The President Post 2016

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

T H E

S P I R I T

O F

I N D O N E S I A

INFRASTRUCTURE

BUSINESS

LIFESTYLE

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Page B1

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Indonesia Boosts Infrastructure Projects

Government Urged to Take Action As Foreign Firms Axe Thousand of Jobs

Indonesia Closer to Becoming Global Islamic Fashion Capital

detiklgminews.co

Google to Develop Apps for RI Fishermen Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli has asked internet giant enterprise Google to develop smart phone applications to help Indonesian fishermen improve their catch and incomes.

During a meeting with Google Vice President and Project Leader of Project Loon Mike Cassidy, in the minister’s office here on Tuesday, Rizal Ramli said the government expected an application that can give information on weather condition, fishing areas and fish prices in the market. “Our fishermen face difficulty in communicating when they are in the middle of the sea unless they buy a satellite phone, which is very expensive,” Rizal Ramli said.

Project Loon itself is a research and development project developed by Google with the mission of providing internet access to rural and remote areas.

Project Loon itself is a research and development project developed by Google with the mission of providing internet access to rural and remote areas. As part of the project, balloons are placed in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 18km to create an aerial wireless network with up to 4G-LTE speeds.

“All Indonesians, whether on sea or at the top of a mountain, will be able to communicate with the help of a cellphone,” the minister said, elaborating on what was expected.

Google will test the program for one year. After that, the government will discuss it with the Indonesian communication providers. Quoting a study conducted by the UN, Cassidy said a 10 percent increase in internet penetration will lead to 1.5 percent improvement in annual growth of the standard of living. A 20 percent increase in internet penetration will double the GDP growth of countries.

Quote Of The Day

Jokowi remarked that, for example, the Trading Business License (SIUP) and Company Registration (TDP) can be incorporated to reduce paper work. He has also called on state officials not to make new regulations and to avoid signing regulations that can hinder development.

President Tells Off icials To Simplify Regulations JAKARTA (TPP) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on Cabinet ministers, heads of agencies, and officials of echelon I to simplify official regulations to bring about swift improvements in the government’s performance.

“Regulations and permissions must be simplified in order to attract investors,” President Jokowi said at the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing office here on Tuesday.

Jokowi remarked that, for example, the Trading Business License (SIUP) and Company Registration (TDP) can be incorporated to reduce paper work. He has also called on state officials not to make new regulations and to avoid signing regulations that can hinder development.

The President’s directive came on the heels of growing complaints about Indonesia’s rigid investment regulations and red tape. The statement also seems to have been made in anticipation of large-scale investment planned by Chinese businessmen this year.

“Both foreign and domestic investors are asking for improvement in regulations to stimulate the economy,” British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik

stated in an investment forum here on Thursday. “They believe Indonesia has large potential. A good regulatory system includes simple work permits and other related licenses needed to accelerate the business,” he said.

Echoing the views of President Widodo, he added: “Regulations must be simple, consistent, and transparent.”

Ambassador Moazzam believed if those two issues could be overcome, Indonesia’s econo-

my could grow from five percent to over six percent. He has traveled to several provinces and met with foreign as well as local businessmen, he said, and sees great potential for Indonesia to become the 7th biggest economy in the world by 2030.

“Indonesia is now the 16th biggest economy in the world.

But how Indonesia would make it into the 6th, 7th or 8th position in 2030 really depends on the policies taken by its government,” he said.

Indonesia, China expect investment of $30 billion Meanwhile, the Indonesian and Chinese governments are targeting China’s investment commitments in Indonesia to reach $30 billion in 2016, said Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Franky Sibarani while accompanying Vice President Jusuf Kalla on a visit to Sanyang city, Hainan Province, China, on Wednesday to meet several Chinese investors.

“The value of Chinas investment commitments to Indonesia is expected to reach $30 billion in 2016. As of February 2016, we have issued principle licenses worth 10 percent of the targeted value,” Sibarani noted.

“By June, there will be a BKPM representative office here.

The BKPM representative office in China will be the ninth to be set up abroad,” he explained.

Chinese state-owned company China Fortune Land Development (CFLD) plans to build an industrial area in Java, with an investment of $1.5 billion, Sibarani stated.

The government is currently considering the provinces of West Java and Banten as the two locations, which may be suitable for building the industrial area.

Govt Unveils Port Reforms businesstimes.com.sg

“How does our press take part in building optimism, work ethos, and productivity of our people.”

President Joko Widodo

The amount of time it takes for imports to clear Indonesian ports will be reduced to 3.7 days from 4.7 days under new reforms of procedures, the chief economics minister said.

The port changes were announced on Tuesday as part of an 11th package of measures President Joko Widodo’s government has rolled out since September to try to improve the investment climate. Previous packages included a new formula for minimum wages, easier import rules, numerous tax incentives and a revision to the negative investment list of sectors partially or fully closed to foreign investors.

Coordinating Minister for Eco-

nomics Darmin Nasution said 18 government agencies with authority at ports will harmonize different criteria for customs checks. “This will create better procedures for exports and imports”, he told a press conference.

In its initial phase, the government would launch a single risk management model in a single platform for the Food and Drug Monitory Agency and the Customs Office to decrease the dwelling time of pharmaceutical raw materials, food and beverage products. The implementation would then be extended to other ministries and agencies,

This will create better procedures for exports and imports.”

Darmin Nasution Coordinating Minister for Economics

with the aim of decreasing dwelling time to 3.7 days by the end of 2016 and to less than three days by the end of 2017.

Darmin also announced additional tax cuts for real estate investment trusts (REITs) as the government seeks to attract back Indonesian money invested in REITs in Singapore. He added that the government will channel subsidised loans for export-oriented small-medium enterprises and create a roadmap for the pharmaceutical industry.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as investors have long been waiting for Widodo to sign off on the changes in the negative investment list, known as

DNI. Lin Neumann, managing director of the American Chamber of Commerce Indonesia (AMCHAM), said several big US creative economy companies “have expressed interest on investing, but the DNI hasn’t been signed yet. The investment discussion isn’t going to take place until the rules are implemented.”

The direction of the policy packages “is generally good, but implementing them is of course more important. There has to be an evaluation of how effective these packages have been,” said Raden Pardede, vice chairman of Indonesia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).

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A2 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Headlines

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The head of state urged the country’s mass media to not become trapped in sensational news by seeking analysts or observers views that could create a sense of pessimism among the people.

President Urges Media To Build Public Optimism President Joko Widodo has called on the workers of the Indonesian press to build public optimism by providing information that can encourage and inspire the people to develop the country.

“How does our press take part in building optimism, work ethos, and productivity of our people,” he affirmed while delivering a speech before journalists and guests attending the commemoration of this years National Press Day (HPN) here on Tuesday.

public amid this competitive era, the nations people will only demonstrate pessimism, poor work ethos, and unsatisfying productivity,” he emphasized.

The head of state also urged the country’s mass media to not become trapped in sensational news by seeking analysts or observers views that could create a sense of pessimism among the people.

He then cited several headlines that could trigger public pessimism, such as “Indonesia Predicted to Get Ruined”, “Government Fails”, “Fail to Resolve Haze, Riau Threatened to Gain Freedom”, “Indonesia Will Go Bankrupt”, and Jokowi-JK Will Collapse.” “If such media headlines continue to be served to the

President Widodo believed that such media headlines were merely created based on assumptions, but they did influence the public opinion and could create investor disbelief in Indonesia at the end. If the investors trust could no longer be retained, there would be no inflow of investments. “The trust is built by the mass media,” he pointed out.

In other parts of his speech, the head of state also touched on the online news media, which often ignores the press code of ethics in disseminating information

How does our press take part in building optimism, work ethos, and productivity of our people.”

as fast as possible. Such media outlets also overlook accuracy and the system of checks and balances in their news reporting and combine facts and opinions.

According to President Widodo, the countrys mass media also needs to face its own challenges. “If earlier the government had put pressure on them, but now, the contrary is happening. Presently, the media is facing pressure from media houses themselves as a result of the ongoing competition among them.

The media is facing pressure from its own environment. This is what they must avoid together,” he added.

In an effort to build the nations character, President Widodo urged television stations across the country to regularly air Indonesias national anthem “Indonesia Raya” and patriotic songs, such as “Padamu Negeri” (For You, My Country) and “Garuda Pancasila” (Garuda Five Principles) during prime time.

“By doing this, our children from Sabang to Merauke will memorize our national songs,” he pointed out.

RI Issues Travel Advisory for Citizens Travelling to L. America The government has issued a travel advisory to Latin America related to the Zika virus outbreak in the region, Foreign Affairs Ministrys spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said.

“We have disseminated the statement from the Ministry of Health among all Indonesian nationals through our representatives abroad and we also put it on our website,” Arrmanatha said during a press briefing on Thursday.

The spokesman said the statement is not a warning but to serve as advice to the Indonesian people travelling to Latin American countries, asking them to be more cautious. Up till now, there have been no reports of Indonesian nationals becoming victims of the Zika virus, Arrmanatha added.

Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received reports from embassies in Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, notifying it that no Indonesian citizen in those countries had been affected by the Zika virus.

Particularly in Brazil, where the first Zika case was found, out of a total 345 Indo-

nesians who live in the country, none were found to have been infected by the Zika virus, the report said.

On Wednesday, the Minis-

Zika has caused a global concern because of the rapid pace at which it is spreading. try of Health of Indonesia issued a travel advisory for all Indonesians, who live or visit Latin American countries to protect themselves from mosquitoes by wearing long clothes, applying anti-mosquitoes ointment, and sleeping under a canopy bed or using anti-mosquitoes netting.

The ministry also advised pregnant women to not visit Latin American countries, particularly the infected regions.

Zika has caused a global concern because of the rapid pace at which it is spreading. The World Health Organization (WHO) has even announced a situation of global emergency following the outbreak of the Zika virus. WHO Director General Margaret Chan described the rapid spread of the Zika virus as extraordinary and which has to be dealt with a coordinated response.

Hundreds of Former Separatist Members Employed in Papua As many as 500 former members of the separatist movement in Papua are employed based on their capabilities, according to District Head of Puncak Jaya Hanock Ibo. Ibo noted here on Wednesday that former separatists had joined the community and did not intend to disrupt peace and security.

Ibo revealed that some of the former separatists were being employed in civil service police units and as project leaders in several building constructions being carried out in Puncak Jaya District, and affirmed that the administration remained committed to implementing an approach to prevent criminal acts against the local com-

munity and security officers.

“We will continue to invite them to again join the community. The approach has yielded positive results, including from a leader of the Papua Independence Movement Goliath Tabuni, who had conducted an armed assault,” Ibo added.

Ibo remarked that Tabuni had responded positively to the approach after his wife and son were permitted to visit Mulia area. “It means that he is already open-minded and believes that the security officers and regional administration will provide security to his family,” Ibo affirmed.

Additionally, Ibo stated that ten followers of Tabuni had again become part of the community and were now residing in Jayapura City. He hoped that ex-separatists would also play an active role in the regions development. usnews.com

MH17 Probe Team in KL To Discuss Legal Options A joint team investigating the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine in 2014 is in Malaysia to discuss options with authorities to set up a tribunal to hold those responsible to account, the Malaysian transport minister said on Thursday. , the Dutch Safety Board said in October.

Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine have been exploring alternative options, including trials in international and national courts, after Russia vetoed a United Nations bid last July to form a tribunal.

“The attorney-general in Malaysia and legal authorities in other countries are trying to find the best way to take this to court,” transport minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters.

Liow later told Reuters that the team had still not identified who to charge or what those charges might be. “We are operating on an assumption that there is a

perpetrator that can be charged but by the time they are identified, we need to have a suitable avenue for a trial,” Liow said.

He said a criminal investigation was continuing.

Court dismisses Malaysia Airlines’ bid to strike out MH370 suit Meanwhile, a Malaysian court on Wednesday dismissed a bid by national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) to throw out a suit filed by relatives of three passengers who went missing on flight MH370, opening theway for other relatives to sue the airline.

MH370 disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board. More than 50 suits have been filed in the Malaysian courts over the planes disappearance, while others have been filed in the United States, Australia, and China.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court

Flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all 298 on board.

ruling is likely to come as a relief for relatives, many of whom had feared they would not be able to get compensation from Malaysia Airlines Systems (MAS) after it transferred all its assets and operations to MAB in a restructuring exercise last year, Reuters reported.

MAB had argued that it had no liability as it was set up eight months after the aircraft disappeared. But the court did not accept that, instead ruling that MABs liability would be determined in a trial, government

lawyer Alice Loke Yee Ching told reporters.

“It was not plain and obvious that MAB is not a proper party (to the suit). That should only be determined by the full trial,” she said.

The suit ruled on on Wednesday was filed by two teenagers whose parents and older brother were on the plane on the ill-fated flight. It will be the first case against the airline to be heard in Malaysia, more than two years after the plane went missing.

The court, however, dismissed the teenagers bid to also hold the Malaysian government and two of its entities liable for the plane’s disappearance. The family’s lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, told reporters the court had ruled that while the government had a duty of care to the plaintiffs, “there was no breach of that duty”. She said the family would appeal the courts decision.

Senior Minister Underscores RI’s Presence in S. Pacific setkab.go.id

Indonesia will be consistently present in the South Pacific by sending ministers to 16 countries in the region, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said here Thursday.

“To Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama and foreign minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola I have conveyed that we will be consistently present in the region,” he said during his visit to Fiji.

During the visit he had met with Prime Minister Bainimara-

ma, Minister of Agriculture, Resettlement, Maritime and Disaster Mitigation Affairs Ina Seriaritu and had a lunch with minister Kubuabola, Luhut said in a written statement received here this evening.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs

At the meetings he reiterated Indonesias commitment to help and cooperate with Fiji, in the economic, fishery, agricultural, cultural and military fields.

The cooperation in the military field includes disaster mitigation management, such as training to

deal with disaster and in peacekeeping affairs.

“I hope the ministers of agriculture and trade will soon come to Indonesia to realize the cooperation. This is important to show Indonesia’s seriousness,” he said.

Regarding the Melanesian Spearhead Group issue, Luhut said that it had been touched upon in the meeting with Foreign Minister Kubuabola.

Minister Kubuabola revealed the wish of the government of Fiji to propose upgrading the status

of Indonesia at the MSG from an associate member to a full member to strengthen Indonesias position in the group of Melanesian countries, he said.

He would report it to President Joko Widodo and discuss it with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on his arrival home, Luhut said in response to it. After completing his agenda in Fiji, minister Luhut left Suva Thursday evening for Port Moresby for a twoday official visit to Papua New Guinea.

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | A3

OPINION

Quo Vadis Indonesia?

Indeed Indonesia needs a clear road map for long-term development, but there is no system in place to ensure the continuity of its implementation when there is a change in national leadership. What is needed, therefore, is an unthinkable superstructure kind of law on the direction and outlines of state policy that requires the government and parliament to follow in spite of changes the country’s five-year political calendar.

BY PITAN DASLANI

I

ndonesia’s politicians are struggling to amend the 1945 Constitution for the 5th time with the purpose of streamlining the authority of state institutions, but as the effort gains momentum, there are worries that uncontrolled amendment could bring the country to a total chaos.

Each of the state institutions appear to have its own agendas in welcoming the idea and there is no institution in place to synchronize their different interests.

For the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) the amendment should lead to reinstating the GBHN or Broad Outlines of State Policy which actually has gone into history along with the collapse of the Soeharto regime.

But reinstating GBHN would mean giving the MPR the authority to issue a decree on GBHN to be passed on to the President as mandatory executor of State policy which effectively means the President shall be responsible to the MPR. Under such a scenario, the MPR would have the authority to appoint or impeach the President and direct presidential election would be irrelevant. The parallel consequence would be that direct election of governors, mayors, and district heads or regents would also be irrelevant, because these executive leaders would be elected by provincial or district legislative councils in line with what the Home Affairs Ministry prefers to see.

The ministry was trying in vain last year to convince the public that direct election sys-

tem was, among other things, not only prohibitively expensive but far from being didactic either because in most cases it taught voters to expect bribes and condition election contestants to become corrupt. But this idea was angrily rejected by the Association of Regency Chiefs (Apkasi) which embraces more than 500 regents across the country.

Therefore any attempt to downgrade the presidency to become a subordinate of the MPR could send destructive signals to the governors and regents and this could disrupt the entire system of governance from Jakarta to the regencies in 34 provinces of the country.

As such, a better formula needs to be adopted should the MPR braces ahead to reinstate the GBHN. For one thing, there must be a clear definition of the authority of the MPR vis a vis its relationship with the presidency.

Under the current law, MPR and the President are equal as are they with the House of People’s Representatives (DPR), House of Regional Representatives (DPD), the Supreme Court (MA), Constitutional Court (MK), and the Supreme Audit Board (BPK).

If the GBHN is reinstated, there are only three options available: (1) reinstating the MPR’s status as the highest State institution like it was during Soeharto’s era; (2) the President would become non-mandatory executor of GBHN which would mean it’s up to him whether to abide by the GBHN or execute his own policies, or combine both; and (3) the President would become mandatory executor of GBHN only on certain strategic issues affecting the nation’s existence.

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In Indonesia’s political reality, however, Megawati’s noble idea may run against the walls of vested interests. Those in comfort zones may either try to block it, ride on it for other purposes, or maneuver to strengthen their comfort zones. This is where her party’s real battlefield lies.

For the political parties’ factions on the DPR, the idea of reinstating GBHN is being taken

as an opportunity to strengthen their legislation authorities though this runs counter to the interests of their cadres in regional governments’ top positions. An intense debate would take place involving political parties’ cadres in the executive and legislative branches of government as a result. And this would happen in all the political parties alike.

The government and parliament would then waste about two years or more arguing on where to go rather than implementing the policies on the table. Consequently, Joko Widodo’s government would have little time left to actually realize its strategic development policies. And when it is over, the year would be 2018 where political parties would begin campaigning for the next elections. And the President would be judged for not doing enough when the reality is that too much time and energy are wasted on such a political experimentation.

For the DPD —also known as Indonesia’s Senate or the upper house which actually lacks authority to justify its attribution— Megawati’s call for adoption of a clear development pattern is a good opportunity to push for amending the Constitution in order to strengthen its role and legislation authority.

Given the fact that DPR consists only of elected representatives of political parties and not all the people of Indonesia are members of political parties, DPD’s role and authority need to be strengthened as a balancing factor because it represents all the provinces of the country that comprise Indonesia’s national territory, including all the natural resources and other economic potentials. In short DPD is the miniature of Indonesia’s unified territory and is also playing the role of guardian of national unity.

Generally there are more voters behind DPD members than those behind DPR members because each province has only four seats in DPD that make up the 132-member regional council compared to 560 seats in DPR. But DPD’s legislation authority is limited in the sense that it can

propose a bill but does not have the right to participate in the final stage for adopting laws.

Even though the Constitutional Court has issued a decree that partly restores DPD’s role and authority, inequality of institutional rights between DPR and DPD is still a big hurdle for senators to act maximally. This is one of the areas that triggers DPD’s support for the 5th amendment of the Constitution, even though uncontrolled maneuvers to amend the Constitution could probably lead to its disbandment, political analysts argue.

Already the PKB (National Awakening Party) is calling for either strengthening the DPD or disbanding it and repositioning it as Regional Representatives Faction under the MPR like it was during Soeharto’s era.

This PKB maneuver is suspected to have been supported by some MPR leaders, though not officially acknowledged. But Golkar Party patrons have rejected the idea as unnecessary. Rejection of the idea to disband DPD has come from various directions, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

The big question now is how to control the process of constitutional amendment so as not to be driven astray. Will the call to reinstate GHBN lead to Indonesia having a systematic longterm development pattern as the guideline for the nation’s future, or will it trigger a breakdown of the current state administration system? This is a question that needs thorough analysis.

Indeed Indonesia needs a clear road map for long-term development, but there is no system in place to ensure the continuity of its implementation when there is a change in national leadership. What is needed, therefore, is an unthinkable super-structure kind of law on the direction and outlines of state policy that requires the government and parliament to follow in spite of changes the country’s five-year political calendar. And that is not an easy proposition.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Jakarta. He can be reached at pitandaslani@gmail. com

The Power Imperative

PUBLISHER S. D. Darmono

SENIOR ADVISOR Yuwono Sudarsono, Ermaya Suradinata, Sugiharto, Bacelius Ruru, Komaruddin Hidayat, Cosmas Batubara, George Hadi Santoso, Scott Younger, Ali Basyah Suryo, Atmono Suryo

Whatever the outcome, reinstating the GBHN would give MPR a clear job to justify its status as a state institution, because at present it does not have a clear job to do after the MK scrapped its main preoccupation of socializing what was called Four Pillars of the State—State ideology Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia), and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) philosophy.

The need to reinstate GBHN was first proposed by Indonesia’s 5th president Megawati Soekarnoputri on Jan. 10 this year, during a national congress of Indonesian Democracy PartyStruggle (PDIP) which she chairs.

Megawati actually had two things in mind when she proposed what her late father —former president Soekarno— had actually put in place under the name of Pembangunan Nasional Semesta Berencana or Universal National Development Planning. Soeharto’s version of this was GBHN. According to Megawati, Indonesia’s development planning lacked a clear direction, therefore there must be a general pattern on the direction of development efforts so that whoever is appointed president shall follow an established pattern and not go off the course. She wants the general pattern of development planning to become a mandatory obligation for the government to follow on all levels from Jakarta down to the regions.

But if that is not easy, she has another option, namely to strengthen the laws regarding national development planning system, turning them into what she calls an integrated “Law on Universal Development” planning for Indonesia’s future.

BY SCOTT YOUNGER

I

ndonesia’s demand for electricity has increased steadily over many years in line with the growth of the country. Most of the increase has taken place in urban environments as, like many other emerging economies, urbanization of the population now sees some 55% living in the country’s cities and towns. This is expected to increase to 70% before midcentury. By 2040 the population at a modest growth rate will have increased to approximately 340 million, which would mean over 200 million people in cities and towns and the rural population much the same as today, perhaps marginally in decline.

The impact on electricity demand will be very significant; it is already today, with the demand now having superseded the availability of supply. A consequence of this is an increasing number of locations being hit with blackouts and brownouts.

The situation is rather exacerbated through PLN’s desire to balance the books and stop deliveries of loss-making diesel to the far out areas, which currently have no other sources of electricity. While balancing books is always good business practice, one wonders if the socio-economic consequences of turning off the electricity for these areas have been thought through.

This again emphasises the need for placing renewable solutions, such as solar, in many of these locations as quickly as possible, and government needs to be pushing ahead rapidly with such a programme There is a strong case to be made for treating the provision of electric power for East indonesia under one dedicated unit, since the type of requirement is quite different from much of the densely populated, more industrialised is-

lands to the west of the country, Java in particular. It is pleasing to note that the government openly recognises this and it has re-emphasised at the Bali conference on 11/12 February its commitment to the renewable energy sector.

East Indonesia, with its many small scattered communities is most suitable for the application of renewable solutions. While solar is often an obvious choice for one of the sunniest parts of the world, there will also be cases where mini or micro hydro or biomass solutions should be considered. In general, the area is not one where wind provides a possible reliable option. The private sector has been quietly working away at putting in micro-hydro turbines for many small communties otherwise cut off from a power supply, but there are many hundreds more such villages.

Kupang, the main centre of NTT, with a population of 330,000, already has a healthy bank of solar power providing some of its electricity needs, and a further amount has fairly recently been opened by the President. The whole programme of solar needs to be accelerated and a special directive should be put in place to make sure that this happens. Provision of reliable power to communities is fundamental to their socio-economic wellbeing and growth, and one benefit of solar is its relatively quick time for installation, once the permits have been issued and supply requirements and design have been completed.

On taking office, the current government was quickly aware that there was a huge deficit in power supply for the country, assessed at 35,000 MW excluding any emergency capacity.

The build out of additional power since 2010 has been astonishingly low, well under 1,000 MW, about one-twentieth of that required, putting pressure on the

supply for the industrial heartland of Java and industrial/commercial centres of Sumatra, in particular.

Running in parallel and as a reason for part of the shortfall has been the long-standing hold up for the completion of the new 2,000 MW coal-fired power station at Batang in Central Java due to land acquisition disputes. The clear lesson here is that land acquisition issues in future must be addressed up front and expeditiously resolved for key infrastructure projects, of which this power project is certainly one. This project and two other main coal-fired power projects, one in Java and the other in a mine mouth in Sumatra have been identified as key in a recent listing of 30 priority projects by KPIPP. What seems to be forgotten in some discussions, even for a small thermal or hydro power project, is the time taken from conception to delivery of electricity. This is about 4 years, although in future that should be reduced by several months if the principles of the ‘One-stopshop’ can be applied to much of the significant number of permits/licences required for a project of this type. Even for a minihydro the number of these can be a dozen.

The hydro potential in Indonesia has been assessed at approximately 76 GW, although probably half of this is in locations where the projects are not economically viable. Even without these, there is still the opportunity to add some further 30 GW of hydro power to the energy mix for the country. There is already a number of mini-hydro projects at various stages of development, but developers are concerned that PLN would seem to be unwilling to sign agreements with the new commercially acceptable tariff structure that was posted about a year ago. The value of

run-of-river mini-hydro projects is that they can be expected to have a small impact on the environment in which they are located. Larger schemes should be linked with key water storage and supply projects, which require reservoirs, and some 49 of these have been identified, with the first few already receiving the President’s imprimatur.

The geothermal potential across the country is about 29 GW. As with hydro, while there is a number of locations which, for various reasons, are unviable ( e g location in protected forest reserves or unsoluble adat problems) for development there is arguably a further 10 -15 GW that could be considered to be added to the few GW that are currently operational. Development has stalled for some time as the expert companies in the field have not accepted that the concession conditions being offered by government are fair against the risks that are inherent in the exploration part of a potential project. However, recent encouraging moves by government, including the company venture structures for the development of geothermal projects, allowing 100% foreign ownership in a business that is dominated by international expertise, should re-energise interest in this sector.

On the clean energy front, there is pressure for Indonesia to enter the nuclear energy field.

It should be remembered that it has takes about 8-10 years to put in place a nuclear energy plant, so this cannot be considered as providing a solution for anything but the longer term. It should also be noted that the industry is now gradually moving onto the future generation of nuclear, that is fusion, rather than the fission plants that have been used over the past 50 years. The first pilot plant is currently being constructed in France with several countries with existing nuclear

plants being part of the development. Indonesia should also ask itself, with its abundant sources available for well-tried energy solutions and its location in a region of high seismic and volcanic risk, whether it needs to join the nuclear club.

Other renewable options, as part of the renewable mix, include harnessing ocean energy and it is of interest that PLN has recently signed an MOU with a Scottish based company, SBS Intl Ltd for the development of its first tidal-stream facility. Research with prototype development in this area has been going on in Scotland for some years now.

It is also worth recording that a workable solution for providing clean coal is just completing successful trials in the US and should provide a needed stimulus for the development of thermal power generation.

In conclusion, with no fault of the current government, national electricity supply is going to be a difficult issue in the coming years until a mix of large scale thermal, particularly for the industrial heartland of Java and other centres in Sumatra and the west of the country generally, and renewable energy is put in place. Private developers will have to include provision of power as part of the investment as they add to the industrial/commercial expansion of the country. Solutions should include a percentage of renewable options as part of current 21st century thinking.

The government’s commitment to deregulate the economy is a healthy stimulus to future growth and it behoves the private sector to work with the various levels of government across the nation to ensure that the ongoing steady urbanisation is carried out properly and for the benfit and with the cooperation of the people.

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A4 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

ASEAN ASEANBRIEFS EU Mission to ASEAN Officially Inaugurated in Jakarta The European Union’s mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), was officially inaugurated in Jakarta on Tuesday, with officials saying it will be exclusively dedicated to strengthening a relationship that is already excellent.

“We try to elevate the relations we have with ASEAN to the strategic level,” FranFrancisco Fontan Pardo cisco Fontan Pardo, the EU ambassador to ASEAN, told a press conference. “This is very ambitious because we already have a very dense cooperation with Asean across a very wide range of sectors – from culture to economy, security, humanitarian [issues], you name it.”

ASEAN as a whole nation is the EU’s third-largest trade partner, after the United States and China. The EU is Asean’s second-largest trading partner, after China.

PwC Survey: ASEAN CEO Confidence Drops, But Most Still Optimistic Business leaders in Indonesia and its Southeast Asian peers are faltering to maintain optimism for growth this year in the face of economic uncertainties and challenging business environment, according to recent survey by global consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey, released on the eve of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, reported that only 38 percent of CEOs in ASEAN are confident of their growth in the next 12 months, a 9-points drop compared to last year.

Titled “Redefining business success in a changing world,” the survey interviewed more than 1,400 chief executives from 83 countries who participated in the survey.

INACA Confident Indonesia Will Benefit From Asean Policy The Indonesian National Air Carrier Association (INACA) is confident the Asean Open Skies policy will benefit local air carriers, boosting numbers of passengers by up to 15 percent next year.

Under the police, which came in to effect Jan. 1, Asean airlines can make a stop in third country during flights from its home country to destination. The airlines can also sell tickets in those countries without cooperating with local airlines.

Previously, the airlines could only offer direct flights between two countries. In theory, Southeast Asian skies — spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam — will become a single aviation market with increased ease of movement in the region for people and goods, in turn improving regional economic growth.

ASEAN-US Summit Ends With Sunnylands Declaration nhandan.com.vn

The ASEAN-US Summit at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, concluded on Tuesday with the Sunnylands declaration.

The special ASEAN-US Leaders Summit was the first ever to be held in the United States and the very first summit following the establishment of the ASEAN Community. It marked a watershed year for both the ASEAN and for the increasingly close ASEAN-US strategic partnership.

On the conclusion of the special summit, the heads of state/ government of the member states of the ASEAN and the United States took the opportunity to declare 17 key principles that will guide their cooperation going forward: 1. Mutual respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality, and political independence of all nations by firmly upholding the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, the ASEAN Charter, and international law; 2. The importance of shared prosperity, sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development, and the nurturing of our young people to sustain continued peace, development, and stability for mutual benefit; 3. Mutual recognition of the importance of pursuing policies that lead to dynamic, open, and competitive economies that foster economic growth, job creation, innovation, entrepreneurship, and connectivity, and that support SMEs and narrow the development gap; 4. Our commitment to ensuring opportunities for all our people through strengthening democracy, enhancing good governance, and adhering to the rule of law, promoting and pro-

US and ASEAN leaders in Sunnylands. The Summit marked a watershed year for both the ASEAN and for the increasingly close ASEAN-US strategic partnership.

tecting human rights and fundamental freedom, encouraging the promotion of tolerance and moderation, and protecting the environment; 5. Respect and support for ASEAN Centrality and ASEANled mechanisms in the evolving regional architecture of the AsiaPacific; 6. Firm adherence to a rulesbased regional and international order that upholds and protects the rights and privileges of all states; 7. Shared commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the use of threat or force in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); 8. Shared commitment to maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region, ensuring maritime security and safety, including the rights of freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the seas, and unimpeded lawful maritime

China Offers $10b in Infrastructure Loans for Southeast Asia China is offering $10 billion in infrastructure loans to Southeast Asian countries, a senior foreign ministry official said on Sunday.

The world’s second-largest economy will also provide aid worth 3.6 billion yuan ($560 million) to underdeveloped states within the ASEAN in 2016, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told a news conference during the annual East Asia Summit,

which this year was held in Kuala Lumpur.

Liu did not say which banks would provide the loans.

The pledges come as China seeks to expand its influence in the developing world, including Southeast Asia, with government aid programs and loans. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a development bank backed by China, won support

from Asian and Western European economies this year despite an ambivalent response from the United States.

The AIIB was officially created in June and is set to rival the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in development work in Asia. It is set to officially launch at the end of this year.

By not insisting on some freemarket economic policies recommended by the World Bank, the

AIIB is likely to avoid the criticism leveled against its rivals, who some say impose unreasonable demands on borrowers.

The United States, which initially cautioned nations against joining the AIIB, has expressed concern over how much influence China will wield in the new institution. China has maintained it will not have veto powers, unlike the World Bank where Washington has a limited veto.

Without Labour Deal, Southeast Asia Risks Subsidising Human Smugglers: IOM huffingtonpost.in

Southeast Asia needs legal channels of migration to help curb human smuggling, the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said on Thursday, days after it urged efforts to avoid a repeat of this years disaster when hundreds of refugees were lost at sea or died in jungle camps.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations established an economic community last month to free up capital and trade, but made limited provision for labour movement even though the region has millions of migrant workers.

Thousands of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar have fled persecution and poverty in recent years, putting their lives in the hands of human smugglers to reach countries with better prospects in Southeast Asia and beyond.

near the Thai-Malaysian border, which sparked international outcry. The crackdown disrupted smuggling routes, leaving thousands of migrants abandoned at sea. More than 4,000 of them landed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

More than 1,900 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh are still in shelters and immigration detention centres, according to the IOM. Many of them are members of Myanmars Rohingya Muslim minority who fled apartheid-like conditions in the countrys Rakhine state.

“There needs to be more legal channels of migration, so that we dont end up unintentionally subsidizing the smugglers,” IOM Director General William Lacy Swing told reporters. “If the visa regime makes it impossible for people to get to the jobs that are there to be filled, then obviously they will go to smugglers and pay a lot of money.”

Thousands of migrants from

Bangladesh and Myanmar have fled persecution and poverty in recent years, putting their lives in the hands of human smugglers to reach countries with better prospects in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Lacy spoke ahead of a meeting in Bangkok this week to address the migrant crisis, a followup to a meeting that took place

It was as yet unclear if a November election in Myanmar won by the Aung San Suu Kyis opposition National League for Democracy would lead to an improvement in the situation of the Rohingya, Lacy said. October and November mark the start of the four-month “sailing season”, the busiest time for smuggling and trafficking ships plying the Bay of Bengal.

in May as the humanitarian disaster unfolded, just as European countries were struggling to cope with refugees fleeing war in Syria and Iraq.

A clamp-down by Thai police on human trafficking gangs triggered the regional crisis earlier this year. It followed the discovery in May of 30 bodies in graves

commerce as described in the 1982 UNCLOS as well as nonmilitarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities; 9. Shared commitment to promoting cooperation to address common challenges in the maritime domain; 10. Strong resolve to lead on global issues such as terrorism and violent extremism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as illicit trafficking of wildlife and timber; 11. Shared commitment to addressing climate change and developing a climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable ASEAN, as well as implementing individual countries nationally determined contributions made under the Paris Climate Agreement; 12. Shared commitment to promoting security and stability in cyberspace consistent with the norms of responsible state behavior; 13. Support for the advancement of a strong, stable, politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible, people-oriented, people-centered,

and rules-based ASEAN Community; 14. Shared commitment to strengthening people-to-people connectivity through programs that engage ASEAN and American citizens, particularly young people, and that promote opportunities for all our people, particularly the most vulnerable, to fulfill the vision of the ASEAN Community; 15. Shared commitment to promoting a global partnership for sustainable development through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda to ensure a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive society where no one is left behind; 16. Shared commitment to enhancing collaboration at the international and regional fora, especially at the existing ASEAN-led mechanisms; and 17. Shared commitment to continuing political dialog at the head of state/government level through our leaders attendance at the annual ASEAN-US Summit and the East Asia Summit.

Philippines Offers Eight Bases to US Under New Military Deal The Philippines has offered the United States eight bases where it can build facilities to store equipment and supplies under a new security deal, a military spokesman said on Wednesday, amid rising tension with China over the South China Sea. Last year, the Philippines and the United States signed the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) granting Wasington increased military presence in its former colony, rotating ships and planes for humanitarian and maritime security operations. “The list has been prepared many months ago when we had earlier discussions,” Colonel Restituto Padilla told reporters, saying five military airfields, two naval bases and a jungle training camp were offered to the United States. “These are still subject for approval and were going to hold final discussions about these areas.”

Three of these bases are on the main island of Luzon in the northern Philippines, including Clark airfield, a former U.S. Air force base, and two are on the western island of Palawan, near the South China Sea. The Americans are also seeking access to three civilian seaports and airfields on Luzon, including Subic Bay, a former U.S. Navy base, a senior defence official told Reuters.

Last year, more than 100 U.S. Navy ships docked in Subic and two advanced nuclear-powered stealth submarines made visits in the first two weeks of this year. “Subic is important to the Americans because it is one of the few areas in the country where they can actually dock

safely,” said a defence official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the press.

In Washington, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said security cooperation with the US had become more intertwined amid increasing tension over the South China Sea. The Philippines has filed a protest against China’s test flights from an artificial island in the South China Sea, a foreign ministry spokesman said, describing the actions as “provocative” and a violation of an existing informal code.

Subic is important to the Americans because it is one of the few areas in the country where they can actually dock safely.”

Every year more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped through the South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, which China claims almost entirely. Brunei,Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.

Chinas official Xinhua news agency, in an Englishlanguage commentary, said the EDCA would only escalate tension and “could push the situation to the brink of war”. “The deal is groundless because China, which sticks to a defensive defence policy, has never coerced any country on the South China Sea issue,” it said.

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A6 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

World kemlu.go.id

Bali Process Issues ‘Landmark’ Statement The Bali Process meeting has agreed to set up a regional mechanism of swift responses to irregular migration issues, including on refugees and asylum seekers.

“Through this mechanism, the co-chairmen could build communication with the relevant countries including the country of origin, transit country, and destination country, in case of any emergency,” Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi noted in a statement issued by the foreign ministry on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached during the two-day Sixth Regional Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related Transnational Crime cochaired by Minister Retno and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday.

The Bali Process member countries emphasized the impor-

tance of a regional comprehensive approach by applying the principles of burden sharing and collective responsibility.

The conference also highlighted the need to provide safety and protection to the migrants and victims of transnational crimes, and pledged to help address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, among other issues, by providing support to the countries of origin through community-based investment.

A total of 303 delegates, including 16 ministers from 54 countries, attended the meeting.

As many as 12 observer countries and eight international organizations also sent their representatives to the meeting.

The inability of the Bali Pro-

WORLDBRIEFS US Deploys More Patriot Missiles in S. Korea The United States has temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea following North Koreas recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, US Forces Korea said Saturday.

The move came as the two allies plan to start detailed discussions on bringing in an advanced, high-altitude US missile defence system opposed by China as early as next week.

“This deployment is part of an emergency deployment readiness exercise conducted in response This deployment is to recent North Korean provocations,” the US Forces Korea said part of an emergency in a press statement, referring to deployment the temporary roll-out of a Pareadiness exercise triot missile battery, which was flown from Fort Bliss, Texas this conducted in week.

response to recent North Korean provocations.”

The newly deployed Patriot battery is conducting ballistic missile defence training with the Eighth Armys 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Osan Air Base, some 47 kilometres (30 miles) south of Seoul. The brigade has its own two Patriot battalions. One Patriot battalion is reportedly composed of four batteries.

Just hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket that both condemned as a disguised ballistic missile test, South Korea and the United States announced their intention to start discussions on deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence System (THAAD).

The Pentagon has since stressed that it would like the system to be deployed in South Korea “as quickly as possible”, AFP reported.

Economic Effect of Syrian War at $35b The devastating economic impact of the war in Syria and its spillover into nearby countries stands at $35 billion and climbing, the World Bank said Friday.

The estimate, included in a quarterly World Bank report on the Middle East and North Africa, was released on the same day that world leaders in London pledged more than $10 billion through 2020 to help the Syrians.

Some 260,000 people have been killed in the five year conflict, which has forced 4.6 million people to leave the country, according to UN figures.

The Syrian war and its effect on Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt have cost close to an estimated $35 billion in output, the World Bank said. The figure, measured in 2007 prices, is equivalent to Syria’s 2007 GDP, the report said.

The influx of more than 630,000 Syrian refugees have cost Jordan over $2.5 billion a year, the report said. “This amounts to six percent of GDP and one-fourth of governments annual revenues.”

All of Syria’s neighbors are facing tremendous budgetary pressure because of the conflict, the report said. “Unemployment is high among refugees, especially women and those who do work in the informal sector with no protection,” said Shanta Devarajan, World Bank chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa.

“About 92 percent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon have no work contract and more than half of them work on a seasonal, weekly or daily basis at low wages.”

The two-day Sixth Regional Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related Transnational Crime was co-chaired by Minister Retno and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday.

cess mechanism to address an influx of Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees last year is being used as a lesson for the future as the international forum concludes, bringing out a new declaration and mechanism to ensure an agile and timely response to prevent undesired recurrences.

The sixth Bali Process ended on Wednesday with a 14-paragraph declaration, a document unprecedented at the forum, as well as consent from its 48 member states and organizations to grant Indonesia and Australia authority to call a consultative meeting with affected countries in the case of influx crises.

A UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) report estimated that 33,600 refugees and migrants of various nationalities took to smugglers’ boats in Southeast Asia in 2015, the bulk of them Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Some 370 people are believed to have died in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea during the year.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop cochaired the international forum, which was designed to address issues on refugees, human traf-

ficking and related transnational issues.

“When the emergency situation in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal arose, there seemed little we could do in the context of the Bali Process to respond to that emergency situation,” Retno told reporters in a joint press conference after the meeting concluded.

In the mechanism, Indonesia and Australia will play leading roles in determining when to communicate if problems arise.

Retno said that the co-chairs would request a steering committee at senior official level to meet and discuss the situation

and at certain levels to contact the affected and interested countries.

Bishop called the declaration a “landmark” toward reinvigorating coordinated efforts to tackle the current regional and global challenge of irregular migration.

Refugees have long been a flashpoint between the two countries, with large numbers seeking to reach Australia by boat ending up stranded in Indonesia instead. The flow of would-be refugees arriving in Australia has largely dried up after Canberra introduced in 2013 a tough policy of turning back vessels when it is safe to do so.

Australian PM Turnbull Losing Shine Ahead of Elections businesstimes.com.sg

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls honeymoon period may be ending, with economists and political analysts blaming a lack of new policies for a drop in poll numbers that has reignited speculation of an early election.

Turnbull on Saturday announced more than a dozen changes to his ministry, a decision forced on him by the resignation of one minister, the retirement of two others and the sacking of two more over their involvement in political scandals.

A Fairfax-Ipsos poll of 1403 people taken on Feb. 11-13 showed the governments worst numbers since Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott in a party coup last September, narrowing its lead over the centre-left Labor Party by four percentage points to 52 to 48 percent.

A hostile upper house Senate continues to stymie any major policy moves and Turnbull is facing rearguard action from his partys conservative wing despite sticking to Abbotts unpopular

“I ... think that the early election is the more likely possibility,” he said after the poll was released.

Plummeting commodity prices have depleted the governments coffers, a major financial stumbling block for Turnbull, whose rise was sparked partly by his image as a prudent financial manager based on his background in the private sector.

Australia in December forecast its budget deficit would swell to A$37.4 billion ($26.6 billion) in the year to June as falling prices for key resource exports open a gaping hole in tax revenue.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls on Saturday announced more than a dozen changes to his ministry, a decision forced on him by the resignation of one minister, the retirement of two others and the sacking of two more over their involvement in political scandals.

stances on same-sex marriage and climate change.

An early election may be Turnbulls best chance to demonstrate bold leadership and reverse what seems to be a growing sense of buyers remorse, said Peter Chen,

a senior lecturer in government at the University of Sydney.

“If youre going to follow Tony Abbotts agenda, then why did you roll him in the first place? It seems purely motivated by personal factors,” Chen told Reuters.

Turnbull last week raised the possibility of an early election after ruling out a rise in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) under pressure from within his own party, despite strong support from economists. The governments ability to have a stimulatory budget prior to the election is constrained by the size of the budget deficit, said Shane Oliver, Chief Economist at AMP Capital Investors.

European Parliament Calls for Release of HK Booksellers Detained in China The European Parliament has called for the immediate release of five Hong Kong booksellers detained in China, in a case that has grabbed global headlines and rattled the diplomatic and business community in the Asia financial centre.

The disappearances have prompted fears that mainland Chinese authorities may be using shadowy tactics that erode the “one country, two systems” formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997.

Chinese police confirmed for the first time on Thursday that three of the five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing were being investigated for “illegal activities” in China, Reuters reported.

The resolution calls for their immediate safe release. It also calls for the immediate release of all other persons arbitrarily arrested for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and publication in Hong Kong.”

The booksellers specialize in selling and publishing gossipy political books on Chinas Communist Party leaders.

The news came two weeks after their colleague, Swedish na-

tional Gui Minhai, who disappeared from Thailand in October, appeared on Chinese state television and made a tearful confession to a drink-driving offence more than a decade ago.

Shortly after, Chinese authorities confirmed that Lee Bo, 65, one of the other missing booksellers and a British passport holder, was in China after he vanished from Hong Kong weeks earlier. Their mysterious disappearances had sparked fears they may have been taken by Chinese agents.

“The resolution calls for their immediate safe release. It also calls for the immediate release of all other persons arbitrarily arrested for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and publication in Hong Kong,” the

European Parliament said in a statement.

So far, Chinese authorities have not made any substantial statements explaining Beijings role in the disappearances, nor how the men ended up in China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said this week that Chinese law enforcers always abide by the law.

Beijing said its law enforcement officials would never do anything illegal, especially not overseas, and that Hong Kong was Chinas domestic affair and no “foreign country has the right to interfere” in this matter. The “one country, two systems” formula accords Hong Kong a degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including freedom of speech.

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A8 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Highlights setkab.go.id/Jay

Ministers Support Media, Call it Bridge to Realize People’s Aspirations Cabinet ministers who attended the National Press Day celebrations backed the country’s media, terming it as a bridge to realize peoples aspirations.

“The institution of the press must support the sense of optimism in Indonesia. Media should boost hope rather than crush dreams,” the Minister of Education and Culture, Anies Baswedan, said here on Tuesday.

A number of ministers, who are members of the Working Cabinet, such as Internal Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Maritime Coordinating Minister Rizal Ramli and Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara attended the ceremony that was held in Kuta Beach of Mandalika, Central Lombok City in West Nusa Tenggara Province.

Anies said Indonesian media must provide objective

and factual information to the people. Besides, the press should also maintain accuracy in its news. The minister said certain sections of the Indonesian media, recently, laid a lot of stress on speed in reporting but ignored the aspect of ensuring accuracy.

“I think the media must revert to ensuring accuracy and credibility as its key focus areas,” Anies added. “The news should not merely be a pursuit of a developing situation only, but it must also give accurate information,” Baswedan said.

Additionally, Minister Kumolo said the press institutions have a strategic role in disseminating information to the people. Kumolo added, people can receive information regarding the governments performance.

Kumolo said the press institutions can work in partnership with the government by offering a critical viewpoint and bringing to the fore objective views that accommodate the peoples voices.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution accompanied by related ministers and high-ranking officials announced the 10th Economic Policy Package.

Govt Launches Tenth Economic Policy Package The government has released the tenth economic policy package aimed at boosting investment and protecting small and medium enterprises as well as cooperatives.

The government increased 19 reserved business sectors for small and medium enterprises and cooperatives in the revision of Presidential Decree (Perpres) No. 39 in 2014 on List of Business Fields Closed and Business Fields Open with Conditions to

Investment in the investment sector (Investment Negative List/ DNI).

“The nineteenth sector is covered in the activities of business services and construction that use simple or medium technology with a value Rp10 billion,” Co-

ordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said in a press conference here Thursday.

“In the previous DNI, around 55 percent of foreign shares are required in business areas such as pre-design and consulting services, architectural design services, and administrative services, and so on,” the minister said.

The government expanded the value of 39 reserved business in the sector of SMEs from Rp1 billion to Rp50 billion. The activities included the type of construction service business, such as construction work for commercial buildings, health facilities, and others.

The government has simplified the business field as part of the efforts to expand the business activities of SMEs, the minister remarked.

Nineteen business services/construction were merged in one type of business, the minister cited. “Therefore, the reserved business sector for small and medium enterprises and co-

operatives becomes 92 business fields,” the minister stated.

With regard to the partnership, as many as 110 business fields of SMEs could be invested in by domestic investment and foreign direct investment. The business sector included a seeding plantation business with an area of 25 hectares, retails via mail order and the Internet.

SMEs could invest in both, the areas of business that were not regulated in the DNI, and in business fields open with conditions.

In the logistics sector, meanwhile, five deregulation policies cover the development of commercial postal service business, unification of port service electronic payment, and establishment of export promotion agency for small and medium-scale businesses through state-owned companies (BUMN).

The government also carried out certain deregulation policies to encourage integrated electronic service system at ports. It has also eased the policy on the use of the rupiah currency for transactions related to transportation.

VP Discusses Trans-Pacific Partnership with Ministers Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with a number of cabinet ministers to discuss Indonesias preparations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership here Tuesday.

“Just now we discussed planning technicalities, the negotiation strategy and economy in general,” Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said at the Vice Presidents office after the meeting.

Cabinet ministers who attended the meeting include Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman, Industry Minister Saleh

Husein and head of Capital Investment Coordinating Board, Franky Sibarani.

The meeting also discussed trade agreements with the European Union (EU). With regard to the agreement, a team from the Ministry of Trade had met with their counterpart from the EU several times, Lembong said.

“The President in a cabinet meeting last year said that the trade agreement with the EU must be completed within two years. Our hope is we could soon

complete the first stage of the agreement,” he said.

As the target has been set at 2017 the agreement would be the main focus of attention of the government, Lembong said. “Besides that we also hope to complete other trade agreements which, although they are smaller, have good potential such as the bilateral agreement with Australia,” he said.

Australia is a neighbouring country that has strong buying power, is rich in capital, and

close in terms of social relations to Indonesia. Based on studies it should invest more in Indonesia, the minister said. “So it will possibly become a priority for this year. Besides Australia, we will also make agreements with four non-EU nations,” he said.

Regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs is currently preparing a decision letter for the establishment of a team to study the cost of joining it, minister Lembong said.

The president urged the ministers to facilitate foreign investors.

“The government will also build infrastructure facilities such as roads and ports to boost industrial development,” the president emphasized.

The president revealed that investors were required to de-

If we want to compete with other countries, we should cut logistics and transportation costs. There is no other choice.”

President Joko Widodo

velop transportation and logistics infrastructure. To speed up infrastructure development, the president continues to monitor several projects periodically, including the development of the Trans-Sumatra highway and the Trans-Sulawesi railway.

In addition, President Widodo also urged several stateowned enterprises to accelerate infrastructure development. “If we want to compete with other countries, we should cut logistics and transportation costs. There is no other choice,” the president added.

Construction of Teritip dam should be accelerated: President Jokowi The construction of the Teritip dam project in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan should be accelerated, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) remarked.

“Balikpapan is suffering from a water crisis. The construction of the Teritip dam should be ac-

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev have been exploring cooperation in the field of intelligence sharing to address security and defense issues, according to a minister.

“There is nothing wrong if we share intelligence with Russia. The form of cooperation is possibly through exchange, training, and equipment, among others,” Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated at the presidential office here on Wednesday.

President Jokowi held a meeting with Patrushev at the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday to discuss issues related to defense and security. Panjaitan noted that Russia had offered several sophisticated weaponry, such as the Sukhoi Su-35 aircraft, submarines, and high-speed ships to Indonesia.

However, he added that Indonesia had earlier cooperated largely with western countries but lacked intelligence cooperation with Russia.

“It could be cooperation in the form of information exchange in the face of drugs, terrorism, or other threats,” Panjaitan remarked, adding that during the meeting, Jokowi and Patrushev also discussed international issues, such as the escalating tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“The president just now pointed out that we want

It could be cooperation in the form of information exchange in the face of drugs, terrorism, or other threats.”

Russia and other countries to understand Indonesia’s stance to help pacify the regional tension,” Pandjaitan affirmed.

The minister stated that during a meeting held on the previous day, he and Patrushev had discussed cooperation in the areas of intelligence, main weaponry, and the fight against illicit drug trafficking as well as terrorism.

“They have also shown interest in dealing with the narcotic problem. Therefore, they want to share intelligence information on narcotic trafficking,” he stated.

The Russian official was accompanied by Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Mikail Galuzin.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi noted that President Jokowi had been invited to attend the Russian and ASEAN Summit to be held in Sochi in May 2016. “The president said God Willing, he will be present,” she remarked.

Jokowi has invited the Russian government to be an observer at the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to be held in Jakarta on March 6-7, 2016. Russia will be one of the four countries to be invited as observers to the OIC Summit, the minister noted.

Govt to Increase Budget For De-radicalization Program

Govt to Focus on Improving Regulations, Infrastructure The government will continue to focus on improving regulations and infrastructure to attract investment into the country. “Our downstream industries could be developed as Indonesia is in a position to construct such facilities,” President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated here on Wednesday.

With regard to regulatory reforms, the president has requested Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo to remove as many as three thousand local regulations that tend to slow down the business licensing process. “We want to make it simple,” the president remarked.

RI, Russia Explore Intelligence Cooperation

celerated,” President Joko Widodo said while observing the construction of the Teritip dam project here on Thursday.

On the occasion, the president was accompanied by Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, State Secretary Pratikno, and East Kalimantan Governor, Awang Faroek.

The development of the dam was intended to solve the water crisis in Balikpapan and surrounding areas. During the rainy season, the dam can be used for raw water storage. The dike uses national and regional budgets.

“The regional budget funds the project with Rp86 billion, while the state budget contributes about Rp370 billion. That can accelerate the project,” the president stated.The president said he expects the dike to be used as raw water reservoir for Balikpapan and the surrounding communities.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Luhut Panjaitan said here on Wednesday that the government would increase the budget for intensifying deradicalization program.

“We have not yet discussed it but we do have such a plan,” he said at his office.

He said the increased budget would mainly be used for counseling terror convicts in jail and putting them through a de-radicalization process.

Luhut said a number of institutions, such as the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) and religious organizations or institutions, would be involved in the effort.

“We have the MUI (Indonesia Ulema Council), the NU (Nahdlatul Ulama organization), Muhammadiyah organization and others. All of them will be involved. Certainly, funds will be needed for purposes such as distributing leaflets and making educative television programs,” the retired army general said.

De-radicalization is one of the important issues dis-

cussed in connection with the revised terrorism eradication law now under process. Convicted terrorists would receive special treatment as a result of these deradicalization efforts.

“We will later have a holistic program covering religious, psychological, vocational training and other approaches. There are seven approaches,” he said.

BNPT had earlier complained about its limited budget for carrying out its de-radicalization program for convicted terrorists after completion of their jail term.

Terrorists launched attacks in Jakarta on January 14, leaving eight people dead, including four attackers. Twenty-six people were injured in those attacks.

Within hours, however, the police were able to thwart the attackers, killing two of them, while two others died in the suicide bombings, one at the police station and the other inside the Starbuck coffee shop. The incident also left four civilians dead and 26 injured, including police personnel. One civilian died at a hospital three days after the attack.

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | A9

The Region Antara Photo/Irene Renata

Railway Construction to Start This Year in Papua President Jokowi pledged that all regencies in Papua would be connected with railway track in 2018.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the government will likely start construction of railway track in Papua from Sorong this year. “Yesterday I just opened new railway track in Sulawesi. Papua will follow,” the president told the local people in a meeting in the Kais district of Sorong Selatan regency, West Papua on Friday.

Earlier the president hoped the process of feasibility study of the project would be wrapped up in a year, but apparently more time is needed. “It does not matter. What is important is the track would be built as expected.

Jakarta Vows to Tackle Regulatory Hurdles in Regions The Indonesian government is planning further reforms to tackle regulatory hurdles between potential investors and local governments this year in yet another effort to improve the country’s business climate and stay competitive amid persisting economic turbulence, officials said.

To invest in Indonesia, companies have to report to the local government where their projects are located and seek out various licenses, such as construction licenses and location permits, on top of those from the nationallevel Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and related ministries. However, investors have often reported stumbling blocks when dealing with local governments, even after receiving a go-ahead from the central government, leading to numerous disputes and stalled projects “Our recent efforts have been focused on licenses at the ministerial or government agency level ...We haven’t started on the local level, but we will probably start next month after completing talks on the micro loans [KUR] program,” Coordinating Ministry for the Economy Darmin Nasution said in Jakarta on Monday.

Still, Darmin stressed that the efforts will only seek to simplify the process without disrupting the authority of the local government. He did not specify in detail which regulations the government was looking to reform.

BKPM chairman Franky Sibarani noted that for the time being, the government, through the BKPM, was facilitating investors and local governments through the local government’s representative offices located in the capital. “We are also working together with the regional investment coordinating board to accelerate the projects’ development,” Franky said.

The government under President Joko Widodo has been championing efforts to streamline various regulations in hopes of attracting more capital and reviving the country’s growth; including through eight sets of policy packages released since September.

“We are entering a different scene at the start of 2016 with many opportunities but there are also challenges ...Under the current conditions, competition will be much stronger and competition is always won by those who are most efficient,” Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in Jakarta on Monday.

He was referring the to coming into force of the Asean Economic Community at the end of 2015, an agreement that turned the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations into a single market and production base. Greater coordination between central and local government will be a key step in untangling bureaucratic hurdles for businesses, according to the vice president.

Most likely work would start from Sorong,” the president said.

He pledged that all regencies in Papua would be connected with railway track in 2018. The head of state had visited a number of districts in Papua including Merauke, Wamena, Nduga, Timika, Rajaampat and Sorong during his stay for four days in the region.

In Sorong, the president and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo visited a sago processing factory of the state-owned forestry company Perum Perhutani in the District of Kais. Construction of the factory began in 2013 and was completed toward the end of December, 2015.

It is to be fully operational in three months.

The factory, built at a cost of Rp150 billion, has a production capacity of 100 tons of sago flour per day. Sago is a staple food for the people of Papua.

President Jokowi hoped the process of feasibility study of the project would be wrapped up in a year, but apparently more time is needed.

“Industrial Development Key to W. Sulawesi’s Development” The province of West Sulawesi needs industrial development as it will play an important role in improving the economic conditions in various districts.

Every district in West Sulawesi wants to eradicate poverty by improving the industrial sector to increase employment opportunities or to reduce the unemployment rate. The rate of unemployment in West Sulawesi is rather high, and therefore, industrial development will be useful in achieving full employment in the province.

With industrialization, the production in the province will increase, the resources will be properly utilized, and income of the province will increase. Therefore, Tomi S.T., a member of the Provincial Legislative Assembly (DPRD), has urged the West Sulawesi provincial government to develop the industry in several districts in accordance with their respective potential.

“If West Sulawesi wants to progress, the local government should build and develop the industry in the province and should no longer manage the potential of the region in the form of raw materials as was done in the past,” Tomi remarked in the

provincial capital of Mamuju on Friday.

He noted that numerous areas in West Sulawesi have the advantage in terms of potential commodities, such as North Mamuju, which has a high palm yield.

According to Tomi, if the government builds an oil industry by setting up a plant in North Mamuju, the local economy will grow, and the public will be able to improve their welfare.

“Not only companies but the region should also garner the benefits by building the local economy through the development of the palm oil industry in North Mamuju,” he remarked.

Further, he added that besides North Mamuju, Mamasa district also produces coffee that can be utilized to develop the area. “If the local government builds a coffee factory in Mamasa, the economy of the area will also grow, and its community will prosper,” Tomi noted.

West Sulawesi Deputy Governor Aladin S. Mengga has stated in Mamuju that the local government was making every effort to strengthen the industrial sector that utilize local natural resources to welcome the ASEAN

Economic Community (AEC).

“The West Sulawesi provincial government, with its numerous programs, has been prepared to welcome the AEC,” Mengga stated during a seminar on “Challenge and Opportunity to Face AEC” in Mamuju some time ago.

He noted that the local government is developing industrialization programs by utilizing numerous mainstay commodities from various sectors such as plantation, agriculture, fisheries, and mining “Endowed with natural and mineral resources in abundance, West Sulawesi is ready to greet the AEC by intensively developing its economy in various sectors,” the deputy governor remarked.

By optimally developing its industrial sectors through the use of natural resources as raw materials, he emphasized that West Sulawesi will become a developed province to face the AEC program. “Our readiness and existence with optimistic attitude will bring us economic competence in the AEC, but certainly, it needs to be supported by security and political stability,” he affirmed.

In the meantime, local government spokesman Nuralam Thahir has stated that five of six districts in West Sulawesi province have been prepared to greet the implementation of ASEAN Economic Community.

He noted that the five districts, which have been ready to greet the ASEAN Economic Communi-

Govt Prioritizes Sanitation Development In 10 Regions

If West Sulawesi wants to progress, the local government should build and develop the industry in the province and should no longer manage the potential of the region in the form of raw materials as was done in the past.” ty are Polewali Mandar (Polman), Mamuju, North Mamuju, Mamasa, and Majene. “These five districts have been designed to develop themselves for the ASEAN Economic Community,” Nuralam added.

According to him, AEC is a government program at the central level to create an economic region, which is competitive and integrated with a global economy.

He noted that Indonesia will play its role in improving its economy through the AEC program by establishing its industries and other economic sectors.

Nuralam pointed out that the districts of Polman and Mamuju will build processing industry of natural resources they have in abundance, while the North Mamuju district will be designed to be an “agropolitan” area aimed at eradicating hardcore poverty through various agricultural and agro-based development projects, and “minapolitan” area,

a region which contains a fishery with a driving-based agribusiness. Then, the districts of Mamasa and Majene will be designed to become tourist destination and the center of education.

West Sulawesi Governor Anwar Adnan Saleh revealed that the provincial administration has demarcated a 13-hectare plot of land to build a cocoa industrial vocational high school in the province. “The school will be built in the Kalukku sub-district as an education facility for students and will expand their overall understanding of cacao farming and help improve the commoditys production in the area,” the Governor stated.

He further noted that the school will also be equipped with a cocoa processing plant, a laboratory, a dormitory for female students and teachers and other supporting facilities. “The development of a cocoa industrial vocational high school in West Sulawesi is part of the local governments commitment to project the province as an icon of cacao,” Anwar said.

The Governor added that cocoa in West Sulawesi had better quality and therefore the presence of the school was expected to increase the love of local residents for cacao plants as a source of economy and welfare. According to him, the local government would need about four years to complete the school, with some parts of its building having been constructed already.

LIPI Expresses Caution Over Infrastructure Development in Papua primaradio.co.id

The government is giving priority to improve sanitation and drinking water facilities in 10 tourist destinations, currently being considered on priority for development.

According to the plan, the sanitation and drinking water facilities will be developed in those tourist destinations there good infrastructure facilities are required. These destinations include Labuan Bajo, Lake Toba, Borobudur Temple and Mount Bromo, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said here on Saturday.

“The president has instructed us to develop sanitation facilities in Laboan Bajo of a standard as good as that of similar facilities at four star hotels, to enhance tourism and improve visitors experience,” he said.

Basuki said the project will take off this year. He refused to divulge the amount of funds needed to finance the project, saying it will not be too large. “These facilities will be developed this year at 10 locations. The budget will not be huge. The program to

The president has instructed us to develop sanitation facilities in Laboan Bajo of a standard as good as that of similar facilities at four star hotels, to enhance tourism and improve visitors experience.”

Basuki Hadimuljono Public Works and Housing Minister

develop sanitation and drinking water facilities has been put in place,” he said.

The development of the sanitation and drinking water facilities will be taken care of by the Public Works and Housing Ministry and will not involve any private or foreign parties, he said.

“The government will procure whatever is required for the sanitation and drinking water facilities entirely on its own, without involving private and foreign parties. To develop the drinking water facilities, we will involve local government-owned drinking water companies,” he said.

Infrastructure development and connectivity in Papua and West Papua needs good approach and communication with the local people, according to an Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) official.

“The government should approach the people of Papua and West Papua and communicate the issue of infrastructure development and connectivity with them. Otherwise, it is feared that they would reject the development and consequently they would accused of being anti government,” Adriana Elisabeth, the Papua Study Team Coordinator at LIPI, remarked here on Monday.

Moreover, she noted that Papua was a conflict-prone region, with several remote villages that were yet to be connected through means of land transportation. Elisabeth stated that infrastructure development and connectivity in Papua and West Papua should not raise suspicions among members of the

local community that it was solely intended to benefit Jakarta.

“The approach needs to be taken to avoid raising suspicions among Papuans over the construction of roads in the interior areas. The local people need to be provided a clear understanding that connectivity is intended to boost the economy of Papua and West Papua,” she affirmed.

According to Elisabeth, the Papuan people must be convinced that if connectivity improved, more investors would come to invest in Papua and West Papua, and the results would be experienced and enjoyed by them.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has affirmed that the improvement in connectivity and land transport infrastructure development in Papua and West Papua was aimed at boosting economic growth and welfare of the local communities. During a visit to West Papua on December 31, 2015, the head of state noted that all districts and cities in Papua and West Papua will be connected through land transport by 2018.

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A10 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

The Region

Merak, Surabaya Connected

By Toll Road in 2018 Merak in Banten province, West Java, would be connected with Surabaya in East Java in 2018 by a toll road, President Joko Widodo has said.

Merak in Banten province, West Java, would be connected with Surabaya in East Java in 2018 by a toll road, President Joko Widodo has said.

“God willing in 2018, Merak and Surabaya will be connected,” he said when inaugurating the operation of the SurabayaMojokerto Section IV (Krian Mojokerto) in East Java here Saturday.

He would keep monitoring the construction of the toll road projects that would connect Merak and Surabaya to assure they are carried out 24 hours a day in three shifts, he said.

Infrastructure development in Indonesia has been far too late and lagging behind unlike China that has reached 60,000 kilometers (km) and increased by 4,000 to 5,000 km every year. Indone-

sia has built only 840 km so far, he said.

“We have just had 840 km.

Therefore I have set a target of minimally 1,000 km for the minister of public works to finish within five years,” he said.

The section he inaugurated had actually been started 21 years ago but had not been completed due to land acquisition problems, he said. “Next year it (Mojokerto-Surabaya) must be connected,” he added.

Various efforts have been taken by the government to carry out the infrastructure development program including taking over the Batang-Semarang project after it had been stopped for

tribunnews.com

Around 87 percent of the Japanese investment projects in the 2010-2015 period were in the manufacturing industry.

95 Percent of Japanese Investments in Java Almost all or 94.8 percent of Japanese direct investments valued at $14.2 billion in Indonesia in the period of 2010-2015 were in Java.

Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Franky Sibarani said in a written statement, said the choice of location was based mainly on the investment sectors. The Japanese have invested mainly in the manufacturing sector, which has contributed much to the process of industrialization in the country, Franky said. Around 87 percent of the Japanese investment projects in the 2010-2015 period were in the manufacturing industry, he said here on Monday.

He said the transport sector dominated Japanese investment accounting for $7.5 billion of their total direct investment in the country in 2020-2015. Other main sectors entered by Japanese investors are metal, ma-

chinery and electronic, chemical, pharmaceutical, industrial estate, office buildings and food processing industries. “There are still wide room for Japanese investment in the manufacturing sector in Indonesia such as upstream oil and gas, chemical, rubber and telecommunication equipment industries,” Franky said.

He said currently Japanese investors began to diversify their business areas with expansion to housing and industrial estate development. Japanese investment in the two sectors surged 700 percent to $519 million in 2015 from only $71 million in the previous year. He predicted that the position of Japan as one of the largest investing foreign countries in Indonesia would be stronger.

“With investment of $14.9 billion, Japan contributed 10.2 per-

cent to the total value of foreign investments in the country in 2010-2015,” he said. Based on data at BKPM, Japanese investment have tended to increase in the country in the past six years.

In 2010, Japanese investments were valued at $713 million, The investment value shot up to $1.5 billion in 2011 and up again to $2.3 billion in 2012 and to a peak of $4.7 billion in 2013. In 2014, the Japanese investment dropped to $2.7 billion in 2014, before rising again to $2.8 billion in 2015.

In the period of 2010-2015, Japan was second in investment value after Singapore which had investments valued at $31 billion. The United States was in third place with investment valued at $8.2 billion, followed by South Korea with investment of $8 billion and Malaysia $7.1 billion.

Entikong to Be Developed Into Modern Economic Center President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said he wanted Entikong, the border town in West Kalimantan, to be developed into a new modern economic center.

“We want to see brisk economic activities here with modern markets to accommodate small businesses, not shopping malls,” the president said when making an inspection visit to border check point in Entikong in the border between West Kalimantan and the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

He said he wanted the border post to be a pride for the nation. Border areas should swerve as “our windows, our front yard that anyone coming from across the border would be impressed that we are a big nation,” the president said.

He said development of in-

frastructure should not be concentrated on Java, but should start from frontier areas. “We want that the points of economic growth to be in frontier areas such as in Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara and Papua,” he said.

During his earlier visit in January last year to the border areas the president passed order to develop the frontier area. “Entikong as I was told and have seen for myself, has remained the same, unchanged for the last 25 years.

No wonder it is far lagging behind the area across the border (Malaysia),” he said.

The president expressed dissatisfaction with the progress made in the construction of the Entikong State Border Cross Post (PLBN) . “This is not fin-

several years. “It was taken over just last week by a state-owned company,” the President said.

China, within six years, has built 16,000 km of high speed railway lines while Indonesia will just start building a 150 km long high speed railway line between Jakarta and Bandung, and even that has been hindered by arguments, the President also said.

“We have indeed liked arguing so far. I will change the culture into a culture of working now,” he said.

President Joko Widodo reiterated the importance of transportation infrastructure development, saying it would cut transportation costs. “Out logis-

tics costs will drop to make our goods cheaper, and in turn people will enjoy cheaper products,” he said.

The government is now concentrating on two big programs namely deregulation and infrastructure development. “Deregulation is being carried out to assure quick implementation of development efforts,” he said.

Right now there are 42,000 regulations covering presidential, government, ministerial and other regulations. “This is what has strangled us so that we cannot move fast in the field,” he said.

The 36.27-km Surabaya-Mo-

jokerto toll road will connect Surabaya and Mojokerto. Its development is divided into four sections at a cost of Rp 3.2 trillion. Section IV, which was inaugurated that day, cost Rp 681.52 billion.

It is estimated that 12,600 vehicles will pass Section IV of the Surabaya-Mojokerto toll road every day. The section is part of the toll road development plan that will connect Merak in the western tip of Java, and Banyuwangi in the eastern tip of the island, stretching 1,000 km.

A 16.04 km section of the Surabaya-Mojokerto toll road has yet to be completed for operation by 2017.

RI, NZ Zealand Cooperate on Disadvantaged Regions The Indonesian Ministry of Village, Disadvantaged Region Development and Transmigration (DPDTT) will cooperate with the government of New Zealand to deal with the disadvantaged villages which require more attention.

“In cooperation with New Zealand, we will come up with direct programs for the disadvantaged villages,” Minister of Village, Disadvantaged Region Development and Transmigration, Marwan Jafar, noted in a written statement received by ANTARA on Monday.

Around 33,592 villages or 46 percent of Indonesian villages are considered disadvantaged and 13,453 villages or around 16 percent villages are recognized as left behind by a long distance which

We really hope that Minister Marwan could come and visit our villages in New Zealand so that he could see some positive points to be developed together.”

Trevor Matheson New Zealand Ambassador

need special development programs. “Those villages need special intervention and I hope New Zealand would be able to help us with implementing programs for these villages,” Marwan said.

Considering New Zealand’s success in developing its villages into advanced ones, Marwan

expected that this country would be able to do positive work in Indonesia by focusing on making the village a foundational unit of national development. “New Zealand has a long experience in developing the countryside. This partnership should be followed up with real action,” he stated.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Ambassador Trevor Matheson said he was ready to carry out concrete measures, focusing on helping Indonesia develop its village areas. He also expected a comparative study of village development between the two countries in order to run effective and targeted programs.

“We really hope that Minister Marwan could come and visit our villages in New Zealand so that he could see some positive points to be developed together,” Matheson said.

W. Java Airport to Cost Rp3.7 t, Operational in 2017 The Kertajati airport project in West Java will cost around Rp3.7 trillion, to be paid by the central governmernt West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said.

The central government through the transport ministry will finance the construction of the international airport in the regency of Majalengka, the governor said here on Monday.

President Joko Widodo announced the decision on the project financing during his visit to Majalengka on Sunday. The governor said construction of the runway and the monitoring tower will cost around Rp1.6 trillion and the

terminal and other facilities will cost around Rp2.1 trillion.

The West Java administration is to pay only for the 1,800 hectare land clearing, the governor said, adding land clearing has been 1,000 hectares completed.

The airport in Majalengka District, West Java, is set to become operational in 2017, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

“I have given a target for the Kertajati Airport to become operational next year,” the president stated while inspecting the construction site of the airport in Majalengka on Thursday.

President Jokowi expressed hope that the Kertajati airports physical construction, which had lasted for six years, would be completed as soon as possible, so

that it becomes operational next year in order to improve the economy of the surrounding community. Built on a 1.8 thousandhectare plot of land, the airport will have a three thousand-meter-long runway after completion.

In the meantime, Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan remarked that the airport will be able to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft such as Airbus A380 as it will have a runway measuring three thousand meters in length and 60 meters in width.

The minister has set a target that by no later than the start of 2018, the airport should become operational, with a passenger capacity of some 8-10 million per year in the first phase.

setkab.go.id

ished. This is to be finished by the end of 2016. It would bigger and better than the one across the border,” he said.

Construction of the project that will also include modern market center to cost around Rp 512.5 billion started in August last year. The construction of the PLBN is considered strategic as Entikong is the main gate for cross border economic activities in West Kalimantan. PLBN would also be built in the Aruk and Nanga Badau areas.

In the visit Jokowi was accompanied by the First Lady Mrs Iriana Joko Widodo, deputy chairman of the People Consultative Assembly (MPR) Oesman Sapta Odang, Military Chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo and a number of cabinet ministers.

President Jokowi making an inspection visit to border check point in Entikong in the border between West Kalimantan and the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

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A12 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Infrastructure ANTARA FOTO/Sigid Kurniawan

Govt Sets Aside Rp1.2 t for Toll Road Land Clearance President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the government will prepare a fund of Rp1.2 trillion for land clearance to make way for the Trans-Sumatra toll road project in Lampung Province.

“We will prepare the budget immediately because the development runs speedily while the disbursement of funds is late,” the President said while inspecting the Trans-Sumatra toll road section in Sabahbalu village, Lampung Province, Thursday.

MRT JAKARTA. The government has selected 30 infrastructure projects worth some Rp851 trillion as priority projects to be developed until the end of the current government in 2019

Indonesia Boosts Infrastructure Projects Indonesia is boosting its infrastructure development in an effort to provide economic benefits to its people and increase the countrys competitive edge in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

“For this purpose, the government has selected 30 infrastructure projects worth some Rp851 trillion as priority projects to be developed until the end of the current government in 2019,” Luky Eko Wuryanto from the Chief Economic Ministers office said on Wednesday.

The 30 projects were selected by the government through the Priority Infrastructure Development Acceleration Committee (KPPIP). They will receive various forms of guarantees from the government, such as political, license and financial guarantees.

The guarantees for the 30 projects for the 2016 to 2019 period will be regulated under the Presidential Decree No. 3 /2016 on National Strategic Project Acceleration, according to Luky, who is the deputy for Infrastructure and Regional Development Acceleration at the office of the Chief Economic Minister.

Luky revealed this while

speaking to the press during the Infrastructure Outlook 2016 event on Wednesday. “We had initially chosen 225 strategic projects and one strategic program, but we finally decided on 30 priority projects. Some of the projects have been in progress, such as the Manado-Bitung project, which has entered a period of deciding its tender winner,” said Luky.

He added that following the inclusion of infrastructure projects as priority projects, executives and companies carrying out the projects will get facilities and guarantees. The facilities and guarantees will be regulated under the Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 1/2016 and Presidential Decree (Perpres) No.3/2016. Perpres No.3 has just been signed by President Joko Widodo.

The facilities include acceleration of licensing process and land clearance for executor com-

panies. The guarantees consist of guarantee options, such as political guarantees, such as government policy consistency and license facility guarantee or financial guarantee from the state budget, which will be provided selectively by the Finance Ministry.

According to Luky, the decision to designate 30 priority projects will serve as a breakthrough in the acceleration of project realization. So far, infrastructure projects are often constrained by licensing and land clearance problems, which raise doubts among investors.

“Our target in providing these facilities is to ensure that by 2019, the projects will be carried out and realized,” he noted.

According to National Development Planning Minister and Head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Sofyan Djalil, the 30 priority projects constitute in-

Indonesia to Host 30th IAPH World Ports Conference 2017 Indonesia will host the 30th World Ports Conference of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) in 2017, the spokesperson of the state port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) III Edi Prayitno noted here on Friday.

“In 2017, Pelindo I, II, III, and IV will be active IAPH members to host and hold the biannual conference that will take place at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center on May 7-12, 2017,” Edi stated.

The conference would serve as a platform to share experiences and common interests on cer-

tain issues faced by port officials globally.

Currently, Pelindo I, II, and III are holding a preparation meeting in Bali, which is being attended by more than 1.5 thousand members and delegations from around the world. “Pelindo, a state-owned enterprise involved in the management of Indonesian ports, must actively play an important role in local and global port activities, one of which is by participating in the IAPH,” he pointed out.

The conference is considered as one of the measures to deepen business relations with other port officials in the world in ad-

dition to improving and updating their knowledge. “This conference is expected to be a potential forum for Indonesian seaport businesspersons to mutually promote ideas and products along with serving as a means of promotion and learning about port management in the country,” affirmed Edi. The IAPH, established in 1955, represents more than 200 ports in 90 countries, with total cargo being serviced reaching 60 percent of the global trade by sea, as well as nearly 80 percent of the flow of containers around the world.

frastructure projects, which will have multiple economic effects for the people.

The 30 priority projects cover several development schemes, such as pure government projects, cooperation projects with business entities (PKUB), private-government partnership projects (KPS) and projects that have been especially assigned to state-owned companies (BUMN).

According to Sofyan, the participation of the PKBU and the KPS in the implementation of the projects will be helpful in the development of infrastructure as a whole in Indonesia. This is because besides the 30 priority projects, there are still other pure state budget funded projects whose development will be accelerated by the government, such as the development of 48 reservoirs, Sofyan said.

“The funds needed to develop the infrastructure are big. State budget funds will be used for projects located outside Java Island. If the private investors have the intention of developing infrastructure, we will support it,” he said.

The Director General for Risk and Financing Management at the Ministry of Finance, Robert Pakpahan said the KPPIP will map the financing schemes for the 30 priority projects. He will also study the possibility of increasing the viability gap funding (VGF) allocation for priority projects. During the 2016 State Budget, VGF was only given to two projects with a total value of Rp1.1 trillion.

“We will provide the facility for the 30 priority projects. We will see whether they need the VGF facility, political and financial guarantees. We will support them in the economic aspects so that investors are attracted,” Robert said.

The total value of the 30 pri-

ority projects is estimated to exceed Rp851 trillion. The 30 priority infrastructure projects include the toll road sections of Balikpapan-Samarinda, Manado-Bitung, Serang-Panimbang and Trans-Sumatera (eight sections: Medan-Binjai, PalembangIndralaya, Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar, Pekanbaru-Dumai, Terbanggi Besar-Pematang Panggang, Pematang Panggang-Kayu Agung, Palembang-Tanjung ApiApi, and Kisaran-Tebing Tinggi).

Also included are the Soekarno-Hatta Ekspres train (SHIA), the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in the South-North Jakarta lane, the Makassar-Parepare railway project, the international hub port of Kuala Tanjung and the international hub port of Bitung.

Others are the Karangkates IV & V (2x50 megawatt) hydro power plant (PLTA), the Kesamben PLTA (37 MW), the Lodoyo PLTA (10 MW), the CikarangBekasi-Laut (CBL) Inland Waterways. Also, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) in South Sumatra, the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok and Bekasi the integrated Light Rail Transit (LRT), the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) phase A, the Jakarta Garbage Management System and the West Semarang Garbage Management System.

Some other projects are the Sumatra 500 kilowatt (kV) High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission, the 500 kV Central-West Java Transmission Line, the Central Java Power Plant (PLTU) Batang, the Indramayu PLTU, the South Sumatra Mulut Tambang PLTU 8, 9, 10.

Also the Bontang Refinery pant, the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) projects in Balikpapan, Cilacap, Balongan, Dumai and Plaju, the port in West Java’s northern area, the Tuban refinery plant, the Palapa Ring Broadband project and the East Kalimatan railway project.

The governor has reported to me that the development of the project has been going on, and since my last inspection the process has been running even faster.”

President Jokowi

The Lampung regional government had made speedy efforts to clear land for the trans-Sumatra toll road project, but the budget was not yet ready to be disbursed, Jokowi said. “The governor has reported to me that the development of the project has been going on, and since my last inspection the process has been running even faster,” the President said.

Therefore, when returning to Jakarta, the President will soon coordinate with the relevant agency to prepare the budget. “In Lampung alone, we will prepare at least Rp1.2 trillion for the toll road project for land clearance so that its development will run more smoothly,” he said.

In the meantime, the 7-kilometer section of the TransSumatra toll road between Jalan Sutami and Kota Baru in South Lampung is expected to be used in the coming exodus of Ied Fitr travelers.

“We hope that the toll gates would be completed by March 2016 so that it could be used to anticipate traffic congestion during the coming Eid Fitr traffic flow. We will open toll gates in two locations,” Marsesa Edward, the engineer manager of PT Waskita Karya, said in Sabahbalau, South Lampung Thursday.

His side has constructed some 4 kilometers of the total 5 kilometers whose land clearance had been settled, he said. The target could be met because PT Waskita Karya could develop 200 to 3000 meters per day, he said.

ADB Announces First Loan Disbursement for Sumatra Power Grid The Asian Development Bank announced the first disbursement of its resultbased loan program for an electricity transmission project in Sumatra, the lender executive said last month, indicating the project’s progress is right on track.

The Manila-based lender distributed $120 million of the $600 million resultsbased lending (RBL) program, or performance-based form of financing, after the state-owned utility firm PLN met conditions that allows the lender to release funds for the project that is aimed

to strengthen the electricity grid in Sumatra, Indonesia’s second most populous island.

“Disbursing against results helps ensure that ADB assistance can be utilized by PLN in a flexible manner and through its own systems, but with a focus on development outcomes,” Steven Tabor, ADB country director for Indonesia, said in a statement.

According to the statement, future disbursements will be done annually over the next four years after PLN achieved agreed results in the transmission and distribution system project. The lender previously said the pro-

gram is scheduled to run from December 2015 to December 2018.

ADB approved in December two results-based loans for PLN to help fund a transmission project in Sumatra – which includes $575 million from its ordinary capital resources and $25 million from the Asean Infrastructure Fund. PLN needs around $7.3 billion for the overall grid strengthening program in Sumatra. The company plans to add 10,000 megawatts of power across Indonesia through 2019, which would need $37 billion.

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | A13

Infrastructure

Minister Rini Slams Criticisms Over High-speed Railway Project thenewslens.com

State Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno has deplored baseless criticism by certain parties of the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway project, saying all procedures were followed transparently and the project was being undertaken as per a business-to-business formula.

“I am sad to see some people always talking about the high speed train without backing their allegations with clear facts and data,” she told journalists after a seminar on synergy among state-owned companies in responding to challenges and opportunities faced by the ASEAN Economic Community.

She said the presidential decree for this high speed railway project stipulates that there will be no state budget guarantee for it. “If I violate it, I can be subject to charges under Criminal Code and so will be the state enterprises,” she said.

Thus, the guarantee that the stakeholders within PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state enterprises and China Railway

International Co.Ltd, had requested was related to just legal certainty for its operation, and did not amount to any debt-guarantee from the state budget.

The construction of this 142.3 kilometer railway worth $5.5 billion has been underway after President Joko Widodo officially launched it with a ground-breaking ceremony on January 21, 2016. This project then triggered a debate about pros and cons in the society.

High speed train to fulfil Indonesia`s future need: Sofyan Djalil National Development Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil defended the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway project here on Friday, urging those questioning the mega-project to consider the issue from the viewpoint of

INFRASTRUCTUREBRIEFS “Suramadu Bridge to Accelerate Development on Madura Island” The Surabaya-Madura (Suramadu) Bridge was built to accelerate development on Madura Island, stated President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

As compared to sea transportation, the bridge facilitates smooth and efficient flow of goods and people, the head of state noted while chairing a limited cabinet meeting at the presidential palace held here on Wednesday to discuss the development of areas surrounding the Suramadu Bridge.

Jokowi hoped that the presence of the 5,438-meter-long and three-meter-wide bridge would narrow the development gap between the islands of Java and Madura.

The bridge connecting Surabaya, the capital of East Java, and Bangkalan on Madura Island, was inaugurated on July 1, 2009. The countrys longest bridge was built over the Madura Strait and was constructed at a cost of Rp4.5 trillion, or $428 million, by the state.

Jakarta’s Kalibaru Port Operational in August The Kalibaru seaport in North Jakarta or the New Priok port is expected to become operational in August 2016 following an initial operation trial of the Container Terminal 1 in Kalibaru, an official has stated.

Acting President Director of port operator PT Pelindo II, Dede R Martin, revealed the information on Thursday, adding that the Transportation Ministry wants to accelerate the port operation.

The operational trial of the Kalibaru container port will be carried out by using MV Selat Mas with 14,000 gross tons, which will unload 50 containers. It is expected to be able to serve vessels with a capacity of 13,000 TEUs or weight above 150,000 DWT. This terminal has a quay with length of 850 meters, a ground surface area of 32 hectares, an accommodating capacity of 1.5 million TEUs/year, including an eight-unit facility crane equipment.

Jakarta’s Airport Train Ready in 2017 Development of rail track between Jakarta’s Manggarai railway station and Soekarno Hatta airport is expected to be completed in 2017.

“We already coordinated with PT Railink. It is to be completed in February 2017,” President director of the state owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II Budi Karya Sumadi said here on Wednesday.

PT Railink is a joint venture between PT Angkasa Pura II and state owned railway company, PT Kereta Api Indonesia. PT Railink is set to revamp the old track and build a new track totaling 38.3 kilometers between the Manggarai railway station in Jakarta and the airport and operate the train.

Budi said the train would take 54 minutes between Manggarai and Soekarno Hatta airport and there would be departure of train every 15 minutes. Everyday there would be 61 trips with a carrying capacity of 35,000 passangers.

Govt Operating Marine Vessel Power Plant in N. Sulawesi The government is operating a marine vessel power plant (MVVP) called Zeynep Sultan to deal with electrical power deficit in North Sulawesi province.

“The presence of this vessel is part of the governments attention to the current electrical power deficit affecting various areas (in the country),” acting North Sulawesi governor Sono Sumarsono said while inaugurating the operation of the electrical power supplying vessel in South Minahasa on Sunday.

The operation of the marine vessel power plant is part of the government’s program to develop power plants with a combined capacity of 30 thousand megawatts to overcome electrical power deficit in several regions in the country.

Indonesia’s future needs.

“We must see this project in the context of the nation’s future vision. Please do not see it from a short-term perspective. We can imagine that Java will become an island-city within thirty to fifty years from now. We must see this project from that perspective,” he told newsmen here.

Djalil, who is also the head of the National Development Planning Agency, said he was aware of the fact that many people have questioned the need to construct this $5.5 billion railway project because a toll road already connects Jakarta to Bandung.

“Many others debate the safety of the high-speed train, but we need this train not only for the Jakarta-Bandung route but also for the Jakarta-Surabaya route,” he said.

The construction of this 142.3 kilometer railway worth $5.5 billion has been underway after President Joko Widodo officially launched it with a ground-breaking ceremony on January 21, 2016.

Local Investors Not Concerned Over Policy to Allow Foreign Investment on Toll Roads State-owned toll road operator said it sees no threat with the government’s decision to allow full foreign investment on toll road projects.

Jasa Marga Corporate Secretary Muhammad Sofyan said the state-owned company has often competed against foreign investors in tender offers. “Basically we are ready to compete. We have competed against foreign companies in tender offers related to toll road investment,” Sofyansaid here on Friday.

Sofyan cited that in 2014 a consortium comprising stateowned enterprises, namely Jasa Marga, Waskita Karya, Hutama Karya, and Pembangunan Perumahan competed against foreign investors from South Korea and India in a tender offer to finance the Medan-KualanamuTebingtinggi toll road project.

At the time the government declared four entities, which consisted of two local consortium or entities and two foreign entities which teamed up with local companies, to have passed prequalification. The two local entities were the state-owned enterprises consortium that was led by Jasa Marga and Bangun Tjpta Sarana. The foreign entities were consortium which comprised Kookmin Bank-Woori Bank-Korea Exchange Bank-Posco Engineering and Construction and Lotte Engineering and Construction which joined forces with Nusantara Infrastructure, and a consortium which consisted of Pra-

In my opinion this is not something to worry about because all (construction) materials are available in Indonesia. Foreigners’ role is only to invest.

This is not the same as with other sectors that require importing materials.”

Fatchur Rochman Indonesian Toll Road Association (ATI) Chairman

ba Indopersada and India-based Sharpooji Pallonji Roads Private.

The government later declared the Jasa Marga-led consortium as the winner of the Rp2.6 trillion toll road project. Currently, Jasa Marga is also bidding against foreign investors on the Pandaan-Malang toll project worth Rp2.98 trillion. It had previously announced that eight entities which comprise five local consortium and three foreign investors with local partners had passed prequalification. The foreign investors are all from Malaysia, namely UEM Group Berhad, Naza Engineering & Construction, and HCM Engineering.

Winner of the tender offer will be announced in May this year.

Infrastructure, Work Ethics Key To Beat Competition: President President Joko Widodo highlighted the importance of infrastructure and work ethics in the current era on Friday, terming them the key to beating competition.

“With infrastructure in place, our competitive power will increase, our efficiency will improve and cost of goods and services will come down,” he said in his address at the launch of an investment program to create employment.

He also inaugurated PT Ne-

sia Pan Pacific Clothing factory and the Surakarta Academy of Textile and Textile Products Industrial Community in Ketonggo, Kerjo Lor village, Ngadirejo, Wonogiri, Central Java. He said it cannot be denied any more that this is the era of competition and without strong competitive power, Indonesia will be left behind by other countries. Also, infrastructure development alone is not enough to beat the competition. “Unless it is accompanied by work ethics and high produc-

Highly Risky Investment The number of foreigners interested to invest in Indonesia’s toll road projects remains low and thus the government’s policy to allow full foreign ownership will not have much impact on local investors. Indonesian Toll Road Association (ATI) chairman Fatchur Rochman said that local investors don’t feel threatened by the new policy due to the low number of foreign players. Not many foreign investors showed interest in Indonesia’s toll road projects when the government allowed foreign ownership of up to 95 percent, he said.

Fatchur cited the lengthy development process coupled with the obstacles to free land have made investment on toll road projects highly risky.

“In my opinion this is not something to worry about because all (construction) materials are available in Indonesia.

Foreigners’ role is only to invest.

This is not the same as with other sectors that require importing materials,” he explained.

Fatchur said that foreign investors have even sold their previous toll road concessions to local investors. He cited as an example the Solo-Ngawi-Kertosono toll road concession previously owned by Thiess Contractors Indonesia, a subsidiary of Australia-based Thiess Bros, and Ferino Putra, which was the shareholder of Solo Ngawi Jaya and Ngawi Kertosono Jaya. The

tivity, we will not be able to compete,” he said.

The president also stressed on the importance to overcome poverty and the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

“Before competing with other countries, we need to focus on solving problems related to poverty and inequalities,” he said in his address at the opening of the National Awakening Party’s national congress. With regard to the government sector, he said improvement in work ethics should be reflected in quick licensing process. “I want the licensing process to take only hours to finish,” he said.

President Joko Widodo also ordered reducing the number of permits required in order to increase the country’s Ease of Doing Business ranking which now stands at 109. He said he wanted the ranking to improve and go beyond 40. “It has so far fluctuated between 110 and 129. I do

concession was eventually acquired by Jasa Marga.

Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT) head Herry Trisaputra Zuna called on local investors to not see the new policy as a threat but rather as a challenge to become more efficient. Herry said that competitiveness during the tender process was the factor to determine the winner. “It will still go through a tender process.

The foreigners and locals will not be treated differently. We’re only looking for the most efficient offer,” he said. Herry added that local investors are in a better position, saying that the profit generated from the toll road is in rupiah and the construction materials are also available locally.

Currently, Malaysia’s UEM Group is the only foreign investor that holds a toll road concession in Indonesia. The Malaysia-based company through its subsidiary Plus Expressways controls 55 percent shares in Lintas Marga Sedaya, which owns the concession of the Cikampek-Palimanan(Cipali) toll road which span 116.7 km.

Malaysia remains the most progressive foreign country to develop its toll road business in Indonesia. After Cipali, investors from the neighbor country also took part in the tender offer for toll road projects, including the Manado-Bitung , Balikpapan-Samarinda, and Pandaan— Malang projects.

not want that to happen anymore. I want it to be at 40,” he said.

To achieve this target, he said a number of regulations and rules must be scrapped. “We have too many regulations and rules. There are 42,000 of them,” he said.

He said rules and regulations that pose difficulties to industrial investors must be scrapped, adding that “thousands of regulations have made us unable to work with while it is we who have made these.” “So much so that we have 3,000 problematic local regulations. It must be cut.

There is no need to study them and they must be scrapped if they are only posing difficulties to the people,” he said.

The head of Capital Investment Coordinating Board, Franky Sibarani, said in 2015, investment grew by 17.8 percent, reaching Rp545.4 trillion and absorbing 1.44 workers.

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A14 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Tourism

Jokowi: Develop Branding Strategy To Promote Lake Toba Paul Kennedy

President Joko Widodo has emphasized the need to develop a branding strategy to market Lake Toba as a tourism destination, one of ten priority tourist destinations to be optimally developed this year.

“I have stressed that a branding strategy for tourism related to Lake Toba be prepared,” President Widodo or popularly known as Jokowi said as he chaired a limited cabinet meeting on Development Plan for Lake Toba Tourism Destination and the Tourism Authority Agency for Lake Toba. The meeting was held at the presidential office on Tuesday.

All tourism services and facilities in the lake area must be upgraded to meet international standards, he stated. The head of the state also called for improving the tourism attractions that visitors throng at the lake area.

“Art and cultural attractions should be on display in a well choreographed manner, and should be attractively designed,” he was quoted as saying by An-

tara.

He also ordered to improve connectivity with Lake Toba and its surrounding areas, making these more accessible. For the same reason, the seaport and airport infrastructure in North Sumatra must also be further developed.

“I understand that two or three weeks ago, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, the Coordinating Minister for Human and Cultural Development and the Tourism Minister had visited Lake Toba. We hope that there will be follow-up on the ground,” he added.

Nine other priority tourist destinations are Borobudur, Mandalika, Labuhan Bajo, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, Kepulauan Seribu, Wakatobi, Tanjung Lesung, Morotai, and Tanjung Kelayang.

All tourism services and facilities in the Lake Toba area must be upgraded to meet international standards. The head of the state also called for improving the tourism attractions that visitors throng at the lake area.

Central Java to Work With SOEs to Revitalize Kota Lama The Central Java administration will cooperate with stateowned enterprises (SOE) to revive the Kota Lama (Old Town) area, Semarang and turn it into a tourism destination.

The administration said that the cooperation is important as they did not have sufficient budget to restore the Kota Lama.

“It has been discussed with the SOE Minister through SOE Care program. “We have asked each of them,” said Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo during a discussion entitled ‘Tourism Infrastructure Year 2016’ in Kota Lama, Semarang recently.

Ganjar said his office has asked SOEs that have assets in the form of old buildings in Kota Tua Semarang to utilize them.

The office has asked SOEs to clean and repaint their buildings and assets. “In addition, they will report the capacity and utilization of the buildings, regardless whether they use the buildings for themselves or lease them,” Ganjar was quoted as saying by Tempo.co.

Ganjar chose to restore Kota Lama, Semarang, as one of the main tourism destinations in Central Java as it has more potential compared to other areas.

In January, the provincial government pushed for the restoration designs, which included river cleanliness management, vendors’ management and building management system.

SOEs, as owners of the assets, have responded to the government’s call by providing report on the implementation of their

building asset management in Kota Lama.

Ganjar was aware that traveling has become an essential need for the people of Central Java despite the declining economic growth. Data showed that tourist visit in Central Java at the end of 2015 increased despite the economic slowdown. “People are feeling stressed out and these people needed and went for a vacation to be happy,” he said.

To cater to the need, the Central Java government has provided infrastructural support on access to tourism destinations in addition to making it as a priority in this year’s development, said Ganjar.

Sri Lestari, one of the SOE managers in insurance sector, said that they are ready to cooperate to support the government’s policy. According to Sri, her office has the oldest building in Kota Lama which is frequently visited by tourists. “We have a lot of vacant spaces on the third floor as we have only 20 employees,” said Sri Lestari.

She said that they have given opportunity to tourism campaigners to utilize the vacant space, adding that the place would still generate money with the visit of the tourists. “It’s an office building, but tourists often come in to take photos,” she said.

Sri said that they want the building not only as an object for tourists to take pictures but also to make it alive in order to attract more tourists and the public to Kota Lama.

“They want to celebrate Imlek in a warm region because it’s now winter in their country.

Bali and Indonesia in general are among their choices,” he added.

The tourism ministry’s official presented six thousand special gifts as souvenirs to the Chinese celebrating the Lunar New Year in Bali. This year, more than one thousand Chinese, mostly from Beijing and Heilonggijang Province, celebrate their new year, that falls on February 8, in Bali.

During February alone, Indonesia hopes to receive at least 200

Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil plans on turning Bandung into a smart city similar to Singapore.

To reach such a level, Kamil hopes to create smartphone applications in his remaining three-year tenure.

“I’m hoping to catch-up with Singapore. It’s an example of a city with international standard of services,” said Kami at Bandung City Hall, last month.

Kamil said he was aware that it would take time to catch-up with Singapore on online-based public services.

Singapore has already had 1,600 types of application from trivial to more important ones. “Bandung smart city program is targeting 1,000 applications; it’s a target in my tenure,” he said.

The Bandung adminis-

Ridwan Kamil

tration so far has around 300 types of application, Kamil added. Most of the applications are used for government’s internal services. “We will create the apps to fulfill our needs in a more efficient way,” he said.

In the near future, Kamil said the he would launch two new applications to address queuing and motorbike taxi (ojek) issues.

East Java to Rely on Golf, Culinary Tourism After Bromo Eruption

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo chose to restore Kota Lama, Semarang, as one of the main tourism destinations in Central Java as it has more potential compared to other areas. In January, the provincial government pushed for the restoration designs, which included river cleanliness management, vendors’ management and building management system.

Indonesia Hopes to Attract 2m Chinese Tourists in 2019 The Tourism Ministry hopes to receive two million Chinese tourists in 2019, an official said. “For 2016, we set a target of attracting 1.7 million Chinese tourists, and two million in 2019,” Hari Untoro Dradjat, expert staff of the tourism ministry, said in Bali on Sunday evening.

Some 12 million Chinese travel to Asia and the Pacific region a year, and Indonesia hopes to lure two million of them, he stated when greeting some 400 Chinese visitors during an “Imlek” (Lunar New Year) Festival in Bali.

Bandung Mayor Wants to Turn City into Singapore

thousand Chinese visitors. A Chinese tourist spends an average of $1,200 per visit.

Thailand manages to attract eight million Chinese tourists a year. “If they like Thailand, they must like Indonesia, too, particularly Bali. We have to be able to defeat our neighboring country,” he said.

Indonesia hopes to lure 12 million foreign tourists, particularly from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Australia and Japan, this year. The number of Chinese tourists who visited Indone-

sia in 2014 was 959,231, increasing by 18.77 percent to 1,139,281 in 2015.

Bali recorded a total of 4.001 million foreign tourist arrivals during 2015, up 6.24 percent from 3.76 million recorded in the previous year. For 2016, the Bali Tourism Office has set the target for tourist arrivals at the worldrenowned tourist island at 4.2 million, at least. The Bali tourism office has also set the target of domestic tourists visiting the resort island for 2016 at 7.8 million.

Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of East Java recorded that the number of international tourists visiting East Java has declined. According to the record, the number of international tourists that came through Surabaya’s Juanda Airport declined by 16.75 percent or 16,863 people compared to November 2015. One of the reasons is lava eruption of Mount Bromo since November 2015.

Nevertheless, tourism industry players are optimistic that international tourist visits will improve in 2016.

“It could rise to around five to seven percent.” said the Vice President of The Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agents (ASITA) of East Java Representative Council, Gondo Hartono on Monday.

ASITA admitted that East Java still relies on Mount Bromo natural tourism and Batu-Malang tourism. “Indeed, currently, the most prominent ones in East Java are both natural tourism and the artificial ones in Bromo and Malang. But the trend is now heading towards golf and culinary,” said Gondo.

Other than natural and artificial tourism in Malang and Batu, East Java relies of golf. Among others golf clubs and resorts in Ciputra, Surabaya; Finna in Pasuruan; and Taman Dayu in Pan-

Indeed, currently, the most prominent ones in East Java are both natural tourism and the artificial ones in Bromo and Malang. But the trend is now heading towards golf and culinary.” daan. The majority of its visitors are international tourists from Singapore and Malaysia. The main attraction to attract people to play golf in East Java is Rupiah’s exchange rate. “The price is less expensive, but the standard is international,” said Gondo.

In addition to golf, East Javan culinary also attract many international tourists. Shopping and culinary tourisms, said Gondo, are suitable for Asian tourists who prefer to hang-out in malls and drink coffee. Surabaya’s malls with international standards and its unique culinary are sought after by tourists from those two countries.

“Surabaya has their favorite foods, such as sop buntut and rujak cingur. Including the legendary Zangrandi ice cream which has existed since the Dutch colonial rule,” he said. Zangrandi is an ice cream shop established by an Italian, Renato Zangrandi, in 1930. Its interior design is still typically retro. European tourists prefer historical objects such as the museum and also natural tourism and resorts.

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A16 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

beritadaerah.co.id

Arts & Culture 123rf.com/Tomas1111

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican.

Indonesian Museum Under Construction in Vatican A museum showcasing the pluralism and cultural diversity of Indonesia is being built in the Vatican as part of cultural diplomacy.

It is a matter of honor for the country to display before the world its cultural identity in a such a way, Indonesian Ambassador to the Holysee, Antonius Sriyono, said in a statement received by Antara here on Friday. “The Vatican is a small state, spread over just 34 hectares, but no one denies that the Vatican has a great influence on the countries around the world,” the Ambassador said.

He added that the construction of an Indonesian museum in the Vatican is a right step. “It will help Indonesia pursue cultural diplomacy in the international arena”, he added.

According to him, the construction of this museum is expected to be completed by early October 2016. The museum will display a collection of Indonesian icons, among others, a miniature replica of the Borobudur temple. spirittourism.com

Brebes Batik is made in Bentar and Bertarsari villages in Salem District, so these are also known as Salem Batik. Nobody is sure of when exactly the Brebes Batik was created but the batik-making skills have developed particularly well over tens of years in Bentar and Bentarsari villages.

Brebes Batik

A Tale of Inland Beauty “It must be somewhere around here. Give me some time (to find it)...,” Tuti Wirjadigjaja, a 59-yearold housewife, said as she opened the door of a two-meter tall cabinet in her room. Inside the cabinet were all her precious batiks – the Indonesian traditional clothes painted by using wax-resistant dyeing technique, including two pieces of Brebes Batik that she had bought a few years ago.

Traditional Balinese dance forms are performed by men and women dancers dressed in traditional costumes comprising brightly colored clothes painted with gold floral and faunal motifs, with gold-leafed and ornate accessories.

UNESCO Recognition of Balinese Dances Help Bolster Indonesian Tourism The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, on December 2, 2015, inscribed 20 new elements, including three Balinese dances on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.

The three genres of traditional Balinese dance are sacred, semi-sacred, and that meant for enjoyment by communities at large, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intangible Cultural Heritage published on its website recently.

Coordinating Minister for Cultural and Human Development Puan Maharani lauded the UNESCOs decision to inscribe the dance forms on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the Committee for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The inclusion of the Balinese dance forms in the UNESCO World Heritage could help promote Indonesias tourism internationally, the minister emphasized. He hoped that UNESCOs recognition would encourage the Indonesian people to preserve the countrys culture and traditions.

Balinese traditional dance forms depict moral and religious values that could serve as a media to implement the mental revolution program, according to Maharani.

Traditional Balinese dance forms are performed by men and women dancers dressed in traditional costumes comprising brightly colored clothes painted with gold floral and faunal motifs, with gold-leafed and ornate accessories.

Melanesian Festival Celebrates Cultural Diversity The Melanesian Cultural Festival was held in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on October 27-30, 2015, to celebrate cultural pluralism in countries having a Melanesian population.

“Diversity must not hinder unity,” Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan noted while opening the Melanesian Cultural Festival themed “Celebrating the Cultural Diversity of Melanesian World”, in Kupang, on Oct. 28. He said the festival is not only being held due to historical or racial factors but particularly to achieve a common dream of a peaceful, just, and prosperous world.

Cultural cooperation is a good way to develop a better future for the younger generation as it instills a sense of cooperation in economic, political, and social fields, among others, he remarked. “Further interaction will help to create peace and welfare,” he stated, adding that having a common vision will help to unify the younger generation.

The Melanesian culture must not only be maintained and preserved but also be developed further. “Please allow the Melanesian culture to develop,” the minister affirmed.

Representatives from Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Timor Leste attended the first Melanesian Cultural Festival held in Indonesia.

From Indonesia, the participants include those from NTT, Maluku, North Maluku and Southeast Sulawesi, in addition to West Papua, and Papua.

T

poppydharsonostudio.blogspot.co.id

about the Bentar and Bentarsari villagers skills in batik-making.

he United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in October 2009, inscribed Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Most people associate Brebes, a district in the northwestern part of Central Java Province, with many things, from salted duck egg, shallot, blengong satay to peuyeum ketan, but not batik. Not many people know that Brebes has its own batik-design.

“I bought these from a boutique in Pekalongan which has a corner specially selling batiks from Brebes and other districts in Central Java,” she explained.

Finally, after rummaging extensively for almost half an hour, she found one of them. “They call it Salem Batik instead of Brebes Batik. This is gringsing design, a very old Javanese pattern on black and white palette that is not common for coastal batik,” she said while showing her black and white Brebes Batik.

Black and white palette is a traditional color scheme for Jogja Batik. The coastal batik artisans usually tend to use more vibrant colors in their works. “I expected yellow, blue and pink for coastal batik but when I had spoken to the artist back then, she had said this was the conservative Salem-design,” she explained.

She refuses to be called a batik collector but keeps more than 150 batiks in the form of “kain panjang” (literally means “long fabric”) in her closet. Traditionally, batik is sold in 2 1/4 meter lengths used for “kain panjang” which is part of Indonesian traditional dress. In her own words, she is an accidental-batik collector. “I am not a collector. Although it looks like it, it is not intentional,” she explained.

Batik is a part of “kebaya” dress, a traditional gown for Indonesian women. And as a Javanese wife, Tuti should wear kebaya to many formal events as she accompanies her husband, a retired government officer. “A collector should know the story about each design. The only reason I buy batiks is because they look pretty, not because of their history, price or uniqueness,” she said with a smile.

Having some 50 pieces of batik, she said she had never heard of Brebes Batik before. “However, batik is very popular currently. Almost every region in this

Distinguished pattern The origin of batik can easily be determined through its design as each region has its own traditional patterns. Some of the designs, mainly the royal batiks, have symbolic meanings.

In general, there are two types of batik patterns --- inland batik and coastal batik. However, the indigenous Brebes Batik designs belong to inland batiks although Brebes is a coastal area.

This fact alone had prompted the assumption that the fleeing royals from Jogja and Solo might have brought batik-making skills to not only Brebes District but also several other regions in Central Java, such as Banyumas and Tegal, which also have a long tradition of batik-making.

Brebes Batik designs are dominated by the earthy-colors, such as black, white and “sogan” (brown-yellow color), similar to Yogyakarta Batik. However, its designs previously had been influenced by Pekalongan Batik, mainly the “buketan” (flowerbouquets) pattern.

However, at the turn of the 21st century, when batik had become a fashion item and could be seen on shirts, dresses, footwears and bags, Brebes Batik artisans developed several new designs which were inspired by the living culture of the Brebes people, such as salted duck egg and shallot patterns.

Brebes Batik designs are dominated by the earthy-colors, such as black, white and “sogan” (brown-yellow color), similar to Yogyakarta Batik. However, its designs previously had been influenced by Pekalongan Batik, mainly the “buketan” (flowerbouquets) pattern.

Nowadays, men wear batik to formal events instead of a suit and a tie. President Joko Widodo, who grew up in Solo, once even claimed that he owned more than 200 batik shirts while the First Lady, Iriana Joko Widodo, actively introduced batiks to her counterparts at every opportunity. country has its own batik now.

I even have a batik from Papua and Flores although these are relatively new. So I am not surprised if Brebes also has its own

batik. Most regions in Java did follow the old tradition in batikmaking.”

Kusumanintya is right. Although it is not as well known as the batik from Jogja, Solo, Pekalongan or Cirebon, the batik from Brebes actually has a long history dating back to the 19th century.

Brebes Batik is made in Bentar and Bertarsari villages in Salem District, so these are also known as Salem Batik. Nobody is sure of when exactly the Brebes Batik was created but the batik-making skills have developed particularly well over tens of years in Bentar and Bentarsari villages.

Various sources, including the local governments website, mentioned at least three oral tales

The new designs complimented the three classic designs, namely “kopi pecah”, “manggar” and “gringsing.” A Batik artisan organization from Bantul, Jogja, the Sekar Arum Giriloyo, on its website explained the meaning of those designs.The “kopi pecah” (broken coffee grains) design, which features the shape of intersecting coffee grains bouquets, emphasizes the balance of physical and spiritual worlds. While the “manggar” design, which is inspired by coconut flower (manggar in Javanese), will bless the wearer with the power to share kindness.

The “Gringsing” design, which features a circles pattern with a dot in the center, symbolizes balance, prosperity and fertility.

Although batik is also found in other countries, for centuries Indonesia, mainly Java, has been best known for batik-making art. For centuries, Batik has been inseparable from the Indonesian culture.

BUSINESS April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | THE PRESIDENT POST

REGULATION

INTERVIEW

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Living with Indonesian Law

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Government Urged to Take Action As Foreign Firms Axe Thousands of Jobs ANTARA FOTO/Hafidz Mubarak

A number of foreign companies in Indonesia are axing thousands of jobs as they face the economic pinch as the result of the global economic crisis that forced them to stop operations in the country.

Multinational companies such as PT Toshiba, PT Panasonic, PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia, and PT Ford Motor Indonesia have announced plans to close down their factories in Indonesia, which will result in a massive layoff.

Estimation by the Indonesian Workers Union Federation put the number of workers that will be affected by the move at more than 5,000 with the highest toll coming from PT Panasonic at around 1,700 jobs. The union said that 970 from PT Toshiba, 1,000 from Panasonic Lighting Cikarang Bekasi, 1,200 from PT Samoin, and 500 from PT Starlink will also get the axe.

“These layoffs will threaten the livelihoods of the workers’ families, especially the nondescript workers. I hope the government will think of the impact of the layoffs and take anticipatory steps,” legislator Okky Asokawati, a member of Commission IX on manpower of the House of Representatives (DPR) said here on Thursday.

She urged Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri to coordinate with relevant ministries and institutions to minimize the impact. “Concrete formula and immediate actions must be taken to overcome this problem,” Okky, who is a politician of the United Development Party (PPP), said.

Earlier, the Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef) Enny Sri Hartati told reporters that news on the plans of foreign companies to shut down their factories didn’t surprise her.

Enny blamed the government for being less supportive of the existing investors, saying that several new policies had instead favored new or prospective investors.

“Several economic policy packages, from package one to pack-

age nine, are designed to attract new investors,” she said, adding that the government should have chosen policies that favored the existing investors that had been active in Indonesia for a long time.

She said that the government should have issued policies that encourage the existing investors to further develop their businesses and to increase their investment in the country. “Economic packages, which support existing should have been maintained and they should be encouraged to increase and their investment here,” said Enny.

However, Chief Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said companies that are severing ties with their workers are those that could not compete in the market.

“The companies that are planning to lay off their workers are those that are unable to compete with their counterparts from South Korea and China,” Darmin stated after a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to discuss efforts to reduce poverty.

Several Korean and Japanese electronics companies are reported to have planned to shut down their factories in Indonesia. Darmin maintained that the companies decided to close their factories not because they didn’t want to invest in Indonesia but simply because they lost competition to other companies.

Anticipatory Measures Edy Putra Irawady, the deputy for Commercial and Industrial Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, cited global economic slowdown as one of the reasons that led to the decisions by the foreign companies to close down their factories and to lay off their workers here.

“This is a business dynam-

Estimation by the Indonesian Workers Union Federation put the number of workers that will be affected by the move at more than 5,000 with the highest toll coming from PT Panasonic at around 1,700 jobs.

ic caused by the decline in world export demand, felt not only

by Indonesia but also by other countries. This external factor had created risks,” he said.

The government, he added, had taken anticipatory steps and made efforts so that the industrial sector can absorb workers even in a difficult situation.

The steps included the development of small businesses, logistics boded zones, and setting up special economic zones that enjoyed special incentives aimed to boost the competitiveness of industries. These are all aimed at developing micro businesses to open new jobs even during difficult times.

The Central Bureau of Sta-

tistics (BPS) agreed that micro businesses, which do not import raw materials, can grow in a difficult time. BPS Chief Suryamin said layoffs don’t always bring impact on poverty rate.

“It will not always have an impact (on the poverty level). Moreover, those planning to lay off workers are big companies. It remains to be seen how it will impact the micro sector,” said Suryamin.

He said the government is currently boosting the development of micro businesses, which do not import raw materials. “These micro businesses can also absorb (workers). We will see later this February,” he noted.

However, layoffs will affect the

economy if more companies sever work relations with their workers, while there are not many new job opportunities in the micro sector. “The impact of the layoffs will be seen only in the year ahead. We will see what it will be like at the end of 2016. Moreover, there is already a significant growth in micro businesses,” he noted.

New Investments Executive Secretary of the National Poverty Eradication Acceleration Team (TNP2K) Bambang Widianto emphasized the need to attract new investors amid the layoff wave. “This is not something unusual as technology keeps changing. Those affected

by the job cut must seek employment in other companies. Therefore, new investment is needed,” he pointed out.

The same view was also expressed by the head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Franky Sibarani.

He said the best thing to do right now is to maintain a positive investment climate by making it easier for companies to obtain licenses and carry out further deregulation. “We are improving the business climate, revising the investment negative list (DNI), providing three-hour business license service as part of an integrated one-stop service and are granting tax allowance and tax holiday facilities,” he said.

PTDI Exports Fifth Helicopter Fuselages to France airbusgroup.com

Aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia has delivered the fifth fuselage for H225/ H225M (military) helicopter of Airbus Helicopter in France.

“Helicopter H225/H225M formerly known as EC225/EC725 is a new generation helicopter of NAS332 Super Puma,” the company’s MK II Airbus Program Manager, Yulianto Soekarno, said here on Sunday. He added the fifth H225/H225M fuselage delivery was part of the 125 fuselages that PT DI has to deliver until the end of the contract in 2025.

Since 2008, Eurocopter now known as Airbus Helicopter, has trusted PT Dirgantara Indonesia as its partner for the development of the production of upper and lower fuselages and tailbooms. According to the plan PT Dirgantara Indonesia will deliver 125 fuselages and 125 tailbooms for H225/H225M within 10 to 16 years.

Before delivering the assembled fuselage for H225/H225M

H225 HELICOPTER Since 2008, Eurocopter now known as Airbus Helicopter, has trusted PT Dirgantara Indonesia as its partner for the development of the production of upper and lower fuselages and tailbooms.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia has handed over 45 tail booms, 10 units of upper fuselage and four units of fuselage.

Yulianto Soekarno said PT Dirgantara Indonesia is able to

meet an integrated fuselage order within six weeks and so within 1.5 months it could deliver one integrated fuselage to France. “PT Dirgantara Indonesia is not only able to assemble

but also make raw materials into a finished product,” he was quoted as saying by Antara.

He said the initial process started from PT Dirgantara Indonesia’s Production Area II when

raw materials are formed into single parts at Detail Part Manufacturing Division of the Production Directorate. From the same complex components are made at Machining Division before the two products are assembled at H225/H225M Helicopter Final Assembly Hangar at Production Area IV. PT DI workers handling the H225/H225M components total 220 people with university and senior high vocational school education background and 80 percent of them are young people. Airbus Helicopter has also stationed its personnel at PT Dirgantara Indonesia since the program started. The contract from Airbus Helicopter secured

by PT Dirgantara Indonesia for H225/H225M components is worth $45 million, Yulianto said.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia is one of the suppliers of H225/ H225M components that include companies from Spain and the Middle East, he said.

Selling to Thailand Indonesia has offered Thailand the purchase of some of its rain maker type CN 212-400 aircraft after the Thai Royal Police bought an aircraft made by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in 2014.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Retno Marsudi revealed this during a joint press conference with her Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, in Jakarta on Thursday.

“In the aircraft or aviation industry, we have a commitment that Thailand will purchase aircraft made by PTDI,” Retno noted.

Both ministers also agreed to enhance bilateral trade, which has decreased to $12 million in 2015 from $15 million in 2014.

“The figure decreased last year, that is why we are committed to enhancing it,” Retno said.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand is the third largest trade partner of Indonesia in ASEAN and the 11th largest investor in the region.

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www.thepresidentpost.com

| April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Business

KEIN: RI to Focus on Downstream Industry

ANTARA FOTO/Widodo S. Jusuf

Indonesia will focus on developing its downstream industry to process raw materials and export finished goods with added value in order to catch up with other Asian countries, such as Japan.

To achieve the goal, the government hopes that development of industry should be planned in short, medium and long term in such a way that it becomes a roadmap for the next 100 years.

For this purpose, the government of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has established a National Industry and Economic Committee (KEIN), assigned to come up with recommendations and formulate a strategy that will be combined with other concepts for development.

“The combination will enable us to work out details on development planning in the short, middle and long-term. I have asked for a roadmap for the next 50 to 100 years so that we have guidelines that can help us reach our objectives,” the President said at the State Palace on Wednesday.

Therefore, KEIN will focus on working out a concept regarding the development of downstream industry where raw materials should be processed in the first place than simply exporting these. “We will direct our country towards the goal of becoming a progressive industrial country, like Japan, South Korea or Taiwan. We will move in that direction,” newly installed KEIN Chairman Soetrisno Bachir said at the State Palace.

He expressed optimism that

Indonesia will become an industrial country with high economic growth. “It is now time to boost economic growth. During the current government’s tenure, the industry must grow at a higher level,” the KEIN chairman said.

“We discussed today that the time is ripe for Indonesia to carry out its industrialization program,” said Soetrisno. He said that Indonesia must not remain merely a supplier of raw materials but should become an exporter of finished goods. The falling oil prices, as per the KEIN, can add momentum to Indonesia’s move to carry out its industrialization program.

“The oil production cost will also decline. We do face a small constraint, namely the banking interest rate, which is still relatively high, regardless of inflation that has already come down,” the KEIN chairman noted.

He said President Widodo would have preferred that the banks lending rate also goes down speedily this year so that Indonesian products would become more competitive, especially in the current ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) era.

“Since we have members who are professionals and entrepreneurs, we hope the inputs provided by the KEIN would turn out to be implementable recom-

BUSINESSBRIEFS Freeport Gets Export Permit for Concentrate The gold and copper mining company, Freeport Indonesia, managed to obtain a six-month export permit extension for copper concentrate in February.

“Freeport has obtained a permit for copper concentrates export for a period of six months as proposed,” Director General of Mineral and Coal, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bambang Gatot Ariyono, said here on Tuesday.

The ministry grants extension for copper concentrate export permits for one million tons for the next six months in accordance with the regulations. “The permission issued today is for one million tons, in accordance with the regulation issued by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and the Ministry,” he said.

According to Bambang, the recommendation was made as the company had responded and was willing to pay an export duty of five per cent.

Meanwhile, the deposit commitment for developing a smelter, amounting to $530 million, is still to be discussed. “Freeport has responded to the requirement and is willing to meet the five percent export duty condition. Meanwhile, the issue of $530 million worth of cost will be discussed later,” Bambang said.

He said he was optimistic that the company will meet its target of constructing a smelter as the US-based mining company has paid a deposit of $168 million although the obligation to build a smelter has not reached 60 percent.

The recommendation for a copper concentrate export license was issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and was submitted to the Ministry of Commerce as the authority authorized to issue the export license.

Angkasa Pura Has World-class Logistics Warehouse in Bali State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura-I now has a logistics warehouse of international standard in the Indonesian island resort of Bali, according to the companys President Director, Sulistyo Wimbo Hardjito.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Hardjito remarked that the international standard warehouse, named the Bali Logistics Park, is projected to boost the distribution of logistics in the eastern Indonesian region.

“The presence of the Bali Logistics Park is expectThe presence of the ed to facilitate the flow of Bali Logistics Park is goods and encourage the growth of the logistics serexpected to facilitate vices sector and tourism in the flow of goods and Bali,” he noted.

The logistics warehouse encourage the growth building is located in proxof the logistics services imity to the eastern side of the Ngurah Rai Internasector and tourism in tional Airports runway and Bali.” was built on a 1.6-hectare plot of land, with a building area of 7.2 thousand square meters. The building, constructed in nine months, has eight storage rooms, each measuring 960 square meters.

Angkasa Pura Director for Logistics Affairs Garniwa Irwan explained that the Bali Logistics Park has a loading and unloading area, which is able to serve 40-feet trucks, equipped with forklifts. With a capacity of five thousand kilograms per square meter, it can be operated by using advanced technology that allows users to store and organize their items accurately.

Customers can choose and manage their own storage and distribution of several products in the warehouse or store a pallet unit in one of the storage consoles.

mendations and not merely remain on paper,” Soetrisno said.

Therefore, the President hoped the KEIN would help present a more detailed picture of industrial development planning. “Although we already have a roadmap of economic and industrial development, KEIN will provide further data and better ways of planning,” President Jokowi said after receiving the organizing committee of the 2016 National Press Day Commemoration here on Wednesday.

He said the members of KEIN included economic players, academicians and business leaders. “The combination will enable us to work out details on development planning for short, middle and long-term developmental process. I have asked for plans that lay a roadmap for the next 50 to 100 years so that we have certain guidelines that help us direct our objectives,” the President said.

He said that short-term plan must be put in place because the government was doing its best to create as many jobs as possible. The president also explained the difference between KEIN and the National Economic Committee (KEN). The head of state explained KEINs prime focus was development of downstream industry and the industrialization

The government of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has established a National Industry and Economic Committee (KEIN), assigned to come up with recommendations and formulate a strategy that will be combined with other concepts for development.

program which would provide back-up for economic growth.

“Raw materials should contribute to the efforts to enhance value addition,” he said.

In this case, the Indonesian president asked the KEIN to give concrete inputs and recommendations that can be implemented. “(If you) wish to give recommendations, give us tangible ones that can be executed,” presidential spokesman Johan Budi said after the inauguration of the new board of KEIN at the Merdeka Palace.

Citing an example, President JokoWidodo referred to credit interest which is not yet down, despite the fact that inflation has already declined, he said. “Inflation was recorded at 3.3 percent at the end of 2015, while in 2014 it was 8.0 percent. Inputs from KEIN are expected on this account,” he said.

Johan said the President also underlined that it is also KEIN’s task to study the economy and industry. “Based on the results of their study, they would give recommendations to the President.

They must coordinate with the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and other ministers concerned with economic and industrial affairs,” he said.

In the meantime, legislator Anang Hermansyah of Commission X on creative economy affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR), said the newly KEIN had also to pay attention to the development of creative economy.

“I hope that the KEIN will also pay attention to the development of creative economy in Indonesia,” he said. He said it is expected of the establishment of the KEIN, and the newly installed members to help the government in boosting the growth of creative

economy in Indonesia.

Anang Hermansyah, who is also the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction in the DPR, expressed his confidence that the new institution would help develop creative economy in the country. Moreover, Ipang Wahid, who is a member of KEIN and a creative economy businessman, could serve as the prime motivator and trigger efforts to concretize the empowerment of human resources in the creative economic sector.

He said that a number of problems in the creative economy sector should be addressed and resolved soon through cooperation between the KEIN and the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf).

“The recent problems such as the issue relating to creativity rights, as regulated in Law No. 28/2014 on Copy Rights, should be addressed seriously,” he said.

Regulation Passed, Pertamina Begins Refinery Construction setkab.go.id

The government is targeting for Bontang refinery’s groundbreaking to take place next year.

Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said ensured this following the ratification of Presidential Regulation No. 3/2016 on Refineries.

The construction project of Bontang refinery in East Kalimantan will be done through a public-private partnership (P3) scheme. “Pertamina has been appointed to be in charge of the project,” Sudirman said here on Tuesday. As the party in charge, Pertamina will seek private partners, accompanied by international consultants appointed by the Finance Ministry.

Indonesia is estimated to need 2.6 million barrels of oil a day (MMbod) by 2025. With the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) and new refineries, the state can supply 2.2 to 2.3 MMbod. “Without new refineries, we could be the world’s largest oil importer,” said Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, deputy for energy, logistics and tourism division at the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises.

To build Bontang refinery, the cost of investment is $14 billion.

Another refinery in Tuban re-

The government is targeting for Bontang refinery’s groundbreaking to take place next year. Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said ensured this following the ratification of Presidential Regulation No. 3/2016 on Refineries.

quires an investment worth $13 billion. “We don’t want to stop in just fuel oil, we want to [continue] downstream because that’s where the added value is,” Edwin said.

ISC Pertamina Saves Rp2.8 t The Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) of state oil and gas company Pertamina (Persero) saved $208.1 million (Rp2.87 trillion) in purchases of crude and fuel oil in 2015. The ISC’s is believed to have cut the procurement business chain previously run by PT Pertamina Energy Trading (Petral).

“The cost saving was obtained through ISC’s five breakthrough

programs called the ISC 1.0 phase,” Pertamina’s VP of corporate communications Wianda Pusponegoro said.

The ISC program eliminates the middleman supply chain and increases the utilization and flexibility of Pertamina’s fleet. The ISC also provides fair and equal opportunities for all procurement participants. “The breakthroughs are in the form of a transparent bid evaluation processes and cost reduction through the implementation of a telegraphic transfer payment,” Wianda said.

Efficiency in procurement is also done by optimizing the use

of vessels managed by Pertamina for transporting fuel oil, crude oil, and LPG imports.

The ISC opens its doors for as many as prospective partners as possible. This way, the bidders are more varied, prices are more competitive, and Pertamina’s bargaining position becomes higher. “Our bidding information is available through our website that can be accessed by all,” Wianda added.

Transparency is believed to make procurement more competitive, accountable, credible, and able to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

Wianda said that one of the successes in this new type of procurement is the renegotiation of agreement with Saudi Aramco.

Aramco has an evergreen contract with Pertamina for 120,000 barrels per day (bpd). Since June 2015, Saudi Aramco no longer requires a letters of credit (L/C) from Pertamina every time they seek to import oil. “This is the form a crude oil supplier’s trust in Pertamina with regards to a guarantee of payment,” said Wianda.

The ISC also works to reevaluate existing sales and purchase contracts.

Peruri Expands Operation to Digital Security Business Area The state-owned money printing company Peruri has expanded operation to digital security business area in preparation to enter the era of integrated smart security to be competitive and able to keep pace with the modernization.

“In order to have greater competitiveness in digital era we are expanding our wings to digital security that we could provide an integrated smart security service,” President Director of Peruri, Prasetio, said here, Thursday.

The expansion is prompted by the rapid advancing technology

that necessitated change in the world economic system that forces Peruri to continue to expand from service to business model, he said.

“We are not only strengthening our core business of money printing , we are also expanding operation to digital security business area through our subsidiary Peruri Digital Security by providing solution such as Certificate Authentication and Smart Card,” he said.

In a bid to achieve the positive growth, this year Peruri will be focused on market expansion, promoting reputation and

strengthening competitiveness, he added.

The strategic steps include reorientation of market from formerly focused only on domestic market to global market, and restructuring parent and subsidiaries to be more effective in marketing, he said. “Another strategic step is reorganization to be in line with the 2016 company budget working plan and long term business road map,” Prasetio said.

Peruri chalked up around Rp3.051 trillion in income in 2015 or more than doubling income of Rp1.39 trillion in the

previous year. Its net profit rose to Rp284 billion or an increase of more than ten times from Rp23.49 billion in 2014.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding to improve synergy with a number of state construction companies including construction companies -- Adhi Karya, Amarta Karya, Brantas Abipraya, Hutama Karya, Istaka Karya, Pembangunan Perumahan, Nindya Karya, Perum Perumnas, Waskita Karya and Wijaya Karya.

It also signed MoU with stateowned telecommunication company to develop digital business.

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 |

B3

Finance

Wealth Managers Bank on Tax Amnesty for Take-off Competition is so tough among Indonesia’s wealth managers that one offers clients helicopter rides to soar above Jakarta’s notorious traffic jams, others provide golf clinics, airport limousines and exclusive money-managing seminars.

Now, business may be about to look up for the industry helped

by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s tax amnesty plan that could encourage rich Indonesians to declare assets previously concealed from the authorities, either at home or abroad.

The scheme will offer the wellheeled incentives to bring money back to the country but it won’t require taxpayers to repatriate their assets, which means a flood of funds from abroad is unlikely.

Still, bankers are hoping it could be a timely shot in the arm for the industry that, still in its infancy and dwarfed by neighboring Singapore, was heading into even rougher waters as the economy slowed and the assets of its tycoons shrank with it.

“The tax amnesty will have a positive impact on the wealthmanagement business,” said Anggoro Eko Cahyo, director of consumer banking at Bank Negara Indonesia, whose “Emerald

Priority” members are wafted by helicopter across the capital when they are in an emergency.

“We will proactively approach individuals, be they our existing customers or prospective customers,” Cahyo said.

Indonesia joins India, among other countries, that have rolled out tax amnesty schemes to recover revenue and plug deficits. With tax receipts tumbling, from slumping oil and commodities prices, and the budget deficit starting to test a legal limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product, Jokowi is offering generous incentives to tax evaders to step forward.

Those who come forward during the progrme will also escape criminal prosecution. People who disclose their wealth in the first month of the amnesty will be taxed at just 1 percent, said an official.

Previously, the government said that taxpayers disclosing their wealth in the first three months would be taxed at 2 percent, rising to 4 percent the following three months and up to 6 percent by the end of 2016, when the program ends.

That compares with the top tax rate for individual income of 30 percent and the corporate rate of 25 percent. Parliament will begin debating the draft law in coming weeks.

Budget boost Bankers such as Citi Indonesia’s head of wealth management Ivan Jaya accept that they will have to raise their game to take full advantage of the amnesty.

“There must be investment instruments like those provided now by offshore financial institutions,” he said.

Indonesia’s wealth manage-

ment industry is small, with only about $20 billion in assets under management compared with $1.8 trillion in Singapore, the favored destination for Indonesians moving money offshore, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Some $200 billion in Indonesian money is thought to be stashed in Singapore, and wealth managers there are anxious Indonesia’s amnesty will lead to an outflow of assets.

Taxation revenue comprises about 10 percent of the Indonesian economy, compared with 13-15 percent in Southeast Asia’s four other main economies. Analysts say significant revenue has been lost through tax evasion since the overthrow of late strongman Suharto in 1998.

The finance ministry estimates amnesty will boost tax receipts by 60 trillion rupiah ($4.40

BI: E-money Transactions Reach Rp 5.2 t in 2015 Electronic money (e-money) transactions in the country in 2015 reached Rp5.2 trillion in value, up from Rp4.3 trillion in 2014, Governor of Bank Indonesia(BI) Agus Martowardojo said.

“In 2009, electronic money transactions were valued at about Rp520 billion only, and now they have reached Rp5.2 trillion,” the central bank governor said while opening the National Non-Cash Movement (GNNT) in Kupang, the provincial capital of East Nusa Tangga-

ra (NTT) here on Saturday.

Agus said the non-cash transaction system, either using prepaid cards, credit cards or electronic money, is very useful because it makes the financial system become more efficient.

With non-cash transactions, the state could reduce the use of banknotes and coins, making transactions more efficient and saving money on printing currency.

“We are convinced that the non-cash system would be saf-

Bank Indonesia (BI) says the chance for the bank to cut its benchmark rate or BI rate is opened provided that inflation remains under control.

“There is definitely room for (BI rate cut) and it showed in the last press release. We’ll have to see (the movement) from month to month, it will depend on how the inflation is,” said head of BI Monetary Department Juda Agung here on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Bureau of Statistics recorded the inflation in January at 0.51 percent. Over the past seven years, inflation in January had been one of the lowest in a year. The lowest was recorded last year when it experienced a deflation of 0.24 percent.

In January 2010, the inflation rate was 0.84 percent, in January 2011 it stood at 0.89 percent, January 2012 was 0.76%, in January 2013 it was recorded at 1.03 percent, and in January 2014 it was 1.07 percent.

According to Juda, many factors can contribute to increasing the inflation rate, one of which is

the global oil price that will also affect the domestic fuel price.

“It’s affected by the global situation, including the oil price. If the government revises the domestic fuel price, it will have a huge impact on the inflation,” he said.

He added that further decline in the global oil price will give more room for the government to lower the domestic fuel price which will in turn ease the inflation rate and thus opens the opportunity for the central bank to cut the benchmark rate.

“We will continue to monitor it. We’ll see whether the transportation fare also drops if the global and local oil prices decline because this has a huge impact.

Lower transportation fare will have a significant impact on the core inflation which will affect everything,” he said.

Infrastructure and Inflation Insufficient infrastructure in remote eastern Indonesia areashas caused prices of goods, including food to soar. Juda blamed the high inflation rate in the regions on the absence

sumutpos.co

er, more practical and more efficient,” Agus said.

After all, the non-cash payment system can be used widely, such as while purchasing cellular phone minutes, shopping at malls or paying electricity and tap water bills.

He said the e-commerce and non-cash transactions are predicted to continue to increase.

“Non-cash payments could also be for online-transactions, resulting in efficient usage of time and economizing,” he added.

BI Says Inflation Under Control, Sees Room for Rate Cut of infrastructure to connect islands that consequently caused problems in the distribution of logistics.

According to Juda, inflation rates in several remote areas in eastern Indonesia are usually high due to high price volatility and disparity. “The farther they are, the more insufficient their logistics are. Our studies show that the logistic factor is crucial in affecting the inflation in the regions and that’s why we will focus on the food logistics,” he said.

The problems in food distribution can be overcome with sufficient infrastructure such as the sea toll. “Not only the sea toll, but feeders in the regions can also create impacts. For instance, between Jakarta and Kupang, where there are feeders that can help. We haven’t made a comprehensive evaluation but the studies showed they contribute quite a big impact,” he said.

billion) this year. Citi’s Jaya said that assuming a tax rate of 1-6 percent, it implies officials expect up to 6,000 trillion rupiah to be declared. “Our money abroad is not just a little, but a lot, an extraordinarily large amount,” Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told reporters last week.

Even if little wealth is repatriated, the government hopes to expand its base of taxpayers.

Only 10 million Indonesians now file an annual tax return, out of a population of 250 million.

But not all wealth managers are convinced about a windfall. “It’s not yet clear that banks will get a share of this,” said Jahja Setiaatmadja, the president director of Bank Central Asia.

“This tax amnesty does not require funds to be repatriated, it’s just that it gives an incentive ... and the money may have to go to government bonds.”

With non-cash transactions, the state could reduce the use of banknotes and coins, making transactions more efficient and saving money on printing currency.

Japan Praises Indonesia’s Micro Finance Development Program Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is interested to learn about Indonesia’s microfinance development program, especially the unsecured people’s business loans (KUR) that carries an interest rate of nine percent.

“They said Indonesia has already had several schemes for micro-finance,” Agus Muharram, secretary of the Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises Ministry, was quoted as saying by Tempo.co on Friday.

Micro-finance agencies in Indonesia include Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Perkreditan Rakyat, Pegadaian and saving and loan cooperatives – which are considered to be one of the agencies that provide easier access to finance.

According to Agus, JICA is interested in learning about the government’s programs in empowering business players, especially women. The government has programs to give access for

cooperatives and women entrepreneurs.

The women’s empowerment program includes funding for cooperatives and ‘Perempuan Keluarga Sehat dan Sejahtera’ program. Since 2015, the government has distributed those aids to 742 units of women’s cooperatives in all provinces. The total aid given is Rp50 billion. The government is committed to give training and capital program for women entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, the head of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Suryamin, said that the government has to be more proactive in developing small-andmedium enterprises by giving incentives, which could be handed out in the form of KUR. According to Suryamin, SMEs could provide employment for those who are affected by layoffs.

“Once developed, we’ll be able to see how SMEs could absorb just as much manpower as the formal, high-capital sectors can,” said Suryamin at his office.

Suryamin said that there are around 3.5 million SMEs in Indonesia - significantly higher than the larger companies, which stood at around 24,000. “If one SME could employ three people, then our 3.5 million SMEs could provide alternative employment for 9 million workers,” he said. “This is what the government is advocating for - the empowerment of Indonesia’s SMEs.” That said the layoffs - which is predicted to happen around the first Q3 of 2016 - will first impact mid-level managers, which will definitely pose an impact to the country’s overall consumption levels. “We cannot yet calculate the exact economic cost of such layoffs,” said Suryamin.

Suryamin also said that the corporate layoffs cannot be accused as the effect on government’s decision to focus on SMEs as a part of its’ economic policy.

“We have yet seen if the growth of SMEs has any relationship to the massive layoffs [that is predicted to occur soon],” he said.

BNI Opens Branch in Seoul

businesstimes.com.sg

Bank Indonesia (BI) says the chance for the bank to cut its benchmark rate or BI rate is opened provided that inflation remains under control.

State lender Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) 46 opened a branch office in Seoul, South Korea, in Wise Tower, on Monday. It was inaugurated by the Ambassador of Indonesia to South Korea, John A Prasetio, and Manager of BNI46 Seoul, Wan Andi Aryati.

“The banking industry in South Korea is already shaken, but BNI46 still sees market potential,” Wan Andi said in a statement received by ANTARA here Monday.

The BNI46 targets the domestic trade market according to her.

“BNI Seoul wants to be a bridge to establish cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea by providing loans and other related banking services,” Wan Andi said.

The BNI46 also provides services for South Korean businessmen who want to invest in Indonesia, she added. “We are also targeting the Indonesian labor market in South Korea, which now reaches 40 thousand people. We are committed to providing the best service for the Indonesian foreign exchange heroes,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Prasetio stated that the world economy is still experiencing a slowdown. The stock market and the value of currency in some countries against the US dollar continue to decline. “This shows that the global sentiment has not been encouraging. Uniquely, the Indonesian economy is relatively solid amid the uncertainty,” the ambassador said.

Cooperation in trade and investment between Indonesia and South Korea are still positive. The demand for Indonesian products and South Korean investment in the country are progressive, according to him. “They respond positively on the economic policies of President Jokowi (Joko Widodo). I believe that the presence of BNI46 in Korea is very important to bridge cooperation between the two countries,” the ambassador said.

Data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) shows that South Korea’s direct investment in the country in the last five years is ranked fourth with a value of more than $7 billion.

Currently, there are 2,700 South Korean companies in Indonesia.

www.thepresidentpost.com

B4 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Investment

Govt Shifts up Gear to Pursue FDI President Joko Widodo’s midFebruary decision to open Indonesia’s economy to greater foreign ownership signaled his eagerness to step up the pace of reform and, according to analysts, could result in more overseas investment flowing into the country this year.

“I think the objective is very clear,” said David Sumual, chief economist of Bank Central Asia in Jakarta. “The government wants to protect small and medium enterprises, but for high capital-intensive industries they want to open up.”

Coordinating Economy Minister Darmin Nasution announced on Feb. 11 Indonesia would permit 100% foreign ownership in several new sectors, spanning

crumb rubber to tourism; creative industries to non-hazardous waste disposal. Some 35 sectors are to be removed from the “negative investment list,” while a further 20 sectors including power cable installation will be opened to partial foreign ownership.

The reform reverses some of the protectionist measures implemented during the last revision in 2014. That announcement closed several sectors and was described by some as “a cold shower” for investors.

The reform will affect digital labor-exchanges and information-based tech companies, but it is understood the government will retain its foreign investment firewall on the online retail trade, which will be accessible only via local partnerships. The government makes a distinction between online “marketplaces” such as taxi app Uber and online retailers such as Amazon. They are keen to open up the marketplaces to foreigners but not on-

line retailers. The e-commerce association said it had lobbied the government to open the sector to full foreign ownership.

Another focus of Widodo’s recent reforms has been on breaking monopolies in the logistics sector, which had made distribution costs in Indonesia one of the most expensive in the region.

Indonesia’s fisheries exports, for example, have for years been undermined by a lack of cold storage in coastal areas from the Andaman to the Timor seas.

Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti responded to the reform announcement by calling for more foreign investment in cold storage and fisheries in Indonesia’s underdeveloped eastern provinces, which typically receive only a tiny proportion of inward investment. The Indonesian Logistics Association said it was crucial to open cold storage to 100% foreign ownership because of the high capital required in the industry. Danish shipping conglomerate Maersk Group had

previously said it was considering investing in cold storage via its logistics subsidiary, Damco.

Full details on the revision of the “negative investments” list are not yet clear but it is highly unlikely there would be any easing in the oil and gas sector.

There will also be no greater foreign ownership of the horticulture or agriculture sectors because of conflicting laws enacted during former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s second term between 2009 and 2014.

The revision of the negative investment list was the 10th reform package announced since Widodo reshuffled his top economic team in August last year.

Analysts said bringing in venture capitalist Tom Lembong as trade minister and former central bank governor Darmin Nasution as coordinating economy minister shifted the economic tone. The previous nine packages have presented several wideranging tweaks to existing regulations. Measures have included

new tax incentives, lower nighttime electricity costs, allowing companies to revalue assets at a discount and ambitious new targets for the time taken to issue investment permits.

Foreign direct investment edged up 2.7% year-on-year in 2015 to $29.3 billion, with more than half of the total inward investment coming from Asia. Singapore and Malaysia were the two largest source countries for Indonesia’s foreign direct investment, contributing $5.9 billion and $3.1 billion in 2015, respectively.

Widodo is also eager to attract more foreign investment to spur development and ease potential stresses this year on Indonesia’s current account. A 7% annual rise in this year’s infrastructure spending is expected to boost demand for imports of machinery while receipts from Indonesia’s commodity exports will likely remain weak. Oil and gas exports fell 38.2% to $18.6 billion in 2015 over the previous year.

Widodo Wants no More ‘Embarrassing’ Bureaucracy President Joko Widodo said there is no excuse for Indonesia to lag behind its neighbors in facilitating investments in the country, as its Investment Coordinating Board – known as the BKPM – introduced two new measures it has hailed as bureaucratic shortcuts.

With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community having come into force and the Indonesian government mulling whether to join free-trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Widodo said the country has no other option but to open up to investors – to unlock more jobs and improve welfare.

The president, however, lamented Indonesia’s poor perfor-

mance in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 report, where the archipelago ranked 109th out of 189 countries. Although the ranking is an improvement from 120th the year before, it is far below most of Indonesia’s Southeast Asian neighbors, most notably Singapore, which tops the rankings. Malaysia came in 18th and Thailand 49th. “Let me repeat: 109,” Widodo said on Monday. “Embarrassing.”

Widodo said he instructed his cabinet ministers and the BKPM chief to work on boosting Indonesia’s ranking to 40th. He said Indonesia could not backtrack from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and that it was now competing with its ASEAN

asia.nikkei.com

neighbors to attract foreign investment.

“In the ASEAN summits, we heads of state join hands. But in spite of that, I view them as our competitors,” Widodo said. “If we don’t change ourselves, we’ll be run over in this era where everything is done fast.”

He repeated the word “embarrassing” when describing how many foreign businesses had canceled their investment plans in Indonesia upon learning of its often long and complicated bureaucratic processes.

“Who would want to [build power plants] then? When, on the other hand, people keep complaining about blackouts whenever I visit the regions,” Widodo said.

Jokowi, Swiss VP Discuss Investment Possibilities

President Joko Widodo wants no more ‘embarrasing’ lengthy bureaucratic processes for investments in Indonesia, citing increasing competition with neighboring countries.

Korean Firm to Invest in Energy Sector in S. Sumatra setkab.go.id

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, who had accompanied President Jokowi during meetings at the State Palace on Wednesday, said the two sides agreed to increase investment by Swiss companies in Indonesia.

“As of now, there are 150 Swiss companies operating in Indonesia,” Retno said.

A number of Swiss business delegates had also accompanied the vice president, and discussed efforts to have better economic cooperation. The delegation included executives of 10 large Swiss companies in the traintruck business and in the energy efficiency sector.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister said both countries welcome the fact that the bilateral trade has registered a significant increase. “Compared with 2014 figures, the Indonesian-Swiss trade in 2015 increased by 102% in favor of Indonesia,” she said.

The two leaders also discussed progress in the EFTA. The Indonesia-EFTA negotiations have been going on for the past three years. “We have agreed to resume the negotiations. This is a significant step in our efforts to enhance economic cooperation,” she said.

“Indonesia is a priority country for Switzerlands development cooperation programs. Our small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) can directly enjoy the benefits of one such cooperation scheme,” Retno said The Swiss vice president also invited Jokowi to visit Switzerland next year. Besides meeting President Jokowi, the Swiss vice president also held talks with various economic ministers.

On Thursday Jeuthard signed a cooperation agreement with the transportation minister on investment in the transportation sector. Earlier, Doris Leuthard

A Korean company will invest Rp 6.7 trillion in two energy sector projects in the Banyuasin special economic zone (KEK) in South Sumatra.

“The company will build a gas pipeline and steam power plant (PLTU),” Director of the Regional Mining and Energy Company A. Yaniarsyah stated here on Monday.

The 200-kilometer-long pipe-

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received a visit by Swiss Vice President, Doris Leuthard dan delegation at the State Palace.

visited the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agencys (BMKGs) office here to review cooperation that will enable Indonesia to measure more accurately the rising rate of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

“The Swiss vice presidents visit to BMKG was to review the potential benefits of the collaboration between the two countries,” BMKG Chief Andi Eka Sakya stated at a press conference on Wednesday.

Switzerland explores investment opportunities in energy, transportation sectors At a meeting with Head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Sofyan Djalil here on Wednesday, the delegation expressed its seriousness to explore opportunities to invest in the country, affirming that several Swiss companies had already invested in Indonesia.

Leuthard expressed optimism after taking into account the Indonesian government’s massive infrastructure development programs in various sectors, which

would certainly require additional sources of funding.

“This year, we can see additional investment coming from Switzerland. We brought many companies operating, especially in the fields of transportation, infrastructure, and energy, and they are all ready to partner with Indonesia,” she emphasized.

After a 45-minute-long meeting, Sofyan remarked that the representatives of Swiss companies had expressed interest to increase their investment in Indonesia.

Apart from the energy and transportation sectors, he noted that the Swiss investors were also keen to extend cooperation in basic infrastructure projects such as sanitation, clean water supply, and aircraft maintenance. “Several Swiss companies that have invested in Indonesia, such as ABB in the field of technology, had also expressed interest to increase their investment,” he pointed out.

line will stretch from the Jambi border to the Banyuasin KEK, while the PLTU, with a capacity of 2x115 megawatts, will be used to meet the energy demands of the region.

Yaniarsyah stated that such projects will be developed based on the agreement signed between the Korean and local companies.

The projects are aimed to boost

the development of the KEK and to attract more investors.

South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin had earlier underscored the importance of building projects in the energy sector to develop the KEK. A regional company owned by the South Sumatra provincial government has intensified cooperation with its foreign counterparts to develop the energy sector projects.

BKPM Targeting Investment From Malaysia, Singapore hdwyn.com

The Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) will focus on targeting investment from Malaysia and Singapore since its proportion has reached 97 percent of the total investment realization among ASEAN countries.

“Malaysia has become the focus of investment marketing as we look at the realization trend and its commitment is likely to increase,” the Head of BKPM, Franky Sibarani said in a written statement received by ANTARA on Thursday.

As is reported by BKPM, Malaysian investment realization for 913 projects in 2015 amounted to $3 billion or increased by 73%, compared with the previous year. Similarly, the value of Malaysia’s investment commitment during the same period reached $5.5 billion or increased by 148%, compared with 2014’s achievement of $2.2 billion.

“Singapore has long been a source of investment for Indonesia, and that is why the BKPM representative office in Singapore will focus on overseeing

Malaysia investment proportion along with Singapore has reached 97 percent of the total investment realization among ASEAN countries.

this marketing strategy,” Franky stated.

According to BKPMs data, the 2015 ASEAN investment realization in Indonesia increased by 15% and was valued at $9.1 billion, up from the $7.93 billion in 2014. While in terms of investment commitment, the ASEAN member countries contribution reflected a 79% increase to $22 billion from $12.3 billion in the previous year.

Based on the same data, the value of investment coming from

Singapore reached $5.9 billion for 3,012 projects, while the commitment of Singapore investment rose 68% to $16.3 billion.

In terms of competition to attract investment, the competitors of Indonesia are Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

In 2015, the Financial Times published data pointing out that Indonesia had received 34% of the global potential investment coming to ASEAN, followed by Vietnam (19%), Malaysia (12%), and Myanmar (9%).

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B6 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Market mebmo.in

20 Years of Mutual Funds Industry in Indonesia

The writer is Head Of Research of www.infovesta.com

Indonesia AUM Growth 2011-2016 271.97

280 260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120

Jan-2016

Jul-2015

Oct-2015

Jan-2015

Apr-2015

Jul-2014

Oct-2014

Jan-2014

Apr-2014

Jul-2013

Oct-2013

Jan-2013

Apr-2013

Jul-2012

Oct-2012

Jan-2012

Apr-2012

Jul-2011

Oct-2011

100 Jan-2011

One of mutual funds greatest challenges as a capital market instrument is the low awareness of the public on finances and investment. Compounding the problem is the rigid regulations on selling mutual funds.

The regulations are made with the safety of investors in mind, but with the advance of technology regulators are expected to come up with rules that complement the marketing of mutual funds.

20 Years on, the number of investors in mutual funds is about 500,000 or not even 1% of the population of Indonesia. The amount of funds managed is Rp 271 trillion (about $21.2 billion) per end of February 2016, twice that of the figures of 2011.

At present the majority of mutual funds (40%) are shares, followed by insurance mutual funds (22%). This shows that Indonesian investors seek high gains with low risks.

Prior to 2005 Indonesia offered only conventional mutual funds in the form of shares, fixed income, money market and a combination of both. But the turbulence of redemption in 2015 forced investment managers to become creative and made them issue protected mutual funds.

The capital market watchdog BAPEPAM has now transformed into OJK (financial services au-

are expected to accommodate this need. This opens wider the inflow of institutional investors’ funds as up to now tax alleviations on coupons and bonds discounts by way of mutual funds are still in place.

Flexible mutual funds focuses its targets on time, risk and return. Foreign countries offer mutual funds that are designed to help investors in making pension plans by allocating assets based on objectives and duration of investment. For example, mutual funds of 15 years can invest up to 80% of the shares for the first seven years, which automatically become 50% on the 12th year and 100% on the 14th year.

Flexible mutual funds with a targetted risk is an interesting concept, as investment managers can focus on safeguarding levels of risks, such as allocating assets whose potential risk is not above 10%, or offer portfolios of shares whose beta is below 1 so that its loss risk is under the index.

Flexible mutual funds with a targetted return will help investor who, for example, will face retirement in 20 years and seek an annual return of 12%. At present, investors need to look at historical figures of mutual funds that offer a return that fufills their needs. With target return mutual funds, investment managers will set a target and allocate assets to achieve that very return. This will also help financial planners in recommending products to their clients.

With the progress in technology, the OJK has allowed the online sale of mutual funds. It is hoped that mutual funds industry will continue to grow and achieve the target of 5,000,000 million investors with managed funds amounting to Rp 1 trillion.

Apr-2011

BY WAWAN HENDRAYANA

thority) and issued regulations on structured mutual funds, which insures the value of the initial investment.

The types of mutual funds have continued to increase, such as Dana Investasi Real Estat (DIRE, or Real Estate Investment Funds), which is a local reference for REIT ( Real Estate Investement Trust) and a mutual funds with property-based assets, and Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which are mutual funds traded on the bourse in real time prices.

Although it was initially aimed at retail investors, ETF has become popular among institutional investors. With the hope of seeing the capital market help the real sector to grow, Reksadana Penyertaan Terbatas (Limited Equity Mutual Funds) was issued, which is the local reference of Private Equity Fund.

This kind of mutual funds are allowed to invest in unlisted companies as a financing alternative for the real sector.

In 2015 OJK made a breakthrough by allowing reksadana syariah global (syariah mutual funds), which allow 100% investment on syariah shares overseas.

This is a positive development in fulfilling the needs of investors who seek investment in foreign currencies or who wish to diversify their funds regionally. In the future the mutual funds industry looks forward to regulations on wholesale and flexible mutual funds.

Wholesale mutual funds are specialized for institutional investors as their needs are different from that of retail investors.

At present there are also public mutual funds that are “single’ or one investor, mostly institutions.

With additional regulations by the OJK, which require pension funds bodies, insurance, BPJS and financing companies to place 20-50% of its assets in the form of government securities (SUN), wholesale mutual funds

Trillion Rupiah

As Indonesia has one of the world’s largest populations, its economic and investment potentials are enormous, one of which is mutual funds. It is now in its 20th year of existence with the issuance of Law No.8 on capital market in 1995.

Mutual Funds Asset Allocation Feb 2016 Index & ETF 2%

Protected Fund 22%

Equity 40%

Fixed Income 17%

Balanced 7%

Money Market 12% Source: www.infovesta.com

20 Years on, the number of investors in mutual funds is about 500,000 or not even 1% of the population of Indonesia. The amount of funds managed is Rp 271 trillion (about $21.2 billion) per end of February 2016, twice that of the figures of 2011.”

www.thepresidentpost.com

April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 |

B7

Property

2016: The Year of Property Buying Source: Cushman & Wakefield

The year of 2016 is expected to see an inflow of foreign investors thanks to economic growth, political stability and the government’s commitment to develop new living areas by way of new infrastructure projects. This will engender both domestic consumption and encourage foreign investment as the the income of the population, especially its middle class, continues to grow.

Landed Residential Supply & Demand Annual Growth

Residential Projects Planned Area (H1 2014)

8.0%

Jakarta 2.3% Bekasi 22.7%

6.0%

4.0%

Tangerang 36.4%

2.0%

Investors have regained confidence in the Indonesian economy due to accelerated economic growth in Q4-2015 (5.04 percent y/y). This upbeat growth rate comes on the back of enhanced government spending realization. This shows that the Indonesian government is serious about boosting GDP growth. The government has also opened investment opportunities in Indonesia (to foreign direct investment) in one of its latest economic policy packages. Foreigners may now buy property in Indonesia, especially apartments worth more than Rp 10 billion. This promises to be a catalyst for the demand for new property, it will also have a trickle-down effect on property development.

So is 2016 the right time to buy property? If so, what type of property suits our needs and our expectations in terms of its future value? The answer is yes, it’s the right time to choose between buying a house or an apartment for our property value investment.

Nowadays, the Indonesian middle class seems to take a wait-and-see attitude in property. In the Greater Jakarta area, according to the Cushman and Wakefield property outlook of 2016, demand for new houses is higher than for new apartments,

and that rental rates of property are expected to grow constantly in the coming year.

A house is a typical property for most Indonesians, especially those who live in suburban areas and not in a growth centre such as the Central Business District of Indonesia. In Greater Jakarta, a new family or individual who wishes to be close to family members tend to choose a house.

The infrastructure development of transportation (Light Rapid Transportation, Commuter Line, Mass Rapid Transportation, busway integration, etc) and accessibility (new toll road development, inner circle toll road, etc) will be a consideration for investors and buyers to invest in a home, not an apartment. Cushman and Wakefield (2016) mentioned that more than 36% of the planned areas in Tangerang and BogorDepok will be used for residential projects.

Demand is expect to grow more that 3.9% per year, better than the figures of 2014 (1H) until 2015 (2H), which was below 2% due to the downturn of the economy and the tightening of the loan-to-value regulation to 70% for the first home buyers.

Lower middle (Rp 500 mio–1 bn) and middle segment (Rp1 bn–1.7 bn) are expected to continue to dominate the market—there is a

0.0%

2011

Bogor-Depok 38.6%

2012

2013 Demand

2014

2015 (P)

2016 (P)

Supply

Total: 50,816 Ha

Jakarta Rental Apartments Net Take-Up New Supply Occupancy Rentals (Overall Market USD psm pm

2015

9,836

2016

13,066

2015

10,415

2016

25,555

2015

67.1%

2016

63.0%

2015

21.7

2016

22.5

property backlog of 14.5 million houses.

Apartments are symbols of modernity, flexibility, and compact living, and are also often integrated with retail malls, offices and hotels, sometimes called a superblock. They are found in central business districts because of the rise of land prices; developers tend to optimize their land banks as multiple buildings in one complex.

We see apartment as an alternative property investment, a better alternative to living in the boarding houses. Apartments offer facilities to work, play and live although the monthly charg-

32.8% 145%

Lower middle (Rp 500 mio–1 bn) and middle segment (Rp1 bn–1.7 bn) are expected to continue to dominate the market—there is a property backlog of 14.5 million houses.”

3.6%

es are higher (triple or more) than living in houses. Cushman and Wakefield (2016) reports that in the Greater Jakarta area, the lower–middle (<12 miopsm) and middle segment (12–20 miopsm) condominiums are expected to bolster the condominium market in 2016.

Prices will continue to rise to until the end of the year although the increment rate will be slower than that of 2015. This is an opportunity for first time buyers to invest in an apartment close to their business activities, have good accessibility to toll roads, railway, and the Soetta airport.

Is 2016 a good year to invest

in property? The answer is yes.

Indeed, our macroeconomic condition is better than that of other Asia countries, the growth of our middle class’s domestic consumption still dominates our gross domestic product. Also, new foreign direct investment from Japan, Korea, and China are involved in infrastructure projects here.

Our last property crisis occurred five years ago, so be optimistic and be more conscientious in choosing a house with abundant facilities and good accessibility to the main city or invest in an apartment located in the CBD area.

B8

www.thepresidentpost.com

| April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Maritime

Indonesia Needs to Integrate Land and Sea Transportation Modes...

One of the reasons why Indonesian products have difficulty competing in the global market is a tragic lack of integrated transportation system.

Even inside the country there is a serious lack of integration of transportation modes which is to blame for the high logistical cost now accounting for 24.6 percent of the GDP.

BY PITAN DASLANI

D

evelopment of roads, for instance, generally does not take into account the need to connect with industrial and production centers which is why distributors have to add the huge cost of land transport to their bulk and retail prices to be eventually born by consumers. Inventory cost is another burden that container owners would add to the end prices of their goods.

Logically, all roads built after President Joko Widodo launched the Maritime Axis plan must be oriented toward harbors in the sense that there needs to be access roads linking industrial and production centers to the harbors, which is not the case today.

The reason is because in developing new roads, contractors usually have problems with land clearance and it is not easy to clear land for building access roads from production centers to the sea.

This is one of the reasons why the Maritime Axis plan is having difficulty making headway. But so long as this situation does not change, the plan may not be easily realized because retail prices of any commodity transported through the sea will remain high.

Under the Maritime Axis plan, the President intends to build what calls Tol Laut or maritime toll route through which products from industrial and distri-

bution centers would be shipped across the country at prices that are similar to factory prices—an improvement of the current situation where the farther away from their production bases the higher the prices of industrial goods would be.

That Maritime Axis plan, however, has yet to be synchronized with the law on Sislognas (national logistic system), because it is not yet protected by any law so far which consequently means that the next President could abort it and implement his own plan, pretty similar to former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Masterplan for Acceleration of Development or MP3EI which once was well accepted but has now gone into history.

In the absence of a law on Maritime Axis plan, the only set of legal guidelines is the law on Sislognas which calls for development of a maritime transportation system under which goods from small harbors in regencies would transported to provincial harbors and then shipped abroad through only two international harbors yet to be completed, namely Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra and Bitung in North Sulawesi.

The Sislognas mechanism itself has been widely criticized because many believe that it would only create a bottleneck because only two harbors are designated as the main gateways for exportimport activities. This is not in line with ASEAN maritime transportation plan under which 47

harbors in the region are designated as point-to-point shipment hubs, 14 of which are in Indonesian territory.

In other words, before ever talking about how to continue implementing the Maritime Axis plan, the government needs to put it under a legal umbrella for long-term development and revise the Sislognas law to be in line with the ASEAN maritime transportation system that went into effect in January this year.

One major problem in developing the Maritime Axis plan is a lack of full understanding of the maritime transportation system itself. The Sislognas law was apparently produced by technocrats and lawmakers who lacked experience in the field.

For instance, the stipulations of the law that regulate shipment of goods in stages from regency to provincial harbors and then to the two gateways in North Sumatra and North Sulawesi would only create additional cost and is actually contradictory to global shipment trend in which bigger rather than smaller cargo ships are being built to transport bigger volumes of goods across the world.

Big cargo ships can only enter Indonesian waters if there are deep sea ports to berth at. Only Kuala Tanjung and New Tanjung Priok in Kali Baru, North Jakarta, meet this requirement so far; the rest are harbors with shallow waters that cannot accommodate big cargo ships.

Consequently, such cargo ships from major countries would only berth at Singapore harbor and Indonesian exports to various destinations around the world would need to be transshipped through the island republic with additional cost, rendering Indonesian goods uncompetitive in the global market.

Even at home the government is struggling to bring down logistical cost to reduce retail prices of all kinds of commodity being sold on various islands.

But logistical cost accounts for only about 30 percent of the whole cost of cargo transportation. The biggest culprit so far has been uncertainty over the amount of time needed for cargo shipsto unload.

Such uncertainty causes cargo owners to pay extra amount of money and they would add the cost to their retail prices as a result. This is called inventory cost, which is a big nuisance to importers and distributors but no effective policy has been put in place to abolish it.

In other words, before ever talking about how to continue implementing the Maritime Axis plan, the government needs to put it under a legal umbrella for long-term development and revise the Sislognas law to be in line with the ASEAN maritime transportation system that went into effect in January this year.”

At present many cargo ships spend more time berthing at harbors than sailing back to their ports of loading. Sometimes they spend two weeks only for unloading before sailing off again.

But worse still is the inventory problem. Some containers were known to have remained at Tanjung Priok harbor for months awaiting permits to be cleared.

The long period of waiting, known to harbor operators as “dwell time deviation standard”, is the primary cause of uncertainty which distorts distribution

plans of many companies in the domestic market.

Maritime transportation observers are wondering why logistical and inventory costs still cannot be reduced despite the fact that harbor regulators and operators have divided the work under Law No. 17/2008 which amended Law Number17/1992 on streamlining of harbor operations.

Under Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, Port Authority (PA) has now been assigned to act as regulator because it is part of the government; whereas PT Pelindo I, II, III, and IV have now been assigned as operators that must comply with regulations of the PA. But Pelindo leaders have said that PA should not be allowed to do such business as managing harbor projects, because Pelindo comprises state-owned corporations which have better capacity to do business. Pelindo leaders insist that PA should remain as regulator and not be assigned to perform as a money machine.

The Transportation Ministry has introduced the right policy, at least for the time being,in trying to bring down the high logistical and inventory costs, yet the desired outcome has not come to sight. Prices in eastern part of Indonesia are still as high as ever before. In Papua for instance, a bag of cement could sell at Rp1.2 million whereas in Java it is only one tenth of the price.

President Widodo’s plan to build the maritime toll route would link Belawan and Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra to Jakarta, Tanjung Emas in Semarang, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Makassar, and Bitungin North Sulawesi (and later to Sorong in Papua).

Pelindo II was planning to build an international harbor in Sorong before Lino was implicated in the legal case. Whether his successor would continue the plan is a good question yet to be answered.

But even after the maritime toll route is in place, there is no guarantee that goods being shipped through it would sell at lower prices in many parts of the country. The reason is that land transportation cost remains unnecessarily high due to a lack of integration of transportation modes. Scarcity of access roads from production centers to the harbors complicates the problem further.

In Jakarta, for instance, what is happing today is that huge containers are transported through heavily congested roads to Tanjung Priok harbor but their trucks would return empty only to worsen the city’s unsolvable traffic congestion.

Up to 70 percent of containers to be shipped through Tanjung Priok actually comes from industrial and distribution centers in the eastern part of the city, so there needs to be special land routes similar to busway and inland waterways for these containers to go through, which is not the case today.

Before Lino was removed from Pelindo II, he had put in motion a plan to invest Rp6 trillion (not from State budget) to take over 45 percent of the Cakung-Cibitung toll road project and build a 40 kilometer inland waterway with an investment of over Rp 1 trillion. These two modes would connect production centers in Cikarang and Bekasi to TanjungPriok harbor.

The slow motion of the government in establishing an integrated transportation system means that Indonesian goods will continue to have difficulty competing even in the domestic market. Because even though logistical and inventory costs can be brought down significantly and dwell time reduced to 5.5 days from seven previously, still the high cost of land transportation to harbors would continue to render local products uncompetitive in the market.

...and to Develop World-Class Harbors Indonesia’s plan to develop 27 harbors as worldclass facilities is a good move but it is too small an attempt to raise the country’s competitiveness given the fact that the Rp 70 trillion allocated for the projects is too small to rely on, maritime analysts say.

BY PITAN DASLANI

Indonesia’s plan to develop 27 harbors as world-class facilities is a good move but it is too small an attempt to raise the country’s competitiveness given the fact that the Rp 70 trillion allocated for the projects is too small to rely on, maritime analysts say.

The budget may only suffice the need of building feeder ports in regencies and provincial capital cities but such a strategy neglects the reality that raising competitiveness requires development of modern world-class harbors instead of feeder facilities, they add.

Sources at PT Pelindo II which is developing New Tanjung Priok Harbor in Kali Baru, North Jakarta, say that the international facility, whose first stage of development has been completed, itself requires Rp 50 trillion in foreign investment which the company obtained from a consortium of six foreign banks and huge corporations arranged by the Deutsche Bank.

Modern harbors that meet world-class standards would not only comprise berthing facilities but would also include real-time integrated monitoring system whereby container owners would be able to track the exact locations of the ships carrying their freights.

With the total sum of Rp 70 trillion, upgrading of the 27 harbors may not reach the level of

competitiveness needed to beat the competition even within the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) whose 2015 Maritime Transportation Vision encourages direct point-to-point shipment of goods within the region, involving 47 harbors, 14 of which are in Indonesia.

The sources say, on condition of anonymity, that such a sum is too small to build harbors that can beat the facilities, technology, and services provided by Malaysia’s Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas, or the sophistication of harbors found in Singapore, Shanghai and the nine other international ports in China, as well as South Korea’s Busan —which President Joko Widodo has visited.

In order to raise the competitiveness of Indonesian goods, what is needed most is development of international harbors that can accommodate large cargo ships with huge volumes of freight.

That would require a much bigger investment fund than has been earmarked for the 27 harbors. If Indonesia would have 27 harbors with the same capacity as New Tanjung Priok, it needs an investment of Rp 1,350 trillion, which obviously cannot be derived from the limited state budget. This amount is more than half the 2015 state budget.

So, the government needs to raise Rp 5,500 trillion to upgrade infrastructure over the next five years, as the President has an-

nounced, with Rp1,350 trillion of that going for harbor development. The rest could be used to improve other basics such as electricity, access roads to industrial centers, as well as human resource and service quality improvement.

During his trip to China to attend an APEC Summit meeting last year, President Joko Widodo reportedly agreed with the Chinese investors’ plan to develop 22 of the 27 harbors and he later offered the other five to investors from other countries including South Korea.

But there seems to be some kind of political nuance attached to his China approach, now that he has introduced what he calls a Maritime Axis plan.

On one hand this approach would lead to China, Korea, and European countries competing to invest in Indonesia’s maritime infrastructure development.

On the other, however, some observers have argued this could arouse the long-dormant fear of Chinese domination and revive the specter of a JakartaBeijing axis, which former president Soekarno used to threaten America’s then perceived hegemony over East Asia.

Power balance aside, the key issue here is not that those 22 projects would reportedly be run

by China; instead, it’s Joko’s acceptance of the Chinese offer to use the Silk Road, connecting various key ports in China with the rest of Asia, Africa, and Europe without first strengthening interisland connectivity to raise domestic competitiveness.

When Indonesia integrates its rudimentary Maritime Axis with a well-developed Chinese Silk Road, China will benefit far more than Indonesia rather than the other way around, political and economic observers have argued.

This is because Indonesian merchant ships will export mainly raw and semi-finished materi-

al to China and will return with ship-loads of Chinese finished industrial goods to flood the Indonesian market even more abundantly.

The Silk Road and ASEAN free-trade zone will provide China with an even greater opportunity to flood the Indonesian market with its finished products that will cripple local producers who already have difficulty competing, even at home.

That outcome would run counter to the President’s own intention to revive Soekarno’s Trisakti policy, which he had used to attract voters during the presidential campaign, namely political sovereignty, economic independence and cultural dignity.

A better way to implement the Trisakti policy is to not hurriedly integrate the Maritime Axis plan with the Chinese Silk Road but to substantiate the theory of Pendulum Nusantara (pendulum of the archipelago) which seeks to promote national equity by moving the epicenter of development activities from the western half of Indonesia to the central and eastern parts.

The pendulum of development activities has rested in the western half Indonesia for too long since 1969, triggering progress in Java and Sumatra but the rest of the country remains underdeveloped.

This is part of the reason transportation cost doubles and even triples in central and eastern Indonesia rendering higher prices in those areas against their low purchasing power, while the flow of people goes to the western half of the country.

Scarcity of capable human resources to develop eastern Indonesia, be it in the bureaucracy and the private sector, is a logical consequence of this long-held wrong policy. Traffic congestion on Java’s roads is another outcome of such concentration, causing huge consumption of

fuel, air pollution, health hazards and social crimes.

Socio-economic discrepancies that taxes so much of the government’s attention could best be solved by sharing the burden in the west with the central and eastern part of Indonesia. To do this, the first priority is to develop all the harbors from Sumatra to Papua in line with the ASEAN Economic Community’s maritime transportation direction.

Under the AEC scheme, at least 47 harbors in Indonesia will be opened for the free flow of goods, but whether Indonesia will get the most benefit depends of the quality of its harbor services which certainly needs technology sophistication, remains to be seen.

Various commodities shipped from and to these 47 harbors will create enormous traffic that will open up new business opportunities, but at the same time add pressure to member nations caught unprepared.

During Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s era, the Ministry of Transportation had purchased harbor integration technology, known as Inaportnet. The costly facility has so far been futile as it has been dormant and it appears no one knows what to do with it.

It’s still not clear whether the current transportation minister, Ignasius Jonan, will put this to good use —but he has no other option, if improving harbor service quality is the way to raise Indonesia’s competitiveness.

For Inaportnet to function effectively the quality of all the harbors must be upgraded to meet international standard.

This would create budget and time efficiencies while facilitating the monitoring of exports and imports and the movements of ships in real time. It also enables port service synchronization, trimming the backlog of container traffic and logistics cost.

But for Inaportnet to func-

tion effectively, the quality and service of all the major harbors connected to it must be elevated to the same level. This requires upgrading of harbor facilities and the skills of workers, which would require new investments.

Indonesia’s logistics cost of 24.6 percent of percent of gross domestic product, must become Joko’s first priority, maritime observers say.

It is this shortfall that is to blame for Indonesian-made goods’ inability to compete against foreign products even in the domestic market.

An inter-ministerial coordination body needs to be set up with its chief having the authority to report directly to the president, so that red tape and illegal levies across the ministries and their down-line institutions can be abolished to energize industrial competitiveness.

A lack of such inter-ministerial coordination body is the reason why logistic and inventory costs remains prohibitively high while dwell time averages at 5.5 days compared to 24 hours in Singapore and 2.5 days in Malaysia.

All these discrepancies have continued to make Indonesian good uncompetitive, the reason why people are buying foreign goods day and night. Even salt, coconuts, cassava and corn consumed in Indonesia’s major cities are coming from abroad.

For the world’s largest archipelago with 70 percent of its territory made up of water to import salt is a big nuisance to logic, yet the reality has no remedy as yet.

For a nation of 17,000 islands to be passed through by 45 percent of global shipping while getting nothing in return is another puzzle.

Pitan Daslani is a senior journalist based in Jakarta.

He can be reached at pitandaslani@gmail.com

www.thepresidentpost.com

April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | B9

Interview

PLN: The 35,000MW Project is on Track pln.co.id

For the sake of the Indonesian people’s welfare, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has set a target of developing 35,000MW electrical power plants throughout the country.

Many were pessimistic about this target because in the past the government had not been able to meet its previous target of building even 10,000MW power plants.

economic development needs to be boosted.

In the past 10 months, what can be said to be the Cabinet’s most important achievement in the field of electricity?

What is most encouraging is the electrification of 50 border islands which represent Indonesia’s face in the eyes of our neighboring countries. This program was instructed by the President in the first Cabinet meeting 10 months ago. Thank God we were able to implement it on time.

How is the development of the 35.000MW program so far?

Several achievements have been quite gratifying. The most important symbol is the start-up of Batang’s electrical plant which has been delayed for four years.

Besides Batang, there have also been several other suspended projects which we have started, including in South Sumatra, Batam, Bali, East Kalimantan, West Sumatra and West Java.

BY MEUTIA FEBRINA

I

ndonesia’s electricity is in a state of emergency. These may be the correct words to describe the country’s current electricity situation. In the beginning of his term, President Jokowi set a target of building 35,000MW electrical power plants within five years. Of the 35,000MW, 25,000MW was to be developed by the private sector and the rest, 10,000 MW, by state electricity company PLN. However, in the end PLN revised its target to only 5,000MW. PLN President Director Sofyan Basir says he is optimistic that the 35,000MW project will work out. He dismissed all criticisms aimed at him related to the project. “Difficult does not mean it’s impossible, right? This will be our challenge,” said Sofyan at the Parliament some time ago.

Behind the reason to develop electrical power plants is the fact that various parts of Indonesia still suffer shortage of electricity.

Thus, they often suffer periods of blackouts. With the targeted amount of additional electricity, Indonesia hopes to be free from blackouts—there will no longer be any areas without light.

One of those who outspokenly rejected the development of 35,000 MW electrical plants is Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Rizal Ramli. He believes a realistic target for a period of five years is only 16,167MW. PLN’s Portion Reduced Electricity Development Program Director Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Alihuddin Sitompul said PLN’s portion in the 35,000MW project is only

serve margin is less than 30%.

Out of 24 main electrical systems in Indonesia only eigth are normal (the reserve is 25%). Five systems are in an alert status with a reserve of not even 15%, whereas the rest, 10 systems, are in a deficit condition with no reserve at all, in fact minus.

What about the remaining 7,000MW which is part of PTP 1?

Sixty percent of the power supply project has reached 85%, which means most of them will be operational in the following months. We are expecting and have been working hard to reach it by last year. Around 3,700MW of the remaining 7,000 MW will be operational. Also many transmission projects and PLN powerhouses will be officially opened in the near future. Everything is moving as fast as possible.

What does the 35,000MW electrical development program means to the public?

First of all, to pursue the electrification ratio means increasing the number of households having access to electricity. The next stage is to provide electricity which allows the public to increase its use. In the next five years, we are developing and should be developing various facilities and infrastructures such as 68 hospitals, 5,600 community health centers, thousands of schools and campus, 24 harbors, crossing harbors in 60 location, crossing facilities in 450 locations, 15 new airfields, and 3,258km of railway tracks. The focus of development will be in underdeveloped areas where its

How certain will the Program meets its target in 2019?

Nobody said this is an easy undertaking. We should be optimistic and thrive to reach its target.

All efforts and creativity should be mobilized. Investment interest in electricity at whatever scale is very high. The tariff stipulated is very attractive. Regulations and permits are continuously being reorganized and made easy.

Indeed, the project organization should be strengthened from time to time, also the availability of investment funds. If everything goes well, all construction initiative for this 35,000MW project should start by 2017. It is estimated 70 percent of the 35,000 MW program can be operational by 2019.

PLN President Director Sofyan Basir says he is optimistic that the 35,000MW project will work out. He dismissed all criticisms aimed at him related to the project.

around 5,000MW. Based on the 2015-2024 provision of electricity project plans, PLN’s portion is actually 10,000MW. Thus the decrease in portion will be inserted in the revised 2015-2024 plan.

“At the moment PLN’s portion is still 10,000MW. Later it will be 5,000MW in the revised plan,” Alihuddin said in Jakarta.

Alihuddin said minimizing PLN’s portion will no doubt increase the independent power producers’ (IPP) participation. In the beginning IPPs were allocated 25,000MW, but as PLN’s portion has been reduced, IPPs present target is 30,000MW. He said the change is based on the directive of Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said. By minimizing PLN’s portion, PLN can focus in the development of transmission lines.

“PLN’s job is to follow the government’s instructions,” he Kalla.

After experiencing all the ups and downs related to the electrical power plant development, PLN finally voiced their plans.

The following is PLN chief’s artic-

ulation on the development of the 35,000MW power plants project.

How urgent is the development of 35,000MW electrical power plants for Indonesia?

8.5 million household, 2,519 villages and 136 sub districts have not received electricity. For those who have received electricity, the rate of electricity consumption per capita in Indonesia is only one-fifth of Malaysia’s or one-tenth of Singapore’s. At the moment the installed capacity is 53,535MW. If we want to maintain economic growth, our electricity should grow an average of 8.7 percent per annum. Many have advised it is better to overinvest and avoid being in a situation where we are continuously trying to catch up with the public’s electrical needs.

If so, is it true that our electricity situation is in a critical state?

By definition, the National Energy Council has concluded our electricity situation is now in a crisis. A crisis is when the re-

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is Most-Ready Nation to Apply Nuclear Energy TPP/Rians Rivco

“Nuclear energy can be helpful in providing electricity for this nation. Besides more efficient, it is also renewable” said, Hendri Firman Windarto, M.Eng., secretary general of the energy council Wantannas in an interview with The President Post.

The issue is also consistent with President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) vision to have 35,000MW of electricity in place by 2019. However, the subject leaves many with the question whether or not this type of renewable energy is suitable for the nation.

As a matter of fact, nuclear as the producer of clean, safe, and cheap energy is not included as a contributing factor to attain that goal of 35,000MW. In broad outline, the government pushes the state electricity company PLN and the private sector to build 109 power plants, comprising 35 projects handled by the PLN with the total capacity of 10,681MW and 74 projects by the private sector (Independent Power Producers) amounting to 25,904MW. In the government’s long-term national planning (RPJPN) the target is to have four Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Nuklir (nuclearpowered power plants or PLTN) by the year of 2024. However, the execution of the plan has been dragging along as certain parties prefer fossil-based power plants.

In the 1960s President Soekarno had a blueprint to build a nuclear reactor to produce electricity. In 1964 a nuclear reac-

Hendri Firman Windarto, M.Eng., secretary general of the energy council Wantannas.

tor was built in Bandung, West Java, followed by another two so that at present the nation has three reactors for research, namely in Bandung (2MW), Yogya, Central Java (100 KW), and Serpong, West Java (35MW).

Indonesia is the country in Southeast Asia that is most ready to apply nuclear technology. The state-run nuclear agancy BATAN has for 30 years prepared and studied all the risks and positive implications of applying nuclear energy to produce electricity. Indonesia has also the most trained nuclear experts in terms of number among ASEAN members as the country has three reactors and other facilities.

From a geopolitical point of view, it will also make Indonesia a powerful nation in Southeast Asia, as according to Hendri, “History has shown that no country with nuclear power has ever been attacked by another country”.

“If we are strong geopolitically, our bargaining position in making economic deals with other countries is strong” added Hendri.

In 1975, BATAN and the Public Works and Electricity Ministry concluded that a PLTN will be built and centralized in Java and Bali. Several studies were conducted with the help of Italy, France, Japan and other countries. The international atomic

agency IAEA also gave a positive evaluation on Indonesia’s nuclear infrastructure.

In the realm of agricuture, nuclear energy has been applied by farmers in Indonesia. The center of isotope and radiation application agency of BATAN, PAIR, has been able to produce superior seeds and developed the applications of nuclear technology for the benefit of the Indonesan people.

Indeed, it takes huge amount of funds to buid a PLTN. But in the long term, nuclear energy is the cheapest energy on a kilowatt-hour basis. A nuclear reactor that is operational for 40 years can produce electricty for $.04 per kilowatt-hour, while a fossil-based plant costs twice as much.

It takes eight years to build a PLTN with a capacity of 1000MW and it does not require much land as opposed to what is required by fossil-based nuclear plants.

Land Clearing The speed with which a PLTN can be built depends on clearance of land. A PLTN does not require much space, the space taken up by the power plant in Paiton, Purbalingga, could accommodate seven nuclear reactors producing 7000MW. Public Support for PLTN It is often said that the Indonesian public fears nuclear technology, which was compounded by the Fukushima incident

in 2011. As widely reported, the Fukushima incident is due to the mismanagement of the cooling reactor in the wake of the tsunami that hit the reactor. The reactor became extremely heated as there was no spare battery to cool it. Moreover, it turns out that the reactor in Fukushima was already 40 years old, the age limit of such a power plant.

Now, the awareness of the Indonesian public on the benefits of a PLTN has considerably risen.

A study by Sigma Research in October-November 2015 shows that 75% of the public in 34 provinces approve a PLTN. This means that three out of four Indonesians wish to see a PLTN built, the majority of which comes from outside Java, especially Sumatra and Sulawesi, who often experience blackouts.

This means that compared to the year before, public support has risen by 3,3%.

“71.4% of respondents accept the idea of building a PLTN as they have had enough of blackouts,” said Prima.

Moreover, the public is receptive to the idea as it will open jobs by 44% and that PLTNs do not cause pollution.

If studies by experts support the establishment of a PLTN, and the public supports the idea, what is preventing the country from going nuclear?

According to nuclear expert Mutti Anggita, “the nature of the main obstacle to the nuclear program is political, not technical.”

www.thepresidentpost.com

B10 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Regulation

Living With Indonesian Law It is worthwhile to repeat some basics from time to time. And there are always newcomers to Indonesia who may benefit from an outline of what may be quite familiar to the experienced.

BY PETER FANNING Vice President IABC, Hutabarat Halim & Rekan

The Legal System Two things confront foreign investors coming to Indonesia – an (almost) unique language, and a legal system that is different from that with which investors with a common law background are familiar (or think they are). On the surface, these two factors can combine to suggest that there are more difficulties than actually exist.

On the one hand, most Indonesians in business and government have a better understanding of English than investors have of Indonesian and can help.

On the other hand, the principles behind commercial law are generally universal. But there are some specifics in Indonesia’s laws which need to be followed.

So with a bit of patience, the superficial difficulties can be dealt with.

More of the world uses the Civil Law system which Indonesia uses, than uses the common law system. This, in spite of the fact that the strident advocates of common law – who draft many of the documents apply-

ing to transactions in Indonesia – would have you believe otherwise.

The Civil Law system has a far older pedigree, dating back to the Roman Empire.

In 534 AD (100 years before the Prophet was codifying Islamic Law) Emperor Justinian (in then Constantinople now Istanbul) consolidated 400 years of Roman Law into a single set of codes. These laws dated from the time of Emperor Hadrian (the wag who built a wall on the Western edge of the Roman Empire to keep golf balls out of Britain - or more probably unruly Scotsmen generally). The Western Roman Empire had collapsed by the time of Justinian under the onslaught from northern European tribes.

When global commerce began to develop (and the Italians were leaders in enabling legal and commercial instruments to be developed) the University of Bologna began, in the 1000s, to teach Justinian’s Code to assist in establishing basic principles for commercial conduct.

A line of inheritance can be traced from Justinian’s Code through the Dutch Civil Code to today’s so-called Indonesian Civil Code (and other codes). And I say ‘so-called’ because while Dutch law was inherited by Indonesia, the intention was that it would have been updated more thoroughly than has been the case, or even completely replaced by now. On the contrary, and perhaps because it was intended

to be replaced, there is not even an official Indonesian translation of those parts of the Dutch Codes still in use.

This is not to say that the commercial principles behind such fundamental actions as forming a contract or leasing are flawed – far from it – but that the litigation structure within which contracts are enforced must be updated and adapted (and so, cleaned up).

Contracting Talking about contracting, the differential factors referred to at the top of this article combined with people who pretend to know what they are talking about but do not, leads to a lot of misunderstandings.

The essentials for there to be a contract under Indonesian law are very simple: a. Consent of the parties (that is, genuine agreement) b. Parties with the capacity to agree c. A subject which is definable, and d. A purpose which is lawful.

That’s it in a nutshell, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

There are NO general requirements for there to be a basic agreement that it be in writing, that it be signed, that it be witnessed, or that it be in notarial deed form. You will hear all these claimed as essentials, but they are not. What these add is evidentiary value, and are sometimes required for specific types of agreements.

The very best evidence that an agreement exists, is if a person approved by government as a notary drafts and witnesses the signing of the agreement and produces a copy of the agreement with certification that he has witnessed the parties sign

the original (which the notary retains in his records). While there are some transactions for which agreement in notarial deed form is required, this is otherwise a matter of choice.

As for duty stamps, these simply satisfy an administrative requirement.

Notarial Deeds The copy of an agreement which the notary makes and certifies and provides is what we call a notarial deed. What it is, is evidence which need not be queried by anyone that an agreement was made between the parties named. As part of the process of making the deed the notary has checked and thereby certifies that the parties are who they say they are, that they have the authority to do what they are doing, and that what they are agreeing is legal. The notary is making no comment on the commercial terms.

The deed therefore is first class evidence that an agreement has taken place. But it is no more an agreement than is a shake of hands. The problem with a shake of hands is that if one party chooses to deny that an agreement exists, the other party has little chance of proving otherwise.

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Amending Draft Deeds Some attending signings of notarial deeds may be nervous that the notary makes last-minute changes to the original only in pencil (not ink). (The final certification will always state at the end how many such changes were made). The origin of this tradition (as I understand it) is that notarial deeds used to be individually typed or carefully hand-written (before word-pro-

On the other hand, the principles behind commercial law are generally universal.

But there are some specifics in Indonesia’s laws which need to be followed. So with a bit of patience, the superficial difficulties can be dealt with. cessing changed our way of life).

So at a signing the notary would write any changes in pencil, then later put the document back into the big ol’ Remington and type in the changes, then erase the pencil marks. So there would be minimum marks on the final original. Now of course the final changes and made in the notary’s electronic copy before the final is printed, and what you receive has the changes included in what appears to be the original text. But the tradition of penciling the changes in the original as signed remains.

I hope this helps you understand your environment better.

The Phenomenon of The KITA P The KITAP: A blessing in disguise and the final gateway to Indonesia

Belanja di Toko

The government requires that for legal certainty, certain agreements must be reproduced in notarial deed form. Principal among these, and the ones that you will often come across most, are agreements to establish and amend a limited liability company, and agreements to buy and sell land. There are others of course.

What the notary provides to you in such cases is a document which is a certified ‘copy’ (salinan) of the original which the notary saw you (or your attorney) sign. The notary always retains the actual original which you signed.

And you can always have a notary simply witness your own documents – but that does not make the document a notarial deed.

There is much to say and much being said about the KITAP (Kartu Izin Tinggal Tetap), the Permanent Stay Permit for foreigners living in Indonesia. It is relatively unknown, but mostly misunderstood and/or misinterpreted. This article tries to clear the air around this permit which, after all hurdles are taken, is actually your license to enjoying remarkable Indonesia permanently.

The Indonesian Immigration Law No. 6/2011 rules the KITAP in a few paragraphs only, where it explains who (no. 54) and when you qualify (no. 60), how long it is valid (no. 59) and who is given a right to work (no. 61). But how long does it take to get it, what are the benefits, and what does it cost? Over the years the questions and answers regarding the KITAP have lead to a quite complete view of this phenomenon.

Who qualifies for a KITAP? • The Expat (spouse) who is married to an Indonesian national • The Investor or main shareholder of Indonesian companies (PT PMA) • The Top Employees of a company, in general the Directors and Commissioners • The Retiree (55+), who wants to stay and get really old in Indonesia • The Former Indonesian Citizen, who wants to regain his old citizenship When do they qualify for the KITAP? • The spouse as soon as the marriage has passed two years and after getting the KITAS first!

• Investors, top employees and retirees after they obtained a KITAS for three consecutive years.

• The former Indonesian qualifies immediately.

How long is a KITAP valid?

The period is five years and if the status of the expat doesn’t change, it will automatically be extended after those five years and one only need to apply again.

(Note: In the event the marriage has lasted ten years, the KITAP continues for life, even when divorced after ten years!)

Do you have the right to work?

Based on Article 61 of the Immigration Law, only the spouse sponsored KITAP holder has the right to work and this is clearly stipulated. The law wants the Expat to be able to earn a living for his family.

The Expat can choose to work as a sole entrepreneur (and avoid the hassle and dazzle of the IMTA, the work permit) or decide to work for a company as an employee and obtain that IMTA. In such cases the company will become the sponsor for just the work permit only, while the Indonesian spouse will remain the sponsor for the (KITAP).

What about the Expat director married to an Indonesian national?

If this Expat is being appointed as a director of a company he automatically has the right to work and doesn’t need article 61.

The deed or Articles of Association, mentioning his position, is enough to get him a work permit.

If one can choose between the company or the spouse as a sponsor of the KITAP, the spouse is preferred; in cases of employment issues you might lose the IMTA, but you keep the KITAP. How do you get the KITAP? 1. If you are eligible, by first gathering all required documents/attachments (see below). This is already causing a major hurdle since many documents appear not to be valid anymore or even not available yet. Many government institutions need to be visited to obtain the right documents.

2. The second step is the actual submission of the KITAP application and attachments with Immigration and visit the three levels of Immigration Local (Kanim), Regional (Kanwil) and National (Dirjen) on the way.

3. The KITAP process demands a third step. One must obtain a local police registration (STM) and an ID card (SKTT) with the local City Hall.

Which documents are needed?

Lots of them! In general the following paperwork is needed: 1. If the spouse acts as the sponsor: • Passport • Kitas card • Current Civil registrations (STM, SKTT) • Marriage documents (certificate, books, registrations) • ID of Indonesian spouse • Family card of the spouse • Letter of Domicile (LOD) • Sponsor and request letters

• Request letter for change KITAS to KITAP • Application form (Note: In the event there is no spouse sponsored KITAS yet, this needs to be obtained first) 2. If the company acts as sponsor (for the Investor, Director or Commissioner): • Passport • KITASs, IMTAs, SKTT of last three years • Deed and Ministerial Approval • Tax ID • Tax ID and KTP of Indonesian HR manager • Business registration • Business License • Yearly report of employees (WLK) • Companies Foreign Workers Employment Plan (RPTKA) • DPKK funds payment proof (the yearly US$1,200) • Work permit (IMTA) How long does it take?

If all the required documents are submitted, only 8 to 12 weeks for a standard case. A standard case is a case where all required documents (see above!) are available. It is actually an almost automatic and smooth process if all attachments needed are present.

What are the benefits of the KITAP? • A five-year valid stay permit • A two-year valid MERP (the travel permit) • An Indonesian ID (KTP, 5 years valid) • An Indonesian driver’s license (SIM, 5 years valid) • Obtain bank accounts, credit cards and even loans • Get local prices, when booking a 4-5 star hotel How much does it cost?

To give an indication for the whole KITAP process for a standard case: 1. Rp.40.500,000 based on a marriage, former citizenship or for a retiree 2. Rp.45.000,000 based on a company sponsorship.

These prices include all government dues and agency fees.

For various formalities agencies carry all different prices. Depending on the availability of the documents needed, to be able to submit an application that will be approved, the price can be increased.

The information given above is based on the experience of having completed hundreds of successful KITAP applications.

www.thepresidentpost.com

B12 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

SME beritadaerah.co.id

INUMKINDO Secretary General Waluyo Sukadiman said that the role of the informal sector is predominated by cooperatives and UKM (small- and medium-businesses.

INUMKINDO Revives the Ideals of Bung Hatta paradepok.com

Cooperatives are our tradition of togetherness or Indonesia’s form of true democracy much needed by our community, especially the small people with little capital in their hands. Its historical journey is closely asociated to its founder, Mohamad Hatta, Indonesia’s first vice president, a Dutch-trained economist considered to be Indonesia’s Father of Cooperatives.

Cooperatives are cited in the nation’s constitution, Undangundang Dasar 1945. Thanks to Bung Hatta, cooperatives are the political economy of the people of Indonesia, a form of resistance against the political economy of foreign capitalists that are individualistic and monopolistic.

“Cooperatives are often misused as rent-seekers,” Hisyam Ahmad, Senior Advisor of Induk Usaha Kecil Menengah Indonesia (INUMKINDO, an association of small- and medium- businesses), told The President Post, Wednesday (30/03).

According to Hisyam, cooperatives are the driving force of the economies of European and African countries. “Governments obtain development funds for infrastructure and others from cooperatives,” he said.

Meanwhile, INUMKINDO Secretary General Waluyo Sukadiman said that the role of the informal sector is predominated by cooperatives and UKM (smalland medium-businesses. “When Indonesia faced the economic crisis of 1998, the informal sector was helpful as our population is large,” he said.

The informal sector is also the backbone of the economies of developed nations such as Japan, Singapore and others, he said.

The number of Indonesia’s UKM players or entrepreneurs in Indonesia is less than 1% of the population. ”Indonesia lags behind Malaysia where the figure is 2% of its population,” he disclosed.

On October 28, 2015 INUMKINDO was set up by 11 UKM players from various sectors, who seek to improve future generations of UKM and are concerned about the progress of Indonesia’s people’s economy that is increasingly a source of concern. ”We see ourselves as a nonprofit association dedicated to bolster the social and moral education of the people of Indonesia,” said Waluyo.

INUMKINDO sets to prioritize the government-supported Food Self-sufficiency Program. ”In the next 20-25 years the world will be discussing food and energy,” he said.

INUMKINDO will also assist UKM players with financing. “We assist cooperatives in obtaining funds, we are not difficult and and not discriminative. We are easily accessible under the condition that they will be trained once they are members” said Waluyo.

Waluyo said they will be educated to be aware that funds provided by INUMKINDO must be returned so that future generations can make good use of them. “The next training is specific in nature and in accordance with the members’ respective line of business, such as training farmers to boost their production” said Waluyo.

The use of funds obtained by members may not deviate from the system. “For example, a hide tanner can only use the funds for matters pertaining to hides,” he said.

INUMKINDO presently prioritizes UKM players in the field of food, such as agriculture, forestry and fishery, and provides knowledge on post-harvest technology.

In essence, INUMKINDO presently prioritizes UKM players in the field of food, such as agriculture, forestry and fishery, and provides knowledge on post-harvest technology. “We also plan to educate and guide UKM players to pay back the funds they obtained,”he added.

INUMKINDO plans to set up Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on how to become members. “No charges will be imposed on member registraion,” said Waluyo.

Waluyo said INUMKINDO faces obstacles in settling legal and organizational issues. “We cooperate with BI, OJK and other bodies, but we have not declare ourselves as we have not yet obtained the commitent of the government,” he said.

“The most crucial aspects are

participants’ selection and educating them before obtaining funding,” he added.

INUMKINDO is now preparing a team to set up a program on recruitment, selection and education. “The next step is obtaining recommendation for members to go in a particular line of business, and whether or not they qualify to be funded,” said Waluyo.

In channeling funding, INUMKINDO intends to work together with regional organizations. “Our regional organizations will cooperate with existing associations,” he explained.

INUMKINDO will prioritize three pilot projects with potential resources in Java and Bali.

“The nearest is West Java,” he concluded.

We see ourselves as a non-profit association dedicated to bolster the social and moral education of the people of Indonesia.”

Waluyo Sukadiman INUMKINDO Secretary General

www.thepresidentpost.com

April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | B13

Start Up

Indonesian Company Makes Breakthrough in Insurance Apps RajaPremi.com focusses on financial services that provide various auto and personal accident insurances for the Indonesian market.

RajaPremi.com currently partners with several wellknown Indonesian insurance companies such as Asuransi Centra Asia (ACA), Sinar Mas, MNC Insurance, BESS Insurance, AVRIST General Insurance, JAPRO (Asuransi Jaya Proteksi) and ZURICH. RajaPremi.com was pioneered by its three founders, namely Chang Jeh (CJ) as CEO, Keith Chee as CTO, and Margaretha Venny as General Manager.

Chang Jeh (CJ) told The President Post that the inspiration of RajaPremi.com came from his visit to Jakarta.

“When we’re stuck in traffic, our partner asks, what can we do with the number of cars in Jakarta?” said CJ. RajaPremi.com has three main business pillars, namely Insurance, Agents and Customers.

“Insurance provides data analysis, information, agent performances and products, while Agents boost sales and offers better information about their customers, and Customers offers innovative insurance products, individual, groups or SMEs,” said CJ.

“The first thing we did was to find out whether there were online insurance companies in the market, conduct a survey and study the market for six months, made ourselves aware of existing insurance companies offering different fees depending on the products with different features.

It was very complex and not easily understood,” CJ said.

There are local and foreign insurers with different products.

As such, RajaPremi.com wishes to provide transparency in insurance, simplify the products, give education to consumers in order for them to better understand it and provide suitable insurance options.

“Everyone who wants to buy insurance products experienced a situation where they do not really enjoy meeting with insurance agents as they are not all open in providing complete information. There are about 77 insurance providers in Indonesia.

This causes consumers to wonder, is this the best deal I can get?”, he said.

“RajaPremi.com mobile apps solve that problem. We’ll scout 77 insurers, which have the needed products that can be customized according to customers’ needs.

For example car insurance, you can choose what is to be covered, get a replacement car and others.

Our platform can customize just about everything in accordance with the budget and the needs,” he added.

“In 2013 we had the idea and

in 2014 we did a beta run. The first day we get customers, in Bali. Foreign tourists do not have any contacts there, no agents and don’t believe anyone. One person closed a motorbike insurance, and after that we got a number of customers every week,” said CJ. In 2015, CJ revealed that he managed to raise money start a more progressive and active in the market.

“We met with insurance agents to sign up for their products. So far we have 16 insurance providers that are directly in contact with us. We help insurance providers so that agents can use the application to compare with other insurance companies, and conduct online transactions. Yes, we do have very good analytics,” he said.

“Our other value to insurers besides sales is that we also provide data about consumers, consumer profiles, and also offer productivity data from insurance agents. We enhanced the whole industry. We are open to insurers to join RajaPremi.com, but they must be under the supervision of the OJK, have a license, offer the right products and have SOPs,” said CJ. RajaPremi.com grows every month, initially only in major places such as such Jakarta and Bali. But now it is all over Indonesia, which shows that online insurance does not depend on the geography of Indonesia. The other value given to customers who used RajaPremi.com apps is

We have domain experts and have a passion in building a customer base.

Now every month we get 30,000 unique visitors who learn about insurance, seek product info and look for information.”

Chang Jeh Rajapremi.com CEO

they can give feedback about the existing insurance. There is an insurance company review and to improve the services they provide.

The handicap faced by RajaPremi.com is that many people think that this endeavor will not make progress, as the insurance industry should meet directly with the agency and prospective customers. But with the passage of time, two years later, that view has changed.

“We have domain experts and have a passion in building a customer base. Now every month we get 30,000 unique visitors who learn about insurance, seek product info and look for information,” CJ states.

The customer profile in RajaPremi.com is 28-40 years old, more male than female. The most active area is Jakarta.

RajaPremi.com is currently making a group insurance package by providing special packages for groups.

“For example, several months ago we got a request for the “Pancing Ikan” tour involving 160 people for three days. We provide the conditions and they get a unique package. Customers come to us, we look at their needs, we match what they need with our capabilities and then we deliver it to them,” CJ said.

RajaPremi.com also provides “Mudik” insurance package and is working on a package for marathon run participants, of which the number is about 2,000, paid up front. The marathon event is held every month at differents place. The first month was in Bandung, followed by Singapore the next month.

www.thepresidentpost.com

B14 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Metropolitan

Let’s Tweet More to Overcome Jakarta Floods ANTARA FOTO/Vitalis Yogi Trisna

Flooding has become an increasingly severe threat to Jakarta residents of over the years and city planning observers say the problem can only get worse in the years to come unless there is a total overhaul of the city’s spatial planning that involves coordination with neighboring provinces.

BY ALCI TAMESA

Last year for example, more than half a million people were evacuated from their homes, as floods destroyed their properties worth at $453 million, and 80 people died as a result of drowning, electrocution and the inevitable collapse of homes, trees, street lights and other structures.

After being besieged by almost 50 percent more rain than in the previous 2012-2013, at least a third of Jakarta’s streets were submerged during the repeat floods; and once again, the human costs were high.

More than 90,000 people were evacuated from their homes, and 38 people died amid the deluge. In 2014 Jakarta was fortunate enough to escape the torrential downpours of 2007 and 2013, but the challenge still remains up to 2016: How will Jakarta survive its annual flooding in years to come, as population growth remains high, urbanization continues unabated, and climate change continues to deliver intense and unpredictable weather events?

Dr. Etienne Turpin, an urban theorist based at the University of Wollongong in Australia, has been grappling with this question for several years, and has come to the conclusion that if Jakarta’s megacity, Jabodetabek, is to survive the 21st century without a yearly flood massacre, then each of its 28 million citizens must become an active part of the city’s flood defense system, not merely passive spectators to it.

Turpin is a co-director of PetaJakarta.org, a pioneering website that is helping to breathe new life and new technology into Jakarta’s ageing and increasingly inadequate flood defenses.

PetaJakarta.org was officially launched at City Hall in 2015, during a ceremony with Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Mark Gillis of Twitter, and large media fanfare. The project’s mission is to experiment with new ways of improving “urban resilience” in the Indonesian capital, and to promote sustainable adaptation to the effects of climate change.

Speaking to reporters at his project office, Turpin was unequivocal about the existential threat posed by climate change to Jakarta in this century: “Of

all the challenges faced in the 21st century,” he says, “coastal megacities in South and Southeast Asia are under the greatest pressure.”

“If human beings want to continue to live in Jakarta, they are going to need to adapt climate change,” he adds. “This is not just sea level rise, but also erratic, extreme weather and more intense precipitation. No one is coming to fix these climate problems. We have to adapt to avoid fatal consequences.”

Flood prevention may be a noble and necessary enterprise, but with climate change poised to bring to more rain and higher sea levels, mitigation alone is doomed to be a losing battle, observers said. With this in mind, Turpin and his team of researchers saw hope in the potential for ordinary Jakartans to participate in flood detection and share their knowledge through geosocial intelligence.

Such data sharing allows citizens and emergency services to visualize flooding as it happens, so that dangerous inundations can be identified in real time, and damage can be avoided.

“In working with emergency response to extreme weather and climate change, what we want to visualize are things that allow evidence-based help the public to navigate risks and participate in response in a more effective way.”

So how does the platform work, and how can ordinary Jakartans get involved? Quite simply, anyone who owns a smartphone and knows how to tweet is already fully trained and fully qualified.

PetaJakarta.org builds up its database by crowdsourcing flood-related tweets sent from within the Jakarta area, which are then compiled and mapped out in real time using geotagging technology.

Any tweet with the hashtag #banjir (flood) and mentioning @petajkt will be automatically processed to an interactive, live map, which can be accessed for free at PetaJakarta.org.

“This a first-in-the-world partnership, where Twitter is supporting us with direct access to its data, so that users can support emergency response to flooding,” Turpin said.

From a technological point of view, Turpin believes that Twitter offers the “best existing social media infrastructure to assist in civic co-management, and

PetaJakarta.org, a pioneering website that is helping to breathe new life and new technology into Jakarta’s ageing and increasingly inadequate flood defenses. It was officially launched at City Hall in 2015, during a ceremony with Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Mark Gillis of Twitter, and large media fanfare. The project’s mission is to experiment with new ways of improving “urban resilience” in the Indonesian capital, and to promote sustainable adaptation to the effects of climate change.

Dr. Etienne Turpin Co-director of PetaJakarta.org

If human beings want to continue to live in Jakarta, they are going to need to adapt climate change. This is not just sea level rise, but also erratic, extreme weather and more intense precipitation. No one is coming to fix these climate problems. We have to adapt to avoid fatal consequences.”

assist with urban emergency response.”

With more than 10 million Twitter users currently tweeting from Jakarta — more than any other city on Earth — there is perhaps no better place to experiment with a social media-based emergency response platform.

Additionally, Twitter provides the immediacy that can be crucial for disaster response, and is easy to use. “We hope this will become a habit, a kind of social civic responsibility,” Turpin says.

“There’s no app, there’s nothing to download ... You just copy @ petajkt into your tweet when you’re telling someone what’s going on, and then use the map to navigate the floodwaters.”

When asked how the partnership with Twitter and the idea for PetaJakarta.org came about, Turpin responded with an unlikely reference to the famous “Oscars selfie.”

“The most viewed tweet in history had over 3.5 billion impressions ... and it was a selfie from the Oscars!” he says. “We thought: Okay, that’s great, but we could do something more interesting with the social infrastructure of Twitter. We could save lives, not just share selfies of famous people.”

The success or failure of a platform such as PetaJakarta. org depends entirely on ordinary citizens; if the public fails to par-

ticipate, then lives will be put at risk, and preventable deaths are sure to occur. The only alternative left to citizens is to rely entirely on the government for protection from flooding, by building higher walls and tougher embankments.

Like many urban theorists in the age of climate change, Turpin was skeptical about the ability of governments to deliver sustainable and long-term solutions to the effects of climate change unless they engage with citizens.

“Heroic engineering,” as he called it, has reached its sell-by date, and must now give way to more affordable, accessible, and sustainable geosocial intelligence systems that promote cooperation and data sharing between ordinary citizens and emergency services.

“If you ask an engineer what to do about the floods, he’ll say ‘Well, build bigger damns, build bigger canals, just build bigger infrastructure,’” Turpin said.

“But in the context of global climate change, especially in the tropics, bigger infrastructure isn’t the solution. It increases the likelihood of corruption, it often lacks the budget for maintenance, and it fails to address the real cause of the problem.”

Frank Sedlar, a hydraulic engineer and visiting researcher at PetaJakarta.org, shared Turpin’s skepticism on the topic of “heroic

engineering.”

Speaking about the feasibility of Jakarta’s forthcoming Giant Sea Wall, which promises to be the world’s largest and most expensive feat of civic engineering ever attempted, Sedlar said the project “makes perfect sense from a hydraulic engineering point of view, but the only problem is scale.”

The government remains highly supportive of the Giant Sea Wall, both ethically and financially, but Turpin contends that a paradigm shift toward geosocial intelligence can be just as effective as large-scale civic engineering, and can be delivered at a fraction of the cost.

On this point, Turpin argued that the problem is not with floodwater itself, but in the way that ordinary citizens relate to and interact with flooding during an emergency situation.

He stressed that the smartphone that most people carry in their pocket is smarter and more useful than much of the world’s most sophisticated engineering or predictive weather forecasts.

“You don’t need to train a camera how to see, or a gadget how to read the water level, because people can do those things; and people have mobile devices,” he says. “We’ve been developing our human sensors for a few billion years of our evolutionary history, so they are pretty advanced.”

THE TRANS LUXURY HOTEL Warmth. Opulence. Grandeur Introducing Indonesia’s newest luxury hotel, The Trans Luxury Hotel, a sophisticated blend of rich Indonesian tradition with refined contemporary interpretation in the heart of the city of Bandung, the capital of West Java, Indonesia.

S

trategically located in close proximity to the Central Bandung Business District, this iconic 18-storey hotel with 280 guest rooms and Suites is situated at the heart of the Integrated Trans Studio Bandung Complex consisting of a Mall, Asia’s largest In-door Theme Park and an array of Dining and Lifestyle options.

Inaugurated in June 2012 by President of Indonesia Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, The Trans Luxury Hotel sets a new benchmark for luxury hotels in the country with fine attentive service, sumptuous cuisine, and elegant ambience.

Redefining the hospitality landscape in Bandung, its stateof-the-art Contemporary style is richly complemented by exclusively designed architecture pieces. The drop-off area is surrounded by a vertical garden & flowers for butterflies. A beautiful iron lattice work with back light and an iconic chandelier offers arriving guests a very grand entrance.

Guests entering the welcoming Lobby with Serpiente marble from Italy, with dark veins to ensure perfection in design, are greeted with a magnificent 11-meter long Crystal Dragon made of Swarovski crystals, a distinct Royal Symbol. Our experienced staffs are ready to welcome you at reception desks, which showcase hand-painted Chinese art. The drawing took three months to complete and symbolizes Chinese hard work, team synergy (gotong royong) and prosperity.

Luxuriously designed and lavishly appointed guest rooms use the same Italian Serpiente marble, as well as hand-tufted carpeting with patterns specially designed and hand-picked for The Trans Luxury Hotel. All guest rooms and Suites feature

The Trans Luxury Hotel with a warm-water sandy beach pool, a lap pool, a Jacuzzi and kids’ pool with water slide. For parental peace of mind and children’s delight, the Hotel is completed with a Kids Club, where discovery and fun activities wait to give the little ones a unique and adventurepacked holiday The Spa offers luxury indulgence from ordinary to extraordinary escape. Based on divine Indonesian rituals with a core concept of century-old sophisticated Balinese healing therapy, it treats each guest with simplicity and an unforgettable experience.

Journey is focused on beauty treatments and therapies combined with Western techniques, all designed to soothe, nurture and calm your body and mind.

Spa Signature products are Pevonia Botanica, a luxury skin care line created specifically for spa needs. The line was formulated in Switzerland and comprises a wide range for face, body treatment and application solutions. They are abundant in pure botanicals, marine elements and the Earth’s precious minerals yet free of alcohol, artificial colour, fragrance, and mineral oil, lanolin and parabens. Pevonia delivers solutions for a healthy and beautiful you.

46’ LED interactive TV and Acqua di Parma luxury amenities, exclusively customized luxury linen made of 320 thread-count Egyptian cotton, distinctively designed bedding, i-Home (iPod, iPhone, and iPad docking station), complimentary wireless HSIA in all areas, electric decorative curtains, coffee and tea set up facilities, personalized mini bar and amenities. Double-glazed, sound-proof windows separate standing shower cabins from bathtubs.

Exclusive Celebrity Suites and Presidential Suites provide 24hour personal butler service and private Jacuzzis, with kitchenettes for butler with private access to the Presidential Suite.

DINING AND ACTIVITIES Guests are spoiled with an array of dining options at The Trans Luxury Hotel: • The Lobby Lounge offers a stunning rendezvous setting with luxurious sofas and a

The Trans Luxury Hotel is committed to providing guests with distinctive Indonesian hospitality and service from caring people. This promises to be a major point of differentiation and the very cornerstone of its reputation as a world-class hotel. bar at our magnificent lobby • The Restaurant satisfies your taste buds with a choice of gourmet Asian and Western cuisines accompanied by livecooking stations • The 18th is a specialty restaurant with exclusive dining indoor and alfresco. Dare your-

self to dine on the Sky Walk with clear glass flooring offering views to the ground 18 floors below.

• The Club Lounge offers comfort with endless cocktails and delicious light menus.

Relaxation

is

redefined

at

For immediate release: Anggia Elgana Head of Communication and Development Marketing Communication Integrated Trans Studio Bandung Complex +62 818 208 096 anggia.elgana@thetranshotel.com

B16 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Event Gallery

General Lecture at The Lemhanas Former Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo presented a general lecture at the Lemhanas (Institute of National Reslience) Monday with the theme â&#x20AC;&#x153;The re-emergence of China and India and its challenge to the position of the United States in Asia: Implications for Indonesia, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN.â&#x20AC;?

Yeo spoke before an audience of 150 businesspeople, academics and government officials. The event was jointly organized by the President Executive Club and Lemhanas.

President Executive Club was established in Jakarta in 2009 by 11 Founders, namely SD Darmono, Arifin Panigoro, Boenjamin Setiawan, Ciputra, Eddie Lembong, Joe Kamdani, Juwono Sudarsono, Mochtar Riady, TP Rachmat, Trihatma K Haliman, Sukamdani Gitosardjono; Jacob Oetama and Edward Lee (former Singapore Ambassador to Indonesia).

www.thepresidentpost.com

LifeStyle April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | THE PRESIDENT POST

TRAVEL

A Walk in Semarang Old Town

C8 | CULINARY

BETAWI CUISINE: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY Twitter: @President_Post Facebook: The President Post www.thepresidentpost.com

HEALTH

GADGET

WHO: Zika Virus a Global Health Emergency

The Latest Camera Rumors for 2016

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riamirandadiary.com

Indonesia Closer to Becoming Global Islamic Fashion Capital Itang Yunasz

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim population, needs creativity to support its ambition to become a global Islamic fashion capital, particularly for Muslim women.

In September 2015, the annual International Indonesian Islamic Fashion Fair was organized at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) by the Indonesia Islamic Fashion Consortium (IIFC), a collective of Indonesian fashion designers, industry associations, government agencies, media, and other fashion-related entities, which harbor the mutual goal of developing the potential of Indonesias modest fashion industry.

In addition, the government had encouraged Muslim fashion designers to participate in overseas exhibitions. Indonesia is a huge market for Muslim fashion products. Overseas markets such as those in Malaysia, Middle Eastern countries, Europe, and America are also still wide open.

I

ndonesia has a population of over 250 million, of which 85 percent are Muslims. Increasingly more Indonesian Muslim women, including young girls, are opting to wear Islamic clothing as they are fashionable, decent, practical, comfortable, and alluring.

Deputy Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Emilia Suhaimi is even convinced that Indonesia deserves to become the global Islamic fashion capital by 2020.

“We know that Indonesia has been designated (to become) the world’s Islamic fashion capital by 2020, and the country is approaching that target,” Suhaimi said here on Monday.

Besides being the largest Muslim populated country in the world, Indonesia‘s Islamic culture is open to modernization, tolerance, pluralism and diversity, she added. “Indonesia’s hijabs are very unique and varied compared to those in other countries,” she noted.

Furthermore, Indonesia has ample human resources who are creative, thanks to the nation’s rich cultural heritage, she remarked. Traditional dresses in Aceh, Minang (West Sumatra) and other regions cover women’s bodies well and are close to the Muslim sense of fashion, she added.

Since 1990, the Muslim fashion industry in Indonesia has

Islamic fashion shows are organized every year in Jakarta and other cities to help promote the domestic Islamic fashion at the international level.

progressed rapidly. “This has convinced us that Indonesia has the potential to become one of the worlds fashion centers, particularly when it comes to Muslim fashion, because the country has creative human resources and a rich cultural heritage,” she said.

Indonesia also has talented fashion designers and good fabrics that could support the garment industry. She said the designs of Indonesian Muslim dresses are beautiful because they follow the latest trends while still maintaining local cultural elements.

Besides covering womens bodies, Indonesian Muslim dresses are comfortable, elegant, fashionable, and have ethnic elements. Malls and shops specializing in selling Islamic clothing are mushrooming in Jakarta and other cities, including Thamrin City, Tanah Abang,

We know that Indonesia has been designated (to become) the world’s Islamic fashion capital by 2020, and the country is approaching that target.

Emilia Suhaimi Deputy Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs

and Cempaka Mas Malls. Specific shops offering high-quality Islamic fashion are the Shafira, AlFira, Al-Misa, Kisa, Zara, Zahra, and Rabbani, among others. Online Muslim shops are also on the rise. They include Hijabenka HijUp, Saqina, Muslimarket, Zoya, Zalora, Elzatta, Idhijab, Rahma o-shop, Artizara, Inayah, and Modanisa.

Islamic fashion shows are organized every year in Jakarta

and other cities to help promote the domestic Islamic fashion at the international level. The events included Indonesian Muslim Fashion Week (IMFW) which was organized in Bandung, West Java, on July 18-20, 2014, featuring the latest works of 28 Indonesian Muslim fashion designers.

“The theme of IMFW 2014 was “From Indonesia to the World.”

IMFW is expected to become a world Muslim fashion hub in the future,” IMFW coordinating committee chairman Pradito Rukmana said.

“This is an opportune moment because it coincides with Ramadan fasting month. Now, we see that hijab has become a lifestyle,” Rukmana added.

The 28 designers participating in the fashion week include Dian Pelangi, Jenahara, Ria Miranda, Ria Baraba, Ghaida, Acha Septriasa, Irfan Hakim, Zaskia Adya Meca, and Nuri Maulida.

Arabian.Business.com wrote on September 5, 2015, that Islamic fashion sector expenditure reached $230 billion, constituting 11 percent of the global fashion market in 2014. “But the sector will be worth $327 billion by 2020, according to the upcoming State of the Global Islamic Economy report, to be published in conjunction with the Global Islamic Economy Summit taking place in Dubai this October,” the online media reported.

The 1.6 billion Muslim consumers spent $266 billion on clothing in 2013, and they are projected to spend $484 billion by 2019, according to a report

by Thomson Reuters and Dinar Standard, a Muslim market research firm.

“It wouldn’t be very wise of retailers to be exclusive anymore,” Alia Khan, chairperson of the Islamic Fashion and Design Council, who moderated the panel “Modest Fashion Takes Centre Stage” at the recent GIE Summit, told Khaleej Times. “This is a very legitimate and strong market and they need to acknowledge, cater and satisfy it,” she was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times in October 2015. Antara

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| April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Travel nationalgeographic.co.id

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BLENDUK CHURCH The center of the 31-hectare Old Town is Blenduk Church with Sri Gunting Park nearby it. (left)

The area, which was first developed in the 18th century, offers European architecture with large windows and doors. These are completed with roofs that have unique shapes. (right)

A Walk in Semarang Old Town The core of Semarang’s Old Town is Suprapto Street that stretches from east to the west.

BY TULUS WIJANARKO

I

took my steps with hesitation along the five-meter wide corridor under the dimming light. This corridor is nestled between old buildings from the colonial era. The night was quiet and not many people were seen walking by. A group of people were seen gathering on the mouth of the road, but the rest was just quietness.

There was a signboard saying ‘Jalan Brajangan’ (Brajangan Street) at the end of the corridor.

For me, who visited this place for the first time, the atmosphere was actually exotic. Together with the old buildings, old lamp posts were still there to preserve the colonial ambience.

I had only one night in Semarang back then and I wanted to visit the heart of its civilization.

A friend suggested me to visit the Johar traditional market or the Old Town. I opted to visit the Old City and I found out later that this was the right choice.

The core of Semarang’s Old Town is Suprapto Street that stretches from east to the west.

Brajangan Street is the first T-junction I encountered as I came from the west. I took my

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time in enjoying the night in the Old Town. The night air, colonial buildings, the graffiti on the walls and the light beams from the vehicles that passed by, I enjoyed everything.

When I arrived at an old building at the end of the road, I saw many teenagers spending their time there. “Most of the buildings here were formerly factories,” Farah and Safa, two of the teenagers said to me.

After exploring the road back and forth, I arrived at an understanding about the Old Town: the area is facing an identity problem. There are questions in my head such as, ‘will the town continue to preserve its antiquity?’ or ‘will it gradually changes to adapt with modernity?’.

The buildings on the east side looked gloomier compared to those on the west side, which is cleaner but was starting to lose its authenticity. Some of the buildings on the west side are used as offices.

I’m not an architect but I could see that the main street is home to diverse types of building, although all buildings represent the old European style.

The buildings on the east side looked gloomier compared to those on the west side, which is cleaner but was starting to lose its authenticity. Some of the buildings on the west side are used as offices.

The area, which was first developed in the 18th century, of-

fers European architecture with large windows and doors. These are completed with roofs that have unique shapes. The details, ornaments and decorations are all giving general impression: strong and beautiful!

There are water channels built around the town to prevent floods. The channels looked less preserved. For these channels,

Semarang’s Old Town is also dubbed as Little Netherlands.

I’m not an architect but I could see that the main street is home to diverse types of building, although all buildings represent the old European style. The Spiegel cafe, for example, is different from two hostels on the end of the road. One has a strong, towering look while the other offer a

more casual look with wooden door and window frames.

Still, the center of the 31-hectare Old Town is Blenduk Church with Sri Gunting Park nearby it.

Crowds started to gather at the park to spend weekends with their family and friends. And it felt like I spent the longest night up on that Saturday night.

TEMPO

From the Fortress to Gura Bunga destinasian.com

Gura Bunga, which means ‘garden of flowers’, is a village on the slope of Mount Kie Mabutu (Mount Tidore). It is located 713 meters above the sea level.

each side of the palace, called Tahula and Torre. The fortress is a witness of the European attempts to conquer spices on the land. I climbed the stairs that lead to the top of Torre fort, it was a quite tiring uphill trip.

There is a board displaying information about the history of the fort near the entrance. The fort was built in 1578 by the Portuguese under the order of Sancho de Vasconcelos. Sancho acquired the permit to build from Sultan Gapi Baguna. The fort has been restored twice and it still looked sturdy.

BY ARDI WINANGUN

I was among the queue of people who wanted to get aboard on a speedboat at Bastiong Pier, Ternate, North Maluku. It was in the mid of November and I wanted to cross to Tidore Island. Distance between Ternate and Tidore is not too far.

Both islands are separated by the beautiful Lamo Strait with the view of magnificent Mt Kie Matubu on the background. In less than 15 minutes, the speedboat approached Rum harbor of Tidore. Soon as the boat was decked, passengers were bursting and scrambling onto the land. Rum is not as big as Bastiong but it is notless busy.

The hustle and bustle at Rum is mostly because there is a public bus terminal nearby. From this bus terminal, people can go to Tidore’s capital, Soa Sio. I asked around to find out

The distance between Ternate and Tidore is not too far. Both islands are separated by the beautiful Lamo Strait with the view of magnificent Mt Kie Matubu on the background.

about the best way to go to Soa Sio. Many people suggested me to take a public minibus because Soa Sio is quite far and it would be expensive if I take a motor taxi. Oddly, public buses in Tidore do not have a determined route. Instead, each of the minibuses can go anywhere according to the passenger’s request. I finally arrived in Soa Sio in 30 minutes.

My first destination is the Tidore Sultanate Palace. I took

bentor (tricycle with motor) to the palace for Rp5,000. The road was all empty and quiet. The same atmosphere I encountered at the palace. The two-story Tidore palace looked like the Ternate palace which I had visited earlier, but it is smaller. The building is dominated with yellow color and faces the sea.

On the upper floor, I saw royal accessories such as the throne, umbrella, sultanate banner, weapons and photos of the sul-

tans. The most prominent photo is the photo of Sultan Nuku, or Sultan Syaidul Jehad Amiruddin Syaifuddin Syah Muhammad El Mab’us Kaicil Paparangan Jou Barakati Nuku, who reigned from 1797 to 1805. He is more popular compared to other sultans of Tidore for his persistence in fighting colonial government in eastern Indonesia. This also makes Sultan Nuku a national hero.

There are two fortresses on

After the trip to the palace, I returned to the terminal to go to my second destination, Gura Bunga, a place that I know from a novel entitled ‘A Man from Tidore’ by Alberthiene Endah.

Gura Bunga, which means ‘garden of flowers’, is a village on the slope of Mount Kie Mabutu (Mount Tidore). It is located 713 meters above the sea level.

The trek toward the village is so steep. Once I arrived at the village, I encountered the familiar quiet atmosphere. I wondered if most of the villagers were working at the farms. Flowers can be found along the village road and in every corner of the village, just like the novel depicted. TEMPO

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 |

C3

Travel

Solar Eclipse to Attract Tourists to Bangka Island Bangka Island at the Indonesian province of Bangka-Belitung (Babel) is gearing up for the total solar eclipse that will attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists.

BY OTNIEL TAMINDAEL

B

oth local and foreign tourists are keen to visit the Babel provincial capital of Pangkalpinang on Bangka Island to witness the total solar eclipse, forecast to occur March 9, 2016.

They are expected to pack PasirPadi beach in Pangkalpinang to observe the rare and yet beautiful phenomenon of nature.

Numerous hotels in Pangkalpinang are ready to welcome the arrival of tourists who are coming to watch the total solar eclipse.

On March 9 this year, people in Bangka and several areas in Indonesia such as Palembang, Belitung, Balikpapan, Luwuk, and Halmahera, will have the rare opportunity to witness the total solar eclipse. For a few minutes, up to 98 percent of the sun will vanish from the people’s sight in those areas, when the moon entirely covers the sun, leaving the sun’s radiant corona shining behind it like a crown.

Menumbing Hotel in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Island said that its occupancy rate continues to increase since January.

“Since January 2016, the number of local and foreign tourists who book hotel rooms continues to grow, and to date almost all

hotel rooms have been booked,” Menumbing Hotel Manager Supriadi remarked in Pangkalpinang Friday.

Supriadi said other hotels in Pangkalpinang also saw their occupancy rate increasing as local and foreign tourists as well as scientists and researchers are keen on witnessing the solar eclipse. “Hotel reservation is dominated by local and foreign research teams, rather than tourists who want to spend their holiday in Bangka,” he noted.

Supriadi expressed the hope that the rare phenomenon will spur the tourism sector in Bangka Island and bring a positive impact on the hotel industry.

Bangka Island is known to have many marine, natural, cultural, and historical tourist attractions. The island is also blessed with pristine white sandy beaches, which are ideal for family outings. Pasir Padi beach in Pangkalpinang is one such location worth visiting.

Hence, the Pangkalpinang city administration has continued to develop the Pasir Padi beach, overlooking the South China Sea, as a family tourism area. Situated about eight kilometers away from Pangkalpinang city, Pasir Padi is the most frequently visited location by the locals to unwind and enjoy its beautiful coastal scenery.

Susanto, the head of the parking and terminal unit of the local transportation office, recently stated that Pasir Padi beach is a favorite destination of the people of Pangkalpinang and other districts due to its proximity to the city, thereby making it easier to reach.

According to Susanto, various supporting facilities such as gazebos, food stalls, prayer rooms, and public toilets have been provided by the local government and will continue to be improved and upgraded for family outings.

Susanto said the Pasir Padi beach is frequented by more than a hundred people every weekend.

With its breathtaking panoramic views, the PasirPadi beach has huge potential to be developed into a main tourist attraction in Pangkalpinang, and therefore, it must be supported with adequate facilities.

“We will continue to develop the beach and turn it into a leading tourist attraction in Bangka,” he emphasized.

Visitors can enjoy the white sandy beach of Pasir Padi with its tranquil and crystal clear waters.

“Indeed, Pasir Padi beach is a special attraction for visitors who visit Bangka Island for the first time,” said Gwendoline and Madeleine, visitors from Bekasi, West Java.

Strolling on the white sands of the pristine Pasir Padi beach and looking out to the South China Sea were quite an experience for Gwendoline and Madeleine.

“It made us forget our stresses as life seems to offer a different perspective in Bangka,” Gwendoline pointed out.

Nuryo, a ticket seller at Pasir Padi beach, stated that it was one of the most favorite beaches in Bangka that offered picturesque views. “Pasir Padi beach is a favorite place to visit for the people from Pangkalpinang and other districts on the weekends and during the holiday seasons,” Nuryo remarked.

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PASIRPADI BEACH Both local and foreign tourists are keen to visit the Babel provincial capital of Pangkalpinang on Bangka Island to witness the total solar eclipse, forecast to occur March 9, 2016. They are expected to pack PasirPadi beach in Pangkalpinang to observe the rare and yet beautiful phenomenon of nature.

According to Nuryo, there are good hotels near the beach and there are also water sports facilities. Visitors who didn’t want to engage in water sports can indulge in recreational activities such as swimming and sunbathing, or just relaxing, he added. “Visitors can also explore the island with the local fishermen who are looking for fish in the sea. Visitors will be greeted by the calm and fresh sea wind once they get here,” he promoted.

Yuni, a visitor from Sampur village, said she liked visiting Pasir Padi beach as it was not far from her house, which is around

15 minutes by motorcycle. As she sees it, Pasir Padi is one of several beautiful beaches on Bangka Island. “Bangka Island has several beautiful and astounding tourist resorts, and one of them is the Pasir Padi beach, which is frequently visited by both domestic and foreign tourists,” Yuni affirmed.

Pasir Padi beach stretches around 300 meters. Visitors not only enjoy the coastal scenery and swim on the white sands but they also fly kites, play beach volleyball, soccer, motor cross, or simply unwind and listen to the sound of the waves. Antara

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Towards World Maritime Tourism Indonesia’s vast sea area, which exceeds its land area, offers a lucrative maritime tourism potential ready to be developed. The Tourism Ministry is now seriously developing tourism for the country’s maritime channels.

BY MEUTIA FEBRINA

Indonesia is known to be one of the widest archipelagos in the world–one third land and two thirds sea area.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya is actively developing maritime tourism channels in Indonesia.

“Indonesia is in the middle of developing world maritime links.

The country is also involved in the Silk Road program, following Admiral Cheng Ho’s journey from Aceh, Batam, Bangka Belitung, Palembang, Jakarta, Cirebon, Semarang, Tuban, Surabaya up to Bali,” he said.

Minister Arief Yahya has a target: within four years about 35 percent of maritime tourism in Indonesia would already be developed. This program has also been decided to be one of the most favored plans in developing national tourism.

Compared to Malaysia, Indonesia’s maritime tourism is far more attractive and diverse. However Malaysia is more known worldwide because they were able to cultivate it better.

This is a fact which Minister Arief Yahya could not deny. Indeed, Indonesia still has a lot to improve, including the availability of transportation with tourist facilities which are currently far from acceptable compared to the cruise ships from abroad.

“If we were to compete head to head with foreign ships, we are sure going to lose. So the solution is to go into partnership with those who have maritime tourist destinations, “he said.

Linking Up with Pelni and Rp10 Billion Funds The partner Tourism Ministry chose for maritime tourism is PT Pelni, a state owned enterprise. The cooperation document between Tourism Ministry and Pelni was signed on board KM Kelud at Tanjung Priok harbor, North Jakarta.

In this cooperation, Pelni will bring tourists to maritime tourist destinations. Pelni owns a fleet of passenger ships with high standard safety precautions and can easily be turned into cruise ships.

Pelni also provides marine tours to all parts of the country.

So far there are seven maritime tourist destinations which are being organized: Labuan Bajo (East Nusatenggara), Bunaken (Manado), Raja Ampat (Papua), Banda Neira (Maluku), Derawan (East Kalimantan), Karimun Jawa (Central Jawa) and Anambas (Riau).

Tourism Ministry will also immediately provide Pelni Rp10 billion funds to improve mainstay marine tours packages. Meanwhile, the Maritime Coordinating Ministry will make sure that infrastructure in all the harbors will be up to standard.

“With proper positioning we will be able to beat the Malaysians,” said Minister Arief Yahya.

Besides working with Pelni, Minister Arief Yahya also held various festivals in tourist destination areas to promote their maritime potentials; for instance, holding a marine festival in Raja Ampat, Bajo and Sail Tomini. These festivals do not only promote the area, but also provide a multiplier effect increasing the welfare of the people around the area.

“These festivals generate a momentum, raising social awareness that tourism would enhance the community’s wellbeing. This is in line with World Tourism Day commemoration’s theme ‘One Billion Tourist, One Billion Opportunities’ and our own theme ‘The More We Conserve, the More We will Prosper’,” said the Minister.

It is often said maritime festivals based on marine life and the diversity of cultures are not only tourist promotions but are also the means to preserve the people’s art and culture and pre-

If we were to compete head to head with foreign ships, we are sure going to lose. So the solution is to go into partnership with those who have maritime tourist destinations.”

Arief Yahya Tourism Minister

serve nature, mainly the beach and marine biota, the icon of Raja Ampat.

Another event which is no less amazing is the 2015 Sail Tomini festival. This event which was meticulously organized and was opened by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. According to the Tourism Minister, after the event, Sail Tomini immediately went up the ladder to become a maritime tourist destination and the pride of our maritime nation.

Various programs were conducted to celebrate the Sail To-

mini festival. They built a Handicraft Gallery in Wakai village, souvenir kiosks and culinary center as the amenity development. There was a National Movement for Tourism Awareness, Seven Passionate Action such as the clean and go green movement, talk shows, art and culture exhibitions and tourist product promotions. There was also a movement to empower the people by developing their commercial skills in cooperation with local government. There were also other activities in conjunction with the tourist industry and government of Central Sulawesi.

One more area that has a beautiful marine tourist destination is Labuan Bajo, Central Sulawesi. In fact, in Labuan Bajo there is an island that is said to be the second Raja Ampat.

To promote tourism in Morowali where the Sombori and the Bajo tribes live, the local government held the Bajo Pasakayyang Festival in Kaleorang, Marowali on November 21, 2015. They hope this festival can introduce the Bajo and Sombori tribes to the tourists.

“Marowali is known as a mining regency. Tourism introducing the Bajo tribe will exist forever,” said Morowali’s Deputy Regent SU Marunduh in his press release.

In the Bajo Pasakayyang festival, tourists will be presented with various agendas promoting the Bajo tribe. There is the ritual providing offerings to the sea, culinary festivals, fashion shows and music performance. As part of the festival was the introduction of Sombori Island, a 157 thousand hectare conservation island rich in marine biota. They say its beauty rivals Raja Ampat.

“I hope the Ministry will make Bajo Pasakayyang festival a routine agenda on the same level as other festivals in Indonesia,” said SU Marunduh in his closing statement.

Malin Kundang stone

Air Manis Beach, Where Malin Kundang Turns Into Stone In the south part of Padang, West Sumatra, there is a beach called Air Manis Beach. A stretch of brown sand and pine trees cover the beach where a replica of a boat and Malin Kundang stone lie.

Legend says that the stone, which has the shape of a man in kneeling position, was a young man named Malin Kundang who turned into a stone after being cursed by his mother—he had refused to acknowledge his old poor mother after he became a rich trader.

The beach is around 12 kilometers from Pasar Raya Padang and it can be reached by car or motorcycle. The road is quite steep with sharp turning points. Those who prefer some hiking may take the trek along Barisan hill from Pabayan Seberang, BatangArau village. This trek offers a fresh mountain air and a view of blue ocean and Padang downtown from the waist of Siti Nurbaya hill.

Mariana, a tourist from Manado, visited Air Manis beach after her curiosity of the stone.

Like many other tourists she also took pictures with the Malin Kundang stone on the background.

In addition to the Malin Kundang legend, Air Manis beach is also attractive to tourists for its waves. Some visitors were seen enthusiastically tackling the waves on their surfing boards.

“It has an attractive natural view, and because of its location in the middle of city, the prospect is good,” said former Head of National Development Planning, Andrinof Chaniago.

“The waves are good and there are layers of wave swells.” ANTARA ANTARA FOTO/Iggoy el Fitra

Air Manis beach is also attractive to tourists for its waves.

Some visitors were seen enthusiastically tackling the waves on their surfing boards.

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C4 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Health Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects an international public health emergency on Monday, a rare move that signals the seriousness of the outbreak and gives countries new tools to fight it.

Geovane Silva holds his son Gustavo Henrique, who has microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, on Jan. 26. Health authorities in Brazil at the center of a rapidly spreading Zika outbreak have been overwhelmed by the alarming surge in cases of babies born with microcephaly, a neurological disorder associated to the mosquito-borne virus.

WHO: Zika Virus a Global Health Emergency A

n outbreak of the Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, was detected in Brazil in May and has since moved into more than 20 countries in Latin America, including two new ones announced Monday: Costa Rica and Jamaica.

The main worry is over the virus’s possible link to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and, in the vast majority of cases, damaged brains.

Reported cases of microcephaly are rising sharply in Brazil, ground zero for the disease,

though researchers have yet to establish that Zika causes the condition.

At a news conference in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the WHO, acknowledged that the understanding of the connection between the Zika virus and microcephaly was hazy and said that the uncertainty placed “a heavy burden” on pregnant women and their families throughout the Americas. She said the emergency designation would allow the health agency to coordinate the many efforts to get desperately needed answers. Officials said research

SHORT ANSWERS ABOUT ZIKA VIRUS What is the Zika virus?

The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus. Although it was discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947 and is common in Africa and Asia, it did not begin spreading widely in the Western Hemisphere until last May, when an outbreak occurred in Brazil.

Until now, almost no one on this side of the world had been infected. Few of us have immune defenses against the virus, so it is spreading rapidly. Millions of people in tropical regions of the Americas may now have been infected.

Yet for most, the infection causes no symptoms and leads to no lasting harm. Scientific concern is focused on women who become infected while pregnant and those who develop a temporary form of paralysis after exposure to the Zika virus.

How is the virus spread?

Mosquitoes, but not every species.

Zika is spread by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus,

which can breed in a pool of water as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the day. The aggressive yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has spread most Zika cases, but that mosquito is common in the United States only in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, and in Hawaii – although it has been found as far north as Washington, D.C., in hot weather.

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is also known to transmit the virus, but it is not clear how efficiently. That mosquito ranges as far north as New York and Chicago in summer.

Can the Zika virus be sexually transmitted?

Yes, but experts suspect that it rarely happens.

Experts believe that the vast majority of all Zika infections are transmitted by mosquitoes, not sex. As of Feb. 2, there have only been three reports suggesting sexual transmission.

• In 2008, a scientist studying malaria in Africa returned to Colorado and apparently infected his wife before developing symptoms himself. Both had fever, rash and headaches.

A year later, tests on their

on the effects of Zika in pregnant women was underway in at least three countries: Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador.

Scientists are worried about the growing epidemic and its effects on pregnant women, and advice on how to avoid the infection. “The evidence is growing and it’s getting strong,” Dr. Chan said. “So I accepted, even on microcephaly alone, that it is sufficient to call an emergency. We need a coordinated international response.”

But the agency stopped short of advising pregnant women not

blood, which had been frozen, revealed that both had had Zika.

• In 2013, live virus was found in the semen of a 44-year-old Tahitian man; whether he infected anyone is unknown.

• In early February, health officials in Texas announced that a traveler who had returned to Dallas from Venezuela apparently had infected a sexual partner.

Based on these reports, the C.D.C. issued tentative new guidelines suggesting that pregnant women avoid contact with semen from men who have recently returned from areas with Zika transmission. Men returning from these regions should consider using condoms, the agency said.

Officials did not provide guidance on how long to do so. British health authorities have suggested using condoms for at least 28 days.

How might Zika cause brain damage in infants?

The possibility that the Zika virus causes microcephaly – unusually small heads and damaged brains – emerged only in October, when doctors in northern Brazil noticed a surge in babies with the condition.

It may be that other factors, such as simultaneous infection with other viruses, are contributing to the rise; investigators may even find that Zika virus is not the main cause, although right now circumstantial evidence suggests that it is.

It is not known how common microcephaly has become in Brazil’s outbreak. About three million babies are born in Brazil each year. Normally, about 150 cases of microcephaly are report-

to travel to the affected region, a precaution that American health officials began recommending last month. Some global health experts contended the WHO’s decision was more about politics than medicine. Brazil is preparing to host the Olympics this summer, and any ban on travel, even just for pregnant women, would deliver a serious blow to the Brazilian government.

“I think there was a political overtone,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “If it were my daughter

ed, and Brazil says it is investigating nearly 4,000 cases. Yet reported cases usually increase when people are alerted to a potential health crisis.

What is microcephaly?

Babies with microcephaly have unusually small heads. In roughly 15 percent of cases, a small head is just a small head, and there is no effect on the infant, according to Dr. Constantine Stratakis, a pediatric geneticist and a scientific director at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

But in the remainder of cases, the infant’s brain may not have developed properly during pregnancy or may have stopped growing in the first years of life.

These children may experience a range of problems, like developmental delays, intellectual deficits or hearing loss.

What countries should pregnant women avoid?

About two dozen destinations mostly in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

The Pan American Health Organization believes that the virus will spread locally in every country in the Americas except Canada and Chile. Here is the C.D.C.’s current list of countries and territories in which Zika virus is circulating. The latest updates are here.

How do I know if I’ve been infected? Is there a test?

It’s often a silent infection, and hard to diagnose.

Until recently, Zika was not considered a major threat because its symptoms are relatively mild. Only one of five people infected with the virus develop symptoms, which can include fe-

and she was pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant, I would absolutely warn her off of going to a Zika-affected country, and the WHO should have said that.”

The current outbreak of Zika has taken the world by surprise.

The virus was first identified in 1947 in Uganda, and for years lived mostly in monkeys. But last May in Brazil, cases began increasing drastically. The WHO has estimated that four million people could be infected by the end of the year. The rapid spread is because people in the Americas have not developed immunity, public health experts say. NYT

ver, rash, joint pain and red eyes.

Those infected usually do not have to be hospitalized.

There is no widely available test for Zika infection. Because it is closely related to dengue and yellow fever, it may cross-react with antibody tests for those viruses. To detect Zika, a blood or tissue sample from the first week in the infection must be sent to an advanced laboratory so the virus can be detected through sophisticated molecular testing.

I’m pregnant and I recently visited a country with Zika virus.

What do I do?

Some women should get blood tests, and just about all should get ultrasound scans.

In general, they say that pregnant women who have visited any area with Zika transmission should consult a doctor. Those who have had symptoms of infection like fever, rash, joint pain and bloodshot eyes during their trip or within two weeks of returning should have a blood test for the virus.

I’m of childbearing age, but not pregnant and not planning to get pregnant. Should I go to an affected country?

Only if you use birth control religiously.

Half of pregnancies are unintended. If you want to visit a country where Zika transmission has been reported, Dr. Laura E. Riley, a specialist who works with high-risk pregnancies and infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, advises strict use of birth control to ensure you don’t get pregnant.

Does it matter when in her pregnancy a woman is infected with Zika virus?

Earlier in pregnancy seems to be more dangerous.

The most dangerous time is thought to be during the first trimester – when some women do not realize they are pregnant. Experts do not know how the virus enters the placenta and damages the growing brain of the fetus.

Should infants be tested?

Federal health officials say that newborns should be tested for infection with the Zika virus if their mothers have visited or lived in any country experiencing an outbreak and if the mothers’ own tests are positive or inconclusive.

The reason, officials said in interviews, is that infection with the virus could be linked to defects in vision and hearing, among other abnormalities, even if the child does not suffer microcephaly. The other defects may require further assessments and testing.

Is there a treatment?

No. The C.D.C. does not recommend a particular antiviral medication for people infected with the Zika virus. The symptoms are mild – when they appear at all – and usually require only rest, nourishment and other supportive care.

Is there a vaccine? How should people protect themselves?

Protection is difficult in mosquito-infested regions.

There is no vaccine against the Zika virus. Efforts to make one have just begun, and creating and testing a vaccine normally takes years and costs hundreds of millions of dollars. NYT

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C6 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Venue

Bandahara Ballroom

Mercantile Athletic Club The Mercantile Athletic Club was established as high quality business and social club, emphasizing personalized service with the highest quality amenities to improve the health, recreation and entertainment lifestyle pursuits of its members.

Located on the top of the World Trade Center on Jalan Jendral Sudirman in the heart of Central Business District, the Mercantile Athletic Club is “Jakarta’s Premier Business City Athletic Club”.

The “Business City Athletic Club” concept, the first of its kind in Jakarta, combines business, social and athletic opportunities in one single convenient location. To promote a “Home Away From Home” feeling, care is taken to ensure the compatibility of the Club’s Membership.

The management of Mercantile Athletic Club ensures that high quality standards of service are provided to the members and their guests, when visiting the club.

It is gratifying that the Mercantile Athletic Club has quickly established itself as one of the leading clubs in Jakarta. The concept of combining business, social and athletic amenities within an exclusive and personalized environment has enriched the lifestyle pursuits of every Member.

There are more than 1,500 active Members of the Mercantile Athletic Club which includes both Indonesians and Expatriates who hold senior positions in major companies in Indonesian industries, such as Banking, Financial Services, Oil Mining, Property, and Telecommunications, etc.

Wimbledon Grill

Dining and Function Rooms A variety of international cuisines are offered in the Club’s dining areas; featuring the Wimbledon Grill, Miyabi Japanese Restaurant, Shutters Bar, The Cake Shop and Bandahara Ballrooms, plus 14 private meeting rooms to provide its members with the opportunity to entertain their business and social guests in style. Free Wi-Fi is available in the lounge & private rooms.

Whether planning a small business meeting with a few important clients or a cocktail reception or wedding for 1000 persons, the Mercantile Athletic Club is the perfect venue for any occasion.

The Shutters Bar is a favorite among local and foreign business people, for informal lunches, networking and having a relaxing drink with friends after work. Many events are also organized for Members each month, including regular Members Gatherings where members can socialize and network.

Athletic Facilities

The Reciprocal Clubs

The Club provides its members with sophisticated sports and recreation facilities including: Two rooftop tennis courts, two air-conditioned squach courts, outdoor swimming pool, fully equipped gymnasium, two private aerobic rooms, separate male and female changing room with private lockers, sauna, and massage rooms.

Members of the Mercantile Athletic Club have non-resident membership privileges with international club located in different countries, through reciprocal arrangements.

Shutters Bar

Miyabi Japanese Restaurant

MERCANTILE ATHLETIC CLUB Penthouse Floor World Trade Center Building Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Kav. 29-31, Jakarta 12920 Tel: (021) 521-1320 Fax: (021) 521-1333 Mobile: +62 816 702 323 Email: macclub@macjakarta.com

Outdoor Swimming Pool

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| April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Culinary

Betawi Cuisine: A Culinary Journey Through History The capital’s rich and diverse history can be traced not only in a tour of its museums, but also in its kitchens.

Unfortunately, many traditional Betawi, or native Jakarta, dishes are slowly dying out.

M

ost Jakarta residents would probably name kerak telor (a glutinous rice cake cooked with egg and served with shredded coconut and a dried shrimp topping), soto betawi (beef entrail soup with diced tomatoes and slices of fried potato) and asinan Jakarta (pickled vegetables) as Betawi dishes.

They may also know about rujak juhi (vegetables served with shredded dried squid and peanut sauce) or bakso (meatball soup). The dishes are popular in Jakarta, but that is no guarantee they were first cooked up in the city. “”Not many people know about Betawi dishes, and many consider dishes like soto betawi and asinan Jakarta as ‘authentic’ Betawi dishes simply because they have the words Betawi or Jakarta attached to them,”said culinary expert and restaurant owner William Wongso. “But that’s not necessarily so.”

William explained that nasi uduk (savory rice cooked in coconut and served with several side

dishes) may be a local version of the Malay dish nasi lemak, and sop kaki kambing (a rich lamb soup) is considered a Betawi dish simply because it is not found anywhere else. However, the origins of the rest are not very clear.

The cuisine evolved with influences from various cuisines brought by waves of newcomers to the city. From the small port of Sunda Kalapa, it grew into an active hub of international trade, primarily involving Indian and Arab traders.

“Some Betawi dishes can explain the past condition of Betawi people in Jakarta,”” said gastronomy expert Suryatini N. Ganie. Kerak telor, she said, was created due to the low quality of local glutinous rice, with the egg and other toppings added to make it more tasty and satisfying. Soto tangkar, which is a meat soup today, was mostly made from the broth of bones in the past because meat was expensive. Each mayoralty in the city developed its own version of a dish; for instance, the nasi uduk of one area was slightly different from another.

Migrants from within the country who flocked to one area of Jakarta would put their own culinary stamp on the dishes available there. “It’s not uncommon that the name of the place is attached to the famous version of the dish, like nasi uduk Slipi (from West Jakarta) or semur jengkol Kramat Jati (East Jakarta),”” Suryatini said. As notorious as durian for its odor, jeng-

kol, when properly prepared and well-spiced, is considered tastier than meat by many Betawi, she added.

There are also traditional cakes known as kue basah, including kue pepe (a sticky, sweet layered cake made of glutinous rice flour), kue ape-ape (a softcentered cake with a flimsy but crisp crust), kue gemblong (a coconut cake), kue pancong and dodol (a sticky confectionery made of coconut, glutinous rice and brown sugar). Most of the cakes can still be found in traditional markets, such as Pasar Mayestik and Pasar Senen, both of which open at 3 a.m. Some popular Betawi one-meal dishes, like ketoprak (rice noodles, bean sprouts and tofu served with peanut sauce), soto Betawi, soto tangkar, kerak telor and asinan Jakarta are sold from pushcarts or at sidewalk food stalls.

The mildly spiced and nutritious sayur papasan is commonly served to warm and strengthen the mother’s body after giving birth. There is also bir pletok, which is not, as its name would suggest, an alcoholic drink but made from the bark of the secang tree. But today’s culinary scene is populated by gourmet restaurants and fast-food eateries. While food from around the country, especially Manadonese, Sundanese and Central Java, have made the transition to more upmarket franchise restaurants, Betawi food remains the domain of small family-owned operations and sidewalk stalls. JP

Not many people know about Betawi dishes, and many consider dishes like soto betawi and asinan Jakarta as ‘authentic’ Betawi dishes simply because they have the words Betawi or Jakarta attached to them.

William Wongso Culinary Expert and Restaurant Owner

reizendl.be

Indonesian Food Gains Ground in the U.S. It is called the culinary embassy of the world. And it is true. For Indonesians living in New York, it is always a special privilege to eat Indonesian food, and usually it is at the embassy or consulate one can eat ethnic dishes, especially at Ramadhan, the Muslim holiday for the end of fasting. This is when ethnic dishes are served. And for those of us who do not have any other occasion, it is the opportunity in a lifetime to eat ethnic food.

It is a sad fact, though, that Indonesian cuisine - like many other aspects of Indonesian culture - is quite unknown to the American public. Compared to other cuisines like Japanese, Chinese and Korean, Indonesian food still has a long way to go in its appeal to the American public. With the exception of a few Americans who have lived in Indonesia, a question asked upon the mention of Indonesian cuisine is: what is that?

To compete with Japanese, Chinese and Korean food must be quite difficult. The strange thing, It is a sad fact, though, however, is that lately Thai cuisine, which does that Indonesian cuisine – not seem to differ that much with Indonesian food, has become rather popular with the Amerilike many other aspects can public, while Indonesian food still remains an of Indonesian culture enigma. When asked about this phenomenon, a public relations expert explained it was a question – is quite unknown to of intensifying the marketing of Indonesian food. the American public.

There were some eating places in New York Compared to other where Indonesian food was sold, like the Ramayana and Nusantara restaurants. Unfortunatecuisines like Japanese, ly, they are not around anymore. Nusantara ResChinese and Korean, taurant was located on 44th street in Manhattan, Indonesian food still has close to Grand Central Station. It was managed by the Oasis restaurant in Jakarta. When it was a long way to go in its opened in January 1988, it immediately attracted appeal to the American a lot of media attention. “At last a decent Indonepublic. sian restaurant in the city,” wrote the 1990 Zagat New York City restaurant survey. The Big Apple, as the city is affectionately called, boasts of being first in many fields.

Indonesian chefs received positive comments from the Holland American Line. The Netherlands-based cruise line said that Indonesian chefs had remarkable work ethics and were known for their sincerity and light-hearted attitude when they are on duty.

Cruise Industry Favors Indonesian Chefs Indonesian chefs have been touted as favorable by international cruise industry, according to Bali Hotel and Tourism Institute (STP) head Dewa GN Byomantara.

“Indonesian chefs are popular and often sought after in the cruise industry. [For example], we received positive comments from the Holland American Line,” said Byomantara in

Jakarta as quoted by kompas. com. According to Byomantara, the Netherlands-based cruise line said that Indonesian chefs had remarkable work ethics and were known for their sincerity and light-hearted attitude when they are on duty.

“They rarely complain,” Byomantara explained. He added that around 80 percent of chefs hired in international cruise in-

dustry are Indonesians. Despite the large number, Byomantara said that Indonesian chefs were still facing a challenge in terms of traditional culinary popularity. “Indonesian chefs should be able to introduce Indonesian culinary aboard the ship. Our cuisine is still lagging [in popularity] behind Malaysia and Thailand’s famous Tom Yam soup,” he said.

JP

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | C9

Education Indonesia to Shape Future Generation With International Standard Education

VP Kalla Hopeful of Universities Advancing Innovation bloomberg.com

sampoernaacademy.sch.id

Labor is a substantial factor to support the economy of a country.

In order to enhance its economic activity, the country needs a highly qualified workforce. Within the country itself, there are basically workers who are employed both inside and outside the country.

There is no argument that many Indonesians have been successfully working overseas and managed to maintain a remarkable career. Some of those workers even generate revenues to support the Indonesian economy.

Unfortunately, the condition inside the country is slightly different compared to overseas. According to the data provided by the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in 2010, the number of workforce in Indonesia is still dominated by unskilled labor with as many as 88 million people. Meanwhile, there are only 22.1 million people who possessed the necessary labor skill, while only 6.5 million people are truly experts in their fields.

One of the contributing factors is that most of the workers in Indonesia hold low education background with inadequate supporting skills. On a daily basis, these workers cannot render a maximum service capacity within the work environment. Furthermore, the majority of companies prefer to offer jobs to a good quality workforce, which will limit the variety and number of jobs for these group of workers.

With the upcoming Ase-

The Sampoerna Schools System comprising Sampoerna Academy and Sampoerna University, implements international quality curriculum and employs unique learning and teaching methods that highlight science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

an Economy Community (AEC) where the borders of business between countries will no longer be an issue, this will certainly become a huge problem. From a foreigner’s perspective, Indonesia is one of the biggest countries in Asia that possess an abundant growth opportunity for business. Many foreign investors or companies have begun to establish their presence in Indonesia, bringing their own expertise to the country. However, the condition will become worse if our workers cannot compete within the global work landscape.

This condition shows that education in Indonesia is still a crucial issue while the urgent need of producing highly skilled individuals to compete in the world that has become more interconnected remains one of the important agenda for the country.

While discussing the con-

nection between education and competent workers, it is important to understand that everything should be traced back from the parent’s educational plan for their children. In the era of globalization, parents need to understand about the readiness of their children in dealing with the global workspace. Each parent needs to understand that their children will play a vital role in shaping the future economy. The decision to provide their children with an international standard education lies within them. Failing to produce a highly qualified workforce will drive the nation to be likely buried within the deep sea of globalization.

The Sampoerna Schools System is one of the integrated education systems in Indonesia that sets to address the situation.

Comprising Sampoerna Academy and Sampoerna University,

this education entity comes with the purpose to implement the best of what the American education system has to offer. It implements international quality curriculum and employs unique learning and teaching methods that highlight science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The classes are not only based on the latest curriculum, the Academy and University also integrate technology in the school environment, stimulating learning in and outside the classrooms. With an English speaking environment, this education institution understand the importance of facing the upcoming AEC workspace. English is the language of instruction in their curriculum, which opens the doors to global knowledge as well as future opportunities for the growth of the nation.

Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla

Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla has expressed hope that all universities in Indonesia would advance innovation to take the people and nation forward.

In his speech on “Innovation and Progress of Nations” to mark the 18th anniversary of Paramadina University here on Wednesday, Kalla emphasized the importance of innovation in the academic process at universities, especially to boost economic growth and create jobs.

The vice president also sought balanced development in Indonesia, and that the Islamic principles taught in the University of Paramadina Indonesia can also be spread and serve as an example for the world.

Kalla has repeatedly highlighted the importance of innovation in the field of education.

While opening the 20th Congress of the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII) here on December 11, 2015, Kalla noted that a strong link between engineering and innovation in Indonesia was important in transforming the countrys economic, social, and environmental future.

Therefore, he said Indonesia needs to pay greater attention to improving the capability of its local engineers when vibrant, innovative companies working at the leading edge of technology are allowed to develop and prosper.

According to Kalla, innovation is at the heart of what every great engineer does, so finding a balance between solving problems that need to be fixed and being creative in order to do so is an important part of any engineers life.

“Currently, everyone thinks that engineers in Indonesia are unable to compete with foreign workers. I say they should be able to. As long as they are trying their best, I say there will always be a way,” Kalla remarked at the time.

Hungary, UK Offer Scholarships For Indonesian Students bnsd.binus.ac.id

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), offered scholarships to Indonesian students planning to continue their studies in the Hungary.

“I have discussed with the President our offer to award scholarships to Indonesian students to study in Hungary,” Orban said after a bilateral meeting with President Jokowi at the Presidential Palace on Monday.

In the early stage, the government of Hungary will provide scholarships to 50 Indonesian students. The scholarship is expected to strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and Hungary in the future.

Prime Minister Orbans visit to Indonesia also came up with two documents of cooperation (MoUs) in the field of fisheries and aquaculture as well as in the field of higher education exchange program.

“We are a member country of the European Union which looks at Indonesia as a big country which is also a member of G-20.

In our view, Indonesia is not only a country but a continent which plays a very important role in the world,” Orban stated.

He also lauded Indonesias effort to counter terrorism and stabilise the security conditions within just three hours of an at-

Indonesia is the fourth largest recipient of scholarships in the world in which about 70 scholarships are available for Indonesians.”

Moazzam Malik British Ambassador to Indonesia

tack in Jakarta last month. “It is indeed considered a world record in handling terrorism. It also shows us that Indonesia is a stable country,” Orban said.

UK provides scholarship for Papua students The British government provides a Chevening scholarship program for Papuan students which aims at exploring the best Papuan human resource potential in Indonesias easternmost region.

Chevening is the United Kingdom (UK) Governments scholarship program which is provided across the world, funded by the UK Foreign Office and other organization partners, British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said here Wednesday. “Indonesia is the fourth largest re-

cipient of scholarships in the world in which about 70 scholarships are available for Indonesians,” he said.

Chevening offers opportunity for future leaders and decision makers from around the world through a professional academic development, according to Malik.

The ambassador visited Papua Province to meet the administration and universities officials. “I am happy to make this second visit to Papua since I am serving as ambassador,” he said. “I am very pleased to visit Cendrawasih University and the University of Papua, where we promote educational cooperation between Indonesia and the UK and encourage more people of Papua to study in the UK through the Chevening scholarship,” the Ambassador said.

Nation Faces Shortage of 520,000 Teachers Indonesia is currently facing a shortage of 520 thousand teachers, and the number is expected to increase further when several thousand of them will retire during the 2018-2023 period in line with a presidential instruction.

“Across Indonesia, there is a shortage of 520 thousand teachers in 2015. Some 400 thousand more will enter the retirement period,” Chairman of the Indonesian Teacher Association (PGRI) Sulistyo stated here on Tuesday.

The teachers entering the retirement period between 2018 and 2023 had been hired under a presidential instruction (Inpres), he stated. “In 1974 and 1975, large number of Inpres teachers retired, and the highest number will be between 2018 and 2023,” Sulistyo, who is concurrently a lawmaker, noted.

Deputy Chairman of Committee III of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) Hardi Selamat Hood has urged the

government to soon recruit new teachers to ensure the sustainability of education for children.

Head of the Riau Island Education Office Yatim Mustafa affirmed that around one thousand teachers in the province will enter the retirement period in 2018.

The local authorities have adopted several measures to anticipate a crisis in teacher numbers.

The province has granted scholarships to university students to become teachers.

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C10 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Education

Indonesia Needs More Doctors of Science and Technology...

PROF. YOHANES SURYA The US-trained Indonesian professor of physics believes that for the country to become great, the government must give more attention to research and empower not just state-owned universities but private institutions of higher learning as well.

Seventy years after independence, Indonesia has come to realize that it has produced a very small number of doctors of science and technology — the reason it lacks innovations to give added value to its abundant natural resources.

BY PITAN DASLANI

Out of 252 million people inhabiting the world’s fourth most populous country, there aren’t even a thousand such doctors available, meaning that the ratio is less than 1:252,000. Compare this with the People’s Republic of China’s ratio of 1:28,000 and you would get a clearer picture of what higher learning institutions in the two countries have done to drive their respective economies.

The nearly 1,000 doctors of science and technology are part of around 75,000 Indonesian PhDs and their equivalents, meaning that the great majority of Indonesian post-graduates do not correlate with development of technology, including innovations to give added value to the country’s natural resources.

China today has a total of 50,000 doctors of science and technology —out of more than 500,000 PhDs and their equivalents— whose innovations translate into various industrial products sold in the global market.

Between 1995 and 2005 alone the communist country produced 30,000 doctors of science compared to less than one-thirtieth of it that Indonesia did.

Indonesia needs to have at least 30,000 doctors of science by 2030 or 30 times bigger than the current number if it would match China’s 2015 technology innovation capacity. Comparatively this means that Indonesia is 15 years behind China in technology innovation ability.

This description was revealed

by Prof. Yohanes Surya, rector of Surya University in Serpong, Banten, who believes that only through intensive scientific research and technology innovations would Indonesia be able to compete in the regional technology market.

The US-trained Indonesian professor of physics believes that for the country to become great, the government must give more attention to research and empower not just state-owned universities but private institutions of higher learning as well.

For this to become reality, he cited Taiwan as an example to learn from, saying that every year up to 5,000 students leave Taiwan for advanced countries in Europe or America to pursue doctoral degrees in science and technology.

Yohanes says that government support is necessary because many talented students cannot afford to pursue doctoral studies in science and applied technology abroad. For instance, to enroll for a post-graduate science degree in advanced countries, a student would need at least $300,000 which is beyond the ability of most families.

Apart from it being too expensive for ordinary Indonesian families, many students still cannot pass enrollment tests at prestigious universities abroad due to many reasons of quality.

In order to overcome the hurdles, Yohanes proposes that parents send their talented children abroad, right after graduating from high school, to enter community college which would cost

only around $9,000 per year or graduating after two years with a total cost of $18,000.

After graduating from community college, they may enroll for Master’s degrees in world-class universities for two years with a total cost of around $60,000. In this way every student would obtain undergraduate and graduate degrees with a total cost that is equivalent to Rp1.5 billion — still within the reach of many Indonesian families.

The government can step in after this stage by providing scholarships so that they can pursue post-graduate degrees in science and technology, Yohanes proposes. The Surya University rector believes that many Indonesian students are actually highly talented in many areas and some Indonesian PhDs now working abroad are leading in their respective fields, even in the USA, Japan, China, India, and European countries.

He has also offered around 80 Indonesian PhDs in various scientific disciplines to teach at his universities with a minimum

monthly compensation of Rp30 million each and many of them have now been teaching there.

The compensation he offers is of course far from enough because those scientists receive a lot more abroad. But they agree to come home because they have the passion to help build Indonesia’s future, Yohanes adds.

The best way, still, is to bring them home like China does. “The government of PRC can bring their experts home by offering them the same amount of salary that they receive in advanced countries,” he says.

Indonesia currently has 530 universities, 240 polytechnic schools, 1,106 academies, 124 academic institutes, and 2,397 other institutions of higher learning. State budget allocation for education this year is Rp404.19 trillion, but there is no guarantee that the huge fund would increase Indonesia’s competitiveness, unless there are serious efforts to revamp university curriculum toward development of research and technology innovations.

...and More Incentives to Boost Scientific Research banggaindonesia.com

One of the reasons why Indonesian scholars are not encouraged to do research in science and technology is a lack of incentives. This is also the reason why the number of Indonesian scientific papers published in international journals is still among the lowest in the world.

Only two years ago, during the reign of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, did the government double the salary of professors from the previous level of around Rp5.2 million a month and yet research grants of Rp150 million per title is not enough to drive enthusiasm among Indonesian scientists.

Neys-van Hoogstraten Foundation of the Netherlands, or the Nestle Foundation of Switzerland, for instance, provides grants for graduate and post-graduate students doing research in industrial fields. These institutions are reported to have been proving up to $25,000-70,000 per research title over the past few years and a number of Indonesian researchers have obtained it.

Putting Indonesian universities on the global map would give a clear picture of their quality. By international standard, the quality of a university is measured by the number of research papers published in international scientific journals for global consumption.

In 2014, for instance, Scimago reports showed that Indonesia only registered 113 scientific papers indexed on Scopus, with H-index rating of 16, placing the country on the 11th line below the Philippines which registered 114 papers, as well as Thailand with 290 papers, Malaysia’s 854, Singapore’s 1,152, and India’s 1,559 papers.

The world’s top five positions were occupied by Japan with 7,496 papers with H-index of

Dr. Taufik, Professor of Electrical Engineering Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, USA. He invited DC house, a house whose electricity is provided by dc power, rather than the traditionally used ac power.

74, Hong Kong with 2,504 papers with H-index 70, China with 2,760 papers with H-index 53, Taiwan with 2,494 research papers with H-index 53, and South Korea with 1,715 papers with Hindex 50, according to Scimago data.

The fact that Indonesia still lags behind Malaysia is quite annoying to many because in the past Malaysia imported engineers and lecturers from Indonesia. But the amount of research grants in the two countries explains the difference. In Malaysia a university would receive the equivalent of Rp180 billion in the first year and Rp280 billion in the second and third year respectively under a three-year research contract with sponsors.

Now, under President Joko Widodo, the Directorate General of Higher Education has been merged into the Ministry of Research and Technology following repeated appeals by Chairman of the House of Regional Representatives Irman Gusman.

The ministry announced in January this year that it would allocate Rp1.7 trillion from Rp4.55 trillion university operational cost in the State Budget for research projects. The government has also allocated a further Rp1.5 trillion from non-tax State revenue for research activities, meaning that 84 State-owned

universities would now receive a total of Rp3.2 trillion in research funding.

The biggest problem in Indonesia’s education system so far is the habit of changing the curriculum every now and then. Every time there is a change in national leadership, there is bound to be an overhaul that confuses not just students and parents, but the industrial sector as well, due to which only a few industries would venture to collaborate and finance university research projects.

To solve this problem, Indonesia needs a long-term education strategy that is associated with development of industries and the economy as a whole.

This, however, is easier said than done, because leadership of the ministries involved are products of a five yearly unpredictable political process.

Of the seven presidents that have led Indonesia, only Prof. BJ Habibie was science and technology oriented. Yet his reign was short-lived — only 18 months — and none of his successors has given enough attention to development of science and technology.

Pitan Daslani is a senior journalist based in Jakarta.

He can be reached at pitandaslani@gmail.com

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C12 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Innovation heresalink.com

RI Students Take Part in NASA Research Project The US space agency NASA recently launched into space the results of a research by 10 North Sumatran students to study yeast growth in near-zero gravity conditions, which is a preliminary experiment on how to producetempe (fermented soybean) in space.

BY VIRA DITA TAMIA

Results of this mission will determine whether in the future Indonesian tempe exported to various countries should be produced from the outer space. In a zero-gravity condition perhaps the tempe produced in space would taste better or would at least become a healthier foodstuff.

The students sent to NASA a locally-made micrco-laboratory, which was boarded on Cygnus cargo freighter and launched into space by the rocket Atlas5 on March 23.

They had designed the microlab complete with digital cameras and a set of micro-controllers to enable monitoring from earth.

Connected to the Internet, anybody can download pictures of the micro-lab’s activity from anywhere around the globe which will be sent back to earth from the International Space Station.

Astronauts on the ISS then moved the micro-lab into the Nano Racks Platform, a multipurpose research facility onboard the space station, which circles Earth 15 times every 24 hours, traveling at 8 kilometers per second.

On the day the invention was launched into space, Minister of Education Anies Baswedan held a video conference with the students of SMA Unggul Del Laguboti, Toba Samosir regency

and expressed his appreciation and for the achievement.

The teachers had divided the students into three groups to do the concept, design, and programming. The design team handled technical works which included producing a robot to control the micro-lab’s activity.

The micro-lab itself is a 15 x 3 centimeter box with a height of 5 centimeters.

“The transportation cost was very high, not to mention taxes,” said Gilbert Nadapdap, the students’ spokesman.

Gilbert and his fellow researcher Gomos Parulian Manalu were sent to California for ascertaining the work of the micro-lab and its flight test. Before they went there, another challenge they had to overcome was to convert the plan into programming language for which they spent months studying NASA’s reports.

The micro-lab is now in space for 40 days, the first Indonesian student invention ever to have been accepted by NASA. Not surprisingly Minister Baswedan praised the students saying, “The ten of you are really extraordinary. You live in a remote area but your invention is already the global level.”

The minister also praised their teachers saying, “Teachers can make students to reach the sky, so go on with what you have done.”

The research had passed a series of tests at the Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California, under NASA supervision. The Indonesian entry was selected as the best invention, outmatching research entries from high schools around the world.

The Indonesian students have been invited to present their research results at the annual conference of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research in Washington, DC, slated for November this year.

The Atlas V rocket ready for its launch carrying a micro laboratory, which was boarded on Cygnus cargo freighter.

Students, Villagers, Shine with Technology Inventions

Binus Students Develop Brain Signal-driven Wheelchair

prioritaspendidikan.org

Technology innovation is no longer the monopoly of scientists.

In Indonesia today even teenagers have stunned the world.

Among many students whose inventions have attracted world attention are Mohammad Harris Riqin, Nabil Al Annisi, and Ahmad KhoirulHadi.

Mohammad is 13-year old son of a fisherman in a coastal village in Gresik Nabil is 14-year-old son of a public transportation driver.

And Ahmad is 15-year-old son of a fish peddler in the same region.

The junior high school students have reportedly invented a robot for transporting various goods to the local market. Their robot was sent to Singapore last year and was put on display at the island republic’s Tay Eng Soon Convention Centre, ITE Headquarters.

They have now become famous not only because of the robot, but because they are village boys whose parents come from the lower walks of life and did not have the luxury of attending a university.

Another invention is even more surprising. Junior high school students from Takalar regency in South Sulawesi have invented batteries out of plants.

They turned bitter melon or balsam-pear (Latin: momordicacharantina) into electricity energy and filled it in batteries. Their invention was put on display during a USAID-sponsored expo in Takalar in March last year.

During their research of the plant, the students discovered an amazing fact: the fruit, which is known in Indonesian language as pare and is commonly consumed as vegetable, actually contains OH ion which can re-

Junior high school students from Takalar regency in South Sulawesi have invented batteries out of plants. They turned bitter melon or balsam-pear (Latin: momordicacharantina) into electricity energy and filled it in batteries.

place carbon and can be converted into energy.

They say it is very easy for anybody to produce energy from the pare fruit. Just take out all the content of a battery and fill it with slices of pare that have been squeezed moderately and then put the battery carbon back in it and close it. The pare material must not be too wet, nor too dry, they say.

But how the fruit can actually replace content of the real battery is a secret they have not revealed.

With limited equipment, the students found out that the volume of energy in their invention was almost the same as that in an original battery. A pare-fed battery generated 1.4 volt energy compared to 1.5 by the original battery.

But here’s a bigger innovation.

A villager in Jatikuwung, Central Java, was reported recently to have produced TV sets using useless materials. He only grad-

uated from an elementary school in Godangrejo sub-district, and yet he was able to produce 17inch television sets with different brandsusing broken computer monitors.

The villager, identified only by his initial of MH, shocked the local authorities and neighbors were happy to be able to buy cheap TV sets from him. But he was later captured by police for using popular brands without a license. He opened a shop called Haris Electronics to sell his products but it was later sealed by the authorities on charges of counterfeiting popular TV brands.

Meanwhile, a resident of Hargobinangunin Sleman, Jogjakarta named Eko Budi Rahmanto has suddenly attracted the mass media for rebuilding a USmade Hummer.

He found the luxury car in the house of one of his friends in Jakarta and offered to repair it. His friend didn’t believe he would be able to do it for lack of equipment

and expertise. But Eko said he would return with a new Hummer if he had the trust to repair it.

After the car was transported to Jogjakarta, Eko rebuilt it and there it was—a new Hummer that appeared as if it had just been taken out of the factory in America.

Since then Eko has concentrated on rebuilding damaged luxury cars. This is perhaps a safer innovation than using foreign brands without permission.

In Malang, East Java, another innovation story has startled the mass media. Five students from Brawijaya University have produced Exotric-III car which uses limestone instead of gasoline to generate its engine. This innovation won the silver medal during the Chem E-Car contest in Perth, Australia.

The students are Dobita A Feliciana, Rizka Dwi Octaria, Dwi C Pujayanti, Afida Khofsoh, and Sidiq Darmawan. But they still need to improve their innovation to get the car moving maximally. Their innovation was one level below that of students from Petronas University of Technology in Mayalsia who won the gold medal.

In another development, a sidewalk footstall owner in Sukoharjo, Central Java, has surprised the public with his innovation of applying used cooking oil to replace liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Hartanto, the innovator, used a hose, a stove, and a blower to produce the energy that now saved him from spending Rp 5 million a month purchasing LPG for his stall. Vira Dita Tamia

Two students at the University Bina Nusantara (Binus) have developed a wheelchair driven by brain signals. Is Jennifer Santoso (21) and Ivan Halim Parmonangan (21), seventh semester student of Informatics, made the thesis project because they see a lot of people around them needed wheelchairs.

“Many people are paralyzed from the neck down. We want to create something to help them,” Jennifer said, From their observation of persons with disabilities around them, they found out that many disabled people have healthy brains and minds. Thus, Jennifer and Ivan developed a wheelchair that can be controlled by the brain.

The main components are a wheelchair and a tool called a neuroheadset, which can capture and reinforce the brain’s electrical waves in a scale of thousands of times. The neuroheadset is connected to software applications they created and stored in a CPU. “Our application will process the signals reOur application will ceived from the neuroheadprocess the signals set, then filtered them to take alpha and beta waves, received from the which are then transneuroheadset, then formed by the Fast Fourier Transformation algorithm, filtered them to which then becomes the intake alpha and beta put to the engine,” explains waves, which are then Jennifer.

Applications that are transformed by the Fast made will then forward the Fourier Transformation signal being processed into the Arduino Uno microconalgorithm, which then troller board, and forwardbecomes the input to ed to a motor driver that will be used to drive the DC the engine.” motor, which works using a DC voltage source.

Ivan went on to demonstrate how the wheelchair works. He sat in a wheelchair wearing a wireless neuroheadset with 14 stems in a circular on the head. The application software records the user’s response, the brain signals to move forward, left, right, rotate left and right of the neuroheadset.

To drive the wheelchair, Ivan looks to focus once. The wheels of the chair move forward, while Ivan just sits still. Stop the wheelchair simply with a twinkle of the eye, left, right or both eyes.

“When you’re asleep or in panic, the wheelchair automatically stops,” said Jennifer.

Their invention won second place in the National Student Exhibition of Information and Communication Technology (Gemastik) 2015 intelligent systems category. The research was funded by Toray Research Grand from Japan.

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April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34 | C13

Activities

KTH Bike Park is Heaven For Mountain Bikers The Puncak area near Bogor, south of Jakata, continues to grow as a favorite place for mountain bikers (MTB).

M

any paths are available as “treks” for bikers wishing to traverse through the

area.

The path one can find in Puncak are, among others, RA Classic, NuRA or New RA, TW (Telaga Warna) 1 up to 5. At present, the Kelompok Tani Hutan (KTH) path is the favorite among bikers.

The KTH path is managed by forest farmer groups that also manage forestry tourism in the Puncak area.

The KTH path, which covers 4-5 kilometers, is located at the wild animal conservation area where one can also find birds. Not surprisingly, the sound of chirping birds can be heard by bikers as they pass the location.

KTH has three routes, namely KTH OG, KTH Kondang, and KTH AT. All three routes begin at the gate of Gunung (Mount) Mas going all the way to the Citamiang camping area.

The KTH path is quite a challenge to bikers as it is covered by pine trees and steep foothills as well as a river, and downward and upward slopes. The path can only accommodate an individual biker (single track).

The KTH OG path is not recommended for entry-level bikers as the terrain drives one’s adren-

aline. It has many treks that go downward followed immediately by upward slopes.

At the peak of the KTH OG, one finds a huge tree that bikers often use as a place to rest, after which they will come across steep downward slopes. Some of them would require bikers to descend from their bikes or what many would say “drop off”.

Entry-level bikers are advised to pass the KTH Kondang path as the surface has been improved.

However, it is quite a boring path awash with downward slopes.

For those partial to ‘extreme’ challenges, the KTH AT path would be the choice as it offers many challenging obstacles.

Guides are available at the KTH to help entry-level bikers navigate the area. Bikers entering the KTH area charged Rp. 10.000 to enter Gunung Mas, but bikers who wish to go through all the three treks in one day are only charged once plus insurance premium of Rp. 22.000. Pickup vehicles to shuttle bikers are also available for a fee.

During the dry season the KTH is actually slippery as the earth is dusty. The best time to be there is right after the rain stops.

Covering the three treks at KTH with bikes takes between four to five hours. (awp)

The KTH path, which covers 4-5 kilometers, is located at the wild animal conservation area where one can also find birds. Not surprisingly, the sound of chirping birds can be heard by bikers as they pass the location.

The KTH path is quite a challenge to bikers as it is covered by pine trees and steep foothills as well as a river, and downward and upward slopes.

The path can only accommodate an individual biker (single track).

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C14 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Gadget

The Latest Camera Rumors for 2016 Will Canon have new DSLRs, will Nikon commit to mirrorless cameras, and what will Sony do this year? Tech observers say camera manufacturers are preparing to surprise the global market with new inventions. Rumors about this have been circulating, pending confirmation from the manufacturers.

Following are some of them:

BY ALCI TAMESA

Canon: A new EOS 5D Mark IV is surely due, not to mention the EOS 80D, EOS 1300D and EOS 6D Mark II. Will this be the year Canon finally commits to mirrorless camera with the EOS M4?

Nikon: Observers think Nikon may try to capture some high ground in the full frame DSLR market with the D820. And what about the Nikon mirrorless range? The Nikon 1 V4 seems a pretty safe bet, but if the stories are true we could also see larger format Nikon 2 and Nikon 3 ranges too.

Sony: The popular brand’s DSLR-style SLT cameras are still going, but for how much longer?

2016 could see the last updates to its A99, A77 and A58 models.

But the future for Sony mirrorless cameras looks rosier – we could see new A6100, A7000 and A5200 models in mid-2016.

Fuji: The Japanese technology manufacturer has announced a new camera sensor to be launched in 2016. This appears in the X-Pro2 and we expect for this to ripple through its X-mount range, continuing into

the X-T2 and X-E3. Fuji’s classic X100 compact is surely due for an upgrade too, perhaps reemerging as a brand new X200.

Panasonic: A new Panasonic GH5 was the top tip for 2015 – Panasonic has enjoyed a lot of success in professional circles with the GH4 and its 4K video capabilities, but Sony in particular is catching up, so Panasonic will surely react so as not to lose its market.

Olympus: The OM-D E-M1 is the oldest camera in Olympus’s line-up of OM-D cameras, and good though it still is, the others have closed the gap – the E-M5 Mark II in particular. Olympus will want to put this right with the OM-D E-M1 II. GoPro: The GoPro Hero4 Black is a hard act to follow, but growing competition from rival action cam makers will surely spur GoPro into launching the Hero5 – and we should expect another leap forward in video processing power.

There are a couple of major battles going on in the photography market at the moment – and it means that this is an exciting time for anyone interested in cameras, tech observers said

last week.

Firstly, mobile phones have pretty much decimated the entry-level compact camera market, and this is forcing manufacturers to shoehornin more and more features to make dedicated cameras more appealing.

This move towards more sophisticated compact cameras has an impact upon the interchangeable lens camera market, which is already the scene of a battle between compact system or mirrorless system cameras and SLRs – the new technology versus the old.

This highly competitive marketplace means there’s increasing speculation about what camera manufacturers will be launching over the coming months, and while we can’t say exactly what’s on the way, we have a few ideas.

They have taken a look at all the rumors and thought through some pretty sizeable clues to give you their best guess.

In some cases the updates are fairly predictable upgrades to current cameras, and many are on a fairly regular cycle of replacement, so one can estimate the timeframe.

In other cases it’s a little trickier, and we have to try to sift the genuine leaks from the wild speculation. There are also technological advances and direction changes that can throw in a curve ball. So let’s take a look at what tech observers say will happen in the not-too-distant future.

Canon EOS 6D Mk II

Predicted specs: Fullframe 24-36Mp sensor, 4K video capability, 8fps continuous shooting.

Following the arrival of the 50Mp Canon 5DS and 5DS R, the pressure is somewhat off the 5D Mk IV in the pixel count stakes. However, they expect to see a slight jump for the next model, with a 24Mp full-frame sensor seeming probable, although Canon may decide to take things a little higher.

They also expect this camera to continue to be Canon’s most video-centric full-frame stills camera, and 4K capability is a logical addition to the feature set, along with greater control over contrast in the guise of a dynamic range-expanding C-Log gamma option.

If it’s to draw the enthusiast crowd the 80D will need a better AF system, faster shooting and a few more pixels.

match the 5D Mk III. Low light and continuous shooting performance also needs to improve, and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 204,800 seems likely along with 6fps shooting.

Wi-Fi, NFC and GPS technology also seem likely, and we’re hoping there will be a variable-angle touch screen, as on the APS-C format 760D, to make the camera more user-friendly.

The original 6D was launched at Photokina 2012, the biennial photographic trade show in Cologne, Germany – so maybe we’ll see the Mk II unveiled at Photokina 2016 next September.

A relatively high pixel count would make the 6D Mk II much more attractive to existing Mk I owners.

The ability to shoot full HD at 120fps would also be popular with slow-motion lovers. These features will require a fast processor, so again a new Digi-camera-7 unit is probable.

While the 5DS and 5DS R have very capable auto focusing systems, the lower resolution of the 5D Mk IV makes it a more sensible choice for shooting sport. Observers expect an improved AF system, with more than the current 61 points, along with a maximum continuous shooting rate of at least 8fps.

They say they are 99% certain that the 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor with 252 zones and Intelligent Scene Analysis, and the Intelligent Viewfinder II, both of which are found in the 5DS/R, will also be in the new camera.

Canon’s entry-level DSLR needs to shine if it’s to pull people away from compact system cameras. there are lots of smaller, more enticing compact system cameras around.

Small is definitely beautiful these days, so observers think the replacement for the 1200D will be smaller – perhaps even smaller than the 100D. There will also be an increase in pixel count, and a 24Mp chip seems

Predicted specs: 24Mp APS-C sensor, 8fps continuous shooting, and 65-point AF system.

The Canon 70D seems to have been around for ages, and, although it’s still very good, the newer 760D, which

sits below it in the Canon DSLR lineup, offers a tempting alternative.

Canon has started putting 24Mp sensors in its APS-C format SLRs, and this seem the logical choice for the 80D, but Canon watch claims it will have a 28Mp chip, along with ‘a more advanced autofocus system’.

It’s unlikely that this will give it the same complexity as the 7D Mk II’s AF system, but perhaps it will get the same number of points (65).A new processor is a certainty, probably a Digicam-7 unit.

Canon EOS M4 Could 2016 be the year that Canon shows it’s serious about the mirrorless market?

Canon EOS 1300D (Rebel T7)

Predicted specs: 24Mp sensor, Digic 6 processing engine, Wi-Fi and NFC. The entry-level market is incredibly competitive, and Canon needs to raise its game in this area if it’s to tempt new photographers to its system.

The 1200D fails to impress next to the Nikon D3300, and

Canon’s capable all-rounder looks set to get 4K video recording and be more sportfriendly.

Canon EOS 80D

Canon needs to up its game to maintain the interest of enthusiast photographers.

Predicted specs: At least 24Mp full-frame sensor, 6fps continuous shooting, and variable-angle touch screen.

People loved the 6D when it first came out, but it’s looking quite tired now and its specs don’t compare that well with the Nikon D750’s. As Canon’s ‘entry-level’ full-frame camera it occupies an important position in the EOS lineup, making it ripe for a refresh.

Until the 5DS and 5DS R came along Canon was quite conservative about pixel count. Jumping from 20 to 24Mp would be enough for many photographers, but some may expect closer to 36 million.

A relatively high pixel count would make the 6D Mk II much more attractive to existing Mk I owners.

With just 11 points, the 6D’s AF system is rather lackluster, and we think the new model will see a big jump in this area, perhaps up to 61 to

Canon EOS 5D Mk IV

the most sensible option, along with a Digicam-6 processing engine.

Wi-Fi and NFC technology plus touch screen control would also seem like nobrainers, unless Canon really wants to keep the price low.

We expect to see the 1300D arrive by summer 2016.

Could 2016 be the year that Canon shows it’s serious about the mirrorless market? Predicted specs: Built-in viewfinder, Improved AF system, extended lens range.

While Canon’s CSC range, dubbed EOS M, has proved capable of producing highquality images, the cameras have been let down by underperforming autofocus systems and a lack of commitment from the manufacturer – there’s still a very limited lens lineup.

Canon makes some fantastic SLRs, but many users prefer the more modern design of a mirrorless camera and the advantages of a fulltime live view.

Other companies, like

Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic and Sony have managed to produce fast and accurate AF systems for their CSCs, so it surely can’t be beyond Canon if it puts some effort into it. Add a few more lenses and a built-in viewfinder and the M4 could be a big success.

These predictions have not included developments of Koreanmade cameras such as Samsung which has penetrated Asian market so massively that pros and amateurs alike are spending a lot of money buying them.

Samsung is catching up pretty quickly in camera technology innovations after having overtaken Western brands in mobile phone market in the region. As such, observers expect to see more new models of Samsung phones to enter the market in the next couple of years.

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Wednesday, February 12, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 33 | C15

Travel

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C16 | April, 2016 | Vol. 5 No. 34

Sports alfikronline.com

Rio Haryanto Makes it to Become RI’s First F1 Driver Rio Haryanto became Indonesia’s first Formula One driver after signing a deal with Manor Racing, the back-of-the-grid team announced last month. nbcsports.com

Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi has designated the “one village one football field” program since he took charge of the ministerial post.

Sports Ministry to Develop 470 Football Fields in Villages The youth and sports ministry will develop at least 470 football fields in villages to encourage young people to play the sport.

“So far, we have received several complaints regarding the lack of sports facilities in rural areas. This program is one of the governments efforts to improve the management of football in the nation,” Deputy V Gatot S. Dewa Broto in charge of harmony and partnership of the youth and sport ministry noted here, Wednesday. itasportpress.it

Erick Thohir

Erick Thohir Elected As Chairman of KOI Erick Thohir was elected as the new general chairman of the Indonesia Olympic Committee (KOI) in a congress here early Sunday morning beating his rival, EF Hamidy.

The national businessman, who is also president the Inter Milan Club, was able to garner 59 votes which was higher than 46 collected by Hamidy to make him the new chief of KOI for the period of 2015-2019 replacing Rita Subowo who had completed her term.

The 23-year-old Haryanto will make his race debut in Australia when the season starts on March 20.

“Melbourne will be a huge moment for me, my country, supporters and fans and I want to thank everyone who’s been with me since I started in single seaters; 2016 is my chance to reward that faith and represent Asia in F1,” Haryanto said.

His signing as team mate to German rookie Pascal Wehrlein completes the grid for the 2016 season. Haryanto, who finished fourth in the GP2 feeder series last season with three race wins, will be the third Southeast Asian driver to compete in Formula One since the championship started in 1950. The other two were Malaysian Alex Yoong, with Minardi in 2001-2002, and Thailand’s Prince Bira (Birabongse Bhanudej) in the 1950s.

Haryanto was already the first Indonesian to drive a Formula One car, having tested with Manor’s predecessors Virgin Racing in 2010. The Indonesian’s arrival in Formula One spells disappointment for Britain’s Will Stevens, American Alexander Rossi and Spaniard Roberto Merhi, who all raced for Manor last season when the team was known as Marussia.

“Rio’s huge following in Indonesia is great for the team and for F1. They are keen to see him on the grid and we’re confident that we’ll see him enjoying some exciting battles in the year ahead,” Manor owner Stephen Fitzpatrick said.

Manor failed to score a point in 2015 but have rung the changes since then, with new management and drivers as well as Mercedes engines in place of ageing Ferrari ones.

Haryanto’s place in the team had depended on raising funds

Jakarta Athletes to Train in China for Asian Games The Jakarta provincial government, which is scheduled to host the 18th Asian Games in 2018, is planning to send its athletes to China to undergo training in keeping with the preparations for the four-yearly event.

“As we will host the Asian Games 2018, we will send the athletes to China to train for three years as part of the preparations for the event,” Deputy Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama stated here on Tuesday.

in Indonesia, with Manor seeking 15 million euros ($16.71 million) according to local media.

The driver has been backed by state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina but it was not immediately known how much they had contributed towards securing the drive. The company’s chief executive told reporters in Jakarta that Pertamina had contributed five million euros ($5.55 million) towards securing the seat.

Rossi Loses Out to Indonesia but Still Hopeful American Alexander Rossi

said he lost his chance of racing for Manor in Formula One this season because Haryanto’s Indonesian backers had offered the team more money, but was hopeful the dream was not over.

“I always knew going up against a country was going to be impossible,” said the Californian who raced for the team in five grand prix slast year.

“We couldn’t match some of what they were willing to do and sign and (Indonesia) really wanted him to be there so more power to them,” he had told racer.com.

“At the end of 2015 I felt I was

in a very strong position to be in one of the race seats in 2016 but obviously being a very attractive team with the Mercedes power, it was always going to be a challenge,” he said.

“I feel we did a very good job from our end to try to make it happen. But unfortunately the way the sport sometimes works, all the cards don’t fall in your favor.”

Rossi said he was still in “very positive discussions” with Manor about the future and hoped to return to Formula One “as soon as possible.”

Official: Preparations for Asian Games Going Well

Pekanbaru to Host International Taekwondo Championship Pekanbaru in Riau province is ready to host the International Taekwondo Championship Indonesia 2015, stated Alek Kurniawan, the spokesman of the city administration.

“The championship will be held at the Remaja Pekanbaru Sports Stadium from September 3 to 6, this year,” Kurniawan noted here on Thursday.

Haryanto, who finished fourth in the GP2 feeder series last season with three race wins, will be the third Southeast Asian driver to compete in Formula One since the championship started in 1950. The other two were Malaysian Alex Yoong, with Minardi in 2001-2002, and Thailand’s Prince Bira (Birabongse Bhanudej) in the 1950s.

The government is now preparing venues for the 2018 Asian Games such as a velodrome and a racetrack that need renovation, an official has stated. “Overall, the preparations are going well, but certain matters need to be paid attention,” Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said here on Monday.

Pramono made the remarks after President Joko Widodo led a limited meeting to discuss the countrys preparations to host the Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) 2017 and the 2018 Asian Games at the Presidential Office, Monday.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister of Culture and Human Resources Puan Maharani said the athletes homestead will be built in Kemayoran (Jakarta) and in Jakabaring, Palembang. “God willing, the athletes homestead will be completed in July 2017 because there will be a pre-event before the Asian Games,” Puan explained, adding that the Bung Karno main stadium (GBK) will also be renovated.

“I want to inquire again, particularly regarding the state of preparedness of the venues where the events are planned to be held,” the president noted.

Athletes’ homestead for Asian Games to be built this year Athletes homestead and venues for the 2018 Asian Games will be built starting 2016, Puan Maharani said. “God willing, groundbreaking of all venues and athletes homestead will be conducted starting upcoming March,” the minister said after a meeting led by President Joko

Widodo (Jokowi) here Thursday, which discussed preparations for the Asian Games implementation.

The Public Works Minister is responsible for the development of infrastructure for the Asian Games in Indonesia, namely Jakarta and Palembang, according to her.

The issue of budget implementation becomes the responsibili-

ty of the finance minister, Puan further said. In addition, the government keeps coordinating with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in preparing for the Asian Games.

Meanwhile, funds that have been allocated in the 2016 state budget for the Asian Games preparation amount to Rp1.4 trillion, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro revealed.

Indonesia Eyes Top 10 Finish in Asian Games: Official Indonesia should be able to grab at least ten gold medals in the 2018 Asian Games to finish among the top ten participating nations, stated an official of the sport affairs office.

Indonesian athletes are expected to be able to win at least ten gold medals in sporting disciplines, such as martial arts, wushu, badminton, karate, rowing, and taekwondo, Dodi Iswandi, an assistant deputy of sports organization of the Youth and Sports Ministry, stated here on Thursday.

In addition, the KOI has also proposed that the country can compete in four other sporting disciplines in the 2018 Asian Games: bridge, jet skiing, chess, and paragliding.

KIK Holds Jababeka Korea Tenant Golf Tournament PT Kawasan Industri Kendal (KIK), a subsidiary of PT Jababeka Tbk, organized a golf tournament entitled “Jababeka Korea Tenant Golf Tournament (JKTGT)” on Wednesday (17/2) at the Jababeka Golf and Country Club (JGCC), Kota Jababeka Cikarang.

Korean tenants from the Jababeka Industrial Estate and other Korean businessmen took part in the tournament. In total 84 golfers took part in the event, which uses a scoring system to decide the winner.

In an interview with The TPP, President Director of KIK and patron of the tournament, Ling Poon Lim, said the aim of the golf event was to establish network-

ing among tenants in Jababeka.

He added that the tournament was also a way to promote the Kendal industrial estate, a project of PT Jababeka Tbk. Many prizes were provided by the organizers, among others for two hole-in-one winners, including cash money and a JKTKT trophy. For lucky draw prizes, the organizers provided cash money worth Rp. 10 million as well as electronic goods.

Korean tenants from the Jababeka Industrial Estate and other Korean businessmen took part in the tournament.

President Director of KIK and patron of the tournament, Ling Poon Lim, said that the tournament was also a way to promote the Kendal industrial estate, a project of PT Jababeka Tbk.