Update on the TNI-POLRI Operation in Nduga
In early December 2018, a separatist group massacred the employees of PT Istaka Karya who were working on a section of the Trans Papua Road in Nduga, Papua. Since then, both the Military (TNI) and the Police have been on the hunt. Close to Christmas, however, the Governor of Papua Lukas Enembe advised the authorities to cool down. The advice was taken. National Police (POLRI) Chief General Tito Karnavian told the press that the locals highly respected the Church and so the hunt was put to rest. Now that we have past the first week of January, what is the situation in Nduga?
PSI’s Hoax Award
The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) knows how to earn headlines. After adopting a strong stance against polygamy, they gave a Hoax Award—complete with a trophy and a certificate—each to Prabowo Subianto, Andi Arief, and Sandiaga Uno. The Secretary General of PSI Raja Juli Antoni told the press last week that the three men had launched a tsunami of lies, and for that they deserve the award.
The New Ambassadors
On Monday (Jan. 7), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took the oath of 16 new Indonesian ambassadors. One of them is Golkar Party politician Hajriyanto Thohari, who is now the deputy head of the national campaign team (TKN) of Jokowi and his running mate K.H. Ma’ruf Amin. Hajriyanto is not the only politician among the said new ambassadors.
The Campaign Trails
The first round of presidential debates will be held on Jan. 17. The General Election Commission (KPU) has assembled the panelists and the moderator for the event. They attracted attention after having Bambang Widjojanto as a member of the panel, but they have since taken BW off of the list. Both pairs of candidates, meanwhile, are busy on the campaign trails.
Update on the Alleged Enslavement of Indonesian Students in Taiwan
Last week, Indonesian news outlets reported that some 300 Indonesian students were forced to work in a factory in Taiwan. The information came from a Taiwan media that quoted the Taiwanese politician Ko Chih-en making the accusation. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Ristek-Dikti) went to investigate.
Bima Arya and PAN
National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Bima Arya met with K.H. Ma’ruf Amin, the running mate of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Al-Ghazaly Boarding School, Bogor on Saturday (Jan. 5). At said event, Bima raised his index finger indicating the number one, the ballot number of the incumbent pair in the presidential race. Soon after, the media went into a frenzy wondering if that was a sign of Bima endorsing the incumbent.
Andi Arief and the Ballot Hoax
The Deputy Secretary General of the Democratic Party Andi Arief is known for making dramatic statements. In a move to criticize the Government’s handling of the acid attack on Corruption Eradication Commission investigator Novel Baswedan, Andi asked the President to give his eye to Novel who had lost his. That’s but one example of Andi Arief’s flair.
The Campaign Trails
Efforts to delegitimize 2019 election have been intensified by some politicians. The last is hoax about 70 million cast ballots from China for presidential candidate pair Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin. The national police responded reports from the General Elections Commission (KPU) and some groups with the arrest of two persons found of actively viralling the hoax through social media platforms and whatsapp groups.
A New Saudi Ambassador?
It appears that Dr. Osama bin Mohammed A-Shuaibi is no longer the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (or Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques) to the Republic of Indonesia. The person that has reportedly stepped in to the role is none other than Osama’s deputy, Yahya bin Hassan Al-Qahtani. As of January 3, 2019, the Saudi Embassy still referred to Al-Qahtani as the chargé d’affaires, but the National Leadership of the Nahdlatul Ulama has already called him the new definitive Ambassador.
The Social Media Front
In November last year, the Median Survey Agency published a surprising report. According to Median, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Amin) were behind in terms of electability from Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno (Prabowo-Sandi) in social media platforms. On Facebook the former scored 42.4 percent, and the latter scored 42.9 percent. On Twitter, Prabowo-Sandi score 59.2 percent, while Jokowi-Amin scored 29.5 percent. On Instagram, Prabowo-Sandiaga scored 48.9 percent, while Jokowi-Amin scored 39.1 percent.