House urged to probe decree on Papua

House urged to probe decree on Papua

JAKARTA: A church minister called on the House of
Representatives to set up a special committee to investigate
Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 on the division of Papua
province into three, which is strongly opposed by the Papuan
people.

"I was shocked and disappointed with the issuance of the
presidential instruction which has raised confusion among the
people," Karel Phil Erari said on Saturday.

Karel, also an executive of the Partnership for Governance
Reform in Indonesia, questioned the reasons behind the
presidential instruction while the law on the special regional
autonomy for the province had only taken effect a year ago.

According to Karel, the central government decision was not in
line with good governance principles and further evidence of the
central government's inconsistency with regard to its policies on
the province.

Thamrin Tomagola, a political analyst from the University of
Indonesia, said President Megawati Soekarnoputri did not have
inadequate information about Papua before she made such a
decision.

He said that the decision was made only after receiving
limited input from political elite in the province, who often
fight for their own vested interests. --Antara

Death for women-trafficking: Minister

PALANGKA RAYA: State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri
Redjeki Sumaryoto urged law enforcers to impose harsh punishment
on those who are proven guilty of trafficking women, mainly those
who work as sex workers.

"The death penalty should be given to prostitute smugglers,"
she said, adding that her office had proposed revision of
relevant laws.

The minister was speaking in Palangka Raya, while attending a
seminar in Central Kalimantan, hosted by the Women's Advocacy
Institute, the Political Women's Networks, and Working Team for
Victims of Violence against Women, Children and the Elderly.

She added that authorities should bring to court all those
responsible for the trafficking of sex workers to Tawao, East
Malaysia.

At present, Indonesia does not have a law against human
trafficking.

'Parties duped voters with empty promises'

SURABAYA: Political analysts here concluded that most
politicians who won in the last general election never followed
through on their campaign promises.

M. Asfar of Airlangga University revealed the result of a
research project held in three East Java regencies -- Jember,
Malang, and Surabaya -- that around 50 percent of the legislators
made no attempt to implement their promises after winning
political positions.

The research concluded that promises made by political parties
during the election campaign were a ruse to dupe voters into
supporting them.

Director of Surabaya's Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Dedy
Priambudi concurred and added that only a small minority of
politicians actually worked for their constituents' interests
after being elected to the House of Representatives, as well as
the provincial and regency legislatures. -- JP

Labor export associations told to unite

JAKARTA: Labor export associations should form a new
association to improve Indonesian workers' plight overseas, a
legal expert said.

Chairman of the Legal Service and Advocacy Institute for
Indonesian Workers (LPBH TKI) Munir Achmad said the low payment
of Indonesian workers overseas resulted from an inability by most
domestic labor export associations to effectively cooperate with
employers overseas.

There are at least four associations which represent the
recruitment agencies including the Indonesian Labor Exporters
(Apjati), the Indonesian Workers Business Service Association
(Himsataki), the Indonesian Labor Business and Recruitment
Association (Gapertindo) and the Indonesian Employees Association
(Idea).

He said if the recruitment agencies had a stronger
association, they could bar employers who had a record of maid
abuse or inordinately low salaries.

"The problems faced by the Indonesian workers are similar from
time to time and the perpetrators are often the same," he said,
adding that if an employer was on a black list, he/she would not
be allowed to seek workers from Indonesia. --Antara

Golkar to consult people on president hopeful

SEMARANG: The Golkar party leaders said they would consult
with the lowest level of its branches across the country to find
the best presidential and vice presidential candidates to contend
the 2004 elections.

Golkar Deputy Chairman Slamet Effendi Yusuf stressed that the
voice of leaders from the regencies, towns and provinces would be
taken into account before the party's candidates were determined.

Slamet said that it had become a major concern that oligarchic
party management was well-established, which resulted in
decisions being made without input from grassroots members.

According to Slamet, an all-inclusive internal selection was
crucial ahead of the implementation of the new law on the
presidential and vice presidential elections, which is currently
being finalized by the House of Representatives.

He denied that his party had decided on a presidential
candidate. He stressed that the mechanism on how to select the
candidates would be discussed at the party's national meeting on
Feb. 27-28 and it would be decided by at party leadership meeting
in late March. -- Antara

Minister says no censorship of Inul

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: Unlike many other government
officials, Minister of Information and Communication Syamsul
Maarif hailed the mercurial singer/dancer Inul Daratista, as her
breakneck-speed gyrations had aroused a lot of interest and
swollen the ad bonuses paid to television stations.

"We should not blame the (electronic) media which are trying
to stimulate interest and therefore ratings which dictate
advertising rates," Syamsul said referring to recent show on
SCTV, which was criticized by many as being "too erotic" for the
people of Indonesia.

The minister recalled that Inul's appearance on the show had
generated large profits for the television station as it managed
to collect Rp 900 million during the hour-long program.

He also stressed that the government would not intervene in
the policy of any media group as long as no laws were broken, and
reminded those calling for censorship that there was, at present,
a law against such interference of press freedom, with a maximum
fine of Rp 500 million for anyone in violation.

The minister was speaking in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, while
attending a celebration of the anniversary of Harian Pontianak
Post on Saturday. -- JP