly controversial figure nominated to replace him, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan. But none of the 3 made any statements after the meeting. The country is waiting for Jokowi to decide whether or not to proceed with appointing Budi, who is backed by the president’s political patrons and has been endorsed by the House of Representatives, but who has also been named a corruption suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Read about Jokowi’s political crisis on Rappler.   

2. Divers make fresh bid to reach AirAsia jet main body

DIFFICULT SEARCH. Indonesian divers on January 15, 2015 descended to the main body of the AirAsia jet that crashed in late December, hoping to recover the bulk of the disaster's victims, a day after it was finally located by a navy ship. Photo by Adek Berry/AFP

Indonesian divers made a fresh attempt on Friday to reach the main body of the crashed AirAsia jet, after the first attempt on Thursday failed due to heavy rains, high waves and limited visibility under water. Five divers tried to descend to the main body again Friday morning, and search and rescue agency official S.B Supriyadi expressed hope that they would succeed. “The weather is clear today, hopefully the divers will be able to reach the fuselage, examine its condition and see if there are any bodies inside,” he told Agence France-Presse. Officials say that if it proves difficult to retrieve bodies from the main section while it is still on the seabed, search and rescue teams will try to lift it. Read also about how divers battle nature in the hunt for AirAsia debris.

3. Amnesty International to Indonesia: Stop imminent execution of 6 people  

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

In response to Indonesia’s announcement on Thursday that it would execute 6 drug convicts by firing squad on Sunday, Amnesty International issued a statement calling on the country to immediately halt the plan. “Indonesia’s new government took office on the back of promises to improve respect for human rights, but carrying out these executions would be a regressive move. Rather than putting to death more people, the government should immediately impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to its eventual abolition,” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Research Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. 

“It would be a huge set back if the government goes ahead with its plans to execute as many as 20 people during the year. Tackling rising crime rates is a legitimate goal of President Widodo’s administration, but the death penalty is not the answer and does not work as a deterrent to crime,” he added. Read the full Amnesty statement here and the story on the executions here.   

4. Story of poor policeman who lives in cowshed draws sympathy from various parts of Indonesia

He walks 5-7 kilometers to work every day and goes home to a rundown cowshed that he shares with his father, 3 siblings, dogs, chickens and other animals. But Second Brig. M Taufiq Hidayat, who has just been accepted into the police force, never complained, according to his batchmates at the State Police School in Yogyakarta. After television station SCTV aired his story on Wednesday, January 14, Yogyakarta Police has been receiving calls offering him assistance, according to Liputan6.com. In fact, Taufiq was surprised by a phone call on Thursday afternoon from no less than Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who said he wanted to give him a motorbike, Kompas.com reported. The young policeman’s story quickly became popular in the country, particularly in light of the scandal involving police generals with fat bank accounts. 

5. Indonesia holds interest rates despite inflation spike

Bank Indonesia held its key interest rate at 7.75% for the second straight month on Thursday. This followed a 25 basis point increase in November after Jokowi raised fuel prices to cut government subsidies that are straining the budget. The move pushed inflation to its highest level in 5 years – 8.4% on-year in December – due to the increased cost of transport and delivering everyday goods to market. But the central bank expressed confidence that inflation would ease in coming months. A slide in global oil prices has helped policymakers, dramatically cutting the cost of importing subsidized fuel. It also encouraged the government to scrap subsidies for petrol entirely this month, with the price of fuel expected to dip in line with falling oil pries, which should help slow inflation, analysts said. – with a report from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

 

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