District Head Denied Seat on Full Flight, Bars Airline From Airport

The Jakarta Globe, December 22, 2013.


Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. The district head of Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara, decided to bar state-controlled airline Merpati Nusantara from landing at Turelelo Soa airport on Saturday after he was refused a ticket on a Merpati flight that was already fully booked.

“It is outrageous,” Marianus, the district head, said on Sunday. “I begged for a ticket for five hours to fly to Ngada and their answer was: ‘The flight is full.’”

He said blocking Merpati from landing at the airport would teach the airline a firm lesson.

“I had a meeting with the Ngada District Council [DPRD] to discuss development in Ngada, including airport facilities enjoyed by Merpati,” he said. “As district head, I forbid Merpati from landing at Turolelo Soa airport because as a state-owned company, Merpati did not support development in our region.”

Marianus blamed the problem on bad management.

“The district chief said that he had called Merpati airline but the flight was full,” Ministry of Transportation spokesman Bambang S. Ervan told Indonesian news portal Detik.com on Sunday. “The district chief then issued a threat and instructed public order agency [Satpol PP] officials to blockade the airport from Merpati flights.”

Merpati district manager Denny J. de Hoog confirmed that the airline could not land at the airport on Saturday.

“We had to turn back to El Tari airport in Kupang,” he said, adding that the flight in question was carrying 56 passengers.

Marianus had demanded a spot on a full flight, Denny said. Nevertheless, the airline eventually found him a seat, but when they called to confirm, Marianus said he had already booked a ticket with TransNusa, a private airline based in Kupang.

Marianus admitted that Merpati contacted him but that he decided to fly with TransNusa anyway.

Denny said Merpati would work with Marianus to settle the issue.

Airport officials said they could do nothing to end the blockade because they were outnumbered by the Satpol PP officials enforcing the district head’s wishes.

Donatus Mite, head of the air transportation division at the East Nusa Tenggara’s transportation office, said that flights resumed on Sunday

“Fights to Turolelo Soa airport have been opened again and flights are back to normal,” he said. “The closing was only on Saturday. Please don’t make it a big issue related to politics because it was just a miscommunication between Merpati and the district chief.”


( allemachies, when is full not full for a small-time dictator with a too high a regard for his own importance? Expecting some-one to get kicked of the flight to enable him to travel? The last part of his name says it all Mari' anus   . siK' opinion and not of this forum)



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The Jakarta Globe, December 23, 2013.


Calls are mounting from lawmakers to place sanctions on an East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) district head who temporarily shut a local airport on Saturday after he was barred from boarding a flight.

Marianus Sae, the head of Ngada district, ordered the region’s Turelelo Soa Airport to shut down after he was refused a ticket on a Merpati Nusantara flight that was already fully booked. Airport officials said they could do nothing to end the blockade because they were outnumbered by local Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officials enforcing the district head’s wishes.

Flights returned to normal on Sunday after a mediation between Marianus and the state-controlled airline by the head of the airport operator.

“It’s clear in the law — he should be facing three years in prison and be subject to Rp 1 billion [$82,000] in fines,” lawmaker Teguh Juwarno, of the House of Representatives’ Commission V on transportation, told Indonesian news portal liputan6.com.

Teguh was referring to Article 421(1) of the Aviation Law, which states that “anyone causing obstacles and or doing other activities in a flight operational zone, which may harm flights and aviation safety… may be sanctioned with a maximum of three years in prison and/or fined Rp 1 billion.”

“We from Commission V are encouraging legal action against him in order to make him learn his lesson and deter a repeat scenario,” Teguh added.

Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, a deputy speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), criticized Marianus and said his case was an example of how regional officials sometimes display conceited and feudalistic attitudes.

“I think the case is an example of the arrogance of local officials, which shows us that feudalism is still strong in our country,” Hajriyato said. “Only a few regional heads are egalitarian and not feudalistic.”

“Such practices are frequent; local officials make a sudden trip and because of bad planning, they don’t get a seat and take over someone else’s place. That’s not a secret — some airlines have to make their seats vacant to reserve them for local officials.”

Another member of the transportation commission, Saleh Husain, similarly urged penalties against Marianus, saying his shutting of the airport could have harmed passengers.

Indonesian news portal kompas.com reported that two Merparti planes, one of them carrying 54 passengers, were forced to return to El Tari Airport in Kupang after the Turelelo Airport was closed from 6:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday. Several other flights were also reportedly redirected.

“Police should be able to immediately take action because [blockading the airport] may harm people’s lives,” Saleh said.

Another lawmaker, Eriko Sotarduga, asked the NTT governor to take punitive action against Marianus.

“That is to warn the Ngada district head against repeating his actions,” Eriko. “This is no longer an era of arrogant power.”

What authority would issue the potential sanctions, however, remains unclear.

Bambang S. Ervan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation, said the district head would not face charges unless a police report were filed.

The ministry currently has no plan to file a legal suit.

“As for the legal process of the case, I cannot say anything on that yet,” Bambang. “There’s no legal complaint against as of yet.”

Meanwhile, Marsianus’ party defended the district head’s move, saying it was Merpati’s fault for not giving him an airline ticket.

Drajad Wibowo, a deputy chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said Marsianus was upset because he needed to attend a meeting on the regional budget.

“The incident happened because he really needed to attend the meeting to fight for the budget for his region,” Drajad told Liputan6.

He said the airport closing would not have occurred if there had been better communication between Marsianus and Merpati.

“I will advise him, though. As the deputy chairman, I understand his reasons, but I’m sure in the future there should be better [coordination] between both parties,” Drajad said.

“Let me emphasize: they [Merpati and Marsianus] need each other.”


(So now it is the airline's fault that the plaine was booked out, but I agree.., the airline should have sold him a ticket. to nowhere)



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Je bent Pak Lurah of je bent het niet toch?

En dus - als je een echte kerel bent en ook nog Pak Lurah - laat je je gezag gelden toch. Dus liet ie de boeren uit het durp aandraven met hun gerobak en karbouwen om de baan te blokkeren.

Ik vermoed, dat ie in het dagelijks leven in een uniform rondloopt met 3 sterren en 60 ridderordes op zijn borst, een adjudant achter zich met een payung boven het hoofd van de Pak Lurah en nog eentje die naast hem loopt om hem te kipas.

Waarschijnlijk heeft ie ook nog een verordening gesteld, dat iedereen hem voortaan maar moet onderhouden enz. enz.


Er was eens een Pak Lurah
die woonde in Nusa Tenggara.
Hij had het hoog in zijn bol,
ging af en toe naar een snol,
maar zit dra in het gevangenishol.

Daar mag ie dan knijpers maken,
kijkt zuur en is niet te genaken.
Hoort soms een vliegtuig in de lucht,
kijkt omhoog en slaakt een zucht
en bromt: Ben ik nu zo berucht?

Oh yeah..., beslist eentje voor mijn verzameling!

(even op kijken waar 't adres is van deze tuan upil besar in Kupang, even naar hem op sturen, hij kan de postage ook zelf betalen!)

siK



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15 Satpol PP Officers Named Suspects Over Forced East Nusa Tenggara Airport Closure

The Jakarta Globe, December 24, 2013.

Police on Tuesday said 15 public order agency (Satpol PP) officers in Ngada district, East Nusa Tenggara, have been named suspects in an investigation after carrying out an order from the district head to forcefully close a local airport on Saturday.

Turelelo Soa Airport was temporarily shut on Saturday morning after Marianus Sae, the district head, ordered for it to be closed after he was denied a ticket on an fully-booked Merpati Nusantara flight. Airport officials said they could do nothing to end the blockade because they were outnumbered by Satpol PP officers enforcing Marianus’s wishes.

“Fifteen [Satpol PP officers] have been named suspects for violating the law and trespassing on the runway,” East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana told Indonesian news portal vivanews.com.

He said it would need some time, though, before Marianus himself could be charged in the case.

“Our law specifies that questioning of district heads requires permission, a recommendation from the governor,” Untung said.

He added that Ngada Police were currently dealing with the case.

“[They] are investigating others first — those whose questioning doesn’t require a letter,” Untung said. “They need time. They’re working in stages.”

Separately in Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said Marianus allegedly violated Indonesia’s Aviation Law.

“Shutting an airport violates Article 421 of the 2009 Law on Aviation,” he said. “Blockading an airport is punishable by three years in prison and Rp 1 billion [$82,000] in fines.”

Sutarman added that police decided to commence the investigation into the case even though no one had filed a report against Marianus.

He added that anyone involved in the closure might face legal charges.

“There are three [alleged] perpetrators: those who did it, those who helped and those who ordered it,” Sutarman said. “The punishment will be the same. We will question [all of them].”

Aside from the Satpol PP officers, police said they have questioned officials from Merpati and airport operator Angkasa Pura, as well as airport security personnel, over Saturday’s incident.


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The Jakarta Globe. December 30, 2013.


Kupang. Police on Monday said they named the head of the East Nusa Tenggara district of Ngada as a suspect after he ordered the forced closure of a local airport following his failure to obtain a ticket on a fully-booked flight.

Marianus Sae instructed local public order agency (Satpol PP) officers to close the Turelelo So’a Airport in Ngada on Dec. 21, after state-run Merpati Nusantara Airlines refused to give him a seat on one of its planes.

The airport was closed for two hours that day, with airport officials saying they could do nothing to end the blockade because they were outnumbered by Satpol PP officers enforcing Marianus’s orders.

“District head Marianus Sae, who has been named suspect, won’t be detained because he is facing less than two and a half years in prison,” East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said in Kupang. “But the legal process is ongoing… We will question Marianus Sae after the New Year.”

Police earlier said 16 Satpol PP officers had been named suspects over the incident, including the chief of the local office.

Marianus’s actions spurred criticism from the public and lawmakers alike. Legislators said he should be sanctioned for violating the Aviation Law for his hampering of airport operations.

National Police chief Gen. Sutarman last week said Marianus allegedly violated Article 421 of the law, which states that “anyone causing obstacles and or doing other activities in a flight operational zone, which may harm flights and aviation safety… may be sanctioned with a maximum of three years in prison and/or fined Rp 1 billion [$82,000].”



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Not detained.... facing < 2,5 years jail .... Investigation after New Year.....


Yeah yeah yeah, somebody found an old karung/bag/sock full with Rupiahs........celebrating a Happy New Year.... yeah yeah yeah.

Oh Happy Days, Oh Happy Days is heard all around now, as sung and performed by the local Music Band directed and conducted by the Brig.Gen. Police Chief.

"Hey Chief, you garuk my pantat, I will garuk yours and stick my flag in your ass."