A retrograde ruling
Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman leads a hearing in Jakarta on June 15, 2023 to read out the court’s decision on a petition
looking to change the legislative election voting system. The court passed the buck to the legislature to decide on election voting systems.
(Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta
Tue, October 17, 2023 In the end, it was an
outcome that many had expected and once again,
Indonesian democracy is put to the test. In the
midst of growing opposition toward increased
dynastic politics, the Constitutional Court ruled
on Monday that anyone who has been elected to
a regional post can run in a presidential election,
regardless of age, clearing the path for President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's eldest son Gibran
Rakabuming Raka to join the ticket of Gerindra
Party presumptive presidential
Prabowo Subianto in next year's ballot. Few
anticipated a different outcome from the court,
especially given that the court Chief Justice
Anwar Usman had a conflict of interest. Anwar
is married to a sister of the President. Anwar had
even made his personal opinion known on the
issue weeks before presiding over Monday’s
hearing.
Last month, in a public lecture in Central Java,
Anwar said everyone should look up to a
precedent set by Prophet Muhammad in
appointing a 16-year-old as his
commander. It had also become clear that in the
past few weeks the grounds had been cleared for
Gibran to be a likely contender in next year’s
presidential election. All major political parties
● in the ruling coalition of President Jokowi had
come to an agreement that Gibran would be a
unity vice-presidential candidate that the parties
could rally round. For Prabowo and the Gerindra
Party’s rank-and-file, Gibran is the golden ticket
to winning next year’s election and the ultimate
seal of approval from the President. To further
seal the deal, late last week the vast volunteer
network of President Jokowi known as Projo,
endorsed Prabowo for February's election.
Following this ruling, we must raise a red flag
candidate over the probity of the upcoming election, the
game appears rigged to give certain players the
upper hand. We should make it clear that we are
all for the lowering of age requirements for
politicians to run for office as there should be no
discrimination based on age, gender, faith or
political affiliation or experience. But the
problem with Monday’s ruling was that by using
the equality principle the court has deprived
other political candidates of access to a level
playing field. Democracy works on the
assumption that everyone abides by the same
military rules of the game and that every player gets
equal access to available resources. The court’s
ruling will not only put the credibility of next
year's election in question but will also cast a
long shadow over Indonesian democracy.
Learning from the decision, future leaders could
become tempted to resort to the legal process to
get outcomes favorable to them and before long
we will live under legal authoritarianism. The
ball is now in President Jokowi's court. He can
still restore what remains of the integrity of next
year's election by ignoring the ruling and not
allowing Gibran to join any presidential ticket. It
is normal for any outgoing president like Jokowi
to show preferences for candidates in the race,
but he should play the game fair and square. We
know for sure that President Jokowi is a leader
Arbiters of truth or blasphemy?
who has been attuned to the people's aspirations
and now we know that the public opinion is
largely against dynastic politics. As for the
Constitutional Court, it should heed the call from
one of its own justices Saldi Isra, who blasted
his fellow judges in his dissenting opinion,
expressing his grave concerns regarding the
future of the court if it allows itself to make
discriminatory and inconsistent rulings based on
the political demands of the day. "Quo vadis
Constitutional Court?" Saldi said in his closing
argument
Panji Gumilang, the leader of Al-Zaytun pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Indramayu, West Java, greets journalists as he
arrives on July 3, 2023, for questioning at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) in Jakarta. Panji
was summoned by the police to clarify blasphemy allegations made against the pesantren he founded. (Antara/Laily Rahmawaty)
Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta
● Sat, August 12, 2023 The government
has once again invoked the blasphemy law
as it goes after Panji Gumilang, the founder
and principal of the Al Zaytun pesantren
(Islamic boarding school) in the West Java
town of Indramayu. After weeks of highly
publicized investigations, police have
arrested 77-year-old Panji on the basis of his
teaching and practices in his school – one of
the largest and commercially most
successful pesantren in the country. The use
of the blasphemy law over the interpretation
of religion (Islam) effectively puts the
police and prosecutors, and later the court,
as arbiters of truth. This has happened time
and again in the past since the law was
enacted in 1965 against sects and
denominations that do not conform to the
mainstream or dominant version of the
religions. More recent victims include the
followers of the Shiite and Ahmadiyah
sects, and the Gerakan Fajar Nusantara
(Gafatar) – a growing cult that combined
Judaism, Christianity and Islam – which the
Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) regarded
as heretical. In the distant past, followers of
smaller Christian and Buddhism
denominations have also been the target.
Persecuting people on the basis of their faith
is not only going against the Constitution,
which guarantees freedom of religion, but it
also runs counter to the teaching of most
major religions. Islam for one says there
shall be no compunction in matters of faith.
You cannot get more blasphemous than
imposing your version of religion and truth
on others. Police are also investigating
claims of money laundering as Panji
reportedly has over 200 bank accounts
under his name, and of terrorism, with
alleged links to the Indonesian Islamic State
(NII), a rebellious movement launched in
the 1940s and banned in 1962. They have
not found any evidence so far, but they
moved with the blasphemy charge thanks to
an MUI fatwa (ruling) which said the
teaching and practices at Al Zaytun were
heretical. Panji’s arrest was almost a matter
of course given the massive publicity on
social media supporting the claims of
blasphemy, money laundering and
terrorism. All these claims, made by some
MUI leaders and also a number of former
students and teachers of Al Zaytun, spread
not only on social media but also on
mainstream media, turning public opinion
against Panji. Playing up people’s religious
sentiments is the easiest way to bring
someone down. We saw this happen with
former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok”
Tjahaja Purnama, who not only lost his
reelection bid in 2017 but also received a
two-year jail term for blasphemy. The claim
of blasphemy played up on social media
angered the public, which culminated in
massive street protests in Jakarta calling for
Ahok’s head, a double minority – he is
Christian and of Chinese descent. Trial by
social media is far deadlier than trial by the
press of the old days. The outcome of all the
investigations, and later the court trial,
against Panji are almost predetermined by
the mass of public opinion. It is unclear
what motivated the police to go after Panji.
It is not the first time he has had to deal with
the claims of irregularities in the way he ran
his school. He survived in the past but this
time he has to deal with massive public
opinion. Pesantren are overseen by the
Religious Affairs Ministry rather than the
Education Ministry, but do not expect any
help from either. Following Panji’s arrest,
the Religious Affairs Ministry said it was
moving to take over Al Zaytun, bring in
new teachers or reform the current teaching
staff, in the name of protecting the
thousands of students. The government is
moving ahead even before a court ruling.
Several attempts to repeal the 1965 law
failed. The last one in 2017, the
Constitutional Court ruled to retain the law
saying the country needs it “to protect
freedom of religion as guaranteed by the
Constitution.” The case against Panji again
proves the contrary.

Country Garden's entire offshore debt to be in

default if Tuesday payment not made

By Clare Jim
October 17, 20236:17 AM GMT+7Updated 6 hours ago
HONG KONG, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Country
Garden's (2007.HK) entire offshore debt
will be deemed to be in default if China's
largest property developer fails to make a
$15 million coupon payment on Tuesday,
the end of a 30-day grace period.Non-
payment of this tranche is set to trigger
cross defaults in other bonds as is standard
in bond contracts.
Lack of payment - which is expected after
Country Garden last week warned about
its inability to meet offshore debt
obligations - would make the firm the latest
in scores of Chinese developers who have
defaulted.
Country Garden has also missed other
offshore payments in the past few weeks
though those payments still have not seen
their 30-day grace periods lapse.
Country Garden declined to comment.
With nearly $11 billion of offshore bonds
and $6 billion of offshore loans, a default by
Country Garden would set the stage for one
of China's biggest corporate debt
restructurings.
Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
BREAKING: Constitutional Court opens door for Jokowi's son to run in presidential
poll
Country Garden has appointed Houlihan
Lokey, China International Capital
Corporation (CICC) and law firm Sidley
Austin as advisers to examine its capital
structure and liquidity position and
formulate a 'holistic' solution.
Last week, printed circuit board maker
Kingboard Holdings (0148.HK) became one
of the first known listed companies to take
legal action against Country Garden when a
unit, which is owed HK$1.6 billion ($204
million), issued a statutory demand seeking
repayment.
So far, developers accounting for 40% of
Chinese home sales have defaulted on their
debt obligations since 2021, according to
JPMorgan. CreditSights figures show
Chinese developers have defaulted on more
than $114.6 billion of $175 billion in dollar
bonds outstanding since 2021.
As more developers moved towards
restructuring debt, their offshore creditors
are expected to be offered less favourable
terms amid a worsening outlook for the
country's real estate sector.
Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka (right), who is President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s eldest son, chats with (from left to
right) Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick
Thohir in the lounge of Adi Soemarmo Airport in Boyolali, Central Java on July 24, 2023. (Antara/Press Bureau of Presidential
Secretariat )
Nur Janti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta ●
Mon, October 16, 2023 In an
unexpected turn of events, the
Constitutional Court ruled on Monday to
allow candidates under the age of 40,
but with experience as elected officials,
to run in presidential elections, opening
the way for President Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo’s son to run in 2024. The ruling
appeared to be a direct about-face from
its previous rulings on similar cases read
out earlier on the same day, when the
court upheld the minimum age of
candidacy of 40 without exception. The
court said the latest ruling, in a petition
by a university student Almas
Tsaqibbirru, automatically rendered the
previous rulings void. This decision
clears the way for Jokowi’s son, mayor
of Surakarta in Central Java, Gibran
Rakabuming Raka, to run for vice
president in the 2024 election. Election
Every Wednesday Stay informed and
up-to-date with the latest news and
developments surrounding Indonesia's
highly anticipated 2024 general
elections. "Election" is a comprehensive
newsletter that brings you a curated
Whoever wins next UK election will face budget bind -IFS
think-tank
By William Schomberg
October 17, 20236:18 AM GMT+7Updated 7 hours ago
collection of essential updates, analyses
and insights into this important
democratic event. View More
Newsletter By registering, you agree
with The Jakarta Post's Privacy Policy
SIGN UP While the 36-year-old eldest
son of Jokowi has not publicly
announced any interest in contesting the
race, politicians backing presumptive
Gerindra Party nominee Prabowo
Subianto had been calling for him to
choose Gibran as his running mate.
Critics had called on the Constitutional
Court justices to reject the petitions,
citing judicial overreach and an attempt
at political dynasty building. They also
said Chief Justice Anwar Usman,
Jokowi’s brother-in-law and Gibran’s
uncle, should have recused himself from
adjudicating on the case to avoid any
potential conflict of interest. A law
major at Surakarta University, Almas
wrote in his petition that he was inspired
by the success of the Surakarta mayor
and that he himself aspired to become
president or vice president of the
country.
LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Britain's
public finances are so constrained that
whoever governs in the years ahead - the
ruling Conservatives or the Labour Party
- will have little room to cut taxes or
boost spending, a report by a leading
think-tank showed on Tuesday.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned
that giving voters a tax cut before an
election expected in 2024 would risk
causing a "short-term economic sugar
rush", higher Bank of England interest
rates and a protracted recession.
Further ahead, weak economic growth,
high debt levels and growing demands
on public spending from health to
defence - problems Britain shares
with many other rich countries - would
probably maintain the tight bind on the
next government.
"The price of our high levels of
indebtedness, failure to stimulate growth
and high borrowing costs is likely to be
a protracted period of high taxes and
tight spending," IFS director Paul
Johnson said.
Britain's economy was struggling to
grow even before the double whammy
of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
surge in energy prices, both of which
triggered a wave of government
borrowing.
Finance minister Jeremy Hunt has ruled
out significant tax cuts in his Nov. 22
budget update, despite pressure from
lawmakers in his Conservative Party
who are alarmed at Labour's big lead in
opinion polls.
Hunt said last week the government's
debt interest bill could be as much as 30
billion pounds ($36.5 billion) higher,
due to high inflation and interest rates.
Labour's would-be finance minister
Rachel Reeves has stressed she would
follow a similar fiscal target to Hunt:
reducing debt as a share of the economy
- which has trebled over the past 20
years to about 100% - while also
promising to accelerate Britain's weak
growth rate.
The IFS's Johnson said Labour had so
far announced plans for only small,
targeted tax increases which raised
questions about its ability to fund
investment that could boost economic
growth.
Britain's current government is on
course to have increased taxes by more
than any other since the Second World
War, according to the IFS.
The think-tank said Hunt's decision to
freeze the thresholds at which people
start paying higher rates of income tax
would mean 16% of taxpayers are
paying those higher rates in five years'
time, up from just 4% at the start of the
1990s.
The freezing of income tax thresholds
would lead to a 52 billion-pound annual
tax increase by 2027/28 which the
government is likely to struggle to keep
in place, the IFS said.
Carl Emmerson, deputy director at the
IFS, said the combination of growing
pressures on the public finances from
welfare, demand for more public
services, slow economic growth and
high debt meant only one thing.
"That just points to you having to have a
higher tax burden over the medium
term," Emmerson said.
Forecasts by U.S. bank Citi, which
contributed to the IFS report, showed
Britain was running further behind its
pre-COVID economic growth trend than
other European countries.
The International Monetary Fund said
last week that Britain's economy would
be the slowest among Group of Seven
economies in 2024.
But Emmerson said longer-term population were less severe in Britain
challenges relating to an ageing than in other comparable countries.
Writing by William Schomberg Editing by Christina Fincher