Buleleng KPUD to print vote ballots in Surabaya

The Buleleng General Election Commission (KPUD) has been forced to print ballot papers in Surabaya, East Java, instead of locally, after hundreds of thousands of vote ballots were found damaged.

The KPUD will use the same company to print the ballot papers.

"Almost all of the ballot papers for the House of Representatives (DPR) were damaged while we are still inspecting the ballots for the Regional Representatives Council (DPD)," Buleleng KPUD chief, Luh Putu Sri Widiastini, said Tuesday.

"It seems that the DPD ballots were also damaged, so we will have the ballots printed in Surabaya."

Sri said ballot papers printed in Surabaya by several regencies had much better print quality.

"It seems to be because of a technical error, perhaps the printing machines are too old," she said.

"We do not want to take any risks and will print ballots for the provincial and regency legislative councils in Surabaya."

However, Buleleng KPUD is still waiting for the KPU in Jakarta for the damaged DPR and DPD ballots.

Buleleng KPUD has found some 450,000 ballot papers damaged because of red lines, dots or scratches in the columns for political parties.

The regency KPUD argued the marks could be wrongly counted as a legal vote.

KPUD member Nyoman Sutawan Bendesa said the damaged papers could cause problems in the future for having the dots and lines in columns containing the parties' names.

According to regulations, those marks are legal votes.

"In our opinion, those ballots should be returned, but we are still waiting for guidance from the KPU," Sutawan said.

"There should a legal reference to use the damaged ballots to prevent unwanted consequences in the future."

Sutawan said the Buleleng people were very sensitive to various problems especially concerning the general elections.

"The Buleleng people are very critical, so we have to work professionally according to existing regulations," he said.

Alit Kertaraharja , The Jakarta Post , Buleleng | Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Four banks probed over KKM scheme

The repercussions from the Karangasem Development Cooperative (KKM) scheme continue to surface as Bank Indonesia's Denpasar office announced Tuesday it was opening an inquiry into four banks where the cooperative had stashed its members' money.

BI Denpasar head Viraguna Bagoes Oka said the central bank's supervisory team was going through the accounts and funds opened by the KKM in the four banks to look for any discrepancies.

"We're looking at whether the opening of the accounts and the flow of funds was done within procedure, and if the sources of the money can be identified and tracked down and so on," Viraguna told reporters.

He refused to name the banks involved, saying only that his supervisory team was "keeping a close eye" on them.

Bali Police closed down the KKM on Friday after it was suspected of running a Ponzi scheme. The cooperative, which started up in 2006, offered a ludicrously high interest rate of 150 percent on deposits made by members.

The practice is believed to have cost KKM members more than Rp 210 billion (US$17.5 million) in losses.

The police have detained KKM director I Putu Gede Kertia and manager I Nengah Wijanegara. Both are charged with violating Article 16 of Law No. 10/1998 on Banking, for running banking operations without a license from BI. They face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and Rp 15 billion in fines.

Police are questioning both suspects to figure out how to recover the members' money, much of which was placed in several banks across the island under numerous accounts.

When asked whether the banks would be persecuted for storing the KKM's money, Viraguna said this would depend on BI's findings.

"Sanctions will be meted out in accordance with the offence, whether it's a simple procedural mistake or something that may result in a criminal indictment," he said.

He also said BI Denpasar was keeping watch over small banks that may have lent money to the KKM or its investors, pointing out this could be detrimental to the rate of nonperforming loans (NPL).

When asked whether the KKM had broken banking regulations, Viraguna refused to comment because cooperatives did not come under the central bank's authority.

However, he said BI still needed to act because investors could be using money borrowed from banks to invest in the KKM, and because of the funds placed by the KKM in the four banks.

He also lamented that so many people had participated in the scheme. The KKM has an estimated 62,000 members.

"I have relatives in Karangasem who have fallen victim to this scheme," he said.

Viraguna also denied rumors the KKM had deposited funds with BI Denpasar.

"That's a complete lie. There are no such funds at our bank," he said, urging the public not to believe rumors linking the KKM with BI.

He added his office was ready to cooperate with the Bali Police to explain banking regulations, but admitted he had yet to be contacted by the police.

"Which is why we can neither announce nor do anything yet, so as not to interfere with the police investigation. All we can do is wait," he said.

Wasti Atmodjo , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Cooperatives in Bali get Rp 7.5 billion in funding

Cooperatives in Bali received Wednesday a financial boost with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the provincial administration-owned Regional Development Bank (BPD) and the Agency for Revolving Fund Management for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (LPDB-KUKM).

The agency was established in 2007 to act as a kind of central bank for cooperatives lending money to their members.

The MOU centers on the disbursement of a Rp 7.5 billion fund through BPD Bali, which is part of a total of Rp 381 billion to be disbursed through 21 BPDs nationwide.

Agency president director Chairul Fadjar Sofyan said the revolving fund would be distributed to the public with a low interest rate of 4 percent.

"We will add the allocation if the Rp 7.5 billion is not enough for Bali," he said.

The MOU was signed on the sidelines of a provincial cooperative coordinating meeting held at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel.

During the meeting, it was revealed that lack of commitment and understanding on the part of cooperative managers had caused 30 percent of cooperatives in the country to stagnate, although the condition in Bali remains much better.

Guritno Kusumo, secretary of the State Ministry for Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives, said that of some 140,000 cooperatives in Indonesia, 42,000 remained inactive.

"Both managers and members lack understanding of cooperative principles, resulting in the cooperatives being inactive," he told participants at the meeting.

The national condition is in stark contrast to Bali, which is in much better shape with only 256 inactive cooperatives out of 3,504 cooperatives registered in the province.

"Cooperatives in Bali show promising performance," Guritno said.

Records show the number of cooperatives is increasing by 14.85 percent per year compared to national growth of only 5.99 percent. In Bali, cooperatives are on the rise by 4.47 percent per year, and now feature about 700,000 members.

Nyoman Sugawa Korry, chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Cooperatives Council (Dekopin), said the inactive cooperatives were the result of managers who were unable to face tight competition.

"We will reactivate those cooperatives that are in a coma, pushing them toward self-reliance," he said.

Ni Komang Erviani , THE JAKARTA POST , DENPASAR | Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Ban on ironwood exports hurts producers

A ban on the export of ironwood products from sources other than Kalimantan is costing Bali's crafts industry billions of rupiah.

Head of the Bali Industry and Trade Agency, I Gede Darmaja, said ironwood craft producers in Bali had been storing excess stock in warehouses since the Forestry Ministry declared the ban last year.

"Most of these ironwood products should have been exported already but have remained in Bali since last year," Darmaja told The Jakarta Post in Denpasar on Tuesday.

"There are also products that use ironwood as components that also cannot be exported, despite orders being placed for April."

One product hardest hit by the ban is demountable structures such as gazebos, which Bali almost exclusively exports to Japan, the United States and several European countries.

Darmaja said Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika had proposed a leeway for Bali's exports to the Ministry.

"Allow Bali's exports to continue, at least until all the current stock has run out," he said.

Meanwhile, producers are trying to devise new ways to move their products from their warehouses and onto the market.

Made Krebek, a demountable-structure producer from Denpasar, has been replacing the ironwood roof tiles he previously used for gazebos with thatch, but his efforts have been in vain.

"At least 30 percent of my orders were cancelled because we switched to thatch," he said.

As a result of the ban, Krebek was left with around 1,000 packs of ironwood, valued at over Rp 100 million (US$9,000)

He said the forestry ministry should have informed manufacturers of their intention to ban export of ironwood from areas outside of Kalimantan.

"I haven't exported anything since the beginning of this year. I've finished all the products as per my contract, which is worth nearly Rp 1 billion," said Krebek, who had been making ironwood products since 2000 with an average export volume of 30 gazebos per month.

Ni Komang Erviani , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Bali yet to decide on training hospital

The Bali administration has yet to decide on whether to accept a planned training hospital, with Governor Made Mangku Pastika expressing doubt over the government-funded hospital.

"I have yet to receive any explanation on the training hospital's aims and purposes," he told a hearing Monday at the Bali Legislative Council.

"I have doubts about the hospital, because the public also have doubts about coming to a place where they are going to be guinea pigs for medical students."

The proposed training hospital at Udayana University is part of a plan to develop medical studies at 17 state universities, funded through the state budget.

Udayana university is slated to get initial funds for the training hospital of Rp 75 billion (US$6.29 million) for planning, location survey and construction preparation.

Although expressing his doubts, Pastika denied he was rejecting outright the need for a training hospital in Bali.

"Various parties such as the university and the provincial council should study whether the presence of such a training hospital is important," he said.

"We should also listen to residents' concerns over where the hospital should be built."

Monday's hearing failed to reach an agreement on whether to give the go-ahead to the training hospital.

In addition, the provincial administration and legislature have yet to decide on the location. Two options are currently being touted: at the Udayana campus in Jimbaran, or on administration-owned land in Denpasar.

Ni Komang Erviani , THE JAKARTA POST , DENPASAR | Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Fleeing burglars leave bike behind

DENPASAR: Police arrested two burglars shortly after they broke into a villa on Jl. Laksamana in Seminyak, Badung regency, at dawn on Tuesday.

Rough August, 32, was shot in the left leg while trying to flee from his boarding room in Kerobokan, while Ronald Ulur, 33, surrendered after police raided his room at a motel in Legian.

Kuta Police chief of detectives First Insp. Made Karsa said the two men panicked after the villa owner returned from clubbing to find them trying to make off with several items, including a DVD player, clothes, glasses, a bag and a cell phone charger.

"The two suspects ran through the vast rice paddy behind the villa, but they left their motorcycle behind. The villa owner then contacted the police," he said.

"When we checked the motorcycle's registration, we found it belonged to a rental company." - JP

Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Police nab courier for drugs possession

DENPASAR: Bali Police have arrested a man for possession of illegal drugs, and gained valuable leads that could lead them to a Jakarta-based narcotics factory.

Fisherman Rudi Saputra Siregar, 28, was arrested Friday after police discovered 609 Ecstasy pills and 5.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine in the glove compartment of his rented car.

The Ecstasy pills were separated into 270 pink pills with a Mickey Mouse logo and 339 green pills with an apple logo.

The crystal meth was found wrapped in 11 packets, all of which weighed roughly 12.1 grams, including the wrappings.

The police discovered he was en route to deliver the drugs to a customer, although the identity and whereabouts of that customer remain under investigation.

Rudi, still being questioned by Bali Police, revealed he was a courier for a Jakarta-based drugs producer.- JP

Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali

Building confiscated for Rp 192m in unpaid taxes

DENPASAR: The Tragia building, owned by PT Tragia GEA, in the Kertawijaya shopping district in Denpasar is under threat of confiscation for failure to pay taxes since 2006.

On Tuesday, Denpasar Tax Office arrears official Ichtiar Rachmatullah placed an announcement on front of the building stating it was in arrears.

"This is part of law enforcement, to get the taxes paid," he said.

"We have been very patient with PT Tragia by taking all means, from delivering notification letters to summonses. But there has been no response."

PT Tragia and PT Panca Karya, which also has offices in the building, have accumulated tax arrears and fines of Rp 192,633,793 million (US$16,160). - JP

Thu, 02/26/2009 1:59 PM | Bali