Judicial Reviews & Regional Elections
The 2015 simultaneous regional elections is near. While elections will not begin until December 2015, gubernatorial and regent candidates must begin registering themselves this weekend, on July 26. But even with such a tight window of time, there are still those who believe they can challenge the set up of simultaneous elections by requesting a judicial review at the Constitutional Court (MK). Having previously granted a judicial review of Art. 7 letter “r” of the Law No. 8/2015 (UU Pilkada) and cancelled the concerned article, the MK has also ruled on a number of other judicial reviews related to the regional elections. But the MK still has a few more of these regional-elections-related judicial review to go through.
Bureaucratic Reform in the Oil & Gas Sector
The Government has demonstrated its commitment to reforming Indonesia’s oil and gas sector (migas). In addition to gradually cutting the number of permits that must be owned by investors and companies, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (Ditjen Migas Kemen-ESDMA) is preparing to hand over some licensing processes to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).
Ex-PLN Boss Named A Graft Suspect
The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim Polri) named the former President Director of the State Electricity Company (PT PLN) Nur Pamudji a graft suspect. Pamudji allegedly rigged the procurement of High Speed Diesel (HSD) fuel supplied by PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI). Pamudji is the first suspect in this investigation. The police believe they will soon find another suspect as investigation continues.
Triomacan2000 Was Found Guilty of Extortion and Defamation
Last week, the South Jakarta District Court finally read their verdict on the extortion-cum-defamation case implicating three administrators of the notorious Twitter account @Triomacan2000, i.e., Edi Syahputra, Harry Koes Hardjono, and Raden Nuh. Harry Koes Hardjono and Raden Nuh was sentenced to five years imprisonment, while Edy Syahputra was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
Advocates Turned Convicts
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) surprised many in the legal profession after naming senior advocate Otto Cornelis Kaligis (OC Kaligis) a graft suspect. OC Kaligis was named a suspect three days after the KPK caught one of OC’s junior associates named M. Yagari “Gary” Bhastara red-handed, transacting bribes with three judges and a clerk of the State Administrative Court of Medan (PTUN Medan) Medan.
OC Kaligis : Hero to Zero?
The renowned Indonesian lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis (OC Kaligis) is now a graft suspect under the custody and investigation of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The KPK had previously arrested five other men, who were supposedly caught red-handed in a bribery transaction related to the lawsuit filed by the Head of Finance Bureau of North Sumatra Province Ahmad Fuad Lubis. The North Sumatra Provincial Government appointed OC as their legal representative in 2013.
Clemency for Antasari
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is reportedly considering the possibility of granting the former Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Antasari Azhar a pardon. On July 13, 2015 President Jokowi summoned the Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna H Laoly; the Attorney General HM Prasetyo; Chief of the National Police Gen. Badrodin Haiti; and the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno to give him counsel on Antasari’s case and his request for clemency.
Prohibition on Importation of Used Clothing
The Government through the Ministry of Trade re-tightened the regulation on the importation of used clothing by issuing the Regulation of the Minister ofTrade (Pemendag) No. 51/2015. The Imports Director of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Trade Thamrin Latuconsina said that the new regulation will come into force starting September 7, 2015. The Directorate General of Customs at the Ministry of Finance will be involved in the process.
PTUN Granted the Lawsuit of Bangka Island Residents
The East Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) granted the Bangka Island residents’ lawsuit against the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). The residents challenged the Ministry’s decision to issue the Decree of the Minister of ESDM No. 3109/K/MEM/2014, the decree granted PT. Mikgro Metal Perdana (MMP) with the Production Mining Permit (SK IUP-OP) to operate in the Bangka Island of North Sulawesi.
The Challenge Against Yet Another Pretrial Judge
After Judge Sarpin Rizaldi was reported to the Judicial Commission (KY) over alleged breaches of ethics for granting a pre-trial, the South Jakarta State Attorney (Kejari Jaksel) reported Judge Ahmad Yunus to the Supreme Court (MA) and the Judicial Commission (KY). Judge Ahmad Yunus was reported soon after he granted the pretrial case of Kusnandar, a graft suspect in an allegedly fraudulent construction of an abattoir. The Kejari Jaksel found peculiarities upon examining Judge Ahmad’s acceptance of Kusnandar’s pretrial request.