What If Gibran Out of the Race?
Tomorrow, on Nov. 7, the Ethics Council of the Constitutional Court (MKMK) will read its conclusion on whether or not Anwar Usman, the chief justice of the Constitutional Court (MK), and the other constitutional justices committed ethics violations in relation to the MK’s ruling that opened the way for Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, to enter the 2024 presidential election. If there’s an ethics violation, the biggest question is whether the MKMK will be able to cancel the MK’s ruling and therefore cancel Gibran’s nomination.
Ethical Violations by Constitutional Justices
The controversial decision made by the Constitutional Court which changed the norms on the age limits for presidential and vice presidential candidates for the upcoming 2024 election caused many problems. In the midst of public discourse on the legal provisions that should be enforced, there are at least 21 reports submitted to the Honorary Council of the Constitutional Court (MKMK) claiming that said decisions were made in violation of the Justices’ code of ethics. The accusation was made mainly because the Chief of the Constitutional Court, Anwar Usman, is married to the President’s sister, while the problematic decision paved the way for the President’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka (Anwar’s nephew), to become a vice presidential candidate even though he does not yet meet the age requirements. The MKMK stated that it would read out its decision this week, Anwar is most likely to be found guilty. However, the main question is, can the Constitutional Court’s decision be canceled?
Suspect Achsanul Qosasi, Finally
Within the past week, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced two new suspects in the case of alleged corruption related to a project at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics. One of whom is Achsanul Qosasi, member of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) (former lawmaker from Demokrat Party), and for some, this is a long overdue announcement. By now, the case has ensnared 16 suspects.
On the Battle against Perpetrators of Forest Fires
The ongoing and repeated battle against forest fires makes us wonder, how has the Ministry of Environment and Forestry performed in recent years in holding companies responsible for forest fires? Of the dozens of companies accused of negligence, how many were found guilty and how many ended up carrying out court orders?
Karen Agustiawan Pre-Trial
Karen Agustiawan, former president director of PT Pertamina (Persero), was once again named suspect in a case of alleged corruption related to decisions she made while in office. This time the decision was made by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Karen, however, insisted that she was not guilty and filed for a pre-trial. This week, the sole presiding judge denied the lawsuit.
On Corruption in Pemalang
As we all know, the KPK conducted a sting operation in mid-August 2022 and arrested 33 individuals including the Pemalang Regent, Mukti Agung Wibowo. Mukti won his second term through the 2020 regional election with endorsement from Gerindra and PPP. Like many other graft cases involving regional leaders, Mukti is also suspected of practicing position trading and receiving compensation from many officials in the Pemalang regency government worth nearly Rp4 billion. Not only that, Mukti also received grafts from local business actors, supposedly worth Rp2.1 billion which was then used for his personal needs.
On the Gold Import Scandal : More Questions
It has been over two years since allegations of crimes related to gold imports surfaced to the public, allegations that were “colored” by denials from related parties, and we have finally seen how these allegations are, in a way, true. This week, the Money Laundering Task Force (Satgas TPPU) announced that it had found initial evidence and mentioned the initials of the party suspected of being responsible, initials that made the public believe that all the series of events so far were connected.
Revisiting the Gold Import Scandal
This week the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, revealed the latest information regarding the investigation process into alleged crimes that occurred within the Ministry of Finance. The Money Laundering Task Force (Satgas TPPU), which was formed specifically to uncover the various criminal schemes, found initial evidence of a customs crime with a suspicious transaction value of a whooping Rp189 trillion. This announcement finally confirms what we have known all along.
The Latest Battle against Perpetrators of Forest Fires: Bakrie Group
The Indonesian Government, through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, is still continuing the fight against forest fires and the parties deemed responsible. In recent months, dozens of companies have been investigated and given sanctions, the most recent being two companies related to the Bakrie Group. What is not surprising about this case is the fact that the companies said to be responsible this time are familiar names who were also said to be responsible for the devastating forest fires in 2019. Despite the many factors that cause forest fires, looking at these familiar names, it seems that no one has learned.
The BAKTI Case
The first batch of suspects in the BAKTI case, the case of alleged corruption related to a project at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, had faced trial since June 2023. A lot of interesting things emerged in the indictment when all eyes were on former Minister Johnny Plate, one of the witnesses even claimed that Johnny received Rp500 million every month from the BAKTI. The proceedings run smoothly despite several surprises and recently the prosecutors had read their demands for three alleged bribers.