Subscribers copy, not for distribution Thursday, Jan. 30th, 2020 g GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES Evacuations of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered Indonesian citizens in government officials to step up efforts to rescue Wuhan impeded Indonesian citizens in Wuhan, Hubei province, where the coronavirus broke out, but their evacuation is unlikely as the Chinese government has locked down 15 cities, including Wuhan. “Regarding the evacuation of our citizens in Wuhan and in the other quarantined cities, of course we are looking for ways to save our citizens. But, once again, these cities are currently on lockdown,” Jokowi said. (Republika, headline; Despite the lockdown, Jokowi said the government was Kompas, headline) maintaining communication with all Indonesian citizens in the isolated cities. The President said the Indonesian mission in China was monitoring the conditions of Indonesian citizens and had prepared their logistical needs. The Foreign Ministry said evacuation plans were being finalized. “So, when the evacuations [are approved], we can do it quickly and efficiently,” acting spokesman for the ministry, Teuku Faizasyah, said. City bows to pressure The Jakarta administration has decided to halt a National Monument (Monas) revitalization project in Central Jakarta after the public criticized it for cutting down hundreds of trees. “We agree with the City Council that the project must be stopped temporarily with all its consequences, until a letter of approval from the steering committee is given,” city secretary Saefullah told reporters after a coordination meeting with the council on Tuesday. The suspension of the Monas revitalization project on Wednesday was based on a recommendation by the City Council, which argued that halting the project was a “natural thing” because, aside from not having a permit, the project had cut down 20 trees. Subscribers copy, not for distribution The project kicked off on Nov. 12, 2918 without consent from the Medan Merdeka Area Development Steering Committee, helmed by State Secretary Pratikno. The committee is in charge of making decisions over changes to the capital’s landmark. (The Jakarta Post, p. 2) “The [Jakarta] governor as the steering secretary must coordinate with the central government. Monas is a national icon. It is not owned by the city alone but by the entire nation and there needs to be good coordination,” Jakarta Council speaker Prasetyo Edi Marsudi said. Vulnerable provinces The National Police have conducted a survey to gauge identified ahead of the vulnerability index (IPK) of provinces that will host regional elections regional elections in September. Police data as of October 2019 found Central Sulawesi was the most vulnerable province, with a score of 55.72, followed by North Sulawesi (38.09), South Kalimantan (37.12) and Riau Islands (34.58). In terms of cities, Tomohon in North Sulawesi ranks first (38.09), followed by Bitung (37.12) and South Tangerang (Media Indonesia, p. 4) (34.58). As of regencies, Nabire tops the list with 80.37, followed by North Central Timor (79.85), Keerom (78.52) and West Manggarai (75.57). These IPK levels were discussed at the National Police’s executive meeting on Wednesday. National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis stated that the National Police would place an emphasis on security during the 2020 simultaneous regional elections in September. Activists want Antigraft activists have slammed Law and Human Rights Yasonna to be held Minister Yasonna Laoly for removing Immigration accountable for false Director General Ronny F. Sompie from his post after the information latter issued false information regarding the whereabouts of Harun Masiku, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician who has been named a bribery suspect. Harun is still at large and has been declared a fugitive by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The activists claim Ronny was a scapegoat and that Yasonna should be held accountable. “It’s not fair if he [Yasonna] puts the blame on the immigration director general alone for failing to provide accurate information regarding Harun. Yasonna should also be held accountable for the controversy because immigration is under his supervision,” Kurnia Ramadhana of antigraft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said. Subscribers copy, not for distribution “We can only hope the President will also dismiss him (The Jakarta Post, p. 2) from his post as a minister,” Kurnia added, referring to Yasonna who is also a PDI-P politician. KPU to strengthen The General Elections Commission (KPU) needs a voter data system stronger system to improve the quality of single voter data. This refers to registered voters with complete and valid data. The KPU updates the data on a regular basis to ensure citizens’ constitutional rights. Member of the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) Ida Budhiati said the system should be separated from population data, due to differences in their characteristics. “The two data sets [voters and (Kompas, p. 2) population] have different characteristics. So, if a problem arises with voter data, the KPU will be entirely responsible for it,” said Ida. According to Ida, flaws on voter lists during the regional elections in 2018, such as in Papua, stemmed from the failure to consolidate data on potential voters (DP4) with the final voter list (DPT). BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES Govt delays submission The government has promised to submit two omnibus of omnibus law to bills on job creation and taxation to the House of House Representatives within the first 100 days of the Jokowi- Ma’ruf Amin Cabinet, but as of Jan. 29, the House has not received the bills. Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Law and Human Rights Minister Yasona Laoly met with House Speaker Puan Maharani, for consultation and not to submit the bills. Puan told journalists after the meeting that the House had not received the bills because the government was still revising and discussing the content of the bills. Airlangga confirmed Puan’s statement and said the job creation omnibus bill specifically needed further discussion. Based on the job creation omnibus bill’s discussion points that Kontan received, the most contentious issue was minimum wage amid backlash from labor unions. Subscribers copy, not for distribution President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo initially promised to submit the bills to the House by the end of last year, and then the President made another promise to submit them within 100 days since his Onward Cabinet was sworn in. And on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Fajrul Rachman said the bills would be submitted by the (Kontan, headlines; end of January. Koran Tempo, headlines page) Meanwhile, Airlangga said, as quoted by Koran Tempo, that the government had finished discussion on the two omnibus bills. Therefore, he and Yasona met with Puan to discuss further steps when the bills are already with the House. But, Airlangga confirmed that he and Yasona had not yet submitted the bills to the House. Rp 527 trillion A total of Rp 527 trillion in approved investment projects investment projects had not started as of end of last year due to various stalled: BKPM hurdles at the local level, mostly licensing issues, according to Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Bahlil Lahadalia. Initially, the total number of stalled projects were worth Rp 708 trillion, but BKPM managed to help resolve various problems for projects worth Rp 189 trillion to kick off their operation. This year, Bahlil said, the BKPM would continue to help solve problems at the local level for the other projects worth Rp 527 trillion to start their operation so that the BKPM could reach its target this year of Rp 886 trillion worth of realized investments. “[The problems are] contravening regulations, thugs and the arrogance of officials at the regency and municipality levels. There are many problems at the local level,” Bahlil said, adding that stalled investment projects included those in the electricity, petrochemical, automotive and mining sectors. The BKMP has helped resolve land-related issues surrounding a Rp 61.2 trillion chemical project in Cilegon belonging to PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia. The project finally kicked off in January following an agreement signed by three parties: PT Krakatau Steel, PT KIEC and PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia. A Rp 38 trillion Tanjung Jati Baru electricity project is another example, the project started after it got a recommendation from the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry. A Rp 39 trillion mining project by Vale Indonesia also started after it got a recommendation from the Subscribers copy, not for distribution South Sulawesi provincial government. Also, a Rp 21 (Investor Daily, trillion automotive project belonging to Hyundai will start headlines) soon following the government’s approval to provide a tax holiday for the project. Jiwasraya will pay out State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said maturing policy claims problem-ridden state-owned insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya starting March: would start paying out maturing policy claims in March, Minister using the company’s internal cash flow. He assured that he and Jiwasraya management had conducted an in- depth analysis of the company’s ability to start the claim payment. “We will make payment starting in March. If we can do it earlier, we will do so,” Erick said during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission VI. The commission demanded that Erick make a commitment regarding when Jiwasraya would paying maturing claims. Erick said the maturing policy claims that Jiwasraya had to pay totaled Rp 16 trillion. Years of mismanagement and corruption led to the insurer’s failure to pay its customers (Republika, p. 1) a total of Rp 12.4 trillion in policies that had matured as of last December. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has arrested five people and named them suspects in the Jiwasraya mega corruption case. They are three former top executives of Jiwasraya and two market players who invested Jiwasraya’s fund in underperforming stocks, including in their own companies.