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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
POLITICS
RI WELCOMES SARKOZY'S ELECTION AS FRENCH PRESIDENT
1
FOREIGN MINISTRY BEGINS PROMOTING INDONESIAN PROVINCES
IN FRIENDLY COUNTRIES
1
ECONOMY
RI TO ASK FOR DISBURSEMENT OF ALL DONORS'AID COMMITMENTS
2
VP HOPES BI TO FURTHER CUT KEY RATE NEXT MONTH
2
SOCIETY & CULTURE
BOGOR INTERNATIONALLY CITED FOR CONSISTENCY IN
PREVENTING GLOBAL WARMING
3
INDONESIA LAUNCHES "SCIENCE FOR ALL" PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS
4
INTERNATIONAL
PRESIDENT EXPRESSES APPRECIATION FOR INCREASING
RI-MALAYSIA ECONOMIC COOPERATION
4
OTHERS
IDB PROVIDES RP320 BILLION SOFT LOAN TO AR-RANIRY ISLAMIC
INSTITUTE
5
EDITORIAL
THE CHALLENGES OF GOVERNMENTAL DELIVERY
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
POLITICS
FOREIGN MINISTRY BEGINS
PROMOTING INDONESIAN
PROVINCES IN FRIENDLY
COUNTRIES
RI WELCOMES SARKOZY'S
ELECTION AS FRENCH PRESIDENT
Jakarta - The
Foreign Affairs
Ministry has launched an "Updates from
the Regions" program to promote
Indonesian
provinces
in
friendly
countries.
Jakarta - Indonesia welcomes the
recent election of conservative figure
Nicolas Sarkozy as the new French
president and hopes under his
leadership
the
two
countries'
cooperation can be further improved in
the future, Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirajuda said.
To be carried out periodically, the
program started on Thursday with Riau
as the first province filling the program,
according
to
Indonesian
Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda.
He made the statement here on
Wednesday after attending the swearing
in of new cabinet ministers and attorney
general by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.
"This is a periodic program which will
be useful not only for Indonesian
provinces but also for their regional
governments," the foreign minister said
on Thursday.
"We congratulate Sarkozy for his
election with a majority vote through a
democratic process," Hassan said.
Wirajuda said the program was his
ministry's first endeavor to respond to
requests from various provinces which
had
cooperation
relations
with
counterparts overseas.
The Indonesian government was, of
course, hoping that under Zarkosy's
leadership the two countries' relations
could be further cemented. "We hope
the two countries' bilateral relations will
become closer and better than before,"
he said.
"The program also constitutes an
effort by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
translate political affinities with parties
abroad, where the political affinities
could be transformed into trade,
economic and business relations," the
minister said.
As one of the big countries and a
permanent member of the UN Security
Council, France had a big role to play in
the world, Hassan said.
He said Riau had been selected to
be the first province to take part in the
program because it was one of the
provinces which was more ready than
other regions in Sumatra.
He
said
the
two
countries'
governments had so far actively
conducted consultations and exchanged
delegations.
It was hoped the two countries'
cooperation in the fields of trade and
economy would also increase in the
future, he said. (ANTARA)
"Riau has been very active in
carrying out its programs, including
activities it has carried out with
Indonesian embassies abroad," the
minister said.
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
Rp40.6 trillion or 1.1 percent deficit in
the 2007 state budget.
Riau's readiness could be seen
from the promotional activities it had
conducted in cooperation with the
Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, he
said.
He
said
the
House
of
Representatives (DPR) had agreed to
the plan to cover the budget deficit with
foreign loans.
"About
90
percent
of
the
businesspeople invited to the event
were
present
and
gave
their
encouraging appreciation," the minister
added.
Syahrial said the deficit was
meanwhile expected to increase to 1.5 1.8 percent but the government had at
present no plan to seek additional loans
to cover the extra shortfall.
He said the main target of the
regional promotion program was ASEAN
countries which had the investment
potentials that could be attracted.
"Besides ASEAN nations, investment
potentials could also be won from the
Middle East nations," he said.
"Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and
National
Development
Planning
Minister Paskah Suzetta have said if the
deficit increases, the extra deficit should
be covered with foreign loans only if
efforts to raise funds from other sources
fail," Syahrial said.
ASEAN is composed of Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos,
Malaysia,
Mynamar,
the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. (ANTARA)
He said the increase in the deficit
could be covered with money saved
through greater efficiency in spending
and the issuance of state debentures. If
these efforts failed, steps could be taken
to obtain more foreign laons.
ECONOMY
The US$1.75 billion loans consisted
of 600 million dollars from the World
Bank, one billion dollars from the Asian
Development Bank and the remaining
one from the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation.
RI TO ASK FOR DISBURSEMENT OF
ALL DONORS'AID COMMITMENTS
Jakarta - Indonesia will ask the World
Bank, the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) and the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC) to
disburse all the aid commitment of its
donor countries totaling US$1.75 billion
to cover a deficit in its 2007 state
budget, a development planning official
said.
(ANTARA)
VP HOPES BI TO FURTHER CUT KEY
RATE NEXT MONTH
Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla
has
expressed gratitude to Bank
Indonesia (the central bank/BI) for
lowering its key rate this month and
hoped it could do the same next month
to spur the country's economic growth.
Syahrial Loetan, secretary of the
National Development Planning Board
(Bappenas), said here Thursday the
foreign loans would be used to cover a
"Bank Indonesia lowered its key rate
again this month. We hope the BI rate
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
To date, it was easier and cheaper to
get large credits which carry an interest
of 12 percent than small credits which
carry an interest of 24 percent, he said.
can be further lowered next month," he
said when opening the Asia Pacific
Conference and Exhibition on Banking
Excellence (Apconex) 2007 here on
Wednesday.
(ANTARA)
On Tuesday, the central bank cut its
key rate which has so far served as a
benchmark for bank lending and bill
sales by a quarter percentage point to
8.75 percent from 9 percent a month
earlier. The vice president said he was
pleased about the improved indicators of
credit growth.
SOCIETY & CULTURE
BOGOR INTERNATIONALLY CITED
FOR CONSISTENCY IN PREVENTING
GLOBAL WARMING
He said he was also thankful to
national banks for their participation in
financing much-needed infrastructure
projects which were expected to create
more jobs and spur economic growth..
Without infrastructure facilities, the real
sector would remain stagnant, he said.
Bogor, W Java - Bogor has been
named by the United Nations as one of
the cities in the world that have made
consistent efforts to prevent global
warming, a Bogor city administration
spokesperson said.
"Therefore, Bogor Mayor Diani
Budiarto is having the honor of being a
speaker at a meeting
of the
Commission
of
Sustainable,
International Climate Environmental
Initiatives (ICLEI) which is being held at
the United Nations Headquarters in New
York on Thursday (May 10)," Yamin M
Saleh , the Bogor city administration's
chief information officer, said here
Thursday.
He also asked the national banking
industry to promote a culture of justice
by extending loans not only to large
companies but also to small- and
medium-scale entrepreneurs.
"Channeling loans to large companies
is important to create more jobs and
spur economic growth but promoting a
culture of justice is more important," he
said.
Bogor is one of hundreds of cities
around the globe which have adopted
the Kyoto Convention on global warming
prevention and climate change, he said.
He said people needed tranquility in
their life and to achieve it justice was
badly needed. Where the banking
industry was concerned, justice could be
achieved if they channeled loans to
small enterprises, he said.
After joining ICLEI in 2001, Bogor
had continued to reduce air pollution by
conducting annual gas emission tests
and
developing
such
mass
transportation modes as buses, Yamin
said.
No bank had ever collapsed only
because it had extended loans to small
entrepreneurs, he said. However, quite
a few banks had gone bankrupt because
they had channeled credits to large
scale companies, he added.
Before departing for New York, Diani
had said there were so many things to
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
science lessons at school. It is also
aimed at narrowing the scientific gap
being faced by Indonesia, which is
currently lagging behind in scientific
development
compared
to
other
countries," he said.
do to cut gas emission in Bogor like
saving water and electricity.
Bogor, she said, wanted to emulate
what other world cities had done such
as collecting rain water for cleaning
cars and gardening, and encouraging
people to use bicycles instead of cars, to
reduce pollution.
Under the program, 1,000 science
professors will occasionally teach
elementary school students throughout
Indonesia.
"The plan to operate public buses as
city transportation in Bogor is one of
right steps to reduce gas emission,"
Diani said. (ANTARA)
Science and Technology Minister Dr
Kurmayanto Kadiman officially launched
the Science for All program at a
ceremony which was also attended by
Jakarta Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo,
the founder of Surya Institute, Prof Dr
Yohannes Surya, and around 300
elementary school students.
(ANTARA)
INDONESIA LAUNCHES "SCIENCE
FOR ALL" PROGRAM FOR
STUDENTS
Jakarta - A program called "Science
for All" has been launched in Jakarta
with the aim of encouraging elementary
school students to love science.
INTERNATIONAL
With the Science for All program,
elementary school students were
expected to learn and at the same time
enjoy science, Executive Chairman of
the National Commission for UNESCO
(United Nations Education, Science and
Cultural Organization) Arief Rahman,
said here on Tuesday.
PRESIDENT
APPRECIATION
RI-MALAYSIA
COOPERATION
FOR
EXPRESSES
INCREASING
ECONOMIC
Jakarta - President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono has expressed appreciation
for
the
bilateral
economic
and
investment
cooperation
between
Indonesia and Malaysia which was has
been marked by a continuous upward
trend.
The Science for All program was
officially launched at the Science and
Technology Showroom Center at the
Indonesia-in-Miniature Park (TMII), east
Jakarta.
The
President
touched
on
Indonesian-Malaysian economic and
investment cooperation when receiving
visiting Malaysian King Sultan Mizan
Zainal Abidin at the Merdeka Palace
here on Wednesday.
Indonesian children were expected to
learn and like science education at a
very early age without having a feeling
of being burdened too much, Arief
Rahman said at the program's
launching.
At the meeting, President Yudhoyono
and the Malaysian King discussed
various issues in the fields of trade and
manpower and matters related to
In
the
program,
science
is
demonstrated "so that students will love
learning sciences, instead of avoiding
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
the country's most famous tourist resort
of Bali.
Yudhoyono's plan to visit Kuala Lumpur
on
May
28,
2007,
presidential
spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told the
press.
This is Mizan Zainal Abidin's first
overseas visit since he was officially
elected Malaysia's 13th King last April
26. Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin had
come to Jakarta accompanied by Queen
Nur Jahirah.
Last
year
(2006),
Malaysian
investments in Indonesia were the
largest among the Asian countries,
reaching up to US$2.2 billion. The total
value of bilateral trade in 2006 was
recorded at US$7 billion, or an increase
from US$5 billion in 2005. "President
Yudhoyono appreciates the improving
economic relations," Dino Patti Djalal
said.
Aged 44 years, Sultan Mizan is the
second youngest Malaysian King after
Tuanku Syed Putra Almarhum Syed
Hassan Jamalullail of Perlis who
became king on January 4, 1961, at the
age of 41. Meanwhile, President
Yudhoyono will be a speaker in the
World Islamic Economic Forum to be
held in Kuala Lumpur at the end of May
2007. (ANTARA)
The Indonesian head of state also
expressed his appreciation to the
Malaysian government for protecting
Indonesian workers in Malaysia and
guaranteeing
their
rights,
the
spokesman said. Currently, out of a total
of 2 million foreign workers in Malaysia,
some 1.4 million are from Indonesia, he
said.
OTHERS
IDB PROVIDES RP320 BILLION SOFT
LOAN TO AR-RANIRY ISLAMIC
INSTITUTE
Djalal said the two governments had
so far established cooperation to protect
and guarantee the rights of Indonesian
workers in the neighboring country.
Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, May 8
(ANTARA) - The Islamic Development
Bank (IDB) has provided a Rp320
billion soft loan for development of the
physical and education facilities of ArRaniry State Institute of Islamic Studies
(IAIN) which is located in Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province, an
IDB official here said.
"Malaysia is currently drafting a
regulation on manpower which will give
equal rights to domestic and foreign
workers, including those from Indonesia.
Besides, the rights of migrant workers
are also protected by international laws,"
he said.
"The financial assistance is part of our
commitment to the development of
education in Indonesia," representative
of IDB for Indonesia Charmeida
Tjokrosumarno said when speaking at a
workshop organized by the Islamic
university, here on Tuesday.
The president also emphasized the
importance of giving adequate education
facilities to some 34,000 children of
Indonesian migrant workers in the
Malaysian states of Sabah and
Sarawak,
especially
those
being
employed in plantations, he said.
The workshop, officially opened by
Aceh Deputy Governor Muhammad
Nazar, was aimed at providing detailed
Malaysian King Tuanku Mizan Zainal
Abidin will be staying in Indonesia until
May 19 and in the meantime also visit
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
macroeconomic indicators begin to
improve: Inflation is under 6 percent, the
government's reserves have peaked at
US$50 billion and the economic growth
rate is at a respectable, if not
spectacular,
5.6
percent.
The
government has repaid Indonesia's
outstanding debt of $6 billion to the IMF,
well ahead of schedule.
information on the IDB soft loan to all
stakeholders of the IDB-assisted
projects in the university.
The soft loan from the IDB with a
grace period of five years would be used
to construct buildings, infrastructures
and to provide facilities to support
education activities in the Ar-Raniry
IAIN.
Governance and delivery are key
issues at all levels -- national, provincial
and local. The government's ability to
move quickly and get things done relies
on its ability to energize delivery
effectiveness at all levels. Political and
legal reforms since May 1998 have
aimed to diffuse the balance of power
from the predominant executive-heavy
to a presidency that defers to the sways
of parliamentary oversight.
The soft loan is to be managed by the
Reconstruction
and
Rehabilitation
Agency (BRR) for Aceh and Nias, and
would not be allocated for the
development of human resources or
trainings.
Rector of Ar-Raniry IAIN Yusny Saby
in his remarks at the workshop's
opening ceremony invited the public to
participate in the monitoring of the
implementation of the project.
Effective governance depends on
determination and drive on the part of
government officials, from the president
down to local officials, and can achieve
that most cherished goal of all
government planners: The ability to
deliver. Successful delivery reinforces
governmental performance, which in
turn
strengthens
a
government's
legitimacy.
Before the workshop, the university
also received a Japanese grant worth
Rp7 billion out of the total Rp20 billion.
The Japan International Cooperation
(JIC) had provided computers and
financial assistance for the rehabilitation
and reconstruction of buildings in the
university. (ANTARA)
Analysts talk of "low democracy" -some would say "democracy deficit" -but high efficacy during President
Soeharto's reign (1968-1998). Post-May
1998, a "better democracy" was
introduced, but with little efficacy. Many
political analysts have observed that the
presidencies
of
B.J.
Habibie,
Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati
Soekarnoputri (1999-2004) scored high
on democracy but low on governmental
efficacy.
EDITORIAL
THE
CHALLENGES
GOVERNMENTAL DELIVERY
OF
Juwono Sudarsono, Jakarta
The prominent issue in Indonesia's
political circles today is the focus on
governmental delivery as the key
solution
to
sustainable
national
recovery.
The price of this democracy and
decentralization is an increased need for
patience and persistence. But the ability
Effective governance is the key to
stabilizing
the
economy
as
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
The poor must be offered a better
social and economic future that is
realistic and within reach. This is the
only credible path to overcome the
structural problems of poverty, inequities
in development and endemic corruption.
to get things done remains the litmus
test.
At all levels, leaders must occasionally
show their sharper edges and get tough.
In many instances, this is the only way
to get things done. We must of course
allow for healthy market forces to help
government deliver goods, clean water,
affordable health care and primary
education for all.
For too long we have focused on the
symptoms of terrorism. We may not be
able to dissuade the few die-hards who
manipulate religious precepts to justify
the use of terror or acts of political
intimidation. But all Indonesians must
come to grips with the need to provide
outreach to the poorest of the poor in
our country.
We must also have faith in seeking the
right balance between "the guiding hand
of government" and "the invisible hand
of the market". We must be wary of both
command economy fundamentalism as
well as of unfettered market forces,
since overly centralized political control
or unrestrained powerful market forces
tend to distort priorities of equitable
socio-economic growth and endanger
both
political
and
economic
democratization.
We must provide the poor with timely
and
effective
governmental-private
business partnership programs to give
offer hope. Increased employment
opportunities will significantly reduce the
appeal of violent extremisms among the
youth.
Governance and delivery will be the
key issues in the run-up to the elections
of 2009. With 39 million Indonesians
currently living on less than US$2 a day
and 10 million unemployed, the greatest
challenge over the next two and a half
years will be the achievement of better
governance and more effective delivery.
We can only overcome our democracy
deficit by overcoming our delivery deficit.
With his impeccable credentials of
personal integrity, honesty and decency,
President Yudhoyono commands a vast
reserve of political goodwill to draw on
during 2007, the half-way mark of his 5year term. Even current potential
challengers concede that come 2009, it
will be difficult to present a viable
challenge to his standing as a national
leader.
Nonetheless, a 60 percent success
rate might be enough to significantly
reduce the number of people living in
poverty. The poorest of the poor will
hopefully be enabled and empowered to
regain
their
self-confidence
and
personal dignity, thereby galvanizing
faith in the government to improve the
delivery of basic human needs: Clean
water, affordable public housing and
improving primary health care.
Roughly 30-40 percent of followers of
each major party outside Yudhoyono's
Democratic Party still consider President
Yudhoyono as the only acceptable and
capable leader at the national level. His
determination and drive are well known
and grudgingly appreciated by leaders
of all political stripes.
A recent poll suggests that his
personal popularity is around 49
percent, a significant drop since the poll
of December last year, when it was 67
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The Indonesian Embassy, Bi – Weekly Bulletin. Issue II/05 – 17 May 2007
percent. This drop has more to do with
circumstances beyond the government's
control -- a spate of domestic air, rail
and sea accidents which claimed scores
of lives, high oil prices affecting fuel
subsidies and the volatility of the
distribution and pricing of basic
consumers goods such as rice,
kerosene and more recently, cooking oil
-- all of which have been subject to
heated political debate in the media.
In addition, a number of residual
issues arising from past natural and
man-made disasters -- the tsunami of
late 2004, earthquakes in three
provinces, the volcanic mudflow in East
Java and communal conflict in Sulawesi
-- continue to divert the government's
limited resources.
With all this in mind, President
Yudhoyono still commands respect,
even among his fiercest critics. His
greatest challenge now is to transfer
goodwill and political capital into critical
political and economic terms. This
means the decisive, quick and equitable
delivery of basic needs: Health care,
education,
poverty
alleviation,
employment, equity in development and
more tangible progress on anticorruption measures.
This article is based on a paper prepared by
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono for the 2007
U.S. National Defense University Capstone
Fellows, who recently visited Jakarta as part of a
global study tour. (The Jakarta Post)
8