Antasari Azhar and Murder

What follows is a revised comment from this post on another topic where the question of Antasari Azhar (picture courtesy of Viva News) came up.

I have written elsewhere that where there is smoke there is most likely fire. I am going to go out on a limb and state that I am leaning towards there being fire in the Antasari case.

There are many commentators, Indonesian and non-Indonesian, who are suggesting that this is revenge and a frame-up.

In line with the smoke and fire analogy, the suggestion that this is a frame-up indicates a conspiracy of the highest order that could not conceivably be maintained and would unravel at the earliest opportunity. And, the court of public opinion might be split on guilt and the word on the street is not 100% one way or the other, but there are also plenty of people thinking that this is not the frame-up some are claiming it to be.

This is high profile and as such if it is a stitch-up as many claim, then there are so many others that could have been stitched-up other than Antasari.

Simply, there seems no point in bringing down Antasari if he is not involved.

Antasari has been caught out, at least with his pecker out of his pants and in the hands of an "educated" golf caddy who is being portrayed in the media as an excellent handler of sticks, or is that drivers, for the right fee. I cast no aspersions on the girl, I do not know her. Yet, I do not see any more happy endings on this one.

Let's face it, my reading of the news reports to date suggest, the girl is alleged to have panicked and called the police which really got the ball(s) rolling, so to speak. I would love to get a hold of her mobile phones and download the address book, they would certainly seem to be the veritable repository of contacts of the who's who of the Indonesian elite (and maybe the odd compromising photo or two), an electronic black book if you will.

The beauty of Indonesia is that it has a really short memory and the attention span is equally short. This is not something unique to Indonesia, but probably is relevant in this case. There were serious questions raised about the suitability of Antasari prior to his original appointment to the KPK. In fact, there were some interesting allegations raised about his extra-curricular activities. He was never convicted of anything and as such the allegations remain just that, allegations.

Nevertheless, this should be reasonable ammunition for the "I told you so" crowd that will inevitably appear.

However, I am far from convinced Antasari has been set up. The most likely scenario with what is available in the public domain is that Antasari was aware of corruption in a state-owned enterprise, and he probably became aware of this through Nasrudin. However, as horny old men are prone to do, Antasari was to busy getting his post-round workout with the caddy and forgot to move forward on the corruption documents and investigation. Nasrudin threatened to expose Antasari and then the rest you can probably work out for yourself.

Now all that said, I am all for due process and the Police and the Office of the Public Prosecutor still have to make their case in a court of law. If they do and Antasari is found guilty and convicted, so be it. If he is cleared of any involvement then so be it. Antasari can defend himself against the charges, through his legal team.

It is going to be interesting and fun to watch this one unfold.

Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates -- Wealth Reports

The Presidential Election Law, specifically Article 14(1), says that all presidential and vice-presidential candidates must declare their wealth by filling in the necessary form and filing it with the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi / KPK). Once the filing is made the candidate will be issued a receipt acknowledging that the wealth report has in fact been lodged.

The purpose of wealth reports has never really been to verify the wealth noted but rather as a means of ensuring that state officials do not enrich themselves during their period of public service. This is in spite of plenty of people thinking that candidates (and state officials) once they have declared their wealth must be made to justify where that wealth has come from where there is suspicion over where their wealth originates.

This seems to run counter to the idea of their being a presumption of innocence and clearly shifts the burden from the KPK to prove the wealth is ill-gotten to the person reporting their wealth.

The usual claim for unexplained wealth is that it is an inheritance. This is a good explanation because the originator of that wealth is dead and unable to explain where it comes from. Very convenient.

The obligation does not officially kick in for a candidate until they officially declare and register their respective candidacies with the General Election Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum / KPU). This registration process opened yesterday (10 May) and runs through until 16 May 2009. The KPK expects that they will start the verification process on 21 May 2009.

Once again, the verification process is to determine that candidates have reported all their current wealth rather than a fishing expedition to find ill-gotten wealth. At least this seems to be how things pan out with wealth reports.

Favourite Movies

One of my all time favourite movies is Chariots of Fire. I have a few favourites, in terms of movies, if one can have more than one favourite? I love the Vangelis soundtrack, I have always found the soundtrack to be inspirational and load it onto all things that play music and it is therefore on my iPod. The movies is a favourite because it is a feel good film but one with a message. Despite the liberties that have been taken with some of the facts, which I could list but won't (no need to bore you with the detail).

Many might argue that there is a Christian message to be had in the film, but I think the message is a much broader one; it is one of principles and commitment to an outcome and perhaps even a criticism of the anti-semitic behaviours of the time.

I admire people who know what their principles are and are able to stick to them no matter what the personal cost. I truly believe in karma and that sticking to your principles will ultimately be rewarded. I know that sticking to my guns (or principles) has cost me in the past and will undoubtedly cost me again in the future. Yet, there are some things that just have to be done.

Life is undoubtedly what we make it, so it rings true that the power comes from within, whether you attribute this to a God or some other power then so be it. However, if it makes you a better person then what can possibly be wrong with that.

The above portrait is of Eric Liddell, the Flying Scotsman.

Vangelis' soundtrack can be found below:



And of Eric Liddell's 400m race:



Enjoy!

Judging A Book By Its Cover...

I have waited for a long time to put words to blog on this one. There are a number of reasons, but primarily the reason was that I was too busy moving from Indonesia to Australia and then getting sorted out here. However, there now seems to be more time as we have settled in and formed some routines that allows a little more time for blogging.

Britain's Got Talent is really a mixed entertainment deal but there always seems to be a lot of singers trying to be the one that has the talent. I have always said to my Wife that American Idol would be really great if they had this amazing singer that was as ugly as [insert what suits] for the simple reason that it is human nature to judge a book by its cover.

Susan Boyle (artwork can be found here) is a perfect example of this. Ms. Boyle an unemployed 48-year-old church volunteer who might be best described as "frumpy" was a book with a suspect cover but, my lord, the content was amazing, simply amazing. The best part was the cynical laughter when she claimed that she wanted to be a professional singer and as good as Elaine Paige because what happens next proves a point; the content will always be more important than the cover. What goes around comes around!

The video of the clip from Britain's Got Talent has now seen more than 54.6 million views. I must admit that I have viewed it a number of times myself. The video is inspiring in more ways than I want to write about, but above all it is inspirational. It is also a lesson in how not to judge the content by what it is covered in.

It is also a lesson in the making of a star in the modern world. Here is a woman who had spent her lifetime looking after her mother and now her cats who finally gets a chance at singing on a much larger stage and then proceeds to slay them all. The "all" being those who doubt.

I learned my lessons early in life about judging a book by its cover. And, these are lessons that have stayed with me throughout my life to date. Those lessons are in many ways what make up my social conscience and the reason I have spent much of my life helping others.

I really do recommend that everyone have a squiz at this video clip, particularly if you have not been one of the more tan 54 million to already have done so. The video is confronting and will challenge you to think about the stereotypes that permeate much of our existence in this world.

Life is too short to judge books by their covers because if we do we will miss out on some of the most beautiful moments that life has to offer us.

Eating Your National Animals

Just a short musing on eating your national animals or more specifically those animals that make an appearance on your coat of arms. This musing comes about as a result of a grocery shopping trip during the week.

One of the things that I have noticed since being back is the myriad of products available on supermarket shelves that once were the exclusive domain of specialty shops or health food stores. I am not sure that this is indicative of a more health conscious community or just a community that prefers to get all their shopping done in one spot and at the same time.

Anyway, I have noticed that my local Frankins and Woolworths supermarkets stock a wide range of kangaroo meat products from sausages to steaks. I have eaten kangaroo meat on many previous occasions. However, I was pretty certain that Dyah had not eaten kangaroo before, so I thought why not, and bought some sausages.

We ate them for lunch with some steamed veggies.

They were an excellent meal. The meat was gamey but then you would expect such when eating kangaroo meat. We have this running joke in our house at the moment about what things taste like. Will has some floaty toys that he enjoys munching on during his bath. His personal favourite is the turtle. Long story short, it has always been, and continues to be, amusing to me that when people eat some strange meat that the question is; what does it taste like? If the answer is that it tastes like chicken, then why not just eat chicken?

I have also eaten emu meat (and ostrich meat). This means I have eaten both of the animals on the coat of arms of Australia.

So, my question is this; Is there anything inherently wrong in eating the animals that take pride of place on your national coat of arms?

I could never eat the Indonesian national emblem as the Garuda remains a mythical animal as far as I can tell.

Indonesian Supreme Court Circular - Drugs

In an interesting move the Indonesian Supreme Court has issued a Circular that directs courts to place drug addicts and users into rehabilitation rather than sending them to prison. The rationale is that the Indonesian prison system is not conducive to the rehabilitation process and will likely result in recidivist behaviour in offenders and this is apparently not the objective of sending someone to prison.

I am all for second chances and rehabilitation.

Essentially, the Circular directs all Chief Judges at the High Court and District Court level to consider placing addicts and users into rehabilitation centres or other acceptable places and into programs such as detoxification (1 month), a primary program (6 months), and a Re-entry Program (6 months).

However, there are strict conditions on the ability for District and High Court judges to place addicts and users into a rehabilitation situation. These conditions include that the addict or user is caught red-handed and their "stash" does not exceed proscribed limits. These limits are:
1. heroin - 0.15 grams;
2. cocaine - 0.15 grams;
3. morphine - 0.15 grams;
4. marijuana - 1 joint or 0.05 grams;
5. ecstasy - 1 tablet;
6. crystal meth - 0.25 grams; and
7. other narcotic drugs in classes I through III and psychotropic drugs in classes I through IV.

It will also require a statement letter evidencing that the individual is in fact using and that the supporting evidence does not indicate that the individual is in fact a dealer or trafficker.

If the addict or user meets these conditions then it is likely that they will now get a slap on the wrist and sent to rehabilitation rather than go to jail.

The Circular is No. 07 of 2009 and is current as of 17 March 2009.

If anyone is interested in a copy of the Circular you could ask hukumonline.

Interpol, Drug Trafficking Networks, and the Bali Nine

The Bali Nine case has taken an interesting turn. However, this turn, no matter how interesting, is not going to impact on the sentences already handed down on the Bali Nine. The alleged drug trafficking network, which has seen Interpol team up with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate the drug trade in Surabaya as this is the supposed entry point for heroin and other illicit drugs.

This is interesting because the AFP should have known about this considering they claimed to have broken a major drug trafficking ring at the time they gave up the Bali Nine to the Indonesian Police.

The cooperation will obviously include the Indonesian Police and more specifically the narcotics division. It seems though that this is a new development as it is being discussed as a recent discovery.

Strangely enough with the number of local drug busts and the increasing size of these busts it is hardly surprising that there is now a belief that major cartels and international drug organizations operate in an through the Republic of Indonesia. I guess the death penalty is not the deterrent that some claim it to be.

A Bus Story

Acknowledgments first. Thanks to the Treespotter for the photo and pointing me in the direction of this fine piece of journalism.

Having lived in Jakarta for a long time there is nothing that surprises me, or if it does it is not for long. Hence, the above headline does not surprise me and it is about par for the course for "Lampu Merah" which is all about sensationalism in order to keep up circulation numbers.

The headline in essence says, "Boy sees girl in tank top, masturbates, ejaculates in direction of girl, girl screams." Well, there are a couple of extra words in there but they do not change the basic context of what I have translated here.

I guess this headline tells us two things; there are crazy people all over the world who do the weirdest (and perhaps most disgusting things) and that the Indonesian press is far freer than many people have believed it to be.

I gotta say that over the course of 15 years in Indonesia, and particularly Jakarta, I have seen some pretty strange things happen on buses but this indeed takes the cake. It certainly takes the phrase "a happy ending" to an all new level.

Petrol Prices...

Some of my loyal readers might prefer the term gasoline. However, in my part of the world it is known as petrol.

This is just a short musing on the fluctuating prices of petrol in Sydney. I recall hearing about how the price fluctuated but had paid little attention to it. After all, I was living in Jakarta and not driving so it really did not make that much difference to me. Now that I have returned to Sydney and drive every now and then I tend to notice these things more.

The price over a seven day period fluctuates between 108.9 cents a litre to around 126.9 cents a litre. Now, what is interesting about this is that it does not seem to be based on any movement in crude oil prices, but rather what day of the week it is.

Tuesday is the cheapest day and Friday tends to be the most expensive day. It also helps that on Tuesday I get a discount of 4 cents a litre because I have a Woolworths loyal shopper card.

I wonder why such huge fluctuations that are not based on changes in the crude oil price are acceptable? Surely there must be a breach somewhere of some code...then again, I guess not as the practice continues.