Political round-up: President receives Japan's defence minister, new Criminal Code debated
Several political events occurred on Sunday, from President Prabowo Subianto receiving a visit from Japan’s Minister of Defence to a response from House of Representatives member Bambang Soesatyo regarding the new Criminal Code (KUHP).
President Prabowo received Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi at his private residence on Kertanegara IV in Jakarta on Friday evening. Koizumi presented the President with a souvenir model of the Mikasa warship from Yokosuka, his hometown in Japan.
President Prabowo summoned a number of ministers in Jakarta on Sunday to discuss the results of working visits to several countries, which have generated high levels of trust and significant investment interest flowing into Indonesia. According to an official post from the Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya attended the meeting at the Kertanegara residence alongside Minister of Investment and Downstreaming and CEO of Danantara, Rosan Roeslani; Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia; Finance Minister, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa; Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto; Head of the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Body, Dony Oskaria; and Minister of State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi.
Haris Rusly Moti, a pioneer of the 98 Resolution Network community, stated that the emergence of social movements rejecting the allocation of the State Budget (APBN) for the people is an anomaly. ‘In our view, a social movement that is against APBN allocation for the people, rejecting the Free Nutritious Meals programme, fishing villages, People’s Schools, and others is the most extreme anomaly in the tradition of social movements. I am certain a movement like this will never gain widespread sympathy and support from the people,’ Haris said in a written statement on Sunday.
Chief of the Presidential Staff, Dudung Abdurachman, inspected the implementation of the People’s School Programme at State Junior High School 16 in Malang, East Java, aiming to expand educational access for children from underprivileged families. ‘People’s Schools are a top priority of his programme. Here we see children who dropped out of school, children from the first and second deciles of poverty who cannot afford it, can attend school here,’ Dudung said during a working visit on Friday.
House member Bambang Soesatyo assessed that the new Criminal Code provides a strong legal foundation for tackling land-related crimes, such as document forgery and the practice of inserting false statements into official documents. ‘Although it does not specifically use the term land mafia, various articles concerning letter forgery, authentic deed forgery, and false statements in authentic deeds can be effective instruments to ensnare perpetrators who have been exploiting administrative loopholes in land affairs,’ he said in a statement on Sunday.