Unrelenting Kaligis
Senior advocate Otto Cornelis “OC” Kaligis continues to fight for his reputation. The graft suspect is now proposing three petitions for judicial review at the Constitutional Court (MK). Here is our brief review on each of said petitions.
Bank JTrust v. Weston
After so many years of feuding, PT Bank JTrust Indonesia Tbk. (Bank JTrust) finally managed to restore its name in the international arena. The news came after the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that John Liegey, Weston International Capital Limited, and Weston’s affiliates and subsidiaries committed a contempt of court.
Updates on the Land Dispute in Bidaracina
The relocation of the inhabitants of Bidaracina, to clear the way for building a water tunnel that would connect the Ciliwung river with the Eastern Flood Canal, is scheduled for October 2015, but this eviction plan is now under threat. The inhabitants of Bidaracina filed a class action lawsuit with case No. 321/PDT.G/2015/ PN JKT.PST to the Central Jakarta District Court.
Battling Forest Fires
The Government of Indonesia is seriously working on handling the forest fires that broke out this year in various spots in Sumatera. Included in the effort are law enforcement against parties suspected of involvement in causing (or negligent in preventing the spread of) the fires. The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) has named 3 companies and hundreds of individuals as suspects allegedly responsible for the forest fire.
Three Companies Named As Suspects Behind Forest Fires
The forest fire in Sumatera has yet again affected Indonesia’s neighbors. The good news today is that the Government of Indonesia has been seen taking visible measures to stop the spread of the fire, and to punish those responsible for causing it. As of September 15, 2015, the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) had named three companies as suspects in the act of deliberately causing the blaze. The investigation against these companies is going parallel with the investigation conducted against individual suspects.
Deregulation of Alcoholic Beverages
The Ministry of Trade will reportedly relax the regulation on the control of alcoholic beverages. This deregulation policy is a part of the Government’s Economic Policy Package released on September 9, 2015. The regulation to be revised is the Director General of Domestic Trade Regulation No. 04/PDN/PER/4/2015 on the Technical Guidelines for the Control of Distribution and Sale of Type A Alcoholic Beverages.
Legislative Journal: the Keppres on TEPRA
On September 7, 2015, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed the Presidential Decree (Keppres) No. 20/2015 on the Evaluation and Monitoring Team for the Realization of National and Regional Budgets, briefly referred to as TEPRA. TEPRA will perform supervision duties in each fiscal year, such as:
Indonesian of Chinese Descent Are Still Barred from Owning Land in Yogyakarta
While attending the Graduation of the National Land Management High School (STPN) on September 3, 2015, the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of National Land Agency (BPN) Ferry Mursyidan Baldan acknowledged the fact that Indonesian citizen of Chinese descent are barred from owning land in the Special Province of Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta). Ferry said that the prohibition must be considered as a part of local wisdom.
The RPP on the Utilization of Water Resources, an Example of Mixed Signals
The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing decided to maintain the draft of the government regulations (RPP) regarding the management or utilization of water resources despite opposition from the business community. The RPP is now reportedly in the hands of the State Secretariate. With President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s signature, the RPP will officially become a Government Regulation (PP).
New Perpres in the Pipeline to Expedite Construction of New Oil Refineries
The Government will reportedly issue a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) to accelerate the development of new oil refineries. The Director of Processing of PT Pertamina (Persero) Rachmad Hardadi told the press that the regulation is expected to be published in one or two weeks.