Gayus Tambunan: SBY Adopts A "Hands-On" Approach...

There is a limit to the "ummming" and "ahhhhing" that one's constituents can take before they start to get fidgety and demand a more hands-on approach to end what appears to be a never-ending lurch from one crisis to another. There is probably also a point that a president reaches where they can no longer look at themselves in the mirror without being horrified at their own incompetence. So, in many respects it is a "no-brainer" that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (or SBY to the masses) has decided to tell the nation that he has issued 12 presidential instructions and appointed the Vice President as his point man on the Gayus case.

Yet, the more hands on approach runs counter to the president's preference of the past. The president avoided getting involved in the shenanigans that saw two Corruption Eradication Commission commissioners investigated on fabricated evidence because he did not want to be seen to be interfering in the application of the prevailing laws and regulations. Yet, in this case he seems to think that it is time to meddle and sort things out.

Although his meddling is really an attempt to look like he is doing something without really doing anything at all. It is, for those of you familiar with the term, a "Clayton's Presidency"; the presidency you have when you are not having a presidency.

SBY has instructed law enforcement to cooperate. He has instructed law enforcement to engage the KPK in a more pro-active way in investigating the cases that have not already been investigated by the police. Oops, sorry Mr. President, but aren't the police implicated in some of these cases, and wouldn't having the police in charge of some of these investigations be a conflict of interest that is not all that different to letting the fox have the keys to the hen house? The KPK should be handling all these cases and the KPK must be given the mandate to re-open and re-investigate, if they so desire, any and all cases of their choosing. Anything short of this leaves you exposed to charges of favouritism and interfering in the drive to eradicate corruption.

One of the "biggies" that the president put forward was that it was time to adopt a reverse burden of proof. Simply, this means that the burden is no longer on the prosecution to prove the case, but the burden shifts to the accused to prove that they did not commit the crime that they stand accused of. The question that people should have of the president is where do you want to stop the reversal of the burden of proof? Is this just for corruption cases or is the intent to just reverse the presumption of innocence in favour of a presumption of guilt until such time as the accused can prove their innocence?

As a matter of interest, Mr President, how much smoke is needed to reverse this burden of proof? For example, if a citizen says that a bribe was demanded and then paid would this be sufficient to trigger the reversal and the accused receiver of the bribe have to prove they did not make the demand and accept the money or goods? What happens if someone accuses the president of having acquired wealth during a stint in the army from illicit means? Would the president then be required to prove the origin of their wealth? Is it not the case that the wealth reports that elected and appointed officials in government must complete designed for this purpose.

Reversing the burden of proof is a double-edged sword and a very slippery slope. In any event, one must ask whether a reversal of the burden of proof would have made any difference in this case?

But I digress.

The 12 Presidential Instructions in a nutshell are:

1. The National Police, Attorney General, and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights are to expedite the resolution of the Gayus case;
2. Increase the synergy between the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and the Legal Mafia Eradication Unit. And, the KPK to become more involved in cases not yet "handled" by the police;
3. Performance audits of all those involved in the Gayus case;
4. All the companies mentioned in the case to date are to be investigated;
5. Reverse the burden of proof;
6. Relevant agencies are to search for, locate, and repatriate all state assets including any money obtained corruptly;
7. All officials who have violated the prevailing laws and regulations are to be punished accordingly (within a week);
8. Restructuring of all organisations and agencies that have been found wanting throughout the Gayus case;
9. Review and reform of work systems to ensure that future failures of this kind do not occur again;
10. The president to receive written reports on the progress of the implementation of these instructions;
11. Progress reports are to be made public so that the knows what has been done, what is being done, and what will be done with respect to the Gayus case; and
12. The Vice President is appointed to head-up the supervisory team, and the VP is to be assisted by the Legal Mafia Eradication Unit.

Just a personal note. I am not convinced that this is a more hands on approach. To me it reads as a statement to try and preserve personal public support for himself while maintaining enough distance that he is not fully hands-on and can claim later, when this does not get a positive result, that people did not do as he instructed them to and therefore it is "not my fault".

Ho hum...

BlackBerry and Taxes...

It makes sense to make life difficult for foreign businesses operating in a country when that foreign business is not complying with the prevailing laws and regulations. After all, fair is fair. If the laws and regulations apply to Indonesian companies doing business in Indonesia then a fair shake of the cherry tree must see foreign businesses complying with the prevailing laws and regulations too.

Truth be told, Indonesian businesses that head into foreign markets will undoubtedly have to comply with the prevailing laws and regulations of the country where they begin operating. What goes around, comes around, including taxes.

So, Pay Your Taxes: Prove Your Love For The Motherland" (Membayar Pajak: Bukti Cinta Tanah Air)

However, it does not make sense that a company; local or foreign, must pander to the personal desires, wishes and agenda of an individual, even where that individual is the Minister of [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information, Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS). Indonesia has moved on from the iron-hand business practices of Soeharto and his cronies, has it not? Indonesia has become an economy that has a conducive investment climate based on the rule of law, right?

This is what makes the TitS crusade so bizarre. It is no longer looking like the government trying to enforce prevailing laws and regulations, rather it looks like a man on a mission to eradicate pornography from the Red & White Republic at all costs by waging a one-man war against RIM. TitS where are the statistics that show RIM and their BlackBerry Smartphones are leading the charge of porn downloaded by Indonesians. I reckon, at least anecdotally, that the Minister would find that traditionally it has been the small internet cafes that have been at the forefront of the porn boom in Indonesia.

So desperate is TitS to beat down RIM he has gone outside his mandate to try and portray this spat as one that has a nationalist pride angle to it. In fact, TitS has decided that, in his opinion, RIM is a marauding infidel invader that has only come to Indonesia to rape and pillage her of her resources and wealth, and pay no taxes into the bargain.

Taxes are generally the domain of the Minister For Finance, and perhaps the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, but generally taxes are not the primary concern of ministers in other fields. In light of the TitS charge, it is worth asking whether RIM pays its dues. The reality is, if RIM has not been paying its financial obligations then why has it taken a spat over porn filters to make this publicly known?

Starting to look like a good ol' shakedown.

According to Gregory Wade, Southeast Asia Managing Director for RIM, they have. The actual statement went along the lines of RIM makes a habit of complying with, and therefore obeying, the laws and regulations of every country within which they operate or have business interests ("RIM dutifully pays all applicable taxes that are exercised from its business within the region in the same manner as all other importing manufacturers".)

This gives rise to the obvious question: "Was TitS lying to the Indonesian people about RIM and what it does and doesn't do with regards to tax obligations?"

If TitS was lying, or in more delicate terms "deliberately misrepresenting the truth", should he resign? And, if TitS will not resign is it time that the President fired him for gross incompetence?

It is unlikely that either will happen.

For TitS it sort of reminds me of that famous Top Gun quote: "Son, your ego is writing checks that your body can't cash!" In other words he is so full of himself and his abilities he has not realised yet that he is not going to be able to deliver on the threats that he is making.

For president SBY to fire TitS it would seem that TitS would have to make a move on the first lady and try and convince her to become wife number 5. SBY just does not have the testicular fortitude to fire a Minister unless the puppet-masters give him the go ahead. The best case scenario is a reshuffle that sees TitS move to a different portfolio where he could do less harm (if there is a portfolio where he can do less harm). Indonesia has been living with the promise of a cabinet reshuffle for almost the whole of SBY's second term as president.

Twitter is a great place to communicate, and perhaps it is a great place to sell your message, it is probably not a good place to be telling lies and / or misrepresenting the truth to your constituents.

Ho hum...

Gayus Tambunan & A Sense of Humour...

When one is facing some time in the 'big house' it is important to maintain a sense of humour in facing such circumstances. Gayus Tambunan, the tax officer at the centre of a corruption scandal that touches a lot of the big names in Indonesian politics and business, in his final plea to the South Jakarta District Court asked to be made a member of the expert staff of the Chief of Police.

His plea also suggested if not the Chief of Police then he could produce equally excellent outcomes as an expert staff member at either the Office of the Attorney General or at the Office of the Head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

With a bit of luck Gayus will see the inside of a jail cell for the crimes he has committed. By his own admission he is a corruptor. Hopefully, this time he will be afforded the opportunity to stare at the walls for 23 hours a day rather than enjoy jaunts to the tennis or overseas to Singapore, Thailand, Macau, or Mainland China.

The rest of the plea focused on how he was but a bit player, a small fish, in the corruption scheme and he fully supports the president, SBY, in his drive to eradicate corruption from the Republic of Indonesia. The cynic in me says, "of course you do!" Let's face it, you have been caught. If you had not been caught out then in all likelihood you would still be trying to fleece big business using the schemes that made you so much money in the first place.

To suggest that you have now seen the error of your ways and support the anti-corruption drive is nothing more than a desperate cry from a desperate man. Where was your support for the president's anti-corruption drive when you were bribing judges, police and prison guards?

Nevertheless, the funny in the plea was the request to be made an expert staff member of the Chief of Police. However, Gayus seemed serious in his claim that if he was made an expert staff member of the Chief of Police then he would be instrumental in eradicating corruption within two years. Gayus, not only do you have a sense of humour, but you also have a wonderful imagination. Seriously, Gayus, what makes you think you can achieve what so many others have failed to achieve since 1998?

Sri Mulyani Indrawati went hammer and tong to ensure that corruption and the culture of corruption was torn down in her spheres of influence when she was a minister. Her reward was to be hung out to dry by the president. In a shrewd move she is now at the world bank (there is more than one way to skin a cat - that is the saying, right?).

With a bit of luck Gayus you will receive a sentence that will afford you many years to think about your fantasy. Alternatively, you could write a confessional, tell all, name names autobiography about your 15 minutes of fame as a corrupt tax official that titillated the odd Indonesian with your international travel itinerary from your pre-conviction detention days.

Football Salaries

The news world is reporting that Christian Ronaldo may be on the move from Manchester United to Real Madrid. The fact that Ronaldo wants a move is not new news but the fact that Real are prepared to pay him the equivalent of about AUD 380,000 per week. Yes, that is an after tax annual salary of some AUD 19.8 million.

I get great enjoyment out of watching football (or when I was growing up soccer) but I wonder whether footballers are really worth that much money. I understand that they bring business to the clubs they play for in terms of sponsorship and apparel and all the other marketing associated things but is one player worth that much to a club?

He might be the best player in football at the moment so I guess you may as well capitalize while you can.