A River of Mud and Volcanic Ash at 100km/h...

The recent rains in and around Yogyakarta have given rise to a new Mount Merapi related threat; rivers of mud and volcanic ash.

What is most scary about this photo (courtesy of Antara) is that this river of mud and volcanic ash is flowing at about 100 kilometres per hour. The mud and volcanic ash has been transported from Mount Merapi along the Code River which flows from the side of the mountain right through the centre of Yogya.

Nature at its very best, or is that at its very worst?

Presidential Tears...

It must be said, there is nothing wrong with men shedding a few tears. It is not a sign of weakness. However, when a man sheds contrived tears over the granting of public land to poor farmers, which was stolen from them in the past by a previous government, then one has to wonder whether this is another poor attempt to direct attention away from the mounting failures of a president that has lost his way on the things that truly matter.

Now, don't get me wrong. Giving this land to poor farmers is a big thing. It is a big moment for the farmers and their families. They now might have a shot at some degree of self-sufficiency and make a life for themselves and their communities that they might not otherwise have had. Yet, in the big scheme of things, what is more telling are the tears that SBY does not shed.

The president has not shed tears over the stitching-up of two honourable men at the KPK. The case against Bibit and Chandra has been shown to be a fabrication yet the courts and the prosecutors have failed to end the charade. The president, by association, is guilty of not involving himself in this matter. It is a matter of state and he is the head of state. It is a matter of state because how this case plays out has a direct impact on the world's view of justice and law enforcement in Indonesia. The case potentially impacts upon all Indonesians. As president, it is SBY's responsibility to be pro-active.

The president has not shed tears in the Munir case or for Munir's widow or children. After promising that justice would be done and the perpetrators brought to justice, the case remains, to all intents and purposes, open as those that committed this political assassination remain free.

The president has not shed any tears for the victims of the mud extrusion in Sidoarjo. In fact, the president still seems to want to appease the devil in that instance. So, Mr. President, how about a tear or two for those Sidoarjo victims with no home, no income, and very little hope? How about a tear or two for the children who  no longer go to school because their school no longer exists or is in a state of disrepair, or those children with no school uniforms. Isn't education free through primary school and up to class 3 of junior high in Indonesia?

Yes, Mr. President, there are things worthy of tears besides the contrived little show of earlier today.

So, is it important that poor farmers get the land back that has been stolen off them over the centuries, yes! Did the founding fathers' envisage an Indonesia that was prosperous for all, they did. But, Mr. President, this was not premised solely on the redistribution of land, this was premised on a 'fair go' for all. It was premised on the belief that all men and women were equal, it was premised on a belief that all men and women would be free from the scourge of corruption, it was premised on the belief that all men and women would be free from political violence, it was premised on so many other things.

Mr. President, please shed some tears for the things you have not delivered on as you promised.

The Bakrie Award...

The Bakrie Award is designed to recognise Indonesians who have made significant contributions to the greater Indonesian community.

However, it would seem that not all award recipients are thankful and grateful for the "honour" bestowed upon them. The award has already been rejected by two past winners: Franz Magnis Suseno and Goenawan Mohammed. Suseno rejected the award before even going to a ceremony to get it. Goenawan handed his back.

However, in conjunction with the big announcement that Bakrie Center Foundation was funding, and generously so, the creation of a Chair for Southeast Asian Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, there was also an announcement of this years winners. The 2010 winners included Sitor Situmorang and Daoed Joesoef. Unfortunately, for the Bakrie Center Foundation both these winners said they were not interested in the award and did not want it, in fact both stated that the Bakrie's could keep their awards. The award comes with IDR 100 million attached.

The various reasonings for the rejection noted that the spirit of the award was not reflected in the conduct of the Bakrie's themselves with respect to the Sidoarjo mud extrusion. The original news is in Indonesian and can be found here.

Maybe it is about time that the Bakrie family reached the point where they just said, "bugger it!" And, then paid out the claims and had some publicity that could be spun positively. The fact is most people believe that it is a Bakrie company that is responsible for the extrusion and not an earthquake. There is a limited number of ways you can spin bad publicity before it just becomes a stone in your shoe and a sizable irritant going forward. Time to shoulder-up, take of the shoe, shake out the stone, pay the people of Sidoarjo what they are owed, and then get on with whatever it is that the Bakrie's do.

SBY Is Saddened By Sex Tape...

Oh dear, Mr. President!

Of all the things that you could be saddened by, this is the least important of the whole lot. There are just so many important issues that you have failed to address and continue to fail to address. You are, after all, the President. You do actually have some powers that you can call on to get things done. And, even if you and your advisers question your authority to act, then please do not forget that you were in fact elected with a considerably large political and democratic mandate by the people, to act!

Mr. President, as a simple request, can you be saddened by the plights of poor Indonesia families struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis who are forced to convert from kerosene to 3kg gas cylinders for those gas cylinders to blow up in their faces and scar them for life?

Mr. President, can you be saddened by the rampant, systematic, and endemic corruption that plagues the nation making the lives of all Indonesians much more difficult than they ever need to be? While you are on this corruption thing, can you be saddened about the continual harassing of the KPK? After all, they are only doing the work that you claim is so important and such an integral part of the legacy you want to leave as a corruption fighter.

Mr. President, can you be saddened by the fact that after all this time the good people of Sidoarjo and the surrounding villages have not been properly compensated for the human errors of the Bakrie families exploration companies? Can you be saddened by the fact that despite being ordered to pay compensation these companies are still dragging their feet and taking every possible measure to delay and avoid making restitution?

Mr. President, the list goes on, but I think you get the point, right? You do get the point, don't you Mr. President?

Mr. President, I find it hard to reconcile the idea that a man of your stature and belief is content to let his legacy be the laughing stock of his predecessors and all subsequent successors. Is that what you want?

Actions speak so much louder than words, and inaction speaks volumes.

The future is now Mr. President!

SBY Visits Tama Satrya Langkun in Hospital...

Time for some sarcasm (or is it legitimate commentary?)...

The President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, paid a visit to the hospital to visit Tama Satrya Langkun and wish him a speedy recovery. In reality, this was nothing more than a photo opportunity and a chance to spruik a non-existent anti-corruption policy.

The president came to the presidency on a platform of anti-corruption and as the real deal as a corruption fighter. This was at best a pipe dream, at worst it was a calculated piece of electioneering that found a niche in the voting populace. In essence, this was nothing more than a electoral promise destined to be broken.

Not to miss out on an opportunity, the president had this to say to reporters after his visit, “Whatever the challenges, obstacles and threats that are being experienced by all who combat corruption, this big mission has to continue.” Just reading that should leave one shaking their head going, "whatever!"

This man, the president, has not proven to be a corruption fighter. If anything, he has proven that he is beholden to powerful interests and is more intent on survival than he is on leaving a legacy to which he can be rightfully proud. If there is one glaring example of this failure to confront vested interests and political corruption it is the fact that the poor residents in Sidoarjo and the surrounding villages have still not been properly compensated for their losses arising from the ongoing mud extrusion that by all legitimate accounts is directly attributable to the family companies of one Aburizal Bakrie.

The president is a corruption fighter whose presidential legacy is going to be what, the fact that corruption continued and continues to flourish under his watch. Nice legacy Mr. President!

But, it gets better because not wanting to miss out while he is on a roll, the president went on to add that “The show must go on. We should not be afraid of any threats and acts of violence.” Now, that is easy for you to say Mr. President as you have a presidential guard and a bevy of beefy looking young men guarding you, closing down roads so that you can pass unhindered by the masses, and ensuring that you enjoy all the perks of office. Yes, the show must go on, and thankfully that show is not dependent on you, but rather on the brave souls like Tama Satrya Langkun.

The idea that "we" should not be afraid of any threats or acts of violence is so easy to say when it is not you that is going to be subject to those threats or to that violence. Let's face it, the threats and violence might be less intimidating if there was a real chance that the perpetrators of this violence were likely to be caught and prosecuted to the full extent to the prevailing laws and regulations. However, it has been more than 5 years since Munir was assassinated on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam and none of the ring leaders of that crime have been brought to justice. You promised "us" many times that you would ensure that justice would be done and those that committed such a heinous crime would be prosecuted. So, forgive us Mr. President if we think your words are hollow and mean less than the paper they are written on or the airwaves which they cross.

Your legacy will be as the teflon president, nothing sticks! This is a terrible shame and an even greater disappointment to all of those many many many Indonesians who voted for you and hoped that under your stewardship their lives would get not only a little better, but a lot better.

Mud and More Mud

Well, the Lapindo disaster that has devastated and paralysed Sidoarjo seems to be getting worse despite all the promises that things would get better and the victims would be looked after. The latest fiasco in this never ending drama is the collapse of the embankments that are supposed to contain the mud flow and prevent it from inundating more villages and farms.

The collapse of the embankments saw the surrounding rail lines and roads submerged in up to 80cms of hot stinking mud. And while the people responsible for the embankments twiddle their thumbs and look for someone to blame the mud continues to rise and is now above 1 meter in some places. Just as Bakrie has sort to blame an earthquake for the disaster the Agency responsible is also looking to blame God, this time too much rain. Yet, the reality is that as the earth continues to spew the hot mud out onto the surface the integrity of the land under the embankments is compromised and they have started to collapse under their own weight. So, if you cannot stop the flow then you must build secondary and tertiary containment walls to ensure that where one collapses you have another ready to pick up the slack.

The other problem that ensures people continue to become victims of this disaster is that people are refusing to relocate to other areas. This refusal is based on the fact that they have not been compensated as they are supposed to have been. But it is not only the local residents that are losing money and being affected by this, the government is losing money as well. The inundation of the railway tracks with thick mud means that trains cannot continue to run and tickets have to be refunded and alternative arrangements made.

The cost of the disaster continues to climb with each passing day. There are estimates now that losses will total in the tens of trillions of Rupiah. It is high time that Bakrie and his family made good on the compensation to the victims of this tragic environmental disaster and forked over some of that hard-earned cash he is sitting on. After all he is the richest man in Indonesia and as the Coordinating Minister for Community Prosperity it is about time some of that prosperity made its way to the people of Sidoarjo. This is especially so since his personal fortune has climbed from a miserly USD 1.2 billion to USD 5.4 billion in the space of 12 months.

Updates to follow on this story as it is not likely to come to an end any time soon!