Politics: Administration officials issued conflicting signals about the likelihood of parliamentary support for a cash transfer program to compensate the poorest for a fuel price hike. Any transfer program would likely need to be limited in length, extending no further than November 2013 (Page 2). The cooperatives Minister, Partai Demokrat Operational Chair Syarif Hasan, filed criminal charges against the owner of defamatory Twitter accounts. An investigation would test theories about the account owner (p. 3).

Justice: The head of the independent Financial Transactions Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed that at least 20 women received extravagant gifts from an aide to the former president of the Justice Welfare Party (PKS). Meanwhile, senior PKS figures continued exacerbating the calamitous scandal affecting the Islamic party: bodyguards for the party’s Supreme Council chair, Hilmi Aminuddin, attacked reporters; Aminuddin faces further questioning by the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK); and Party President Anis Matta lacked explanations for why a graft suspect possessed numerous land certificates in the name of one of Matta’s wives (p. 4). KPK investigators caught two tax officials red-handed as they accepted a S$300,000 bribe (p. 6).

Policy News: The president extended the moratorium on certain types of forest conversion permits for another two years, through Presidential Instruction (Inpres #6/2013). However, amid a lack of more consequential bureaucratic and administrative reforms, resource management will continue to suffer from patronage practices (p. 6). The president promised incentives for energy investment, but prolonged mismanagement will be difficult to reverse (p. 7). A detailed study shows that the government’s plan to ban raw mineral ore exports in 2014 suffers from a dubious rationale, a lack of feasibility, meager best-case gains and huge opportunity costs (p. 8).

Regional Elections: The indicative breakdown in Bali’s gubernatorial election was exceedingly tight, providing cause for concern about the possibility of rancor (p. 11).

Appointments: Rumors cited by press reports increasingly cite Investment Coordinating Board (BKBN) Chair Chatib Basri as the most likely choice for finance minister, which would be positive for governance and policymaking. However, the long delay suggests that the president may be having difficulty balancing interests (p. 11).

Appendix: Translated Presidential Instruction #6/2013 (p. 12).