Titus Jonathan's Stories

(published by The Jakarta Post on 21 Jan 2015. Click here ) The government’s stance as stated on Saturday by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will have to inaugurate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as National Police chief to avoid conflict with the House of Representatives was difficult to understand. This is unacceptable logic because at the same time the President would have to ignore the status of Budi, who has been named a suspect in a bribery case by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Previously, in the administration of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a minister had to step down right away if named a suspect by the KPK. This was experienced by Andi Mallarangeng, Suryadharma Ali and lastly, Jero Wacik. If now the President is inaugurating someone who has already been named a suspect, how does the logic work? We know the President is now in a difficult position after the House ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 31 Jan 2012. Click here ) I will not judge Apriyani Susanti , the allegedly intoxicated driver who killed nine people on Jan. 22. But I do expect that the judge who presides over that case to levy a severe sentence on her to uphold justice. The judge should consider the human toll, not merely the Narcotics Law or Traffic and Land Transportation Law. Several legal experts said article 338 of Criminal Code (KUHP) on intentional murder should be invoked because Apriyani drank alcohol and used drugs prior to the crash. “She is an educated person. She should know that alcohol and drugs can make her high. That’s not negligence but deliberation,” said Bambang Widodo Umar and Eva Achyani Zulfa, both noted criminologists from the University of Indonesia (UI). The tragic accident has shocked us and created a public uproar — and not only because the lady was driving while intoxicated. The victims were innocent people who were relaxing, walking and sightseeing on ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 16 Aug 2011. Click here ) Muhammad Nazaruddin, a graft fugitive who arrived Saturday Aug. 13 from Colombia, South America, after being hunted by Interpol since May 23, is actually an ordinary graft suspect. He is very much the same as fugitive Nunun Nurbaeti, a suspect in a bribery case of the selection of a Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor in 2004. As time goes on, where during her escape Nunun managed to evade the law and decided to be silent (and therefore successfully managed to fall off the media radar screen), Nazaruddin has contrarily become a unique fugitive who has not only made sensational headlines, but has also dragged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and important men in the Democratic Party (PD) into the chaotic situation. Nazaruddin continuously interacted with the media via BlackBerry Messenger and actively launched accusations implicating several party elites in the graft scandal of the construction of the athlete’s do...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 26 Jan 2011. Click here ) Referring to Gayus H. Tambunan, people should not simply look at how the “actor” has played his role. He is indeed a real actor who has stolen the show: sometimes smiling, at other times crying, too. He speaks very well and never shows his nervousness when answering the judge. He has been full of confidence. What was his official position? Only that of a low-ranked officer at the tax office! Most people hate Gayus today. If we ask people about him, he will be named as the No. 1 bad guy in Indonesia. We read all the comments posted on Internet by angry members of the public after the seven years’ imprisonment verdict handed-down by Judge Albertina Ho last week. These enraged letters asked police to hand over Gayus to the “people’s court” because the existing court had so far handed down unjust verdicts to money-rich criminals. Gayus, who blatantly paid off the tax office, police corps and the Attorney General’s Office, has bee...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 15 Apr 2010. Click here ) Artalyta Suryani is wonderful. She is not only a wealthy person, but also widely known as a successful businesswoman who has a close relationship to the influencing figures. In this context, she is a brilliant lobbyist. We don’t need to be doubtful about this. If we listened to the tapped conversation between her and high-profile state officials from the Attorney General’s Office, Urip Tri Gunawan in March 2008 — prior to his arrest — it confirmed everything. Artalyta was wonderful. Urip Tri Gunawan was disdainful. No matter what! How could have he rejected the USD$660,000 ? It might make him tremble, but a bunch of dollars has swept his conscience, though. A friend of mine said that he would have mocked him crazy if he did not taken the dollars. As a senior prosecutor, he was also a normal human being, living a normal life in Indonesia and being a state official where money was not a temptation anymore. After the Corruption C...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 16 Feb 2010. Click here ) Our justice system again created a mystery when the judges at the South Jakarta District Court sentenced former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar to 18 years in prison. The verdict was handed down to Antasari for his role in the premeditated assassination of Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, a director of state company PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, in 2009. From the beginning, when the case that enmeshed Antasari showed up in public, during the trial, and until today when the chief judge banged his gavel, the public have kept asking whether Antasari is guilty or not. A similar case was the assassination of human right activist Munir Said Thalib, when the court acquitted former deputy head of state intelligence (BIN) Muchdi Purwopranjono: the case remains a mystery until today. This proves that our justice system never ends with total finality but mystery that makes us always question our claim as a legal state ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 14 Nov 2009. Click here ) If I were a corrupt official, of course I would want the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to die. If the KPK institutionally cannot be "killed", I would try, at the minimum, to weaken its power and damage its reputation. Losing the public trust will make the KPK equal to a toothless tiger because trust is its lethal weapon. As the public desperately hopes for the KPK to crush the chronic corruption in this country, the KPK has been expected to be an angel who can do no wrong. The KPK has been becoming a frightening specter that constantly haunts those who are corrupt. This is a very serious menace that ensures that the rats (read: corruptors) never sleep in their nest peacefully. The superpower body has been successfully throwing corrupt officials in jail since the body formed. However, the success has not been without consequences. The more corrupt officials that are sent to jail, the more enemies the KPK cr...