Illegal Pet Trade

Endangered animals in Indonesia are protected by the Law No. 5/1990 which carries a sentence of  five years in jail or a fine of Rp.100 million.

In spite of this fact, there has been many media reports about the sales of endangered animals, one of which is reported by Associated Press/Google (below) about illegal pets that are traded openly at a Flora and Fauna Expo in Jakarta from 2 July until 2 August 2010.  

I hope that the authorities, i.e. Ministry of Environment and the Dept. of Forestry would make serious efforts to prevent such trade, although the endangered Pets sold at the said Expo originated from other countries.

Expo shows illegal pet trade rampant in Indonesia

By NINIEK KARMINI (AP) 

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The most threatened tortoise in the world is being sold openly at a plant and animal exposition in the heart of Indonesia's capital, highlighting concerns about the rampant — and growing — illegal pet trade.

The country has become a major trading hub for endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles, including species from Africa, South America and Asia, said Chris Shepherd of TRAFFIC, a British-based international wildlife monitoring network

He said the government has failed to follow up on repeated promises to crackdown.
Those found Friday at Jakarta's annual flora and fauna expo — held from July 2 until Aug. 2 — included the world's most threatened ploughshare tortoise and the critically endangered radiated tortoises, both from Madagascar and fetching around $150.

Cages also were filled with rare Indian star tortoises, which are protected under the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species, known as CITES, and the endangered pig-nose tortoise, from Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, both selling for $1,500.

Vendors told The Associated Press other threatened tortoises and turtles not found on display could easily be obtained for a price.

"Recent surveys, and this expo, have shown that the trade continues and, in fact, now involves more illegally imported species than ever," said Shepherd. "Dealers know full well that it is illegal and are taking advantage of the enforcement agencies lack of action."

Indonesia, one of the most biologically diverse nations in the world, has for years sold everything from eagles and leopard cats to gibbons as pets in the capital, though often less openly. Shady transactions continue to take place in the back alleys of the popular Pramuka Market.

Pong Harjatmo and the House of Representatives

Pong Harjatmo (68) is a senior movie actor who is well known in the years 1970-1980, whereby he often played the role as a high school sports teacher.

I have not heard about him for more than a decade, and today I was surprised when Tempointeraktif (below) reported about the protest he made against the members of the House of Representatives by climbing the roof of the House building. 

I hope that what Pong did today would make members of the House aware that people are sick and tired about their performances many of whom are very lazy to attend meetings, love to sleep during meetings, involve in crimes, etc.

Actor Attempts Youthful Anti-Government Protest
Friday, 30 July, 2010 | 21:51 WIB 
 
TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: A mid-level Indonesian actor who is already past his era had shot up back to fame in a far different stage where he gained his fame was, after he threw himself into the domestic political limelight in a lively fashion that has been considered offensive by some but has waken an even larger support from the public.

Pong Harjatmo, 68, who was famous during the 70's through several silver screen motion pictures successfully scaled up today (30/7) the roof top of the 100-meter-tall parliament building, once occupied illegally by youthful students during the 1998 protest that toppled down Soeharto, to write three words in red paint; "Honest, Fair, and Strict.

In a huge disappointment over the nation's political condition and frustration over the unfruitful attempts by the media, including his bid to spread subtle messages through his film roles, to control the government, Pong said "This is one of my act to be heard."

The Javanese actor who has sparked support from his old fans as well as younger activists through various media said "All these times the government and the people's representatives had failed to solve any problem. From Century (bail out) to gas explosions."

Some lawmakers offended by the act made response today but mostly chose to remain silent.

Born in Solo where the mausoleum of the Soeharto family located, Pong entered the sports teacher school run by the airforce and later become a serviceman and teacher.

He starred several feature films that have been some of his top achievements between 1969 and 1971 and continue his showbiz carrer in TV soaps until now.

Young director Joko Anwar wrote in his twitter account today "We Love You Om (Indonesian adaptation from dutch term for uncle) Pong Harjatmo!!". Another support on twitter read "Pongharjatmo at old age with a risk of slipping off the house's roof, succeeded in representing the people who are stiffened from hearing the victims of gas explosion".

HAYATI MAULANA NUR | ARYANI KRISTANTI | PDAT | FWH (Various Sources)

Lazy Representatives

Every five years the Indonesian people elected some men and women as their representatives at the national and regional houses of representatives to supervise the management of the country.
In order to enable those representatives work well and diligently, the state provide them with very good salary, luxurious housing, car and other privileges.

However, many of those representatives do not seems to be satisfied with all those benefits and privileges that they tend to be lazy in attending meetings of the house of representatives.

According to the announcement of Secretariat General of the House of Representatives, members attending the meetings during 3 periods has been declining : at the first period (1 Oct.'09-4 Dec.'09) 92.57%, at the second period (4 Jan.'10-5 Mar '10) 84.32%, and at the third period (5 Apr'10-18Jun'10) only 71.59%.

The above announcement has made many representatives annoyed and angry, this is obvious because they felt terribly ashamed at their own behaviour.

Considering that those representatives are paid by the state using Tax Money collected from the people, I hope that an investigation would be carried out on those lazy representatives, and action would be taken on those who are proven to be lazy.


Related articles :
-  Less than 300 of 560 Legislators attend House Plenary Session (The Jakarta Post)
-  Lack of quorum, House plenary session temporarily delayed (The Jakarta Post)
-  Anggota DPR tetap Bandel dan Bolos (Kompas)
-  Kesekjenan DPR diminta klarifikasi data (Kompas)

Parking Companies Responsible for Vechicles

The Supreme Court has just passed a verdict ruling that vehicle parking companies should be fully responsible for any cars and or motorcycles that is stolen in the building or compound of parking that it managed.

This decision is very fair, because until now such parking companies charged cars/motorcycles with hourly parking rate only for the rental of parking space, but refuse to take responsibility for partial or total loss of car/motorcycle.

However, the Association of Shopping Center is not happy with this verdict, saying that the parking companies only provide parking spaces and do its best to prevent any stolen vehicles but cannot be asked to be responsible for them.

In connection with this verdict, the government of Jakarta plan to amend its by-law regarding Parking, among others by requiring parking companies to get insurance protection for all the vichicles parking in their area.

Related articles :
-  Putusan MA: Parkir Wajib Ganti Kendaraan Hilang! (JakartaPress)
-  Putusan MA Jadi Bahan Revisi Peda Parkir DKI (Detik)
-  Asosiasi Pusat Belanja Nilai Putusan MA Aneh (Detik)

Hoping for a better Fatwa/Edict

The Indonesian Ulama(Cleric) Council (MUI) has just issued Fatwa (edict) which declared that Infotainment i.e. Gossips in the news media about life of celebrities is Haram (Forbidden) for Moslems.

Beside that, MUI have also declared that Changing Sex intentionally is also Haram (Forbidden) for Moslem.

As a Moslem who has always been proud to be born, grew up, function as a male, and never enjoy watching Infotainment, MUI's above Fatwa/Edict have no effect at all, because our national legal system does not recognize Fatwa/Edict as a legally binding law, thus it is up to the individual whether he/she wants to obey it.
I doubt that most Indonesian Moslems who are moderate would obey it, but Fanatic Moslems would surely obey it.

I hope that as the highest official Moslem authority, MUI would pay attention to other matters which are far more important for the people and country such as : Corruption, Drug abuse, Inter-Religious Harmony, Growing Violence, Crimes, Unemployment, etc. that way people in our country can live more peacefully and harmoniously.

Related articles quoted from The Jakarta Globe :
                                            
- Gossip TV, Magazines Banned, MUI Rules;                                                                                               
- From Gossip to Sex Changes, MUI Weighs in with Fatwas;

How to Apologize like a Celebrity

In the last few weeks, two famous celebrities i.e. Cut Tary and Luna Maya have offered apologies for the circulation of Videos showing women who look like them having sex with Ariel the singer of the band Peterpan.

Tary admitted that she played in the sex video, but Luna denied. While Ariel never say anything to the public since the Police arrested him on on 22 June, on charges of violation of the Pornography Law.

The way they apologized reminded me of an article that I read in the Toastmasters magazine titled "How to Apologize Like a Celebrity" written by Chris Witt (www.lifeafterpowerpoint.com) about five most common ways celebrities apologize :

Blame the Other Person:
Start by saying sorry then shift the focus from your actions to the other person's reactions. Make it sound as if the other person's thin-skinned sensibilities, outdated notions of fairness and decency, or failure to understand what you really meant - not your misdeeds - are the real culprits. The common ploy lets you sound like you're apologizing without requiring you to express regret. If you're clever enough, you may even get people to apologize to you.

Offer an Excuse:
If you can't blame someone else, you can always blame extenuating circumstances, you can point a finger at any number of situations beyond your control : the weather, the economy, the fickleness of computers, the sorry state of the world we live in or the stress of having to much to do.

Use the Passive Voice:
The passive voice is a key to apologizing like a celebrity. For example, say: "Mistakes were made" not "I made a mistake". Say: "There was an error of judgement" not "I was wrong".

Delay as Long as Possible:
You may feel inclined - decent people often do - to offer an apology the moment you realize you've done something wrong. Avoid saying anything at all. Wait and see how things play out. Maybe people will forget about what you did, or maybe someone else will do something even wore. Then you're off the hook.

Hide Your Feelings:
If you feel remorse, regret or even guilt because of what you've done - people with a conscience often do,
make sure no one knows it. Make apology the way sincere people do, accept responsibility, offer to make amends. Ask for understanding and forgiveness. But make it sound as if you don't believe what you're saying.
Speak in a monotone, avoid eye contact, and never reveal a heartfelt emotion.

Now that we know how celebrities do it, we will surely be able to discover some more appropriate words and actions that will enable us to receive Forgiveness.

The U.S and Kopasus

During recent visit to Jakarta, U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that his country shall resume Military Assistance for the Indonesian Army's Special Forces (Kopasus).

The decision was made after Indonesia took steps requested by the U.S, including removal of alleged human rights violators from Kopasus.

The ban was imposed in 1998 after the U.S found that the Kopasus has been involved in several human rights abuse, i.e. kidnapping of opponents of former President Soeharto; and actions against separatist movements in East Timor, Aceh and Papua.

The US government's decision has been protested by human rights activists in the U.S and Indonesia, who claimed that some officers who were involved in the human right violations are still active in Kopasus.

Considering that the officers responsible for the human rights abuses, including retired  Leut.Gen. Prabowo, have been dismissed from Kopasus, I felt that the decision of U.S government to revive military assistance to Kopasus is correct.


Related articles that I have quoted from Kompas :
-   After Kopasus Released from U.S Military Embargo
-   US Senator Regrets Ties with Kopasus

MUI and Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak (Luwak Coffee) is a special type of coffee that is made from coffee beans that have been eaten by a Civet who then excreted as a whole together with its Feces. 

According to coffee lovers, the taste of Kopi Luwak is so special that the price per cup is very expensive.

Recently, the Indonesian Moslems Council (MUI) have been thinking about issuing a Fatwa (Edict) that forbid Moslem drinking Kopi Luwak.The reason is because Kopi Luwak has gone through a process similar to the extraction of the Civet's Feces which is considered as Najis i.e. cannot be consumed.

But after several days,  the MUI decided that Kopi Luwak can be consumed by Moslems if the beans are  cleaned properly.


MUI 's said decision will surely make the producers and sellers of Kopi Luwak very happy. Therefore, I would not be surprise if they launch massive advertisement saying that Kopi Luwak is 100% Halal (permitted).

Related Articles :
-   Kampanye Tenggak Kopi Luwak (Politikana)
-   On Coffee (Colson) 
-   Kopi Luwak - A Post Script (Rob Baiton) 

National Children's Day

I believe the children are our future,

Teach them well and let them lead the way,

Show them all the beauty they possess inside, 

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier, 

Let the children's laughter, remind us how we used to be.                                                                                               

Everybody's searching for a hero, 

People need someone to look up to, 

I never found anyone to fulfill my needs,

A lonely place to be,

So I learned  to depend on me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Those were the first and second paragraphs of  my favorite song : The Greatest Love Of All, written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed, performed by George Benson, later by Whitney Houston.

I felt that the above song's lyric is suitable for today, 23 July, as the National Children's Day.

As a father, I felt that this is also a special day for parents in Indonesia, and I wish that every children would have much better loving care, protection, education from parents, relatives, teachers, doctors, government, and others in our country. That way they can grow healthily and normally like any other children in the world.

Indonesia is Losing Species

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-50265920100720

Indonesia facing crisis over loss of species - scientists

An aerial view of the environmental damage caused by tin mining in Indonesia's Bangka Belitung province May 18, 2010. Indonesia, one of the world's richest nations in terms of species, is losing hugely valuable resources and services through destruction of forests, coral reefs and watersheds, scientists said on Tuesday.

Credit: Reuters/Dwi Satmoko/Files

Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:25pm IST

By David Fogarty and Sunanda Creagh

SINGAPORE/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia, one of the world's richest nations in terms of species, is losing hugely valuable resources and services through the destruction of forests, coral reefs and watersheds, scientists said on Tuesday.

The natural environment provides services critical to economies, from clean water, rich fishing grounds from coral reefs to clean air filtered by forests, services that aren't fully taken account of in modern economics.

But deterioration of these services through loss of species robs the planet of rich resources, scientists say, that can help ensure mankind can grow sufficient food as well as exploit a vast gene pool to make new drugs and even beauty treatments.

In Indonesia, the loss of biodiversity has reached crisis levels, scientists at a major tropical biodiversity meeting in Bali this week say.

"The reason Indonesia is going through such a major crisis is because the biodiversity of Indonesia is extremely rich. It's probably the second most important country after Brazil in terms of biodiversity," said senior scientist Terry Sunderland.

"The other great value of Indonesia's biodiversity is that many of the species that occur here are endemic," said Sunderland of the Centre for International Forestry Research based in Bogor, Indonesia.

"Because there are 17,000 islands, you have these unique ecosystems throughout the archipelago which combined have a huge number of species so the biodiversity value of the country as a whole is enormous."

But logging of forests and rapid expansion of pulp and paper and oil palm plantations has created vast monocultures with little resilience to disease or climate change.

Bronwen Powell, a PhD candidate and specialist on forests and nutrition who presented at the Bali conference, said deforestation could increase human exposure to diseases carried by primates and drive important medicinal plants to the point of extinction.

"A huge number of the world's pharmaceuticals were discovered as compounds in plants," she said. "As forests are lost, the knowledge that goes with those plants is lost as well. We are potentially losing the cure for cancer."

About half the country of 240 million people remains forested and the government has ramped up efforts to save the remainder, including an agreement on a two-year moratorium from next January on the clearing of natural forests.

The United Nations says annual losses from deforestation and damage to forests alone is estimated at between $2 trillion and $4.5 trillion globally.

Sunderland said the basic equivalent of the market value of biodiversity if you include pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food, health and beauty products was about $500 billion, roughly the equivalent to the petrochemical industry.

Slowing the loss of the planet's plant and animal species and putting a value of them has risen up the global political agenda, with 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity.

A major meeting in Japan in October is expected to agree new targets including a 2050 vision.
World leaders agreed in 2002 to achieve a significant reduction in biodiversity loss by 2010. But the United Nations has said the target hasn't been met and that current trends are placing the planet on a path to possible ecosystem collapse.

Govt will Review Electricity Hike

Last month, the government announced that there will be an electricity hike of 10% to 18% starting 1 July 2010.

Although the electricity hike excludes households using less than 90 Watts of electricity, but this decision has been widely protested especially by  the industries that stated that the increase is actually many times higher than the average 15% declared by the government.

For example, the association of textile industries and association of furniture industries alleged that the increase would be more than 40%. They said that if the electricity hike is not delayed or revised they would not be able to make and sell products that would compete with cheap products freely imported from China. Which means that they would have to stop business operation and more than 10 million their workers would be out of job.

In response to the above protests, the Coordinating Minister of Economy Hatta Rajasa (a technical engineer) announced that the government will review the electricity hike and limit it to18% max. for industries.

Although I am glad that the government decided to reconsider the electricity hike rate, however I am very sad that the hike has not been made based on careful and accurate calculations that it has to be reconsidered only 2 weeks after its implementation.

Here are some related articles that I quoted from The Jakarta Globe :

-  Industries Shocked By Steep Electricity Hikes
-  Govt Will Rethink Electricity Hike Rate
-  Indonesian Government Puts Cap On Electricity Rate Hike

No Curfew During Ramadhan

On the second week of August, Moslems all over the world will start Fasting in the month of Ramadhan.

Last Saturday, Chairman of Moslem organization Nahdatul Ulama (NU) told members not to conduct any Curfew on entertainment places all over Indonesia during the Fasting month of Ramadhan which will start on the second week of August.

Considering that N.U is the largest Moslem organization in Indonesia, I hope that other Moslem organization here would also follow.this step. 

Please find below an news article about this that I have quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

Said Aqil Siradj, right, praying with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in this file photo, has called upon members of the Nahdlatul Ulama not to conduct sweepings of entertainment venues before the fasting month of Ramadhan. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

NU Prohibits Members From Conducting Sweeps on Indonesian Entertainment Venues

The chief of Nahdlatul Ulama organization, or NU, has called on its members not to conduct sweepings on entertainment venues throughout Indonesia ahead of the Islamic fasting month.

“To keep the situation conducive during the fasting month NU members are called upon not to conduct violence or take the law into their own hands because sweeps or order operations on entertainment venues can only be carried out by the police or other law enforcement agencies,” 
NU’s general chairman Said Aqil Siradj said at the commemoration of the 87th anniversary of NU on Saturday.

“NU is an organization that is based on four pillars, namely the unitary state of Indonesia, the 1945 Constitution, the Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) principles and Pancasila (the five-principle state ideology),” he said.

“If law enforcement agencies are weak we must encourage and support them,” he said.

He said NU members must follow the teachings of Prophet Mohammad when he established the state of Madinah. “The concept he used is not for establishing an Islamic state or an Arab state but a civilized state,” he said.

He said people could understand the concept by emulating his respect for other religions and promoting equality and consistency in enforcing the law against Muslims or non-Muslims.

“If we insist on conducting sweeps it means we are building a state within a state because we make our own rules,” he said.

In view of that he called on all people in the country to participate actively in realizing the four pillars and avoiding violence which has often occured in various parts in the country.

“Right now violence often happens during local elections and distribution of cash handouts to the poor. Some have even died during distribution of alms. This is very concerning and should never happen again,” he said.

Illegal Logging in Indonesia decreases by 75%

This morning I read an article on the online site Top News (below) reporting that the global production of Illegal Timber has decreased by 22%, and 75% in Indonesia, since 2002.

Illegal Logging Declines By 22% 
 
A recently released report by Chatham House has revealed that global production of illegal timber has decreased by nearly 22%, since 2002. This is the first comprehensive report on this matter and it confirmed that steps taken by the countries to deal with this issue have generated significant impact.      

As per the report, illegal logging has declined by 50% in Cameroon, between 50-75% in the Brazilian Amazon and by almost 75% in Indonesia, since the last decade.

In this report, various countries like Malaysia, Ghana, Cameroon, Indonesia and Brazil apart from countries that use these products like the UK, US, Japan, France and the Netherlands have been surveyed. The survey also covers processing countries, China and Vietnam.

But, illegal logging still remains a big issue across the world and this is especially more prevalent in the developing countries.

To deal with this problem, various developed and developing countries are working together. The lead author of the report, Sam Lawson stressed that more efforts are required to deal with this issue.
The issue severely harms the interests of developing countries and also has a negative impact on the environment. 

The reduction in illegal logging will also have a positive impact on the environment and also, reduce the global warming process. Experts feel that more efforts are required to completely root out this problem across the world.

The President and Traffic Jam

On 17 November 2004, seven cars crashed against each other at the Jakarta entrance gate of the Jagorawi toll road leaving six people dead and ten others wounded.

The incident occurred just ten minutes before President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY), on the way to office in Jakarta from his private home at Cikeas, West Java, entered the toll gate, therefore has made some people blamed SBY's security men for not arranging the traffic properly, and caused the incident.

No investigation has been reported, but SBY and his family still took the same route quite often, and his men kept on harshly stopping other cars before and when they passed the roads, making the traffic more and more jammed.

Last Friday, a Chief Editor of an Automotive magazine i.e. Hendra NS wrote an open letter telling SBY that he has been treated badly by the security men. He also requested SBY and his family to move Jakarta so that people would not suffer more from the traffic jam.

Considering that the state has provide SBY and his family an official residence, I hope that they would spend more time there, so as to lessen the traffic jam.

Sources for this post :
-  Enough with the Motorcade Madness, Frustrated Jakarta Commuter Tells Indonesian President (The Jakarta Globe)
-  6 Tewas 10 luka luka di Tol Jagorawi (Suara Merdeka)
-  Polri Petieskan Kasus Tabrakan di Tol Jagorawi (Detik)

Lawyers' Protest Against the Supreme Court

Last Wednesday, one hundred lawyers of the Congress of Indonesian Advocates (KAI) held a violent protest at the Supreme Court in Jakarta.

The protest was sparked by a statement by the Chief of the Supreme Court Harifin A. Tumpa on 24 June which only recognized the Association of Indonesian Advocates (Peradi) as the only Bar Association in Indonesia, thereby causing uncertainty on the legitimacy of lawyer licenses issued by other lawyer/ advocate organizations in Indonesia.

The lawyers came at around 10 a.m to meet Harifin, but was denied by the Court's officers who shut all  entrance gates. Angered by this bad reception, the lawyers forcefully opened the gate and made their way inside the Court lobby, shouting and bring down the photo of Harifin from the wall and kicked it..

The lawyers calmed down after Harifin and other Supreme Judges finally agreed to meet them. According to the Chairman of KAI Indra Sainun Lubis, the Supreme Court shall revise its decision within one week.He also warned that if the Court failed to do that 3,000 lawyers will demonstrate.

On the next day, the Court has submitted an official report with the Police, alleging that the lawyers have damaged the Court's gate, cracking glass window, bringing down and kicking the photo of the Court's Chief and defaming that the Court's Judge has received bribe from Peradi. .

Considering that lawyers are citizens who have been granted license to practice laws in the courts of law, therefore deemed to be more knowledgeable about the laws and regulations, the above incident is a tragedy. I hope this case would be settled amicably but properly based on the laws and regulations in Indonesia.

Sources for this post :
-  Ratusan Advokat KAI Demo MA (Hukumonline) 
-  Protes MA, Aksi Para Advokat Berlangsung Ricuh (Tempo) 
-  Demo Advokat di Gedung MA Ricuh (VivaNews)
-  MA Janji Revisi SK dalam 1 Minggu, Pengacara Bubarkan Diri (Detik)
-  MA Laporkan Insiden Demo KAI ke Polisi (Hukumonline)

Orangutan Conservation

During the 2007 Climate Change Conference in Bali, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono announced the launching of Indonesian Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan until 2017 which will provide new Protected Area for Orangutan.

In this connection, an International Workshop on Orangutan Conservation is held today and tomorrow in Bali, aiming to stabilize the habitat and populations of Orangutan by 2017, and to complete a three years-old rehabilitation program to release previously captive Orangutans back into the wild by 2015.

Please find below an article about this that I have quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

A male baby orangutan drinks a bottle of milk at an animal nursery in Safari Zoo, Cisarua, Bogor, Indonesia in this file photo. Conservationists and animal rights activists have urged the Indonesian government to stop deforestation in order to protect rapidly decreasing orangutan populations. (EPA Photo/Weda) 

Cooperation Urged to Bring Indonesia’s Dwindling Orangutans Back From Brink

Sanur, Bali. Conservationists, wildlife experts and government officials are set to meet today at an international conference in Bali to save the orangutan from extinction.

The International Workshop on Orangutan Conservation, which will run through Friday at the beachside resort town of Sanur, is aimed at stabilizing the habitat and populations of both the Sumatran and Bornean subspecies by 2017, as well as completing a three-year-old rehabilitation program to release previously captive orangutans back into the wild by 2015.

However, the chief of the Borneo Orangutan Survival foundation, Bungaran Saragih, on Wednesday said that very little progress had been made toward either goal.

“First, there are still no visible signs of stabilization of orangutan habitats or their populations,” he said.

“Second, the rehabilitation target is still far out of reach, because in the three years since the plan was announced, we haven’t seen a single individual released back into the wild.”

Part of the problem, Bungaran said, was the difficulty in finding suitably large, undisturbed areas of forest in which to release the animals.

“At BOS, we have around 850 orangutans in rehabilitation [centers], but we can’t release them precisely because of this problem,” he said.

Bungaran di d, however, say the international workshop was a step in the right direction and would allow all stakeholders to share their experiences on the current dire situation facing orangutan, as well as to evaluate actions taken thus far.

“Since 2007, there has been almost no coordination between the various stakeholders — the government, NGOs, the private sector,” he said.

“I believe that this opportunity to evaluate the implementation of the action plan couldn’t have come at a better time. Hopefully we can reach some kind of understanding and get the full cooperation of all stakeholders.”

According to Bungaran, one of the main obstacles toward realizing the action plan was the apparent reluctance of the government and private sector to get involved in orangutan conservation efforts.

“Protecting orangutans should not be the sole domain of NGOs,” he said. “We need support from the government and from businesses, and that’s the message we’ll try to get through at the workshop.”

There are an estimated 7,500 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild, and some 45,000 of their Bornean cousins. The latter subspecies is categorized as endangered, while the former is critically endangered.

Orangutan expert Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, from Jakarta’s National University, said that more needed to be done to protect the animals.

“The current quandary is in law enforcement,” she said. “There are just as many cases these days of illegal orangutan trading — particularly in Kalimantan — as there has always been.”

In terms of releasing rehabilitated orangutans into the wild, Suci said businesses needed to play a bigger role in the conservation effort.

“Consider this: nearly 70 percent of orangutans live outside protected parks and reserves,” she said, “so it’s crucial that we get the private sector to contribute their land and efforts, otherwise forget about protecting the orangutan.

“There’s this impression that only conservationists, scientists and the government should deal with orangutan conservation, but we want all stakeholders, particularly businesses, to contribute to the effort. The national action plan will never work otherwise.”

Suci said that many logging and plantation companies across the country wanted to help but were hampered by poor coordination by the authorities, which she accused of not being serious about designating conservation areas for orangutans.

“That’s a shame, because the companies are really keen about helping out, and we’d really like to welcome them on board,” she added.

Harry Santoso, director of biodiversity at the Ministry of Forestry, conceded that the orangutan release program was “going rather slow,” but blamed it on the dearth of institutions willing to contribute to the effort.

“It’s going to be tough to meet the 2015 target because there aren’t that many institutions in the country that deal with orangutan conservation,” he said. “That’s why we’re hoping for a breakthrough at this workshop.”

Harry dismissed accusations that the government had been dragging its feet on the issue of orangutan conservation by arguing that its job was to supervise, facilitate and regulate, and not to get involved in the implementation of programs.

“That’s why we’re focusing on strengthening the existing regulations, facilitating stakeholders and increasing supervision for orangutan conservation,” he said. “Our hope is that other stakeholders, such as the private sector and NGOs, also play a part.”

Indonesia and the World Cup

Indonesia is not one of the countries that is eligible to participate in the World Cup international soccer championship in South Africa.

However, the result of the final match between Spain and Holland has caused one man dead and two wounded in the Province of Maluku.

Please find below an article about this that I have quoted from the Brisbane Times.

This is a very sad news. I wonder what would happen if Indonesia become one of the participant in the World Cup.

One dead in 'World Cup clash' in Indonesia  

July 11, 2010 

One Indonesian has been killed and two wounded as rival World Cup fans clash in Indonesia.

Violence broke out between two groups of villagers on Maluku island and several houses were set on fire, police said on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear which teams the rival factions were supporting or how the villager died.

But Maluku police chief Totoy Indra was quoted by local radio saying: "The clash was triggered by a celebration of a winning World Cup team in the area."

Indra said the wounded were being treated in hospital.

He said the situation had returned to normal but police were braced for further clashes.

AFP

Yusril and the Attorney General

On 24 June, the Attorney General Office (AGO) has named Former Minister of Law and Human Rights (1999-2004) Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and Hartono Tanusoedibyo the owner of PT. SRD, as Suspects in the alleged corruption case at the Department of Law and Human Rights.

The AGO alleged that Yusril had appointed, without tender process, PT. SRD to develop and administer
the Department's Legal Entity Administrative System (Sisminbakum) i.e. an online system for processing applications pertaining to the setting up and processing of Legal Entity. It was said that due to this fact the state has suffered financial losses amounting to Rp 420 Billion.


Earlier, the President Director of SRD Yohanes Woworuntu and 3 former Director Generals of the General Legal Administration i.e. Romli Atmasasmita, Syamsuddin Sinaga and Zulkarnain Yunus have been sentenced by the courts.  

On 1 July, Yusril came to the AGO, but he refused to be investigated because he claimed the the position of the present Attorney General Hendarman Supanji is ilegal. He said that Hendarman is part of the first Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) that ended on 20 October 2009, after which Hendarman was not among those who were sworn in as Cabinet members. Due to this fact, the AGO's decision to name him as Suspect is also illegal.
Yusril also stated that the decision to name him as a Suspect is part of the government's efforts to divert people's attention from the Rp 6.7 Trillion Bank Century Bailout case.

On 6 July, Yusril requested the Constitutional Court to conduct a Judicial Review on Hendarman's legitimacy as Attorney General.

On 12 July, Yusril finally agreed to be questioned for four hours by the AGO. During a talk-show on TV-One that evening, featuring Yusril and several lawyers, it was revealed that the appointment of SRD was actually a business based on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) method in 2000, whereby SRD provide everything needed for the online system and operate it for 10 years. The profit is to be shared 90% for SRD and 10% for the Cooperative of the Dept. Law and Human Rights.  

Considering the above, I hope that the above case(s) would be processed thoroughly.

Sources for this post :
-  Yusril Ihza Mahendra's Website  
-  About Yusril Ihza Mahendra (Wikipedia)
-  Yusril dan Hartono TanoeTerancam Pasal Pidana Seumur Hidup (Detik)
-  Yusril : Hendarman Jaksa Agung tidak Sah (Tempo)
-  Kejaksaan Agung Bantah Hendarman Tidak Sah (Tempo)
-  Kisah Sisminbakum Nan Ruwet (BeritaSatu)
-  Siang ini Yusril Ajukan Judicial Review Status Hendarman (TribunNews)
-  Yusril : Sisminbakum Pengalihan Isu
-  Kasus Sisminbakum, 4 jam diperiksa, Yusril belum ditahan (Harian SIB)
-  Kasus Sisminbakum Belum Tutup Buku (Tempo)
-  Yohanes Woworuntu Bawa Kasus Sisminbakum ke KY (Kontan)

The Safety of Ladies Toilet

Recently, the Police arrested a man who filmed actress Feby Febiola while she was urinating at the ladies toilet of an upscale shopping mall in down town Jakarta.
 
Please find the story (below) that I have quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

A drunken pervert allegedly filmed sinetron actress Feby Febiola, pictured, using a toilet in an upscale Jakarta mall. (Facebook Photo)

Police Issue Warning After Pervert Films Actress Urinating

Jakarta Police have recommended that an upscale mall in the central city installs closed-circuit television after a man allegedly followed an Indonesian celebrity into a female toilet and filmed her urinating.

“The door to the ladies room must be equipped with CCTV to prevent perverts or peeping toms and a female janitor should always be around,” police spokesman Snr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar told The Jakarta Globe on Monday.

He added that security officers should be placed near toilets.

Boy was commenting after a Peeping Tom followed soap opera actress Feby Febiola into the toilets at FX Mall in Senayan, Central Jakarta, at 10 p.m. on June 30.

Feby told Metro TV that when she was using the toilet she saw a cellphone being held over the cubicle wall.

She screamed and banged on the toilet’s door but when the person occupying the toilet refused to open it, she called security officers.

“A cleaner said she had scolded the man earlier for entering the ladies’ room to which he replied that he entered the ladies’ room by mistake,” said M Ilham, head of security at the mall.

He said he believed the incident was the first of its kind at the mall and that he believed the offender was drunk.

“His breath smelled like alcohol and he grinned when we questioned him. He didn’t say anything, he just smiled,” Ilham said.

Security guards escorted Feby and the alleged pervert, a university student named Yogi, to Tanah Abang Police where she filed a police report.

Police confiscated the man’s Blackberry and found another five videos of the perpetrator’s victims, including Feby’s.

She returned to Tanah Abang Police on July 8 to complete the police investigation report.

The police are still investigating.

Indonesian Fashion Bloggers

With a population of 238 million people, Indonesia has the potential to be one of the countries in the world that has the largest number of bloggers.

This can be seen from the fact that since the blog was introduced in Indonesia in the early 2000, the number of bloggers has increased three times in 2009.

What's interesting is that according to Indonesia Matters, the only site that provide blog ranking, the chart toppers are fashion bloggers who are mostly young ladies.

Please find below an article on this matter that I have quoted from Maverick, a Jakarta based PR agency.

The Rise of Fashionista 2.0

When blogging started to develop in Indonesia in the early 2000s, many people were skeptical. Some wondered if it was only a passing trend, others fretted about telling it all over the internet. In spite of all these concerns the number of Indonesian bloggers has tripled from those early days to around 6,340,000 today, according to blogger.com. Add this figure to Wordpress and Multiply databases, and the number comes easily up to about 10 million.

There has been a shift on what’s popular among blogs though. In the early years the most popular blogs were IT-based blogs. Then came public affairs and socio-politics, together with personal journals about daily life.

In 2009, however, blogs dedicated to hobbies and lifestyles, particularly fashion, started to take off. Today the chart toppers, at least in Indonesia Matters – the only blog ranking list in Indonesia so far – are fashion bloggers Diana Rikasari (http://dianarikasari.blogspot.com), Evita Nuh (http://jellyjellybeans.blogspot.com/), Dotie ‘Eclectic Du Jour’ or Michelle (http://glistersandblisters.blogspot.com/).

Diana Rikasari (http://dianarikasari.blogspot.com) was one of the early bloggers. Starting in 2007, her blog had first mover advantage and has been featured in well-known teenage magazines such as Cosmogirl, Kawanku, GoGirl and B’Girl. She loves Bloop, a local fashion brand, so much that the company asked her to launch her own fashion line ‘Diana Rikasari for Bloop Endorse’ on December 2009. Her blog is #1 in Indonesia Matters website and her influence stretches to 2,629 visitors per day.

Perhaps the enfant terribe of Indonesian fashion blogs is Evita Nuh (http://jellyjellybeans.blogspot.com/), who is only 11-years old but has a precocious fashion sense that would put Hollywood celebrities to shame. Her prosaic writing style and taste in clothes has propelled her to become one of Indonesia’s top bloggers, commanding a readership of 200 visitors per day.

Yet another current top blog in the charts is Cotton Ink (http://cottonink.blogspot.com/), which is also the brand for a line of clothes. Started in November 2008, this local brand by Carline Darjanto and Ria Sarwono has succeeded in building an avid loyal fan-base. The clothes are simple, yet interesting and considered cute since people could wear it in any way they like and as far as their creativity goes.

Then there is Fashionese Daily (http://fashionesedaily.com/) where Indonesia’s fashion and beauty fans could get information about fashion and makeup, meet other fashion and beauty enthusiasts, discuss topics in the forum and even submit articles.

Amalia Sari, one of the founders of @dandanpolfriday, mentioned some important factors that make fashion and lifestyle tweets and blogs getting more popular; “People, especially girls, love to show-off. In term of stuffs, you could get fashion stuffs cheaper and easier by buying it online in which leads us to the Internet phase. 

Regarding fashion and lifestyle Twitter accounts, Twitter accommodates us in term of easiness of sharing links with others. 

The phenomenon of fashion and lifestyle blogger also supported by magazines that keep putting young bloggers and online shops in their articles and in return, it creates buzz among the people.”

Faith of the Tigers

Less than a century ago, more than 100,000 Tigers roamed the jungles and forests of several countries in Asia.

                                                                                                (AFP Photo)

Today, there are only less than 3,200 Tigers remain in the wilderness. Their number has been reduced by 93 percent through habitat loss for farming and human habitation, and several population pockets are teetering on the brink of extinction.

And in Indonesia, there are only around 400 Tigers left, if there no serious efforts to stop poaching and massive deforestation, they will surely extinct in the near future.

In order stop the extinction process, Indonesia and 12 other countries have met recently in Thailand and aimed to double the number of Tigers by 2022. 


Related articles that I have quoted from The Jakarta Globe: 

-  Tiger Conservation Efforts Have 'Failed': UN 
-  Indonesia, 12 Other Asian Nations Draft Plan to Save Tigers 
-  Sumatran Tiger Pair Making Love Nest in Zoo as Part of Bid to Grow Population

Tempo, ICW and the Police

Last week, 30,000 copies of Tempo magazine's June 28-July 4 edition were missing on the first day of their
circulation in Jakarta and vicinity.

According to the news media reports, those magazines were purchased by some men in Police uniforms and riding Police cars, in an effort to prevent the magazine from circulating to the public.

In reaction to this allegation, National Police Chief PR Inspector General Edward Aritonang told reporters that the Police felt humiliated by the picture on the front cover of said magazine which depicts a Police officer pulling some Piggy Banks, titled: "The Fat Bank  Deposits of Police Officer."

The Police and Tempo were about to settle their disputes amicably, mediated by the Press Council,  when two mysterious men riding on a motor cycle threw two Molotov Cocktail bombs to Tempo's office in Jakarta last Tuesday.

On Thursday morning, an activist of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) i.e. Tama Satya Lankun, was stabbed by some unknown men while he was riding motor cycle. The reason is still unknown, but his colleagues in ICW told reporters that Tama has been investigating on the treasures of Police high ranking officers.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) says that the attacks on Tempo and ICW activist may have been carried out by a third party, and he therefore orders the Police to investigate this case.

I hope that the investigation would reveal what has actually happened.


Related articles :
-  SBY orders an Investigation ........ So What Gitu Loh (Rob Baiton)
-  There maybe a third party in Tempo, anti-graft activist attacks: SBY (The Jakarta Post).  
-  Police told to unveil attackers of anti-graft activist, Tempo (The Jakarta Post)
-  Media Council Mediate Police, Tempo (The Jakarta Post)

Who'll Benefit from the Sex Video?

It has been around one month since the media reported about the circulation of a Video showin sexual intercourse between a man who looked like vocalist of pop band Peterpan, Ariel, and two female who looked like model and presenters i.e. his girlfriend Luna Maya, and Cut Tari.

All of this time there is nothing new about this case, the Police had only named Ariel as Suspect and although both women have been questioned time and again, but their statuses still remain Witnesses. And few days ago the Police announced that they have named eight persons who are involved in the distribution of the video as suspects. This very slow investigation is really very surprising if we compare it with the Police's recent successes in eliminating (= killing) alleged Terrorists.

Like any other news about celebrities, the development of this case has been very closely monitored and reported by the news media almost every hour of the day, as if it is the most important thing in Indonesia right now.

As a result, people pay more attention to this rubbish news than to other news which are far more important for them like the 10 to 18% Electricity Hike starting 1 July, followed by announcements about plans to increase Tariffs for : Toll Road, Transportation, Car Taxes. Besides, there are also other news about the rising prices of daily commodities, about Cylinder Gas explosions, Corruptions, etc., etc., etc. .................

Considering the above, I felt that the Sex Video have distracted public's attentions from what are actually much more important for them, and therefore saving the government from all the troubles, i.e. massive public protest, that might have been caused by those more important news.

Further, the Sex Video news benefited the print and electronic News Media who got more viewers and readers, thereby attracting more advertisements.

Furthermore, the Sex Video news benefited Ariel, Peterpan, the recording company and distributors of the band's new album which is planned to be release sometime in the near future.

The Deadly Gas Cylinders

In an effort to minimize subsidy for imported fuels, in 2006 the government converted the use of Kerosene into Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) distributed in 3-Kg. Gas Cylinders .

Since then, every day the news media have been reporting about so many people who died and/or wounded because of the explosions of the very low quality Gas Cylinders. In response to people's protests, some members of the House of Representatives have asked the government to withdraw all Gas Cylinders from circulation.

The most shocking thing is that in spite of the frequent explosions causing many casualties, no one seems to be willing to take responsibility for those explosions. The state-owned petroleum company PT. Pertamina that supplied the Gas and Gas Cylinders, blamed the consumers for not being careful in using the Gas Cylinder, its Hose and Regulator.

Only after the President, Vice President and some Cabinet Ministers commented on this grave matter, PT Pertamina come with a suggestion that LPG consumers should change the Hose and Regulator for the Gas Cylinder they currently used by buying new, better quality and cheaper ones, from Pertamina.

Considering that the 3-kg. Gas Cylinders have exploded, killed and wounded so many people in many parts of Indonesia, I hope that the government would treat this case very important, therefore ask the law enforcement agencies to investigate thoroughly, like they investigated the far less important Sex Video case.
I also hope that PT Pertamina would closely monitor the distribution of Gas Cylinders, so that they would not explode again.   

Related media reports :
- Converted to Death (Tempo) 
- Polisi Selidiki Penyebab Ledakan Gas 3 Kg (Inilah)
- 14 Produsen Selang Tabung Gas 3 Kg Dievaluasi (PosKota)
- DPR: Tarik Semua Tabung Gas 3 Kg. (VivaNews)

The Notorious FPI

On 21 May 1998, President Soeharto stepped down after 32 year of authoritarian rule, since then Indonesia experienced a liberal democratic system.

One of the by product of such system is the creation of an organization called Front Pembela Islam (FPI) or Islamic Defender Front in 1998.

In spite of its name, FPI's actions did not reflect that of a religious organization, its members often carried out brutal violence such as raiding entertainment places and making threats. The worst thing is that most of such actions were untouchable by the law. For  that reason, many people alleged that  FPI has been maintained by the Police and/or the military for certain purpose.

The latest act act of violence was on 24 June when a group of people who claimed to be members of FPI ransacked a seminar organized by some members of the House of Representatives in Banyuwangi, East Java, which FPI accused has been organized illegally by former members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) which was disbanded in 1965.

The above acts of violence have been strongly protested by the public, many of them demanded that FPI should be disbanded.

However, in several TV interviews FPI's spokesman denied that they took part in the said violence in Banyuwangi, saying that FPI has changed its paradigm from violence to non violence, and will dismiss members who do not obey this rule.

Further, FPI accused that its name has been used by certain people to divert public's attention from far more important things that is happening in Indonesia today.

Considering the fact that FPI's frequent violent actions were almost untouchable by the laws, I felt that FPI has been intentionally maintained by the security agencies to do things which would divert public's attention from far more important things in life like the (10% to 20%) electricity hike starting 1 July. And such action seems to be quite successful.

I hope that the law enforcement agencies would investigate all allegations against FPI and punish them if proven guilty.


Related articles in the media :
-  Islamic Defenders Front (Wikipedia)
-  Daftar Aksi Front Pembela Islam (Wikipedia)
-  Front Pembela Islam (FPI) in Indonesia (Indonesia Matters)
-  Kronologis Peristiwa Banyuwangi (FPI site)
-  Ulil: FPI Harus Dibubarkan (Tempo)
-  Rieke Punya Bukti Keterlibatan FPI (Kompas)
-  Tuntutan Pembubaran FPI Tidak Mengada-Ada (Legalitas)
-  Menko Polkam: Percuma Kita Bubarkan (Rakyat Merdeka)

Heavier Punishment for Tax Inspector

In Indonesia, men and women working with the Directorate General of Taxation are given a lot much higher salary compared to other civil servants, so that they can do their job properly and responsibly in collecting Tax badly needed for the management and development of the country.

Due to this fact, it is obvious that Tax Inspectors who are not honest in doing their jobs should face heavier legal consequences.

Please find below a related article that I quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

Prosecutors Seek Lengthy Jail Time for Tax Inspector

Prosecutors are seeking a 12-year sentence for suspended tax official Edi Setiadi for his role in a Rp 81.43 billion ($8.9 million) tax evasion case involving a provincial government-owned bank in West Java between 2001 and 2002.

Edi, a former chief tax investigator at the West Java Tax Office in Bandung, is alleged to have manipulated the tax returns of lender PT Bank Jabar-Banten in exchange for Rp 2.55 billion in bribes, prosecutors told the Anti-Corruption Court in Jakarta on Monday.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously said the tax fraud amounted to Rp 44.3 billion, but have since revised that estimate based on witness testimony to Rp 81.43 billion.

“The defendant’s actions caused substantial losses to the state,” KPK prosecutor Hadianto told the court.

Prosecutors allege that in 2001, Bank Jabar was supposed to have paid Rp 129.2 billion in taxes, which Edi slashed to Rp 74 billion. In 2002, the lender owed the state Rp 51.8 billion, which Edi again reduced to Rp 25.57 billion, prosecutors say.

The KPK last week named four of Edi’s former subordinates suspects for conspiring in the felony. They include Roy Yuliandri, Dedy Suwardi, Muhammad Yazid and Dien Rajana Mulya.

Edi is alleged to have taken Rp 565 million from the Rp 2.55 billion kickback and given the rest to the four others.

The KPK has also named former Bank Jabar chief accountant Hery Achmad Buchori a suspect in the case.

Prosecutors are seeking a Rp 200 million fine from Edi and restitution amounting to the sum of money he allegedly took.

Former Bank Jabar director Umar Syarifudin has already been convicted in the case and sentenced to seven years in prison.

In a separate case, the KPK has given 10 members of the Jakarta City Council an ultimatum to hand over the bribe money they allegedly received from the city administration to suppress a follow-up inquiry into April’s Tanjung Priok riot.

“A week ago we sent the councilors summons to clarify the issue and hand over any money they may have received as illegal gratuities,” KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Monday. “So far none of them has come forward.”

Council Deputy Speaker Triwisaksana previously alleged that administration officials had attempted to bribe the councilors to not follow through on findings from the inquiry that may have seen several city officials face criminal negligence charges for the deadly riot.

But Triwisaksana said he was not aware of any councilor having taken a bribe.

Several weeks after the riot, in which three people died, a fact-finding team from the City Council called for the North Jakarta mayor and public order agency chief to be held accountable for their roles.

However, the recommendations were not followed up on by either the council or the city administration.

U.S Kretek Cigarette Ban

On September 2009, the United States of America issued the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that prohibits the sales of all kinds of flavored cigarettes including Indonesia's Kretek cigarettes in the U.S, except menthol cigarettes.

Indonesia thought that this law violated regulations of theWorld Trade Organization (WTO), because it excemps menthol cigarettes which is actually flavored cigarettes like Kretek. Therefore Indonesia has brought this matter to WTO's dispute settlement body.

Please find some details below that I have quoted from an article in Kompas.

I hope that the WTO would make a fair decision on this matter.

Indonesia Urged US to Scrap Its "Kretek" Cigarette Ban

Jumat, 2 Juli 2010 | 10:08 WIB

 

AP/Steve Helber.

In this photo made May 18, 2009, flavored cigarettes are on display at a tobacco store in Richmond, Va. Kretek International Inc. , the nations top distributor of clove cigarettes, is offering fans a new way to get their fix after the spice-flavored cigarettes are banned later this year cigars. 

 

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia has urged the United States to lift its ban on aromatic cigarette imports that would cause Jakarta to cut its ’kretek’ (clove-flavored) cigarette exports to that country and reduce its foreign exchange earning.

"Indonesia’s foreign exchange income from kretek cigarette exports is expected to drop significantly this year due to the imposition of the ban," Frans Rupang, director for prosecution and prevention of the Directorate General of Customs, said.
   
The United States has imposed the ban since September 2009 based on its law that prohibits the entry into the country of aromatic tobacco, yet both nations are still negotiating the matter. According to US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R Hume, Indonesia and the US are still negotiating the US ban on Indonesia’s kretek cigarette exports to the United States.

Speaking on the sidelines of the US Independence Day anniversary which falls on July 4, in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday evening, Cameron R Hume said that Indonesia was of the view that the ban violated the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s regulations. Therefore, the United States and Indonesia were discussing the matter but the envoy said he could predict what would come out of the negotiation process.

"Let’s wait," he said.

However, if the United States remains to impose the ban, Indonesia’s cigarette exports and income from this sector would decline significantly. Frans Rupang said that in 2009 cigarette exports contributed 6.451 million dollars to the state.  Indonesia’s kretek cigarette exports to the United States in 2008 totaled 298.932 million pieces worth US$6.662 million and in 2009 they stood at 267.308 million pieces worth US$6.451 million.

Since the imposition of the ban,  there was practically no Indonesia’s kretek exports to the United States this year.  Rupang said that the contribution to the state of the country’s kretek cigarette exports to the United States was the biggest one compared to that exported to other countries. Therefore, the ban reduced Indonesia’s income from kretek exports significantly, he said.

According to the Ministry of Trade, exports of various kinds of cigarettes to the US in 2007 reached US$11,165,432 and dropped to US$9,703,991 in 2008 and US$8,338,419 in 2009.  The realization of exports of the product from January to March 2010 reached US$2,531,317 higher than in the same period last year that was recorded at US$2,531,989.

During the period however no exports of cigarette tobacco that include clove cigarettes were done. This happened following the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as of September 2009. The law prohibits sale of all kinds of flavored cigarettes including clove cigarettes in the US except menthol cigarettes.

The Indonesian government has asked the WTO to solve its dispute over the ban of its kretek exports to the United States. Washington has banned the commodity’s imports based on its health law which also prohibited the importation of other aromatic cigarettes in an effort to prevent youths from being addicted.
   
Indonesia has previously taken the ban to Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO with regard to the imposition of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. The Indonesian government considers the law running against the WTO regulation because it exempts menthol cigarettes while menthol and clove cigarettes are like products according to Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade or TBT Agreement.

Around 99 percent of clove cigarettes sold in the US are imported from Indonesia while all menthol cigarettes are produced in the US and because of that, according to the Indonesian government, the US implicitly bans imports of clove cigarettes.
The government considers the ban discriminative. As a member of the WTO,  the US must have carried out its international obligation as mentioned in the TBT Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade or GATT of 1994.

The director general of international trade cooperation of the ministry of trade, Gusmardi Bustami, said the move to take the matter to the WTO dispute settlement body was the last resort. He said the government has already expressed its opposition to the regulation while it was still being discussed at the US Congress.
   
Indonesia, he said, has also conveyed its complaint in various bilateral forums at senior official and ministerial levels for more than four years but it had come to no avail.
   
"This is about principles. There has been discrimination," Gusmardi said.
   
In the DSB WTO meeting on June 22, 2010 in Geneva, the Indonesian delegation conveyed reasons and legal basis for the need to form a panel to deal with the problem.

He said Indonesia had asked the panel to investigate the violation by the US against Article III of the GATT of 1994 and the use of Article XX of GATT 1994 without providing scientific evidence and meeting the provisions in a number of articles in the TBT and Sanitary and Phythosanitary Act (SPS).

In the meeting the US delegation expressed disappointment over the Indonesian move.  The US has asked Indonesia to reconsider its request for the establishment of a panel to investigate the case.
   
Gusmardi said the rejection by the US was common, had often happened in a DSB meeting because the US as a disputed party has a right to block the move on the first occasion in line with the WTO’s provision on Dispute Settlement Understanding.

Indonesia's Melting Glacier

The Indonesian Province of Papua in the Island of New Guinea, has lots of specific natural characteristics, one of which being an all year long glacier on the top of Puncak Jaya mountain.

Unfortunately, due to global warming this last remaining glacier in the Pacific has melted by 60% in the last 40 years, and if nothing change it will totally disappear by 2050.

Please find below more details that I have quoted from The Telegraph.  

Indonesia's last remaining glacier 'to disappear' 

The last remaining glacier in the Pacific will disappear within years because of global warming, scientists have warned. 

 

An aerial view of glaciers near the summit of the 4,884-metre (16,000-foot) Puncak Jaya mountain in the Indonesian part of New Guinea island Photo: REUTERS

 

Puncak Jaya, in Indonesia, has melted by 60 per cent in the past 40 years. If it continues at this rate it could vanish completely by 2050. 

Thousands of years ago ice covered much of Papua but today the glacier extends across a surface area of just one square mile. 

Glaciologists trekked to the remote glacier on one of Indonesia’s most isolated corners to carry out the first study there since the early 1970s. 

They found that while the ice has been shrinking throughout the last century the speed has increased dramatically since the last scientific expedition.

Lonnie Thompson, who led the expedition, said: “The Papuan glaciers are dying. Before I was thinking they had a few decades, but now I’d say we’re looking at years.”

Glaciers worldwide are in retreat, with major losses already seen across much of Alaska, the Alps, the Andes and numerous other ranges.

The Papuan glaciers are melting quicker than others because they are unique in lying along the fringe of the world’s warmest ocean.

They are important in understanding more about weather patterns as the region generates El Nino disturbances and influences climate from India’s monsoons to Amazon droughts.

Researchers found that the mountain had lost about 80 per cent of its ice since 1936 — two-thirds of that since the 1970s.

Software Piracy in Indonesia

For many years, Indonesia has been known as a haven for Software Piracy.

This is ironic because Indonesia has been trying its best to protect Copyrights in general and Computer Software in particular for the last 28 years, i.e. since the Copyright Law was promulgated in 1982.

Further, Indonesia has also tried to satisfy the wishes of foreign countries by amending the said law three times i.e. in 1987, 1997 and 2002. 

Furthermore, Indonesia has also ratified international conventions for protection of Intellectual Property Rights, i.e establishment of the World Trade Organization which includes Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in 1994, Bern Convention in 1997 and World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty in 1997.

Unfortunately, all those efforts failed to prevent Software Piracy, which can be seen from the fact that it is not difficult to get a fake Computer Software from many shopping places in Jakarta and vicinity.

According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) i.e. an agency established by the world's prominent software producers a.o. Microsoft, Apple, Autodesk, Adobe, Corel and Symantec, Software Piracy in Indonesia will be increasing this year.

In spite of the gloomy situation, some local Software manufacturers have been quite successful in developing and marketing their own products in Indonesia and foreign market.

Considering the above, I felt that more serious efforts must be made to eradicate Software Piracy in Indonesia i.e. by enforcing the above mentioned Copyright Law, so that the Software industry can be developed more rapidly.

Please find below some related articles :
-  Hak Cipta (Copyrights)
-  Indonesia To See Software Piracy Rising This Year.
-  Indonesia's Global Brand (Part 8 : Software).