Muslim Women Travelling Without Male Kin...

The fact that Indonesian migrant workers, especially women, are abused overseas is a tragedy. However, the fact that some would use this to push an agenda that says Muslim women should not travel far from home without male relatives by their side almost reads like, "well, you travel alone and against the wishes of Allah, then you get what you deserve!"

To then say that you are more interested in protecting the rights of women and calling for a moratorium on the sending of female Indonesian migrant workers abroad rings hollow and is hypocritical. Women do not deserve to be protected just because they are women. Women deserve to be protected because they are human beings. Women need to be protected, like men, because they have a right to earn a living and provide for their families. Women have a right to travel to find those opportunities if those opportunities exist outside of the village that they live in or the country they call home.

The reality here is that the laws exist in the migrant working sphere that should already be sufficient in most cases to protect migrant workers while they are overseas. The problem is one of enforcement on the Indonesian side of the equation. The other reality that most people fail to understand is that in most cases the prevailing laws and regulations of the country where the migrant working is employed are the ones that will operate when crimes are committed. So, an Indonesian migrant worker abused in Saudi Arabia will find that the perpetrators of violence against her are subject to Saudi laws and regulations. This is the nature of sovereignty.

I am certain that Indonesians would not want other nations riding roughshod over their sovereignty and seeking to impose their laws and regulations on them. So, why is it that in this instance Indonesians want their government to impose Indonesian laws extra-territorially on offenses being committed in Saudi Arabia?

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is not certainty of "fixing" the problems of abuse. Once again, the laws and regulations already exist, both in Indonesia and in Saudi Arabia, this is a case of enforcement.

But, alas, I digress. Back to the topic at hand.

My personal view is that where basic human rights and religion clash at the coal-face, then it is the basic human rights that must prevail. The idea that women do not have the intelligence to make decisions for themselves about what is in their best interests bothers me. The vast majority of women and men that I known are more than capable of making decisions for themselves about what is in their respective best interests. So, to suggest that for Indonesian Muslim women the best decision makers are crotchety old men in white robes is something I find offensive.

According to The Jakarta Globe, twelve Muslim organisations have come together and have decided to lobby the government for a moratorium. No news there with respect to the moratorium. The idea that the only way to solve the abuse problem is to ban Indonesian women from going to places like Saudi Arabia is akin to burying one's head in the sand. And, it is self-defeating as Saudi Arabia will just get its domestic servants from other places. It also fails to recognise that a lot of the funding that these Muslim organisations receive actually wends it way to them through processes that include remittances made by Indonesian migrant workers.

The Nahdlatul Ulama position is "let's lobby for a memorandum of understanding" and ban all Indonesians from going to Saudi Arabia until we get one. Although, I am guessing this would exclude Indonesians doing a pilgrimage to a holy place.

The more interesting of The Jakarta Globe quotes comes from Muhammadiyah which said "... under Islam, Muslim women were not allowed to travel far from home without being accompanied by male kin ...". This was then supported by Said Aqil Siradj, Chairman of NU, who said that Islam expressly forbade women from going abroad to seek money unless it was absolutely necessary, “If they just want to gain more wealth overseas, that is not allowed.”

This begs the question, "when is working for money not about generating wealth?" But, probably, more important is who should provide for these Muslim women who are prohibited from earning wealth for wealth's sake when they cannot find employment within Indonesia to support themselves or their families. The government is not able to provide or guarantee this. It is also pretty certain that the twelve Muslim organisations in this pact are not able to provide the same levels of financial security that these migrant workers, particularly women, can find from going overseas. This is definitely a more pressing issue than an MOU, isn't it?

Thus endeth another rant and rail at The RAB Experience.

Robby Shine Rapes a 13-Year-Old?

Robby Shine is an Indonesian actor. He is also allegedly responsible for the rape of a 13-year-old.

Shine was in Batam for an Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) event where he was scheduled to present. However, in his spare time leading up to the event, Shine hit the town and met up with a 13-year-old fan and decided that it would be a good idea to take her to a pub, load her up with alcohol, and then take her back to his hotel. It is at his hotel that he is alleged to have raped and sexually molested her.

Apparently, Shine had promised to make the girl famous. Irrespective of the outcome of the investigation and any subsequent trial, he has in fact made her famous. I would hazard a guess that this is not what the young girl, who has been identified only as "S", had in mind when she met Shine.

The police have stated that they have the testimony of the victim and CCTV footage from the hotel that presumably confirms that the girl was there. Once the girls parents found out about the alleged sexual assault, they immediately reported it to police. Shine was arrested at the Hang Nadim airport as he was about to board a flight to Jakarta.

The festival organisers have apologised for the controversy.

Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence until such time as they are proven to be guilty. However, if he is proven guilty and sentenced to prison, the treatment of child sex offenders in prison by other prisoners is notoriously bad. I might try and follow developments in this case, particularly whether it goes to trial and if it does, what the verdict is.

Trying this Digg It thing.

Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Mr. President...

The abuse of Indonesia's migrant workers has been a problem from time immemorial. The reality is that Indonesia's migrant workers of the domestic servant kind are often thrown like lambs to the slaughter (for want of a better analogy) as they are under-skilled for the exploitation that they are about to be subject to. This has always had a high probability of ending badly for the migrant worker. Badly equates to, quite often, physical abuse at the hands of her employers, and sometimes worse.

The case of Sumiati has once again brought this very cold hard reality home.

Sadly, the President, SBY, has decided that a viable option is to equip all migrant workers with a mobile phone and a list of Embassy and Consulate numbers, presumably pre-loaded.

You really do not want to be searching for a business card while getting beaten to within an inch of your life. This is sad because the suggestion so obviously fails to see the reality that any domestic servant fronting up with a visible mobile phone of their own is likely to have it confiscated by the employer, particularly if the employer is the abusive and controlling kind.

Then again, the populist president knows his constituents are watching, so he has to say something.

I have always believed that there were large numbers of Indonesians heading to foreign locales as migrant workers. And, based on this the percentage that were subject violence was relatively small in number. I was not of the impression that there was a majority of migrant workers that were subject to violence. I will now do a little research and see if I can track down some statistics on the level of abuse.

So, it is within this understanding I wonder whether it is possible to eradicate all instances of violence? I am not suggesting that the Indonesian government throw up its hands and say that the numbers of victims considering the sheer numbers of migrant workers is acceptable.

To the contrary, perhaps a more comprehensive, and validated, pre-departure training program needs to be enforced to ensure that those Indonesians heading overseas to work, not only have the job skills necessary to complete their work contracts, but also have sufficient language skills and knowledge of what to do, where to go, and how to navigate the processes when things go wrong.

I have read stories of Indonesian families who lock their domestic servants inside the house when they go out. So, I do wonder how the Indonesian government plans to deal with a similar scenario if it was to occur in Saudi Arabia or Malaysia. I am not convinced that a mobile phone, in and of itself, is the answer.

Yoga...

I wonder if this is an example of tantric yoga?

I have never learned myself, but it would seem that there are some interesting positions and some hands on requirements, particularly if you find yourself in the position of teacher or Yogi.

I am sure that this photo lends itself to a pun or two.

Indonesian and Malaysian Relations -- Part II

The Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Dato Zainal Abidin Zain, wanted the Indonesian press to write more favourable pieces on the goodness of Malaysians and their generosity to Indonesians on the whole. To this end, the Ambassador has decided he might have to force the Indonesian media's hand. He has attempted to do this by making a very public display of handing over financial compensation (or assistance packages) to former maids who were abused by their Malaysian employers.

One has to start somewhere.

Indonesian and Malaysian Relations

It seems that the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia has a few issues with the manner in which the Indonesian press cover Malaysia. Specifically, the issue is that the Indonesian press are, more often than not, portraying Malaysia in a negative light.

The focus of much of the Indonesian media when it comes to Malaysia relates to abuse. The abuse of Indonesian migrant workers, and more recently of the social-climbing starlet wanna be, Manohara Odelia Pinot.

The Ambassador's beef is that violence towards Indonesian migrant workers does not only happen in Malaysia. This is true. The Ambassador is right in pointing out that violence against Indonesia's migrant workers also occurs in Saudi Arabia and even in Indonesia before the prospective migrant workers get a chance to be abused overseas. This hardly seems like a viable excuse to cut Malaysia some slack.

The Ambassador, in essence, states that it is not Malaysian government policy to allow Indonesia's migrant workers to be abused on arrival in Malaysia or for the course of their working placement. This would seem to be a no-brainer, as if it was a government policy then the media coverage would undoubtedly be even more negative than it is now.

According to the Ambassador, anyone who is alleged to have abused someone, Indonesian migrant workers included, would be charged and prosecuted, and if convicted punished to the full extent permissible under Malaysian law.

The reason this is an issue is that Indonesia has ceased sending migrant workers to Malaysia until the issues relating to abuse are more fully resolved, particularly with respect to protections afforded to vulnerable migrant workers. A deal on this matter seems far from assured at the present point in time.

However, where it gets really interesting is that the Ambassador offers up the following example of why the coverage by the Indonesian media is negative: "Please don't portray us as bad people. Fifty percent of prisoners in Malaysia are Indonesians, why do we never hear about this in the news?"

Reading between the lines here; Indonesians that come to Malaysia are bad people because 50% of the total number of prisoners in Malaysian jails are Indonesians. So, we are clearly not as bad as Indonesians. Although, an alternative reading might be that Malaysians have a real problem with Indonesia and Indonesians, and whenever they get the chance will preferably put an Indonesian in jail.

I would have figured that good news is a two-way street. What is good for the goose has got to be good for the gander as well. Perhaps if Malaysian media reported a more balanced picture of Indonesia then perhaps Indonesian media would be equally forthcoming in portraying a more balanced picture of Malaysia.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part XIX -- Upping the Ante

At the outset, a reminder is necessary...this is a fascination and not an obsession! :D

The prince, Tengku Fakhry, has certainly upped the ante in the domestic / marriage dispute between himself and his teenage wife and her mother. The ante in this case is reportedly in the tens of millions of Ringgit for the defamation case that the Fakhry has submitted to the Malaysian courts. Latest reports set the figure at 105 million ringgit. There is also another claim that Manohara's mother, Daisy, owes the prince about 1 million ringgit.

I am still wondering why a 30-year-old prince wanted to marry a 16-year-old wanna be starlet and social climber. Perhaps he was sucked into the black magic powers of the mother and the surgically implanted golden needles and diamonds in Manohara's jaw. Who knows, and I guess in the big scheme of things, who really cares outside of those immediately affected by this ever deepening crisis of domestic bliss turning to domestic mess.

Upping the ante also sees the prince's legal team for the defamation case, headed by Mohd. Haaziq Pillay, seeking special leave from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to file a writ of summons in Jakarta. Generally, in common law legal systems the permission of the court is required where a summons needs to be filed outside the jurisdiction because the defendants are not within the local jurisdiction. There would seem to be no reason why the court would not grant this application, except if the court was of the opinion that the case had no merit and no likelihood of success.

The court has since granted the leave and it would seem now the writ of summons needs to be forwarded to Indonesian authorities and onto the legal team of Manohara and her mother. It will be interesting to see if this spurs both mother and daughter into returning fire and filing criminal complaints in Malaysia regarding the alleged conduct of the prince.

If the duo do return fire then it will require them to start furnishing evidence of the alleged abuse, rape, kidnapping, and torture that the prince allegedly perpetrated against Manohara during their brief marriage. The reports of the abuse and alleged photos of the razor blading of Manohara have surfaced on the internet and doctors have issued statements in support of Manohara's claims. However, this has been a case of the drama being played out in the court of public opinion and the burden in this court is considerably different to that required in a criminal court of law or even in a civil matter.

To be clear, the sense here is not that Manohara has not been abused or raped or kidnapped or tortured in the manner that she claims. However, there is this underlying and emerging series of questions starting to bubble to the surface not only in Malaysia, but also in Indonesia, that if these claims and allegations are true, then why are Manohara and Daisy not more forcefully pursuing justice? On a personal level, I would like to think that in the big scheme of things that Manohara and her mother could use this unsavoury and tragic occurrence to help victims of domestic violence to escape their respective tragic existences for a better future.

Perhaps not one filled with a sinetron named after them and multi-billion rupiah appearance fees and the like, but an escape to a better life.

The defamation case is set for mention in the Malaysian courts on 2 August 2009.

The Indonesian authorities, headed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, has offered to help in any way that they can in terms of assisting Manohara and her mother filing the necessary paperwork to commence legal proceedings in Malaysia. Even the Malaysians themselves have committed to a thorough investigation to ensure that justice is done wherever that justice may be.

No matter what happens, there is still the issue with Daisy being to all intents and purposes on the run from French authorities. The sad part is that Manohara is not implicated in the legal problems that befell her mother in France, yet it is ironic that the mother, who has been so vehement in wanting to see the prince punished for his abuse of her daughter, is in fact a person who has been convicted of assaulting and abusing an Indonesian under her care.

If Indonesia is series about stamping out the practice of foreigners thinking that they can abuse Indonesia's migrant workers with impunity, then this would be a perfect case to say, enough is enough. The Indonesian government should be pro-active in working through the merits of the Daisy Fajarina case, and if necessary facilitating her return to France to face the music. To not do so sends a very poor message to all of Indonesia's migrant workers; where here for you if you want to come back and star in a sinetron and engage in some Malaysia bashing, but while your overseas you're on your own.

The last point is not entirely fair. Indonesia has and continues to pursue initiatives to afford greater protection to their migrant workers. If for no other reason than migrant workers repatriate huge sums of foreign exchange into the Indonesian banking system. Cynical, I know, but also true.

The time has come for Manohara and her mother to decide whether they are going to play legal ball here. The prince has shown his hand, Manohara's move.

Never Ask A Question If You Do Not Know The Answer...

They teach you this very simple philosophy of advocacy in law school. It seems that they should also teach it to you in media and communications studies programs as well!

There are always exceptions to every rule. There are sometimes as an advocate when in the pursuit of truth you take an educated and calculated risk in asking certain questions. However, for most advocates this would be a lot less frequent than asking questions to which you know the answer to.

A perfect example of this occurred on the Kyle and Jackie O's Lie Detector segment on 2Day FM radio. A mother dragged her 14-year-old daughter onto the show,and Kyle and Jackie O being the ratings hogs that they are decided that this would be a real ratings boost for them. The mother seemingly wanted to shame her daughter into confessing on public radio during a peak hour morning segment to her drug and sexual history.

As a parent, I am not into naming and shaming. It does much more harm than good to a child. That is my personal view and I am sure if there are any readers out there interested in this issue you will undoubtedly be able to find statistics that suggest naming and shaming works.

The girl had told her mother that she had been raped and the mother has not believed her. So, in her infinite parenting wisdom she has decided that taking a lie detector test on a public radio station would clear this whole sordid episode up once and for all.

The girl is 14-years-old! What was the mother thinking? And, more to the point, what were Kyle and Jackie O thinking when they decided to go ahead with this? Discussing a 14-year-old's sex life and drug use on a public radio program appears to me to be in blatant disregard for the rights of the child and the welfare of that child. If Kyle and Jackie O intend hiding behind the fact that the mother gave her approval and the mother is the guardian of the child and has the right to do so, is naive and disingenuous.

It is not rocket science to see that the potential harm here far outweighs any good that might come from the segment. Not everything in life is about ratings and popularity.

The girl clearly did not want to be there and can be heard saying before the questioning starts, "I'm scared ... it's not fair." This should have been a red light to stop the segment then and there. Unfortunately, no one present bar the girl seemed likely to stop.

Then the questioning begins.

The first question was pretty harmless about whether or not the girl had skipped school. Then the questions got to the nitty gritty of why the segment was on in the first place.

The mother asks the daughter, "Have you ever had sex?"

The daughter replies, "I've already told you the story about this ... and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny." At this point, anyone worth their salt would have cut to an advertisement and posed some quick questions to the mother about the story and what was going on here. I guess for some people ratings are more important than the rights and mental health of a child.

After a brief moment the girl then said, "Oh, OK ... I got raped when I was 12-years-old!" If the lead in of the previous question was not enough to shut the segment down, then this statement should have been.

However, after a brief pause, Kyle (Kyle Sandilands) asks, "Right ... is that the only experience you've had?" What an idiot!!! This bloke needs to get slapped around a little bit by regulators, by his station masters, and by the general public. The statement is outrageous!

Then the girls mother jumps in and says she only found out about the rape a couple of months ago. What? Has she reported it? Has she looked at getting her daughter some counselling to try and work through the trauma of being raped as a child? There are some serious issues here all around that need to be addressed relating to the welfare of this particular child.

I wonder whether there is a claim to be made here that the segment amounted to harassment or abuse of a child. Perhaps I feel more strongly about this now that I am a parent, I cannot really say, I have always been a strong supporter of the rights of children. Even as a young boy, I steadfastly refused to let other kids be harassed. One such incident all but ended my cubbing and scouting career when I stood up to the scout master and told him what I thought of his constant harassment of one of my troop members. As I recall it became a bit of an incident at the time.

I hope that in the aftermath of this fiasco that 2Day FM antes up and helps this family get the counselling that they need to deal with the issues that the rape has resulted in, as well as the stupidity of running the segment in the first place. This was hardly the time or place for "The Moment of Truth" to be played out. And, the sexual and drug history of a 14-year-old is hardly suitable material for a live segment on any public platform.

It is certainly a Forrest Gump moment, "stupid is as stupid does!"

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part XVI -- The Jakarta Bombings

Some have called my fascination with this case an obsession. I would rather call it just a fascination, the fascination about the making of a celebrity, especially where there are interesting legal issues and points of law arising from what are allegedly a tragic set of circumstances relating to domestic violence.

It seems that Manohara's handlers, and presumably chief among these is her mother, will go to any lengths to ensure that the girl does not miss out on a media and photo opportunity. Most of these appearances seem to be geared to exploiting any nationalist sentiment that Indonesians have with respect to being anti-Malaysian. The carefully managed media opportunities are also designed to take the focus off of Daisy Fajarina and her own serious legal problems including the one where she is allegedly on the run from France for the abuse of a domestic servant. Brett over at Spruiked has his own take on the media coveting matter here.

Mano, as she is known to her friends, decided that Monday was a good day to get over to the MMC hospital in South Jakarta and visit some of the victims of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings. Mano did not only make these visits by herself, but she went along with her mother and 50 members of her entourage all clad in red and white camouflage gear. Red and white just happens to be the colours of the Indonesian flag. I am all for a little patriotism and being proud in one's country, but is this really the moment for this expression?

The fact that the prime suspect for planning and coordinating the most recent bombings is Malaysian is not enough reason for this kind of circus to occur, particularly when it seems that the trigger men, or suicide bombers if you prefer, are most likely to be Indonesian. In any event, if Mano was really concerned about the health and welfare of the victims she would not have made them participants in the Mano horse and pony show. This hospital appearance was all about self-promotion and promoting the new soap opera she is to star in, Manohara.

The hospital visit followed a visit to the site of the actual bombings and her signing of the memorial canvas.

It is times like these that people look for sincerity in the actions of their celebrities. Unfortunately, Mano's actions here seem to be self-serving and exploiting the grief of others in order to keep her own name in the press (and by posting this blog entry perhaps I am complicit in this vicious cycle). As serious and severe as the alleged physical and sexual assaults were against Manohara, a double bombing is certainly going to bump you from the front couple of pages of the tabloids and out of the main story slot on all the gossip shows.

Cynical, maybe! But, based on what is available it is a reasonable thing to be.

The case will soon return to the substantive issues that first brought Mano to the attention of the masses. The prince has announced that he is pursuing a defamation action against Manohara and her mother for the lies they have spread about him. The prince went on to say that he is also seeking to terminate the marriage and is hopeful of a divorce in the near future.

Some people will do anything to be famous, and once they are famous they seem willing to do whatever it takes to remain so.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part XIII -- Daisy Fajarina as the "Evil Mother"

The saga continues. It is somewhat addictive for me as there is just so much to process and analyze from a legal standpoint. It seems that the Malaysian press is coming up with the far juicer pieces for the gossip columns. The following piece is based on an article from the Malay Mail.

George Manz is Manohara's biological father. He is a engineer that was formerly based in Indonesia. He met Daisy while he was in Jakarta in 1989, presumably fell in love, and the rest is history as they say. Mano, as she is affectionately known, was born in 1992. Not long after this things apparently went wrong fast and Manz claims that Daisy stole his daughter away from him. He also claims that Daisy is a proponent of black magic and has an evil hold over his daughter.

According to Manz, the black magic proof is in an x-ray of Mano's mouth. It is claimed that on a visit to a dentist an x-ray was taken and this x-ray showed gold needles and diamonds embedded in Mano's chin. I do not know how this proves black magic is in play. It would seem to make more sense that Mano was about to become a mule in a smuggling operation.

Nevertheless, the black magic claims aside, Manz has agreed to help the prince in his fight against the evil one, aka Daisy Fajarina. Manz sent a letter to the prince outlining his desire to help, his belief that the prince can save Mano from Daisy's evil influence, and sent documents that he believes might assist in the fight.

The whole affair is about to get a whole lot more interesting in a legal sense as Manz is threatening to get the US State Department (some Hillary Clinton involvement?) involved, Mano is a US citizen, and it would seem that the basis of the pursuit might be some form of international child kidnapping scenario.

However, it is a little late one would have thought for Manz to be coming forward now, particularly when he says that he has been following the case from afar with the help of friends in Singapore and Jakarta.

Another aspect of the case which has had some coverage in Indonesia is the legal problems that Daisy has herself and the outstanding Interpol Red Notice that requires local police agencies to facilitate the apprehension of her. Indonesia has an Interpol liaison office.

The allegations against Daisy are that she facilitated the sexual abuse of a domestic servant, who was also legally her step-daughter, by her second husband, Juergen Reiner Noack Pinot. The allegations or rape, including forcible masturbation, were subsequently proved and Pinot served jail time. Not much it seems considering he was out in four months. For her part in the whole abuse scandal, Daisy was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Daisy has yet to serve a day of that sentence and that is why the French have sort the red notice.

It would seem that Daisy knows a lot about the sexual abuse of young and vulnerable women having participated in the perpetration of such abuse herself. If she is really so shocked and abhorred by such conduct then she must show that she has the courage of those convictions and return to France and face the legal music there.

I am sure the symphony that is planned for her on her eventual return is going to be far from the sweet music she thinks she might be able to enjoy in Jakarta.

Extradition treaty or not with France, Indonesia must show that it is committed to the elimination of all violence against women, even where this violence is perpetrated by women against other women.

Simply, Indonesia must comply with the red notice and facilitate the detention of Daisy Fajarina and allow her to be returned to France. The only way that this should not happen is if Daisy can show, and prove, that the process against her was fatally flawed and that the sentence imposed upon her was legally wrong.

As much as I might feel for Mano's plight with respect to the allegations she has made against the prince, and even if the allegations are true, this cannot and must not become a get out of jail free card for her mother.

Simply, Daisy Fajarina is not a victim here. If anyone is a victim then Mano is, assuming that the allegations can be made out. And, to date, they have not been made out. The truth is that Daisy is the perpetrator of some serious crimes of violence against another woman for which she has not paid the price.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part IX -- Let The Games Begin

Now, that both parties have filed their respective complaints in their respective jurisdictions, it is time for the fun and games to begin.

As I have been saying all along, this is a simple "she said, he said" scenario that is going to require the testimony of someone other than Manohara (photo courtesy of here) or the prince to testify to what they know. This is a distinct possibility judging by the number of people named in Manohara's complaint.

Nevertheless, Daisy Fajarina, Manohara's mother, has been vocal in claiming that they have more than enough proof to sustain their claims and prove the allegations against the prince. If this is the case, and I was their lawyer, I would be encouraging them to file a criminal complaint in Malaysia as well. Although these are serious allegations, they are not extraordinary crimes and as such are not subject to international legal principles such as universal jurisdiction or erga omnes obligations to prosecute or extradite. So, pursuing the prince through the Malaysian courts would be the best option.

This though might be settled out of court and the prince's filing of a complaint might be a bluff that he is prepared to fight these allegations to the bitter end. Simply, trying to indicate that he is more confident than he really is. That said, maybe his confidence is justified if he really did not perpetrate the conduct being alleged. This won't be known until the process gets into full swing.

I guess abuse is more serious when it is perpetrated against one of your own than it is when you are the perpetrator against someone else.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part VIII -- The Prince Fights Back

I don't know whether this case warrants as much attention as it is getting generally and the attention it is getting from me in particular. Nevertheless, not wanting to wallow in someone else's pain and tragedy, there are intriguing and interesting issues at play in this case and they deserve some attention. These issues have been noted in the earlier posts, I through VII, but now the prince has filed his own complaint with Malaysian police. Does this up the ante or is it just a formality?

I had hinted in earlier posts that I would have expected that the prince, Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry (photo from here), to take legal action against Manohara and her mother, Daisy Fajarina. I am not Malaysian and therefore do not know where Dang Wangi Police Headquarters are, but this is where the prince filed his complaint according to Mohammad Haziq Pillay, lawyer for the prince.

The contents of the complaint have not been divulged, but an educated guess would be that the substance of the complaint would be that the allegations being made by Manohara and Daisy are false. That is to say, there was no kidnapping, no physical abuse, and no rape. This would be in spite of the forensic reports offered up by doctors stating the injuries sustained by Manohara. So, it would seem that if the allegations are unfounded then this would be a case of defamation or slander.

This now gets interesting as it seems we have two criminal complaints made, one each by the respective parties, in different jurisdictions. Now, the question is obviously, "what next?" Perhaps, each side just keeps fighting this out in the court of public opinion. If this is the case then I would be thinking that the prince is on a hiding to nothing and perhaps should consider settling the claims out of court and both parties move on.

I still do not think that domestic violence cases are best settled out of court with a financial payment, but then again I am not an abuser nor am I a victim. If they settle the case then I am going to have to find something else to write about.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part VII -- The Abuse Photos

Depending on what happens on Thursday in this seemingly never-ending news story, I am only intending to write updates on this case if something interesting happens. Interesting in this case means interesting to me. Judging by the sheer volume of news about Manohara and her every move I am guessing that there will be more updates and soon.

The photos (courtesy of Detik by way of Mano herself) of the abuse that was allegedly meted out by the Prince are pretty graphic and include images of what appear to be healed and partially healed razor slashes and cigarette burns.

Viewer discretion advised (that warning should probably come before the photos shouldn't it?).

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part VI -- The Demo

You know there just has to be a sixth installment to this saga, and here it is. I should probably warn you that the seventh installment in this series is on the way as well. I still have a long way to go to catch up to Unspun in terms of the number of Manohara related posts. You can check Unspun out here.

For a young woman who has been kidnapped, physically abused, and raped, I am impressed that she has found the time to attend a demonstration at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta to protest Malaysia's not so secret attempts to get their hands on the Ambalat Block. The demo was organized by Laskar Merah Putih. Manohara (photo courtesy of Detik) and Laskar Merah Putih might seem like strange bedfellows, but I guess whatever keeps you in the news and the front page is plausible.

It is interesting that Mano, which seems to be what the local Indonesian press are calling her, has become very political on her return to the Motherland. According to Mano, "Ambalat absolutely belongs to Indonesia and therefore there is nothing to talk about". Sounds like a plan to me. So, how about these kidnap, abuse, and rape charges now that we have Ambalat squared away in Indonesia's favour?

I have nothing negative to say about Mano or her attendance at the demo. Although, it appears that not everyone was happy with her turning up. As I said in the previous post, just about everything she turns her hand to for the foreseeable future is going to be a bit of a circus.

The Mano saga continues. I wonder what is in store for us on Thursday?

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part V -- The Criminal Complaint

The show must go on!

I am not sure that I can make a living out of writing about the comings and goings in the Manohara vs. The Prince case, but it is never short of interesting angles to pursue in the name of justice.

Besides for me the case has just become way more interesting that I know Hotman Paris Hutapea is acting as Manohara's counsel / lawyer. Hotman is one of those lawyers people tend to love or hate. My personal opinion is that he is a fine lawyer and if you have a procedural law problem in a civil law jurisdiction then he is an excellent choice. However, that is it for the free plugs for Hotman.

Besides there are plenty of lawyers who represent celebrities about Jakarta town but there are not many lawyers who are celebrities in their own right. Interestingly, Manohara has two on her case in Hotman and Farhat Abbas. So, there are angles to be explored on that front parallel to the abuse and torture case in which Manohara is alleged to have suffered.

The risk when Hotman is on board in a celebrity matter is that it can become a bit of a circus where the media attention is equally or more important than the actual legal result being sort. Manohara in the company of her layers, at least Hotman, filed a complaint with the Indonesian police on Tuesday (09/06) seeking to have her husband, Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhrya (a Prince from Kelantan State in Malaysia) charged with abusing, raping, and kidnapping her.

The prince is not alone in the complaint as he has been named with seven others. The seven are: Sultan Ismail Petra, Tengku Anis Binti Tengku Abdul Hamid, Captain Zakaria Saleh, Azhari, Muhammad Sobri and his wife, and Ichsan. Hotman has a penchant for grandstanding when it comes to drumming up interest in a particular matter.

So, it goes without saying that he would be telling the assembled journalist how the eight would be dealt with in Indonesia. This treatment would supposedly see each of the individuals named in the criminal complaint jailed for up to 70 years if convicted in an Indonesian court.

The only problem with this is that the crimes occurred in Malaysia and by all accounts need to be tried in Malaysia. Hotman, though, is of the opinion that all eight can be successfully prosecuted under Indonesian law and as such has not bothered to file a criminal complaint in Malaysia. As a lawyer seeking justice for a client, I would want to be covering all available bases and would be filing a criminal complaint in Malaysia irrespective of whether I believed that there was any serious prospects for success.

It is worth noting that there is an extradition treaty in place. Unfortunately, the extradition treaty would seem to preclude crimes committed in Malaysia from being tried in Indonesia. Hence, there is probably good reason to, at least, file a criminal complaint in Malaysia on Manohara's behalf.

According to Hotman the evidence that Manohara is going to present is her body. Apparently, this is sufficient to show how she was "treated" (abused and raped). As I have posted in the previous incarnations of this series of "personal views", the documenting of the injuries and trauma suffered are only half the journey. A successful prosecution will require Hotman and his team to prove that the documented injuries were inflicted by those named in the criminal complaint.

The forensic examination of the alleged abuse has been undertaken at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. This is a good hospital and they are not likely to be subject to any charges of embellishing the forensic examination results. I would be comfortable accepting that the documented injuries and trauma noted in this examination being an accurate reflection of the injuries and trauma present. Once again, this still needs to be attributed to those individuals noted in the criminal complaint.

At the moment much of this case is "she said, he said", although the Prince is not saying all that much at the moment. As I have been saying all along, this is an interesting case. It is not interesting for any ramifications that it supposedly has for bilateral relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, but rather for the interesting legal dilemmas that it gives rise to.

The show must go on. So, this means that there will undoubtedly be a Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part VI.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part IV -- The Medical

AFP is reporting that Manohara has undergone a medical examination and the doctor / forensic expert, Mun'im Idries, has found slash marks all over her body. Some of the slash marks are reportedly still fresh (I am guessing this means they are not fully healed).

The doctor added that the urine and blood work has not been finalized. The urine and blood work results are needed as a part of the claim made by Manohara was that she was injected with unknown substances. Although, the doctor did say that an injection mark was found on her back. The injection claims are interesting. Manohara alleges that the prince, Tengku temenggong Mohammad Fakhry of Kelantan State, injected her with something that incapacitated her and the injections were given before sexual intercourse was initiated.

The medical reports, as noted in previous parts of this series of posts, are key to proving that there was harm done to her. It still has to be proved that these wounds and other injuries that Manohara has sustained were the result of the actions of the prince or others acting on the prince's orders.

The AFP report is not saying anything about tests related to the rape in marriage allegations. I would have figured in light of the alleged sexual appetite of the prince that a rape kit might have been worthwhile in order to document any injuries. Then again, these might have been done but are not being reported.

It seems that Farhat Abbas, a (in)famous Jakartan lawyer, has taken up her cause. According to Farhat, the medical confirms Manohara's story. I am not so sure that it proves anything other than the fact that Manohara has sustained injuries and suffered trauma. For my mind the allegations still have to be tested in a court of law. In the court of public opinion, perhaps, Farhat is right in his assumption. Furthermore, Farhat has said that Manohara has lodged an official written report with the Indonesian police. This report names not only the prince, but a number of others as well.

What is interesting now is how the case proceeds. The alleged abuse, the accused, and perhaps the majority of the witnesses are located in Malaysia. The ability of the Indonesian police to investigate and prosecute this case seems difficult and remote in all likelihood. The Indonesian police have admitted as much. Abubakar Nataprawira, the National Police Force spokesperson, noted that the police have received the report and will be forwarding it to their Malaysian counterparts for further action.

The plot thickens. I am sure their will be a Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part V.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part III

The more I read about the Manohara (photo courtesy of The Jakarta Globe) case the more interesting it becomes in that slowing down as one goes past a car crash kind of a way. The story has all the ingredients for a TV movie, perhaps even a series or soap opera. It seems that these things are all possible with Manohara receiving numerous offers from local production houses in Indonesia. There has even been a suggestion that she will play herself in any movie of her story.

If the allegations of rape, torture, and other abuse is true, I really cannot fathom why you would want to play yourself and relive the horror. But, then again it is not me so I don't really know what motivates either Manohara or her mother, who seems to enjoy being in the spotlight. Although, reports suggest that Manohara is keen to continue her education in a business related field. Good luck to her on that front.

I strongly believe that an education is important. Let's face it, if your entertainment career does not pan out then at least you have other skills on which to fall back on to make ends meet.

No matter what happens, it would appear that Manohara is going to convert her new found fame as a result of her alleged trauma into an entertainment career, according to her mother they are still sifting through the offers and will ultimately choose one of them. Good luck to them both on that front as well.

Manohara's father is an American and her step-father is a Frenchman. Not too drama filled on that front. However, there is drama outside of Manohara's alleged abuse. The drama revolves around her mother, Daisy Fajarina, who it is alleged is subject to an Interpol warrant for her arrest relating to the abuse of a maid while she was living in France. It is being suggested that the reason Manohara and her mother fled France was not only the divorce of Daisy and her French husband, but the pending arrest.

If this is true, and there is a red notice with Interpol for her arrest then it does not make any sense for Daisy to be leaving the country. Also of interest is that the Malaysian authorities apparently know about this red notice. So, I would have figured they would have arrested her had she turned up on their shores.

Daisy would seem to be pretty safe in Indonesia as there is no extradition treaty between Indonesia and France. Nevertheless, the French want her for trial and I have no doubt would have broached the subject with their Indonesian counterparts both in Jakarta and Paris.

Somewhat ironic that Daisy is so vocal about her daughter being allegedly abused but not having too many problems about abusing others (allegedly).

The plot thickens.