Intelligence Chief Calls for Security Sweep in Jayapura

The head of Indonesia’s State Intelligence Agency has spoken of the need for a sweep of Jayapura for armed civilians following heightened violence in the capital of Papua province for more than a week now.

Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman, the chief of the agency better known as BIN, on Friday indicated that a security sweep targeting men in possession of firearms might be conducted to prevent further attacks. He asked the public to understand the necessity of the move and to support it.

“We have no choice but to do the sweep, as civilians are not allowed to hold guns. Rules must be upheld,” Marciano said over the phone. “I hope if the public see people having guns when they shouldn’t, they will report it to police.”

Marciano said the recent shootings in Jayapura, some of them fatal, were being carried out by armed groups, formerly dwelling in the mountains, who had begun to enter the town.

“One thing for sure is armed groups are entering the town, launching terror actions. We can see that their victims are comprised of TNI [Indonesian military] soldiers, police officers and civilians,” Marciano said.

He added that the armed men had gained access to Jayapura because they had informants and support networks in the city. Prior to this, the armed groups only launched their attacks in jungles or mountainous areas.

Violence is not new to restive Papua, but shootings have taken place with increasing frequency in Jayapura since May 29, when a German tourist was shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting.

Monday saw a 16-year-old student also shot and wounded. On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen shot and injured two civilians and a TNI soldier. On Wednesday, a civil servant was shot dead in front of the mayor’s office. On Thursday alone, there were reportedly three people shot, two of whom died, including a police officer.

All of these took place in Jayapura, with none of the attackers having been identified, nor arrested. Marciano said BIN was in the process of gathering information to track down the perpetrators.

BeritaSatu/JG

SUMBERthejakartaglobe.com 

Identifikasi :

      Present Continous

Marciano said the recent shootings in Jayapura, some of them fatal, were being carried out by armed groups

= Marciano mengatakan penembakan baru-baru di Jayapura, beberapa dari mereka fatal, sedang dilakukan oleh kelompok bersenjata,

Marzuki Asks for Clarification Before Launching Investigation into Hambalang Project

House speaker Marzuki Alie said on Friday that it was premature to create a special team to investigate the Hambalang sports center project’s budget agreement, because it is still unclear who oversaw the process.

Marzuki said the details of Hambalang’s budget discussion should be thoroughly examined before a formal investigation is launched. Some members of House Commission X — which oversees sport affairs — recently said they never discussed or approved the Rp 1.2 trillion ($127 million) budget for Hambalang, a critical detail that Marzuki wants answered before any other action is taken.

“Let’s open the [budget’s] documents to see whether it was discussed by House Commission X” urged Marzuki, who is from the Democratic Party. “Is it true that the decision was solely taken by the leader of the Budget Committee? Let’s answer that first.”

Marzuki suggested that lawmakers might have forgotten discussing Hambalang, and should therefore review the files.

“Sometimes, because of their work load, [they] don’t listen to the discussions or notice when it was decided,” Marzuki said, smiling. “Stop accusing each other before opening the meeting documents over Hambalang. If they can’t find it, then it’s a problem. But if files exist, later they will be ashamed.”

House Commission III member Bambang Soesatyo from the Golkar party has called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Marzuki to establish a team to investigate the graft-tainted Hambalang project budget.

Hambalang came under the spotlight after graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin said that both Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and Youth and Sport Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng (who is also from the Democratic Party) accepted bribes for the project.

What’s more, two buildings of the unfinished project recently collapsed.

Bambang said that the case should be scrutinized carefully because the alleged crime involves many parties, including top officials of the ministry.

SUMBERthejakartaglobe.com 

Identifikasi :

1.            Past Tense

Is it true that the decision was solely taken by the leader of the Budget Committee?

= "Apakah benar bahwa keputusan itu hanya diambil oleh pemimpin Komite Anggaran?

Singapore Student Apologizes to Deputy PM for 'Rash' Blog Post

Singapore. Junior college student Reuben Wang was so annoyed by what he heard from a VIP at a seminar that he blogged: “F*** you, sir.”

The VIP was Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, the key speaker at this year’s annual Pre-U Seminar attended by more than 500 students last week.

Reuben’s blog post went viral and he blogged again, unrepentant about his use of the expletive.

But on Thursday, the St. Andrew’s Junior College student had a change of heart, met Teo at the Ministry of Home Affairs and apologized to him.

The JC1 student told The Straits Times later that he realized his post was “rash” after reading his friends’ comments.

Teo said: “I am glad he has taken the time to reflect, and recognizes that what he said, as well as the way he said it, were wrong.”

Reuben, 17, removed both his posts earlier this week.

In the first, dated June 2, after the five-day seminar ended, he accused Teo of dodging difficult questions during the question-and-answer portion of the seminar on May 29, by turning the questions on students instead of answering them himself.

They included questions on press freedom and a sense of belonging in Singapore.

Reuben wrote the profanity three times in his 700-word public post. Three days later, he wrote again to say he stood by his remarks, even as he conceded that his use of the swear word was in “bad taste.”

By Wednesday, however, both posts and his blog were deleted.

That morning, Reuben said, he had sent Teo an e-mail to apologize and the minister invited him for a chat on Thursday. “After reading comments from my friends, I came to a realization that there were merits in the way DPM Teo handled the session,” he said.

During their half-hour meeting on Thursday, the two discussed Reuben’s post and other topics, including his hobbies.

Reuben’s father and an SAJC teacher were also present. Teo gave the teenager a book on economics and autographed it.

Schoolmates described the school debater as “quiet,” except when voicing opinions on issues he was passionate about.

SAJC principal Lee Bee Yann said the school had counselled him and he initiated the apology.

An Education Ministry spokesman said the tone and language Reuben used were “rude and unbecoming” and added: “We hope to turn this into a teachable moment both for the student blogger and students in general.”

Teo said he had avoided simply giving students answers during the seminar as he wanted them to think deeply about the difficult choices they had to make.

“It was a lively and engaging session,” he said. “Some of them offered answers to their own questions after a little encouragement.”

The student’s original post had some netizens expressing support for his views, but even more condemned his choice of words.

Blogger Kwan Jin Yao, 21, who is waiting to enter university, said that while Reuben’s criticisms were valid, they may have been “obscured by the liberal use of expletives.”

Hwa Chong Institution student Victor Zhu, 16, who attended the seminar, said he thought the minister’s answers to difficult questions were “thought-provoking.”

Political observers and social media experts said the incident was a reflection of young people’s attitudes toward authority and the government.

Former nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin noted that young people do not feel as beholden to the ruling party as older folk.

“For some of them, being a politician is just like being in any other profession, no need to be so deferential,” he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Britain were treated with even less regard.

Social media experts said that anonymity online might give youngsters more courage to express their views.

Social media lawyer Lionel Tan said: “I doubt he would say those words in public, or in person.”

He added that it was a good thing that the younger generation were more questioning, but added that there ought to be “a tone of civility.”

Meanwhile, Reuben said he would take some time to reflect on what happened and take a break from blogging for a while.

“Blogging is very important to me, but I want to let this cool down and start on a clean slate.”

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times

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Identifikasi :

1.         Past Perfect Tense

they may have been “obscured by the liberal use of expletives.”

= mereka mungkin telah "dikaburkan oleh liberal menggunakan expletives

Bank Indonesia Bailout Scandal Fugitive Arrested in US

A fugitive in the high-profile Bank Indonesia bailout case has been arrested in San Fransisco, California, after a decade on the run, the Indonesian police said in Jakarta on Friday.

It is not clear yet when the arrest was made, but Sherny Kojongian, 49, a former director with Bank Harapan Sentosa (BHS), is expected to arrive in Jakarta on June 13.

“She will be deported from San Fransisco on June 11. [When she arrives] she will be immediately escorted to the Attorney General’s Office,” Indonesia’s National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said in Jakarta on Friday.

Boy said Sherny’s arrest was coordinated with Interpol, which issued a warrant for Sherny in 2002.

Sherny fled Indonesia before she was sentenced by the Central Jakarta District Court to 20 years in prison for embezzling state money via the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) bailout funds. Sherny was convicted of disbursing money to six business groups and 28 fake financing firms between 1992 and 1996.

The court sentenced BHS commissioners Hendra Rahardja and Eko Edi Putranto to life in prison over the same case, which is believed to have cost the state some Rp 1.95 trillion ($209 million). The central bank ordered BHS to cease disbursement of the overdraft loans to the 28 firms in Sep. 1997 — an order which Sherny and the two other convicts ignored.   

According to results of audits performed by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), Rp 138.4 trillion, or 96 percent of Rp 144.5 trillion in BLBI bailout funds disbursed to 48 banks during the peak of the 1997 Asian financial crisis were embezzled.

BeritaSatu/JG

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Identifikasi :

1.         Past Tense

Sherny fled Indonesia before she was sentenced by the Central Jakarta District Court to 20 years in prison for embezzling state money via the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) bailout funds.

= Sherny keluar Indonesia sebelum ia dijatuhi hukuman oleh Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat untuk 20 tahun penjara karena menggelapkan uang negara melalui Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia (BLBI) dana talangan.

2.         Past Tense

According to results of audits performed by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)

= Menurut hasil audit yang dilakukan oleh Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK)