0 Minister claims no links to bailout firm

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan says that he has cut his ties with PT Ancora Land, a firm reportedly involved in the contentious Rp 6.7 trillion (US$689 million) bailout of Bank Century in 2008. “I have no ownership of Ancora Land,” Gita told a House of Representatives committee overseeing the Century probe during a hearing on Wednesday. “I have delegated my stake in the company to professionals at the Ancora Group after I joined the Cabinet.” Gita co-founded the Ancora Group, which is now led by his brother Rianto Ahmadi. 

The House committee previously said that it suspected Gita of being involved in the bailout since he had a stake in Ancora Group subsidiary PT Ancora Land, which acquired PT Graha Nusa Utama (GNU) in 2010. GNU was one of several companies that received bailout money from the now-defunct PT Antaboga Sekuritas, an investment firm managed by top executives of Bank Century, which has since been renamed Bank Mutiara. The National Police previously told the committee that Rp 141 billion had been transferred from Antaboga to PT GNU, whose president, Totok Kuncoro, was slapped with a five year sentence by the Central Jakarta District Court in December for money laundering. 

Totok was convicted of receiving stolen bailout money from Antaboga and former Bank Century owner Robert Tantular, who was sentenced to a four year jail term in 2009. The Supreme Court later increased his sentence to 9 years imprisonment. Totok, who was also summoned to the hearing, said that he had accepted Rp 118 billion in loans from Robert, claiming that he did not know the money came from Bank Century. Totok also said that PT GTU had sold a 51 percent stake in the firm worth Rp 5.1 billion to Ancora. “I had no idea of the status of Bank Century when I arranged the deal with Robert Tantular,” Totok said. “My business with him was personal in nature. 

This is why I objected to the court’s ruling and filed an appeal, which is still ongoing process. Meanwhile, Gita said that Ancora’s acquisition of PT GNU was legal. “We performed due diligence prior to our decision to acquire the company to make sure that it was in good condition. I am confident to say that PT GNU has nothing to do with Bank Century bailout scandal.” However, the lawmakers were not satisfied with the explanation, saying that they would summon the police and representatives of the Attorney General’s Office next week. “There is something fishy here,” House Deputy Speaker Taufik Kurniawan said. 

“We will ask for clarification from law enforcers on the matter in our effort to recover Bank Century assets that have been scattered here and there,” Members of the committee previously announced plans to step up their investigation of Bank Century after meeting with former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who claimed to have new information about the questions surrounding the bailout. The bailout has been a politically charged issue and has long been used by rival politicians to attack President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono’s administration.

source : the jakarta post

0 Monorail back on track after deal

The much-awaited monorail project is set to resume as two former partners in the project consortium, PT Jakarta Monorel (JM) and state-owned construction firm PT Adhi Karya, have settled the debt dispute between them. JM president director Sukmawati Syukur said on Wednesday that Adhi Karya had sold its entire shares to JM. When the consortium was established, Adhi Karya directly controlled 7.5 percent of JM shares, and controlled more JM shares through PT Indonesia Transit Central (ITC), which was 20 percent owned by Adhi Karya. 

ITC, one of the consortium’s founders, had 91 percent of JM shares at that time. Sukmawati said that the consortium was now 10 percent controlled by ITC and 90 percent controlle by the Singapore-based Ortus Group, which JM decided to engage earlier this year in exchange for US$300 million in capital from Ortus. The Ortus Group is controlled by tycoon Edward Soeryadjaya, who media reports say funded then governor candidate Joko Widodo’s campaign. JM’s decision to include the Ortus Group in the consortium has forced the Hadji Kalla Group, a conglomeration affiliated to former vice president Jusuf Kalla, to relinquish its ambition to take over JM. 

Adhi Karya president director Kiswodarmawan said on Wednesday that JM had agreed to pay Rp 190 billion ($19.5 million) to acquire support pillars built by Adhi Karya when it held 7.5 percent of JM shares. The figure, which is in accordance with the present value, is slightly lower than the Rp 193 billion initially demanded by Adhi Karya. “It’s business anyway, there must be a deal,” Kiswodarmawan told The Jakarta Post, commenting on the lower value of the deal. Adhi Karya, the project’s subcontractor, built rows of support pillars along roads in Senayan, Central Jakarta, and Kuningan, South Jakarta between 2004 and 2007. 

The pillars were part of the planned first phase of a 14.3 kilometer route connecting Kuningan and Semanggi in Central Jakarta. However, the construction stalled as JM failed to pay Adhi Karya for the work. Adhi Karya recently appointed a public auditor to assess the value of the support pillars. The auditors announced that the pillars were worth Rp 193.66 billion as of Jan. 31, far above the Rp 130 billion JM had initially offered to pay based on an evaluation conducted by the Development Finance Controller (BPKP). According to Adhi Karya corporate secretary Amrozi Hamidi, the pillars were worth Rp 120 billion in 2007, based on a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) audit, on top of Rp 26 billion, including value-added tax, that JM owed to the state company. 

“We hope [JM can pay its construction debt] by April 5,” Amrozi said. Governor Joko Widodo said he had been informed of the deal and that he was now waiting for the documents before giving the go-ahead for the $725.59 million project. “I can give my approval and the work can start as soon as the day after I receive and examine [the documents],” he told reporters at City Hall. JM had previously said it aimed to begin working on the construction in April, following the deadline set by the governor for the monorail’s launch early next year. 

The consortium is proposing to build two lines: The green line, with 16 stations, will extend 14.27 kilometers from Komdak (the city police headquarters) to Satria Mandala Museum, both in South Jakarta; and the blue line will stretch 9.72 km from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Roxy in West Jakarta, with 11 stations. Sukmawati said the company had officially submitted the required documents to the city administration and would resume construction immediately after securing the governor’s approval. She also said the company was preparing a tender to find a new contractor that would replace Adhi Karya.

source : the jakarta post

0 Seven countries to celebrate Nowruz festival in Jakarta

For the first time, seven member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), in cooperation with ASEAN, will jointly celebrate the Nowruz Festival at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta today. Nowruz, which means “New Day”, marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 21 every year. 

“Nowruz is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people around the world and it has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Black Sea Basin, Middle East and other regions,” ECO members said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. “Nowruz plays a significant role in strengthening ties among people based on mutual respect and the ideals of peace and good neighborliness”. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 21 as the International Day of Nowruz. 

“Nowruz is a day for family and friends, for festive meals, for dancing and singing. It is a day to celebrate the value of mutual respect and the aspiration for harmony in all societies,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message. Though Nowruz is mostly celebrated in Muslim majority countries, non-Muslims also celebrate this festival joyfully with feasts and dances. Many countries have declared holidays to observe Nowruz. For example, Azerbaijan declared March 20 to March 26 as holidays. 

ECO is an inter-governmental regional organization like ASEAN that promotes economic, technical and cultural cooperation among member states. It was established in 1985 and its current members are Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh and the ambassadors of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan Turkey and Uzbekistan will participate in the Nowruz celebrations.

source : the jakarta post

0 Yudhoyono talks borders, ASEAN with Timor Leste’s Gusmao

President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono has promised Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao a resolution of the border dispute between the two countries before the end of the his presidency in 2014. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the two leaders, who met at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, highlighted the border disputes that had been unresolved for years, as well as Jakarta’s commitment to supporting Timor Leste’s bid to join ASEAN. 

“There are three sections left with unsettled demarcations on the Indonesia-Timor Leste border. The two leaders agreed to find a resolution as soon as possible,” Marty told reporters after the 1.5-hour meeting. The three sections are Dilumil/Memo, Bijael Sunan Oben and Noel Besi/Citrana. The two countries have agreed on 97 percent of their land border, which spans 268.8 kilometers. Indonesia and Timor Leste have also agreed to implement a special arrangement in the areas surrounding demarcated sections of the border, to allow traditional border crossing to continue as normal, regardless of the disputes. 

“Both Indonesians and people from Timor Leste living on both sides of border sections that are unsettled will always be able to continue their social connections, which they have retained for years,” Marty said. Indonesia annexed East Timor (now Timor Leste) in 1975, but lost control of it after a 1999 referendum. On Timor Leste’s bid to be an ASEAN member, Marty said that Indonesia would never stop helping to promote Southeast Asia’s youngest nation by providing assistance with capacity building. 

“Next Thursday, I’ll fly to Singapore for a one-day working visit where I’ll also talk with the Singaporean foreign minister about the matter,” he said, refusing to comment when asked if Singapore was blocking Timor Leste’s bid to join ASEAN. “Making Timor Leste an ASEAN member is not merely a technical issue. It involves geopolitics. To Indonesia, Timor Leste is a Southeast Asian country. The region’s future would be unstable if it was not an ASEAN member,” Marty said. “Timor Leste’s inclusion in ASEAN is in Indonesia’s interest. The country is important to Indonesia,” he went on. 

Marty said Indonesia would prioritize pursuing a principal consensus among ASEAN’s members. “It’s the most important step before we can proceed with determining the road map of Timor Leste’s ASEAN membership,” he said. Indonesia’s support of Timor Leste’s bid to join ASEAN has been repeatedly voiced in many forums but the effort has so far been to no avail. Gusmao’s visit to Jakarta was mainly aimed at attending the Jakarta Defense Dialogue, at which he is a regular speaker. Both Yudhoyono and Gusmao did not talk to the press about their discussion after the meeting. 

Trade cooperation between the two countries, in which Indonesia always enjoys a surplus of more than 90 percent, has shown a positive trend since 2008. Last year, the trade value reached US$258.8 million against $221.52 in 2011.

source : the jakarta post

0 Cameron to attend Bali meeting remotely

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa confirmed on Wednesday that British Prime Minister David Cameron would not attend the next meeting of the UN High-Level Panel (HLP) on the post-2015 development agenda in Bali, but would participate in the meeting via video conference. “Prime Minister Cameron has communicated both over the phone and through written statements with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,” Marty told the press at the State Palace. 

Marty said Cameron’s absence would be due to “urgent budgetary processes that were needed to be pushed forward by the government and hence Cameron’s focus on the issue is required.” According to the minister, Cameron would still convey his view via video conference. Cameron, alongside Yudhoyono and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, were three co-chairs of the panel appointed by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon last August. The HLP will hold its fourth consultative meeting in Bali from 25 to 27 March. 

Previously, they met in London last October, and the Liberian Capital of Monrovia in January. Twenty six UN-appointed HLP members are working on a development agenda that will replace eight Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) that expire in 2015. The post-2015 development agenda has been worked on since September 2012 and should be completed in May 2013 when the panel will hold its last meeting in New York, the US. 

Also on Wednesday, Yudhoyono provided his suggestions about the resolution of conflict in the Middle East to former British prime minister Tony Blair in the latter’s capacity as the special envoy of the Diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East, when the two met at the Presidential Office. “I have been following your hard work and significant contribution to the world, particularly the Middle East, in many areas such as climate change, development and many other sectors,” Yudhoyono told Blair upon welcoming his British guest. 

According to Marty, the two discussed various issues but especially focused on the prolonged tensions in the Middle East, such as Palestine, Syria and Egypt. “Blair expressed similar opinions to Indonesia’s on Syria. We’re both really concerned about the situation in that Middle Eastern country, which has failed to show positive progress so far,” Marty told the press after the closed-door meeting, which was completed in under an hour.

source : the jakarta post