The President Post Vol. II July 2013 by The President Post

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7 www.thepresidentpost.com

PERSPECTIVE

BUSINESS

TOURISM

– Page A3

This was not the first meeting between the President and the USABC. On September 24, 2012, President Yudhoyono met with the USABC delegation in New York, when receiving an award from USABC. – Page B1

The Makassar city government in South Sulawesi Province has set its focus on the development of tourism for the welfare of its local community. – Page C3

Lessons to Learn From Chile

US Businessmen Meet with President Yudhoyono

Aloysius Lele Madja Indonesian ambassador to Chile

Makassar Focuses on Tourism Development

Focus on Domestic Market, Says Economist Aviliani JAKARTA (TPP) – As the United States and Europe face a chronic economic crisis, Dr. Aviliani, a prominent economist, urged Indonesian businessmen to change their target markets to countries in East Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. According to her, the United States and the European crisis will continue until the next few years.

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“G

ermany is the only European country that is safe, the others will still face difficult economic condition," said Aviliani at CEO Business Forum held in the President Executive Club Jababeka, Cikarang. Aviliani encourages businessmen not to target the U.S. and Europe as their markets but shift to countries in Asia. She said, "it’s better that we seize our own market, or foreigners will do it.” Indonesia is enjoying an enormous increase of middle class. ADB reported that in 2030 the number of middle class in the world will be 4.990 million, 54 percent of which in Asia, while the number of upper class in 2030 is projected to be about 580 million in which Asia accounted for about 17 percent. By 2050 the number of upper class in Asia Pacific will reach 530 million or 35.33 percent of the total world's upper class. The interesting about Indonesia is, according to Av i l ia ni, the higher their income

the higher their consumption. Unlike Chinese people, the higher the income, the higher their savings. That is why the Indonesian domestic market has huge potential because of the large number of consumptive middle class. Aviliani added, the government should able to keep inflation at 7.2% by year-end in order to avoid social unrest. "As long as it is still under double digit it is still safe," she explained. She also said the national economic growth in 2013 will still be able to stay above 6% due to existing domestic consumption. Secretary to the Director General of Export Development Ministry of Trade, Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana, was also a guest speaker at the forum. He said that the IMF predicts the global economy will improve but the economic recovery in advanced countries will not be too significant, growing at only about 2% (2013) and 2.3% (in 2014), while emerging markets and developing economies are expected to experience growth at 5.7% (2013) and 5.9% (2014). So even though the world economy is in a slump, Indonesia still shows positive growth. Also present on the occasion was Director of Promotion and Branding Ministry of Trade Pradnyawati, who provided information about great opportunities for entrepreneurs to follow the Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2013, which will take place Octo-

The interesting about Indonesia is, according to Aviliani, the higher their income the higher their consumption. Unlike Chinese people, the higher the income, the higher their savings. That is why the Indonesian domestic market has huge potential because of the large number of consumptive middle class.

ber 16 to 20 2013. This year TEI is targeting 10,000 buyers and 2,000 exhibitors for total transactions of $2 billion, she said. Pradnyawati explained that the committee has prepared an incentive to exhibitors in the form of free accommodation for 3 days and 2 nights and other facilities. "We collaborate with the Ministry of Industry, Agriculture, SOEs, BKPN, and the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries to encourage companies to take part in the Trade Expo Indonesia 2013," she said. (Jeannifer Filly Sumayku/TPP)

Dry Port Set to Reduce Congestion at Tanjung Priok Port TPP/Heros Barasakti

Sea port plays an important role in world trade since 90 percent of international freight traffic is served by sea transport modes. As for Indonesia, 60 percent of freight traffic pass through Tanjung Priok port. The density of Tanjung Priok port has caused congestion and drew many protests from businessmen. It has caused huge dwelling time that leads to higher cost of logistics and transportation. Dwelling time is the total time required from the moment the container comes out from the ship up to the exit door of the port area. The best option to reduce congestion at sea ports is to transfer directly containers to other ports that are smaller but adjacent to industrial users of logistic services. A dry port can be considered as "an extended gate" of a sea port, in that delivery of goods will be more controlled and adjusted to match the terminal conditions, both physically and nonphysically. Dry port manages incoming containers which are treated the same as they are in a sea port. Owners of the goods in the container can easily process documents and goods at the same time in the dry port. Besides basic services of loading and unloading containers are also storage services, consol-

Inland Port Benny Woenardi (right) explained that Cikarang Dry Port is built in the strategic Jababeka Industrial area, Bekasi, West Java. The port covers 200 acres and can accommodate 400,000 TEUs of containers, which have been built since 2000 with an investment of nearly $200 million. idation, storage for empty containers, maintenance and repair of containers, customs and other services as the full service of dry port. BKPM 2012 data show that Indonesia already has eight dry ports, namely in Surabaya, Cirebon, Solo, Cikarang, Gede Bage, Cibungur, Tonjong, and Cilegon. However, the dry port in Surabaya, Cirebon and Cilegon are located too close to the sea port so

it is still less than ideal to call a dry port. The dry ports in Cikarang, Gedebage, Cibungur and Solo are examples of a dry port with rail lines to support the delivery of goods managed by PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), while others still use the highway. Of the eight existing dry ports, Cikarang Dry Port is the only facility that provides custom services under one roof, while the

custom process in seven other dry ports implemented on sea ports are connected with the dry ports. So it is often said that the seven other facilities are more accurately described as "container yards" because it does not provide custom services under one roof. Cikarang Dry Port offers onestop services for cargo handling and logistics solutions for international export and import, as

well as for domestic distribution. Cikarang Dry Port provides port and logistics services integrated with dozens of logistics and supply chain companies, such as exporters, importers, carriers, terminal operators, container stations, warehouses, transportation, third party logistics (3PL), empty container depot, as well as banks and other supporting facilities. As an extension of Tanjung Priok international port, all documents and permits can be completed in the Cikarang Dry Port, which has an international port code IDJBK. It is like bringing the port into a manufacturing area, which serves as both the Port of Origin and the Destination Port. Inland Port Benny Woenardi explained that Cikarang Dry Port is built in the strategic Jababeka Industrial area, Bekasi, West Java. The port covers 200 acres and can accommodate 400,000 TEUs of containers, which have been built since 2000 with an investment of nearly $200 million. Benny hopes that the Cikarang Dry Port can lessen the current density of loading and unloading activity at Tanjung Priok port. With good facilities and complete infrastructure, Benny guarantees, Cikarang Dry Port is able to provide faster services of international freight traffic. (JFS/TPP)

SBY’s Apology Demonstrates Strong Statesmanship: Former PM Goh In response to the widespread anger in neighbouring countries on the haze situation caused by land and forest fires in Riau, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has apologised for the prolonged haze pollution problem. “I, as the president, apologize and seek the understanding of our brothers and sisters in Singapore and Malaysia,” Yudhoyono said. “Indonesia had no intention to cause this.” In response, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore “wholeheartedly” accepts Yudhoyono’s apology for the haze and welcomed his promise to spare no efforts in tackling the serious problem. Singapore’s former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong praised the Indonesian government for its ability to tackle the haze crisis. In a statement posted on his Facebook account, Goh expressed his gratitude to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Goh wrote as quoted by Kompas.com that the President had shown strong leadership in dealing with the transnational problem. “As the saying goes, when there is a will, there is a way. Thank you, President SBY, for showing this will, graciousness and dignified statesmanship,” Goh wrote. Goh further said that it might not be possible to totally stop poor farmers from using slash-and-burn practices but it should be easy to prevent commercial plantation owners from doing so. He said with satellite technology, new laws if necessary and political will, smoking guns can be identified, confiscated and made to pay if they are fired. Separately, former Singapore’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Edward Lee, stated that SBY’s apology is an exemplary demonstration of outstanding statesmanship from Southeast Asia's biggest country. “He showed political courage in the face of opposition and criticism against him from within the country. It demonstrates that Indonesia as a leader in ASEAN has the political will and

As the saying goes, when there is a will, there is a way. Thank you, President SBY, for showing this will, graciousness and dignified statesmanship.” Goh Chok Tong Singapore’s former Prime Minister

resilience to work together with its neighbours to solve a common trans-boundary problem which has affected the lives of the people in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore,” said Lee. Lee became Singapore's Ambassador to Indonesia in 1994 and retired on 1 July 2006 after 36 years of service with the Foreign Service Branch of the Singapore Administrative Service in various senior positions across Asia-Pacific. Since his first posting to Indonesia in 1974, Lee served a total of 18 years in the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta. As reprted, Indonesia has deployed military planes to fight the blazes on Sumatra island from illegal burnings that typically take place in the June to September dry season to clear space for palm oil plantations. The fires are unusually widespread this year and the smog was the heaviest in Singapore's history. On the sixth day of the thick smoke, Singapore's pollution index eased to the "moderate" zone with readings as low as 77. It hit a record of 401 on Friday afternoon, a level considered potentially life-threatening for the ill and the elderly. Despite the improving conditions, streets in the clean and green city-state were far less crowded than on a typical Saturday when people go out to shop, meet in outdoor cafes and have fun at the park. The haze also raised diplomatic temperatures, with Singapore and Malaysia demanding that Indonesia do more to stop the problem. They have pressed Indonesia to finally ratify a 2002 ASEAN agreement aimed at ending the haze. Indonesia is the only country in ASEAN not to have ratified it, although officials say it is currently before parliament. (JFS/TPP)

Astronacci Monthly Outlook At last, we can see that the JCI has confirmed its bottom, formed on the last 12 June 2013. We should note that the downward movement within the JCI has been the biggest since the start of the bullish phase on the mid-2012, therefore, we conclude that it is a price and time overbalance that we are currently witnessing. Nevertheless, the JCI will continue its rebound phase with target area around its harmonic resistance level of 4,800-4,850 until the closest time resistance around 19-21 June 2013, as the Sun Conjunts Jupiter on 19 June 2013 and the Full Moon occurs on 23 June 2013. But, you should not be too excited, since on 26 June 2013, we are bound to face the most crucifying Astrolog-

ical cycle, known as Mercury Retrograde phase, as the JCI's price movement will be followed by high rate of volatility and false breakout. This has been inlined with the BI's decision to increase the BI rate back 6%, as Indonesian economic outlook has been haunted by the rising inflation rate. Fortunately, we are saved by the rising level of correlation from both US Indices (especially DJIA) and WTI Crude Oil that has succesfully risen recently. Therefore, we still have some potential stocks that could possibly rise despite of the current market condition, such as MPPA, INDY, ASRI, WIKA, and SMGR.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Opinion

The Emergence of Mobile Social Media Drives Online Shopping A current trend for mobile social media is to create mobile apps to give their users instant and easy access from their devices. As a result, the line between mobile and web is being blurred as mobile apps use existing social networks to create web-based social networks.

socialgo.com

By T. Manivasugen MBA*

mately 89 percent access the Internet through their mobile devices and 57 percent of them use the Internet for online shopping. The rising of online shopping has made many conventional business owners redesign their business model in order to survive in the industries. There is a tremendous growth in smart phones and interest of people in social networking sites in Indonesia. More and more people are accessing the Internet through their mobile phones. Apart from sharing their opinions on many issues, they also like to go shopping through the social media. They have started using their mobile phones to check prices at several sites while doing their regular shopping. As a result, they may not buy products immediately. They will examine the products and services thoroughly before deciding on whether or not to buy. The real challenge for marketers is how to engage customers and convert them to final sales. They have to make their website presence mobile compatible and adopt social networking media to increase their visibility. Marketers can design the content

ocial media are the platforms for people to interact, share and discuss information about each other in virtual communities and networks. Social media technology comprises several forms such as Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, micro blogging, wikis, tagging and news, social networks, podcasts, photographs or pictures, image and video sharing, etc. When social media are run on mobile devices, they’re called mobile social media. The emergence of mobile social media has a widening impact on the entire business environment. Individuals and groups can create and exchange content easily and engage in person-to-person conversations from wherever they are. There are many popular sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, LiveJournal, Wikipedia, Wetpaint, Wikidot, Second Life, Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Lulu and many others.

There is a tremendous growth in smart phones and interest of people in social networking sites in Indonesia. More and more people are accessing the Internet through their mobile phones.

A current trend for mobile social media is to create mobile apps to give their users instant and easy access from their devices. As a result, the line between mobile and web is being

blurred as mobile apps use existing social networks to create web-based social networks. The number of Internet users in Indonesia is estimated at 63 million people in 2012. It was

placed number 8 as the biggest Internet users in the world. It is estimated that Internet users would grow to 139 million people in 2015. Of these 63 million users for the year 2012, approxi-

The real challenge for marketers is how to engage customers and convert them to final sales. They have to make their website presence mobile compatible and adopt social networking media to increase their visibility.

that includes images, product price, availability, and other related options. The emergence of mobile social media has stimulated a power shift from the business towards the consumer. As mobile social networks and communities continue to grow at a staggering rate, online shopping will be driven by mobile social media in the future. *) The writer is a Vice Rector 3, President University.

Asean Economic Community 2015 The 10 ASEAN leaders hoped that AFTAcould be achieved through improved economic competitiveness by making ASEAN the production base for the global market.

By Hendra Manurung*

rade boundaries among countries are becoming vaguer ahead of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Free Trade Area 2020. International trade systems begun with the issuance of the General Agreement On Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. GATT was basically aimed to expand international trading system and mechanism to provide solutions to improve the people’s welfare. GATT later evolved into the Word Trade Organization (WTO). To help international trade in developing countries, developed nations launched the General System of Preferences (GSP). Countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, have embraced the economic globalization by liberalizing their economies. The WTO was established on

15 April 1994 in di Morocco. The United States and Great Britain set up the embryo for the organization way back in the era of World War II (1945). In 1947, 23 developed nations at the time signed GATT, which was aimed at reducing trade import duties among member countries and to resolve a wide range of trade problems both bilaterally and multilaterally. The biggest advantage offered by the free market is that more production of goods and services can be marketed to countries that need them. The role of the shipping industry in the global scene is becoming more and more significant because ships remain the proper vehicle in international trade. Indonesia’s shipping industry is driven by the dynamics of changes in the strategic environment of the Asian Pacific region, especially Southeast Asia.Meanwhile, two Asia Pacific giants, the United States and China are competing fiercely post the Cold War era (1945-1990).

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh (Boeing’s Press Release, November 2011) said that Lion Air was the first airliner in the world to use the B-737-900ER variant and that it was also the first Asian airliner to orderthe B-737MAX series which is expected to replace B-737 NG (Next Generation). Lion Air’s successful negotiations to purchase 230 Boeing units was a reflection of Indonesia’s economic growth prospect and that it was able to weather the global economic crisis which had hurt Europe and the United States. The total transaction was estimated at Rp 195.2 trillion ($21.7 billion).

lished on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. Initially AFTA only consisted of six nations: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined AFTA in 1995, while Laos and Myanmar came on board in 1997, followed by Cambodia in 1999. The AFTA pact was actually scheduled to come into full swing in 2008 but it was accelerated to 2003. The main mechanism in achieving the goal was through the Common Effective Preferential Tariffs (CEPT) scheme aimed to push the ASEAN nations to produce products which contain at least 40% local contents with import duties ranging only from 0-5%.

AFTA is a trade and economic cooperation or an agreement to create a balanced and fair trade situation through tariff reductions in which all tariff barriers are lifted (import duties range only between 0-5%), and non-tariff barriers are also eliminated for the ASEAN member countries. AFTA was estab-

eration among ASEAN member countries (21stASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1820 November 2012). Indonesia must immediately make introspections, solve various problems related to its national leadership ahead of the 2014 presidential election and implement good corporate governance to improve the quality of its bureaucracy services and to fight corruption. The 10 ASEAN leaders hoped that AFTA could be achieved through improved economic competitiveness by making ASEAN the production base for the global market. However, Indonesia was still lagging far behind compared to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines, and Vietnam, and it has no preparations whatsoever in providing facilities and infrastructure from Sabang to Merauke due to its poor quality of human resources. Indonesia will face the ASEAN free market as of 31 December 2015 (The President Post

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said that ASEAN leaders agreed, among other things, to push efforts and to focus on strategic measures to create the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. This commitment was intended to draw both global and regional investments to boost trade coop-

Indonesia was still lagging far behind compared to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines, and Vietnam, and it has no preparations whatsoever in providing facilities and infrastructure from Sabang to Merauke due to its poor quality of human resources.

Indonesia,”Globalization of Indonesian Scholars”, 28 January 2013). *) Hendra Manurung is International Relations lecturer at President University, Jababeka City, Cikarang.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Perspective

Lessons To Learn From Chile According to the Word Economic Forum in September 2012, Chile´s economy is the most competitive in South and Central America based on the “12 pillars of competitiveness” such as a country´s infrastructure, macroeconomic setting, health, education, market efficiencies and size, financial market development, technological availability, business sophistication and innovation.

By Aloysius Lele Madja

n 18 and 19 September every year Chile celebrates its independence day with thanksgivings for almost a week and this year is the 202nd. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Echenique in an interview said that Chile should be proud of its achievements as many other countries are in trouble. Chile maybe unknown to many, but for many economists in the World Bank or IMF Chile is a success story as it has in the last two decades developed rapidly. Chile was “awarded” with the accession to the club of developed countries, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the only country in the South American hemisphere, for its success in managing its economy. With its enormous natural resources Chile succeeded in distributing its welfare in a relative very transparent mechanism to all levels of its social group. According to a survey by Ecoconsult, in 2011 the GDP per capita of Chile reached $17,299—and during January–June 2012 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) reached $12.2 billion compared to $14 billion in the whole year of 2011. Chile is pursuing to be the Singapore of South America. Can they achieve this goal? What are the keys of their success story that we can learn or adopt in our efforts to achieve our development goals? This article is not going to give a complete picture about every single step that has been taken by the Chilean government in developing its country but just to illustrate some interesting aspects that from a small country like Chile and/or Singapore we can and should learn some “smart” ideas.

Natural resources and people's prosperity Chile is a tiny and very long country in South America with about 5,000km long coast line to the Pacific Ocean. Chile is blessed with abundance of natural resources, especially minerals. Chile is one of the biggest producers of copper in the world

(36%) with earnings amounting up to over $40 billion in 2011. To manage its copper mining a state owned company called Codelco was established and it is one of the biggest revenue contributors to the state budget. The earnings from mining is being used to the maximum for the benefit of the people in the form of economic development and creating jobs opportunities. Since 2012 the local government where the big mining operates received direct cash payment as “bonus” for the local people welfare spending. Beside that an “excess” profit of mining sector was pooled into a special fund (not in foreign exchange reserves), which under the law can be used as reserve fund in the case of economic emergency caused for example by international financial crises. Another interesting thing is the allocation of 10% of the mining profit regulated by law for nonbudgetary military institution´s expenditure. The idea is among other to avoid the involvement of the military in business activities and to secure the welfare of military personnel. Chile which is the home of various maritime resources from various kinds of fish and sea weeds as well as salmon and other aquaculture in the south part of Chile. Chile is one of the biggest fish and fish products exporter countries, bigger than Indonesia. Salmon is one of the main fish product exports amounting to almost reaching $300 million. The soil and temperature of central Chile is very suitable for wine plantation. Chile has put an ambitious target to be the biggest wine producer competing with Australia and France. The probability is quiet big considering that Chile still has huge empty land space, which is very suitable for grape cultivating combined with integrated agribusiness management with application of proper technology supported by genetic and market research and development. Even now Chilean wine is everywhere in international market, from the US to Europe and has a very prospective market in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. You can also find Chilean wine in many four to five stars hotel in Indonesia, especially in Bali. Chile is one of the biggest agricultural and fruits producers such as grape, avocado, apple, cherry, kiwi, peach – just to mention some. Fruits and salmon alone reach the export value of almost $1 billion last year. Chile has reached a level of a modern integrated and efficient agricultural management

through cooperation between the farmer as the implementing agent on the ground, government in charge of policy planning, regulation, promotion and market seeker and universities in charge of scientific research and development of plant seeds, diseases as well as for capability training of the farmer. In a yearly agricultural exhibition in the agricultural region there will be demonstrated the agricultural machines, tractors, irrigation technologies, result of research on seed including tree seeds, promotion and marketing.

Liberal and open economy Since the era of Pinochet, Chile has chosen and implemented a very liberal and open economic system, which is preserved and developed until today by the so called “Chicago boys”, a group of government officials managing the country´s economy. The result of this policy is evident. In two decades Chile was transformed from a low into a middle per capita income group of country with GDP per capita more than $15,000. In June this year Chile has been invited to attend the G20 meeting in Mexico. One of the keys to this success is the liberalization of its market and at the same time free access to other countries’ markets. Therefore, Chile is very aggressive in pursuing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with as many as countries in the world. Chile has 27 FTAs with 58 countries. Chile is very keen to have formal negotiations with Indonesia after the completion of a Joint Study Group in 2008. Indonesia is perceived as a hypermarket for Chilean agricultural products. Unfortunately, Indonesia is very traumatized by FTA because of the bad experience with ASEAN and China. In a very friendly way, some Chilean diplomats said to me: Come on Sir, Chile is not as big as China and our products are complementary and not competing with Indonesian products, so why you are so afraid of us? That is reasonable, otherwise we will lag behind Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia in doing business with Chile or uses Chile as a hub to enter neighboring countries like Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil from the Pacific Ocean. Taking into account the infrastructure Chile has and trans-ocean project to connect Pacific and Atlantic Ocean from Chile (and Peru) thru Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil will be completed in the near future the opportunity is wide open. Pinochet may be politically an authoritarian ruler in managing the country, but he has put in place a strong foundation for

economic development. The good ideas and the good things he has established in the past is preserved and developed and has not been rejected or demolished because it is the creation of Pinochet. Good management of its economy can be seen also in the ranking of doing business in Chile, which is one of the best in the regions as well as in transparency. In completion of documents and unloading the cargo in the port of Chile takes not more than 14 hours. The implementation of a liberal and open economy system does not necessarily mean that foreign companies have all the freedom to exploit all the possible resources for their profit unlimited. The protection of Chilean workers and obligation to transfer of knowledge are clearly defined. After a period of time, normally five years, almost all positions in a foreign company has to be fulfilled by Chileans, especially local people. To protect the Chilean people from the fluctuation of foreign exchange, especially in receiving payment in foreign currencies from many expatriates living in Chile, a special and smart mechanism and unit of payment called Unidad de Fomento (UF) was created in the late sixties. Under this system Chileans are not only protected from the ups and down of the rate of foreign exchange but also from the decreasing value of the local currency, Chilean Peso, caused by inflation. Other benefits of the UF is to push the debtor to pay its obligation in due time otherwise it will cost more local currency because normally the value of UF is increasing all the time in line with the inflation rate. The protection of local workers is also one the priorities of the state; even foreign workers are subjected to the Chilean labor law with minimum standard of wages. The workers, including domestic or household workers, should have a written contract with their employers which clearly defined wages and all the obligations and rights, including all social security and health insurance. Consumers protection is managed by a special agent named SERNAM (Servicio Nacional de la Mujer), which gives guidance and protection to the public in all aspects of life not only in consumption of food but also in medical treatment, housing renting or buying, banking business proper pricing etc. Children protection is under a special agent named SENAME (Servicio Nacional de Menores and is not only in charge of child abuse but also family conflicts, education of children, psychological consultation etc.)

Transparency and prevention of corruption Learning from the past, Chilean legislation successfully passed many laws that maintain transparency and avoid abuse of power by the ruler. A simple example is the limitation o the term of the President just for one fouryear period. If the incumbent President would like to be reelected then there must be an interruption of a four-year period of another President. The very basic idea of this rule is that any incumbent President, if he or she can be re-nominated for election the second time uninterrupted or continuously, will directly or indirectly misuse his or her power during his or her term in office. The four-year term of Presidency might be too short to implement a development program but to clean up the country this is a very clear cut system. And this started since the first elected president, Alwyn, in 1990 after Pinochet´s era. The President has to declare he has no relations to any company or business. President Sebastian Pinera, who won the election in February 2010, had to sell his shares in the famous football club Colo-Colo and in the Chilean national carrier LAN to avoid conflict of interest during his term in public office. There is another law in curbing indirectly the possibility of corruption, namely the prohibition of the child or children of a public servant to work in the same office as his or her father or mother regardless of his or her brilliant achievements. It is an effort to avoid a public office filled with people from the same family. The children of a civil servant can apply to another public office. In encouraging the participation of private sector in the development process for instance in constructing infrastructure or public facility, what is now known as Public Private Partnership (PPP), Chile has a good reputation. There is a clear mechanism bylaw, which regulates rights and obligation of the parties involved without any double interpretation. A fair responsibility of both governmental agency and private company as the concession winner is regulated where an accurate calculation has to be made beforehand or at the beginning of the tender including the projection of profit or loss in the period of concession (30 or 50 years). In the case that in the operation the business is under the projection or suffering loss then the company will receive a kind of subsidy but in case of a windfall profit, then the company should pay to the state the difference. That

is one of the reasons that the fee of toll roads in Chile is not being increased any time according to the will of the concession owner. And this is also the reason why the PPP in Chile is among the most successful in the world and that Chile is one of the models of PP for many other countries.

Law enforcement One of the big problems in many developing countries is law enforcement to give and maintain a feeling of safety or secure for living and for investment. Chile is one of the most stable politically and economically and relative safe countries compared to some of its neighbors. An extreme illustration of how rigid law enforcement is an experience of a member of an Indonesian trade mission to Santiago, who had to pay more than 100.000 Chilean Pesos equivalent to more than $250 because he unintentionally did not declare that he had brought with him in his bag two apples. Another sad story happened to a staff of the ITPC, who was rejected to leave the country with her under-age son only after receiving a letter of permission from his husband. The explanation that the husband did not come to Santiago did not impress the border police even after a call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. Reciprocal treatment is another thing we can learn. If a Chilean citizen has to pay $150 to get visa to enter a specific country then the same rate will be charged to the citizen of that country if they want to enter Chilean territory.

Lessons learnt? According to the Word Economic Forum in September 2012, Chile´s economy is the most competitive in South and Central America based on the “12 pillars of competitiveness” such as a country´s infrastructure, macroeconomic setting, health, education, market efficiencies and size, financial market development, technological availability, business sophistication and innovation. Until June 2012 the FDI inflow to Chile was $12.2 billion. A report on 11 September 2012 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised the Chilean Government´s economic management which registered high rate of growth, low rate of unemployment, inflation and public debt during 2011 in the wake of global economic crisis. Chilean Government projected the growth of more than 5% in 2012. The main purpose of maintaining diplomatic relations with a friendly country is to boost cooperation and to tap as much as mutual benefit from that re-

lationship. Since the opening of our Embassy in Santiago in 1991 – long after the opening of diplomatic relation in 1964 – our relations are relatively good and in economic terms there is a tendency of increasing in the last two years. Our trade volume in 2011 amounted to $572 million, an increase of almost 40% from $404 million in 2010. Chile, with its excellent infrastructure and services, can be the gateway to South America considering also the facility offered by the Free Trade Zone in the city of Iquique in the North and Punta Arenas in the south. However, to attract more flow of goods and more personal interaction or people to people contact between Indonesia and Chile seems to be a hard task and still a long way to go. The main reason usually expressed by not only business people but also governmental officials is the very long distance of this region from Indonesia. And, obviously, a mental block. In the mind stereotypes that this region is a chaotic, dangerous area, under developed, why should we risk our life in there? Do not look over the fact that a country like Bolivia, which has a GDP per capita of $4,000 (2010) – the lowest in South America – is still bigger than Indonesia or many African countries. Indonesian trade and official visits to Africa are very often but very rare to South America. Another reason might be the different culture in doing business; in other regions a system of cash and carry is still a model, which means our exporters expect a flow of cash during the exhibition to cover their expenses i.e. flight and other spending and hopefully with some profit. In Chile this model does not exist anymore. Language may be one of the hurdles, but why do Korea and China even Thailand do very well there? If it is distance that prevents you from coming to Santiago, bear in mind that any place in the eastern coast of US or Canada is almost the same distance from Indonesia to Santiago, Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo. It is a problem of will and perception. If other countries can do business in Chile, why can not Indonesia? Many other countries learn from the mistakes and success of other countries no matter how big or small that country is. Indonesia should also learn many good things from other countries. Hopefully we are not too late, and we should not. The writer is currently the Indonesian ambassador to Chile since October 2010. This article is his personal opinion and observation during his assignment in Santiago, Chile.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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International

Three Expectations of Implementing APEC 2013 for Indonesia APEC 2013 is expected to answer the connectivity issue which became the homework in the Asia Pacific region.

he implementation of APEC 2013 had a special meaning for Indonesia and the world. There were three expectations from APEC implementation this year. "One of the expectations is to strengthen the international trade system and the WTO work results". This was said by Denny W. Kurnia, MA., the Director of APEC Cooperation and Other International Organizations, Ministry of Trade, in the press conference in Medan. According to him, APEC was initially established to boost WTO

performance. "The two organizations are inseparable and support teach other". APEC is the bridge between WTO and Free Trade Area in the Asia Pacific region. APEC roles are clear to WTO. "The forum has important roles in giving inputs and boosting WTO Ministerial conference which has the authority to produce regulations binding to the world trade ", added Denny. "All of us want WTO to be successful", said he. Success in this sense was that the world would

presidenri.go.id/Abror

see again the WTO as a credible and organization in solving world economic problems. Besides, the second thing expected through APEC implementation this year, according to Denny, was to achieve the "Bogor Goals". The liberalization mandated by Bogor Goals is important for Indonesia and for other countries in the region. "We need the liberalization arrangement which is clear for our export and import", said Denny. This of course has challenges. One of the challenges faced

is the deadline of a country towards liberalization. "This matter can only be overcome by a discussion on “Behind the Border”", explained Denny. The discussion on "Behind the Border" would elaborate various important things needed by Indonesia to face trade liberalization and to improve competitiveness. One of them, for Indonesia, was through structural and financial inclusion reform. The third, APEC 2013 is expected to answer the connectivity issue which became the

homework in the Asia Pacific region. "The physical connectivity is an important issue to be discussed in APEC this year". Another problem was transportation infrastructure for economic development in the region. Furthermore, the supply chain connectivity is another important issue. "It is important for us to guard and boost Small Medium Enterprises to enter the world trade value chain". This, according to Denny, was one of Indonesia’s competitive advantages.

It is important for us to guard and boost Small Medium Enterprises to enter the world trade value chain" Denny W. Kurnia, MA Director of APEC Cooperation and Other International Organizations Ministry of Trade

RI, Iran to Enhance Media Relations theiranproject.com

The signing of Extradition Agreement and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement in Criminal Matters by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Amir Syamsudin and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh after the bilateral meeting in Merdeka Palace (27/06) witnessed by the two countrymen.

Indonesia, Vietnam Improve Cooperation in Legal Fields Indonesia and Vietnam agreed upon continuous cooperation improvement in legal aspects. This commitment was expressed by the signing of Extradition Agreement and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement in Criminal Matters by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Amir Syamsudin and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh after the bilateral meeting in Merdeka Palace (27/06) witnessed by the two countrymen. “We realize that both Vietnam and Indonesia desire sincere cooperation to fight crime and defend justice implemented in both countries and in the region”, explained President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the press conference in Merdeka Palace. In the case of South China Sea, both countrymen revealed their intention of overcoming the issue peacefully and without any violence."We have agreed that all issues in the East Sea/South China Sea shall be solved by applicable International Law and shall be in peace,” said SBY. President SBY also revealed

that both countries had the commitment to keep continuing what had been agreed upon in the ASEAN-China Meeting as well as to keep advancing the Declaration of Conduct of the Parties in South China Sea (DOC) towards establishing a Code of Conduct (COC). For Vietnam, according to President Truong Tan Sang, it would continue supporting the steps initiated by ASEAN in establishing a better regime in the South China Sea. "We support the results related to the East Sea, which have been agreed upon by ASEAN especially through the Six Point Principles initiated by Indonesia", said President Tan Sang. He added that handling the tension in the East Sea had to be carried out in peace, by holding oneself, and not by threats or violence. In the trade sector, the Indonesian President promised to keep increasing the trade amount with Vietnam up to $5 billion in 2015. This was somehow related to the positive climate of the

trade and investment between the two countries. It was recorded that the trade volume of Indonesia-Vietnam in 2012 reached $4.87 billion, increasing from that of 2011 which reached $4.7 billion. Even the Indonesian investment amount in 2012 showed significant figure of $54.6 million. Still related to trade, on the occasion, Indonesia and Vietnam also signed an MoU on Agricultural Commodities Cooperation represented by Minister of Agriculture Suswono and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. "Together with Vietnam, Indonesia will explore and improve the cooperation in food security especially rice", said President SBY after the MoU signing. This state-visit to Indonesia was the first for President Truong Tan Sang since his inauguration on 25 July 2011. The bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Vietnam has been built since 1955. This bilateral relationship then became closer by establishing comprehensive partnership in 2003.

Angklung Breaks World Record in Beijing The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Beijing in cooperation with the Indonesia–China Friendship Association (PPIT) have successfully organized the world record-breaking Angklung performance (30/6), at the Beijing Workers' Gymnasium, Beijing, China. Approximately 5,393 people from all corners of the world participated in this world record breaking attempt, officially recorded by the Guinness World Records. The previous record was held by Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC, USA which booked the record in 2011. A number of ambassadors from friendly countries spotted participating in this memorable event. With other participants from around 40 nations, they seemed to really enjoy the songs being played by musicians from 'Saung Udjo Music Workshop' whose hometown is Bandung,

West Java Province, and led by their maestro, Daeng Udjo. The participants were entertained by the Angklung Orchestra to the harmonious tunes of Indonesia’s traditional song ‘Manuk Dadali’, China’s all time favorite song ‘Yueliang Daibiao Wo De Xin’, and the internationally known song ‘We are the World’. Angklung is a traditional music instrument made of bamboos and originated from West Java Province. It was recognized by UNESCO as the world’s intangible cultural heritage in 2011. In his remarks, marking the record-breaking event, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to China Imron Cotan said, “such an international recognition has fortified our efforts to further introduce this heritage to the rest of the world.” Ambassador Cotan also un-

derlined that this record-breaking attempt will not only further solidify the bilateral relationship, as mandated by the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership jointly signed by President Hu Jintao and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in April 2005, but also enhance peopleto-people relationship through an entertaining and unforgettable musical event. At the end of the show, the Embassy of Indonesia in Beijing gave away around 115 door-prizes from the sponsors, covering inter-alia three return tickets to any chosen destinations in Indonesia, courtesy of Garuda Indonesia. For all Beijingers who missed the Sunday performance, they can still enjoy the Angklung ensemble on a special coverage by China Central Television (CCTV) Culture Express, China Daily and China Radio International.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ramin Mehmanparast has stressed the importance of expanding cooperation with Indonesia in the media sector. In a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Abdulrahman Fakhir in Jakarta on June, Mehmanparast expressed readiness to invite Indonesian media and cultural delegations to Iran in order to establish closer ties between the two nations. Mehmanparast, who is also the head of Foreign Ministry’s Center for Public and Media Diplomacy, emphasized on expanding the

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ramin Mehmanparast expressed readiness to invite Indonesian media and cultural delegations to Iran in order to establish closer ties between the two nations. two countries’ tourism industries and bolstering mutual media cooperation. Mehmanparast further re-

ferred to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s presidency of the NonAligned Movement (NAM), saying the two countries can use

the potential of their membership of NAM, the Group of Eight Developing Countries (D8), and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to help develop cooperation beneficial to Muslim countries. The Iranian official also said Iran's June 14 elections “were held in a perfect transparent atmosphere” despite the Western propaganda ahead of the elections. Fakhir congratulated Iran on holding its 11th presidential election and he called for the expansion of bilateral ties between the media sectors of the two countries.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Law & Regulation

Green Building Development in Indonesia The green building concept emerged as the result of the economic development that caused new buildings to grow like mushrooms but that would eventually affect the environment. By Paulus Khierawan

e often hear that new office or apartment buildings nowadays have adopted the “green building” concept. So, how exactly is the progress of the green building concept in Indonesia? What are the regulations? The green building concept emerged as the result of the economic development that caused new buildings to grow like mushrooms but that would eventually affect the environment. The impacts caused by the new buildings are enormous. A new building needs a lot of energy, power, water and it also produces a significant amount of wastes. That’s why every development would create big changes to its environment. In Indonesia buildings are regulated under Law No. 28/2002 on new buildings (UU 28/2005), and under Government Regulation No. 36/2005 (PP 36/2005) on implementation of Law No. 28/2005 on new buildings. However, both Law No. 28/2005 and PP No.36/2005 did not regulate the green building concept. Regulations on the green building concept are instead found in bylaws. The Jakarta city administration, for instance, regulated the green building concept under Bylaw No. 7/2010 (Perda DKI

Jakarta Bylaw No. 7/2010, article 1 clause 28 stated that a green building concept is a building which is environmentallyfriendly and energy efficient from its planning, construction, utilization, maintenance until its deconstruction process.

No 7/2010) on building construction and Gubernatorial Decree No. 38/2012 (Pergub 38/2012) on green building concept. Although it wasn’t regulated under the law, that didn’t mean that regional governments should remain passive and not issue any bylaw about the green building concept. Both Law No. 28/2005 and PP No.36/2005 required that all construction activities must pay attention to their environment. Given the fact that the common law has limits because it would not be relevant in the long term to keep up with developments in the public, it was expected that bylaws including gubernatorial decree or mayoral decree can accommodate the development that occurred in the public. Jakarta Bylaw No. 7/2010, article 1 clause 28 stated that a green building concept is a building which is environmentally-friendly and energy efficient from its planning, construction, utilization, maintenance until its deconstruction process. This concept should spearhead environment conservation efforts. This is a concept that benefits all parties despite the fact that the parties have different interests. The interest of the developer is to get a huge profit. Consumers’ interest is to get the best products at the cheapest prices. As for the government, it’s in their inter-

Office Bintaro Indonesia. The design intent for this office complex is to create a 'green' work place environment.

est to conserve the environment and to protect it from being damaged by buildings. These different interests can be accommodated under the green building concept. Here are the benefits for the stakeholders:

Consumers Consumers can save costs such as for power, water, AC and others. Consumers also get to have a building that offers more comfort and better health level.

Developers Developers will compete to develop green buildings due to high market demand. The concept is believed to increase a building’s sales value.

Government It will help the government to conserve the environment, save energy and more. Article 3 of Bylaw No. 38/2012 stated that developers that are developing certain types of building and at certain size are required to meet the green building concept. The criteria of the size here are as follow: • residential function, apartment building of more than 50,000 m2 (fifty thousand square meters); • business function, office building of more than 50,000 m2 (fifty thousand square meters); • business function, building for a trade center of more than

•

50,000 m2 (fifty thousand square meters); building with more than one function in a single building period of more than 50.000 m2 (fifty thousand square meters); business function, hotel building with more than 20,000 m2 (twenty thousand square meters); social and culture function, health facility of more than 20,000 m2 (twenty thousand square meters); and/or social and culture function, school building of more than 10,000 m2 (ten thousand square meters).

Aside from new buildings, the regulation is also applica-

ble to existing buildings. Article 3 clause 2 of Bylaw No. 38/2012 stated that “building constructions which include new and existing buildings”. It was also explained in the regulation that existing buildings mean buildings that were under construction and/or already been used when Bylaw No. 38/2012 was issued. Article 4 of Bylaw No. 38/2012 said that the technical requirements for the green building concept include:

New Buildings • • • • •

Energy-efficient Water-efficient Good Air Quality Land and waste management Implementation of construction activities

Existing Buildings • Conservation and efficiency of

energy use • Conservation and efficiency of water use • Good air and thermal quality • Operational management/ maintenance Bylaw No. 38/2012 stated that supervision on the implementation of the bylaw is technically conducted by the Environmental Agency. Therefore, the agency has to announce which buildings that had complied with Bylaw No. 38/2012 on the green building concept. This is needed to protect the public from developers who arbitrarily claim to have adopted the green building concept to reap as much profits. With Bylaw No. 38/2012 it is clear what criteria needs to be met to get the green building concept label and the party authorized to issue the status. Supervision from the public, either through NGO or other institutions, is needed. Indonesia already has “Green Building Council Indonesia (GCB Indonesia)”, an independent and nonprofit agency which focuses on sustainable global construction industry. GCB Indonesia is also an emerging member of the World Green Building Council which is based in Toronto, Canada. One of GCB Indonesia’s programs is issuing the Green Building Certification in Indonesia. For such purpose, GCB Indonesia needs to cooperate with regional governments in Indonesia so that the country can adopt the green building concept that’s in line with the international standard. Incentives from the government are also needed so that the green building concept can be carried out well.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Property

MP3EI Projects and Potential Land Disputes in Indonesia One of the impacts that will arise from the projects is an increasing number of land disputes, especially those related to lands owned traditionally owned by persons that are affected by infrastructure development projects, special areas for food estate and constructions of power generators, and more. By Andri Marsetianto

plot of land could become an investment instrument that could offer yields if it is used as a plantation area or put on for lease after constructing a building on it. Land also carry philosophical, political, social and cultural values that it is no wonder it often created complicated social conflicts. That’s why preventive measures, handling and solutions for land disputes in Indonesia need to include both legal and non-legal aspects. The Indonesian government is pushing for the development of infrastructure in 2013 through the Rp545.6 trillion Master Plan

Many of the land disputes in Indonesia could be settled through district courts and state administrative courts. However, many of those settled through courts failed to provide a sense of justice for the people and made the problems became even more complex.

for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development (MP3EI) program. One of the impacts that will arise from the projects is an increasing number of land disputes, especially those related to lands owned traditionally owned by persons that are affected by infrastructure development projects, special areas for food estate and constructions of power generators, and more. The National Land Agency’s (BPN) data showed that conflicts from January until June 2012

stemmed from 377,159 hectares of land across the country. Prof. Maria W. Sumarjono said that there are five factors that can create land disputes: (1) plantation and forest areas that had been used by citizens, and more; (2) violation of the land reform law; (3) excesses from land procurement for development; (4) land issues; and (5) those related to lands owned by families. Many of the land disputes in Indonesia could be settled through district courts and state administrative courts. However,

many of those settled through courts failed to provide a sense of justice for the people and made the problems became even more complex. That’s why out-of-court land dispute settlements can be done through mediation, negotiation and discussions. BPN can serve as the mediator on land dispute settlement or as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). BPN has appointed a deputy for land dispute analysis and mitigation to study and analyze land disputes so that they could handle them comprehensively.

E-property Development in Indonesia By Andri Marsetianto Data from the Indonesian Cellular Telecommunication Association (ATSI) showed that cellular customers in 2011 exceeded 240 million people, up by 60 million compared to 2010. This figure is close to Indonesia's total population of 258 million people in December 2010. The high number of people connected via cellular phone is attributed to Indonesia's stable economic growth over the past five years, from 2007 to 2012 that reached 6.11%. Although Indonesia is still considered a developing country, the smartphone market growth in Indonesia continues to post robust growth from year to year. The number of smartphone users continue to rise over the past four years. Data from a telecommunication distributor in Indonesia showed that the number of smartphone users in Indonesia in 2008 comprised only 2% of the population and increased to 5% in 2009 and rose to 13% in 2010. In 2011, the figure surged to 17%, and 28% last year. The number is expected to continue to soar to 38% this year. Data from Frost Sullivan said that the penetration of feature phones will remain high, mainly driven by Indonesians' habbit to change their feature phones every 7 to 9 months and smartphones every 8 to 14 months. Such condition is

due to the fact that access to the internet via smartphones is easier and cheaper nowadays. Indonesia's annual 7% middle class growth to 130 million today will also boost internet access that would not only accommodate their consumerism drive but also make property transactions in Indonesia easier, especially in terms of finding information about the property market which has been mapped out based on the types, prices and consumers' needs. Online media that provide information on property usually also provide information about banks that offer mortgage for ownership of houses/apartments as well as on property agents or brokers and legal advisors related to property transactions. As a property investor, we can choose and plan the budget for the property we want, whether a house, shop house, apartment, plot of land or commercial retail space in locations that we want simply by checking from the smartphone. They not only serve as a forum for individuals to sell their houses, but websites that offer information on houses also offer opportunity for new developers to promote their prod-

ucts to a wider market and to compete with established developers. Iproperty.com conducted a survey on Asia's property market sentiments in 2012 which involved property investors, agents, owners and the public in general as respondents which sought their views about property market in their respective countries. The survey, which was conducted through property search websites showed that 82% out of 9,805 respondents in Indonesia planned to buy a property in 6-10 months as opposed to Singapore (62%), Hong Kong (35%) and Malaysia (31%) where the respondents were more selective in investing and investors would make evaluations based on quality and fundamental factors of each location that they planned to choose. The motivations of Indonesians to buy property are 72% chose to buy a house to live in, 20% bought them so that they could lease them and 8% as an investment. That's why property websites that are accessed through telecommunication devices will make the access easier and improve the quality of property transactions in the long term. This will benefit potential buyers in choosing their first property or their dream property in accordance with their needs. Property sellers will also find the websites as alternative marketing forum that would effectively introduce their products.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Transportation

Government Prepares Incentives For Airport Development bandara.net

The government will provide incentives in the form of financial assistance for the development of a number of regional airports to increase the private sector's role in the development of airports in the country.

D Morotai Airport. During 2012-2013, a number of airports being developed are Mutiara Palu Airport, Saumlaki Baru Airport, Tambolaka Airport, Komodo Labuan Bajo Airport, Haliwen Atambua Airport, Morotai Airport, Wasior Airport, Rendani Manokwari Airport and Kaimana Airport.

MTI Urges Government Pursue Cheap Public Transport The Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) has asked the central government and local governments to begin developing public transport in line with the price increase of subsidized fuels (BBM). Railway Transport Forum Chairman of MTI Djoko Setijowarno said that the increase in the prices of subsidized fuels is expected to be a momentum for the development of public transport in Indonesia, which has been in neglect. According to him, the people of Indonesia will greatly need cheap public transport after the price of subsidized fuels is increased. "The important thing is for cheap public transport for the people to be pursued. With higher fuel prices, people greatly need cheap transport that is convenient and safe,” he said.

However, Djoko expressed his regret that the majority of local government heads have not responded well to the needs of public transport, both at the provincial level and regency and city level. Djoko, a transport researcher from the Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang, judged that local government leaders have given more attention to selfish interests than public interests. "[Not to mention that] the majority of the regents, mayors, and governors are incredibly lazy." In building the public transport system, he added, the central government also has to work hard because transportation intersects with the local governments. "They [the local governments] only know that transportation is just a matter of building roads. And public transport is only

needed once every five years,” he said. He considered that public transport is very important because middle- and lower-income people in Indonesia spend an average of 25-30 percent of their total income per month to meet transportation costs. By raising the fuel prices, Djoko assessed the burden of transport cost on the people will be heavier and it has the potential to depress the middle- and lower-income people economically. The cost of public transport in the country, according to him, is much greater than the World Bank’s benchmark of only 10 percent of the total income per month. In China this is only seven percent of the total income per month, and in Singapore the figure can already be pressed down further to three percent of the total income per month.

Garuda Receives Its First Boeing 777-300ER Garuda Indonesia celebrated the arrival of the airline’s first Boeing 777-300ER, after the aircraft touched down at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 2. The long-haul, twin-aisle airplane is the first of 10 777300ERs that will be delivered to the airline and is a key component of Garuda Indonesia's Quantum Leap fleet revitalization program. "The 777 is an extraordinary airplane that will bring a new level of experience for our first and business class passengers," said Emirsyah Satar, president director of Garuda Indonesia. The airline configured its new

777-300ERs with eight firstclass suites, 38 business-class seats and 268 seats in economy class. The aircraft is also equipped with in-flight internet connectivity. "We're proud to celebrate this milestone with Garuda Indonesia," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The world's elite airlines fly the 777 and I'm sure Garuda's passengers will notice the difference from the moment they step on and see the new interior." The Boeing 777 is the world's most successful twin-engine,

eputy Transportation Minister, Bambang Susantono, said that his ministry is discussing a number of incentives with the Ministry of Finance for the private sector to develop and operate a number of airports. "I and the Deputy Minister of Finance are still reviewing state assets such as airports, which will be entrusted to the private sector," he said. The planned development of government-owned airports by private parties, according to him, constitutes an instruction of Vice President Boediono, to develop infrastructure in the regions. This involvement [of the private sector] is done by holding tenders for interested private parties. In addition, Bambang added that state-owned enterprises (BUMNs) that now become airport operators also can participate in the tenders to develop various airports in the regions. Currently, he said, his office is still reviewing a number of potential airports for development by private parties, such as Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo and Mutiara Airport in Palu. A number of other airports are also being discussed both from the perspectives of commerciali-

ty and benefits for the surrounding communities. Bambang made a target that this year one airport can be used as a pilot project so that a tender can be held and [the airport can be] operated by a private party. According to him, the incentive to be given by the government is the provision of viability gap funding (VGF).

private parties that will be airport operators are already available so they can be used to support the development of airports by the private sector. He explained that the private sector can build new airports and develop airports that are already in operation by assuming all the maintenance and operational costs of the airports.

Head of Planning of Directorate General of Air Transport of the Ministry of Transportation Bintang Hidayat added that his office presently is focusing on building and developing a number of airports in border regions and disaster-prone regions.

According to him, the VGF will be given for the development of economically viable airports but which have problems financially. The hope is that the developed airports can generate profits. Moreover, he added, the government through a number of agencies will provide incentives through PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) and PT Infrastructure Indonesia Finance (IIF). A number of regulations for the provision of incentives for the

Private business actors that will participate in an airport tender, he said, should contribute to the government by paying profit-sharing dues so as to reduce the burden on the state budget (APBN) in the development of airports.

Tender Process When a tender is done, his office will prioritize those participants who can provide the highest value of profit-sharing dues to the country and request for

smaller incentives. He also explained that foreign parties can participate in an airport development tender with a 49 percent maximum share ownership of the company applying for the airport operatorship. Currently, he added, a number of investors have expressed interest to become prospective airport operators. "In due course, those prospective airport operators from the private sector that are serious and interested will be discovered during market sounding, prequalification and submission of documents," he said. Head of Planning of Directorate General of Air Transport of the Ministry of Transportation Bintang Hidayat added that his office presently is focusing on building and developing a number of airports in border regions and disaster-prone regions. During 2012-2013, a number of airports being developed are Mutiara Palu Airport, Saumlaki Baru Airport, Tambolaka Airport, Komodo Labuan Bajo Airport, Haliwen Atambua Airport, Morotai Airport, Wasior Airport, Rendani Manokwari Airport and Kaimana Airport. Ministry of Transportation also operates 12 new airports in 2013 and develops 42 airports in the border regions.

Jadwal Imsakiyah Ramadhan 1434 H - 2013 M wilayah DKI Jakarta & sekitarnya

Ramadhan

Tgl

Imsak

Subuh

Terbit

Zuhur

Ashar

Magrib

Isya'

10 Juli

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long-haul airplane. The 777300ER extends the 777 family's span of capabilities, bringing twin-engine efficiency and reliability to the long-range market. The airplane can fly up to 7,825 nautical miles (14,490 km). The 777-300ERs are equipped with GE90-115B engines, the world's most powerful commercial jet engine. Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia and operates as a full-service airline. Garuda Indonesia currently operates 82 aircraft and serves 33 domestic and 18 international destinations in Asia, Australia and Europe (where it operates to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol).

27 Juli

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Garuda Indonesia configured its new 777-300ERs with eight first-class suites, 38 business-class seats and 268 seats in economy class. The aircraft is also equipped with in-flight internet connectivity.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Education

Alumnus Praises PU’s Multi-cultural Environment President University is a good platform for students to learn a lot and develop themselves. The university supports students’ organizations in many ways. They also provide best lecturers who are experts in their respective fields and willing to help students in class as well as outside the class. Jasmine decided to go to President University after she followed the orientation program held by the campus. It helped her to know what she wants to be, including what major to choose.

US Academic Creates Bali Language Teaching Modules An academic from the United States, Alissa Stern, has helped to preserve the Balinese language through a software featuring Balinese language teaching. It all started with her love for Balinese language and as an effort to introduce it to the world. Stern says her love for the Balinese language originated from the desire for more in-depth study of Balinese culture and language as one of the tools to study the culture of a nation. Stern, an academic graduate of Harvard Law School and Cornell University, said the Balinese language is unique partly because the choice of words in conversation demonstrates closeness and ethics of its users. Besides, the words in the Balinese language have values in philosophy, history, culture and local wisdom, she said. According to Stern, the uniqueness of the Balinese language makes it a world cultural heritage. "The Balinese language is important for the whole world and valued as a heritage. The language is a gem and is lauded by people around the world because there is a lot of expertise and knowledge," said Stern, who studied Indonesian in IKIP Malang and has taught law at the University of Indonesia. In fact, speakers of the language tend to decrease; there are

Jasmine decided to go to President University after she followed the orientation program held by the campus. It helped her to know what she wants to be, including what major to choose. In 2009, after graduating from high

Alissa Stern

The Balinese language is important for the whole world and valued as a heritage. The language is a gem and is lauded by people around the world because there is a lot of expertise and knowledge." currently only about one million active speakers of the language out of about 3.5 million Balinese. Stern said the interactive learning module of the language is a way to use technology to attract the younger generation to learn it.

The interactive learning modules not only load the grammar and notes that focus on conversational language but also includes writing using the letters of Bali. It was launched on February 5, 2013, and will be distributed free of charge for non-profit organizations and community groups. Meanwhile, Denpasar Mayor Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra says a breakthrough is needed in learning the language. The Denpasar government is currently designing a development of Bali language lab in schools in Denpasar, he said. "We want to develop the Balinese language and interact it with technology through computerization," he added.

Three President University students (PresUnivers), namely Syapril, Fadli and Chandra, from the IT Faculty of Computing have won three out of 12 awards in the Asha Developer Competition Indonesia.

Three PresUnivers Win NOKIA Asha Developer Competition their applications. There were four categories in the competition, namely, Music& Entertainment, News&Info, Games, and Utilities& Productivities. The three PresUnivers winning the competition are: • Syapril Ahshar – IT 2010 – 1st in News & Info • Ahmad Fadli Basyari – IT 2011 – 1st in Music & Entertainment • Chandra – IT 2011 – 3rd in Music & Entertainment

The ability to create applications in English earned the three PresUnivers winning titles as the user markets for applications in English is not only from Indonesia but also from other countries. The three champions hope that by winning the competition, more PresUnivers, especially from Computing Students will be encouraged to take part in more competitions to further prove PresUniv’s quality.

school in Vietnam, she was really confused to decide what major to take in a university. At that time, according to her, banking and finance major was very popular in Vietnam but she felt more at ease with social issues and communications. So then she took communication as a major at President University. “They announced scholarships online, so I contacted the university. Luckily I passed through all the requirements,” she added. As one of the founders of AIESEC (Association for the International Exchange of Students in Economics and Commerce) in President University, Jasmine is known as an active and smart student who is able

to develop herself in handling the organization’s activities. According to her, President University is a good platform for students to learn a lot and develop themselves. The university supports students’ organizations in many ways. They also provide best lecturers who are experts in their respective fields and willing to help students in class as well as outside the class. “The lecturers also offer good personality development programs,” she said. Jasmine has been working since February 2013 in an international producer of perfumery and flavor chemicals in Cibubur. As a customer care executive, she is in charge of handling com-

plaints from clients and solve problems. She said that she is very happy with the supportive working environment and also the challenges in satisfying clients, who which are mostly from Southeast Asia. According to her, she is very grateful that she had a chance to take the internship program when she was in college since she is used to handle all office tools. “Internship changes how I think, how I talk, and how I react to a situation. I become more mature. In university, we’re just practicing, but in work I have to give output from what I do. So with internship, I don’t have to struggle much in my real job right now,” she concluded.

Indonesian Students Get a First Taste of Studying in the Netherlands More than 100 Indonesian students joined in a gathering at the Erasmushuis in Jakarta to mark the completion of a Dutch language and culture course they have attended over the past 7 weeks. The course was offered free of charge to all Indonesian students who have been admitted to a full-time degree program in the Netherlands. Dutch Ambassador Tjeerd F. de Zwaan emphasised the connection between the

president.ac.id

Three President University students (PresUnivers), namely Syapril, Fadli and Chandra, from the IT Faculty of Computing have won three out of 12 awards in the Asha Developer Competition Indonesia. The competition, held by Nokia Indonesia, is intended to help local developers create world-class applications. Targeting the Nokia Asha platform, they managed to get the highest total amount of download for

s a student who lives away from parents and family in Vietnam, Jasmine (22) is self-reliant in studying for 3.5 years in President University. “I’m satisfied with myself in the way I grow and live apart from my family. Thanks to the university and most of all to the multicultural environment, I’m forced to always speak in English with other students,” she said.

Netherlands and Indonesia: "I sincerely hope that for all of the students this course will be the beginning of a long lasting relationship with the Netherlands. Knowledge and understanding of each other’s language and culture are fundamental elements in people-to-people contact and thus play a very important role in the bond between our two countries. I am glad that the course participants have chosen to further their studies in the Netherland as I am sure it will bring them a lot academically and personally".

The main aim of the Dutch language and culture course was to prepare students better for their stay in the Netherlands. Mervin Bakker, Director of Nuffic Neso Indonesia, said: "Even though Indonesian students will study in English during their study program, we are convinced that some basic knowledge of the Dutch language and culture will give them a softer landing in the Netherlands. They will feel at home more quickly, which should help them to make the most of their studies". The course could be offered

free of charge to the Indonesian students because of a cooperation between the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Erasmus Taal Centrum and Nuffic Neso Indonesia. The Indonesian students go to the Netherlands to study at various institutions and can rest assured that they will get a world class education. In the various university rankings the Dutch higher education institutions perform consistently at a high level.

The President Post

BUSINESS

SECTION B July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7 www.thepresidentpost.com

pati from East Nusa Tenggara reaches around 1.2 million tons a year but in the future it is expected to reach 2 million tons,” he said.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

PT DI’s CN-295 Eyed by Five Countries

RNI, Merpati Cooperate In Shipment of Beef PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) plans to cooperate with PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines in the shipment of beef from Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara to Jakarta. “Talks for the cooperation have been started and the memorandum of understanding for it is expected to be signed early in July,” RNI president director Ismed Hasan Putro said here on Wednesday. He said the cooperation would benefit both parties as RNI could later distribute meet quicker while Merpati would have RNI as its customer. He said meat distribution would also be done to Surabaya in East Java and Bali. Total meat to be shipped regularly reaches around 100 tons a month or 1.2 million tons a year, he added. He said right now RNI is breeding 3,000 cows in Kupang to meet the domestic needs of meat, involving local farmers, cooperatives, local governments and local slaughter houses. At present the number of cows ready to be slaughtered reaches 500 a month, he said. “At the initial stage total cow meat to be shipped by Mer-

Five countries in this region have indicated interest in buying the CN-295 aircraft of PT Dirgantara Indonesia, deputy defense minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. “The air forces of Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and Malaysia are interested in CN-295 aircraft,” he said here on Tuesday. Sjafrie has just returned from a roadshow to six ASEAN countries to promote the turboprop aircraft produced by the state owned aircraft maker. “Five of the six countries want to buy the aircraft,” Sjafri said after the 9th session the Committee for Defense Industry Policy, here. Sjafrie, who is secretary of Committee, said Brunei Darussalam asked PT DI to hold `demo flights` before that country decided to buy the transport plane. The ASEAN countries are interested in CN-295 as the aircraft is efficient in serving flights for social aid, and for military purposes, he said. He said CN-295 could land on flat grass land and could carry up to 50 paratroopers.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who is the Committee chairman said the air forces and police departments of the five ASEAN countries have been interested in CN-295 aircraft. Purnomo said the five countries plan to send teams to the country to discuss details with PT DI.

PT Sago Prima Pratma Set to Exploit Nunukan Gold Deposit

The gold deposit which is predicted to reach 300 thousand troy ounces in Sebuku Subdistrict, Nunukan District, East Kalimantan, is now ready to be exploited by PT Sago Prima Pratma (PT SPP). PT SPP General Manager Arissandi said here on Thursday that his company was now developing a number of facilities needed to carry out the gold exploitation activities. “We are now constructing a number of facilities needed to carry out the gold exploitation activities,” he said. Arissandi said that based on the studies his company conducted on a 25-hectre land there, the area had about 300 thousand troy ounces of gold deposit, or about 9,450,000 grams of gold. However, he said, his company will open 140 hectares of land for the development of facilities such as camps, factories, disposal facilities and others. He said that the quality of the gold deposit was very good and met the requirement for exploitation for about 5 to 10 years.

US Businessmen Meet with President Yudhoyono US Embassy Jakarta

This was not the first meeting between the President and the USABC. On September 24, 2012, President Yudhoyono met with the USABC delegation in New York, when receiving an award from USABC.

resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received a US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) delegation here on Monday to discuss opportunities to increase economic cooperation. “I hope your arrival here would further strengthen and expand our cooperation and partnership,” he said when receiving the delegation led by USABC chairperson Evan Greenberg. President Yudhoyono said Indonesia still had a number of homework in the field of economy including maintaining what the country has achieved and meeting its national development targets. This was not the first meeting between the President and the USABC. On September 24, 2012, President Yudhoyono met with the USABC delegation in New York, when receiving an award from USABC. The appreciation was given to President Yudhoyono as an ASEAN leader for his success in increasing Indonesia`s economic growth, improving the country`s state finance and opening op-

portunities for the development of business relations between Indonesia and the US through Indonesia-US comprehensive partnership. Besides Even Greenberg, the USABC delegates included USABC deputy chairpersons Keith Williams and Greg Brown, US ambassador Scot E Marciel, Phillips Conoco president Ryan Lance, Ernst and Young president Mark Weinberger and PWC Worldwide chairman Dennis Nally. President Yudhoyono at the meeting was flanked by chief economic minister Hatta Rajasa, industry minister MS Hidayat, trade minister Gita Wirjawan, finance minister Chatib Basri and foreign minister Marty Natalegawa. The USABC delegates included USABC chairperson Evan Greenberg, USABC deputy chairpersons Keith Williams and Greg Brown, US ambassador Scot E Marciel, Phillips Conoco president Ryan Lance, Ernst and Young president Mark Weinberger and PWC Worldwide chairman Dennis Nally.

PT Semen Indonesia Ups Production in Vietnam KOMPAS/Priyombodo

PT Semen Indonesia Tbk. (SMGR) plans to increase its cement production capacity in Vietnam by expanding and increasing the number of its plants in that country, its president director, Dwi Sutjipto, said. “The expansion plan has been fixed and state enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan and I would meet with the Vietnamese President with regard to it,” he said on the sidelines of “BUMN Innovation Expor & Award 2013” here on Thursday. He said they would discuss business development in that country in the meeting with the Vietnamese president and making that country as the hub of cement marketing for the ASEAN region. “We wish to know market development in Vietnam directly from the Vietnamese president,” he said. PT Semen Indonesia early in 2013 entered Vietnam by acquiring around 70 percent of shares of Thang Long Cement Viet-

PT Semen Indonesia Tbk. (SMGR) President Director Dwi Sutjipto.

nam.To acquire the Thang Long shares PT Semen Indonesia invested around Rp1.5 trillion. Right now the production capacity of Thang Long cement factory reaches 2.3 million tons a year and they are mainly for meeting domestic needs in that country. “We now have two factories, one in North and another one in South Vietnam. We wish to expand the factory in South Kalimantan in view of the

The expansion plan has been fixed and state enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan and I would meet with the Vietnamese President with regard to it.”

big market there, which is located close to Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam,” he said. Dwi however did tell about the investment that has been prepared for the expansion plan. He said the planned talks with the Vietnamese president would not only touch on the matter but also on field problems such as land status and legality. He admitted no obstacles had been met so far as bureaucracy, work atmosphere and security in Vietnam was good. “We only wish production of PT Semen Indonesia would continue to increase at home and abroad,” he said. In 2013 PT Semen Indonesia`s production is set at more than 15 million tons coming from Semen Padang 6.5 million tons, Semen Tonasa 7 million tons, Semen Thang Long 2.3 million tons and from Rembang whose development is expected to be completed this year with a capacity of around 3 million tons.

PLN to Import Electricity from Malaysia State-owned electricity company PT PLN plans to import electricity from Malaysia`s Serawak Energy Berhad up to 230 MW at a price of nine US dollar cent per kWh, PLN’s President Director Nur Pamudji said. He said here on Thursday that at the initial stage PLN would import 50 MW to later increase to 230 MW. “The 50 MW electricity will start coming in the middle of 2015 and if they are ready we will take up to 230 MW in that year,” he said. PLN and SEB signed the cooperation agreement for power inter-connection between West Kalimantan and Serawak on Thursday. Nur said the agreement would be effective for five years from 2015 to 2020 and reviewed afterwards. “After five years PLN could decide to export or import depending of economic calculations,” he said. Nur said the non-escalation price was not too high considering that building a power plant would be more expensive. Later, he said, PLN would not have to build

small power plants with a capacity of only 25 MW or 50 MW in West Kalimantan due to the agreement. “To build a small capacity power plant is expensive and inefficient. We must as well just build a 100 MW capacity plant to be efficient,” he said. He said West Kalimantan has huge coal reserves that could be used for it but a big electricity system must first be made available. “The cooperation with Serawak is made in the framework of the program,” he said. He said electricity system in Serawak has reached 6,000 MW while in West Kalimantan it is still recorded at 150MW. “If the system is small and covered by the big system it would be the small one that would benefit,” he said. The 122 kilometer long 125 kV and 275 kV interconnection stretches from the district of Bengkayang in West Kalimantan and Mambong in Serawak. Part of the cable network measuring 86 kilometer long is located in West Kalimantan and its devel-

opment is financed by PLN while the rest is in Serawak built by SEB. The electricity supply from the 1,300 MW plant in Serawak will enter through the Bengkayang grid. The interconnection network is financed by the ADB and the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) totaling $99 million. An international interconnection is common and found also in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, European countries and even between Israel and Palestine.

PLN’s President Director Nur Pamudji

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Business heraldsun.com.au

Kadin Asks Research, Technology Ministry to Study Riau’s Haze ANTARA

In efforts to put out forest fires in Riau Province, the government has set a total of Rp100 billion to be allocated for making rain, procuring materials and providing planes to conduct water bombing.

he Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has asked the Ministry of Research and Technology to study land fires producing haze in eight districts in Riau. “Riau is a province which has peat lands. Its topographic characters show that the thickness of its peat land can reach tens of meters which enable the ember to stay dormant underneath,” Muhammad Herwan, executive director of Kadin for Riau, said here on Friday. He said that this condition enabled the ember of land and forest fires in previous years to stay and could not be put out at the bottom of the peat land. Muhammad said artificial rain made to extinguish the fires could only put out fires on the land surface. But the source of fire under the surface some tens of meters of peat land is still there which could easily come to the surface during the dry season.

About 3,700 hectares of land in Riau Province had been burnt. The worst fires took place in three districts sharing direct borders with Singapore and Malaysia. “There are no deliberate efforts to burn lands, particularly domestic and foreign investors. The fire came to the surface due to hot weather and was ignited by strong winds, just like fires that burn chaff,” he said. He said that this should be study closely by the ministry of research and technology and the palm oil plantations to prove this analysis. “If it is true, technology that could prevent it or overcome it should be found so that the ember that often stay could really be fought in the bud and forest fires would no longer recur when the dry season takes place,” the Kadin official said. Riau Deputy Governor HR Mambang Mit said last week

that about 3,700 hectares of land in Riau Province had been burnt. The worst fires took place in three districts sharing direct borders with Singapore and Malaysia. “The worst land fires took place in the districts of Rokan Hilir, Kota Dumai and Bengkalis,” the deputy governor said. In efforts to put out forest fires in Riau Province, the government has set a total of Rp100 billion to be allocated for making rain, procuring materials and providing planes to conduct water bombing. “The government would lease planes from Korea and Russia that are able to carry 4,000 to 5,000 liters of water for wa-

SOEs to Buy Land in Australia for Cattle Breeding Three Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) plan to buy a million hectare land in Australia for cattle breeding. “We are ready to expand by purchasing a million hectare land in Australia. If approved by the Ministry of State Enterprises it will be carried out immediately,” the president director of PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, Ismed Hasan Putro, said on the sidelines of the launching of “Raja Daging” beef product at RNI Building here on Wednesday. The three state-owned companies, namely PT RNI, Bulog and PT Pupuk Indonesia, plan to set a joint venture for it. Ismed said the plan was made with regard to stabilizing the price of beef in the country now standing at between Rp90,000 and Rp100,000 per kilogram in the long term. He said the funds needed for the procurement reached Rp300 billion outside the cost of calves procurement. Ismed said several stateowned banks have given sup-

We are ready to expand by purchasing a million hectare land in Australia. If approved by the Ministry of State Enterprises it will be carried out immediately” Ismed Hasan Putro President Director of PT RNI

port to it including Bank Mandiri, BRI and BNI. “I wish we could set up a consortium. By uniting we would be strong in terms of funding,” he said. In view of that he said each party would conduct a feasibility study on the project and the results would be submitted to the ministry of state enterprises. “Before July 20, 2013 the re-

sults of the studies must already be in the hands of the minister for competition,” he said. The land is planned for breeding calves which would later be shipped to Indonesia fattening. “It must not happen that while we have taken a business risk the beef quota issue in the country is not yet clear. There must be long commitment over the matter,” he said. It has been known so far that the cost of fattening in Indonesia is cheaper than in Australia while the cost of breeding is more expensive in Indonesia, he said. Ismed however said he could not as yet give a guarantee that the consortium would have the land. A million hectare land is still small compared to those owned by Brunei Darussalam reaching four million hectares and Malaysia two million hectares in Australia. “A million hectare ranch is still relatively small compared to beef demand in Indonesia which continues to increase,” he said.

Husky Supplies Gas To Petrokimia The government has assured that natural gas from HuskyCNOOC Madura Ltd fields would be supplied to PT Petrokimia Gresik to meet the company`s new amonia and urea plant. “I have decided in the meeting this time, referring to the earlier coordination meeting, that gas for Gresik fertilizer plant would come from Husky while for Kujang from Cepu Block,” coordinating minister for economic affairs Hatta Rajasa said after meeting to discuss revitalization of fertilizer plants here on Monday. He said with the decision all new amonia and urea plants in Indonesia would be assured of

gas supply. “So, as part of the revitalization efforts all our fertilizer plants have been assured of gas supply,” he said. He said he had also asked the ministry of energy and mineral resources as well as SKK Migas (oil and gas regulating task force) to carry out thorough analysis and formulate technical provisions relating to gas use for the new amonia and urea plants. “We need around 85 MMCFD for Gresik and 85 MMCFD for Kujang,” he said. Hatta hoped revitalization of amonia and urea plants in several regions could support food security programs for 30 years.

East Java governor Soekarwo earlier expressed his support for PT Petrokimia Gresik to get gas supply from Husky-CNOOC Madura Ltd. fields to meet its new plant. He hoped gas production from the fields in East Java would be prioritized for industries operating in the province to increase their competitiveness. “The principle is the domestic market obligation scheme must be prioritized,” he said. PT Petrokimia Gresik plans to build a new amonia and urea plant (PKG 2) this year and it is scheduled to start operating in 2016.

ter bombing operations,” Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono said after a coordination meeting to discuss the problem here on Thursday. In the meantime, Minister Agung Laksono said that whoever was proven involved in oil palm land fires in Raiu Province would be taken to court and punished. “Guilty companies,

regardless of whether their owners come from Indonesia, Malaysia or Singapore, will be acted upon and taken to court,” Agung Laksono said on Thursday. He said that if they were proven to have burned forests, the companies and their owners were to be acted upon. The companies could have their permits revoked and their owners were charged with crime. The punishment would be meted out by the court based facts found in the fields. Agung said that now investigation in the field was still going on. Police were also still working hard to investigate the problem based on the request of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. “I heard this morning that the team in the field had found several pieces of evidence and data such as burning tools in the locations. They will all become evidence in the court. But I could not yet reveal details about it,” the coordinating minister said. Therefore, he could not yet explain the kind of violations that had been taking place in the field. However, if fires were found on lands which would be transformed into palm oil plantations there must be parties who should be responsible.

The Premier of Victoria, Denis Napthine.

Victoria Opens Business Office The Australian state of Victoria opened its government business office in Jakarta on Tuesday as part of efforts to develop and widen bilateral relationship with Indonesia. The Premier of Victoria, Denis Napthine, said having the Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in Jakarta was a great pleasure for Victoria to engage a long term commitment to Indonesia to work with the Australian embassy in Indonesia and all sides to continue developing relationship in the trade, business and cultural sectors. “It is very important for Victoria, Australia, as a growing economy, to develop a long relationship with Indonesia that can provide a mutual benefit to both countries,” he said. In Victoria`s view, Napthine said, Indonesia has many strong potentials to become one of the world`s largest economies in 2015 thanks to its big population, strong economic growth and the rise of middle class people expected to grow by 15 million in the middle of this century. “Indonesia certainly is an extremely important

nation, important partner and important good friend for Victoria and Australia. And that`s why we, Victoria, should enhance our cooperation with Indonesia,” he said. Moreover, with its stable economic growth, Indonesia is a strong economic potential and very significant to the Southeast Asia region and probably will be a trade hub for ASEAN, Napthine said. On the other hand, he noted that some of Australia`s strength to develop relationship with Indonesia are the number of Australians who live, work for the government, do business or study in Indonesia and vice versa. There are a huge number of Indonesians living in Australia, and about five thousands of them study in Victoria. Hence, Napthine said this relationship will give mutual benefits to infrastructure, subway investments and other developments, as well as to the service sector, such as tourism. “We believe that our expectations and your expectations can help each other,” he said.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Investment In the first quarter of 2013, realized investment reached Rp93 trillion, he said. He expressed optimism that the target could be achieved as many investors have secured investment permits but have not realized their investment plans.

INVESTMENT BRIEFS

Indonesia, Malaysia Invest in Power Plant in Sumatra

Investment in Agricultural Sector Reaches $12.4b: BKPM Official Himawan H Djojokusumo, a senior official of the Investment Cootrdinating Board (BKPM), said investment in the country`s downstream agricultural industry from early 2010 to March 2013 reached $12.4 billion. “The realized investment represents 13.1 percent of overall investment inflows in the period,” BPKM Deputy Chief for Investment Promotion Himawan H Djojokusumo said in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday. Much of the investment was from Singapore, Taiwan and Japan, he said. Over the period, realized investment in downstream mining industry gave greater contribution than other sectors to the overall investment, reaching $17.9 billion or 18.9 percent, he said. “The three biggest investors in this sector came from South Korea, Britain and Australia,” he said. He said relevant ministries will focus on developing the two sectors. Investment in the two sectors must exceed the target of 30 percent set for 2013, he said. “The investment target for this year is Rp390.2 trillion,” he said.

Indonesia and Malaysia would cooperate to develop a coal-fired power plant in Sumatra to meet the needs of electricity in the two countries. “The cooperation agreement was signed by the two countries` electricity companies last year,” energy minister Jero Wacik said after opening an ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting here on Monday. The plant would have a capacity of 2,000 megawatt and 1,000 of which would be used to meet electricity needs in Sumatra and the rest in Malaysia. He said under the cooperation agreement Indonesia would provide the land and coal supply while Malaysia would build the plant. The project needs an investment of up to $2.5 billion and is scheduled to start operating in 2018, he said. The minister said that not only Malaysia, Singapore also had the desire to cooperate in it but it could not as yet be realized because their legislative body has not yet approved it. “If Singapore also wishes to cooperate the capacity could be increased but it must also put investment,” he said.

Nicaragua Seeks Indonesian Investors Visiting Nicaragua Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Santos Lopez has invited Indonesian investors to take part in the construction of a canal in Nicaragua which will link the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. “A feasibility study for the project is still underway. The result will determine in which secSamuel Santos Lopez tor private partners can take part,” said the minister after meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa here on Tuesday. Lopez explained the Nicaragua canal will be bigger than that of Panama canal. Apart from waterway, the Nicaraguan government also plans to build a harbor, gas and oil pipeline and economic zone on the side of the canal. He added Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has recently signed an agreement with a Chinese firm allowing the company to start construction of the multi-billion dollar waterway. Meanwhile, Marty Natalegawa said he will send a number of government officials to Nicaragua to determine potential cooperation between the two countries. “Nicaragua experienced tough situation in political and security sector. However, the country has proven its resilience. I expect more cooperation between the two countries in the future,” he said.

Interest for IPO Remains Strong tempo.co

Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) President Director Ito Warsito said companies` interest to sell some of their shares to the public was still strong despite current global financial conditions which are not conducive.

“T

he continuing interest to invest in the capital market is good news as it would help cushion current global crisis,” he said on the sidelines of three companies` public listing here on Monday. He said the listing of the three companies indicated that the national economy could still grow and the country`s capital market also could still move positively. He said he was optimistic the target of 30 IPOs would be achieved this year, adding through IPO companies would be helped to expand. Three com-

panies that went public on Monday are PT Bank Mestika Dharma Tbk. (BBMD), PT Multipolar Technology Tbk. (MLPT) and PT Victoria Investama Tbk. (VICO). BBMD`s shares were sold up 4.63 percent at the opening of trading to Rp1,444 from the IPO price of Rp1,380 per share. MLPT`s shares meanwhile were sold up 27.08 percent to Rp610 from the IPO price of Rp480 per share and those of VICO up 28 percent from Rp125 to Rp160 per share.

BEI to continue to Grow: BEI Official An Indonesian stock exchange

official said he believed the country`s capital market would continue to grow despite Morgan Stanley`s recent investment projection down from equal weight to underweight. “Every investor has its own investment perspective and so the impact of the projection is predicted not to be significant,” the Indonesia Stock Exchange`s (BEI) Director of Trading and Exchange Members Regulation, Samsul Hidayat, said here on Friday. He said he believed the country`s capital market industry would continue to grow in line with issuers` continued expansion that would be reflected in their share prices. “Issuers` continued expansion indicated that domestic economy remained positive,” he said. He said companies` interest to conduct initial public offering also remained high. “Compa-

nies need funds to expand and they could get them among others from the capital market,” he said. On a separate occasion the head of research of Trust Securities, Reza Priyambada, said investors had to conduct a further study with regard to Morgan Stanley`s projection. “They must not just accept projections because by doing so they would create perception that investing in Indonesia is no longer attractive while the fact is it still has bright prospects and the majority of issuers have also recorded positive performance,” he said. He said the Indonesian capital market authorities also continued actively conducting education, roadshows and seminars on capital market at home to increase the number of investors and issuers. “Our capital market still has steam,” he said.

Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) President Director Ito Warsito said he was optimistic the target of 30 IPOs would be achieved this year, adding through IPO companies would be helped to expand. Three companies that went public on Monday are PT Bank Mestika Dharma Tbk. (BBMD), PT Multipolar Technology Tbk. (MLPT) and PT Victoria Investama Tbk. (VICO).

Govt Acquires Inalum for Rp 7t whatindonews.com

PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will revert to the Indonesian government on November 1, 2013, industry minister MS Hidayat said. “We have agreed on October 31, 2013 (that the contract would end) and all Inalum assets would be handed over to the Indonesian government. On October 31 physically it will return to the government while the asset transfer would be done on November 1,” he said after a meeting at the office of the coordinating minister for economic affairs here on Monday. He said Inalum products would later be used to supply companies in Indonesia, adding the company would become a state-owned company. He said the government is now preparing a budget for the acquisition of the company now still under the name of Nippon Asahan Aluminium (NAA) worth Rp7 trillion. “The government has pre-

Inalum production would be prioritized to meet domestic needs that reach more than 300,000 tons. So far 60 percent of the company`s production is exported while 40 percent is for local needs. pared it. Hopefully it will not be used up,” he said. Hidayat said a master plan would be made for an Inalum industrial zone, adding that the company`s produc-

tion capacity would be raised from 260,000 tons to 450,000 tons. “We will see the road map and also the port capacity,” he added.

He said Inalum production would be prioritized to meet domestic needs that reach more than 300,000 tons. So far 60 percent of the company`s pro-

duction is exported while 40 percent is for local needs, he explained. “Later domestic needs would be prioritized,” he said. Asked whether Inalum would be integrated into the Sei Mengkei Economic Zone, the minister said it still has yet to be discussed. “It has not been in such detail. We are still concentrating on settling the assets. However it was raised just now,” he said. Hidayat admitted there were still differences with regard to the value of the assets before and after revaluation. Japan wishes the value is determined after revaluation while the government wants it to be set before revaluation, he said. “Meanwhile BPKP (state audit agency) also has its own calculation and we will ask them to adjust it,” he said. Hidayat declined to comment that the difference reached $400 million, “I would not mention figures as it is still under negotiations,” he said.

Govt to Cut Regulations To Boost Investment The government will cut license regulations to boost investment, Chief Economic minister Hatta Rajasa said here on Thursday. “We hope the simplification of procedures would attract interests and increase investment in the midst of current tight competition,” he said after a coordination meeting on the matter. The meeting was attended by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik, State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, Transportation Minister EE Mangindaan, Minister of National Development Planning Armida Alisjahbana, Housing Minister Djan Farids, Head of Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Suryamin and Deputy Finance Minister Mahendra Siregar. Hatta said efforts to simplify the procedures would be done by cutting regulations that have no

We hope the simplification of procedures would attract interests and increase investment in the midst of current tight competition.” Chief Economic minister Hatta Rajasa. bases or are not based on higher laws such as for an example a director general`s regulation which is not required by law. If necessary a ministerial regulation could be revoked if it is not required by law, he added. He said a lot of regulations at central and regional government

levels are still hindering investment or causing long licensing process. As an example Hatta said right now a total of 17 permits would be needed for setting up a natural gas or gasoline filling station and 25 permits would be needed for oil and gas exploration and another 25 permits

for production. The minister said the government would also set up a onestop service to accelerate bureaucratic process with regard to simplifying licensing procedures. “Later all sectors that have an authority to issue permits would be requested to transfer the authority to the one-stop service

and I would set up an advisory team to monitor it,” he said. Hatta said relaxation would also be done on incentives that have so far been given and all the policies would be put into an economic package to boost investment. “We hoped with the policies doing business in Indonesia would be easier and the country`s competitiveness and perception would improve,” he said. He said long licensing process must no longer be allowed to happen as it would only cause uncertainty and create a bad image among investors. “So, we will determine maximum time for processing permits or how many days a permit will be issued. If the deadline is surpassed the permit will automatically be issued. This will force public officials to give good service,” he said.

Jasa Marga Eyes Investors for Its Bonds State toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Tbk (JSMR) has set itself the target of issuing bonds worth Rp2.1 trillion in September. “In the first phase we will issue bonds worth Rp2.1 trillion. The bonds will be part of the overall bonds worth Rp6 trillion we will issue until 2015,” PT Jasa Marga corporate secretary David Wijayatno said at the State Enterprises Ministry here on Thursday. The company had appointed PT Mandiri Sekuritas as a bond issue underwriter, he said. “We have appointed Mandiri Sekuritas as a bond issue underwriter. We are in the process of applying for an effective statement from the Financial Service Authorities (OJK),” he said. Jasa Marga would use

Rp1.7 trillion of the proceeds from the issuance of the bonds worth Rp2.1 trillion to refinance its debts due in October 2013, he said. “The remaining Rp400 billion will be used to build a new toll road and complete the construction of a number of sections of Jasa Marga toll roads,” he said. David said he was optimistic the bonds would receive positive responses from the market, along with the company`s business prospects. Local rating agency Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo) has assigned its AA (double A) rating for the bonds. “The momentum is right. The coupon of the bonds is also expected to reach a single digit so they will attract investors,” he said. Jasa Marga plans to conduct a roadshow for the bonds in August, he said.

SOEs Set to Expand Business in PNG State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan has encouraged Indonesian state firms (SOEs) to expand their business in Papua New Guinea by cooperating with local companies. “Not only will the cooperation forge relations between the two neighboring countries but also enable the state firms to expand their businesses in Papua New Guinea,” he said after receiving a Papua New Guinean business delegation led by Prime Minister Peter Charles Paire here on Tuesday. Dahlan was during the meeting accompanied by president directors of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina, state telecommunications operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, state power utility PT PLN, and national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia. As part of business expansion plan, Garuda Indonesia will open a new flight

route, PLN will supply electrical power, Pertamina will engage in petrochemical industry and PT Telkom will explore the possibility of developing telecommunication services in the neighboring country. But Dahlan declined to elaborate on the business expansion plans by the four state firms. “We have not arrived at details of cooperation because we have just met with them,” he said. He expressed his belief the cooperation with Papua New Guinean companies will have good prospects since the neighboring country had average annual growth of 9 percent over the past few years. “Given the high growth, Papua New Guinea, with a population of 7 million, gives a chance to Indonesian state firms to expand their business in the country,” he said. According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), trade between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea reached $256.5 million in 2012, down from $443.4 million a year earlier.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Infrastructure

PU Targets Rural Basic Infrastructure ANTARA

In the fuel compensation program, PU supports the provision of basic housing infrastructure, drinking water and rural irrigation. The activity is intended so that fuel subsidy fund can be used for the needs of the community.

inister of Public Works (PU) Djoko Kirmanto said the government allocates fuel compensation funds amounting to Rp 6 trillion to build tbasic infrastructure such as roads, irrigation and bridges. The number of villages reach 11,750. Separately, Deputy Minister of Public Works Hermanto Dardak said that in the fuel compensation program, PU supports the provision of basic housing infrastructure, drinking water and rural irrigation. The activity is intended so that fuel subsidy fund can be used for the needs of the community. The main objective of the compensation program is to provide easy accessibility to basic infrastructure. Second, to create jobs and increase community income through involvement in the im-

Government Needs to Make Breakthrough for Regional Infrastructure Funding

Minister of Public Works (PU) Djoko Kirmanto.

plementation of development. Third, to develop social and economic activities in rural and/or urban areas. “The point is, we support the provision of poor and low-income communities needs by providing funds and they will work on the development of basic infrastructure by themselves,” said Hermanto. The target of this program is 5,500 villages and 1,800 subvillages. There are approximately 3,500 additional villages. So the Rp 6 trillion fund will target about 9,000 villages to build basic housing needs infrastructure, namely roads, provision of drinking water, village irrigation.

The point is, we support the provision of poor and lowincome communities needs by providing funds and they will work on the development of basic infrastructure by themselves.” Hermanto Dardak Deputy Minister of Public Works

The community empowerment program has actually been carried out regularly by PU in the form of PNPM Mandiri Infrastructure, P2KP and Pamsimas. Each village will get funds proposed according to the needs of basic infrastructure of around Rp 250 million. Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of Commission V of DPR Muhidin M. Said said that the program development and provision of village basic infrastructure is touching directly small communities and is very strategic. In terms of program supervision, Muhidin stated that Commission V DPR is ready to accommodate any input and comments from the public related to the implementation of the program.

Regions that are poor in natural resources face great shortages in development funding, so government breakthroughs are called for. The government has been asked to make breakthrough efforts to build and improve infrastructure in the regions, particularly in 181 disadvantaged regions by using funding allocations from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). These efforts are considered important because funding to the regions have proven to be inadequate for building infrastructure. Commission XI member of Golkar Party faction of the House of Representatives (DPR), Melchias Markus Mekeng, explained that the financial system within the Regional Autonomy (Otda) program has only benefitted those regions that are rich in natural resources (SDA). On the other hand, he said, regions that are poor in natural resources face great shortages in development funding, so government breakthroughs are called for. “Regional autonomy for poor regions is a nightmare. I can say that development in NTT [East Nusa Tenggara] during the era of Soeharto was more meaningful. But now, it cannot proceed because of decentralisation. What is required is a policy breakthrough that will al-

Regional autonomy for poor regions is a nightmare. I can say that development in NTT [East Nusa Tenggara] during the era of Soeharto was more meaningful. But now, it cannot proceed because of decentralisation. What is required is a policy breakthrough that will allow APBN to be enjoyed also by people in the outermost islands.” Melchias Markus Mekeng Commission XI member of Golkar Party faction of the House of Representatives (DPR)

low APBN to be enjoyed also by people in the outermost islands,” said Mekeng at the DPR Building in Jakarta. Furthermore, Mekeng explained, before the era of regional autonomy, transfer of de-concentration funds can be done immediately to the General Allocation Fund (DAU) if there are regions that need infrastructure.

However, presently, the allocations of DAU in poor regions, according to him, are mostly used up for personnel expenditure and general expenditure so they are not able to improve the conditions of available infrastructures. He also wanted the government to pay more attention to agricultural regions as they have precisely recorded the highest poverty rates. This is because the agricultural infrastructure in the regions is inadequate. Acting Head of Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) of the Ministry of Finance, Bambang PS Brodjonegoro, argued that the government could make the breakthrough through improvement in the transfers to the regions. According to him, of the three instruments of funding balance, the most likely to be changed for improvement is the Special Allocation Fund (DAK). “However, this is up to Director General of Fiscal Balance whether we would be willing to restructure DAK in order to be able to respond to the wishes of some DPR members who remeber presidential instruction (inpres) programs of the Soeharto era,” said Bambang.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Event Reviews BREAKFAST DIALOGUE

“Social Enterprise for Social Transformation” TPP/Rians Rivco

Indonesia has 30,000 graduates per year, but the companies need 50,000 graduates, so it is less 40%. Thus, Putera Sampoerna Foundation (PSF) has established the Universitas Siswa Bangsa International (USBI) in order to meet the huge demand for labor in skilled and professional personnel. watch the video at: www.thepresidenttv.com

nly 18% Indonesian students get a chance to continue to higher education. In addition, the uneven quality of education in Indonesia has made the quality of Indonesian human resources at the middle management level rather low. This was conveyed by Nenny Soemawinata, Managing Director of Putera Sampoerna Foundation, in Breakfast Dialogue hosted by The President Post and Financial Club Jakarta (24/6). Nenny said Indonesia has 30,000 graduates per year, but the companies need 50,000 graduates, so it is less 40%. Thus, Putera Sampoerna Foundation (PSF) has established the Universitas Siswa Bangsa International (USBI) in order to meet the huge demand for labor in skilled and professional personnel. Starting from 2001, PSF stands as a philanthropic organization to provide scholarships to 1,250 students for high school and university graduates. In 2009, Putera Sampoerna Foundation founded the Sampoerna School of Education. The follow-

ing year the Sampoerna School of Business was added as a separate entity. The two institutions became the Faculty of Business and the Faculty of Education under Universitas Siswa Bangsa Internasional in March 2013 along with two new faculties, the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Art, Design and Media, as well as the Institute of Languages and Communication. Teaching-learning process in USBI focuses on methods of active learning experiences (practice), E-learning, experiential learning and project-based learning in almost every subject. To support this, USBI promotes the use of digital technology in every program of study. Delivery of course material through cyberspace will be applied and adapted to the needs of diverse students. USBI graduates are prepared for careers in a variety of strategic positions and qualified to become entrepreneurs after they graduate. USBI advanced education is key to a the National Student Education Ecosystem, an important element in supporting the Putera Sampoerna Foundation’s goal to create quality Indonesian leaders through education.

Nenny Soemawinata – Managing Director of Putera Sampoerna Foundation.

Nenny Soemawinata and Ali Basyah Suryo.

Jodjana J Tamian from G Investment Indonesia asking about the education system in Indonesia and the importance of Human Resources Department in a company.

INDONESIAN INDUSTRY MAGAZINE SEMINAR

The Right Commercial Price of Natural Gas for Industry TPP/Reza Ganesha

The government continues promoting the move to reduce dependence on petroleum by replacing it natural gas. 49.7% of Indonesian energy mix is still dependent of oil. However, this dependence will be reduced up to 25% in 2025. Therefore, the role of gas will be increased, similarly coal and renewable energy.

eputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo, in the seminar “The Right Commercial Price of Natural Gas for Industry” organized by Indonesian Industry Magazine and The President Post at the Ministry of Industry on Friday (28/6), states that the move to make natural gas as second priority continues to be bolstered by government. The move to eliminate dependence on oil starts from the electricity sector and continued to the other sectors. “It should be a joint move to strengthen energy security,” he said. Director General of Ministry of Industry and Manufacturing Panggah Susanto, Agus Budiyanto from SKK Migas and A. Quyum Tjandranegara, a BPH Migas committee member, and Achmad Widjya, Gas Coordinator for the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce Industry, were also present as speakers at the seminar. Panggah Susanto asserted, “If we want to advance the com-

petitiveness of our industry and grow rapidly, we should immediately stop gas exports, bauxite and other minerals, especially to China”. “Indonesia should not necessarily have to export gas and mineral as domestic industries really need those resources,” he said. Susilo admitted that it is not easy to determine the price of natural gas as it must first be mapped out in advance how much gas is available and how domestic gas needs. “The issue of gas price depends on supply and demand,” he said. Susilo explained further that the most appropriate price of gas depends on the agreement between producers and consumers. “The price of gas is the deal price that fits both parties,” said Susilo. Meanwhile, Panggah stated that the price of gas and mineral exports are much more higher than domestic prices. But the bigger benefit will be obtained by the state if gas and minerals are used by the domestic industry.

Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo in the seminar: “The Right Commercial Price of Natural Gas for Industry” organized by Indonesian Industry Magazine and The President Post at the Ministry of Industry, on Friday (28/6).

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Events Review Intellectual Business Community 7th Anniversary TPP/Rians Rivco

Intellectual Business Community (IBC) is an organization that aims to build a network between business executives, CEO’s and owners of companies from various industries.

ntellectual Business Community (IBC) held a seven-year celebration of the founding of the organization on Wednesday (26/6) at the Gran Melia, Jakarta. Intellectual Business Community (IBC) is an organization that aims to build a network between business executives, CEO’s and owners of companies from various industries. Established first time in 2006, currently IBC has more than 500 networks. IBC has many programs that focus on sharpening the strategic management view of its members and broader society. At the celebration, IBC also launched the Yayasan Intelektual Bangsa Bersatu (YIBB), which aims to support the national education system by using e-learning as a new way of learning, which can make Indonesian children catch up in education, both in quantity and quality. YIBB will establish centers of e-learning for primary school students from low-income communities, and to train students to learn to use the resources of science around the world. IBC was founded and lead by Dr. Bayu Prawira Hie, a business practitioner and management consultant. Bayu also has experience as a lecturer in various programs such as the Master of Management MM-UI, MM-IPMI, MMBinus, MM-UPH, etc. IBC has an honorary panel and advisors, namely Boenjamin Setiawan, Erik Meijer, Hari Darmawan, Gunadi Sindhuwinata, Indra Abidin, Robby Djohan, and other prominent figures.

Seminar on Sustainable Tourism and Tourism Ethics Ernawati/PATA

Tourism industries, like many industries in general, have positive and negative impacts. All over the world, tourism creates job opportunities in the service and hospitality sector such as airlines, cruise ships, taxi, hotels and resorts, also shopping malls and handy-craft markets. On the other hand, tourism also has a negative impact on the people, culture, and environment. These are the issues raised in the seminar on “Sustainable Tourism and Tourism Ethics” organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in cooperation with Forum for East Asia – Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

The seminar was held in Sanur, Bali from 9-10 June 2013 with participants from Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Udayana University and also tourism industries. Asian countries were reprsented by Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, China, and Japan, while Latin America countries comprised of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and El Salvador. The speakers on the seminar took Bali as an example, such as the construction of large hotel in many areas caused the people in the surrounding neighborhood problems in getting clean water from their deep wells, which po-

tentially will cause the intrusion of salt water from the sea. Tourism also creates sex-child abuse. The Indonesian government and the tourism industry could learn from developed Asian countries such as Korea, Japan or China on how to implement policies and to promote sustainable tourism and tourism ethics in their countries. Sustainable tourism and tourism ethics is not only an idea, but is real and already implemented all around the world. Tourism is not only about people going from one place to another place; it has to consider the impact on the local people (community), culture, and environment (ecology).

The speakers at the seminar. (left to right): I Gede Ardika, former Tourism Minister, I Gde Pitana, Deputy Minister for Resources Development, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Representative of Bali Government, Harry Hwang, Director for Asia and Pacific UNWTO, Dian Triansyah Djani, Director General for America and Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I Gde Pitana (Deputy Minister for Resources Development, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy) hit the gong to open the Seminar on Sustainable Tourism and Tourism Ethics held in Sanur, Bali from 9-10 June 2013.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Pictorial Events TPP/Heros Barasakti

RI-Victoria Strengthen Bilateral Through Education Dr. Denis Napthine, Premiere of Victoria, visited SD Kebon Jeruk 11 in Indonesia, a sister school of Point Cook College.

uring his visit, Dr. Napthine announced that the Victorian Coalition Government will invest around AUD$ 1 million (about Rp 9.2 billion) to encourage Victoria students to learn Indonesian language and give them the opportunity to study in Indonesia. AUD$ 1 million fund is used to build ties with Indonesia through various efforts, such as increasing the number of cultural learning programs in schools in Victoria, provide the opportunity to study abroad for junior high school students, and pointing Indonesian language lecturer to provide outreach to

schools and teachers. His visit to SD Kebun Jeruk 11, Jakarta, is part of the Super Trade Mission Coalition Government of the State of Victoria to South East Asia. Denis Napthine said that educational ties between Victoria and Indonesia should continue to be fostered, one way is through teachers and students exchange between Victoria and Indonesia. He added, “Sister school initiatives like this really strengthen the relationship between Indonesia and Victoria.”

The efforts to establish bonds of education are also related to the fact that Indonesia is a major trading partner for Victoria. “Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, increased by more than 6% per year and is predicted to become the country with the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050,” said Denis Napthine. “Encouraging students in Victoria to learn Indonesian as a second language will be very beneficial for bilateral relations,” he added.

The enthusiasm of SDN Kebon Jeruk 11 students in welcoming Dr. Denis Napthine.

Encouraging students in Victoria to learn Indonesian as a second language will be very beneficial for bilateral relations.” Dr. Denis Napthine Premiere of Victoria

Dr. Napthine announced that the Victorian Coalition Government will invest around AUD$ 1 million (about Rp 9.2 billion) to encourage Victoria students to learn Indonesian and give them the opportunity to pursue education in Indonesia.

Interaction with Students of SDN 11 Kebon Jeruk 11.

TPP/Heros Barasakti

Future Transport Asia 2013 TPP/Rians Rivco

Future Transportation Asian Conference 2013 was held at Hotel Grand Hyatt Jakarta (25–27 June) under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Indonesia, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin Indonesia), and Sphere Confrence. Future Transport Asia 2013 is the only event in Asia that brings together governments, regulators, rail and airport operators, and financiers to seek worldclass solutions on transportation. Future Transport Asia 2013 presented three different conferences: “Smart Passenger Rail Asia”, “Smart Terminal Asia”, and “Smart Traffic Asia”. These three-day conferences discuss thoroughly the field of infrastructure and transport, ranging from market access strategy, operating passenger trains, until the flight and urban transport planning and development. Some key players in the transportation industry who took part in this conference included SMRT, PT Kereta Api, KLIA Express, State Railway of Thailand, Changi Airport Group, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad, and the Land Transport Authority. Deputy Minister of Transportation Bambang Susantono said Indonesia needs to improve connectivity by promoting intermodal transport modes e.g. sea, road, rail and air. “We’ve started to develop a number of transport infrastructure such as building a double track railway across North Java, revitalize number of airports, ports, and others. But that is not enough, we need more major transportation infrastructure. The Indonesian government is committed to increase infrastructure spending by $250 billion by 2025 in order to boost annual economic growth to 6.8% in 2014,” said Bambang.

PT Bekasi Power Inaugurates PLTGU 130 MW Panel discussion followed by (left - right) : John D Linborg, Country Director Asian Development Bank, Shoeb K Zainudin, Group Chief Editor Jakarta Globe, Hermanto Dardak, Deputy Minister of Public Works, Freddy R Saragih, Head of Center for Fiscal Risk Management Fiscal Policy Office Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia.

Chua Wee Phong, Chairman of Sphere Conference, gave a token of appreciation to Bambang Susantono, Representative of the Ministry of Transportation.

PT Bekasi Power inaugurated the operation of PLTGU with a capacity of 130 Megawatts in Cikarang, Jawa Barat. PT Bekasi Power is a subsidiary of PT Jababeka Tbk. All electricity produced by PLTGU will be purchased by PT PLN at a price of Rp 1,050 per kilo watt hours (kWh) up to 20 years and then channeled back to the Jababeka Industrial Estate and surrounding communities. Gas supply to the PLTGU obtainable from Pertamina EP and PGN respectively reached 23 million standard cubic feet per day. “The aim of the construction of PLTGU is to meet the energy needs of existing industry in Jababeka and around,” said President Director of PT Jababeka Setyono Djuandi Darmono. “Jababeka can not merely rely on the sale of land. We need other sources of income, one of which is from electricity to PLN,” said Darmono. Darmono said electricity sales turnover of PT Bekasi

Power to PLN is Rp 1 trillion. Therefore it makes business sense to continue to develop PLTGU projects in some other areas. The company is currently developing Tanjung Lesung and Cilegon industrial area. “We are cooperating with regents and governors in Indonesia,” he said during the inauguration PLTGU. The government welcomes the cooperation between the private sector and the government. Director General of Electricity of ESDM Ministry Jarman said the government and PLN are only able to handle electrical infrastructure development funding at 60 percent and that the rest should be done by the private sector. The government always supports power generation projects undertaken by the private sector. “We provide entry incentives up to 10% for import of the plant’s components still unavailable in Indonesia,” said Jarman.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Pictorial Events Java Rockin Land 2013 Java Rockin Land is one of the biggest rock festivals in Indonesia. Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo, a big fan of rock music, attended this rock festival.

ava Rockin Land (JRL) 2013 is a rock music festival organized by Java Festival Production, which was held June 22 to 23, 2013, at Carnival Beach Ancol, Jakarta There were seven stages filled with dozens of local and international musicians every day. “13 international artists and 47 Indonesian artists participated,” said Eki Puradiredja, Program Coordinator JRL 2013. Based on the list of international musicians invited, Java Rockin wanted to spring a lot of surprises, starting from the

TPP/Rians Rivco

presence of Collective Soul, Suicidal Tendencies, Sixpence None the Richer, and Sugar Ray. From Indonesia came Andra n the Backbone, Gugun Blues Shelter, Edane, Pass Band, Gigi, Hightime Rebelion, and many other famous Indonesian musicians. Java Rockin Land is one of the biggest rock festivals in Indonesia. Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo, a big fan of rock music, attended this rock festival. ““I am a huge fan of rock and metal music, so there’s no way I will miss this show,” said Jokowi. Gigi Band Performance at Java Rockin Land 2013.

Jakarta Governor Jokowi attending Java Rockin Land 2013.

Rif Band Performance at Festival Rockin Land 2013.

Rif Band Performance.

Groundbreaking of PT Puninar Logistics Warehouse at Cikarang Dry Port TPP/Heros Barasakti

PT Puninar Logistics Indonesia Yusen (PLIY) held a warehouse groundbreaking located in Cikarang Dry Port (CDP), Jababeka Cikarang. PT Puninar Logistics Indonesia Yusen (PLIY) is a joint venture company between Puninar Group and Yusen Logistik. The groundbreaking was attended by Chairman of Puninar Group, Edi Korompis, President Director of PT Yusen Logistic Indonesia, D. Budijanto, and several representatives from PT Jababeka, Tbk and PT Cikarang Inland Port. In Cikarang Dry Port areas, PT Puninar Logistics Indonesia Yusen will build a warehouse with an area of 17,000 square meters; warehouse development plan will be completed in early

2014. The purpose of establishing this warehouse is a facility for logistics and supply chain activities for the company throughout Cikarang. “This investment was done timely to support the company’s growth,” said President Director of PT Yusen Logistic Indonesia, D.Budijanto. He also expresses the joy and hope for further cooperation with Jababeka Cikarang Dry Port management. Meanwhile, Edi Korompis said that this project is important for the company and customers. He hopes that this facility can contribute to improving the nation’s competitiveness of logistics, to promote trade and flow of goods, and ultimately contribute to the economy of the nation as a whole.

Groundbreaking by Edi Korompis, Chairman of Puninar Groups.

Waisak Day: “Honesty Generates Prosperity to the Nation”

Ribbon cutting by President Director of PT Yusen Logistics Indonesia Katsuo Isomura (center).

Movie Screening at Movieland’s Open Air Cinema Jababeka TPP/Reza Ganesha

TPP/Rians Rivco

Konferensi Agung Sangha Indonesia (KASI) commemorates and celebrates Trisuci Vesak 2557 Buddhist Era (16/6) at the Pullman Hotel, themed: “Honesty Generating Prosperity of the Nation”. The theme was raised in order to awake all Buddhists in Indonesia and the world that without honesty it’s difficult to realize a prosperous life. The presence of Vesak motivates and inspires mankind, to imitate and follow the teachings of Buddha in order to achieve peace, prosperity, and happiness in this world. Buddha preaches the Dharma for the prosperity and happiness of many beings based on compassion. Buddha’s attention for the world should be the foundation for Buddhists to continuously work together with other people in order to realize a peaceful, tolerant, prosperous, and happiness.

Vice Governor of Jakarta Basuki Cahaya Purnama (Ahok) attends the Vesak celebration at Hotel Pullman.

Opening Speech from Bikku Chittagutto.

Movie screening of Yimou Zhang´s “Hero“ attracted a huge crowd to Movieland´s new Open Air Cinema, located on the backside of the Hollywood Plaza building in Jababeka. Young and old spectators enjoyed the sublimely choreographed film starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Ziyi Zhang. The bright sophisticated projection system emphasized the symphony of colors in which the director composed each of the four episodes of the film. Flamboyant red for the “passionate love and jealousy” episode; a “whirlwind of yellow autumn leaves” for the yellow episode, warm blue for the “Dance on the lake´s surface”, and green for the “Bamboo- Episode”. This project will bring the best movies of all times.

Located on the backside of the Hollywood Plaza building in Jababeka. Young and old spectators enjoyed the sublimely choreographed film starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Ziyi Zhang.

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LIVING

SECTION C July 2013 Vol 2. No. 7 www.thepresidentpost.com

Laughing All the Way to the Bank The New York Times/Erin Baiano

Betches Love This site. Or so have decreed Jordana Abraham, 23, and Samantha Fishbein and Aleen Kuperman, both 24, the creators of the Web site Betches Love This, which has become a kind of Stuff White People Like for a certain collegiate, mostly female set, with headlines like “Study Finds Smarter People Drink More,” “The Wolf of Wall Street Trailer Looks Sick” or simply “Follow Us, Losers.”

ith a focus on Greek life, status symbols, dating and dieting (and liberal obscenity), the site’s content is either funny or downright offensive, depending on whom you ask. “At its heart, it’s satire,” said Ms. Abraham, who attended both Roslyn High School on Long Island and Cornell with Ms. Kuperman and Ms. Fishbein. (No. 107 on the Betch List, a compilation of maxims, is: not branching out.) With their sleek brown hair, a similar sardonic sense of humor, penchant for leggings and shared dialect littered with “like,” the Betches, who can just as easily quote Eleanor Roosevelt as they can give a play-by-play of what the actress Amanda Bynes has been up to, seem more like blood relations than friends. Delivering advice in a brash and politically incorrect voice that echoes the cruder Judd Apatow movies, they have attracted close to 140,000 Twitter followers and four million unique visitors a month, according to Google Analytics. In March, Simon & Schuster published their first book, “Nice Is Just a Place in France: How to Win at Basically Everything,” that reached No. 1 in iTunes’s paid humor book category. The three women also have a small line of clothing and accessories (a shot glass, imprinted with the words Hot Mess, is one of the tamer items). Their followers, overwhelmingly women ages 18 to 24, argue that the Betches “are saying things that most of us are thinking, but would never say

ton issue in this country than guns,” Ms. Abraham said. But they have continued to pursue the topic on their site. Ms. Fishbein says she has struggled with her weight, but that satirizing the issue ( like echoing the Kate Moss line “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”) has been cathartic. “I guess it’s a form of therapy,” she said. “But I can’t feel responsible for every girl who feels like she needs to be 90 pounds because we made a joke.”

out loud,” said Kylie Gilbert, 21, a rising senior at Northwestern and fan of the site. “The humor is stuff I could relate to,” said Emily Wallerstein, 23, who followed the blog every day when she was a student at the State University at Binghamton. “Sometimes you say or think the most extreme things like, ‘I don’t want to eat at all,’ and the site points out the absurdities of food and dieting.” According to Ms. Abraham, “We provide an outlet for people to laugh at these behaviors.” “In my posts, I am

Jordana Abraham, Aleen Kuperman, and Samantha Fishbein of the site Betches Love This, which runs toward college humor.

making fun of myself,” she said. “Like, for instance, when it comes to dating, all the stuff that is counterintuitive, such as disliking guys who are nice and being drawn to guys who don’t treat us well.” No. 33 on the list is: hating nice guys. “There’s a certain confidence that the nice guy lacks that makes us wanna vomit,” the Betches wrote. Mockery, it turns out, can

be lucrative. The founders wouldn’t disclose how much revenue the site generates (about 10 writers contribute unpaid), but say it’s enough to defray their rent in Manhattan, where they live close together on the East Side. They started the site on a whim in 2011 when they were seniors and housemates who belonged — Ms. Abraham abortively — to Alpha Epsilon Phi. It began as the Betch List, a manual of how to eat (don’t), sleep (a lot), dress (provocatively), text, Insta-

gram and party (until you black out). They also described, with excruciating accuracy, certain behaviors and idiosyncrasies of a type of young women and how they live, like going to the bathroom in groups; buying expensive workout clothes (charged to Daddy’s credit card); talking about celebrities; thinking Diet Coke, iced coffee, and fro yo are food groups, and speaking solely in abbreviations. Betches Love This soon proved a female counterpart of sorts to the bro fraternity culture popularized by Tucker Max, the author of “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” with a dash of Bravo’s “Princesses of Long Island,” mostly for its strong emphasis on materialism and appearance. Stephanie Kaplan, 24, a 2010 graduate of Harvard and a founder of Her Campus, a Web

Should I Hide My Exercise Equipment Before Showings?

Glenn Gissler, a New York interior designer, recommended going to a gym rather than having equipment at home. Stationary bicycles and rowing ma-

Create a multifunctional room where you keep smaller pieces of equipment that are easier to put away after workouts. chines are “clunky space hogs,” he said, and if you ever stop using them, “you feel guilty every time you walk in and see them.” His suggestion? “Craigslist,” he said. “Get rid of them.” If you’re determined to keep the equipment, he suggested ways to hide it. If you have a large closet, he said, the gear could be wheeled inside after workouts. Or you could tuck it behind a curtain or a screen.

Another option for the spacechallenged yet fitness-obsessed, he said, would be to create a multifunctional room where you keep smaller pieces of equipment that are easier to put away after workouts. Working with a couple on the Upper West Side, Mr. Gissler designed a guest room with a Murphy bed that is concealed by mirrored doors. Equipped with a soft rug, free weights, exercise ball and

Ms. Abraham, Ms. Fishbein and Ms. Kuperman have also explored ethnic stereotypes, with two popular posts called “Jewish American Betches” (they are Jewish) and “Token Asian Betch.” Many of their readers say they understand the Betches are making wisecracks. “The writers promote anorexia as a way to stay thin and Adderall use as a way to stay focused, but I doubt they want readers to follow their

advice so specifically,” said Hannah Orenstein, 20, a rising junior at N.Y.U. “It’s a joke, not a lifestyle prescription.” But not surprisingly, the Betches have stirred up their share of outrage. The biggest backlash was in April 2012 when Ms. Abraham wrote a post, later taken down, called “How To: Get People To Accuse You of Having an Eating Disorder,” that advised not ordering anything when dining out with a group. The women received hundreds of comments and a letter from a reader saying her friend hadn’t eaten in two weeks because of the post, which was soon removed. The Betches were learning what kinds of spoofs their core audience of young women would accept. Binge drinking and sexting, definitely. Eating disorders, not so much. “Anorexia is more of a hot-but-

It is, perhaps, the older sister with a very narrow worldview, one who grew up in the bubble of an affluent Long Island suburb and pledged a sorority. “They definitely give the impression that you can only qualify as a Betch — or, in other words, you can only be cool — if you’re thin, rich and dating a hot, successful guy,” said Ms. Orenstein, the junior at N.Y.U. “Which I don’t think is true or fair.” Ms. Fishbein emphasized that the site is intended as humor, not advice. “If you want some empowerment,” she said, “go read ‘Lean In.’ ” NYTIMES

Hollywood’s Passion for Guns Remains Undimmed Getty Images

If it’s installed in a well-designed room with enough space, said Peter Poljan, a senior associate with Corcoran Group in Manhattan, “it can be an attraction: buyers can see the potential that they could work out in their own apartment, and not have to go to the gym.” But it can be a problem, he added, if there’s “a treadmill that’s not properly cared for, and there are clothes hanging all over it.” Mr. Poljan offered three suggestions for sellers who have exercise equipment. “First, I tell clients that if it’s at all possible, they should put it away,” he said. If there’s nowhere to store it, he suggested keeping it out of day-to-day living space. “Make sure it’s not in a high traffic area,” he said. “Try to put it off to the side, or next to the wall, just to make sure that people can get in and around it.” But most important, he said, is to clean the equipment. “Make sure there’s nothing hanging from it,” he said, “and that it’s been wiped down.”

site for college women, which has cross-promoted content with the Betches, praised their series “Betches Love This College” as “spot-on and relatable,” though she described the type they have created as a wealthy sorority girl who “cares a lot about her appearance and doesn’t care about a lot of the things you probably should care about like nonprofits and genocides.”

No doubt, Betches Love This can sound like a cacophony of mean girls telling readers all the ways in which they are inadequate. “I think it tends to blur the line between humor and reality,” said Sarah E. Kersh, an English professor at Vanderbilt who discussed Betches Love This in her Feminism and Film class this spring. “Instead, I just see it recapitulating stereotypes about women, cruel and unattainable standards and, above all, unquestioned heteronormativity.” Even the editorial room at their publisher, Simon & Schuster, was divided about the Betches, said Jeremie Ruby Strauss, the senior editor who acquired the book. “There were those who found it to be mean and those who found it to be hilarious,” said Mr. Strauss, 42, who is also Mr. Max’s editor. But he sees the book as the older sister who is trying to help you know what’s up. “It’s in the ‘girls’ guide’ genre and is telling you how to be the shot caller in school, in your social circle and with guys,” he said.

an indoor trainer for a bicycle, the room doubles as a space for quick workouts; the mirrors let the homeowners focus on their form. If the couple are expecting guests, the exercise equipment can be stored in a minimal amount of closet space, Mr. Gissler said, and the bed can be opened up. But if no company is coming, “they just close the door.” NYTimes

Almost a year after the theater shootings in Aurora, Colo., and a half-year after the killings in Newtown, Conn., one of the things that hasn’t changed is Hollywood’s enchantment with the gun, at least when it comes to selling the big movies. As the blockbuster film season unfolds, every major studio has firearms of one sort or another in its marketing arsenal. At Sony Pictures Entertainment, Channing Tatum clutches a sidearm the size of Wyatt Earp’s as he walks Jamie Foxx to safety on the poster for “White House Down.” At Paramount Pictures, Brad Pitt, zombie hunter, has an even bigger piece of personal artillery slung across his back in the promotional art for “World War Z.” Johnny Depp packs a pistol in his pants on the poster for Disney’s “The Lone Ranger.” Melissa McCarthy grips what appears to be a fullblown grenade launcher in the advertisements for 20th Century Fox’s “The Heat.” The glowing handguns on the art for Universal’s “R.I.P.D.” have a preternatural look; but what really gets

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, standing back to back, on the poster for “2 Guns”. your attention are those chillingly real guns being flashed by Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, standing back to back, on the poster for the same studio’s “2 Guns.” Warner Brothers, whose “The Dark Knight Rises” was playing in Aurora during last July’s shootings, has been soft-pedaling weaponry on its posters lately (unless you count the robots and helicopters pounding each other in the ads for “Pacific Rim”). Still, Ken Jeong had some hot handgun moments in the redband trailer for “The Hangover Part III.” After the discussion of gun violence and pop culture at a January meeting between Vice Pres-

ident Joseph R. Biden Jr. and a number of entertainment executives, the Motion Picture Association of America, an industry trade group, bolstered its ratings system with a campaign to remind parents of the content advisories that accompany a movie’s letter rating. But don’t look for any move to change the movies, or the high-caliber images used to sell them. “We believe our role is to help parents be informed of a film’s content, not to dictate the content in any way,” Kate Bedingfield, an M.P.A.A. spokeswoman, said in an e-mail last week. NYTimes

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Health

Obesity Declared a Disease wholehealthamerica.com

The American Medical Assn. voted Tuesday to declare obesity a disease, a move that effectively defines 78 million American adults and 12 million children as having a medical condition requiring treatment.

he nation’s leading physicians organization took the vote after debating whether the action would do more to help affected patients get useful treatment or would further stigmatize a condition with many causes and few easy fixes. In the end, members of the AMA’s House of Delegates rejected cautionary advice from their own experts and extended the new status to a condition that affects more than one-third of adults and 17% of children in the United States. “Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately 1 in 3 Americans,” said Dr. Patrice Harris, an AMA board member. Tuesday’s vote is certain to step up pressure on health insurance companies to reimburse physicians for the time-consuming task of discussing obesity’s health risks with patients whose body mass index exceeds 30. It should also encourage doctors to direct these patients to weightloss programs and to monitor their often-fitful progress. The federally funded Medicare program, which insures an estimated 13 million obese Americans who are over 65 or disabled, already covers the costs of “intensive behavioral therapy” for obese patients, as well as bariatric surgery for those with additional health conditions. But coverage for such obesity treatments has been uneven among private insurers. Insurers who are members of the California Assn. of Health Plans cover many services to treat medical conditions associated with obesity, including bariatric surgery and diabetes, said President and Chief Executive Patrick Johnston. The AMA’s decision essentially makes diagnosis and treatment of obesity a physician’s professional obligation. As such, it should encourage primary care physicians to get over their discomfort about raising weight concerns with obese patients. Studies have found that more than half of obese patients have never been told by a medical professional they need to lose weight — a result not only of some doc-

tors’ reluctance to offend but of their unwillingness to open a lengthy consultation for which they might not be reimbursed. Past AMA documents have referred to obesity as an “urgent chronic condition,” a “major health concern” and a “complex disorder.” The vote now lifts obesity above the status of a health condition, disorder or marker for heightened risk of disease — as high cholesterol is for heart disease, for instance. “As things stand now, primary care physicians tend to look at obesity as a behavior problem,” said Dr. Rexford Ahima of University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. “This will force primary care physicians to address it, even if we don’t have a cure for it.”

As things stand now, primary care physicians tend to look at obesity as a behavior problem.” The new designation follows a steep 30-year climb in Americans’ weight — and growing public concern over the resulting tidal wave of expensive health problems. Treatment of such obesity-related illnesses as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers drives up the nation’s medical bill by more than $150 billion a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Projected increases in the obesity rate could boost that figure by an additional $550 billion over the next 20 years, a recent Duke University study concluded. The Food and Drug Administration, which has approved just two new prescription weight-loss medications since 1999, would probably face increased pressure to approve new obesity drugs, spurring new drug development and more widespread prescribing by physicians, the council noted. But the council also said that

The Food and Drug Administration, which has approved just two new prescription weight-loss medications since 1999, would probably face increased pressure to approve new obesity drugs, spurring new drug development and more widespread prescribing by physicians.

making obesity a disease could deepen the stigma attached to being overweight and doom some patients to endless nagging — even if they were otherwise healthy or had lost enough weight to improve their health. It might also shift the nation’s focus too much toward expensive drug and surgical treatments and away from measures to encourage healthy diets and regular exercise, the council wrote in a background memo for AMA members. Dr. Daniel H. Bessesen, an endocrinologist and obesity expert at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, called the AMA’s shift “a double-edged sword.” Though the semantic change may reflect “a growing awareness that obesity is not someone’s fault,” he worried that “the term disease is stigmatizing, and people who are obese don’t need more stigmatizing.” LATimes

Physical, Mental Health Treatments Come Together Many days, the sheer weight of Iszurette Hunter’s clinical depression becomes more than she can lift. She clings to her bed in her South Los Angeles home. Important obligations slide away, including keeping appointments with doctors who are trying to control her asthma and high blood pressure. “I don’t have no desire,” she explains. Already, about 2 million patients a year receiving care at government-subsidized community health centers also must be treated for depression, anxiety and other mental conditions, according to the National Assn. of Community Health Centers. “People who are depressed or anxious or having other problems are less likely to get preventative or other primary care,” said Roderick Shaner, medical director of Los Angeles County’s Department of Mental Health. “Their illnesses become greater in acuity before they are seen.” County health departments are training physicians to better identify depression and other mental health problems. Doctors and therapists are sharing more information with each other about their patients. And

health centers like To Help Everyone, or T.H.E., Clinic, where Hunter is treated, are expanding their mental health services. The Affordable Care Act also expands mental health benefits and requires new health insurance plans to require depression screenings. During a speech last week, President Obama said improving diagnosis and treatment for people with mental illness is essential. In a small exam room at the South Los Angeles clinic one afternoon, Manuel Mares told the doctor his head was pounding, he felt dizzy and he had been vomiting. The previous month, Mares said, he had been to the emergency room three times with similar symptoms. Doctors there performed various exams but found nothing physically wrong. Mares said they diagnosed him with anxiety and prescribed medication. Fidgeting and talking fast, Mares, 47, said he felt desperate. He hadn’t worked in a year because of a shoulder injury. His wife had recently had surgery and his son’s asthma was flaring up. “It’s like when you begin to put water in an empty cup and you put drop by drop in the cup

until there is no more capacity,” he said. “There has to be a limit.” A clinic physician gave Mares a different prescription and urged him to see the clinic’s therapist, Neil Martin. But he left without doing so. Many of the clinic’s patients have depression, which can cause symptoms such as headaches and cramps. They find it difficult to overcome because of other pressures such as getting a job, buying food and finding a place to live, Martin said. “Their problems are multifaceted,” he said. “It’s so linked, physical and mental health.” Martin says he tries to break the cycle of despair by identifying his patients’ most pressing problem and working toward a solution. That’s crucial to keeping patients healthy and reducing demands on the most expensive parts of the healthcare system, officials say. “When you are depressed, your pain is worse,” said Derrick Butler, associate medical director at T.H.E. Clinic. “When your pain is worse, you’re more depressed.” “It’s a huge unrecognized problem,” Bartlett said. “And it really makes them continue to suffer.... Their medical conditions just don’t get better.” LATimes

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Tourism

Makassar Focuses on Tourism Development Iqbal Alaik

The Makassar city government in South Sulawesi Province has set its focus on the development of tourism for the welfare of its local community.

akassar is the gateway to eastern part of Indonesia and the entry point to an adventurous tour to the Tanah Toraja highlands, deep fertile plateaus of Sulawesi island. The unique Torajan culture including their animistic burial rites makes the region one of the most fascinating wonders in Indonesia. For the Makassar city residents, the most interesting way of spending an evening is going to the Losari beach, which has a very strategic position and become an integral part of the atmosphere of the city of Makassar. “We have some beautiful beaches and small islands to be developed into tourist paradise,” local Economy and Finance Department spokesman Syahrir Sappaile said in Makassar on Thursday. Syahrir noted that the coastal areas and small islands development into tourist paradise was the manifestation of the desire of the community to maintain the existence of marine resources in order to be utilized in a sustainable manner. “All of it is to meet the needs of the community, especially for Makassar city dwellers to enjoy,” he said, adding that the development of marine tourism in Makassar city was very prospective because there are 11 small islands along the coastline of the city.

Besides, the area has a stretch of coral reefs and sea grass beds, and beautiful beaches of Losari, Akkarena, and Tanjung Bunga for boating, skying, snorkeling, fishing, and other water sport activities. Makassar city will be more famous in the world because it has Trans Studio World Indoor Theme Park, an area of integrated tourism which is located only 5 minutes away from Akkarena beach. The Trans Studio World Indoor Theme Park has adopted the concept of the Universal Studio in the United States. According to regional coordinator of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies Nico B. Pasaka, the development of tourism in Makassar city was expected to have a positive impact on the economy of the people near the tourism objects. “Tourism should have a direct positive impact on the economy of the people,” Nico said, adding that pedicab drivers in the vicinity of Makassar`s Sukarno-Hatta port should take the advantage from tourism development. He said around 150 pedicab drivers at the port could drive foreign tourists to tourism objects in the city each time a foreign cruise ship with hundreds of tourists arrived there. Meanwhile, former South Sulawesi Tourism Office Chief Syuaib Mallombassi has said the province is rich in marine, natural, cultural, historic and agro tourism destinations.

The natural tourism attractions that have been developed in the district include Bantimurung Waterfall, Pattunuang Natural Caves, Bulu Sipong Hill with its caves, Bonto Somba Waterfall, Lerang Pannige, Kuri Beach, and Karaenta Natural Preserve.” Hatta Rahman Maros District Head

Makassar is rich in marine, natural, cultural, historic and agro tourism destinations. The Taka Bonerate Marine Park, located at Takabonerate Island in Selayar district, is famous for having the third largest coral atoll in the world after Kwajifein in the Marshall Islands and Suvadiva in the Maldivian Islands.

He pointed out that the Taka Bonerate Marine Park, located at Takabonerate Island in Selayar district, is famous for having the third largest coral atoll in the world after Kwajifein in the Marshall Islands and Suvadiva in the Maldivian Islands. Swimming, diving, snorkeling, and fishing are some of the fun activities at Taka Bonerate Marine Park. “With beautiful tourist attractions such as Tana Toraja and Taka Bonerate Marine Park, we are optimistic that more domestic and foreign

tourists will visit Makassar this year,” he said. For about a 90-minute ride from Makassar, the tourists will arrive in Maros district to enjoy the natural, historic, and agro tourism attractions. Maros district head Hatta Rahman said in Makassar recently that the district has at least 8 natural tourism attractions and most of them have been developed. “The natural tourism attractions that have been developed in the district include Bantimurung Waterfall, Pattunuang Nat-

ural Caves, Bulu Sipong Hill with its caves, Bonto Somba Waterfall, Lerang Pannige, Kuri Beach, and Karaenta Natural Preserve,” Hatta Rahman said. As for historical tourism sites, he said that the district has Leang-leang prehistoric park, Leang Akkarrasa Rammangrammang historic site, Kassi Kebo cemetery, Karaeng Simbang cemetery, Japanese fort, and Karaeng Loe Ripakere traditional houses. Hatta Rahman added that Maros also has agro tourism at-

Latin America Indonesia’s Target Market for Tourism fealac.org

Countries in Latin America are potential to be Indonesia`s next target market for tourism, spokesman to Bali`s Tourist Guide Association (HPI) Amos Lillo has said. “The key is the government`s willingness to engage with Latin American countries to promote our tourism potential. In order to boost more tourist visit to Indonesia, it is important for the government to diversify target market such as to Latin American countries,” he said here on Thursday on the sideline of the 6th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) that ran on June 13 to 14. Amos called on the establishment of commitment among governments from east Asia and Latin American countries to boost cooperation in tourism sector. “Strong government to government relations will ease off business people in executing the cooperation agreed,” he added. Earlier FEALAC Vision Group

members during the meeting last June 4-6 in Bali also discussed the importance of cooperation in tourism sector saying that it is an important tool to boost people to people relations. On its final report, the group recommended that government and tourism agencies should increase efforts to engage their counterparts, and as a way to increase tourist visits across the two regions. “FEALAC member countries should explore ways and means to facilitate travels in order to encourage more people to people contacts, especially with reference to culture and youth-related tourism when visited by tourists from other region,” the recommendation said. FEALAC was established in 1999 as an informal forum to link Asian and Latin American countries. As the only forum bridging the two regions, FEALAC has recently developed its membership to include 36 countries in the Pacific region.

FEALAC Vision Group members during the meeting last June 4-6 in Bali discussed the importance of cooperation in tourism sector saying that it is an important tool to boost people to people relations.

Private Sector to Support Sail Komodo 2013 Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo has asked the regional government and the private sector in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to support Sail Komodo 2013. “The regional government and the private sector should mobilize all available resources to support the international marine event and to make it a success,” the minister said here on Friday. According to him, that Sail Komodo 2013 is expected to become a stimulant for empowering the local communities to develop their region. Therefore the minister said coordination among all ministries and related institutions was needed for the international marine event of Sail Komodo in September 2013. Sharif said various ministries involved in the event are Coordinating Ministry for People`s Welfare, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Transportation Ministry, Public Works Ministry,

Sharif Cicip Sutardjo Foreign Affairs Ministry, Home Affairs Ministry, State Enterprises Ministry, Defense Ministry, Social Affairs Ministry, the Ministry of Public Housing, and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. Some development centers that have been prepared for Sail Komodo are integrated gateway including public bathing, washing and toilet facilities (MCK) and houses renovation by Public Housing Ministry; shopping ward and fishermen village ren-

ovation by Social Affairs Ministry; creative economic related training by Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry; road repair by Public Works Ministry, and fishermen welfare program by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will visit and dedicate some of these facilities,” the maritime affairs and fisheries minister said. He noted that Sail Komodo is a very effective event to promote the areas in East Nusa Tenggara as national and international tourist destination. “Besides, Sail Komodo 2013 is also an effort to promote Komodo National Park as as water conservation area in the framework of developing marine related economy,” Sharif said. He explained that the peak event of Sail Komodo will take place in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai district, on September 14, 2013.

RI’s Natural Beauty Ranked World`s Sixth Indonesia`s natural beauty is ranked sixth in the world based on a survey of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2012 which was released recently, said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Mari Elka Pangestu. “This year`s tourism ranking is up four positions based on the WEF survey,” said Mari Elka Pangestu here Monday. Marie said that in 2011 Indonesia placed at the 74th rank in world for tourism, the rank continues to step up four positions to the 70th in 2012, according to WEF. “The proudest thing is that Indonesia was ranked sixth for its natural beauty,” he said. According to Marie that this might become a strong base to develop tourism because everyone knows that the most beautiful beach and ocean in the world is in

Indonesia. “Some time ago we managed to amaze visitors 2013 ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin) by featuring the replica of Phinisi ship as an attraction and an icon of Indonesian Pavilion,” she said. It was a form of tourism and creative economy that gives positive impact to boost the pride of Indonesia as a nation that has had a maritime tradition and history dating back thousands of years ago. The ministry is committed to develop seven thematic tours (special interest) and three of which are strongly associated with the beach and sea (nature tourism and ecotourism, sports tourism and recreation, and sightseeing cruises). “However, this thematic tourism development requires the support of cooperation with other ministries and local governments,” she said.

tractions such as the Pucak Safari Garden and various types of typically traditional food. About Bantimurung`s natural tourism, the Maros district head noted that it would be developed as per international standards with hotels, golf courses, and other facilities. Bantimurung Waterfall is a destination in South Sulawesi that tourists should not miss, as it can be reached in an hour`s drive from Makassar and a 30-minute drive from Hasanuddin Airport. Situated at the valley of a limestone hill with its fertile tropical vegetation, Bantimurung Waterfall is a government protected natural reserve that houses a beautiful waterfall and 1000 ha of surrounding forest.

There are also several caves around the waterfall, which make this area an ideal habitat for many types of butterflies and rare birds. Bantimurung also has a reservation of rare butterflies. Hatta Rahman said the naturalist Alfred Wallace collected specimens here in the mid1800s. Among the butterflies that he caught was the Papilo Androcles, one of the rarest and largest, with a tail like a swallow. According to Rahman, the best time to see butterflies is when the sun appears after a shower, as the butterflies form a riot of color while flying from one shrub to another. As for Makassar, the city will rely on its cultural and marine tourism to support the Visit South Sulawesi 2012 campaign. Meanwhile, Makassar Mayor Ilham Arif Sirajuddin said tourists would be able to choose many attractive destinations, such as Rotterdam Fort, Somba Opu Fort, the tomb of Syech Yusuf, the tomb of Prince Diponegoro, the tomb of Tallo King, Mandala Monument, Losari Beach and Paotere harbor to see traditional Pinisi schooners. For marine tourism, Ilham said Makassar would offers islets such as Khayangan, LaeLae, Samalona, Kodingareng, Barang Lompo, Barang Caddi, and resort areas like Akkarena Beach, Tanjung Bayam Beach and Tanjung Bunga Beach. He noted that the city would also offer religious tourist destinations, including the old Katangka Mosque, Raya Mosque, Al Markaz Al Islami Mosque and La Galigo Museum.

French Film Producer Pays Tribute to Ternate Beauty French film producer Zidane William Estel has a profound interest in Ternate tourism sector in North Maluku and wants to immortalize it in a documentary film. “After being completed, the documentary film about Ternate tourism will be aired by a French TV station this year,” Zidane said here on Saturday. He said he would like to immortalize the tourism of Ternate in the documentary film because the area has a lot of interesting tourism attractions. Ternate is an island and town in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera. Zidane noted that the locations to be immortalized in the documentary film are among others the area around Fort Don Gil or known as “Benteng Kota Janji”, a small fort with three bulwarks with four to six cannons; and the panoramic view of Maitara and Tidore islands. “These locations are very interesting because we can

These locations are very interesting because we can see the beauty of Maitara and Tidore islands, as well as the splendid scenery of Gamalama volcano.” see the beauty of Maitara and Tidore islands, as well as the splendid scenery of Gamalama volcano,” Zidane said through his interpreter Miranda Yulianingsih. He also appreciated the hospitality of Ternate people, who would like to cooperate in the production of the documentary film. Meanwhile, Ternate Deputy Mayor Arifin Djafar said he fully supported the creation of the film to help promote the Ternate tourism potential in Europe. “The city of Ternate has a wealth of culture and history with seven forts of colonial era, and therefore it deserves to be promoted,” Arifin Djafar said.

Tourism Players Clean up Bunaken The tourism entrepreneurs in the city wanted to support the local government in handling the garbage because it directly and indirectly disturbed their business. Tourism entrepreneurs in Manado, North Sulawesi, support the local government strategy to handle the garbage littering in the Bunaken National Marine Park, Manado Mayor Vicky Lumentut said. “During a meeting with us, the tourism entrepreneurs expressed their support to handle the garbage that has been threatening the underwater beauty of Bunaken marine park,” Lumentut said here on Tuesday. According to the owners of Manado tourist resorts, the garbage littering the water of Bunaken came not only from Manado city but also from outside. “They

even said that the garbage come from Bangka Island in North Minahasa,” according to Lumentut. The Manado mayor noted that the tourism entrepreneurs in the city wanted to support the local government in handling the garbage because it directly and indirectly disturbed their business. Meanwhile, Siladen Resort and Spa General Manager Daniele Marianelli said she was ready to help the local government handle the garbage that was frequently complained by tourists who came to enjoy the underwater beauty of Bunaken. “We hope Manado city government can also coordinate with other district and city governments to clean up Bunaken water from garbage,” she said.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Travel

Life at the Front Yard of Sawu Sea Lamalera, a village on the Lembata Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), is known worldwide for its tradition to hunt down whales. Lamalera’s position is facing the deep Sawu Sea, the cross path of many sea mammals and fish. The deep sea is the front yard of the Lembata villagers. Words & photos by Adita Alaik

rom Jakarta, I together with two colleagues, Nabil and Djim, had to go through a tough journey to get to the Lamalera village. First, we had to fly to Kupang and then proceed to Lewoleba, the capital of the Lembata district by land. We reached Lewoleba in three hours after many bumpy roads. From Jakarta I had already arranged for a guide named Noel Beding to pick us up. I imagined that I would be picked up with a fully air-conditioned and comfortable 4x4 vehicle. But to my surprise, we were only picked up by a truck that was converted into a passenger vehicle! The truck was covered with a tarp and inside it long benches were installed to serve as passenger seats. We arrived at Lamaleravillage in the afternoon, when the sun was ready to set. From a distance, we could see villagers trying to pull a 20-meter long dead sperm whale to the shore. My heart sank imagining the struggles it went through to survive to reach that size. It must have experienced 1001 things only to die in the hands of the Lamara hunters. It was like seeing a 100year tree being fell in just minutes. Whale hunting in Lamalera uses the traditional method, wielding spears or locally known as tempuling. The lamafa or hunters jumps to the water and stab the spears into the whales body when they surface to inhale some air. The hunters would continue to attack the whales until they run out of blood and die. The process of such hunting method takes hours to finish. According to local residents, the whale that was being pulled to the shore finally died after six tormenting hours. The next morning, the three of us were already on the beach from 6 a.m. and we saw several young men standing on the whale’s body as they skinned the mammal in which the hide

was about 15cm thick because it was covered in fat. After ripping off the skin, they started cutting up its red meat which looked like beef. Well, after all whales are not exactly from the fish group but they are mammals. All of the whale’s parts, including the skin, meat, stomach, and even its testicles were distributed to all residents in accordance with the local custom. The locals were allowed to cook their share for their daily meal or trade it in the market with other staples such as rice, sugar, salt and others. The market which is located not far from the Lamalera village adopted a unique trading system, in which the process of bartering or buying or selling can only start after a whistle is being blown. The villagers not only hunt down whales but also just about anything they see in the sea such as whale sharks, orcas or killer whales, manta raysors also known as the world’s biggest manta and the ocean sunfish mola-mola. They are only forbidden to hunt down the blue whales because it is believed that they had rescued their ancestors from drowning. There were also stories that whales had dragged some of the lamafa’s boats to the Australian waters that they eventually had to be deported. This reminds me of my trip to Cape Town, South Af¬rica. There I saw whalewatching tourism, where tourists were taken to the sea to watch the whales. South Africa manages the whale watching industry very seriously by providing luxurious facilities. This means that such tourism is actually a lucrative business. Now, why can’t Lamalera do the same? Especially since the whales’ cross path in Lamalera was very close to the beach thus there was no need to spend hours to get to the sea just to see the whales. The positive impact of this tourism is that the locals no longer have to hunt down whales but they could still earn a living from the tourism industry. This way the whales can be conserved and the locals will also live prosperously.

Whale hunting in Lamalera uses the traditional method, wielding spears or locally known as tempuling. The lamafa or hunters jumps to the water and stab the spears into the whales body when they surface to inhale some air. The hunters would continue to attack the whales until they run out of blood and die.

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Culture

Jakarta Holds Traditional Arts Festival 2013 TPP/Heros Barasakti

The Jakarta provincial government conducted a traditional arts festival 2013 or “Enjoy Jakarta International Folklore Festival (EJIFF)” on June 26 through 28.

ix foreign countries participated in the first-ever EJIFF, said head of the city`s tourism and cultural affairs office, Arie Budhiman here on Sunday. The participating countries are Egypt, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Jakarta as the host, he said. “The EJIFF is one of the promotion and preservation programs of traditional arts which is aimed to commemorate the Jakarta`s 486th anniversary,” he added. “We wish to make Jakarta as a modern international tourism destination through this event, because Jakarta as a melting pot of the national arts and cultures as well as a benchmark of the Indonesian cultural development.” The EJIFF took place at Sasono Langen Budoyo in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) or Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park on Wednesday (June 26) at 7.00pm local time, and in Mall Taman Anggrek on Friday (June 28) at 1.00pm local time. The TMII is a culture-based recreational area located in East Jakarta, while Mall Taman Anggrek is in West Jakarta. The peak event was held in Gambir Market Expo in Kemayoran Jakarta Fair arena on Thursday (June 27) and Friday (June 28) at 5.00pm, Arie added.

to Thursday and Rp30,000 from Friday to Sunday. “As a folk festivity for the Jakarta residents, the PRJ should not charge visitors. It should be free of charge. This year, we are to organize people`s festivities in all parts of Jakarta like car free night in celebrating the capital city`s 486th anniversary,” said Basuki. However, he said that the regional government of Jakarta would still allow PT Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo), the organizer of the PRJ in Kemayoran, to hold the Jakarta Fair Festival next year. “JIExpo is pleased to hold exhibition and other festivals. We are not going to change its concept. We are going to introduce another festival with a concept that gives priority to creativity and culture,” Basuki said. Previously, Jakarta Governor

Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said he was planning to change the concept of Jakarta Fair 2014 into creativity activities. “In the future, we will give priority to creativity in organizing the PRJ because the event is initially designed for cultural-based creativity products,” Governor Jokowi said. He said that the PRJ this year inclined to show commercial and business aspects so that people`s creativity and cultural elements lacked attention. “Cultural creativity in the current PRJ is not given a priority so that it gets no rooms. There are many `kerak telor` (tradional Betawi egg-based dish) traders who complained because they could not get into the arena. We have to give them ample rooms,” Jokowi said. Therefore, the PRJ 2013 would be evaluated after its completion.

“We will evaluate it this year so that it could be improved and be returned to its initial aim as a folk festivity which gives priority to creativity and culture,” he said. Starting to open since June 6, Jakarta Fair 2013 was officially opened by President Susilo Bambang on Monday evening (June 10). He expressed his hope that

Jakarta Fair Focuses on Culture, Folk Arts The 46th Jakarta Fair, which was opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the former Kemayoran airport location on Monday, has rapidly developed with large scale firms taking part in the annual business and cultural exposition. Formally called Djakarta Fair (DF) and held for the first time in the 7 hectare National Monument Square (Monas) on June 5, 1968, the Jakarta Fair (PRJ) was later moved to the 44 hectare former Kemayoran airport in 1992 to facilitate its rapid development. Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahja Purnama said the Jakarta Fair should serve as a festivity of cultural exhibition for the Jakarta residents. “PRJ should leave a modest impression while it remains to be festive. It should not become an elite and commercial arena. This is because the PRJ is in essence a people or folk festivity,” he said in the City Hall last week. Basically, the regional government of Jakarta wants to maintain the initial purpose of PRJ as a folk festivity arena for the Jakarta residents so that it would benefit the grass roots of all circles in Jakarta. In the 2013 Jakarta Fair, admission tickets are sold at a price of Rp25,000 from Monday

Lake Sentani Festival A National Asset The Lake Sentani cultural festival, which was kicked off on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, is a national asset, Cenderawasih Military Commander May. Gen. Christian Zebua said. “It is a national asset and an important event for the people of Papua because it deals with the issue of cultural identity of the community,” Christian said here on Wednesday. The Cenderawasih military commander said he made every effort to ensure

The 46th Jakarta Fair was opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the former Kemayoran airport location.

the security and order during the sixth ever festival that lasted from June 1923. “Such a cultural festival has a very big potential and we hope in the future we can work hard and cooperate to make it in parallel with the event in Raja Ampat, or Bali cultural festival,” he said. In the run up to Lake Sentani Festival, some 3,000 TNI personnel under Cenderawasih Military Command were mobilized to clean up Khalkote tour-

ist beach where the festival took place. Christian said the move was as a form of TNI support for the local government to make the national tourism event in Papua a great success. “Therefore we had asked all people of Papua to support Lake Sentani Festival, intended to promote tourism potentials, and to preserve and introduce typical traditional arts and culture of Jayapura district in particular and Papua province in general,” he said.

the PRJ would continue to develop and provide economic benefit to the people and serve as an entertainment place. “I congratulate the holding of the Jakarta Fair and I wish a happy 486th anniversary of the Jakarta City. I hope the 46th PRJ would benefit and entertain the people,” the President said. According to Jokowi, the PRJ

2013, which will last from June 6 to July 7 2013, is held as part of the commemoration of Jakarta`s 486th anniversary. Jokowi hoped that PRJ 2013 would serve as a useful arena which provided information and entertainment for Jakartans. “I hope this event will provide information for the people. It is an entertainment arena and a

place for introducing the nation`s creative products,” the governor said. A total of 4.5 million visitors were registered in PRJ 2012. This year the Jakarta Fair is expected to be visited by some 4.8 million people. The PRJ 2013 will be taking place for 32 days beginning from June 6 to July 7, 2013.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Automotive

Mercedes-Benz A Class For Young and Sporty Spirited-People DAIMLER

Indonesians will finally get to drive the long-awaited, sporty A-Class that has won the hearts of critics and compact luxury car drivers in Europe and America.

ercedes-Benz Indonesia launched the A 200 Urban and A 250 Sport which have been coveted for their looks and performance. “The A-Class has set up a new standard for the compact vehicle class with its stylish design and innovative technology,” said Dr. Claus Weidner, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Indonesia. ”Today, with the latest revolutionary design, the car will fit perfectly well with the new generation’s personality and lifestyle,” he added. The dynamic exterior is visually underlined by striking contours, an expressive front section with a central star, dynamically curved surfaces, a coupé-like window line, and a broad rear section with shoulders and powerfully flared wings. The innovative Bi-xenon headlamps offer xenon technology for both, low and high beams. Besides its outstanding brightness and long lifespan, the Bi-xenon lamps also signify the elegant look and create a stronger visual impact of the car at night.

The dynamic exterior is visually underlined by striking contours, an expressive front section with a central star, dynamically curved surfaces, a coupé-like window line, and a broad rear section with shoulders and powerfully flared wings.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Elvera Makki-Deputy Director Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, Dr. Claus Weidner-CEO and President of Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, Yahya-Product Manager Mercedes-Benz Indonesia.

The interior design of both A 200 Urban and A 250 Sport displays sporty elements. The A 200 Urban is equipped with ARTICO man-made leather fabric, while the A 250 Sport comes with the AMG exclusive package with black leather and red stitching.

Assist including PARKTRONIC, and Rescue Assistance. The A-class is also specifically designed to protect its passengers’ safety with up to nine airbags that include front airbag, sidebag, windowbag and kneebag. The car offers an extensive range of entertainment features, for example, the Mercedes-Benz radio audio 20 with integrated CD changer and 6 loudspeakers specially configured for the vehicle interior. All of these entertainment features can be operated via the multifunction steering wheel. Additionally, a MEMORY

Iklan Koran The President Post uk : ½ halaman , 325 mm x 270 mm

Besides its remarkable design, the new A-class is equipped with powerful and efficient 4-cylinder engines with power levels of 115 kW (156 hp) for A 200 Urban and 155 kW (211 hp) for A 250 Sport. With such engine performance, the A 200 Urban can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.3 seconds, with a maximum speed of

224. The A 250 Sport accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.6 seconds, with a maximum speed of 240 km/h. The power train is also optimized with a dual clutch transmission 7G-DCT that offers improved acceleration and swift gearshift. Meanwhile, the drag coefficient for the A 200 Urban is only 0.28 cd and for the A 250 Sport is at 0.31 cd and offers reduced fuel consumption as well as making these vehicles one of the most aerodynamic cars in the compact segment. The new A-Class offers low

emission figures of 127g/km for A 200 Urban and 148g/km for A 250 Sport. With the emissions standards of Euro 6, the fuel consumption for A 200 Urban is 5.4 l/100km and A 250 Sporty is 6.4 l/km. Both models is equipped with the standard ECO start/stop function; making it an efficient and environmentally friendly car. Just like any other MercedesBenz vehicles, A 200 Urban and A 250 Sport present innovative safety assistance systems such as ATTENTION ASSIST, Adaptive Break Assist, Tire pressure loss warning system, Active Parking

package allows the driver to adjust the seat and exterior mirrors, which can be restored quickly and accurately for the driver’s convenience.

technology all in one compact car,” said Dr. Weidner. “Mercedes-Benz Indonesia is reaching out to the new generation beyond our usual target market as we introduce the new A-Class. The car expels boredom off the street and it is exactly what the young generation has been looking for: the pulse of a new generation.” he closed. The new A-Class will be available through all authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer showrooms per June 28, 2013. The A 200 Urban will be priced at Rp 499 million (off the road) and A 250 Sport will be priced at Rp 629 million (off the road).

Certainly the new A-Class, as all other Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, comes with the Integrated Service Package, which provides free service and maintenance for the first three years without mileage limitation. Testdrives for customers are available at Mercedes-Benz authorized dealers. “The A 200 Urban and A 250 Sport have successfully combined aesthetics, function and

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July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

Technology

LG Optimus G Pro: Phablet with Remote-Control Feature lg.com

LG has recently launched their Phablet products in the Indonesian market. LG Optimus G Pro is said to be the most advanced phone ever produced by the South Korean company so far.

Optimus G Pro is slightly longer and thicker than the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It has dimensions of 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4 mm and weighs 172 grams. The phablet is also supported with a screen size of 5.5 inches and it True Type screen Full HD IPS LCD Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, maling the screen looks clear and bright. The resolution of this phablet is FHD 1080 x 1920 pixels with a density at 440 ppi. On the screen is only found one physical button to go home and two touch buttons for menu and back. LG Optimus G Pro using OS Android Jelly Bean with Optimus UI bandage. Quad-core 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 being the â&#x20AC;&#x153;brainsâ&#x20AC;? of this phablet. In addition, LG Optimus G Pro is powered with 2GB RAM to accelerate its performance. The internal memory is 16GB and uses Adreno 320 GPU. LG Optimus G Pro has a camera with a large image sensor for the size of a smart phone. LG Optimus G Pro has a 13 megapixel camera on the back. While at the front, there is a 2.4 megapixel camera. When shooting, you can use the maximum resolution to 4208 x 3120 pixels.

ASUS Memopad ME 172: Entertainment Tablet at an Affordable Price om

asus.c

Apperently, ASUS has started to expand into tablet market, which also as the means for entertainment anytime and anywhere. ASUS has produced a 7-inch tablet at an affordable price, named ASUS Memopad ME 172. The tablet has dimensions of 196.2 x 119.2 x 11.2 mm, with a thickness of only 11.2 mm so that the tablet is very light at about 358-370gr. ASUS Memopad ME 172 is operated with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and launched with elegant and attractive colors, namely white (Cotton White), dark gray (Steel Gray), and pink (Luminous Pink). With a multi-touch screen up to 10 finger sizes of 7 inches and a resolution of 1024 x 600pixels at 169 ppi densities, the screen is quite large and very clear, and set with an HD front camera for video chat. It is equipped with a VIA WM8950 processor, with graphics processing unit (GPU) mali 400 which has a speed of 1 GHz as the brain, and is supported by a large RAM i.e. 1GB, allowing you to play games and open

many applications at the same time. ASUS Memopad ME 172 comes with 8 GB of storage media. If the memory is not enough, you can add with microSD up to 32 GB. For durability issues, ASUS Memopad ME 172 is equipped with 4270mAh Li-polymer battery which can last about 7 hours so you can use it for a relatively long time without fear of running out of battery. Unfortunately, this tablet just provides WiFi to surf the internet. There is no mobile network or GPS. If you are a gadget lover, ASUS Memopad ME 172 is one of the products made by Asus that you deserve to have at Rp1.5 million.

ASUS Memopad ME 172 is operated with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and launched with elegant and attractive colors, namely white (Cotton White), dark gray (Steel Gray), and pink (Luminous Pink).

lg.com

For those of you who like to experiment with photos, the camera LG Optimus G Pro has multiple image capture modes. You can take photos with Normal, HDR, Panorama or Continuous shot. Not only this mode alone, there are also several modes such as white balance, effects, brightness and so on. LG Optimus G Pro also brings a number of other features that are claimed to have been made by competitors. Features include 360 VR Panorama Shoot, Pause and Resume Recording, Smart Video, and Q Remote. 360 VR Panorama feature lets users take pictures of objects with 360 degree views. Pause and Resume Recorder is recording an image that can be done in stages, but can be enjoyed in full. With Smart Video feature, you will be able to move the video aired on television in the phone, while Q Remote is a unique feature that can function as a remote control for television, air conditioning, audio video, and projectors. This feature also works for the brand than LG. LG Optimus G Pro uses Li-Po 3140mAh battery which is capable of more than 576 hours standby and 15 hours 30 minutes talk time. If you want to have this device, have a little patience, it is still in pre-order. The LG Optimus G Pro is priced at Rp 6,999,000.

LG Optimus G Pro also brings a number of other features that are claimed to have been made by competitors. Features include 360 VR Panorama Shoot, Pause and Resume Recording, Smart Video, and Q Remote.

July 2013 Vol. 2 No. 7

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Golf dailymail.co.uk

George Gandranata Aims for Grand Finish at Jakarta Classic Promising talent George Gandranata of Indonesia aims to win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at Jakarta Classic. Gandranata, ranked 19th on the ADT Order of Merit, will lead the local challenge alongside Andik Mauludin, Rory Hie and Benny Kasiadi at the Imperial Klub Golf from July 17 to 20. The winner of the tournament will get $60,000 prize. Gandranata, who has been playing regularly on the ADT since turning professional in 2012, claimed his best result when he finished tied eighth at the PGM

Northport Glenmarie Masters in March in Malaysia. He is eager to earn his first ADT silverware to boost his chances of earning an Asian Tour card for 2014 where he will need to finish inside the top-three on the Order of Merit at the end of the season. Should Gandranata win next week, he will also earn six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which will be used to determine the field for the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne in November and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The ADT was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011 and 13 last year. It has proven to be

a successful circuit for upcoming players to gain entry into the Asian Tour, which is celebrating its milestone 10th season in 2013. So far, a total of 12 tournaments have been confirmed this season on the ADT, with several others to be announced in due course. Created along the lines of the European Challenge Tour and Web.com Tour in the United States, the ADT will reward the top-three players on the final Order of Merit with Asian Tour cards for the following year. asiantour.com

Liverpool FC’s captain, Steven Gerrard, besides preparing for pre-season training sessions has also held a golf tournament, attended by players from the English Premier League such as Scott Parker, Joleon Lescott and Gareth Barry in Laranjal, Quinta do Lago resort in Portugal.

Steven Gerrard’s Golf Tournament Charity The funds raised during the tournament will be distributed to six social institutions in Portugal.

iverpool FC’s captain, Steven Gerrard, besides preparing for pre-season training sessions has also held a golf tournament, attended by players from the English Premier League such as Scott Parker, Joleon Lescott and Gareth Barry in Laranjal, Quinta do Lago resort in Portugal. The tournament was also supported by celebrities such as DJ Spoony, Dan Walker and Max Rushden.

So far the Gerrard Foundation has distributed aid to a number of social institutions in a number of countries. This time the funds raised during the tournament will be distributed to six social institutions in Portugal. Gerrard will lead Liverpool in the team’s visit to Indonesia on a tour to the Far East this month. Liverpool is scheduled to play against the Indonesian All Stars on July 20th.

Qualifying Round Club Championship 2013 at JGCC The Jababeka Golf and Country Club (JGCC) held a Qualifying Round Club Championship 2013 Golf Tournament which challenged JGCC members to beat last year’s champion, Park Hee Jin. The winner will represent the JGCC at the Credit Suisse Competition along with other winners of the Club Championship. Attended by 122 participants, the Qualifying Round produces 16 potential champions that will follow the next game to get the eigth prospective

champions. The 16 candidates for champion are Park Hee Jin, Chandra Leo, Timothy King, Jung Chan Oh, Ray Jung Lim, Dae Won Gi, Gun Myeong Won, Lee Jae Duk, An Sung Han, Jo Young Gi, Ra Kyung Yeul, Watanabe Shinji, Jung Hae Young, Kim Seong Han, Yoon Soo Rights and Kim Hyo Ki. At this tournament, the committee provides a total prize of Rp 200,000,000 for Hole in One. Cash prize of Rp 5 million is also given as Grand Lucky Draw. TPP/Reza Ganesha

Attended by 122 participants, the Qualifying Round produces 16 potential champions that will follow the next game to get the eigth prospective champions.

The winner will represent the JGCC at the Credit Suisse Competition along with other winners of the Club Championship.

Gandranata, who has been playing regularly on the Asian Development (ADT) Tour since turning professional in 2012, claimed his best result when he finished tied eighth at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Masters in March in Malaysia.