The draft of the Omnibus Law on Tax Facilities for Economic Strengthening was handed over to the House of Representatives several weeks ago. It has not, however, gained as much attention as the draft of the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation.

Nearing the end of 2019, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted a sting operation and arrested the Mayor of Medan. The investigation and inquisition continue to this day. The disgraced Mayor will be prosecuted soon. 

A part of the draft of the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation that gained plenty of rejection is related to environmental regulations. Environmental activists condemned several changes, including the elimination of the need to obtain an environmental permit. They accuse the Government of disregarding the environment.

The Government finally handed over the draft of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (Cipta Kerja). The draft was previously named the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation (Cipta Lapangan Kerja), but many contracted its Indonesian name to UU Cilaka (adj. Cursed or Unlucky). Unhappy with the negative connotation, the Government changed Cipta Lapangan Kerja to Cipta Kerja. 

Nearly seven years ago, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) uncovered a case of bribery involving the former chairman of the Constitutional Court Akil Mochtar. No one thought that the case would be the gateway to a bigger case of corruption, which later ensnared dozens of regional leaders and even their wives. We have only just realized that the investigation of this case is still ongoing. Earlier this week, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court heard the demands of the Prosecutor for Muhtar Ependy, Akil’s right-hand man, who had been convicted in a different case.

The wait is over. After years of investigation and inquisition, several declined dockets, and a lot of failed pre-trial lawsuits, on Feb. 17, 2020, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court listened to the indictment of the former Head of BP Migas Raden Priyono and the former Commercial Director of Economics and Marketing of BP Migas Djoko Harsono. The two men are standing trial as defendants in the corruption case involving PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (pt TPPI) and BP Migas (now Satuan Kerja Khusus Pelaksana Kegiatan Usaha Hulu Minyak dan Gas Bumi or SKK Migas). After the hearing, the two defendants said they would submit their objections in the next hearing, which will be held on Feb. 24, 2020. 

It has been over two years since we were exposed to the internal dispute of PT Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food Tbk (AISA). Before that, we witnessed how the Food Task Force (Satgas Pangan) raided one of the warehouses belonging to the Company’s subsidiary PT Indoberas Unggul on suspicion of fraud. Officials of the subsidiary were convicted, and the internal dispute heated and developed into allegations of embezzlement. Each of the disputing parties claims ownership of the Company. The dispute resulted in dozens of lawsuits and even police reports. Recently we learned that the police had once again detained the former executives of AISA because their dockets of inquisition had been completed. This means the former executives will be prosecuted soon. But even with the progress, the situation in AISA is not getting better. 

The trial related to the corruption involving PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) continues. The prosecutors recently read their demands for the briber, who is also a former President Director of PT Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) (INTI) Darman Mappanggara. Meanwhile, the trial related to the alleged bribery in the issuance of garlic import licenses also continues.  

Since the new set of leaders begin working in the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), we noticed that the institution is paying more attention to the corporates’ fiduciary responsibility to report their corporate actions (merger and acquisition). Last year the KPPU declared dozens of companies guilty, and this year they had sentenced several companies. The most recent sentences were given to companies related to PT FKS Multi Agro Tbk (FISH), one of the largest trading companies in Indonesia.