Vacant Position in the KPK: The Candidates
The National Police (POLRI) and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) have submitted the list of candidates to be considered for the position of deputy for enforcement of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). This position has been vacant ever since Police Insp. Gen. Heru Winarko was made the new chief of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN).
The 2019 Race: the SBY Factor
Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) is no longer as powerful as he was in 2009. Nevertheless, he remains an interesting figure in today’s politics because the Democratic Party is the fourth largest political party in the House of Representatives (DPR). And since he’s eager to turn his son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono into a political leader, SBY will also play crucial role in the 2019 presidential race.
The 2019 Race: Gerindra & Fadli Zon
The Deputy Chairman of Gerindra Party Fadli Zon, who is also one of the deputy speakers of the House of Representatives (DPR), continued to speak of the likelihood of Gerindra endorsing their chairman Prabowo Subianto. Zon also talked about Prabowo’s potential running mate. Previously, Zon repeatedly spoke of Gerindra cadres’ unified support of Prabowo’s bid in 2019. Zon also refuses the idea of Prabowo becoming a kingmaker and the idea of Prabowo becoming Jokowi’s running mate.
The Race for Becoming Jokowi’s Running Mate
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of the sixth President and the Chairman of Democratic Party Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), met with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace on Tuesday (Mar. 6). Some believe that Agus’ visit was a hint that SBY and his Democratic Party wanted the running mate position for Agus. the Chairman of PKB Muhaimin Iskandar a.k.a Cak Imin, meanwhile, said that he’s the one who would be offered as running mate. In the meantime, several civil society groups floated the idea of having the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Mahfud MD as Jokowi’s running mate. So the race intensifies.
2019 Race: Possible Scenario (2)
In the previous instalment of this series, we covered the possibility of a single-pair presidential election in 2019. In this article, we cover the two-pair and three-pair scenarios.
2019 Race: Possible Scenarios (1)
We’re only five months away from the day of the registration of the 2019 presidential and vice presidential candidates. As it is, the playing field remains wide open to possibilities, including the possibility of there being only one pair of candidates.
2019 Race: New Axis?
More and more political party are talking about the idea of forming a new axis in order to nominate a third presidential candidate—assuming that Prabowo Subianto will rise to the occasion and challenge President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. What’s the likelihood of us seeing such a new axis being formed?
Corruption Journal
On February 28, 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Attorney General’s Office, the Police and the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP) jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on combating corruption, but on the occasion, the Chief of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim Polri) Komjen (Pol) Ari Dono Sukmanto gave a statement that sparked an outdated debate: whether the repatriation of State losses could eliminate the element of a criminal offense already committed by a person. In the same week, the trial of Nur Alam, the disgraced governor of Southeast Sulawesi continues, and it was revealed that Nur Alam had several identity cards used for various purposes, including disguising the acceptance of bribes. While in another case, one of the suspects in a corruption case involving PT Sang Hyang Seri (Persero) filed a pre-trial petition against the Attorney General’s Office.
2019 Race: Yusril & His PBB Party
On Mar. 4, the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) ruled in favor of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), a political party led by the infamous lawyer Yusril Ihza Mahendra. The PBB is thus qualified to participate in the 2019 simultaneous legislative and presidential election.
Further Consolidation in the Military
President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, through military commander Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto, consolidated further his power in the military, especially the Army. Military commander has just appointed and moved officers in strategic posts, including commander for Jakarta Regional Military Area and Army’s elite force Kopassus.