United Tractors allocates $430 m to strengthen business

Heavy equipment maker PT United Tractors disclosed Tuesday that the company allocated about US$430 million this year as its capital expenditure to help strengthen its business on coal mines and heavy construction machinery.

“About $400 million of the fund will be used by our subsidiary PT Pamapersada Nusantara and the rest will be used to finance the heavy machinery business,” United Tractors finance director Gideon Hasan told reporters.

Gideon made the remarks during the launching of three new construction machinery products: excavator Komatsu PC 130F-7, PC200-8 and PC 400-8, which use Komatsu machine tracking system.

Pamapersada is a subsidiary of United Tractor which concentrates on coal mines.United Tractors is 59.5 percent owned by PT Astra International with the investing public controlling the rest.

Mitsubishi requests update on Donggi-Senoro gas project

Mitsubishi Corporation CEO Yorihiko Kojima met Vice President Boediono at the state palace on Tuesday, to request information on the Donggi-Senoro liquefied natural gas project in Central Sulawesi.

The project was being discussed by Boediono and related ministers, said vice presidential spokesman Yopie Hidayat.

“The Vice President and ministers are still studying the Donggi-Senoro project. The Vice President will wait for a report from ministers and will unveil it to the public and stakeholders once this study is finished,” Yopie said.

He added that Mitsubishi expected the Donggi-Senoro project would cost US$2.5 billion.

Aside from the project, Mitsubishi has invested $15 billion in various economic activities here in Indonesia, including in the electricity and automotive industries.

The gas project has been put on hold since last year because of controversy over whether it would be intended for export or domestic supply. Then vice president Jusuf Kalla insisted that the Donggi-Senoro project would meet domestic gas needs.

Speaker violated House regulations: Judge

Constitutional Court judge M Akil Mochtar said House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie’s move to postpone a plenary session to discuss the Bank Century bailout was a violation of the House’s standing order.

“I don’t think the House speaker understands the House regulations,” Akil, a former House member from the Golkar Party, told reporters.

The plenary session was suspended after chaos erupted following a demand from several legislators that the House members vote on the case on Tuesday, rather than Wednesday as originally scheduled.

Marzuki, however, insisted that legislators stick to the original schedule, which had been decided during a House consultative body meeting.
Akil said Marzuki’s one-sided move to delay the plenary without giving legislators a chance to voice their opinions could be seen as a violation of the principle of lawmakers’ sovereignty.

He suggested that the legislators file a report against Marzuki with the House’s disciplinary council for alleged violation of the House’s code of ethics.

“Or at least his action can be annulled and be discussed further,” he added.

Akil said that Marzuki’s action might have be triggered by fear of the possibility that the House would endorse legal measures against state officials involved in the Bank Century bailout.

House speaker commits constitutional crime: Lawmaker

Lawmaker Akbar Faizal of People's Conscience Party (Hanura) accused House Speaker Marzuki Alie of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party on Tuesday of having committed "constitutional crimes".

Akbar claimed he had been hit by another lawmaker and sent off the House plenary room when he protested Marzuki.

"The House speaker was not democratic. He is authoritarian. He did not let other House member to give opinion," Akbar said.

He admitted he had been hit but refused to mention the culprit.

Tuesday's plenary meeting on Bank Century bailout case ended in chaotic situation after Marzuki closed the meeting while dozens of lawmakers raised hands to make statements.

A number of angry legislators marched forward protesting Marzuki and trying to seize his hammer.

Lawmaker Maruarar Sirait of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said his party would consolidate all House members from the party right away.

"We will soon make stance over the not-democratic House speaker who did not let other opinion came up," he said.

Plenary session suspended following chaos

The House of Representatives plenary session to discuss the Bank Century case is currently on a break following chaos triggered by a heated debate among legislators.

"We will resume at 2 p.m.," one of the House deputy speakers, Priyo Budi Santoso from the Golkar Party, told reporters at the House in Jakarta on Tuesday. At the time of writing the session has yet to resume.

The debate began when several legislators insisted the House vote on the case today, rather than the original schedule of tomorrow.

However, the House speaker, Marzuki Alie from the Democratic Party, insisted the legislators commit to the original schedule, which had been decided during a House consultative body meeting.

However, the legislators pointed out that a plenary session was higher than a mere consultative body meeting.

Marzuki was persistent, so a number of angry legislators marched toward the speaker's chair, trying to take his gavel away.

"Topple the speaker! Topple the speaker!" they yelled.

Security guards tried to settle the lawmakers down as they were trying to grab one another’s throat.

One of the legislators, Akbar Faisal from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), is said to have been punched during the chaos.

So far, Akbar has yet to reply to the text message sent by The Jakarta Post to confirm whether he was punched.

Separately, Maruarar Sirait from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) deemed that Marzuki had displayed weak leadership in hosting the plenary.

"He should have facilitated the legislators, because the House’s internal regulations clearly say that a plenary session is higher than a consultative body meeting," he said.

Protesters clash with police, traffic paralyzed

Police use tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters, who pelted stones at the officers in clashes during a rally at the House of Representatives building in Jakarta on Tuesday, kompas.com reported.

The protesters used a car to drag away the barbed-wire barricades, which were set up by police to block the entrance gate to the House building, blocking the traffic on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

The clash ended after tear gas and water cannon drove protesters away to the nearby Slipi intersection.

Meanwhile, inside the House building a plenary session on the Bank Century bailout inquiry was suspended following the chaos sparked by heated arguments between legislators.

The plenary session was to vote on the inquiry conclusions on Wednesday, but the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party demanded the House of Representatives vote on the Bank Century bailout final conclusion on Tuesday.

Chile quake death toll hits 708 as rescue ramps up

Heroism and banditry mingled on Chile's shattered streets Sunday as rescuers braved aftershocks digging for survivors and the government sent soldiers and ordered a nighttime curfew to quell looting. The death toll climbed to 708 in one of the biggest earthquakes in centuries.

In the hard-hit city of Concepcion, firefighters pulling survivors from a toppled apartment block were forced to pause because of tear gas fired to stop looters, who were wheeling off everything from microwave ovens to canned milk at a damaged supermarket across the street.

Efforts to determine the full scope of destruction were undermined by an endless string of terrifying aftershocks that continued to turn buildings into rubble. Officials said 500,000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged, and President Michele Bachelet said "a growing number" of people were listed as missing.

"We are facing a catastrophe of such unthinkable magnitude that it will require a giant effort" to recover, Bachelet said after meeting for six hours with ministers and generals in La Moneda Palace, itself chipped and cracked.

She signed a decree giving the military control over security in the province of Concepcion, where looters were pillaging supermarkets, gas stations, pharmacies and banks. Men and women hurried away with plastic containers of chicken, beef and sausages.

Virtually every market and supermarket had been looted - and no food or drinking water could be found. Many people in Concepcion expressed anger at the authorities for not stopping the looting or bringing in supplies. Electricity and water services were out of service.

"We are overwhelmed," a police officer told The Associated Press.