ADA SULAPAN POLITIK "BLAME GAME" DI SENAYAN?

Taktik main cari kesalahan mesti diwaspadai jangan sampai terus dipakai dan dikembangkan oleh para poliyo (politisi sontoloyo) dalam merespon skandal TPPU yg jumlahnya lebih dari Rp 300T tsb. Ada kesan bhw sebagian anggt DPR berniat menggunakan dalih legal formal dan prosedural, bukan substantif, utk berusaha mengGESER persoalan tindak pidana dari pihak pelaku berbalik menjadi pelanggaran prosedur oleh pihak yang justru melaporkan dan membukaskandal tsb ke ruang publik, khususnya Menko Polhukam dan Kepala PPATK.

Maka, alih2 pihak Senayan ikut aktif membongkar skandal dugaan TPPU tsb, PPATK & Menko Polhukam malah mau digiring jadi pihak "yang bersalah" dan potensial menyimpang karena konon, pihak terakhir tsb TIDAK IKUTI aturan. Ujung-ujungnya adalah sebuah "teori konspirasi" berupa kecurigaan bahwa mereka ini punya agenda politik tersendiri!

Forum rapat dengar pendapat (RDP) dengan PPATK semalam (21/3/2023) cenderung menjadi ajang pertunjukan teater absurd yg diperankan oleh sementara anggota DPR dari berbagai Fraksi. Forum tsb bukannya digunakan untuk buka-bukaan dan instrumen politik membongkar praktik lancung yg merugikan keuangan negara. Tapi malah sebaliknya: forum utk menggelar sim salabim politik & ajang distorsi informasi. Publik tentu sudah bisa menduga tujuan akhirnya: mementahkan upaya pengungkapan tuntas praktik -praktik lancung tsb dan memanfaatkannya untuk transaksi politik demi kepentingan parpol atau para politisi itu sendiri.

Karenanya, publik jangan sampai diakali sehingga skandal raksasa ini bisa disulap hingga malah LENYAP tak berbekas! Jika ini yg terjadi, sungguh sebuah prospek malapetaka yang mengenaskan di Republik ini. IMHO... 🤔😭🇮🇩😭

Simak tautan ini:

1. https://www.idntimes.com/news/indonesia/melani-hermalia-putri/anggota-dpr-kritik-mahfud-tak-laporkan-temuan-transaksi-rp300-t-ke-kpk?fbclid=IwAR2xqJkRhrO0sPWKI_NpdJLOg04mTaoRSYPCCX-T_bDRN7fKbvoJGqmPWl4
2. https://news.detik.com/berita/d-6631293/komisi-iii-dpr-ramai-ramai-kritik-kepala-ppatk-lapor-rp-300-t-ke-
3. https://www.kompas.id/baca/polhuk/2023/03/21/komisi-iii-dpr-cecar-kepala-ppatk-soal-transaksi-mencurigakan-rp-349-triliun
4. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20230321195430-32-928061/hujan-interupsi-rdp-komisi-iii-ppatk-soal-transaksi-janggal-diskors
5. https://www.metrotvnews.com/play/b2lCryxv-bahas-transaksi-rp394-t-di-kemenkeu-ri-rdp-komisi-iii-dpr-dengan-ppatk-sempat-tegang

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JANGAN "LAMIS" JANJI BERANTAS TIPIKOR

MENKEU, Sri Myani Indrawati (SMI) janji akan bebersih lingkungan beliau dari tipikor paska skandal pejabat pajak yg bikin heboh itu. Kalau boleh mengingatkan, agar beliau jangan lupa, bhw aksi2 tipikor bukan hanya dilakukan oleh dan berasal dari individu2 tetapi lebih sering merupakan laku kolektif dan melalui JEJARING yg luas. Aliran hasil dari tipikor, acap kali BUKAN ke bawah seperti aliran air, tetapi KE ATAS.

Tanpa mengurangi hormat & dukungan kpd niat mulia Bu SMI, saya kok PESIMIS bhw apa yg sedang direncanakan beliau ini bisa dijalankan secara efektif. Bukan hanya karena soal waktu yg singkat oleh batasan masa kerja Pemerintahan, tetapi juga halangan struktural dan institusional yg akan dihadapi beliau. KPK yg dibentuk khusus utk memberantas tipikor seharusnya yg perlu diberdayakan dg dukungan lembaga2 strategis seperti Kemenkeu dll.

Jika hanya parsial, paling jauh ya rencana tsb akan jadi bahan berita yg menarik (dan viral) sebentar saja, tapi lalu BALIK "normal" alias praktik2 tipikor yg sudah menggurita & konon membudaya itu jalan terus. Maaf saya bukan meremehkan rencana mulia itu, cuma ngeman saja: Bangsa ini kok cuma disuguhi JANJI, tapi nyaris langka BUKTI. IMHO😪🇮🇩😭

Simak tautan ini:

1. https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20230303/9/1633807/sri-mulyani-temui-sederet-pegiat-antikorupsi-bahas-harta-kekayaan-pejabat
2. https://news.ddtc.co.id/sri-mulyani-korupsi-hambat-ri-jadinegara-maju-29128
3. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-64808519
4. https://mediaindonesia.com/ekonomi/562921/dpp-knpi-minta-menkeu-ganti-dirjen-pajak-dan-dirjen-bea-cukai-agar-sekalian-bersih
5. https://money.kompas.com/read/2023/02/24/093850126/sri-mulyani-copot-rafael-trisambodo-dari-jabatannya-di-ditjen-pajak

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GONG XI FA CAI, IMLEK, DAN ALMAGHFURLAH GUS DUR

Selamat merayakan Tahun Baru Imlek 2574 Kongzili atau 2023 Masehi. Tak lupa juga, sebagai seorang Gusdurian, kami menyampaikan terima kasih kepada almaghfurlah Presiden Gus Dur dalam memperjuangkan hak warga Tionghoa di negara Indonesia tercinta ini sehingga kita bersama sama bisa merayakan Imlek dengan sukacita..

Selain merayakan Imlek dengan keluarga masing-masing, warga Tionghoa di Indonesia tentunya akan mengenang jasa dan kebajikan alm. Presiden Gus Dur semasa hidup. Meski beliau dengan bahagia telah meninggalkan kita bangsa Indonesia tetapi semangat dan visi misi nya untuk memanusiakan manusia umumnya dan warganegara Indonesia khususnya. Amin.. (MAS HIKAM)

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MENGENANG ALMAGHFURLAH GUS DUR: HAUL KE XIII (2009-2022)

Prof. Manfred Henningsen, dari Dept. Ilmu Politik Universitas Hawaii, di awal 1990an "meramalkan" Gus Dur akan menjadi Presiden Republik Indonesia, seperti halnya Vaclav Havel di Rep. Ceko, dan Lech Walensa di Polandia. Saya sebagai mahasiswanya pun sempat mempertertawakan analisa beliau tersebut : "Sulit dinalar Gus Dur bakal jadi Presiden di tengah rezim Orde Baru yang sangat kuat. Tapi tampaknya dinamika politik berkata lain, Gus Dur menjadi Presiden. Ini mungkin bisa disebut sebagai salah satu "Keajaiban"...!".

Simak, rekaman YouTube terkait kenangan MAS Hikam sebelum Gus Dur menjadi Presiden di podcast Padasuka TV, 3 Januari 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O1f2zvtUhs 

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SEEING THE UNSEEN: WHO WON THE 2022 US MIDTERM ELECTIONS?

By Lily Hikam*)

The US midterm elections has just finished. When I used to live in the States, it seemed just ike any other Tuesday, since many people would be too lazy to vote in a midterm election. But this year, you wouldn’t feel that if you were to read or watch the news. The news would have you believe that this midterm elections is more than just an election, rather the final stand to “protect America’s democracy”. But, how accurate is such an assertion? What follows is my two cents.

Let's start from the incumbent's views. The Democrats as the current party in control of both the Executive and Legislative branch, chose to focus on abortion rights, gun control and safe guarding democracy as their rallying cry and main issues to get voters to turn up at the voting booth. Yet as important and crucial as these issues are, these are not universal issues that have the broadest appeal to all Americans. Rather these issues the Democrats chose to run on seemed to have the most appeal to the college-educated socially liberal voters who were already inclined to vote for the Democrats anyway.

But to the majority of Americans, including those 26 million Americans who have to work two or more full-time jobs just to make ends meet, these issues are not enough to get them to take time off from work or fill out an absentee ballot since nowhere in those 3 issues did the Democrats address their economic concerns or the material conditions of their lives.

In the United States, where the federal minimum wage is still a measly $7.25 (an amount that hasn’t changed since 2009) and inflation as well as economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the American working class hard, it’s only logical to assume that the number one issue for most Americans would be the economy and the inflation. Yet, somehow this big thorn in the majority of Americans’ side isn’t being addressed by either parties.

So it comes as no surprise that the House of Representative is poised to being taken over by the Republicans. The Democrats, however, as of now still managed to hold on to their narrow control of the Senate with the final outcome to be decided by a runoff election in Georgia. Democratic voters and acolytes may breathe a sigh of relief now that their gambit of protecting America’s democracy seemed enough to dampen the red wave that was predicted to happen. But the real test comes after the elections. Will the Democrats be able to keep their promise of codifying Roe v Wade, the constitutional right to abortion in the US which they have promised voters they would do since Obama’s administration in 2008, strengthening gun control or safe-guarding democracy? Or will they roll over on all their legislative agenda using the Republicans as an excuse as to why they can’t pass anything?

Only time will tell, I guess. The Midterm Elections last Tuesday can be interpreted in many ways, perhaps. It can be seen as the Democrats’ victory from their Senate races win, but it can also be seen as the Republicans’ win since the Speakership of the House is predicted to move to Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). But like the proverbial "seeing the unseen", I would say that the true winner of the Midterm Elections is Corporate America, the undefeated champion of all US elections.

*) Post Doctoral Fellow at University of Leiden, the Netherlands

Notes:

1. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/11/democrats-long-goodbye-to-the-working-class/672016/
2. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/05/multiple-jobs-census-data-inflation-us
3. https://www.newsweek.com/what-does-codifying-roe-mean-securing-abortion-rights-explained-1720668?amp=1

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