Politicians who tweet

It's just amazing that Twitter gained so much popularity in Indonesian politics. President candidates have their accounts created by campaign managers. But some have their personal accounts. Vice President Boediono is one of the most active Twitters. He posted 144 tweets and has 34,293 (at least check) followers and following 996.

His last tweet was on January 11th when he was about to testify before the House special committee to investigate Century case. He also uses the Twitter account to communicate his views, feelings, and "campaign" on certain issues. ICT minister Tifatul Sembiring is also on Twitter. He has lot more followers than Boediono. He has 37491 followers, is following 1541, and posted 1810 tweets already. The last tweet was two hours ago when the politician from Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) was preparing for Gunung Gede hiking in Cipanas, West Java. He invited people to join. He is following Microsoft founder and owner Bill Gates on Twitter. Tifatul has more followers than popular artist Agnes Monica (36,533) who has tweeted 978.

The hottest is probably Aburizal Bakrie's account. Aburizal is chairman of Golkar Party and Bakrie Group of Companies. Aburizal has less followers (5664) than both Boediono and Tifatul. Aburizal effectively uses his account to defend some allegations on his group and Golkar Party. He is following only 11, but has tweeted 351. He is following tweets from his son Anindya Bakrie (CEO of Bakrie Telecom). The last tweet was 8 hours ago when he updated his whereabouts: Jambi, Padang, Bintan (all in Sumatra region) for Golkar Party affairs.

Aburizal's account is also a place for "discussion" of issues like Lapindo mudflow, allegation of tax evasion on Bumi Resources, and "impeachment" motion by some Golkar politicians.

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Sherlock Holmes on Susno Duadji

Susno Duadji used to play Sherlock Holmes when he was chief detective at the National Police. But yesterday, he was examined by 30 "Sherlock Holmes" of The House' special committee to investigate Century Bank case. As promised, he answered most questions related to Century owners and the flow of funds. It's just normal to get his statements responded with chorus of denials. What he said?

On the arrest of Robert Tantular, former owner of Century, Susno said Bank Indonesia filed police report only after police arrested Tantular upon the order of then VP Jusuf Kalla. VP Boediono's spokesperson Yopie Hidayat tried to clarify Susno's statement saying then Bank Indonesia governor Boediono had on November 20, 2008 asked finance minister Sri Mulyani to impose overseas travel ban on Tantular and his colleagues. Yopie shown journalist the copy of Boediono's letter to Sri Mulyani. Few minutes later, Susno told Committee members that Robert left Jakarta to Singapore in November 21, returned in November 23. Police arrested Robert in November 25 when he was about to fly to Singapore.

Fahri Hamzah, Committee member from Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) quickly "judged" Boediono had committed crime because he let someone (Tantular) committed crime. Well, may be too early to call.

On Sampoerna's money and alleged fees of Rp10 billion for him, Susno denied. He admitted someone did offer him such fees. "He said, nobody would know. Take some if you want, but I rejected," Susno said. Unfortunately, he didn't disclose the name of the guy. 

The flow of funds after the bailout?

Susno indirectly confirmed information about the flow of funds to a taxi driver in Ciputat (Rp24 billion, others reported Rp200 billion) and owner of a car workshop in Makassar (Rp33 billion). "That's right. This is strange, how come a driver received Rp24 billion. But this has to be investigated further," Susno said. 

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Sampoerna, SBY-Demokrat, & Century bailout

George Aditjondro wrote in the controversial book: Membongkar Gurita Cikeas, Di balik Skandal Bank Century about the connection of Sampoerna Group/Family with SBY-Demokrat through Jurnal Nasional newspaper. Boedi Sampoerna, according to Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), had over US$200 million deposit in Century, which would gone, if government closed down the troubled Bank Century.

I just remember when our fellow journalists discussed about who's behind Jurnal Nasional newspaper when it first hit newsstands few years ago (2006 to be exact). Journalists in town mainly mentioned Sampoerna. Which Sampoerna or who in the Sampoerna family involved in Jurnal Nasional (JURNAS), nobody knows except people within the company. George wrote that it's Soenaryo Sampoerna (not Putera, nor Boedi) who invested in the newspaper (PT Media Nusa Perdana). Soenaryo's name is mentioned in various reports about PT Esa Kertas, who is in legal dispute with Bank Danamon. Our source said Soenaryo, known as Kian Soen, is the son of Boedi.

In the first two years of JURNAS, according to George, Sampoerna installed two representatives: Ting Anantan Setiawan and Rainerius Taufik. Ting's role has reportedly been replaced by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono's younger sister, who is also the wife of Gatot Suwondo (BNI CEO). 

Nobody knows how much money Sampoerna already invested in JURNAS. George only pointed to print cost of the paper since 2006 has reached Rp90 billion. If that's true, JURNAS might have spent over Rp300 billion, because according to our experience in the media business, printing cost might be around 30% of total cost.

Still, nobody knows who gave what and how much for the operation of this newspaper. What's the connection between Sampoerna investment in JURNAS and Century bailout? George, in a talk-show with TVOne, said he made no connection between those two. Let people to draw conclusion? Well, what an unpleasant New Year gift for SBY and Demokrat Party. 

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