Anyone managed to keep up with this week’s news? It’s been a doozy indeed. Indonesia just had a major #MeToo moment, someone leaked a controversial tax provision plan, a Happy Meal is causing lots of headaches at McDonald’s, hajj being canceled again, and so many more. Busy week!
Government Tax Plan Exposed
A document purporting to be an update to the 1983 tax provisions made the rounds last week which included taxes on more than a dozen categories of items that were not previously taxed, such as religious services, health, basic food necessities, and education. The document sparked an outrage among the public as well as various local governments.
The Tax Directorate General did not confirm the specifics but they did say that while the document did not come from an official source they are currently working with the DPR to revise the tax provisions as a response to the pandemic.
The country has indeed been hit hard by the lack of economic activities as the country’s tax revenue in 2020 fell by 19.7% to just Rp1,070 trillion compared to 2019’s figure of 1,332 trillion. Understandably the government is desperate to boost that number for 2021 but it’s like they woke up one day and chose violence.
According to the leaked document, there are 11 basic food items that will be taxed including rice, corn, unprocessed meat, eggs, milk, fruits, and vegetables. You tax these in any way, you’ll get a severe backlash.
The Finance Ministry, though, is trying to deflect the issue with the special staff on Communications Strategy, Yustinus Prastowo saying on Twitter that the upcoming tax provision is an attempt to tax consumptions more fairly, that other countries also raised their taxes, and our VAT rate is still below those of many other countries. Long thread here:
What he never explained was the actual effects these taxes would impose on the consumers. Someone going by the name @dewapuci pointed out (also in a long Twitter thread) that a 1% increase in price of rice may be effectively a 10% increase because of the way price changes works and how the market responds. You apply that change across all the newly taxed items on the market and you’ll have yourself an inflation, which ultimately diminishes the purchasing power of the consumers. They also explained how consumers behave when prices of certain items rise, which Prastowo did not address.
Prastowo may present the different tax rates on basic food items as being fair with the rich paying more tax on the same or substitute items, but for basic necessities, those on the lower economic groups will spend much more as a proportion of their income than those who are more affluent, essentially preventing them from purchasing other items.
What’s making it worse is that while the government is saying that this is to boost tax revenue, car purchases remain tax-free until August, tax rate for the rich goes up by only 5%, and tobacco tax is frozen after an increase last year.
This raging debate wouldn’t have happened had someone not leaked the draft document to the media. Is the person a hero for exposing this plan or should they be considered a criminal for releasing a confidential government document?
A #MeToo Moment Unfolded
Former radio jockey and YouTube personality Gofar Hilman is in trouble after a woman accused him of sexual harassment in a Twitter thread (these Twitter threads are everywhere, seriously). While he denied the allegations, Lawless, a major food and lifestyle company which he co-founded, decided they wanted nothing more to do with him and kicked him out anyway.
Gofar claimed that he was drunk and can’t recall the incident clearly, (there is a video of him being quite drunk that night). While he apologized for hugging anyone who might not have appreciated the gesture, he insisted that he couldn’t have sexually harassed her because one of the event’s organizers and his assistant were with him until he left the premises. Also a Twitter thread.
The two parties seem to be in discussions regarding what happened and there hasn’t been any public update since the battle of the threads. Gofar did say that he might pursue the issue through legal channels which could put her in a difficult position due to lack of evidence.
Gofar admitted in a few occasions that he had recorded himself having sex over the years and watched them with his friends from time to time, presumably without his sex partner’s consent. Those recordings supposedly have been destroyed.
This case also pointed a very bright spotlight at the country’s lack of anti sexual harassment laws that could protect victims who take the brave step of coming forward at the risk of personal safety and mental health.
Many sexual harassment cases have little to no solid proof and tend to be reported long after the incident happened if at all. It’s even more difficult when the perpetrator is a public figure or is in a position of power with plenty of fans or supporters. RUU PKS is meant to provide protection to these victims to allow more of them to come forward.
RUU PKS has been in limbo since early 2019 when conservative Muslim groups voiced their opposition to the bill saying that it allows room for people who conduct extra or non-marital sex to avoid prosecution and for children to be exposed to sex education. This year the bill has been included in the priority legislation list but those provisions that offend the conservatives so much may as well be removed because provisions in the proposed Criminal Code actually criminalize these activities. You can read about this notorious Criminal Code in our previous Nuice Report.
Not So Happy Meal
The global collaboration between everyone’s favourite junk food franchise and the most popular boyband on the planet launched on June 9 in Indonesia with so much fanfare and excitement that it led to dozens of McDonald’s outlets being shuttered temporarily and fined because of overcrowding, although the amount of the fine, Rp50 million, is equal to a pinch (not even a slap) on the wrist. Even worse is the Rp500,000 fine handed to 12 outlets in Bandung.
McDonald’s had planned for the Happy Meal promotion to last for a month but the frenzy on day one was apparently beyond anything they anticipated. While the BTS Meal was only available for delivery, the hype had gone far beyond fever pitch that by lunch time they had to pull all online orders from all the delivery apps.
A number of outlets were told to shut down due to overcrowding of delivery drivers. At many outlets it was pandemonium with local police and the public order authorities having to disperse the crowds which violated Covid-19 health protocols.
With online orders suspended and outlets no longer providing BTS Meals for drive through customers, McDonald’s Indonesia has stayed silent since the ordeal. The social media pages no longer promote the meal and questions about the availability of the meal, which is supposed to be a month, remain unanswered.
One notable outcome of this rather unfortunate development is that the ARMY, fans of BTS, have collected over Rp460 million in donation through crowdfunding platform KitaBisa for delivery drivers who have risked their health and possibly lives, to get these Happy Meals in the middle of a pandemic. They’ve distributed a portion as financial donation and essential food items to a number of drivers in Surabaya and they said they’ll keep an update the progress.
We’ll leave you with Sisca Kohl’s BTS Meal ice cream TikTok video.
Quick Reads
No Hajj for Everyone Not in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia announced that only 60,000 citizens and expats living in the Kingdom will be allowed to perform this year's haj pilgrimage. For some people it will still be our government's fault.
Jakarta Starts Vaccination for Every Adult
Vaccination efforts are being accelerated in Jakarta with every adult 18 years and over now eligible. The drive is partly to exhaust the current batch of AstraZeneca vaccines that have a shorter self life than Sinovac’s and to combat the spike that started this past week.
Notorious musician and conspiracy theorist I Gede Ari Astina walked free after spending 10 months in prison for calling the Indonesian Doctors’ Association a stooge of the WHO. Naturally he went straight back to peddling his crazy theories again.
Performative Nationalism for Civil Servants
From this week civil servants in the Ministry of Home Affairs will sing the national anthem every morning and cite Pancasila on Wednesdays and Fridays in addition to the flag and national anthem assembly every Monday. Even online. All other civil servants will follow in July.
What’s new? After getting our butts kicked 4-0 by Vietnam, a few days later the UAE finished the job scoring five goals to none in the World Cup 2022 qualifying stage. But that’s okay because it’s apparently just preparation for AFF and SEA Games 👀.