Batam Happynings Vol 4 No 10

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Vol 4 No 10 - 7 March, 2013
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All on the big-screen
TV @ Goodies
this weekend
Oz labor war escalates
"I BELIEVE in putting Australian
jobs first," Julia Gillard said this
week, warming to a topic seemingly
close to hand for Labor so far this
election year. "The opposition has
now got so negative it doesn't want
to put Aussie jobs first. It wants to
put temporary foreign workers first,"
the prime minister added.
It is not surprising that Labor is
looking for a revival in its blue-collar
base and that labor is front and
center of the pitch. But it is surprising
that foreign workers - those on
temporary skilled-worker 457 visas
- have become part of the strategy.
After all, it was only in October that
the prime minister unveiled her
Australia in the Asian Century white
paper, which calls for the removal of
"unnecessary regulatory impediments and disincentives to doing
business in Australia and moving
goods, services, people and capital
across our borders."
The new political front on 457 visas
was opened last weekend by Brendan
O'Connor, when the new Immigration
minister announced a crackdown on
the program. The news brought
cheers from the union lobby, jeers
from business.
If the argument over foreign workers
sounds familiar, that's because it is.
Labor's labor wars and the accompanying rhetoric predate the reform-
Continued on page 3
Cattle ‘beef’
hurts Indonesians
- and Aussies
By Ross Taylor
ONE OF most respected and
insightful Buddhist leaders, Abbot
Ajhan Brahm, once said that the
problem with seeking revenge is
that you become a “victim of your
own war,” in that you can often
suffer as much “damage” as the
person to whom you are directing
your revenge.
It was good advice and something
we all, at sometime, have been
guilty of intentionally forgetting.
It is also advice that is ironic given
that Ajhan Brahm is highly
admired
and
respected
in
Indonesia, where he holds many
seminars and retreats, at a time
when Indonesia’s agricultural
officials are seeking and carryingout revenge on Australia’s cattle
industry for our appalling handling
of the live-cattle export crisis in
2011.
As the Indonesian government
recently
announced
further
reductions in the quota for live
cattle from Australia, the cattle
industry in Australia continues to
slip further into despair with
numerous stations now up for sale.
STUDENTS from Batam’s Tk. Kurnia Happy Valley School recently
enjoyed a field trip from class to the Smiling Hill pool. Here, a
teacher supervises the youngsters before they entered the pool
(inset) for some wet and wild fun. (KA)
David Farley, managing director of
Australian Agricultural Company
(AAC) said recently that the
reduction in quotas by Indonesia
would result in even greater
Continued on page 6
2
Continued from page 1
ing era of Bob Hawke and Paul
Keating. In fact, the sentiment goes
all the way back to Federation.
Andrew Fisher, who became Labor's
second prime minister, told parliament in 1901: "We do not need
colored labor to develop our states.
If we are to go to the outside world
for the cheapest labor, we cannot
logically object to compete with
every kind of labor. I desire that we
shall be able to proclaim to the world
that the whole of Australia has been
reserved for the use of the white
man."
While no one is suggesting such
extreme views are making a
comeback, there is an unspoken
premise to much of what is being
said: that 457 visas are primarily
provided to poorly educated Asian
workers who are paid a pittance to
replace Australian tradespeople in
mines and building sites.
However, the evidence shows that
the average 457 visa holder, as the
year began, was earning $82,900.
(In recent years, the 457 average
has been nearer $100,000.) Sixtysix% of current 457 workers are
professionals or managers; only 26%
work in construction, mining and
manufacturing combined; and 41.3%
come from Western countries such
as Britain and the U.S. Most of the
rest come from Asia.
And there's that clash with the Gillard
government's
own
vision
of
integration within Asia, the driver of
the world's economic growth.
"The Australian economy will be more
open and integrated with Asia,
through efforts to improve our
domestic arrangements," the white
paper pledges. "The flow of goods,
services, capital, ideas and people
will be easier."
Indeed, the white paper seeks
"improved recognition of overseas
educational qualifications and trade
skills and a flexible, responsive
skilled migration system ... to meet
Australia's changing labor force
needs."
O'Connor has announced seven
measures to toughen access to 457
visas, including higher English
language requirements for workers
and greater training obligations for
employers.
The minimum base annual salary for
a 457 visa holder is $51,400, to
prevent
undercutting
of
local
3
workers. And the market rate must
be paid for all those earning up to
$250,000 a year, up from the
previous $180,000.
The white paper pledged to reduce
the compliance burden on business
and to "work to reduce unnecessary
impediments in Australia's domestic
regulations to cross-border business
activity." The new 457 rules, however, extend compliance requirements. Not for the first time, a pledge
made under this white paper starts
to fall apart once it faces a real-world
test.
The Construction Forestry Mining and
Energy Union, whose national
secretary is Michael O'Connor,
brother of the Immigration Minister,
has been running a vigorous
campaign on this front.
"The union makes no apology for
advocating
the
principle
that
employers should be compelled to
offer jobs to Australian citizens and
residents," it says on its Web site.
In its multimedia advertising campaign,
it
says:
"Mining
and
construction companies prefer to
import guest workers rather than
employ locals ... The profit-hungry
Continued on page 4
Continued from page 3
mining giants are using more foreign
products and more foreign workers.
They are not training and employing
Australians who want these jobs."
National assistant secretary of the
CFMEU Dave Noonan has complained: "Too many employers are rorting
the visa system to get cheap,
compliant labor."
But the Australian Industry Group
urges that the migration planning
level for 2013-14 be lifted from
190,000 to 200,000, with a bigger
focus on skilled migration.
occupation for which they were
nominated; must meet all health
costs for themselves and their
families via adequate insurance
cover; must ensure their employer
deducts tax out of their pay; and
must be awarded minimum Australian conditions of employment, such
as overtime pay, rest breaks, sick
leave and holiday entitlements.
The employer must meet all
transport and removal costs for the
for 457 visas fell by 4.8% in the six
months to December 31. The total
457 work force in Australia today
comprises 83,840, about 0.7% of the
total employed population. In
comparison, about the same number
of Australians - 80,000 - are living in
Hong Kong, whose total population
is seven million.
Many Asian countries - which are
starting to experience falling fertility
rates as they become more middle
"Growth in 457 numbers should not
be assumed to be a problem but
instead an indicator of success," the
group says. "Too much tightening of
the program carries economic risks."
The AI Group views the 457 program
as an "economic shock absorber"
because it has proved responsive to
economic needs.
Meanwhile, Australian Mines and
Metals Association chief executive
Steve Knott has condemned "the
shrill, xenophobic rhetoric that's
going on around the place at the
moment. If someone is rorting the
system, our call to them (the
government) is to prosecute them."
Blogs and Web sites that touch on
this topic are full of barely disguised
racism. Comments include:
"I can't find any Australian citizens
who want to work as a maid for $2 a
day, so that means that I should be
eligible to bring in a 457 worker? This
is starting to feel like ancient Rome."
"They live in prefabricated huts with
the constant noise of the mine. They
club together to buy a car. Some club
together to rent a two-bed house and
pack it out to make it cheap."
"Come to Sydney, where there are
flophouses that pack six foreign
workers to a bedroom, eating and
sleeping in shifts."
"The ... construction project in the
Pilbara advertised for riggers who
'must speak Mandarin' - this is a
blatant ploy to get around the
provision to advertise locally first.
The Chinese brought their own
people
in,
including
unskilled
laborers."
This, despite rigorous conditions: 457
visa holders, once a job finishes,
have only 28 days to find another
employer to nominate them and give
them a job; must remain in the
PICKETERS Marcelo Arenis, left, Marc Penhall and Nick Donohue at
the Werribee water treatment plant near Melbourne. (The
Australian)
worker and their family; keep
compliance records; and ensure that
conditions of employment are "no
less favorable than the terms and
conditions provided to an Australian
citizen or permanent resident." The
employer also must demonstrate "a
benefit to Australia" from employing
such a worker and must provide
evidence of a training program for
local employees.
The 457 worker must be skilled and
their skills must enable them to
perform the work required. If
requested, they must provide
evidence from the relevant Australian
registration or licensing authority
about their qualifications. The visas
are for a maximum of four years.
With only a few exceptions, a 457
worker must have an International
English Language Testing System
score of at least five in each of the
four test components: speaking,
reading, writing and listening. This
equates to 83% of the usual English
language
university
entrance
requirement in Australia.
Despite unions whipping up fears
over "foreign tradies," applications
4
class - are importing large numbers
of temporary workers.
Of Australia's 84,000 457 workers,
the largest number is in NSW,
followed by Western Australia, then
Victoria.
That Australia is undergoing such a
torrid debate about such a comparatively modest number of guest
workers, mostly professionals and
managers, raises eyebrows in Asia
given that the country's unemployment rate, at 5.4%, is about half that
prevailing in most of Europe and
given that the economy is expected
to grow at up to 3% this year.
The latest clampdown on 457
workers was triggered by a unioninspired blockade on the Werribee
water treatment plant in Melbourne's
west, in protest against the use of
four Filipino workers, who for some
days were taken to the site by
helicopter.
Inevitably, the furor since raises
questions about the extent to which
sectors of Australia remain wedded
to the protectionist instincts that
prevailed at Federation more than a
century ago. – The Australian
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5
Continued from page 1
bankruptcies and job losses for an
industry already in serious trouble
following our government’s impulsive
decision to ban the export of live
cattle to Indonesia.
The impact of these latest cuts will
be dramatic. Prior to the cattle ban
being imposed last year, Australia
exported in excess of 520,000 head
of cattle to Indonesia annually. This
year, the revised annual quota will
be reduced to just 230,000.
Notwithstanding the appalling treatment of these animals, Indonesia had
every right to feel aggrieved over the
handling of this issue. Beef makes up
a very important part of the
Indonesian diet, and to have the
Australian agriculture minister announce a total ban on the export of
live cattle to Indonesia without any
consultation with our near neighbor
sent shock waves through the entire
supply chain and left Indonesian
officials and ministers embarrassed
and seething.
It also played into the hands of
“special interest groups” within
Indonesia who have, for many years,
looked for a valid reason to kick
Australian suppliers out of the
lucrative Indonesian meat market.
As a result, Indonesia announced
that it intended to become “self
sufficient” in live cattle that can be
used for slaughter. This maybe a
noble objective but it is also not
achievable, and nor is it sensible.
Indonesia has some of the finest
horticulture land in the world; rich
soils with plenty of rainfall, along with
warm and humid conditions, that
allows its people to grow a huge
variety of crops and effectively
become Asia’s food bowl.
It does not make any sense to turn
over pristine food-growing land for
the purpose of breeding cattle. Those
Okusi Associates
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Okusi's specialty is
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foreign investors who wish to
do business in Indonesia, and
providing sound information
upon which good investment
decisions can be made. Since
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more than 1000 PMA (Foreign
Direct Investment) companies,
more than any other firm in
Indonesia.
Okusi also has permanent
branch offices in Bali (since 2006) and
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.Okusi has four divisions:
§ Corporate
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For this reason, to have cattle bred
in Australia, where we have the land,
infrastructure and expertise, then
export them to Indonesia where they
are placed in feedlots and “bulkedup” not only makes sense, it is
almost the prefect supply chain
structure whereby all parties win.
The Australian live cattle trade should
be booming on the back of Indonesia’s strong economy and population growth, with the industry being
used as a model for the development
of other agricultural partner-ships.
Instead, we now have a relationship
that is untrustworthy and fractured,
where Indonesia seeks to “pay back”
Australia for what it did to a trusted
friend, whilst simultaneously harming
its own supply network and inflicting
shortages and increased prices on its
own community.
The price of beef at the “wet
markets” within Indonesia has
effectively doubled since the quota
reductions in Australian beef as
Indonesia struggles to meet demand
from its internal supplies and the
black market is booming.
Indonesian Research & Management
Okusi Associates is an Indonesian
corporate management-services firm based
in Jakarta. Founded in 1997, Okusi has
become a significant player in attracting
foreign investors to set up
business in Indonesia.
Company
in the cattle industry have known for
years that, as the outgoing Western
Australia trade director, Martin
Newbery said last month, “Australians are the best cattle breeders and
Indonesians, the best cattle feeders.”
He is right.
In Batam, we are
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Phone: (0778)
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Fax: (0778)
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So why does Indonesia now want to
reduce the quota of Australian cattle
even further?
The answer includes Indonesia’s
desire to be self-sufficient in beef
supply and thus ensure Australia can
never again hold Indonesia to
ransom by cutting-off a major food
supply source without warning.
But there are other, darker reasons
behind Indonesia’s actions, including
self-interest groups seeking to make
enormous profits from such a ban,
the rise of nationalism and a distrust
in some quarters of Australia’s
agenda in developing the muchlauded Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that
will
provide
both
countries
opportunities to develop far greater
business and trade opportunities.
What is even more disturbing however, is that Australia’s agriculture
minister, Joe Ludwig, seems helpless
in addressing this progression into
mutual economic self-harm at a time
when Indonesia-Australia govern-
Continued on page 7
6
Continued from page 5
ment relations are said to be at an
all time high.
New ticket prices for BatamFast
Here in Indonesia, President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) is nearing the end of his term. This is
unfortunate timing for both countries
as SBY has a deep and warm respect
for Australia, but internally, many
Indonesians view SBY as a president
who has already “run his race” and
perhaps what we are now seeing is
a small taste of things to come as
Indonesia heads toward electing a
new president in 2014.
BATAMFAST ferry service has issued new rates and ticket
promotions, good through March 31. The fares are for ferry
service between Singapore and all Batam ports except Harbour
Bay.
The live cattle export industry should
have been an example of how we can
develop partnerships, yet sadly this
industry has become an example of
what can go terribly wrong when
international diplomacy is conducted
“on the run” by a minister who had
little understanding of Indonesia or
the extent of the long-term
opportunities that would be lost as a
consequence of his impulsive
decisions.
Meanwhile, Indonesia continues to
remind Australia about what it did
and to seek revenge for the shabby
treatment from its neighbor; even if
this means higher prices and
shortages for its own people.
This is one trade outcome where
everyone loses. – The Jakarta Post
Quantity
Return ticket fare
11 to 33
tickets
S$ 17.50
34 to 120
tickets
S$ 17.00
121 tickets
& above
S$ 16.50
PDF
S$ 6.00
S$ 6.00
S$
Surcharge
S$ 14.00
S$ 14.00
S$ 14.00
Batam terminal fee
S$
S$
S$
Return ticket price
S$ 44.50
7.00
7.00
S$ 44.00
6.00
7.00
S$ 43.50
Free tickets: Every 11 tickets receives 5 FOC tickets;; every 17
tickets receives 7 FOC tickets; every 40 tickets receives 15 FOC
tickets.
Terms and conditions:
1. The above promotion effective from now until March 31, 2013.
2. Tickets are valid for six (6) months until August 31, 2013.
3. No refund and renewal for any unused and expired tickets.
4. The FOC ticket is excluded SPDF & Batam terminal fee and
return surcharge.
5. Full payment in cash or cheque payable to “Batam Fast Ferry
Pte Ltd” upon collection of tickets.
Purchase order is required to fax to (65) 62700322 or you may
e-mail to [email protected], attention Ms. Linda at
least two days prior to your intended collection date.
7
4 scavenger kids found
dead in car in Batam
Goodies
@
THE BODIES of four missing
children who worked as scavengers
were found last week in a car at Cek
Puan market in Bengkong in Batam.
Smiling Hill
The children, who were reported
missing on Wednesday, were
identified as Maria Elsa, 6; Aprilius
Ama Mado, 5; Ferson, 4; and Wil
Helmus Rudi, 3.
Antonius, Wil's relative, said the
bodies were discovered by residents
who reported flies and a foul smell
when passing the car. A closer
inspection revealed the children's
bodies.
The police have taken the bodies for
autopsies.
"They usually played while searching
for used cans and plastic in the
market," Anton, the father of Maria
Elsa, said.
Bengkong Police chief Iptu Hadi
Sucipto said that the cause of the
children's deaths remained under
investigation. – The Jakarta Post
GE supplies gas
generators to Batam
GENERAL ELECTRIC (GE) has
supplied two Frame 6B 3-series gas
turbine-generators for the UBE
Batam Power Plant, which will help
to reduce power generation costs
and support future economic growth
for Batam. Owned by PT Medco
Power
Indonesia
through
its
subsidiary, the new gas-fired facility
will increase the island’s electricity
supply and reduce its dependency on
oil-fired power generation.
GE shipped the equipment at the
end of 2012 and the new facility is
expected to begin commercial
service in simple cycle in early 2014.
The new plant boosts Medco Power’s
power-generation
capacity
for
Batam Island by 20%, adding
approximately 80 megawatts of
power while enabling a switch from
fuel oil to gas fuel, a cleaner and
more cost-effective option. The plant
will operate on natural gas supplied
from West Natuna in Indonesia.
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previously. – 4-Traders.com
7
on
Aussie climate on ‘steroids’
after hottest summer
AUSTRALIA’S weather went “on
steroids” over a summer that saw an
unprecedented heatwave, bushfires
and floods, the climate chief says,
warning that global warming would
only make things worse.
The agency’s chief commissioner Tim
Flannery said the summer had been
one of extremes, and was in some
ways like an athlete who improves
their baseline performance by taking
steroids.
The Bureau of Meteorology has
confirmed the three summer months
ending February 28 were the hottest
season ever recorded in Australia,
leading the government’s Climate
Commission to label it the “Angry
Summer” in a new report.
“The same thing is happening with
our climate system,” he told the
Australian Broadcasting Corp. “As it
warms up we’re getting fewer cold
days and cold events and many,
many more record hot events. So it
is - in effect, it’s a climate on steroids
is what we’re seeing.”
“The Australian summer over 2012
and 2013 has been defined by
extreme weather events across much
of the continent, including recordbreaking heat, severe bushfires,
extreme rainfall and damaging
flooding,” the report said. “Extreme
heatwaves and catastrophic bushfire
conditions
during
the
‘Angry
Summer’ were made worse by
climate change.”
Australia experienced its hottest ever
average national maximum temperature on January 7 of 40.30 degrees
Celsius (104.5 Fahrenheit), while 44
sites, including Sydney and Hobart,
recorded all-time high temperatures
in the summer.
The report said there have only been
21 days in 102 years where the
average maximum temperature for
9
the whole of Australia has exceeded
39 Celsius and eight of these
happened in the summer just gone.
The Climate Commission said it was
“highly likely” that extreme hot
weather would become even more
frequent and severe in Australia, and
around the globe, over the coming
decades.
“There is little doubt that these
events will continue to become
worse, the hottest temperature will
become hotter, of longer duration
and more frequent,” report author
Will Steffen said. “This is virtually
certain because of the extra heat that
is in the atmosphere.”
Steffen said the data
climate change “is
hypothetical thing that
the future, the climate
changed.”
proved that
not some
will occur in
has actually
In addition to the heatwave, Australia
also experienced dangerous bushfires
in several states, including New
South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania,
where more than 100 homes were
lost in January. - Agence FrancePresse
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10
Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald,
The Age newspapers go tabloid
AUSTRALIAN broadsheet newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald
and The Age have ditched their
century-old format for tabloid in a
major overhaul at ailing media giant
Fairfax. The move is part of the
company’s bid to shore up readership
and advertising revenue in an
increasingly digital landscape that
has forced the closure of newspapers
across the world.
Fairfax announced the sacking of
1,900 staff in June in a radical costsaving move and plans to put the
Herald, which has been a broadsheet
since 1831, and Melbourne paper The
Age, founded in 1854, behind a
paywall this year.
Herald editor-in-chief Sean Aylmer
said, the move to a “compact” format
on the weekday editions was in
response to reader wishes, although
the Saturday editions will remain in
their traditional format.
“The research we’ve done shows that
reading a compact newspaper is
easier and preferable to reading a
broadsheet,” he said. “So we’ve
changed our shape. But nothing else
is going to change. We are committed to quality journalism.”
Fairfax, which has newspaper, radio
and digital interests, is the main rival
in Australia to News Limited, Rupert
Murdoch’s Australian empire, which
is also suffering from the changed
landscape. In common with media
companies worldwide, both stables
are facing sliding print advertising
and circulation revenues.
The Herald and Age Web sites have
also been redesigned to be tabletfriendly, with a greater emphasis on
picture stories and video.
But the move has been met with a
mixed response. Of hundreds of
reader comments left on the Herald
Web site, most were negative.
“Five thumbs down. The layout is
cluttered and confusing,” said one
reader. “I go to a newspaper site for
in-depth articles, not video. If I want
TV-style news, I will go to a TV news
site,” he added.
But others were more complimentary. “I am liking the new clean
design. As always, it will take a bit of
getting used to,” another reader said.
Peter Fray, a former editor-in-chief
of the Herald, said if the tabloid
switch does not work, weekday print
editions of Fairfax titles could
disappear within five years.
“My gut feeling is that we may not
see a printed Monday to Friday
[edition] in five years. Some people
say it’s much sooner than that, one
to two years,” he told ABC radio.
Open early every day!
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Sundays
Why not rock on
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Former Age editor Mike Smith told
the broadcaster the long-resisted
change was a matter of survival.
“This is the most significant physical
change to the Fairfax papers since
they took ads off the front page,” he
said. “It took a world war to do that,
and it’s taken a threat to their very
existence to make them go tabloid.”
- Agence France-Presse
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11
At Smiling Hill
Tel +62 778 450 533
Special Report
Australia-Indonesia:
a special relationship
A
as the treatment of livestock and restrictions on
shipments. A documentary by the Australian
Broadcasting Corp. highlighted abuse of Australian
cattle at abattoirs in Indonesia, which resulted in a
temporary ban on live cattle exports for several weeks
in 2011.
s members of the Group of 20 nations,
Australia and Indonesia should be rivals. Both
strive to be among the 10 biggest economies
in the world in the next decade, and each has
the resources to accomplish that.
As Australia embarks on its plan
to increase trade and
investment with Indonesia,
however, there are hurdles to
overcome in order to do
business, including concerns of
protectionist measures and a
lack of private initiatives. Some
Australian observers have
criticized the government’s lack
of allocation in resources namely money and manpower
- to support the government’s
policy toward Asia.
Andrew O’Neil, director at the
Griffith Asia Institute In
Brisbane, expressed concern
that the government was
focusing on balancing its
budget and was not doing
much to promote Australia
through foreign affairs, and
suggested that more diplomatic
resources were needed.
by the Indonesian
Australia seeking Policies
government have also
contributed to an uneasy outlook
to capitalize
for trade relations between the
two countries. In mid-June 2012,
example, the Indonesian
on Indonesia's growth for
government restricted the ports
of entry for many horticultural
products, including those from
Australia, because of changes in
regulations. The Tanjung Priok
seaport in Jakarta - also the
biggest in Indonesia - halted
shipments of many types of fruit
and vegetables.
INDONESIAN-Australian trade relations
have been strained in the last few years,
with such cases as the treatment of
livestock and restrictions on shipments.
“In times of fiscal austerity, the
temptation for governments is
to cut the numbers of personnel and the scale of
representation,” O’Neil said.
“I am concerned that there are
increased instances of
protectionism in some sectors of
Indonesia’s market,” Australian
Ambassador to Indonesia Greg
Moriarty said. “These policies are
not aimed specifically at
Australia, but they do affect
Australian interests, including in
the food trade, mining and
banking sectors.”
Agost Benard, credit analyst on Indonesia at Standard &
Poor’s Ratings Services in Singapore, said that
Indonesia’s trade policy could well turn more
protectionist, and some actions it has taken to ward off
influence from other nations are affecting other
countries indirectly.
One consultant, though, says that it should be private
businesses that need to be proactive in expanding into
Asia, an initiative that is lacking at the moment.
“It’s businesses and consumers that drive engagement
more than governments,” said Ross Love, managing
director of Australia and New Zealand at the Boston
Consulting Group in Sydney. “But that’s not to say that
governments aren’t important.”
“We have seen manifestations of this through policy
measures that were also somewhat ad hoc,” Benard
said from Singapore . “It is an example of uncertainty
for foreign exporters and investors.”
Governments can assist by creating an environment of
“free trade, transparent regulations, reducing tariffs and
free flow of goods and good finance regulation,” he
said.
Similar cases of changes in trade have undermined
confidence in Indonesian policy. The government last
year revoked the ban on the export of unprocessed
minerals. The ban was meant to encourage local
Indonesian-Australian trade relations have been
strained in the last few years, evident with such cases
Continued on page 13
12
Continued from page 12
Special Report
businesses to refine their goods as part of a valueadded measure.
Australia-Indonesia:
a special relationship
In the last two years, the Trade Ministry has attempted
to limit imports of tea and potatoes to protect local
industries.
“These are the kind of surprises exporters are likely to
have to deal with in the future,” Benard said.
Protectionist policies “mean that the policy environment
is unpredictable and could negatively affect
investment,” he added.
Indonesia is yet to receive an investment rating from
S&P, with Benard saying last month that while
quantitative indicators remained positive, a lack of
infrastructure and reform in the government’s economic
policies hindered the upgrade.
Despite such concerns, the Indonesian Australian
Business Council is optimistic that the IndonesianAustralian Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) will have positive results.
The two countries are
currently partners in the
ASEAN-Australian-New
Zealand Free Trade
Agreement and are looking
to strengthen ties through
the CEPA, negotiations for
which began last
September.
investment in Indonesia worth an estimated $5.4
billion, according to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.
The embassy estimates more than 400 Australian
companies are operating in Indonesia, in sectors
including mining, agriculture, construction,
infrastructure, finance, healthcare, food and beverage,
and transportation. To accommodate the rise in
relations between the two, Australia is expanding its
Jakarta embassy to house more employees when
operations begin in 2015.
In many ways, the resources of the two correspond to
either nation’s needs. Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group, whose largest banking network outside
of Australia and New Zealand
is in Indonesia, says that
interest in the Indonesian
market had existed for some
time.
“In the past five years, there
has been an enormous
increase in the interest of
companies and investors
moving into the Indonesian
market,” ANZ chief executive
IABC secretary general
Joseph Abraham said. He
David Sutanto said that “the
added that natural
CEPA will further improve
resources, infrastructure and
this [trading relations] and
agriculture would be some of
FORECASTS
are
that
by
2025
Australia’s
reduce frictions should they
the areas in which
arise in the future.”
mining industry will account for more than
“investment and
60% of all exports to Asia.
A few Australian companies
development will be
are poised right now to take
extremely crucial” for Indonesia’s growth.
immediate advantage of the growing consumer and
“We do see the Australian and Indonesian economies as
investment markets in Asia. At the Australian Export
Award Gala in Canberra in November, 12 leading export being quite complementary,” Abraham said. “With
strengths in agriculture and natural resources, demand
companies - most with business operations in Asia - in
that is driven by domestic consumption, and with
different industries were recognized.
Indonesia having a need for infrastructure
Oniqua MRO analytics, a software provider with
development, with which Australia is able to assist.”
operations in Bali, won the small to medium services
More Australian companies might benefit if they make
award. SunRice, a rice exporter that expanded into the
the move into the Indonesian market, and Indonesia
Indonesian market in 2011 and 2012, won the regional
has many attractive conditions for foreign investors and
exporter award.
exporters. As the largest economy in Southeast Asia,
In terms of fostering an environment of open and freer
Indonesia has, for three consecutive years, retained a
trade, Australia and Indonesia seem well poised for the
growth of more than 6%. Its economic expansion at
future. Last week, the Australian government began
6.23% in 2012 was about double the pace of
accepting applications from small to medium-sized
Australia’s.
businesses for grants to facilitate movement into Asian
Indonesia’s population of more than 240 million markets. The Asian Century Business Engagement Plan
compared with Australia’s 22 million - has a rapidly
will initially be funded by A$6 million ($6.2 million) to
growing middle class. The economy relies heavily on
encourage businesses to set up operations in Asia.
spending in the consumer industries and the high
Guidelines indicate grants of A$25,000 to A$300,000
savings of the middle class.
will be awarded “on merit after a competitive application
Indonesia’s per capita income almost doubled in the
process.”
past six years to $3,562 in 2012. Indonesians had
Indonesia is currently ranked as the 12th-largest
about 120 million saving accounts valued at Rp 3,277
trading partner to Australia, with two-way trade in
trillion ($336 billion) in Indonesian banks last year,
goods and services totaling $14.8 billion, and Australian
Continued on page 14
13
Continued from page 13
Special Report
according to data from the Deposits Insurance Agency.
That is equivalent to about 40% of the country’s gross
domestic product.
Australia-Indonesia:
a special relationship
With Australian companies such as ANZ, Leighton
Holdings and BHP Billiton entrenched in the banking and
mining sectors, the Australian government is looking
toward food production as the country’s next biggest
venture in Asia.
At $2.3 billion, Indonesia is
already Australia’s third-largest
agriculture export market.
Majority exports come from
wheat, with Australia exporting
A$1.15 billion worth in 2011.
The government has received
support for this food emphasis by
various Australian companies.
Most notably, the Global
Foundation - an independent
network that counts some
Australian companies like SunRice
as a member - released a National
Food Plan n which Australia was
branded to become the “clean,
green, food bowl of Asia.”
The Global Foundation contends
Australia has the capacity to feed
200 million people per year,
which is about a third of
Southeast Asia’s population of
620 million people.
Despite registering strong growth,
the Indonesian economy faces
uncertainty in its future export
market. For the first time in more
than a decade, the country
registered a trade deficit in 2012,
partly due to a global downturn
that reduced prices for
commodities like palm oil and
coal.
AUSTRALIA and New Zealand Banking
Group, whose largest banking
network outside of Australia and New
Zealand is in Indonesia, says interest
in the Indonesian market has existed
for some time.
Still, forecasts are that by 2025
Australia’s mining industry would
account for more than 60% of all exports to Asia.
Services would be a little more than 15%.
“It’s not enough to trade on our [Australia’s] resources
and energy,” Love said.
The IABC is also concentrating on a similar strategy.
Sutanto said that capacity building is aimed at
improving the level of skills of the Indonesian workers
and business practitioners, especially
exporters. Examples of capacity building and
infrastructure development in
Indonesia are already under way,
with ANZ reported to have
channeled loans in the amount of
more than $1.2 billion. The
largest of these loans will go
toward state-owned Perusahaan
Listrik Negara’s $2 billion power
plant projects in Sumatra and
Sulawesi.
He added that some steps “take longer than people
expect or want,” particularly in the area of developing
solid business relationships. Love said it’s not simply a
question about any single industry
doing well in Asia, but more so
about approach, understanding
and expertise.
The future of trade in terms of
exports from Indonesia to
The imbalance in trade could
possibly shift through efforts in
increasing two-way investment
and improving Indonesia’s ability
to trade, such as developing
infrastructure, Ambassador
Moriarty said.
“Capacity-building in Indonesia will involve sharing
expertise in order to increase the amount of food
Indonesia can produce,” he said. “This will lower the
amount of food that Indonesia needs to import from
abroad. It will also help to keep the price of food in
Indonesia affordable and provide jobs and income.”
Despite this optimistic outlook for Australia’s venturing
export companies, Love of BCG warned that this would
not be enough to realize goals.
For example, JetStar - an
Australian low-cost carrier that
has operations in Singapore,
Vietnam, Japan and now Hong
Kong. Love attributed its success
in establishing its presence in
multiple countries not only to
relationship building but by being
able to “adjust their business
model each time to the local
market.”
Australia is less clear. Australia has an interest in lowcost manufactured goods sourced primarily from Asia.
Indonesia’s trade in iron, steel and aluminum structures
amounted to A$669 million in
2011, according to Australia’s
Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade. Crude oil was the most
shipped good to Australia,
amounting to A$2.371 billion,
while gold was third at A$649
million.
AT $2.3 BILLION, Indonesia is already
Australia’s third-largest agriculture
export market. Majority exports come
from wheat, with Australia exporting
A$1.15 billion worth in 2011.
14
“We see Indonesia as one of the
most open markets to welcome
foreign investment,” Abraham
said. “There is still a need for
greater Australian participation in
the Indonesian economy, and vice
versa.” – The Jakarta Globe
Singapore-Batam
Ferry Service
Singapore Ferry leaves from Harbourfront Terminal
Batam Ferry leaves from Harbour Bay (Batu Ampar)
Singapore to Batam
Batam to Singapore
(Singapore Time)
(Batam Time)
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09.10
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09.40
08.45
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11.30
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14.00
BatamFAST
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Timetables for Wave Master,
Batam Fast, Sindo (formerly
17.45
15.30
Penguin) and other ferry
18.15
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services to Batam Centre,
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18.15
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19.00
and Nongsa Point can be
20.00
BatamFAST
09.30
12.15
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Harbour Bay, Batam.
To book Prima Ferries trips between Harbour Bay and Singapore:
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Batam tel. +62 778 741 5007/ [email protected]
Or BatamFast:
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For best results, go online to: www.batamfast.com/booking/index.ashx
15
Cambodia’s $11-billion mining mystery
THE REMOTE district of Rovieng,
Cambodia, was once a battleground
between Cambodian government
troops and Pol Pot’s genocidal Khmer
Rouge. Unexploded bombs still lurk
in its fields and forests. So does
something more desirable - iron ore
- and supposedly in such huge quantities two Chinese companies have
an $11-billion plan to extract it.
Their proposal - a steel plant and
seaport linked by a 404-kilometer
(251-mile) railroad - has alarmed
environmentalists, mystified mining
and transport experts, and bolstered
Cambodia’s reputation as an agent
for Chinese expansionism.
It is the latest in a series of megaprojects underscoring China’s growing economic clout in mainland
Southeast Asia, while improving
China’s access to supplies of raw
material and ports in the Indian
Ocean and South China Sea.
Work will soon begin on a $7-billion
railway through Laos to link China’s
Yunnan province with northeast
Thailand. And in Myanmar, work is
almost finished on a $3-billion twin
pipeline project to carry oil and gas
to Yunnan from Myanmar’s Bay of
Bengal coast.
The railway, port and steel project
will be Cambodia’s largest, with a
price tag not far off the value of the
country’s $12.9 billion economy. The
steel plant in Rovieng, in northern
Cambodia, will be its first.
The seaport on a Cambodian island
in the Gulf of Thailand will be
connected to the mainland by a
3-kilometer (1.9-mile) bridge. The
railroad will almost span Cambodia,
although its exact route hasn’t been
revealed.
“This is 65-percent iron,” says Sun
Qi Cai, 58, caressing a heavy,
gleaming lump of Rovieng rock. “Not
many places have such high-quality
ore.” That includes China, the world’s
largest steel maker, where most ore
has an iron content of less than 40%.
Sun is a Chinese site manager for
Cambodia Iron and Steel Mining
Industry Group, which on Dec. 31
signed a deal to build the three-part
project with China Major Bridge
Engineering Co, a subsidiary of stateowned China Railways Group.
The iron ore is destined for the steel
plant - by law, ore cannot be exported from Cambodia. Mining experts
could not hazard a guess as to how
much ore is recoverable in Rovieng
and there was no indication of how
much steel it would produce and
where the products would go.
Those are just some of the
unanswered questions about the
project.
Cambodia Iron and Steel general
manager Zhang Chuan You has said
work would begin in July and be
finished within four years. But
Cambodia’s transport minister, Tram
Iv Tek, professed to know almost
nothing about it. The conspicuous
absence of authoritarian Prime
Minister Hun Sen also left many
wondering whether China’s mystery
train was going anywhere.
“There are a lot of real things
happening
here
with
Chinese
Continued on page 17
Smiling Hill
and GOODIES Restaurant
Good food. Good fun. Good friends.
Special Events
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Club meetings
Luncheons
Training seminars
Team-building events
Product launches
Catering
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Tel: +62 0812 779 2003
Email: [email protected]
16
Continued from page 16
money,” says Daniel Mitchell, a longtime American resident who runs a
Phnom Penh investment firm called
SRP International. “I don’t think this
railroad is one of them.”
Mining experts question whether
northern Cambodia has enough
mineral wealth to justify the project’s
costs. Transport experts wonder why
the Chinese railroad will not connect
with Cambodia’s existing train
system, which is already being
refurbished at a cost of at least
$141.6 million, or either of its ports.
The ambitious project could be as
much strategic as economic. Chinese
investment pledged in Cambodia has
totaled $9.1 billion since 1994,
including almost $1.2 billion in 2011
- eight times more than the U.S.,
according to the Cambodia Investment Board. China is also Cambodia’s
largest aid donor.
That money carries political clout.
Last year, Cambodia used its powers
as chair of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to
stymie discussion on the South China
Sea, where China’s territorial claims
overlap those of five other countries.
Cambodia emerged as a staunch
China ally, willing to put the interests
of its giant neighbor over those of its
ASEAN members.
Cambodia Iron and Steel doesn’t look
like a billion-dollar company or, as
Chinese media reports describe it, a
Cambodian one.
It is registered to three Chinese
nationals who, says Rovieng site
Despite its amateurish facade, other
evidence suggests that Cambodia
Iron and Steel is moving ahead with
its project, and Cambodian officials
know more than they publicly state.
Last year, telecoms and electricity
officials were summoned to the
Ministry of Public Works and Transport to explain to a Chinese representative from Cambodia Iron and
Steel where the country’s fiber-optic
and electrical cables were buried.
“He wanted to know so that the train
track didn’t cut through them,” said
a Cambodian who attended the
meeting.
An official at the company’s Shanghai-based partner, China Major
Bridge Engineering, said it would
begin construction this year but gave
no specific date.
Rate
card
In one token of their close
collaboration with the government,
Chinese projects in Cambodia are
often guarded by soldiers or military
police. Chinese workers often dress
in military fatigues.
Reach
Batam’s
Expat
Community
No sign marks the entrance to
Cambodia Iron and Steel’s vast site
near Rovieng village, only a
ramshackle house occupied by armed
Cambodian soldiers who stopped
reporters from entering.
“I’m scared the Chinese will get
angry,” one soldier said.
with your
Marketing message
In the island’s only WEEKLY newsletter
devoted to news and activities
important to Batam’s expats
Contact us TODAY:
manager Sun, are brothers. The only
Cambodian found working at its
Phnom Penh headquarters, a fivestory building flanked by a paint shop
and a Korean restaurant, was the
cleaner.
RISMA
+62 812 779 2003/Email
or
KEN
+62 0812 7015 9348/Email
17
Som Soeun, 64, a community leader,
was among hundreds of villagers who
attended a 2011 ceremony in
Rovieng to announce the building of
a steel plant. Also present was Suy
Sem, Cambodia’s minister of mines
and energy, who told villagers not to
protest against a plant “needed for
the country’s development,” Som
Soeun recalled.
With the help of local people,
reporters entered the same area and
found no sign of construction. Trucks
and other heavy machinery lay idle.
Lumps of iron ore littered the
deserted access roads.
The Cambodia Iron and Steel’s depot
in Rovieng village already occupies
what used to be community ground:
the local soccer field. The depot also
lay dormant. - Reuters
Australian coal-seam gas
ban puts projects at risk
LAWMAKERS in Australia’s New
South
Wales
(NSW)
Tuesday
tightened
restrictions
on
the
production of coal seam gas (CSG),
prompting an angry response from
energy companies planning a host of
new projects in the state.
CSG drilling will be banned within 1.2
miles (2 kilometers) of residential
areas in Australia’s most populous
state, the conservative Liberal
government said, adding that bans
would also apply to land containing
vineyards and horse studs.
The moves may constrain the
activities of companies including AGL
Energy, which has significant CSG
drilling projects planned in state.
“The New South Wales government
has listened to community concerns
about CSG,” Premier Barry O’Farrell
said. “These new measures build on
what are already the toughest
controls in the country.”
The government’s stance is in stark
contrast to neighboring Queensland
state, where companies including
ConocoPhillips
and
Total
are spending more than $60
billion combined to liquefy CSG for
export to Asia. The decision
illustrates the difficulties facing
companies attempting to replicate
the U.S. boom in unconventional gas
production in other parts of the world.
U.S. unconventional gas production
has accelerated thanks to the advent
of “fracking technology” that allows
access to gas trapped in dense rock
formations
using
high-powered
bursts of water, sand and chemicals.
The product obtained through this
method is known as shale gas.
Some countries, including France and
Bulgaria, have banned fracking, while
other E.U. nations have raised
environmental bars high enough to
discourage the practice.
The extraction of CSG carries in
particular
the
risk
of
water
contamination, as salt water mixed
in with the gas is sucked up to the
surface from the rock in which it is
embedded. Some more experienced
CSG producers have claimed their
wells are safe because they’re cased
in concrete to prevent leakage, while
contaminated water is collected at
the surface and treated.
The chief industry body representing
Australia’s oil and gas producers said
the New South Wales government’s
bans “ignores science”. It added that
the planned export of large quantities
of coal-seam gas from neighboring
Queensland would push up domestic
energy prices.
“We are concerned that the decision
today will have serious ramifications
for households and businesses given
that New South Wales imports 95%
of its natural gas from interstate,”
said Rick Wilkinsonan, an official at
the Australian Petroleum Production
& Exploration Association.
The company most likely to be
affected by the rules, AGL Energy,
said it was seeking an “urgent
meeting” with Premier O’Farrell.
AGL has proposed three large CSG in
NSW, including the expansion of its
existing Camden project, located in
a residential area about 37 miles (60
kilometers) southwest of Sydney.
The company last week suspended
the expansion, estimated to supply
580,000 households, as it attempted
to address community concerns over
safety.
AGL also has a proposed project in
the Hunter Valley that has sparked
widespread criticism from the area’s
established wine and horse-breeding
industries.
Its
third
project,
Gloucester, is located in a more
remote part of the state.
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Accommodations
4 issues,
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(as shown at right)
Congratulations!! Lacy and Zaka
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20
CLASSIFIEDS
Do you have an item you would like
to sell? Batam Happynings is now
offering FREE personal classified
advertising. This new section will be
limited to individuals wanting to sell
such personal items as automo-
Key Contacts
biles, motorbikes, computers, furniture, TVs, etc. Send your classified
advertisement of 30 words or less
to [email protected], with
your phone number.
Rp 600 million
4-bedroom, 3 bath, A/C in 3 units
Lot size: 135 square meters; house type 90
Perum, Centre Point, Blok K, No. 18,
Batam Centre
Contact: +62 0812 7717 781
Email: [email protected]
Hang Nadim Airport
Tel. 711145
Fax. 711114
Ferry Terminal Sekupang
Tel. 322039
Ferry Terminal Batu Ampar
Tel. 412196, 412373
Boat for Sale
Asking: SGD 15k
2x115hp Yamaha (1 power trim requires
overhaul); Indonesian registration (Surat
Kecil); 400l fuel tank capacity (10hrs);
bilge pump; 9.5m length fitted with a
large aft sun bed + open bow rider; new
cushions (never used); coating just done;
leaving Batam so need to be sold.
Contact: Clement +62 8127027724
!
d
l
o
S
Less than 32,000 km on the dial.
Condition excellent. This is a
Bintan car so can go off island.
STKP paid for one year more.
Insurance full coverage until July.
Upset price is Rp230,000,000
Tel. +62 081536007676
[email protected]
Home Gym
1 home gym –
Price new 14.5jt,
selling for6jt or
SG$800
Contact: Geoff
+6282169001112
Sukajadi House For Sale
4 BR + helper, 4+ bathrooms, AC,
water heaters and all appliances
included, Expat designed, Land:
269 SqM, House: 200 SqM.
Jl. Cemara Angin #7.
Tel: +1-719-271-2665
[email protected]
Rp. 1.250.000.000
Immigration Office
Batam Centre
Tel. 462004
Batam Police Headquarters
Baloi Batam
Tel. 110
House for Sale
Black 2008 CRV
Mayor of Batam
Tel. 321750
House for Sale
!
Luxury expat-designed, Sukajadi
golf course, 400sqM, 4 double BRs
with ensuites, study, large LR,
kitchen/dining, maids, covered
patio, swimming pool.
John +65 97330931
[email protected]
d
l
So
Furniture for sale
Dining table,
handmade teakwood (jati), glass
top, 6 chairs.
Asking 5 Mio Rp
Ferry Terminal Waterfront
City
Tel. 381127, 381117
Public Hospital
Sekupang
Tel. 322121, 322122
Budi Kemuliaan Hospital
Jl Kampung Seraya, Nagoya
Tel. 454044, 458855
Harapan Bunda Hospital
Jl Kampung Seraya, Nagoya
Tel. 421344, 421334
Indonesia Red Cross
Sekupang
Tel. 454044
Hook-up Manager
Expat offshore hook-up manager
needed for short-term contract.
Minimum 16 years experience.
Applications until mid-March; start
working in July. Bahasa Indonesian a
plus. Contact Max at:
[email protected]
Golf Buggies for sale
Lliving room
sitting
accommodation
(jati). Asking
3 Mio Rp
Grandfather’s clock,
100 years old and
working well. Asking
2 Mio Rp
Contact: Gerd: +62
812 7692 1333
21
Yamaha golf
buggies, 2008
model, still in
excellent
condition,
electric 48volt type with autocharger.
Great for use inside a complex or if
you live near to a golf course.
Price is SGD 4,500 (delivery in
Batam included)
Contact: Tony Kapui 0811696393
[email protected]
Bali sees drop in
Chinese tourists
A SIGNIFICANT 53% slump in
Chinese visitors has been recorded
during the first month of this year,
as only 25,954 Chinese nationals
visited the Island of Paradise in
January, compared to 55,178 people
in the same month last year. Overall,
Bali saw a 14.35% decrease in the
number of foreign tourists in January.
Bali Tourism Agency recorded
212,657 foreign visitors in January,
which was lower than the 248,289
recorded in January last year.
The slump was the result of fewer
visitors from Bali’s top 10 markets,
which include China, Australia,
Taiwan, Malaysia, Russia, the U.S.
and Singapore.
Australia, which is Bali’s largest
tourist market, only sent 58,588
visitors to Bali, 9% lower than the
64,418 visitors recorded in January
last year. Bali saw a 33.23% decline
in Taiwanese tourists, 2.22% decline
in Malaysian tourists, 3.4% decline
in Russian visitors, 4.35% decline in
Americans and 13.76% decline in
Singaporeans.
The number of visitors from other
countries in Bali’s top 20, such as
France, the Netherlands, Canada,
Hong Kong and New Zealand, also
fell. – The Jakarta Post
Oil giants bow
to BI demands
AFTER PROLONGED refusals, the
nation’s foreign oil and gas contractors have complied with a Bank
Indonesia (BI) rule requiring them to
deposit dollar-based export earnings
in local banks, an official says.
Compliance came only two weeks
after the firms said they might
seek international arbitration to
settle their dispute with the
central bank, claiming that
BI’s regulation contradicted
their production-sharing contracts with the government.
The firms agreed to use local
banks to channel export
earnings in the future.
The dispute between the central
bank and the firms centered on BI
Regulation No. 13, introduced in late
2011, which stipulated that exporters
operating in Indonesia must report
and channel their dollar-based export
proceeds to local banks within 90
days of receiving earnings.
The regulation, however, was met by
opposition and non-compliance by
foreign oil and gas firms, many of
which were reportedly “disgruntled”
when ordered to comply. – The
Jakarta Post
AirAsia profit soars,
bullish on outlook
AIRASIA, Asia’s largest low-cost
carrier by fleet size, said its fourthquarter profit jumped 168% year-onyear amid increased passengers.
AirAsia said net profit for the quarter
ending Dec. 31 stood at 350.65
million ringgit ($114.08 million), up
from 130.68 million ringgit in the
same quarter the previous year.
Revenue for the quarter was a record
1.41 billion ringgit, up 10%, as more
people flew the airline, which increased its aircraft in Malaysia to
more than 60.
For the full financial year, AirAsia
recorded a 238% jump in net profit
to 1.88 billion ringgit, despite a 1%
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22
rise in the average fuel price this
year. Its 2012 revenue increased by
11% to 5.0 billion ringgit.
The group now has a total fleet of 120
A320s and has set up subsidiary
budget carriers in Indonesia, the
Philippines, Thailand and Japan.
The airline, one of the biggest customers for European aircraft maker
Airbus, is expecting 360 more aircraft
to be delivered up to 2026. - Agence
France-Presse
DHL announces $52M
Indonesian investment
DHL SUPPLY Chain has announced
an investment of $52.3 million in
Indonesia over the next few years to
strengthen its market-leading position in the country.
The announcement was made by
Oscar de Bok, the CEO for South and
Southeast Asia, at the launch of its
latest 17,000-square-meter warehouse in Cimanggis, Depok, West
Java. It is the third built-to-suit
warehouse built by the company, and
it boasts specialty features tailored
for customers in the fast-moving
consumer goods industry.
“Indonesia is a key focus for us.
Industry experts estimate average
growth this year in Indonesia will be
a regional high of 6.3 percent, and
within the supply chain industry, we
actually expect to see double-digit
growth here,” de Bok stated.
The Cimanggis warehouse consolidates and stores shipments, then
redistributes to 300 distribution
channels and four factories in the
area. The warehouse has enough
docks to accommodate 176 containers per day, or 64,240 per year.
– The Jakarta Globe
f
r
a
l
Av a
After being married for 50 years,
I took a careful look at my wife
one day and said, “Fifty years
ago, we had a cheap house, a
junk car, slept on a sofa bed and
watched a 10-inch black and
white TV, but I got to sleep every
night with a hot 23-year-old
girl.”
“Now, we have an $800,000
home, a $65,000 car, a nice big
bed and a large-screen TV, but
I’m sleeping with a 73-year-old
woman. It seems to me that
you’re not holding up your side
of the bargain.”
My wife is a very reasonable
woman. She told me to go out
and find a hot 23-year-old girl
and she would make sure that I
would once again be living in a
cheap house, driving a junk car,
sleeping on a sofa bed and
watching a 10-inch black and
white TV.
Aren’t older women great? They
really know how to solve an old
guy’s problems!
A better deal
Four old retired guys
are walking down a
street in Yuma,
Arizona. They turn a
corner and see a sign
that says, “Old Timers
Bar - ALL drinks 10
cents.”
They look at each other
and then go in,
thinking, - This is too
good to be true.
The old bartender says
in a voice that carries
across the room, “Come
on in and let me pour one for you! What’ll it be,
gentlemen?”
There's a fully stocked bar, so each of the men orders a
martini. In no time, the bartender serves up four iced
martinis - shaken, not stirred - and says, “That’ll be 10
cents each, please.”
The four guys stare at the bartender for a moment, then at
each other. They can’t believe their good luck. They pay
the 40 cents, finish their martinis, and order another
round.
Again, four excellent martinis are produced, with the
bartender again saying, “That's 40 cents, please.”
They pay the 40 cents, but their curiosity gets the better
of them. They’ve each had two martinis and haven’t even
spent a dollar yet.
Finally, one of them says, “How can you afford to serve
martinis as good as these for a dime apiece?”
“I’m a retired tailor from Phoenix ,” the bartender says,
“and I always wanted to own a bar. Last year, I hit the
lottery jackpot for $125 million and decided to open this
place. Every drink costs a dime. Wine, liquor, beer – it’s all
the same.”
“Wow! That’s some story!” one of the men says.
As the four of them sip at their martinis, they can’t help
noticing seven other people at the end of the bar who
don’t have any drinks in front of them and haven’t ordered
anything the whole time they’ve been there.
Nodding at the seven at the end of the bar, one of the men
asks the bartender, “What’s with them?”
The bartender says, “They’re retired people from
Australia. They’re waiting for happy hour when drinks are
half-price.” (Drum roll, please!)
23
Wats on....Sports
SMILING HILL
VISA and MasterCard welcome
YES, you can now use your plastic to
pay for food, drinks and room charges
at GOODIES and Smiling Hill.
SMILING HILL and GOODIES
www.smilinghillbatam.com
To BATU AMPAR
Smiling Hill
Palm Hill Bungalows
GOODIES
RESTAURANT
MOSQUE
BUKIT
SENYUM
SWISS
BELHOTEL
Palm Hill Bungalows
Blok A No. 18,
Bukit Senyum
BATU AMPAR 29456
FRIDAY
March 8th
1.30 pm (A816)
Super Rugby : Hurricanes v Crusaders
3.30 pm (A816)
Super Rugby : Rebels v Reds
6.30 pm (GOLF)
PGA : WGC Cadillac Championship (replay)
10.00 pm (I350)
AFL : NAB Cup - Adelaide Crows v Carlton
SATURDAY
March 9th
9.30 am (I350)
AFL : NAB Cup - Hawthorn v Richmond
11.15 am (GOLF)
PGA : WGC Cadillac Championship (replay)
12.00 pm (I350)
AFL : NAB Cup - Geelong v North Melbourne
1.30 pm (A816)
Rugby League : Eels v Warriors
3.30 pm (A816)
Super Rugby : Brumbies v Waratahs
4.30 pm (I350)
AFL : NAB Cup - Collingwood v Brisbane Lions
7.15 pm (A816)
Rugby : LV Anglo-Welsh Cup - Harlequin v Bath
7.45 pm (A817)
FA Cup : Everton v Wigan
9.20 pm (A810)
6 Nations Rugby : Scotland v Wales
10.00 pm (STAR)
BPL : Manchester City v Wigan
10.00 pm (A817)
BPL : Queens Park Rangers v Sunderland
10.00 pm (FOX)
BPL : West Bromwich v Swansea City
10.00 am (A810)
6 Nations Rugby : Ireland v France
10.15 pm (GOLF)
PGA : WGC Cadillac Championship (replay)
SUNDAY
March 10th
9.30 am (A816)
Boxing : IBF Light Heavyweight Championship -
NAGOYA
PARK
PLANET
HOLIDAY
+62 778 450 533
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LUSY’S
Tavoris Cloud v Bernard Hopkins
NAGOYA HILL
SHOPPING CENTRE
Smiling Hill is just 1.4km
from Nagoya CBD
10.30 am (A811)
MLS : Portland v Montreal
4.30 pm (GOLF)
PGA : WGC Cadillac Championship (replay)
7.50 pm (A816)
6 Nations Rugby : England v Italy
11.00 pm (FOX)
BPL : Liverpool v Totenham
+62 778 423 387
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24