Pilgubsu 2018: Saatnya Sumut Dipimpin Generasi Millenial

Aroma Pemilihan Gubernur Sumatera Utara sudah mulai terlihat walau masih akan dilaksanakan pada 2018.

Beberapa nama sudah muncul ke permukaan untuk dikenal oleh publik.

Tapi sayangnya, belum ada yang berasal dari kaum millenial, yang dianggap sebagai generasi emas Indonesia saat ini.

Di beberapa pilkada Sumut, seperti di Tapanuli Tengah baru-baru ini, pemenangnya adalah kaum millenial. (baca)

Generasi milenial adalah mereka yang lahir tahun 1981-2000-an.

Mereka ini disebut sebagai generasi yang sangat berhubungan dengan kemajuan teknologi dan dinamika sosial termutakhir.

Sangat sesuai untuk Sumut yang penuh dengan tantangan yang kompleks.

Namun apapun itu, semoga yang terbaik untuk Sumut.

Korupsi E-KTP: Disebut Ada Desakan Munaslub di Golkar

Wacana Munaslub bergulir di kalangan politisi Partai Golkar sekaitan dengan dugaan korupsi E-KTP yang disebut-sebut melibatkan sejumlah nama penting termasuk Setya Novanto alias Setnov..

Wakil Dewan Pakar Partai Golkar Mahyudin mengakui ada sejumlah pihak yang mengusulakan Musyawarah Nasional Luar Biasa (Munaslub) Partai Golkar setelah sejumlah kader partai itu diterpa isu korupsi KTP elektronik (KTP-E).

Akan tetapi, menurutnya, usulan bergulirnya Munaslub tidak terlalu kuat sehingga bisa diantisipasi oleh Dewan Pakar guna menjaga soliditas partai. Untuk itu, kemungkinan akan ada rekomendasi kepada seluruh kader di segala tingkatan untuk menjaga solidaritas dan kekompakan, ujarnya.

"Katanya ada sedikit rumor-rumor semacam itu, tapi tidak besar, tidak terlalu besar, tetapi dewan pakar mengantisipasi mungkin jangan sampai ada perpecahan, retakan dalam solidaritas," ujarnya, Selasa (14/3/2017).

Mahyudin menandaskan, guna mengantisipasi suara-suara tersebut, Dewan Pakar meminta DPP Golkar segera merapatkan barisan dari seluruh tingkatan.

Ketua Umum Partai Golkar Setya Novanto disebut-sebut sebagai orang yang punya peran sentral dalam pembagian dana proyek KTP-E. Partai itu juga disebutkan menerima aliran dana sebesar Rp150 miliar dalam megaproyek kartu tanda penduduk tersebut. (sumber)

Sejumlah Partai Akan Deklarasikan Pasangan Prabowo-Rizal Ramli

Sejumlah partai politik kecil yang tak masuk parliamentary treshold (PT), yang tergabung dalam Forum Antar Parpol (FAP) dalam waktu dekat akan mendeklarasikan capres dan cawapres, Prabowo Subianto dan Rizal Ramli.

Mereka optimis dapat mengusung capres-cawapres alternatif, karena hingga kini KPU belum mengumumkan hasil final perolehan suara Pemilu Legislatif. "Ini bisa menjadi duet yang sangat prospektif bagi bangsa ke depan," kata Ketua Umum DPP Partai Peduli Rakyat Nasional (PPRN) Amelia Ahmad Yani di Jakarta, Minggu.

Amelia mengaku yakin, pasangan ini dinilai paling tepat sebagai duet calon pemimpin nasional yang baru.

Sebelumnya, Sekjen FAP Sonny Pudjisasono, yang juga menjabat sebagai Sekjen DPP Partai Buruh ini menyatakan wacana untuk mengusung Prabowo-Rizal. Namun, saat ini wacana tersebut masih dalam pembicaraan yang sangat intensif oleh parpol yang menjadi anggota FAP.

Perang Cyber: AS Dirikan Komando Cyber

Pemerintahan Barack Obama berencana membentuk komando militer baru yang khusus mengamanan jaringan komputer Pentagon (Departemen Pertahanan AS) dan kemampuan ofensif dalam perang cyber, lapor Wall Street Journal, Selasa, mengutip sejumlah pejabat yang mengetahui rancangan itu.

Prakarsa ini akan menajamkan lagi upaya militer AS dalam melindungi jaringan internetnya dari serangan peretas (hacker), terutama dari negara-negara seperti China dan Rusia.

Cara Mendirikan Partai Politik (Parpol) di Indonesia

Cara Mendirikan Partai Baru

1. Harus ada minimal 50 orang warga negara Indonesia berusia minimal 21 tahun untuk mendirikan dan membentuk partai politik baru. Akta pendi-rian dibuat di depan notaris, memuat anggaran dasar dan anggaran rumah tangga, juga kepengurusan tingkat nasional.

2. Membentuk kepengurusan minimal di 15 provinsi, atau 50 persen dari jumlah provinsi di Indonesia. Termasuk, pengurus cabang tingkat kabupaten/kota madya minimal 50 persen pada setiap provinsi itu dan 25 persen dari jumlah kecamatan pada kabu-paten/kota yang bersangkutan.

3. Nama, lambang, dan tanda gambar yang tidak boleh sama dengan partai politik lain.

4. Mempunyai kantor yang tetap.

5. Mendaftarkan akta notaris pendirian partai kepada Departemen Kehakiman dan Hak Asasi Manusia.

6. Departemen Kehakiman melakukan verifikasi atas akta dan syarat pendirian partai serta kepengurusannya?berikut nama, lambang, dan tanda gambar.

7. Komite Pemilihan Umum bertugas menyaring partai peserta pemilu. KPU menetapkan dan melaksanakan tata cara penelitian keabsahan syarat-syarat partai sesuai dengan UU Partai dan UU Pemilu. Yaitu: memiliki pengurus lengkap minimal di 2/3 jumlah provinsi dan di 2/3 jumlah kabupaten/kota madya serta memiliki 1.000 anggota pada setiap kepengurusan partai di tingkat cabang, yang dibuktikan dengan kartu tanda anggota. Masing-masing kepengurusan di tingkat daerah dan cabang ini harus punya kantor tetap. Partai juga harus mengajukan nama dan tanda gambar.

8. Jika tidak memenuhi syarat-syarat yang diatur dalam UU Pemilu, partai itu tidak dapat menjadi peserta pemilu.

Sumber

Saat Ronald Reagen Berciuman Dengan Taliban

Foto ini mungkin sangat lama. Saat itu ronald Reagen presiden AS masih hidup. Betapa mesranya sampai berjumpa di Gedung Putih. Katanya tidak semua pemimpin negara yang bisa berkunjung ke situ.

More

How About INDONESIAN FIRST????

America First Committee Overview

America First Committee, founded in September 1940, was the most powerful isolationist group in America before the United States entered World War II. It had over 800,000 members, who wanted to keep America neutral. It tried to influence public opinion through publications and speeches. America First disagreed with another powerful group, the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.

America First Committee American First Committee Poster

Both groups wanted to build American defenses and keep America out of the war. But the Committee to Defend America argued that the best way to remain neutral was to aid Britain. America First thought it more important to stay out of the war than to assure a British victory. America First was dissolved four days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

America First Committee Original Four Principles:

1. The United States must build an impregnable defense for America
2. No foreign power, nor group of powers, can successfully attack a prepared America
3. American democracy can be preserved only by keeping out of the European war.
4. "Aid short of war" weakens national defense at home and threatens to involve America in war abroad.

Proposed Activities- September 5, 1940:

1. To bring together all Americans, regardless of possible differences on other matters, who see eye-to-eye on these principles. (This does not include Nazists [sic], Fascists, Communists, or members of other groups that place the interest of any other nation above those of our own country.)
2. To urge Americans to keep their heads amid rising hysteria of times of crisis.
3. To provide sane national leadership for the majority of the American people who want to keep out of the European war.
4. To register this opinion with the President and with Congress.

Freedom and The Right of Return of Palestinians

Middle East observer, Amien Rais, speaks with Rabbi Ahron Cohen (right) and Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss (center) at the sidelines of an international seminar on the Freedom and The Right of Return of Palestinians at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java (5/14). Rabbi Cohen dan Weiss are the activists and the spokesman for Neturei Karta International who don`t approve the creation of the state of Israel. (ANTARA/Firtra/kim)

West Java Election

Hade the Winners in West Java Election
Wednesday, 23 April, 2008

TEMPO Interactive, Bandung: The Regional General Elections Commission (KPUD) yesterday (22/4) confirmed Ahmad Heryawan and Yusuf Macan Effendi, AKA Dede Yusuf, known as Hade, as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor for West Java.

The pair received 287,647 votes or 40.4 percent higher than other candidates.
“The KPUD plenary meeting confirmed this pair as Governor and Deputy Governor of West Java,” Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah, a member of the West Java KPUD, told Tempo.

Supporters of Agum Gumelar and Numan Abdul Hakim, known as Aman, came again to the KPUD office to ask for the meeting to be delayed.

However, KPUD still organized a public meeting with the success teams of the three candidates, yesterday morning.

They announced the voting result in the meeting.

Hade won in 17 out of 26 cities and districts in West Java.

Aman won in six regions while Danny Setiawan and Iwan Sulanjana won in three districts/cities.

The protest disturbed the meeting.

Members of the Aman team complained about the election report opened before it was announced and that the voting results from Purwakarta and Cirebon were different from their own calculations.

They refused to sign the election report.

Rahadi Zakaria, a member of success team for Aman, mentioned some of their objections.

One of these was about the number of voters which was only 27.9 million while the total West Java population is 41 million.
Their protest cannot be accepted as their internal documentation could not be used as authentic evidence.

KPUD asked them to submit an official objection.

Representatives from other candidates accepted the election report and signed it.

Head of West Java KPUD, Setia Permana, said the objection would not cancel the decision for West Java Governor and Deputy Governor, even if they do not sign the report.

“It is not a problem,” he said.

The result of this meeting will be immediately sent to the West Java Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) to be delivered to the President through the Home Affairs Minister.

Indonesia Response For Timor Leste's Hostility

04/19/08 02:11
RI asks Timor Leste not to issue statement that could be misinterpreted


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked Timor Leste leaders not to issue any statement that could be interpreted as if there had been an element in Indonesia possibly involved in the shooting on February 11, 2008 of President Jose Ramos Horta.

Speaking to the press at the Presidential Office here on Friday, President Yudhoyono said he talked with Ramos Horta on April 10 when the Timor Leste leader was being treated in Australia for gunshot wounds.

"In the phone talks, Ramos Horta briefed me on the investigation being conducted on the shooting incident and asked for assistance from the Indonesian government," Yudhoyono said.

After the phone talks, President Yudhoyono said, he instructed Indonesian Police Chief General Sutanto to immediately take pro-active steps to handle the matter.

He said two high-ranking police officers were sent to Dili on April 13 and April 15 to collect information from the Prosecutor General of Timor Leste and to analyze the information together.

"It was at this time that the Prosecutor-General officially asked, with arrest warrants, the Indonesian police to arrest certain names that were suspected of involvement in the shooting," he said.

Based on the information, the Indonesian police acted swiftly to locate the whereabouts of these suspects. Everything progressed quickly, professionally and with a high spirit of cooperation, he said.

"That is why I am a bit surprised to hear President Ramos Horta`s statement yesterday (Thursday) because it is my understanding that the telephone conversation on April 10 is not for public knowledge yet. I had instructed my ministers and police chief not to disclose that information to the public in order to give an opportunity to the Indonesian police to hunt these suspects," he said.

He said the Indonesian police arrested three citizens of Timor Leste in accordance with the arrest warrants on Friday morning. They are identified as Egidio Lay Carvalho, Jose Gomes, and Ismail Sansao Moniz Soares.

"I would like to emphasize once again that these three suspects are all members of the military of Timor Leste, who have been involved in the rebellious activities, and suspected of involvement in the shooting incident," he said.

The president said at this very moment the Indonesian government could not give further details about the three suspects as the police were still conducting further investigation by among others cooperating with the Timor Leste and Australian governments.

"We are now awaiting the request from the Timor Leste Government for the return of these suspects, who have illegally entered our territory," he said.

He said shortly after the shooting attempt on Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on Feb 11, the Indonesian government condemned the incident which he saw as an assault on democracy.

"I wrote a letter to Xanana on February 25, 2008, to ask what we could help. Before I phoned Ramos Horta on April 10, I had phone conversation with him on March 23 when he was being treated at the hospital," he said. (*)

North Sumatra Election

LSI Says Syamsul-Gatot Win North Sumatra Election
Thursday, 17 April, 2008 | 18:17 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Medan: According to a quick count by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), candidates Syamsul Arifin and Gatot Pujo Nugroho have won the North Sumatra governor and deputy governor election for the 2008-2013 period.

They obtained 28 percent of 99.71 percent of .total votes cast.

Syamsul Arifin and Gatot are supported by a coalition of eleven parties, including the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), and the Pancasila Patriotic Party.

“This is the smallest wining margin in provincial leaders’ election history,” LSI executive director Denny JA told Tempo.

“Some 72 percent of voters did not vote for these candidates.”

According to Denny, the winning candidates should be supported by more than 30 percent of voters.

Because of this, “The Syamsul-Gatot win is politically weak.”

According to LSI, the candidates ranked Syamsul-Gatot; Triamtomo-Benny Pasaribu; Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe-Raden Syafii; Robert Edison Siahaan-Suherdi; and Ali Umri-Maratua Simanjuntak.

The supporters of Syamsul-Gatot are happy with the LSI survey report.

“This is a fair and honest election,” said Syamsul before praying together with community members at a mosque in Medan.

Robert Edison Siahaan said he was disappointed in the low community participation in North Sumatra.

He questioned whether his base of supporters on the West Coast had received their voter cards or not.

“I lost a lot of votes,” said Siahaan, who is also the Mayor of the city of Pematang Siantar.

Samsul Sianturi, candidacy coordinator for Tritamtomo and Benny Pasaribu from Balige, said that a lot of people could not vote as they did not have voter cards.

Because of this, he suggested people ask the regional General Elections Commission (KPUD) in Toba Samosir to allow them to vote today.

“With only having to present their ID cards,” he said yesterday (16/4).

This suggestion was however rejected by Irham Buana Nasution, head of the provincial KPU of North Sumatra.

According to him, only people registered as voters can vote in the election and registration was open until the end of December 2007.

“There is no reason for people to claim voting rights if they do not register as voters,” said Irham.

An American Deported From Bandung

Three Foreign Activists Deported
Tuesday, 04 December, 2007 | 13:08 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Bandung: The Bandung Immigration Bureau in West Java decided to deport three environmental activists from the United States, the Philippines and India, yesterday (3/12).

During an examination, they were found of having used immigration permits improperly.

“The immigration permits were not granted for the sort of activities that they were involved in (speaking at a demonstration forum). We have the photos,” said Rachmat Tanjung, the Head of Bandung Immigration Bureau I, yesterday.

The three activists will be deported to their respective countries.

The activists, who were from the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA), were Neil Tangry from the US, Gigie Cruz from the Philippines and Shibu K. Nair from India.

They were arrested during a demonstration in Gedebage, Bandung, last Sunday (2/12).

Bandung Municipal Police said they suspected the three activists were involved in the demonstration rejecting the Bandung City Government’s plan to build a waste-powered electricity generating plant in Griya Cempaka Arum Complex, Gedebage, Bandung.

Adj. Chief Comm. Sonny Sonjaya, Head of Intelligence and Security of the Bandung Police, said the immigration documents of the three activists were visas on arrival.

“These are tourist’s visas,” he said.

The three activists, said Sonny, twice refused to sign the investigation report (BAP) and only signed it after it was presented the third time.

Yuyun Ismawati from Balifokus, who is an Indonesian GAIA activist, confirmed the matter of refusing to sign the BAP.

“We can’t accept the accusation,” she said.

Yuyun acknowledged she was a coordinating member for the activities at Griya Cempaka Arum complex, Gedebage, to which the three foreign activists were invited.

The activities which were supported by GAIA and the Civil Society Forum, she said, was carried out in four cities with different issues.

Akbar, Golkar Dan Khazanah Politik Reformasi

Khasanah Intelektual Partai Golkar

Buku-buku Partai Golkar:
"Jusuf Kalla: Berkarya bagi Bangsa, Bunga Rampai
Pandangan Ketua Umum DPP Partai Golkar"

Pengantar:
Theo L Sambuaga

Editor: Kodrat Wahyu Dewanto, dkk

"Demokratisasi di Partai Golkar: Kesaksian Para Reformis"

"Harakiri Tokoh Nasional dan Elite Golkar",

"The Golkar Way: Survival Partai Golkar di Tengah
Turbulensi Politik Era Transisi",

"Mencari Jalan yang Tepat Menyelamatkan Partai Golkar".

Edisi: 2007

Partai Golkar telah membalik sejarah. Bila dulu sempat dihujat, kini menjadi kiblat dalam tradisi berdemokrasi. Betapa tidak, politisi parpol beringin adalah figur-figur paling piawai dalam mangelola konflik. Rivalitas tetap terjaga dalam koridor sportivitas yang terbuka, satria dan elegan, sehingga soliditas pun tetap bisa dipertahankan.

Simak saja, dalam "perang argumen" para elite Partai Golkar memilih "jalan intelektual". Mereka berpolemik dengan menuliskan gagasan dalam dokumentasi akademis berupa buku.


Tak ayal, hampir dalam setahun (2007), buku bertajuk Partai Golkar yang ditulis kalangan internal Partai Golkar, muncul bak jamur di musim hujan.

Anggota Komisi III DPR dari Fraksi Partai Golkar Dr Aulia Aman Rahman membukukan tesis magisternya soal kehebatan Partai Golkar yang tak lekang dihantam badai perubahan (reformasi) dalam "Citra Khalayak tentang Golkar".

Lalu, Wakil Bendahara DPP Partai Golkar Poempida Hidayatulloh menulis tentang "Mencari Jalan yang Tepat Menyelamatkan Partai Golkar"; salah satu Ketua DPP Partai Golkar Burhanuddin Napitupulu juga mengupas "Harakiri Tokoh Nasional dan Elite Golkar".

Kemudian, mantan Ketua DPR dan mantan Ketua Umum DPP Partai Golkar Akbar Tandjung mendokumentasikan disertasi doktoralnya di Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM): "The Golkar Way: Survival Partai Golkar di Tengah Turbulensi Politik Era Transisi"; dan anggota Dewan Penasihat DPP Partai Golkar yang juga Menteri Perindustrian Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu Fahmi Idris bersama anggota Komisi I DPR Marzuki Darusman, Joeslin Nasution (FPG) serta Abu Hanifah dan kawan-kawan pun turut sumbang saran dalam "Demokratisasi di Partai Golkar: Kesaksian Para Reformis".

Yang terakhir dan fenomenal, Badan Informasi dan Komunikasi (BIK) Partai Golkar dan Harian Umum Suara Karya (HUSK) menerbitkan kompilasi orasi politik Ketua Umum DPP Partai Golkar yang juga Wakil Presiden Dr (HC) HM Jusuf Kalla dengan judul "Jusuf Kalla: Berkarya bagi Bangsa, Bunga Rampai Pandangan Ketua Umum DPP Partai Golkar".

Buku yang disusun tim HUSK yang dikoordinir Pemred HUSK Ricky Rachmadi dan Wakil Pemred Kodrat Wahyu Dewanto ini diluncurkan bersamaan dengan pembukaan Rapimnas III Partai Golkar yang berlangsung Kamis-Minggu (22-25/11).

Dalam peluncuran itu, Ketua Umum DPP Partai Golkar HM Jusuf Kalla didampingi Ketua Korbid Perhubungan, Telekomunikasi dan Informasi (Hubtelkominfo) DPP Partai Golkar Theo L Sambuaga menyerahkan buku tersebut kepada Ketua DPD I Partai Golkar Jawa Tengah H Bambang Sadono dan fungsionaris Kesatuan Perempuan Partai Golkar (KPPG) dr Linda Lukitari, sebelum membuka Rapimnas III Partai Golkar, di Jakarta

Istilah Politik: Harakiri Versi Burhanuddin Napitupulu

Pilihan Di Atas Meja JK
Apresiasi Peluncuran Buku Burhanuddin Napitupulu 'Harakiri Politik'
WASPADA Online

Oleh Chaidir Ritonga

Burhanuddin Napitupulu, tokoh nasional yang berasal dari Sumatera Utara, beberapa hari yang lalu meluncurkan buku pertamanya sebagai seorang politisi kawakan, yang telah kenyang makan asam garam dan jatuh bangun perjalanan bangsa. Buku itu berjudul 'Harakiri Politik', Tokoh Nasional & Elit Golkar. Buku ini bercerita tentang perilaku politisi dan tokoh nasional yang banyak memilih keputusan yang keliru atau paling tidak kurang tepat sehingga merugikan dirinya sendiri atau bahkan berdampak sangat jauh kepada perjalanan bangsa Indonesia.

Menurut Sugeng Sarjadi, yang tampil sebagai pembahas, buku 'Harakiri Politik' sangat bagus, antara lain karena memberikan telaahan yang baik dan sistematis terhadap perilaku beberapa tokoh nasional dalam memilih keputusan sebagai seorang pemimpin, berbeda dengan beberapa tokoh yang lain, biasanya hanya menulis tentang dirinya sendiri dalam bentuk otobiografi. Selain karena isinya kontekstual, pembelajaran tentang politik praktis memang sangat sedikit, cenderung langka. Sejak peristiwa Malari pada tahun 1978, pemerintah memberlakukan Normalisasi Kehidupan Kampus dan Badan Kordinasi Kemahasiswaan (NKK/BKK). Esensinya ialah melakukan depolitisasi kampus. Mahasiswa didorong untuk fokus pada proses ajar-mengajar, intrakurikuler. Kegiatan ekstrakurikuler dipersepsikan sebagai sesuatu yang tidak perlu.

Depolitisasi dan reformasi

Hingga sebelum era reformasi, tahun 1997/1998, hasil daripada depolitisasi yang sitematis itu ialah lemahnya kesadaran berpolitik masyarakat. Kita terdorong untuk mengejar pertumbuhan ekonomi untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan sosial rakyat. Kita juga berusaha sekuat tenaga mejaga stabilitas keamanan dan politk dalam negeri dengan berbagai cara dan pengorbanan. Namun manakala, kesejahteraan yang ditunggu tidak datang juga, hasilnya ialah reformasi. Rakyat merasa, yang kaya makin kaya. Yang miskin, makin miskin. Memang terjadi peningkatan pertumbuhan ekonomi.

Masyarakat yang sejahtera makin bertambah. Tetapi ternyata tidak merata. Kesenjangan si kaya dengan si miskin demikian lebar. Kita baru sadar ternyata telah menjadi korban permainan politik segelintir elit politik nasional bagi kepentingan asing. Dan proses depolitisasi itu disempurnakan oleh perilaku kita yang dalam banyak hal melakukan kesalahan yang fatal. Atas nama pembersihan G 30/S PKI, bangsa Indonesia harus kehilangan jutaan orang yang teraniaya, terbunuh dan terlantarkan turun temurun. Soekarno terperangkap kedalam kepemimpinan megalomania dan menerima penunjukan dirinya menjadi Presiden seumur hidup.

Keputusan yang sangat kontraproduktif itu justru hanya mempercepat kejatuhannya. Dan Soekarno harus mengakhiri karir politiknya menjadi pesakitan di rumahnya sendiri. Tidak berdaya dan tidak bisa berbuat apaapa. Pak Harto juga mengalami hal yang kurang lebih sama. Pada saat rakyat merasakan adanya perubahan yang ditandai dengan pertumbuhan ekonomi setelah 32 tahun berkuasa, arus utama, diam-diam, mengharapkan agar Pak Harto turun dari kekuasaan dan menyerahkannya secara elegan kepada penerusnya. Namun apa mau dikata, sanjungan Harmoko lebih kuat. Pak Harto setuju memperpanjang kekuasaannya lima tahun lagi. Dan itulah yang kemudian memicu kejatuhan Pak Harto secara tragis. Kesenjangan ekonomi dan 'stabilitas politik dan keamanan' yang mencengkram rakyat, justru menjadi alasan bagi arus reformasi untuk beringas dan menjebol semua tembok-tembok pertahanan orde baru serta meluluhlantakkan semua lembaga-lembaga sosial, ekonomi dan politik yang ada. Beruntung institusi militer masih bisa bertahan. Kalau tidak, bangsa ini mau jadi apa?

'Harakiri Politik' seperti itu masih diteruskan oleh Habibie. Habibie memilih melepaskan Timor Timur dan mengenalkan demokrasi yang teramat cepat. Merombak hampir semua undang-undang dalam sekejap mata. Dan dengan berani mempercepat Pemilu pada tahun 1999. Padahal mandatnya sebagai Presiden masih tersedia sampai dengan 2003. Dan Habibie jatuh dengan cara yang kurang lebih sama, pertanggungjawabnnya ditolak sidang MPR yang dipimpin oleh kadernya sendiri, Akbar Tanjung. Kisah tragis yang sama terus berulang. Gus Dur memutuskan menerbitkan dekrit presiden yang kemudian menjatuhkannya. Setelah melalui dua kali memorandum yang memperingatkan agar Gus Dur memperbaiki kinerjanya, jawabannya justru sebaliknya, Gus Dur justru mengeluarkan dekrit presiden yang membubarkan DPR/MPR sekaligus juga membubarkan Partai Golkar yang ketika itu dipimpin oleh Akbar Tanjung. Hasilnya, sidang istimewa MPR akhirnya mencabut mandat Gus Dur dan menyerahkannya kepada Megawati.

Pilihan JK

Megawati sedikit beruntung, turun dari panggung kekuasaan melalui pemilihan presiden yang dimenangkan oleh SBY-JK. Buku 'Harakiri Politik' bertutur secara runtut bagaimana para tokoh atau pemimpin nasional memilih keputusan-keputusan politik yang seringkali berakibat fatal. Sebagian diantara keputusan itu bahkan berimplikasi sangat luas kepada kehidupan rakyat. Itulah yang mendasari penyusunan buku 'Harakiri Politik'. Kita diajak menelusuri kiprah para tokoh dan pemimpin nasional dalam memilih dan mengambil keputusan, terutama di ranah politik.

Disitu terungkap bahwa dalam banyak hal, paling tidak dalam kurun waktu sepuluh tahun terakhir, Jusuf Kalla ternyata dihadapkan dengan banyak sekali pilihan-pilihan yang sulit. Umumnya, JK berhasil memilih dengan tepat karena didasari oleh perhitungan yang rasional dan terukur. Pada saat Akbar Tanjung memutuskan untuk maju menjadi Wapres berhadapan dengan Hamzah Haz, JK sudah mengingatkan hitungan yang terukur agar tidak maju karena menurut hitungan akan kalah, namun Akbar Tanjung terus maju dan akhirnya juga memang kalah. Demikian juga manakala Akbar Tanjung sebagai Ketua Golkar agar jangan berkoalisi dengan PDIP tanpa melalui proses bottom up, Akbar Tanjung tidak menggubris, dan akhirnya memang fatal. Akbar Tanjung pada akhirnya terjungkal.

Pada saat JK memilih apakah maju mencalonkan diri menjadi presiden melalui konvensi Partai Golkar atau memilih opsi yang lain, secara rasional JK memilih jalan maju menjadi Wakil Presiden. JK memanggil Sugeng Sarjadi yang melakukan jajak pendapat (polling) tentang peta politik Pilpres. Hasil polling menunjukkan secara gamblang bahwa JK tidak punya prospek yang layak untuk maju menjadi Presiden. Sebaliknya, JK sangat prospektif menjadi Wapres dengan siapapun berpasangan. JK akhirnya memilih mundur dari Konvensi Partai Golkar dan berpasangan dengan SBY. Dengan SBY, JK sudah punya konsensus akan saling mendukung. Dan pilihan JK ternyata sangat beralasan, sangat rasional dan terukur. Faktor JK dalam proses pemenangan itu sangat kuat. Demikian juga dalam mengamankan kemenangan itu dengan memilih mengambil posisi Sebagai Ketua Umum Partai Golkar pada Munas Partai Golkar di Bali.

Perjalanan kepemimpinan SBY-JK juga banyak diwarnai oleh faktor JK. Pilihan-pilihan yang tersedia di atas meja JK sangat krusial dan strategis. Pada saat hampir semua pemimpin nasional dihadapkan pada masalah Aceh, tidak ada yang berani mengambil keputusan. JK memilih jalan dengan caranya sendiri. Dan selesai. Demikian juga pada saat berhadapan dengan subsidi BBM. Tidak ada yang berani menegaskan dan memilih mencabut subsidi BBM. JK berani. Apabila keputusan itu tidak diambil JK, APBN kita akan bleeding ratusan trilyun pada saat harga kini mendekati $100 dollar. Tidak kurang pentingnya upaya JK menggerakkan sektor riil dengan mendorong serta menggerakkan perbankan. Untuk itu JK juga mendisain pembangunan berbagai jenis infrastruktur.

Peluncuran Buku 'Harakiri Politik' menjadi sangat strategis dengan kehadiran Ketua DPR RI, sejumlah menteri, gubernur, bupati dan walikota. Makin terasa bermakna dengan sambutan JK yang terbuka, panjang lebar dan gamblang. Setiap pilihan yang tersedia diatas meja JK tidak hanya berimplikasi bagi karir politik JK, melainkan juga bagi masa depan bangsa. Pidatonya diakhiri dengan kata penutup: 'Karena saya saudagar, tidak mau melakukan harakiri politik, maka saya akan memutuskan tiga bulan sebelum Pilpres, apakah akan maju sebagai Calon Presiden atau Wapres. Semua keputusan yang akan saya ambil mengacu kepada pertimbangan yang rasional dan terukur'. Banyak pilihan memang ada diatas meja JK

Penulis adalah Wakil Ketua Umum Kadin Sumut
Email: Chaidirritonga@Yahoo.co.id

Hindu Politic in Malaysia

DPM: Hindraf move will hurt Malaysia

THE MOVE by Hindu Rights Action Force leaders to take their issues overseas will only tarnish the image of the country internationally, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

Regretting their move, he said the Government would have to act to counter any negative picture painted by the group.

“Whatever they have raised are internal issues but they want to internationalise them. It is obvious they have political motives,” he said.

Najib was speaking to the Malaysian press covering his roadshow to promote Malaysia to Hong Kong fund managers here yesterday.

It was reported that Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy was headed for India on Wednesday before going to Europe and the United States.

Waythamoorthy would proceed to London to meet the Malaysian desk officer at the Foreign and Commonwealth office of the British Foreign Ministry and non-governmental organisations there.

He is also expected to meet officials at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN bodies in Geneva.

“We will have to see what they do and we will have to be prepared to act,” Najib said, adding that the Government would have to explain matters to the international community.


“While many people now want us to act, we have to also realise that the use of the ISA (Internal Security Act) will be made into an international issue,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said the internal security of the country remained the paramount consideration.

“They can keep at it but one day, they will cross the line,” he said.

He said people who did not agree with Hindraf could speak out on television but further reaction would only make the situation more heated.

On his meeting with Cameron Highlands MP K. Devamany scheduled for tomorrow, Najib, who is Barisan Nasional chief whip, said he wanted to give him the opportunity to explain what he said.

“I also want to read the Hansard. Then, I will talk to him,” he said.

Indonesia: Save Heaven For Dangerous International Pirate

Kuala Lumpur - Indonesian waters remain the most dangerous in the world, accounting for nearly a quarter of all pirate attacks in the first three months of the year, an international maritime watchdog said Wednesday.

Overall, however, attacks reported globally fell by nearly a third to 41 compared with the same period last year, the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in a statement.


"Indonesia recorded nine incidents. Although it continues to top the table, Indonesia should be applauded for the pro-active efforts it has taken to tackle the problem," the IMB said.

Since last year, Indonesia has intensified sea patrols and seen attacks halve from 19 in the first quarter of 2006.

The maritime watchdog said while reported attacks declined globally, waters off Nigeria and Somalia "continue to give concern," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said.

IMB said the number of attacks in Nigeria doubled to six coupled with violent attacks on seafarers, adding that 40 crew members have been taken hostage or kidnapped in the West African country.

"These have included a number of violent attacks against vessels and crew working in offshore oil installation where crew have been assaulted and abducted," it said.

The IMB urged seafarers in general to be on alert while in port since ports and anchorages were more prone to attacks.

"Balongan in Indonesia, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Lagos in Nigeria recorded four, three and four incidents respectively," it said.

Ships were also warned to sail 75 nautical miles from the Somali coastline. The IMB said the civil war made it difficult for local authorities to provide aid if a ship came under pirate attack.

Piracy in Southeast Asia's strategic Malacca Strait continued to decline with just two attacks in the first three months, it said, adding that attacks in Bangladesh had also fallen substantially to just two incidents compared with nine in the same period last year.

But the IMB last week nevertheless warned seafarers to remain on alert while sailing through the strait.

The three littoral states bordering the strait -- Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia -- have implemented several security measures, including coordinated air and sea patrols, to secure the vital waterway.

Half of the world's oil shipments travel through the strait.

Agence France Presse

Barack Obama Piled Pressure on Hillary Clinton

Senator Barack Obama piled pressure on Hillary Clinton over Iraq, as his Democratic presidential rival faced mounting scrutiny over her vote to authorise the war in 2002.

Obama questioned on Sunday how the New York Senator would make good on her vow to end what he is calling a "tragic" conflict that should never have been waged, as he fired up packed campaign rallies in Iowa and his hometown of Chicago.

Clinton, on the stump in New Hampshire in the fast moving opening skirmishes of the most open presidential election in 80 years, was meanwhile again taken to task by core Democratic activists over her position on Iraq.

Obama has put forward a plan to get US combat troops out of Iraq by March 31, 2008"I am not clear on how she would proceed at this point to wind down the war in a specific way," Obama, 45, told reporters when asked to critique Clinton's plans for ending the bloody US engagement during a campaign stop in Iowa.

"I know she has stated that she thinks the war should end by the start of the (next) president's first term ... beyond that though, how she wants to accomplish that, I am not clear, I would let her address those issues."

Obama, on a quest to become the first African-American US president, has put forward a plan to get US combat troops out of Iraq by March 31, 2008.

Clinton in Nashua, New Hampshire, where Obama will campaign today, was challenged by an identified guest at Democratic party who said her position on Iraq "doesn't fly".

She was also asked whether she should admit that her vote on Iraq was a mistake, as did another one of her rivals, defeated 2004 Democratic vice presidential pick John Edwards.

Aussy's Uranium Export To India

The opposition to uranium exports to India continues, even though the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has officially dumped its 25-year-old no-new-uranium-mines policy in annual conference.

The Australian Green Party chief Bob Brown on Sunday added to the raging debate on export of the crucial nuclear fuel to India by saying that India can attack Australia with bombs made from the Australian uranium.

"We're in an age where China's got rockets that can reach Sydney. India just fired a rocket that went 3000km. Double that and they will very shortly ... be able to reach Australia too and we're exporting uranium to them. It is daft, it is immoral, it is unnecessary," Bob Brown said.

While not much importance is attributed to maverick politician's remarks, observers are taking policy speeches at Labor Party's Sydney conference with much more seriousness. The Australian opposition party is expected to win the government in elections held later this year.

Senator Chris Evans, Labor's energy spokesman has made it abundantly clear that Labor government would not sell uranium to India as the South-Asian country has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

He has also criticized the ruling Liberals for considering India in its list of uranium export destination countries.

In his speech, titled "Labor and Uranium - an Evolution", Evans has also opposed the idea of a domestic nuclear power industry.

While the head of the opposition Kevin Rudd was making announcement about the much-anticipated u-turn uranium mining policy in the Sydney conference, the Liberal Prime Minister John Howard was busy announcing establishment of 25 nuclear power plants in Australia.

While observers are battling to fathom the logic behind Labor u-turn on mining of the yellowcake and continuing opposition to indigenous nuclear industry, they are expressing empathy for the Indian case to buy Australian uranium.

The usage of polluting Australian coal by the booming Indian economy is also causing concern down under. The sale of uranium to 'world's largest democracy and a potential strategic counterbalance to China' is also being advocated by some quarters for these reasons. More

APJ Abdul Kalam About His Second Term

Ask President APJ Abdul Kalam whether he will seek a second term and he offers you lunch to keep quiet!

Kalam, talking to reporters on board the special plane on which he returned from a state visit to Greece, faced many loaded questions from journalists on whether he would contest the presidential elections again.

"Please confine you questions to the European Parliament and Greece," said the 75-year-old Kalam with a smile, as anxious scribes tried every method possible to make him comment on the issue.

But Kalam only wanted questions on his address to the European Parliament, the first by any Indian leader, and his trip to Greece, a state visit that came after a gap of 12 years.

Questions on the nuclear issue, satellites and other matters were put to Kalam, but the scientist-President seemed to be aware just what the scribes were aiming at.

After Kalam gave details of issues discussed by him during meetings in the European Parliament, the reporters made one last effort to elicit a comment from him on contesting for a second term.

The witty Kalam had something better in store. "Air India has prepared a very good lunch (which is) ready for you and it's getting cold," he quipped as he walked to his chamber in the aircraft, leaving the media delegation dumbfounded.

While going to Strasbourg on April 24, Kalam had indicated that he was not averse to a second term in office but did not give a direct reply to questions on this issue.

"What I am saying is...That anyone coming to this post has to always keep the nation bigger than himself or herself ...For me the nation has always been bigger than myself and it will continue to remain so," he had then said.

Sources close to Kalam said he would like to continue if a political consensus on his candidature was arrived at.

"Economic development of the nation is the focus of my life. Whatever profession I am in, finally it should lead to that," he had said in reference to a question about various surveys and opinion polls favouring a second term for him.

Kalam, on his return journey, ducked a similar question about the aim of his life, saying he had no targets and would continue to contribute to making India a developed and happy nation wherever he was and whatever he was doing.

Source: Hindustantimes.com