The Genius Gayus is Indonesia's Person of the Year

COOLER THAN ME? In 2010 no other Indonesian making more headlines in newspapers' front pages than Gayus Tambunan, as his ability to defy Indonesia's law constantly amazed the people throughout the year.

American magazine TIME recently chooses Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as its 2010 Person of the Year –an award for person who the magazine perceives as delivering the biggest impact for the world society throughout 2010.

Some identify the award as simply America’s Person of the Year, as the magazine shrugged off its own online poll and chose a less popular American (Zuckerberg) over an Australian whistleblower named Julian Assange, who brings world leaders in tremor with his leaked secrets and wins 20 times more votes than Zuckerberg on TIME official website.

Are we looking for Indonesia’s Person of the Year? Because Gayus Tambunan –a junior tax officer who reportedly possesses bank account and assets worth of 100 billion rupiah (US$ 11 million) that stacks in various forms from posh house to his wife’s luxurious jewelries– would definitely stand a chance.

Sometimes, it’s the crisis that drives significant changes and improvements, and on very rare occasions we should thank someone who brings the crisis to us in the first place.

Scoundrels give birth to heroes, and crises path way to improvement. With his acts, Gayus Tambunan obliquely fixes Indonesia’s notoriously corrupt administration by exposing the weakness of Indonesia’s law and judicial system, which leaves many top-tier government officials from Finance Ministry, Justice and Human Rights Ministry, The National Police, to the President himself, red-faced.

While The Beatles once said that money can’t buy you love, in 2010 Gayus has proved the opposite, as his money power had won the hearts of officials from his detention center as well as from the immigration office who help him defy the law.

If the National Police members and Justice and Human Rights officials could turn back time, perhaps they would not choose to arrest Gayus when he fled to Singapore in March and left him alone instead. The arrest of Gayus was merely a beginning of what would be a huge exposure that slapped those organizations right in their faces, pushing them harder to work on the reform programs that they always half-heartedly implement.

For government officials whose departments are embroiled in Gayus’s play, it has been a fast-pacing, intrigue-plagued drama since:

Had Gayus not been born in this world to become a tax office hitman and played mockery on Indonesia’s law system, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar would not move a finger to reform his severely corrupt and dilapidated departments, whose performance he frequently boasts as “successful”.

Had he not bribed the prison guards and police officers in charge at his detention center (and got busted later), the hidden and long-concealed defects of law enforcement in Indonesia would not be revealed to the national and international community alike: That is, rich and high-profile criminal in Indonesia have always had the ability to disregard justice and buy themselves out of the prison if the price is right

Finally, had Gayus not disguised himself out to Bali, Macau, and Kuala Lumpur in 2010, the system on Indonesia’s prisons and immigration bureau would not have been fixed and transformed like we are watching right now.

It’s true that the government’s efforts in promoting justice equality for all Indonesians are still in progress following Gayus’s case, and the outcome is still far from perfect until now.

But thanks to Gayus, some minor progresses in Indonesia’s law enforcement start to materialize. If wealthy outlaws want to use the “temporary release service” for their holiday now, for example, at least they will have to pay much higher price –without doubt now detention center officials are facing higher risks to get caught, as the public’s scrutiny about the issue is getting higher than before.

To be our Person of the Year, Gayus has no reason to feel timid of the smart, Harvard-educated person like Zuckerberg. According to inside sources at the tax office interviewed by The Jakarta Post journalist, Gayus is indeed a genius himself as he reportedly boasts an extraordinarily high IQ of 147.

While his acts look clever and dull at the same time, and hence may not necessarily reflect his IQ, they are indeed improving this country in many aspects –both for the short-run and long-run

For leaking to the public about the truth that has long been cloaked, for forcing disgraced government officials to implement a larger level of bureaucratic reform, and for giving the media and public some entertainment to savor; Mr. Gayus Halomoan Partahanan Tambunan is an obvious choice for Indonesia’s Person of the Year of 2010.

This article was published in The Jakarta Post on Monday, January 10 2010

The National Police: Just How Bad Can They Get?

The 1998 movie titling The Negotiator tells a story about denigrated police lieutenant (Samuel L. Jackson) who is framed by a top-brass police officer because of his awareness of money embezzlement case, which involves many police officers in Chicago Police Department.

In the efforts of proving his innocence and unfolding the police corruption case, he storms the police building and holds several police officers and civilians as his hostage. However, the hostages are successfully rescued in the end, with Jackson impressively fleeing the crime scene.

“You must have some idea,” said a police officer who investigates one of the civilian hostages to look for clue where Jackson is going.

“I’d really like to help, but my lips are sealed,” the civilian replied. “Frankly I don’t trust any of you; I’m very disappointed in all of you.”

After listening to those lines, I was sure that many Indonesians would agree that the setting of the movie will be more suitable if it takes place in one of the departments in Indonesia’s National Police, instead of Chicago Police Department in US.

I imagine a situation where the National Police really sues a journalist from Tempo magazine and that journalist runs away and becomes fugitive –if I know something about his existence and I were ever investigated, I would utter exactly the same words as that civilian from the movie does.

Observing the National Police’s attitude at the moment, it is not difficult to identify why it is currently considered as the least admired institution in Indonesia. In addition to its notorious status as the most corrupt organization in the country, perhaps it can also be perceived as one of the worst government institutions when it comes to the commitment to serve the people.

Truthfully speaking, I hate everything that has to be dealt with the police –a sentiment which most Indonesians could also feel at the moment.

In fact, I can still genuinely remember when I had to give money to bribe a police officer to pass the driving license test. During my previous attempts, I insisted to take the test without giving any bribe which led me to fail the test with no reason explained by the police officer in charge.

Or when I accompanied my friend, who had his car stolen, and we had to visit the police office four times just to have an available police officer who can handle the paperwork for the car’s insurance.

“Please come again next time, I’m busy here,” said one of the police officers during our third visit. “The other [two police officers in this department] should handle you, but my partner has not returned yet from his holiday and the other one is sleeping and cannot be disturbed,” he said while pointing to the other police officer who innocently slept next to him during his office hours.

And regarding the recent fallout of the bulky bank accounts of several police generals, in reality few were shocked when such case was divulged. If we look around in the neighborhood; the presence of police generals with 9 million rupiah salary (that includes, according to Tempo magazine, their various grants and allowances) yet still manage to possess luxurious houses and vehicles has not been a thing worth a news–it is a well-known scandal among Indonesians.

The National Police, however, was enraged and almost sued Tempo as they think the magazine, in the police’s ridiculous perspective, compared the members of the institution with bunch of pigs in its cover. Soon as the case made public, Molotov cocktails were hurled to Tempo office and, not so long afterwards, an Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activist was beaten and hurried to hospital.

By reacting in such manner, they even proved that the allegation was true; if the facts revealed were false and those police generals were clean or earn the money legally, then why bothered and wasted so much energy responding to the publication in such childish and frantic fashion?

And those rich generals of the National Police, who have been flustered because of the exposure of this hefty bank account case, are the only ones who have the motive to do such violent acts.

Of course, the police generals will not admit to be ones who are responsible for those violent acts, and the National Police will argue that this is just another political plan or slander plot to taint their image in public. But think the logic of their argument: what’s the use of tainting the image of an institution whose reputation among the public has already been at its worst?

After all these disgraces, if those rich police generals still reject the public’s accusations and refuse external interventions in probing their institution; perhaps the best thing that they can do is to trace the source of the money from which their family buy their daily food, and reflect themselves in a mirror.

There are only three ways a person can become exceptionally rich but not from his own salary. First is by becoming entrepreneur who builds his own business, second is by becoming investor who plays and speculates in financial instruments like stocks and bonds, and third is, well, by becoming corruptor who receives illegal bribes and embezzles money.

If those top-brass police officers are neither a successful entrepreneur nor a witty investor, then perhaps the third category fits them best.

Whether they like it or not, so far it seems to be the best explanation to the baffled Indonesians who are currently wondering how they can transform their 9-million-rupiah monthly salary into multi-billion-rupiah bank account.

This article was published in The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, July 21 2010

Deception Point.

POKER FACE. Once devoted himself to serve the people and the nation, now National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri turns out to be the nation's public enemy as Indonesians find out about his evil plot to slander the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) executives.

I just can’t stop reading newspapers’ headlines recently. I have read spellbinding stories whose storylines contain one of the most complicated conspiracies in the world’s history such as Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal, Adolf Hitler’s operation Valkryie, or Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme, but watching television and reading newspaper these weeks makes me wonder about changing my notion of considering those stories as mind-gripping.

In other words, for me those storylines are nothing but boring compared to the high-tense thriller that I am following right now.

If you are reading this at the moment and actually you don’t really understand what is going on in this fierce slugfest between Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Indonesian Police, I highly suggest you to read yesterday’s newspaper archives or watch television more frequently to comprehend the chronicle.

In fact, this saga is very interesting –so interesting that I think someone should write book or make movie about this whole thing. As the story grows more and more astonishing each day, this may be the world’s most enthralling drama in decades and therefore it should not be missed.

Like Hollywood movies, the rift between the police and KPK put its spectators on the edge of their seats as the saga goes beyond its initial means. New characters whose role was proved to be significant on the story’s plot are introduced every week. Initially the battle only involved high-rank police officers against their enemies, the anti-graft commission deputies, but as now the case has broadened it unexpectedly drags many popular names like Adnan Buyung Nasution, Abdul Hakim Ritonga and M.S Kaban into the fuss –even our president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was said to have his hands involved in this highly controversial case.

But you don’t have to be a smart person to realize that there’s definitely something wrong with this case –even an undergraduate student like me can comprehend the reason why huge public resentment towards the Police and the government exists at the moment.

We saw on the live television broadcast already how National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri and National Police chief of detectives Susno Duadji performed during the hearing in front of the House of Representatives. Those bandits seem to cover themselves with the hero mask: the way they convincingly persuaded the House of Representatives and tried to regain the trust of million Indonesians who watched their live performance, the way they played the role as if they were on the same side as the KPK’s in enforcing the law and corruption eradication in Indonesia –it was simply a sort of performance you would expect from Oscar-winning actors.

Thanks for all the seemingly perfect acting dear police officers, but only donkey falls to the same hole two times. Indonesian people are no donkeys; now with Ari Muladi and Williardi Wizard have unfolded your evil thoughts to frame the KPK leaders and shown to us how dilapidated your organization actually is, we just cannot have faith in you anymore.

We can also recall that the KPK tape have clearly unfurled Anggodo’s crucial role on the plot to undermine the once larger-than-life commission. Surprisingly, at the moment he still wanders freely as he was released by the police with their vague argument of ‘not sufficient evidence’.

The villain is well ahead of the good guy by now since the justice is only yet to be erected –and the villain will still be in this vantage point if culprits like Anggodo, Susno Duadji, and Bambang Hendarso Danuri are still free out there and far from being locked-up in the place where they truly deserve to be in.

Indonesians were presented with numerous shrewd trickeries already in this saga. But the story is far from over as many vital characters like Yulianto and Yuliana Oeng are still hiding behind the curtain and waiting to be introduced to the stage. At some point, the show will be crammed with its entire performers and the storyline becomes more puzzling than ever. Just then it will be very interesting while we can only wonder what kind of ending this story will offer.

Who will win? Beware crocodiles; you are not playing the good guy role here. And storylines in Hollywood movies are famous for the concept of: at the end of the story, it’s the good guy who always prevails.

The Blow on the United States' Economy

Red All Over. The price of the stocks is plummeting endlessly, causing havoc in most of the stock markets all over the world

Today, forecasting what topic you will meet often if you read the business or economic section of the newspaper regularly is easy; the United States economic recession. At the present time United States is experiencing a profound drop on its economy. The US Dollar is weakening, the stocks’ prices are plunging, the inflation rate is skyscraping, and the government’s debt is rising. All those predicaments cause The Federal Reserve Bank seem to be very busy these days. Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson continue to rise off on the newspapers’ headlines by turns. As day changes, things are getting worse for both of them and new policies have to be considered in purpose of controlling the situation.

What’s to blame? First, the excessive number of military spending. America, under Bush’s command, is the player in the game when it comes to firearms. In 2007, United States is the country with the highest military spending in the world, leading the pack with US$ 528.7 billion. For comparison, United States has just recently criticized China for its massive number of military budget, which is ‘only’ US$ 49.5 billion. Yes, President Bush is fully responsible for this economic turmoil. His disastrous decision to respond to 9/11 with invasions to Afghanistan, Iraq, and, will probably be, Iran, leads the United States’ economy to a deep ravine.

Second, the rising price of oil. United States is the biggest oil importer country in the world by far, and the exorbitant price of oil these days really burdens its economy. No wonder, President Bush repeatedly begged OPEC to raise its supply to decrease oil price. The request was rejected, “Well, Iraq and Iran are close friends of ours and look what you have done to them, George. So, why should we help you?”

Third, and most likely is the essential one; the subprime mortgage crisis. In 2002, the United States’ economy was teetering on edge because of the collapse of the dot-com bubble. Not to mention dot-com companies like Yahoo and Google, many corporations running in technological and website went bankrupt at the time. Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman back then, issued the easy money policy as a respond to the situation. The renowned economic maestro aggressively cut the interest rate (Federal funds rate) to historically lowest level, from 6.5 percent to 1.75 percent. A cut in interest rate lead to a boost in the country’s overall aggregate demand. Also, it reduced the cost of borrowing and, consequently, Americans could easily borrow money as they please. Then, they used the money to buy houses as they saw house as a potential form of investment rather than saving the money in the bank.

Yet Greenspan is notorious as ‘the bubble-diversion man’ with the policy. As I mentioned before, the purpose of the Greenspan’s policy was merely to lift the economy from recession by boosting the aggregate demand. Unfortunately, he tidily –or perhaps frantically- surmounted the crisis caused by one bubble by establishing another bubble. In this case, as a repair of the damage caused by the collapse of the dot-com bubble, he just allowed the housing bubble to develop. Today, United States suffers the outcome of the decision that Greenspan made in the past. After reached its peak in 2005, where price for houses was soaring to the highest level in several populous districts, the real estate bubble suddenly collapsed. All of a sudden, the number of foreclosure rate increased and the house price plunged. Many lenders could not afford to pay back the money to the bank. This actually is the core of sub-prime mortgage crisis, causing massive losses in several banks trading in mortgage-backed securities which lead the United States’ economy to a recession.

One of the cases includes the collapse of Bear Sterns, the nation’s fifth biggest investment bank, whose stocks dropped drastically from $60 to $2 per share in a week. Facing with huge debt caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, Bear Sterns went broke. The Fed, playing its role of a central bank, then acted as the lender of the last resort by approving $30 billion bailout credit to assist JP Morgan Chase in the acquisition of Bear Sterns.

This story will be very different if the recession happens in another country and doesn’t take place in the United States. What makes huge concerns to all the economists and policymakers around the world is because this case occurs on the world’s superpower which controls one third of the world’s GDP. Whatever happens in the United States’ economy affects the global economy and, therefore, attracts attention from many economists around the world.

Some economists say that recent US economic blow is even worse compared to the great depression in 1929. Some economists name ‘recession’, while others say ‘just an economic slowdown’. Whatsoever, it definitely is not only the problem of the country itself; it is the problem of the world. As a dominant and influential economy in the world, United States holds the responsibility of the stabilization of the global economy. And with the United States general election coming toward the nation, this economic mess should obviously be the first task to be accomplished for the next president in charge.