0 The Biggest News Stories of 2012 Have Only Just Begun

News cycles pass quickly these days as stories are developed simultaneously in broadcast, print and online. Keeping up with the news becomes part of our daily routine, as we race to keep up with developments. With the year coming to an end, we can’t wait to read about what happens as some of the biggest stories of 2012 develop in the new year. Here is just a selection of cliffhanger stories leaving us in suspense for more news and analysis in 2013.

Those three little words
Newly elected governor Joko Widodo is still struggling to speak those three little words to truly win the hearts of the electorate: “mass rapid transit.” The words themselves sound like a beautiful promise to the ears of many Jakartans who find themselves stuck in its exact opposite on a daily basis. The construction of an MRT system for Jakarta was scheduled to start this year, but a hesitant Joko has delayed initiation, citing concerns about the cost of the project — at Rp 1 trillion ($103.6 million) per kilometer — and the substantial 58 percent loan his government would have to take out from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. 

Joko and his deputy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, have even suggested going back to the unfinished monorail, the remains of which can be seen disintegrating embarrassingly along major thoroughfares since the project went bust in 2008. But the central government and transportation experts maintain that a fresh start with an MRT project remains the better option. Joko said that if the central government thinks an MRT is such a good idea then it should shoulder 60 percent of the cost. He has vowed not to make any final decision on the matter until the government responds. Meanwhile, for Jakartans, it’s back to mass stagnant congestion.

To hike, or not to hike?
When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono moved to increase the price of government-subsidized fuel by 33.3 percent last March, thousands took to the streets in protest. The president backed down as opposition mounted in the House of Representatives under public pressure, and the plan was eventually shelved. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik reassured the public this week that the government had no plans to raise the cost of subsidized fuel in 2013, so long as current global oil prices remained level throughout the year. 

But what the central government actually plans to do about the excessive subsidy and its impacts on the economy, environment and, not least of all, the state budget, remains up in the air. This year, stocks of subsidized fuel ran out two months before the year’s end, forcing an additional quota to be rushed through the House. For 2013, Rp 194 trillion has been earmarked for fuel subsidies, accounting for more than education, health care and public works spending combined. How Yudhoyono and his government plan to juggle the demands for fuel with its cost pressures on the nation is a feat to look out for in the coming year.

Face-off with FIFA
It’s amazing how 22 men kicking a leather ball for 90-plus minutes can gain so many spectators the world over. But what’s even more amazing is that some people are willing to spend a fortune to fight endless battles with each other, the government, the international community and common sense over the right to control the sport in Indonesia. Indonesian football has two bodies: the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) and the Indonesian Football Savior Committee (KPSI), each claiming to be the official football body in Indonesia, complete with two sets of officials running two different leagues. 

Each even has its own national team. FIFA, the international body governing football, has repeatedly threatened Indonesia with a ban from playing at international events if the matter continues. This year, FIFA actually requested the Indonesian government to intervene and unite the two sides. It was a rare move for FIFA, which has always been against government intervention in other parts of the world. In an even rarer move, FIFA decided not to make good on its threat against Indonesia, and gave the country more time after the government failed to get both sides to sit down in the same room. 

The government has until March to unite the opposing sides and their respective leagues. But some fans actually look forward to the FIFA sanction, saying that it could make the two sides set aside their differences.

Pick me!
With the legislative and presidential election just one and a half years away, politics will likely dominate headlines next year, particularly with the Golkar Party being the sole political party that has named its presidential candidate, nominating the controversial chairman and tycoon Aburizal Bakrie. But Aburizal’s nomination and his declining popularity in the many surveys conducted has created a split inside one of Indonesia’s oldest and biggest parties, with some pushing Golkar to consider other figures like former Vice President Jusuf Kalla. 

Can Aburizal save his party from an internal rift? Will he make a surprise move and withdraw his bid, or surprise people with his pick for VP? Other parties will likely announce their candidates next year and pundits suspect that they will go for the same old figures. Experts say that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will pick chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri, while the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) will go for founder Prabowo Subianto once more. 

Then there are parties like the Democrats, which don’t have other obvious candidates except President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who by the constitution can’t run for a third term. These parties may well pick a dark horse, like Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D., minister Dahlan Iskan or perhaps quirkier figures such as dangdut legend Rhoma Irama. These “alternative candidates” are one reason to look forward to 2013.

I’ll eat my hat
When he was elected by the House of Representatives last year, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad made a public pledge to resign if the KPK didn’t solve its major cases this year — which is pretty much the political equivalent of saying “I’ll eat my hat.” The fact that no one seems to be rallying in the streets asking him to hand over his resignation one year after means that he seems to be delivering his promises. 

Although major cases like the Bank Century bailout scandal, the construction of the Hambalang sports stadium and bribery inside the police force finally get investigated and their alleged culprits charged, the KPK might have problems investigating them. The KPK could soon lose many of its investigators after they are recalled back to the National Police. Yudhoyono recently issues a decree to put an end to abrupt and premature recalls, but the KPK said this decree won’t solve its immediate need to keep its investigators working. 

Activists are hoping for a breakthrough next year in the form of a stronger decree from the president, particularly one that could authorize the KPK to recruit its own investigators or allow those on loan from the police to stay permanently. Otherwise, Abraham might eat his hat after all.

source : the jakarta globe