The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced Saturday it recovered Rp 194 billion (US$15.6 million) worth of state assets from public officials during the 2007-2008 period.

"We have collected a total of Rp 194 billion worth of state assets from public officials who manipulated administration data and regulations," KPK chairman Antasari Azhar told a law school graduation ceremony in Jakarta.

All the money has been returned to the state, he added.

He said the assets were recovered as a result of tracing the wealth of public officials in question from 2007-2008.

"Some public officials were given state facilities and took charge of state assets during their terms in office, but did not return the assets when they stepped down from their positions," Antasari said.

"That is what we have taken back."

He said the move was part of preventive measures by the KPK to fight corruption in government agencies.

"We do not only take reactionary action to eradicate corruption."

Antasari said that besides tracing the wealth of public officials, the commission was also trying to improve the system of governance to prevent officials abusing their power.

"There are many internal state enterprise and institution policies that need improving."

One such policy allows the wives or relatives of state officials to accompany them on assignments abroad using state funds, he said.

"We have suggested stopping the practice. If officials want to bring their family members on state-funded trips overseas, they should use their own money to pay for their family's expenses," he said.

Antasari said the KPK had also proposed a regulation aimed at preventing public officials from receiving double incomes from the state.

"There are many public officials who have double incomes. After their salary as public officials, they can earn another salary as a commissioner of a state enterprise," he said.

The KPK chief said some officials with two positions might ignore their main duties as state officials.

Corruption occurs when intention meets opportunity, Antasari said.

Former pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, convicted of murdering human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib, will remain in prison following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of his latest legal challenge.

The court on Friday rejected his request to review Article 23 (1) of the 2004 law on judiciary authority that allows "all related parties to seek a case review to the Supreme Court under certain conditions as stipulated by the law".

Pollycarpus submitted the request with the Constitutional Court on May 27, 2008, saying the phrase "all related parties" in the article was "obscure" since it could be interpreted in several ways.

He then cited Article 263 (1) of the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP), which stipulates only convicts or their relatives had the right to file a case review request.

Pollycarpus had earlier been acquitted by the Supreme Court of murder charges in the Munir case.

But the same court later reversed the verdict and sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment last year, accepting a case review filed by prosecutors.

"It is true the public prosecutor cannot propose a case review because it is the convict's rights to seek justice," Constitutional Court judge Natabaya said.

But if the stipulation in Article 263 (1) was no longer considered appropriate in serving the people's sense of justice, then the article in question should be revised, he argued.

The panel of judges thus ruled the petition by Pollycarpus had no "strong legal basis".

However, the judges criticized the Supreme Court for being "inconsistent" in its decisions regarding the admissibility of a criminal case review.

"But regardless of whether we agree or not, it is the Supreme Court's authority to interpret legal norms and implement them," Natabaya said.

In this case, he added, it was purely a matter of interpretation and implementation of the law.

"It is not a constitutional problem. It is a constitutional complaint so we don't have any authority to judge," he said.

Natabaya said because the Constitutional Court did not have the right to investigate, arbitrate and rule on constitutional complaints, it had to reject the request.

When it accepted prosecutors' pleas for a case review against Pollycarpus, the Supreme Court said new evidence had been found, including a recorded conversation between Pollycarpus and Indra Setiawan, former president director of Garuda Indonesia, which revealed the alleged involvement of former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono in Munir's murder.

Muchdi has been detained by the Attorney General's Office pending immediate prosecution.

Several regional heads in Indonesia have expressed interest in implementing an organic waste management system using recycling technology similar to the one currently being constructed in Bali, an executive of the waste management company said Saturday.

The recycling technology transforms the waste into electricity.

The regions interested are Jakarta, Bekasi, West Java and Palembang in South Sumatra.

"We are currently in discussion with those regions' administrations, but we haven't reached any agreements so far," said Soeyoto, director of PT Navigat Organic Energy Indonesia.

Unfortunately, their plan to build the waste management plants in the regions faced many obstacles, he said.

"One of the obstacles is regional regulation," he said.

He said some regional regulations consider waste as the region's asset.

Consequently, the management of waste, including the appointment of a private company to handle it, needs to be decided and conducted through a long legal and bureaucratic process.

"We did not encounter such problems in Bali. The local administration selected the best waste management company and the most appropriate technology for the region," he said.

PT Navigat is now in the process of constructing the waste plant in Suwung, Denpasar, on a 10-hectare plot of land provided by the provincial administration.

The plant, Soeyoto said, would be able to process 800 tons of garbage per day and produce 2 MW of electricity. The operational capacity will be reached by October this year.

The capacity will be increased to reach 9.6 MW in 2010.

The waste will go through a multi-phase process; from gasification to anaerobic digestion.

The wet organic waste is separated from dry waste. The wet waste is crushed, dried and later transformed into compost. The compost undergoes a process called anaerobic digestion to produce gas. The dry organic waste goes through pyrolyzes and the gasification processes.

Gasification is the thermal process of converting biomass into combustible gases. This process will produce synthetic gas, which can be converted into electricity.

Soeyoto said his company only needed commitment from the local authority to provide land to build the plant and a continuous supply of garbage.

"We need a minimum of 500 tons of garbage per day," he said.

Bali will be the first province in the country to produce electricity using organic garbage, with zero waste.

PT Navigat Organic Energy Indonesia, an British-based power company is developing an installation in Suwung final waste site in Denpasar, using 10 hectares of land granted by the provincial administration.

"We are developing a waste-driven power plant that we call Integrated Waste Management (IPST) Sarbagita, an acronym for Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan," Navigat Organic Energy president director Soeyoto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Those four regencies have agreed to provide all necessary facilities, including garbage supply, he said.

"We will need 800 tons of garbage a day, from four regencies (Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan) to be used as raw-material for the power plant," Soeyoto said.

The plant, with a total investment of 20 million Euros (more than US$31 million), would use Galfad technology (gasification, landfill gas and anaerobic digestion) from the United Kingdom to create electricity.

"After we receive waste from the four regencies, we will separate the organic from inorganic waste," he said.

The wet organic waste, he said, would be crushed, dried and later be transformed into compost and would undergo a process called anaerobic digestion, to produce gas.

While the dry organic waste, he said, would go though pyrolyzes and gasification processes.

Gasification is the process of converting biomass into combustible gases using a thermal process. This process will produce synthetic gas which can be converted into electricity after undergoing a process in a boiler machine.

"The whole process will yield zero waste," he said, adding that the project would be conducted in phases.

"In the first phase, we will produce two megawatts of power this October," he said.

The second phase in June 2009, they would double the production into four megawatts and 9.6 megawatts in 2010, he said, adding that his company had made a deal with the state-owned PT PLN to supply electricity to Bali.

"We signed an agreement with PLN in Nusa Penida yesterday," he said.

Soeyoto said Similar technology was already being used in other countries but they had not put it together into an integrated system like the one in Bali.

Construction of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) cultural park, an ambitious multi-billion rupia project centered around a giant statue of the mythical Garuda bird in southern Bali, has halted due to budget constraints.

The project will need at least Rp 750 billion (US$80 million) in additional funds to be completed, the park's initiator says.

For years, construction has been hindered by a range of problems, from a chronic lack of funds to internal disputes among the park's managing executives.

"Almost 20 years ago we kicked off this project without any estimation a lengthy economic crisis would hit the country. At that time we only thought the crisis would last two to three years. No one thought it would be a protracted crisis like this," Nyoman Nuarta said in a press conference this week.

Nuarta is an acclaimed Bali-born sculptor and the mastermind behind the park and the monument within. Despite strong opposition from Balinese right-wing activists and intellectuals, who assailed the park as another money-wasting mega project, the project initially won support from high ranking government officials, including then minister of tourism Joop Ave and then minister of energy I.B. Sudjana.

"We estimate we will need Rp 750 billion (US$80.6 million) more to finish the project," Nuarta said, adding that the government had only offered moral, rather than financial support.

Set to become a landmark for Indonesia's tourism industry, the park, located in Jimbaran, 30 kilometers west of Denpasar, is designed to be spacious and to combine cultural presentation, state-of-the-art technology and business facilities.

The park's main attraction will be the 150-meter-tall Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue, designed and sculpted by Nuarta in his studio in Bandung, West Java. The statue will be surrounded by a lotus pond, with an amphitheater and shopping arcades nearby.

"So far we have managed to construct only 15 percent of the park and 28 percent of the statue," Nuarta conceded.

The construction committee has only managed to acquire 100 hectares out of the 250 hectares of land required for the park.

Nuarta said they had not set a target for the completion of the park.

"We will construct it according to our financial and physical capabilities because we do not receive financial help from the government," said the artist, also a member of the advisory board of the GWK Foundation.

"We are ready to request loans from commercial banks so that we can gradually finish the project," he said.

Nuarta also said the construction committee and foundation would welcome investors interested in taking part in the project as long as they didn't alter its design.

"We are now in the process of negotiating with several Malaysian and Indonesian investors," he said.

During the press conference, the GWK Foundation and PT. Garuda Adimatra Indonesia, the park's developers, said they would re-commence construction work on May 20.

"We have picked that day to honor National Awakening Day," head of the event organizing committee IB Gde Budi Hartawan said.

The event would stage a cultural performance involving hundreds of children from across the island.

"We expect around 4,000 people will attend the event," he said.

The GWK Foundation's advisory board chairman H Joop Ave said he expected the park to be one of the island's biggest tourism attractions.

Several nongovernment environmental groups are preparing community activities for Earth Day on April 22.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is preparing clean-up activities for the shores of Nusa Lembongan, an island off the southeastern coast of Bali.

"We are planning to conduct beach clean-ups at Nusa Lembongan on Sunday morning," TNC outreach specialist Marthen Welly told The Jakarta Post here Saturday.

He said the activity would involve local residents and hotel and resort employees.

"The clean-up will be carried out at the beach around their hotels and restaurants, so they are expected to show they care for their surrounding environment and join in the event," he said.

He said the group hoped the clean-up would become a regular monthly activity because the people on the island would enjoy the benefits themselves.

With its pristine beaches, magnificent underwater landscape and isolated geographic position, Nusa Lembongan has become the top destination for travelers who want to escape the hustle and bustle of mainland Bali's beaches, such as Kuta and Sanur.

The organization is also planning a drawing and coloring competition for elementary school students on April 22 at the Bali Hyatt Hotel.

"We are cooperating with Bali Hyatt Group and Bali Hotels' Public Relations Association for the event," he said.

He said the aim of the event was to commemorate the 2008 International Year of the Reef.

"That is why the theme for the event is fish and reefs," he said.

He said by involving elementary school students in the event, the organizers expected to be able to raise environmental awareness among the younger members of society.

"It will also be easier to raise the awareness of their parents if we approach the children first," he said.

Veronika Niken from the Indonesian Reef Check Foundation said the group would officially launch the Sea Preservation Area at Bondalem Village in the northern coastal regency of Singaraja on Earth Day.

"We will also inaugurate the Reef Check Center in Sembiran Village of Tejakula District in Buleleng Regency," she told the Post.

The center will be used as a center for education and research on coral reefs.

She said her group had previously organized a series of education campaigns for school children and teachers on ways to deal with plastic waste and how to preserve the coral.

Coastal resource management specialist Yan Manuputi of Reef Check said the group had been working in Bondalem Village since 2005.

"So far we have seen people at the village have a lot of enthusiasm for preserving their environment, when it comes to the sea," he said.

At first he said the condition of the coral in the region was quite worrisome but with people's increasing awareness, he expected the situation would continue to improve.

Indonesia announced a plan here Tuesday to forge cooperation with 10 other countries to jointly combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices.

The countries concerned are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.

"Illegal fishing demands regional cooperation because this is a cross-border problem," Aji Sularso, director general of monitoring and control of maritime and fishery resources at the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry, told a workshop in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The three-day forum, being hosted by the ministry, follows up on a senior official meeting held in Bangkok last year to draw up a plan to promote responsible fishing practices in the region.

The regional action plan was initiated by Indonesia and Australia at the Bangkok meeting.

Aji said each country lost up to 25 percent of their fish stock per year because of illegal fishing.

"You can just calculate 25 percent from Indonesia's fish stock of 6.5 million tons a year," he said.

With such huger fishery potential, Indonesia needs to better manage its fishery sector and minimize losses, he said.

In 2007, the ministry seized 184 of 2,207 fishing boats that were inspected by surveillance officers, including 89 foreign-flagged vessels.

The seizures were estimated to save the country Rp 439 billion (US$48.3 million) in potential losses, Aji said.

He said that amount came from Rp 34 billion in fishery income tax, Rp 23.8 billion in gas subsidies and Rp 381 billion from fishery resources.

The Bali meeting is being attended by senior officials from 11 countries and non-governmental organizations, who will identify monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) methods in each country.

The forum is also expected to reach an agreement on networking to accommodate bilateral, sub-regional and regional MCS cooperation, and formulate the next agenda for the regional action plan.

"We are planning to establish a coordinating committee at the next meeting," Aji said.

Maritime and Fisheries Ministry spokesman M. Hartono said participants would determine the time and place for the next meeting at the end of the workshop.

Aji said he would also propose the committee's secretariat office be placed in Jakarta.

"This will show Indonesia's contribution to the region's stability in fishing activities," he said.

Peter Cassells, manager of Nothern International Fisheries at the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said real progress could be made in combating illegal fishing by cooperating with Indonesia and other countries.

To achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target in the sanitation sector, the government must change its strategy from target-oriented to demand-driven, a national seminar has concluded.

"One of the obstacles in reaching the MDGs target is ineffective and inefficient investment in the development of drinking water and sanitation facilities," director of housing at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Budi Hidayat told a national meeting on "Consolidation for Implementation of the National Policy of Community-Based Drinking Water and Healthy Environment". The meeting was held in Sanur, Bali, on Monday.

He said development of facilities has focused on meeting targets, rather than demand.

"Most of the time, the development of those facilities does not consider people's needs, habits and abilities. This means that many facilities are being abandoned after less than five years," he said.

He said the 2007 Bappenas report on MDGs targets showed the proportion of households with access to proper sanitation had increased to 69.3 percent in 2006 from 30.9 percent in 1990.

"That means we have met the target of 65.5 percent set in the MDGs," he said.

However, he added, only 5 percent of people had piped sanitation facilities, the rest having septic tanks and leaching pits, which are of questionable quality.

Therefore, he said, it is important for drinking water and sanitation facilities to be directed into community-based development.

"People should be involved from the very beginning, from planning to development, so they will maintain facilities voluntarily," Budi said.

He said with assistance from the World Bank through its Water Supply and Sanitation Policy Formulation and Action Planning Project (Waspola), the government had implemented community-based water and sanitation projects in nine provinces: West Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, South Sulawesi and Gorontalo.

According to Waspola project coordinator Sofyan Iskandar, the project focused more on building people's abilities than on actual development.

Director of environmental health at the Health Ministry Wan Alkadri said the ministry had implemented pilot projects for community-based total sanitation in six provinces: South Sumatra, East Java, West Java, West Nusa Tenggara, West Kalimantan and Jambi.

"There are now 160 villages that are free from open defecation. Each household has its own toilet. All that was built without any government subsidies," he said.