Susilo defends AG
Susilo defends AG
against House
JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected on
Wednesday the House of Representatives' demand for him to
"strongly reprimand" Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh who has
helped jail a number of local councillors for graft.
As the strong reprimand was interpreted by some legislators as
"dismissal", State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the House
could not force the President to dismiss the chief prosecutor.
"The House cannot force the President to do what it wants or
vice versa. Each has its own power, one cannot intervene in the
affairs of the other," Yusril said at the State Palace.
He said the government would examine and respond to a letter
from the House requesting the President to rebuke Rahman
following a brief commotion in the House last week.
The rift started after a House member called Rahman a "Muslim
teacher in the village of thieves", while others accused his
office of being unfair in prosecuting graft cases that mainly
targeted councillors from major parties. --JP
;JP;NFK;
ANPAa..r..
Labor-Protection-Govt
JP/4/scene
Six labor
offices planned
JAKARTA: The government said on Wednesday it would open labor
offices in six more countries in an move to boost protection for
Indonesian workers there and settle their problems immediately.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris said these
offices would be opened in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore,
Hong Kong, South Korea, Kuwait and Taiwan.
"The finance ministry and the administrative reform ministry
have approved the plans to open labor offices in Hong Kong,
Kuwait and the UAE," he told a hearing with the House of
Representatives.
Fahmi said the government had recently open similar offices at
the Indonesian embassies in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, where
Indonesian workers have often been run into problems with their
employers and officials. --Antara
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ANPAa..r..
Scene-Adrian-Disciplinary
JP/4/scene
Police officers
to face punishment
JAKARTA: The police held a disciplinary hearing for four
police officers on Wednesday accused of taking bribes from
suspects in the Rp 1.7 trillion (US$188 million) Bank Negara
Indonesia (BNI) scam in 2003.
The four officers were police fraud squad deputy chief Sr.
Comr. Bambang Premantoro, Sr. Comr. Irman Santosa, Sr. Comr.
Mashudi and Adj. Sr. Comr. Wirosaleh.
They were charged with acting beyond their authority by giving
the Bank fraud suspects, including Adrian Waworuntu, special
treatment and receiving bribes in the form of notebook computers
and cellular phones.
Chief prosecutor Sr. Comr. Warsito said the five-hour hearing,
presided over by police fraud squad chief Brig. Gen. Andi
Chaeruddin, heard testimonies from Adrian.
Warsito said the hearing committee was scheduled to announce
the sanctions for the four next week.
Earlier, the same committee suspended Brig. Gen. Samuel Ismoko
as chief investigator in the BNI graft case for being found
guilty of similar charges. --JP