WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fulfilling a campaign pledge, President Obama welcomed nearly 400 tribal leaders to his White House Tribal Nations Conference on Thursday and assured them that his support of Native issues is genuine and his historic summit is no mere "lip service" to Indian Country.
I was so happy to read that KPK commissioners Bibit and Chandra had been released. But happiness quickly turned into anger.
Nothing has changed. The Police continue with their ridiculous investigation into Bibit's and Chandra's so-called "abuse of authority".
The Police spokesman told the media that the reason they released Bibit and Chandra was because of "mounting public response". He added that it was necessary "in the interest of security and collective order". That's very interesting. What he is saying is that they were scared of public unrest.
As I worked my way through Kompas, the Globe and Post, my disappointment turned to anger. The powers that be --- the President and his court jester advisors --- are still yapping on about their bullshit investigation into the use of the President's (formerly) good name. If the newspapers are anything to go by, the President doesn't give a shit about the KPK.
The President sent out his corgis to meet the press. First there was Presidential spokesman Dno Patti Djalal:
The president wants a full investigation into the case... defaming the president’s name is a serious offense
Then came newly appointed Justice and Human Rights Minister, Patrialis Akbar. He went a step further and personally guaranteed that the President is innocent:
It is defamation. It is a lie. I guarantee that he has nothing to do with this case.
Maybe he thinks that this is still the New Order. Maybe it is. It's getting hard to tell.
That all of you might want to read a letter written to President Obama by Buddy Hackett's (Buddy Hackett was a comedian and movie star) widow, Sherry Hackett.
President Obama:Today I read of your administrations' plan to re-define September 11
as a National Service Day. Sir, it's time we had a talk.........During your campaign, Americans watched as you made mockery of our
tradition of standing and crossing your heart when the Pledge of
Allegiance was spoken. You, out of four people on the stage, were the
only one not honoring our tradition.YES, "We noticed."
During one of your many speeches, Americans heard you say that you
intended to visit all 57 states. We all know that Islam, not America , has
57 states.YES, "We noticed."
When President Bush leaned over at Ground Zero and gently placed a
flower on the memorial, while you nonchalantly tossed your flower onto
the pile without leaning over.YES, "We noticed."
Every time you apologized to other countries for America 's position on
an issue we have wondered why you don't share our pride in this great
country. When you have heard foreign leaders berate our country and
our beliefs, you have not defended us. In fact, you insulted the
British Crown beyond belief.YES, "We noticed."
When your pastor of 20 years, "God-damned America " and said that
9/11 was America 's chickens coming home to roost" and you denied
having heard recriminations of that nature, we wondered how that could
be. You later disassociated yourself from that church and Pastor
Wright because it was politically expedient to do so.YES, "We noticed."
When you announced that you would transform America , we wondered why.
With all her faults, America is the greatest country on earth. Sir,
KEEP THIS IN MIND, "if not for America and the people who built her,
you wouldn't be sitting in the White House now." Prior to your
election to the highest office in this country, you were a senator from
Illinois and from what we can glean from the records available, not a very
remarkable one.YES, "We noticed."
All through your campaign and even now, you have surrounded yourself
with individuals who are basically unqualified for the positions for
which you appointed them. Worse than that, the majority of them are
people who, like you, bear no special allegiance, respect, or affection
for this country and her traditions.YES, "We noticed."
You are 9 months into your term and every morning millions of Americans
wake up to a new horror heaped on us by you. You seek to saddle
working Americans with a health care/insurance reform package that,
along with cap and trade, will bankrupt this nation.YES, "We noticed."
We seek, by protesting, to let our representatives know that we are not
in favor of these crippling expenditures and we are labeled
"un-American","racist". We wonder how we are supposed to let you know
how frustrated we are. You have attempted to make our protests seem
isolated and insignificant. Until your appointment, Americans had the
right to speak out.YES, "We noticed."
On September 11, 2001, there were no Republicans or Democrats, only
Americans. And we all grieved together and helped each other in
whatever way we could. The attack on 9/11 was carried out because we
are Americans.And YES, "We noticed."
There were many of us who prayed that as a black president you could
help unite this nation. In six months you have done more to destroy
this nation than the attack on 9/11. You have failed us.YES, "We noticed."
September 11 is a day of remembrance for all Americans. You propose
to make 9/11 a "National Service Day". While we know that you don't
share our reverence for 9/11, we pray that history will report your
proposal as what it is...a disgrace.YES, "We noticed."
You have made a mockery of our Constitution and the office that you
hold. You have embarrassed and slighted us in foreign visits and
policy.YES, "We noticed.."
We have noticed all these things. We will deal with you. When
Americans come together again, it will be to remove you from office.Take notice.
What a weekend! Every single newspaper is screaming blue murder at the arrest of our national heroes, KPK commissioners Bibit and Chandra. At last count, the Facebook Group, Gerakan 1 juta Facebookers Dukung Chandra Hamzah dan Bibit Samad Riyanto (the movement of 1 million Facebookers supporting Chandra and Bibit), had reached 300,000 members --- not bad for a country where 90% of Facebook use is by mobile phone.
It seems that Ibu Ani must have a Facebook page, because on Sunday the President met with four men to seek their advice on the KPK crisis:
The fact that the President consulted with three universities is telling. It shows just how complex he considers the issue to be. A question I have, one that perhaps Rob Baiton or Ari Juliano can help me with is why hasn't the President consulted with the head of the Constitutional Court or the Administrative Court?
There might be a legal-constitutional reason why the President has not spoken to the judiciary (assuming that he hasn't). In my homeland, New Zealand, it is vital that the three branches of government, the executive (cabinet), judiciary (courts) and legislature (house of representatives), remain independent of each other. So, if the Prime Minister wanted to speak to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he would have to be very careful what he said and would probably want to make sure that there were lots of witnesses, including the press. I don't know if the same applies here in Indonesia.
It might be even more simple than this. The Constitutional Court has wasted no time criticizing the President for his ill-advised actions, particularly the ridiculous PERPPU. Given the President's sensitivities (remember he said he had been "awfully hurt"), it could well be that the President can't see beyond his own personal issues.
Either way, that's not important. What is important is that the President is finally paying attention to what is going on around him. There is hope.
What can we learn from this? The President can no longer sit back and let things happen --- not when they are of national importance, and most certainly not when they have a direct impact on his credibility. He won the election because of the KPK. He has shamelessly ridden on the coat-tails of their success. He must protect them.
He owes it to the people who elected him.
You can find the Facebook page discussed above here. If you would like to read more about this, you should have a look at Rob Baiton's blog. Here is a link to his "KPK" posts. Also check out Tree's blog, for a very detailed look at specific issues.
You might also be interested in the following posts:
This is the second part of my take on the KPK crisis. The first part, The KPK, News Media and Why I Still Love Indonesia, can be read here.
Last night I had dinner with a very important man. He is on the board of one of Indonesia's largest and most successful companies. Not that you would know it from looking at him. Unlike the many so-called dignitaries that populate our government, my friend does not draw attention to himself.
In his role, my friend has met many of the people that make the news. He also has a wealth of knowledge about what goes on behind the scenes. These dinners are always wonderful for me because I get to ask him to explain things in the news to me.
For example, he knows all about disgraced Bank Indonesia governor Miranda and explained to me why, with so much bribery and corruption going on around her, no-one has any evidence against her. If you think about it, it is extremely unlikely that she knew nothing about the bribes paid to DPR legislators in return for their votes when she was elected to the Bank of Indonesia board. Yet, there she was in the paper yesterday grinning like the Cheshire Cat claiming that she knew nothing about it.
Last night's dinner conversation was dominated by the Police arrest of KPK commissioners Bibit and Chandra and why the President hasn't done anything.;
Like many people, my friend thinks that SBY's hands are not entirely clean. SBY screwed up. From the outset he said that he would not get involved. He would not interfere, but this was a lie.
He interfered big time when he issued his Presidential law --- the PERPPU --- firing the two commissioners and giving him the authority to appoint his own commissioners. The Constitutional Court has subsequently issued a decision effectively canceling the PERPPU. How embarrassing for the President!
But it wasn't until Thursday that the President really showed his true colours. If you haven't been following the taping incident, then here's a summary of what happened:
Taping a conversation without permission is quite a serious matter. Generally it means that the tape recording cannot be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. But the KPK has special powers to use wire-tapping. This seems like a perfect example of where the wire-tapping was legal and within the KPK's authority.
On Wednesday, the President ordered the Police to investigate the matter. But before you get excited, he ordered the Police to investigate the use of his name, which is a very minor matter compared to the actual subject matter of the recording, the conspiracy against the KPK.
On Thursday, he told reporters that he is "awfully hurt" by the use of his name (which is actually an offence).
Yesterday, things turned surreal and Anggodo Widjojo filed an "abuse of power" complaint against the KPK commissioners for taping the conversation. What?! I hear you say. Yes, you heard right. This extremely dodgy character has filed a complaint against the KPK for taping the conversation. Shouldn't the Police be investigating him?!
Yesterday, the President showed his true colours and told reporters that the Police were "within their rights" to arrest Bibit and Chandra.
I'm confused. Every single legal expert in this country believes that the Police have over-stepped the line and are acting without authority. The head of the Constitutional Court has gone as far to say that the Police have no authority over the KPK. If the KPK commissioners have done something wrong then it should be sorted out in the Administrative Court. Can someone please explain to me why the President disagrees with every single legal expert there is?
What is happening here? It's actually quite simple. Indonesians have outgrown their President. They want and expect much more from the President. Indonesians want an end to corruption. They want responsible and effective government. They want a functioning government. The problem is that the President --- the man we're all counting on --- isn't able to provide the people what they want.
As awful as it sounds, it is wonderful to experience as an outsider how rapidly Indonesia has transformed. It probably wouldn't have happened quite so quickly without this crisis. In a way, Bibit and Chandra are national heroes.
A mosaic portrait of President Barack Obama. This work is inspired by the African pattern tradition.
