Nusakambangan:
\nA resort or jail?<\/p>\n
In the past everybody was horrified upon hearing the word
\nNusakambangan, which reminded people of Alcatraz in San Francisco
\nBay.<\/p>\n
Nusakambangan prison, in Cilacap, Central Java, was
\nestablished for hard core criminals; the most barbaric murderers
\nand the wildest drug traffickers.<\/p>\n
But, Nusakambangan in the past was much different from
\nNusakambangan today.<\/p>\n
As a cold-blooded criminal, Tommy Soeharto deserves to be sent
\nto Nusakambangan. He has also demonstrated his notable reputation
\n-- as a criminal -- when he escaped justice.<\/p>\n
Nusakambangan has become a friendly prison, especially since
\n'Bob' Hasan, a timber tycoon crony of former president Soeharto,
\nwas sent there two-years ago.<\/p>\n
Bob has spent \"a small amount\" from his own purse to repair
\nthe prison's infrastructure. He has repaired the prison's mosque,
\nestablished a sports fields and injected working capital for a
\ncraft workshop. He has also funded repairs to the boats
\ntraveling between the prison and Cilacap.<\/p>\n
The result is that Bob Hasan is granted special treatment. He
\ngets a special room, separated from other inmates for his
\ngenerosity.<\/p>\n
From the correctional institution point of view, what Bob
\nHasan has done looks positive. The question is if is it really
\nallowed?<\/p>\n
Isn't the substantial purpose of a prison the withdrawal of
\ncivilian rights from the inmates? Is a prisoner allowed to buy
\nhis or her civil rights when he or she is serving the jail term?
\nWhat about equal justice for all irrespective of wealth?<\/p>\n
Nusakambangan will likely be more attractive with Tommy
\nSoeharto's being there. It is easy to predict that Tommy will
\njoin in \"developing the prison\".<\/p>\n
Let's wait and see what the Minister of Justice and Human
\nRights Yusril Ihza Mahendra will do about it.<\/p>\n
--Koran Tempo, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Semen Padang is out of control<\/p>\n
The struggle between PT Semen Padang and the central
\ngovernment as the shareholder representing the state has now
\ninvolved different parties, despite the government's principle
\napproval of a spin-off of Semen Padang's fully-owned subsidiary
\nPT Semen Gresik Tbk.<\/p>\n
The spin-off is not easy to realize either, because public
\ninvestors' consent is yet to be sought, while these investors
\nwill surely demand a very high price, thus increasing the burden
\non the state budget.<\/p>\n
This battle gets even more intense following the government's
\ndemand for the replacement of Semen Padang's executive board due
\nto its poor performance. This cement company has a debt-to-equity
\nratio of 104 percent when compared to Semen Gresik's 33 percent
\nand Semen Tonasa's 48 percent.<\/p>\n
Semen Padang is rumored to be spending a lot of funds on
\nmobilization of support for its spin-off campaign. Its rapidly
\nswelling expenses for research and development, education and
\ntraining as well as ceremonies and personnel tours have aroused
\nsuspicion.<\/p>\n
Amid its financial chaos, Semen Padang owes Rp 500 billion to
\nABN Amro and Jamsostek (the workers' security company), which
\nreaches maturity this month. Its request for a loan from Bank
\nMandiri has been partly fulfilled for working capital credit,
\nwhereas the investment credit portion is pending the approval of
\nSemen Gresik as shareholder.<\/p>\n
Bank Mandiri's delayed disbursement of the remaining portion
\nhas led to Semen Padang's protests of government intervention.
\nWorse still, in this crisis the West Sumatra regional
\nadministration acts like a shareholder, while in fact this
\ncompany is state-owned rather than regionally capitalized.<\/p>\n
If the West Sumatra community is allowed to prevent the
\nprivatization of Semen Padang, can the people of East Java do the
\nsame to Semen Gresik? If individual or group power rises above
\nstate sovereignty, what do we have a state for?<\/p>\n
If the state is not entitled to demand the replacement of a
\nstate owned company's executive board, who then is supposed to do
\nit? How long will we let Semen Padang serve individual or group
\ninterests?<\/p>\n
The euphoria of regional autonomy that ignores national laws
\nnot only reflects regional leaders' narrow-mindedness but also
\nworsens the image of the country's already infamous legal
\ncertainty.<\/p>\n
The Office of the State Minister for State Owned Corporations
\nshould therefore take stern and appropriate measures. Any
\nflexible attitude toward rules will undermine the confidence of
\ninvestors. -- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nusakambangan-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}