“I think you guys are in the right class”

It was a sunny Wednesday morning when Adi Irawan and I walked through the sidewalks of Ohio University with view of African students enjoying the sunlight in front of Ohio University of Intensive English (OPIE) building in Athens county, Ohio, United States.

We both chatted about our first week in American English (AE) 50 class which was taught by Anna Wolf. AE 50 class is for international students whose TOEFL ITP scores are under 525. Mine was 490. Adi’s score was a little higher than mine. I cannot recall his exact score.

Our concern was that we had the class for eight days, but we still learned what we considered as “very basic English lesson” such as simple tense, present continuous, past tense patterns etc.

From CCIP Program to Jakarta Post

Hey folks, what’s up? It’s been like forever I don’t say a word on this blog. I hope you all guys are doing great. Just wanna share a few things that I have been doing in the past two years.

I returned to Indonesia in September 2012 after finishing a one year program at Pierce College in Lakewood, Washington State. I studied media and communication from August 2011 to August 2012 at Pierce from where I earned a certificate on “International Media and Communication”. My study was financed by the U.S. Department of State. I could not afford studying abroad on my own expenses anyway. I am not going to explain details about the scholarship that I received, but for you who are curious about it you can google “Community College Initiative Program (CCIP)” for further information or you can click on “CCIP” folder in this blog. I made some articles about the program earlier.

Alright guys, now I move on.

Former foreign minister took dirty cash: KPK

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Thu, March 27 2014, 9:09 AM

The first hearing in the trial of a former Indonesian ambassador to the United States, Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, revealed on Wednesday that cash collected from rigging a series of international events at the Foreign Ministry in 2004-2005 partly flowed to former minister Hassan Wirajuda.

Sudjadnan, who was the Foreign Ministry’s secretary-general when the alleged wrongdoing occurred, is being tried for allegedly skimming Rp 4.5 billion (US$394,304) from 12 international conferences and meetings held by the ministry, causing state losses of Rp 12 billion.

SBY warned over social aid funds ahead of election

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a letter on Tuesday, recommending that all social aid funds be managed under the Social Affairs Ministry to avoid budget embezzlement ahead of the general election.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said ministries that had no direct relationship with social activities should no longer be authorized to manage social aid funds, due to the fact most ministries had political leaders at their helms.

This year, the central government has allocated a total of Rp 91.8 trillion (US$8 billion) of social aid funds to be distributed to ministries.

Yudhoyono gave Anas cash at Cikeas residence: Lawyer

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Tue, March 25 2014, 10:01 AM

Graft suspect and former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum had claimed he received cash from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the latter’s private residence in Cikeas, West Java, following the election in 2009, a lawyer said on Monday.

“The money was handed over in Cikeas. The total amount that Yudhoyono gave to Anas was Rp 250 million [US$21,968], of which Rp 200 million was spent as a down payment for a Toyota Harrier, which has since been seized by the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK],” Anas’ lawyer Firman Wijaya told reporters at KPK headquarters.

He said the Harrier was a “thank you” from the party for Anas’ hard work during the 2009 legislative and presidential elections.

Century bailout funds: Anas’ new attack against Yudhoyono

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Mon, March 24 2014, 10:05 AM

Former Democratic Party chairman and graft and money laundering suspect Anas Urbaningrum seems to have a lot of bullets to shoot at his former boss and current party chairman President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

After a round of questioning at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday night, Anas said an audit report of Yudhoyono’s 2009 reelection campaign finances he submitted to investigators listed bogus donors — both individuals and corporations — whose names were used to cover up illicit funds allegedly funneled from the Bank Century bailout.

“It’s the KPK’s job to investigate the audit report to find out the source of donations registered under the bogus names of individuals and corporations,” he said, adding that the total amount of campaign donations received by the Democratic Party in 2009 was Rp 232 billion (US$20.3 million).

KPK takes over ex-minister graft case from police

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Fri, March 21 2014, 9:43 AM

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced on Thursday that it had taken over the investigation of a graft case implicating former health minister Siti Fadilah Supari from the National Police.

The National Police have accused Siti of abusing her budgetary power during her 2004-2009 tenure as minister in a botched Health Ministry medical equipment procurement in 2005 worth Rp 15.5 billion (US$1.3 million).

“The takeover is already official and the KPK will issue a sprindik [letter ordering the start of an investigation] for Siti,” KPK spokesman Johan Budi told reporters on Thursday night.

Suspects in haj fund graft case to be announced soon: KPK

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Thu, March 20 2014, 9:06 AM

The Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) investigation into alleged irregularities in the haj pilgrimage program at the Religious Affairs Ministry found sufficient evidence to name suspects, KPK chairman Abraham Samad confirmed on Wednesday.

“Our investigation has found strong evidence that implicates the suspects,” Abraham said at KPK headquarters on Wednesday, refusing to name the possible suspects.

He said that the KPK had to question a number of witnesses to strengthen its case before naming the suspects.

KPK eyes more of Anas’ ill-gotten gains

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Wed, March 19 2014, 8:10 AM

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad said that the anti-graft body was currently investigating the existence of a company in Riau allegedly tied to the money laundering activities of former Democratic Party chairman and graft suspect Anas Urbaningrum.

“We are currently investigating the existence of a mining company and [Anas’] other assets,” Abraham said on Tuesday.

Abraham did not disclose either the name of the company or the alleged “illicit assets”, but he promised that as long as there was enough evidence, the assets would be confiscated.

Former ministry official may get 13 years for Koran graft

Haeril Halim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Tue, March 18 2014, 11:28 AM

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors demanded on Monday a 13-year prison sentence for Ahmad Jauhari, a former top official at the Religious Affairs Ministry, for his role in a Koran procurement graft case that caused state losses of Rp 27 billion (US$2.4 million).

Ahmad, the ministry’s former director of sharia guidance, is standing trial for allegedly receiving kickbacks of Rp 100 million and $15,000 for rigging a Koran procurement project between 2011 and 2012.

The total value of the procurement project was Rp 20 billion in 2011 and Rp 55 billion in 2012.