KPK to question Robert Tantular today

Fri, 03/19/2010 10:51 AM | National

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will question former Bank Century owner Robert Tantutar on Friday in its investigation into possible fraud in the disbursement of the Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) Bank Century bailout.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi, confirmed the plan and said that Robert would be examined as a witness.

Previously, the antigraft commission had planned to question Robert over the management of the bailout funds after they were disbursed by the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

Bank Century, now Bank Mutiara, received Rp 6.76 trillion in bailout funds after the government decided to save the ailing bank, fearing a systemic threat to the country’s banking sector amid the global financial crisis.

However, many suspect the bailout funds may have been channeled to politicians for election campaign funds.

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) recently found that several names of fund recipients may have been political figures.

Earlier this year, the Jakarta High Court increased the sentence against Robert from four to five years in prison, after it found him guilty of issuing a letter of credit worth US$178 million and unhealthy loans of Rp 362 billion ($38.5 million) and misusing funds worth $18 million.

Obama visit delay to June 'suitable' for Indonesia

Jakarta | Fri, 03/19/2010 11:04 AM | National The delay of US President Barack Obama's planned visit to Indonesia, now set for June, is in line with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's preference, Indonesia presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here Friday.

Dino said Yudhoyono had earlier suggested that the visit was delayed until June even before Obama postponed the start of his Indonesian visit from March 20 to March 23.

"We understand that this is based on political necessity. The statement made by the White House was that President Obama himself was very disappointed and regretful that he could not make the visit," Dino told a press conference at the Presidential Office.

"We know that this visit is important to President Obama, that Indonesia is an important country, that there's a strong commitment to launch a comprehensive partnership.

"We're glad as from the beginning it is President Yudhoyono's preference... so that the visit is done without political rush. We want the visit to be 100 percent a success, where Obama can fully focuse on the Indonesia-US bilateral relationship," he added.

Dino said the visit would be done around mid-June, and that June was basically an option discussed by the two country leaders during their meeting in the G-20 meeting in Pitssburg last year.

"President [Yudhoyono] said it was better in June because summer holiday will have begun and [Obama] can bring the First Lady and his children to Indonesia."

The White House announced last night [Jakarta time] that Obama's visit to Indonesia and Australia, formerly set for next week, would be delayed until June.

The US President is facing pressure to stay at home to push past the health care reform bill, which is the main part of his campaign when running for the presidency.

US statement on the delay of Obama’s trip

Jakarta | Fri, 03/19/2010 12:18 PM | World

US President Barack Obama is pleased the House has posted the healthcare legislation on the Internet and that a final vote is going ahead, says White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

But since the House rules rightly provide for a 72-hour public review period, it is clear that a final vote on health insurance reform cannot take place before Sunday afternoon, Gibbs said in a statement run on the US Embassy Jakarta's website on Friday.

As a result, the President telephoned the leaders of Indonesia and Australia and told them that he must postpone his planned visits there for a later date so he could remain in Washington for the critical vote. The President now expects to visit Indonesia and Australia in June.

“The President greatly regrets the delay. Our international alliances are critical to America’s security and economic progress. But the passage of health insurance reform is of paramount importance, and the President is determined to see this battle through,” the statement said.

High school students prepare for national exams

akarta | Wed, 03/17/2010 7:39 PM | Education Students in Jakarta have been preparing since January for the national exams, which are scheduled to begin Monday, by sitting mock exams.

State senior high school SMAN 24, private high school SMA Labschool and vocational school STM Pembangunan, for example, held several mock exams, individual extensive tutoring and in-depth learning sessions.

“We’re running the mock exams because of the high standards the students have to attain in order to pass the national exams,” Ida Febrianie, an English teacher at SMAN 24, said Wednesday

Students have to average 5.5 in six subjects with no more than two grades less than 4.0 in order to pass the national exams this year. Students at vocational schools have to average 5.5 in four subjects and score a 7.0 in a practical test.

Taufik Yudi, the head of Jakarta Education Agency, said 96.5 percent of Jakarta high school students passed the national exams last year.

However, the track record of other regions was poorer. In East Nusa Tenggara, approximately a quarter of all high school students failed the exams, with seven schools recording a passing rate of zero percent.

Nissan to make electric vehicle in UK

Thu, 03/18/2010 4:12 PM

Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it will make its electric vehicle, the Leaf, in England from early 2013 as the automaker gears up for global sales of the zero emission car.

Japan's third-largest automaker said it will make about 50,000 Leafs per year at its plant in Sunderland, in northern England. It will invest euros 486.2 million ($640 million) in the plant, which will also make batteries for electric vehicles.

Nissan is banking on electric vehicles to spur growth as it has fallen behind bigger rivals Toyota Motor Corp. - the world's largest automaker - and Honda Motor Co. in gas-electric hybrids that have become popular in Japan and abroad.

Apart from the British plant, Nissan has said it will make the Leaf in Japan later this year and the United States in 2012.

"The three production sites will support the sales launch of the model, which begins in late 2010 in Japan, the United States and selected European markets, ahead of global mass marketing from 2012," Nissan said in a statement.

The Leaf has a range of 100 miles (160 kilometers) on a single battery charge. Nissan has yet to announce a price tag for the Leaf.

Nissan said battery production at the Sunderland plant will begin in 2012 with annual capacity of 60,000 units.

Nissan - Britain's largest automaker by production volume - has 4,100 employees at Sunderland.

Nissan's smaller rival, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., launched its electric vehicle, the i-MiEV, in Japan in June. Mitsubishi's zero-emission vehicle costs 4.59 million yen ($51,000). The company has acknowledged that may be too expensive for most consumers.

VP to visit Jakarta dump site today

Fri, 03/19/2010 8:11 AM | Jakarta

Vice President Boediono is scheduled to visit Jakarta's dump site the Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi on the outskirts of the capital on Friday.

Isbudi, a vice presidential spokesman, told tempointeraktif.com that the visit was part of a working visit in Bekasi.

Boediono will also visit a public health center in Bantar Gebang, a National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM) site in Aren Jaya and a high school.

The vice president will be accompanied by Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto.

Earlier this month, Boediono promised that the government would improve health care services for poor communities by providing more facilities for community health centers and hospitals.

Boediono encouraged the provision of mobile services to ensure that health care was more accessible for the community

Obama postpones Asia trip to focus on health care

Washington | Fri, 03/19/2010 7:25 AM

President Barack Obama has postponed his trip to Asia until June so he can stay in Washington for a possible Sunday vote on his health care overhaul.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday the president is disappointed and regrets having to delay his visits to Indonesia and Australia but has told the leaders of those nations that health care is a crucial priority.

"The president believes right now, the place for him to be is in Washington seeing this through," Gibbs said.

Obama had already delayed the trip to Indonesia and Australia, pushing back a Thursday departure until Sunday so he could help Democrats in Congress rally last-minute votes for the plan.

White House staff had tried to find a way to push the trip back another few days, but by Thursday morning, it was clear the only way the president could still travel to Australia and Indonesia was if he left early Sunday afternoon. With the House likely to hold a vote on the health care bill sometime Sunday, Gibbs said, "very little padding remained."

Obama made the final decision to delay the trip during a brief Oval Office meeting Thursday morning with top aides, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and national security adviser James Jones.

House Democrats believe they are on track to vote Sunday on a $940 billion health care bill that will expand coverage to millions. If the bill passes, the Senate will begin considering changes to the bill next week.

Democratic lawmakers welcomed the president's decision to stay in town.

Said the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, "He wants to be here for the history."

"He may have to twist some arms," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat. "He may have to talk to some people. His personal presence helps."

The president's trip had originally been scheduled to coincide with his daughters' spring break from school. After the first delay, the White House announced the president's family would no longer accompany him overseas and the president's trip would be shortened by a day as aides sought to tamp down criticism that he was taking a family vacation as the health care debate reached its crucial final stages.

The trip to Indonesia was to be a homecoming of sorts for the president, who spent four years in the world's largest Muslim country as a boy when his mother married an Indonesian man. A statue of Obama as a 10-year-old boy has been erected at the elementary school he attended.

Obama also had been scheduled to deliver his first address to the Muslim world since his historic speech in Cairo last year and had been scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Obama was to address Australia's parliament and meet with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, with whom he shares a close relationship on the issues of climate change and the war in Afghanistan.

Rudd spoke with Obama early Friday morning Australian time, and said the president told him he was looking forward to having "a more relaxed visit" to Australia in June, rather than the 24-hour stop that had been planned for next week. Rudd, who has had his own issues with a problematic Senate, told Obama he sympathizes with his battle over health care reform.

Other U.S. officials have dropped plans to visit Australia and Indonesia this year. Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled visits to both Australia and Indonesia in January, so that he could remain in Washington for coordination of the U.S. military response to the earthquake in Haiti. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton canceled a trip to Australia at the same time, also because of the earthquake.

Gates and Clinton had planned to attend an annual summit with their Australian counterparts that is a diplomatic priority for Australia, a close ally and a steadfast troop contributor to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the time of the cancellations, Gates and Clinton said the Australia summit would be rescheduled.

Kiss me!

Thu, 03/18/2010 9:08 AM

Youths take part in an Omed-omedan kissing ritual Wednesday at Koja hamlet in Sesetan, Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday. The tradition, held on Ngembak Geni (Welcome the Fire) Day that falls a day after the Hindu Day of Silence (Nyepi), has been continuing for generations at the hamlet in a bid to strengthen cohesion among young people.

More bodies found in East Kalimantan boat accident

Thu, 03/18/2010 10:50 AM

A joint search team found Thursday two more bodies of passengers of a motor boat that capsized Tuesday on the Mahakam River in Muara Kaman, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan.

Local police chief Adj. Comr. Ikshanuddin told tempointeraktif.com that the bodies were found in different locations.

“One was near the accident site and the other around three kilometers downstream,” he said.

The discovery raised the total number of casualties to eight, prompting the end of the search. Nine people survived the accident.

The passenger boat was carrying the 17 people from Sabintulung village to Kota Bangun following a traditional ceremony when it capsized around midnight Tuesday. Police suspect the boat, traveling at high speed, hit a log in the river and overturned.