SBY honors controversial aides

JAKARTA. Among those to whom President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono awarded the Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana medal on Wednesday, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, were several controversial bureaucrats who have often received public criticism.

Just months before leaving the State Palace, the President honored 38 figures, including 15 ministers and nine leaders of the House of Representatives and the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), for their services to the state.

Among the privileged ministers were Communication and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring, who is notorious for his censorship policy and for the seemingly ignorant quips he makes on sensitive issues through his Twitter account.

Despite a rift between his party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, Tifatul has managed to maintain his position throughout the President’s second term.

Other PKS members, including former research and technology minister Suharna Surapranata, had been axed in 2011 in a Cabinet reshuffle that had been triggered by disputes in the House.

Yudhoyono also awarded the medal to Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syariefuddin “Syarief” Hasan, Democratic Party executive chairman who has spoken more frequently in public for his party, rather than for his ministry.

Syarief’s son, Riefan Avran, is currently on trial for an alleged corruption case involving the procurement of large-screen televisions for multimedia digital advertising at his father’s ministry.

The civilian awards are actually a part of the annual celebrations to mark Independence Day, which falls on Aug. 17.

The honor’s selection committee has been known for giving medals to people who are close to Yudhoyono, including First Lady Ani Yudhoyono who once received the highest civilian honor, Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana, for being “very active in social affairs”.

The committee did not hand out any Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana medals this year, or last year.

Other figures who have raised eyebrows for receiving medals of lesser rank than the Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana were South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin and Awang Farouk Ishak of East Kalimantan, both of whom have been connected to graft cases.

Alex, a politician with the Golkar Party, had been a witness in the high profile graft case centering on the construction of the athletes’ village at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Awang was considered a graft suspect until the Attorney General’s Office decided to drop its investigation into the case last year because of a lack of evidence.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha rebuffed the assertion that those awarded were only Yudhoyono’s favorites, saying that “[the figures] were, of course, considered as contributing to the nation and the country.”

“Those named, who deserve the medals, have been selected in a proper process conducted by a medal council led by the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister,” Julian said on Wednesday.

“We have to prioritize the principle of presumption of innocence,” he said in his response to a question about the controversial backgrounds of Alex and Awang.

Other than those controversial figures, some who have been praised for their performance, for example newly-appointed Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin and new Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung, were also bestowed with the Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana.

Vice President Boediono’s wife Herawati, six former ministers and seven former leaders of a number of government bodies were also on the list.

The government also gave the award to five figures who have been fighting for Papuans’ rights and welfare, including pluralism champion Rev. (Ina Parlina)