Tenggara Backgrounder May 17

Prabowo continues fighting as May 22 closing

Overview - With the General Elections Commission (KPU) bracing itself for the announcement of the election result, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto continues his fight, despite having been predicted to lose the race – for the third straight time. What measures will Prabowo and his camp employ?

Govt on witch hunt against people power instigators

Overview - The government is taking the threat of massive protests against the results of the presidential election by the camp of candidate Prabowo Subianto seriously. The former general, who raced against incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the April 17 vote, has not publicly endorsed the plan to launch a “people power” movement, but he has not ruled it out either. The government and the police have declared such a plan an act of treason, and are taking steps to pre-empt the threat.

Import permit delay leads spiking garlic prices

Overview - During this year’s Ramadan, shoppers in many parts of the country have been annoyed by the sharp increase in prices of commodities, especially garlic, which has increased by threefold in a month or so. According to hargapangan.id, which monitors staple food prices across Indonesia, the average price of garlic at traditional markets rose nationally to Rp 63,900 per kilogram on May 7 from Rp 49,750 on April 30 and below Rp 30,000 in March. At some markets, such as those in Jakarta, prices skyrocketed to over Rp 100,000 a kg.

BEI scrutinizes Garuda’s accounting report

Overview - The Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) decided to pursue an investigation into a US$239.94 million transaction made between Garuda Indonesia and PT Mahata Aero Teknology following the first hearing to clarify the flag carrier’s disputed accounting report. The investigation began with a meeting between BEI and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) on May 2 to discuss the investigation into Garuda’s accounting report. In the meeting, the OJK agreed that BEI would lead the investigation and suggested that it cooperate with Indonesia’s professional accounting associations.