blog @abdulmanan

Three ambassadorial posts are still vacant. Are the recommendations of the DPR Foreign Affairs Commission binding? PRESIDENT Megawati should have inaugurated a number of ambassadors last Thursday, but the inauguration had to be delayed until further notice as the president was unable to attend. But there is another explanation for the delay: three of the posts are still vacant. One is the post of ambassador to Australia, which has always been regarded as a prestigious one due to the complex diplomatic relationship between Indonesia and its southern neighbor. The post should have already been filled by Susanto Pudjomartono, ex-chief editor of The Jakarta Post (JP) and ex-executive editor of TEMPO magazine. Last February, Susanto, who has 37 years of experience as a reporter, attended a clarification hearing held by the House of Representatives' (DPR) Foreign Affairs Commission. He has also attended a "course" on becoming an ambassador held by the Foreign Affairs Department

PERGANTIAN antar-waktu tampaknya akan jadi wabah di DPR RI dalam waktu dekat ini. Masalahnya, mekanisme mengganti anggota dewan di tengah masa jabatannya ini--bahasa yang dipakai umum adalah recall--sudah mendapatkan pengesahan. Aturan itu menjadi salah satu pasal dalam Undang-Undang tentang Susunan dan Kedudukan MPR, DPD, DPR, dan DPRD, yang disahkan Rabu dua pekan lalu. Bunyi pasal 111 itu: "Ketentuan mengenai penggantian antarwaktu anggota MPR, DPR, DPRD provinsi, dan DPRD kabupaten/kota dinyatakan berlaku sejak undang-undang ini disahkan, kecuali yang berkenaan dengan larangan rangkap jabatan bagi anggota TNI/Polri". Artinya, setelah undang-undang ini ditandatangani Presiden, atau 30 hari sejak disahkan jika Presiden enggan membubuhkan tanda tangan, ketentuan itu sudah bisa dikenakan kepada anggota DPR dan DPRD. Wewenang recall itu ada di pucuk pimpinan partai. Ini yang membuat Ketua Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia, Hendardi, khawatir. Ia melihat gelagat b

Tiga pos duta besar masih kosong. Pertimbangan DPR tidak mengikat? SEDIANYA, Kamis pekan lalu, sejumlah duta besar dilantik Presiden Megawati. Tapi pelantikan itu tertunda karena Presiden berhalangan. Dari info yang masuk, ada yang menarik: tiga pos dubes ternyata masih kosong. Termasuk pos Australia yang selalu menjadi pos prestisius, mengingat "pasang surut" hubungan Jakarta dengan Negeri Kanguru itu. Pos itu sedianya ditempati Susanto Pudjomartono, bekas Pemimpin Redaksi The Jakarta Post dan mantan redaktur pelaksana Majalah TEMPO. Akhir Februari lalu Susanto telah mengikuti rapat dengar pendapat umum (clarification hearing) dengan Komisi Hubungan Luar Negeri DPR. Wartawan dengan jam terbang 37 tahun itu sebelumnya telah mengikuti "pendidikan" sebagai calon duta besar di Departemen Luar Negeri. Bukan Susanto seorang yang tidak masuk daftar. Ada dua pos duta besar lain yang sampai sekarang belum jelas kapan akan diisi, yaitu Swedia dan Rusia. Departemen Luar Neger

The plan to register civil servants has received a cool response. The survey is meant, among other things, to find fictitious records of public personnel. BY 10am the row of 20 office desks has only seven people, some of those present are not busy, they are simply playing computer games. The dull atmosphere continues all day until the office closes at 4pm. "It's been a routine," said one employee. This was the scene at the office of the Bureau of Information, Communications and Public Relations, Central Java regional administration. It was a Thursday, not a holiday. It more or less represents the general situation of government offices in Indonesia, where employees have grown accustomed to missing work and slacking off. The program to reappraise the civil service, carried out from July 1-31, has not changed the "routine". Civil servants are well aware of the plan to re-gather personnel data, but they perceive this program as something different from past models

Agreement to the Presidential Election Law has prioritized party interests. What about the practices of "trading" in the sensitive articles? PERMADI could not hold back his feelings. The member of the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) interrupted the plenary meeting for acceptance of the Law on the Election of Presidents and Vice Presidents, last Monday. He deplored the removal of the condition from the legislation that presidential and vice-presidential candidates may not be the accused in a legal case. The interruption by this leading figure who is fond of wearing all-black clothing prompted nothing more than a quick response. The meeting's chair, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, also from PDI-P, blocked him with a few short words: "That will be discussed later in each faction." And Permadi dropped his protest. Because, in formal terms, his faction had already accepted the law without reserve. Outside the chamber,

POLITICIANS are becoming all-powerful. People may soon need to think deep and hard about ignoring a summons from the House of Representatives (DPR). With the DPR's approval of the Law on the Composition and Structure of the Legislative Assembly (MPR), DPR, Regional Representatives Council (DPD), and Local Legislative Councils (DPRDs) for ratification by the president, last Wednesday, they now have an effective whip called `Holding Hostages.' This power to hold hostage may be applied to anyone, including government officials, who try to wriggle out of an invitation from the legislature. The articles in this law, which was "cooked" from April 25 through to July 9, grant the DPR truly wide powers. Article 30, clause 1 grants authority to this institution of our representatives to seek explanations from anyone it chooses--or gives it the right of subpoena--from state officials, government officials, through to members of the public. Such an invitation must be complied wit

Persetujuan Undang-Undang Pemilihan Presiden lebih mengutamakan kepentingan partai. Bagaimana praktek "jual-beli" pasal sensitif? PERMADI tak kuasa menahan luapan hatinya. Anggota parlemen dari PDI Perjuangan ini melakukan interupsi dalam rapat paripurna penerimaan Undang-Undang Pemilihan Presiden dan Wakil Presiden, Senin pekan lalu. Ia menyesalkan dihapuskannya persyaratan calon presiden dan wakil presiden tidak dalam status terdakwa dalam perundangan itu. Interupsi tokoh yang gemar berpakaian serba hitam ini dianggap angin lalu. Pemimpin rapat, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, juga dari PDI Perjuangan, menghalaunya dengan ucapan pendek, "Nanti dibahas di fraksi masing-masing." Dan Permadi tak meneruskan protesnya. Sebab, secara formal, fraksinya sudah menerima undang-undang tersebut tanpa reserve. Di luar ruang sidang, ia mengaku secara pribadi tetap berkeberatan dengan beleid baru tersebut. "Kalau undang-undang itu disahkan, berarti Sumanto bisa menjadi presiden,&

Pendataan ulang pegawai negeri sipil disambut biasa-biasa saja. Antara lain untuk mencari pegawai fiktif. JARUM jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 10. Deretan 20 meja di ruangan itu hanya dihuni tujuh penunggunya. Itu pun tak semua bekerja. Ada yang hanya bermain game di komputernya. Suasana sepi itu tetap bertahan sampai jam kerja berakhir, pukul 16.00. "Ya biasa, Mas, seperti ini," kata salah seorang pegawai di sana. Padahal hari itu, Kamis pekan lalu, bukan hari libur. Itulah ruang kerja Biro Informasi Komunikasi dan Kehumasan Pemerintah Daerah Jawa Tengah. Ia seperti mewakili suasana umum situasi kantor pemerintahan di Indonesia. Pegawai yang lebih banyak mangkir atau ke kantor dengan santai. Adanya Program Penelitian Ulang Pegawai Negeri Sipil, yang dilakukan sejak 1 Juli sampai 31 Juli, tak mengubah "kebiasaan" itu. Para pegawai negeri bukannya tidak tahu rencana pendataan ulang itu. Namun mereka menyadari program ini bukan seperti penelitian khusus (litsus) model du

Mass graves have been found in several places in Aceh. The murderers remain unknown. SHOVELS were lifted carefully. Lump by lump the men removed the earth from a location in the brush near the village of Guci, in Permata District, Central Aceh. But the excavation suddenly stopped when the end of the shovel struck a hard object. Both workers and witnesses looked at one another. When the excavation was continued more cautiously, from under the clumps of earth a human skull, and leg, thigh, hand, rib, and hip bones emerged. Subsequently, in this 3x2 meter hole 18 human skeletons were found, suspected to be those of victims of a mass killing. In Permata, by the time the excavation was completed, no fewer than 26 human skeletons had been found. Apart from the ones in Guci, eight more skeletons had been found in the hamlet of Seni Antara, part of the village of Wehnipasee. According to Permata's District Head, Rasyid, there may well still be other mass graves in the area. Around 315 loca

Kuburan massal ditemukan di beberapa tempat di Aceh. Pelaku pembunuhannya belum jelas. SEKOP itu perlahan diayunkan. Bongkah demi bongkah tanah di semak-semak Desa Guci, Kecamatan Permata, Aceh Tengah, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, terbongkar. Tapi penggalian mendadak terhenti ketika ujung sekop menyodok benda keras. Tukang gali dan para penyaksi bersitatap. Ketika penggalian diteruskan dengan lebih hati-hati, dari balik bongkahan tanah menyembul tengkorak, tulang kaki, paha, tangan, rusuk, dan pinggul manusia. Alhasil, dari lubang seluas 3 x 2 meter itu ditemukan 18 kerangka manusia yang diduga korban pembunuhan massal. Di Permata, setelah penggalian rampung, setidaknya ditemukan 26 kerangka manusia. Selain di Guci, didapat delapan kerangka di Desa Seni Antara, Kampung Wehnipasee. Menurut Camat Permata, Rasyid, mungkin saja masih ada kuburan massal lain di daerah itu. Sebab, hingga kini, ada sekitar 315 warganya yang masih hilang. "Mereka kebanyakan diculik dari rumah atau hilang dal

IN the late afternoon of June 24, the Marines Creek Task Force, exchanged fire with 15 GAM members at Kuala Penaga in East Aceh. In the midst of the gunfire, the marines spotted someone swimming toward them. The swimmer turned out to be a foreigner. His name is Nyana and he is Burmese. He was evacuated as soon as he arrived at the nearest military post. He told the marines that he was not alone. He had three companions who were also trapped in the firefight. The marines, under Bajul Rawa Mobile IV Task Force, exchanged fire with GAM members at around 12:20pm, when they were carrying out a routine patrol around Kuala Penaga, at the mouth of the Raja Muda River. Neither the military nor GAM suffered any casualties during the eight-minute gunfight, during which Nyana appeared. After the military forced GAM to retreat, the marines swept the area and found Nyana's three companions: Say (another Burmese), Loo Thean Chang (a Malaysian), and Taikong Id (a Thai). The marines found them on a

Kini banyak desa di Aceh tanpa pemimpin. Makanan empuk GAM, juga takut kepada TNI. NYALI Ishak Makam bagai terbang entah ke mana. Tiga tamu tak diundang itu memang tidak mengumbar ancaman, tapi senapan Kalashnikov yang mereka empaskan di atas meja di ruang tamu sudah cukup membuat jantung berdebar. "Kami minta uang dua setengah juta," kata seorang dari ketiga tamu itu, dengan mata melotot. Ishak Makam memejamkan mata, berusaha menstabilkan dengkulnya yang menggeletar. Dalam ketakutan, pria 50 tahun itu menjawab sekenanya, "Saya minta waktu beberapa hari, Pak." Lumayan, para tamu itu mengangguk, melangkah ke pintu, lalu menghilang ke belakang kampung. Ishak mengurut dada, lalu menarik napas panjang berulang-ulang. Lega. Tapi itu cuma sementara. Selang dua hari kawanan itu datang lagi. Kali ini mereka tak sudi pulang melenggang hampa. "Mana uangnya?! Serahkan, atau...," kata seorang pria bertubuh gempal dengan moncong bedil mematuk jidat Ishak. Tak ada pilih

MATAHARI sudah tinggi ketika Satuan Tugas Muara Marinir, yang bersiaga di pantai, terlibat kontak senjata dengan 15 anggota Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) di Kuala Penaga, Kecamatan Bandara, Aceh Timur, 24 Juni lalu. Di tengah desingan peluru itu, para marinir menyaksikan seseorang berenang menghampiri pasukan. Setelah dekat, perenang itu ternyata, eh, warga negara asing. Namanya Nyana, berkewarganegaraan Burma. Setiba di lokasi pasukan TNI, dia langsung dievakuasi. Dari keterangannya diketahui, Nyana tidak sendirian. Masih ada tiga kawannya yang terjebak di tengah kontak senjata itu. Pasukan marinir yang tergabung dalam Satuan Tugas Mobil IV Bajul Rawa itu terlibat kontak senjata dengan GAM sekitar pukul 12.20 WIB, ketika melakukan patroli rutin di sekitar Penaga, tepatnya di mulut Sungai Raja Muda. Dalam kontak selama delapan menit ini, tak ada korban dari TNI dan GAM. Pada saat itulah Nyana datang. Setelah pasukan TNI berhasil mendesak GAM mundur, para marinir melakukan penyisiran dan m