The closing of the fifth period of deliberation (masa sidang) from the House of Representatives (DPR) has marked a major victory for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. In said period he managed to get the DPR: (1) to approve the nomination of Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian to serve as the new chief of the National Police; (2) to pass the Tax Amnesty Bill into law; and (3) to agree on the the revised 2016 budget (APBN-P), for which the Government secured the approval of the majority of the proposed capital placement (Rp44.38 trillion to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), which is nearly two times higher than the amount of capital placement allocated in the APBN 2016 that the DPR rejected). But since nothing is free in politics, the question what, if any, did the President have to trade away in exchange for said victories?To subscribe please click here
