Your comments on the issuance of a government regulation in-lieu-of-law (Perppu) on the formation of a team to select interim leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as three out of five current leaders have been named as suspects by the police.

I think the President's decision to add another three to the present two is correct. I see there is an effort to systematically weaken KPK's position. Antasari ordering the murder of someone because of a woman who is not even beautiful? Who could believe that? And now declared a suspect because they recorded someone's conversation requesting money for an evil deed? It's their job to do so.

I definitely praise SBY for making such a good decision, but I see the possibility of a communication technique called "reverse logic" here.

The media says this is a way to weaken the KPK, while we all know that with five leaders on the team, the KPK will feel stronger and take the right actions. So SBY might gain more support through this smart tactic?

Mela
Jakarta

I agree with the President, who has issued a regulation in-lieu-of law to select interim KPK leaders.

E. Nurdin
Jakarta

At last, President SBY has come out of his sideline position and intervened to keep the KPK going. Amid academic debates of all kinds of self-made experts, the President issued a Perppu on the formation of a team to select interim KPK leaders to replace the ones named suspects by the police.

The President however, has to restrain the police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) because even unfounded accusations are enough to declare the KPK leadership non-active.

If such a condition continues there will be no KPK leaders left to carry on eradicating corruption.

Soebagjo Soetadji
Jakarta

This is an odd case since its first appearance! It began when the two leaders were named suspects due to a weird case. Then SBY issued the Perppu surprisingly soon! (maybe he has adopted JK's slogan "the faster the better"??).

I think this is a big conspiracy. The government doesn't want KPK to dig deeper into the Century case and the government and the House of Representatives (which is full of corruptors) doesn't want more corruptors to be arrested by the KPK.

I can only watch, and ask, "God, what has happened to Indonesia?"

Fauzi JS
Bandung

Only stained hands would disagree with SBY's issuance of the Perppu on the formation of a team to select interim KPK leaders.

Moeljono Adikoesoemo
Jakarta

I hope the President is firmly committed to the KPK. If he is then the formation of the so-called Tim Lima (the team of five) is commendable. The members are respectable figures who will do a good job to choose the replacement KPK leaders.

New Corruption Bill : Indonesia

INDONESIA'S parliament on Tuesday passed a controversial corruption court bill that anti-graft watchdogs have warned is likely to undermine the fight against endemic corruption in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

In a blow to the independence of the corruption court, the bill relaxed a previous rule setting out the composition of the panel of judges. The court has enjoyed a 100 per cent success rate due in part to the use of ad hoc judges and their majority on the panel.

However, after strong pressure on parliament the bill allows the country's Corruption Eradication Commission, the KPK, to keep its power to prosecute suspects.

More Dissaster : Manila Flood ;

MANILA - AS HE surveyed the floor of his living room awash in mud yesterday, Mr Barry Manook, a father of two, said: 'Next time, I'll be better prepared.'

His home is in Marikina, one of the areas in Manila that was hardest hit by tropical storm Ketsana over the weekend.

Like most residents in his neighbourhood, he lost most of his belongings.

Piled on a sofa are the family's hard-earned electrical appliances, now fit only for the junk shop, and his daughter's soft toys, drenched and covered in mud.

'You can see how high the flood water rose,' said the 38-year-old government worker, pointing to a grimy waterline about 10cm below the ceiling. Despite the extensive damage, he felt lucky. 'My family survived,' Mr Manook said.

Like many Filipinos long used to natural calamities, he is coping with the disaster with good-humoured though fatalistic stoicism. Still, if anyone should bear the blame, it would be the local authorities.

Residents angrily claim that they did not receive any warnings from the authorities about the severity of the flooding caused by last Saturday's deluge, which dumped more rain on the capital and the surrounding regions in nine hours than there had been in a month.

'We were totally taken by surprise,' said Ms Nery Deciderio, an office worker. She described how her family had only minutes to flee from their ground-floor home in a narrow alley, as water from the overflowing Marikina River rose quickly.

Two days after the storm, overwhelmed relief and rescue workers continued a desperate effort to help nearly half a million people forced from their homes on the main island of Luzon, as the official death toll climbed to 140.

The government is struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster. 'We are concentrating on massive relief operations. But the system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed,' National Disaster Coordinating Council head Anthony Golez told reporters.

Raise the Children

Assalamualaikum Wrb.

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are thank you very much to Ibu Nur Sumarah, Jakarta for her donation and also our great appreciation to this Blog to advertise our Children Foundation, so far we gets only a support from Region Social Department Office in Luwuk, South East of Sulawesi.

Presently only few of our children have been in formal school, the rest still awaiting your donation to get better chance for their life & education, due to our lack of ability. Send your donation (anything ; used children cloths, rice or Cash) to the following address ;


IBU NURJATIA
BANK BNI ;Idr Account no. 0133492955.
Hp. 081388237473
Panti Asuhan Sulamul Fallah (Ophan House)
Jl. Imam Bonjol .n0.85 Km.3 , Jalur 2, Kel.Bungin , Luwuk Banggai, Sulawesi Tenga, INDONESIA

Thanking you
Your sincerely
head of foundation

Warning : Tsunami Allert.! Just a hour before

Japanese Government, New Zealand and French Polynesiaa, : Have issued tsunami Alert after a massive Earthquake and Tsunami hiting Pacific Island and West Samoa.

There was a tsunami affecting the pacific Island state of Samoa hours ago after a massive earthquake of magnitude 8.0 in the region, Over 25 people have died and lots of villages have been Swept away.

The death toll is expected to rise as many are missing. The massive earthquake triggered a nearly 3 M tsunami. USA President Obama has some minutes ago declared American Samoa a major disaster area, making federal relief available to earthquake and tsunami victims.

Shaking near the epicenter reportedly lasted up to three minutes. A number of aftershocks also hit the area after the initial earthquake.

“We are seeing a lot of activity in the area,” a spokesman for the United Stated geological Survey, said, who also warned that more stronger aftershocks should be expected. The strongest aftershock struck at 12.45 p.m. local time, about 150 miles south-southwest of Samoa’s Apia, and had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9.

Below are some more photos shared about the Tsunami.