precedent 2013 - The President Post

Transcription

ENGLISH EDITION
Twitter: @President_Post
Facebook: The President Post
The President Post
T H E
S P I R I T
OPINION
The Network
Diplomacy
Millennium
– Page A2
O F
I N D O N E S I A
BUSINESS
IDR 20,000
December 2013
Vol. 2 No. 12
www.thepresidentpost.com
SPECIAL REPORT
Pertamina, Chevron,
Star Energy to Develop
Geothermal Projects
Developing Tourism,
Developing the Nation
– Page C1
– Page B2
Mari Elka Pangestu
Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy
(Menparekraf)
RI Economic Growth 2013-2014
Designed to Slow Down
bloomberg.com
JAKARTA (TPP) – Finance Minister Chatib Basri
has said that Indonesia’s economic growth in
2013 and 2014 has beeen designed to slow
down to overcome the deficit in state budget
revenues and expenditure. One of the ways is by
reducing imports of luxury goods consumption.
“T
he
figure
will be below 6%, between 5.5%
to 6%, at the
most 6.1% in 2014. Higher economic growth may be achieved
in 2015 by the new government,
“ he said at the Investor Summit
and Capital Market Expo 2013
held on November 27-28 in Jakarta.
He added that Indonesia’s economic growth has been stable in
the last five years at an average
rate of 5.9%, ranked second after China with 7.8%.
He said Indonesia’s economic
fundamentals are strong, but the
country is included in the ‘Fragile Five’ (together with India, Turkey, South Africa and Brazil) be
cause of “perception”.
The tapering off by the U.S. on
the monetary stimulus known
as Quantitative Easing (QE)
drove foreign investors to sell
their stocks and has put pressure on developing countries, including Indonesia.
Indonesia’s current account
deficit is quite large at $8.4 billion in the third quarter of the
year but is estimated to decline
to $3.1.
According to Budi Hikmat, an
economist at PT Bahana Securities, the deficit is mainly due to
the increase of consumption of
the middle-class whose number
has increased significantly.
“For example, in property now
people use lightweight steel roofs
while domestic production is not
sufficient. So it must be imported,” he said.
To reduce imports of consum
er goods, the government has
recently raised the tax on the
sales of imported luxury goods
by 150%. Meanwhile, to encourage the improvement of domestic
production, the government has
launched a number of packages
of fiscal incentives.
Until now, consumption is
still the dominant element in
supporting economic growth
in Indonesia. Ideally, to sustain
growth export-based investments should be the main pillar, said Ito Warsito, President
Various step have
been taken to
increase domestic
investment, especially
in the stock market,
through education
and socialization by
ways of seminars,
exhibitions and
gallery investments in
campuses; facilitating
the engagement of
individual investors
with intensified
online selling stock;
simplification of
trading rules such as
the size of one lot,
which will be reduced
to 100 from 500.
Finance Minister Chatib Basri said that to reduce imports of consumer goods, the government in the near future will raise tax on imported luxury sales goods by 150%. Meanwhile,
to encourage the improvement of domestic production, the government has launched a number of packages of fiscal incentives.
Director of Indonesia Stock Exchange.
“At this time, only a third of
investment is accounted for the
rate of economic growth.”
Various step have been tak-
en to increase domestic investment, especially in the stock
market, through education and
socialization by ways of seminars, exhibitions and gallery investments in campuses; facilitat-
ing the engagement of individual
investors with intensified online
selling stock; simplification of
trading rules such as the size of
one lot, which will be reduced to
100 from 500.
Tycoons, Experts Take on
Revitalization of Kota Tua
The renovation of Kota Tua is
gaining momentum as Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo has
issued an instruction to form a
consortium to revitalize Jakarta’s historical district.
Setyono Djuandi Darmono,
President Director of PT Jababeka, has invited national figures
in the fields of business and culture to take part in the effort by
forming PT Pembangunan Kota
Tua Jakarta (PEMKOT).
Together with the experts on
architecture and art history under the Jakarta Endowment for
Art and Heritage (JEFAH), PT
PEMKOT will has up three shortterm targets. First, to revitalize
Fatahillah Square. Second, implement the re-usage of the Fatahillah Post Office –to serve as
a visitor center—and the Jakarta Museum of Contemporary
Art. Third, to hold Kota Tua Fiesta at the Fatahillah Square in
the form of performing arts, culinary festivals and community
gatherings.
The program is supported by
PT Pos Indonesia as corporate
sponsor.
In the Kota Tua area as many
as 134 Dutch colonial buildings
are found. Only five buildings are
owned by the Jakarta Provincial
Government, namely the Jakarta History Museum, Maritime
Museum, Conservation Center,
Puppet Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics.
To attract more tourists to
Kota Tua, the area will also feature various facilities such as ho-
In the Kota Tua area as many as 134 Dutch colonial buildings are found. Only five buildings are owned by the Jakarta Provincial
Government, namely the Jakarta History Museum, Maritime Museum, Conservation Center, Puppet Museum and the Museum of
Fine Arts and Ceramics.
tels, restaurants, and galleries.
Street vendors (PKL) and Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
will be given a place to develop
their businesses.
JEFAH is chaired by Goenawan Mohamad, with Advisor
on Institutional Relations Sofyan
Djalil (Former Minister of SOEs),
Advisor on Fine Arts and Museum Oei Hong Dijen, and Architecture and Heritage Advisor
Han Awal as members. Meanwhile, President Director of PT
PEMKOT is Lin Che Wei, who
is concurrently Director of JEFAH, and Teten Masduki (Indonesia Corruption Watch) as Deputy Director JEFAH.
In the Board of Trustees
(stockholders) are SD Darmono
(Jababeka), Edwin Soeryadjaya
(Saratoga), Hendro Gondokusumo (Intiland), Trihatma K. Haliman (Agung Podomoro), Harun Hajadi (Ciputra), Alexander
Kusuma (Agung Sedayu), Boyke
Gozali (Plaza Indonesia), Murda-
ya Poo (Central Cipta Murdaya
Group) and others.
In the Board of Advisors of JEFAH representing the Jakarta
government are Deputy Governor for Tourism and Culture Sylviana Murni, Head of Jakarta
Disparbud Arie Budiman, and
Deputy Governor of the Spatial
Planning and Environment Sarwo Handayani.
SD Darmono said, “This group
was formed to ease the burden
of the government of Jakarta to
handle Kota Tua, which is
complicated and time-consuming.”
He added that revitalization of Kota Tua is a joint effort and is supported by the
private sector, State-Owned
Enterprises (SOEs) and the
Provincial Government of
DKI Jakarta.
“In addition, in the future
we also hope to form working groups involving stakeholders and community
groups who care for Kota
Tua,” said Darmono.
Regarding funding, Governor Joko Widodo separately said that the government will provide funds up
to Rp 150 billion.
“The renovation of Kota
Tua will be funded entirely
by the city’s budget. Private
and state-owned buildings
will be repaired by separate budgets. And for this
project Jakarta Provincial
Government will spend approximately Rp 150 billion
to revitalize Kota Tua as an
exclusive region,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Director of PT PEMKOT Lin
Che Wei said that each
shareholder will spend $10
million on PT Pengembangan Kota Tua Jakarta. So
far, at least ten entrepreneurs have signed up.
“The government budget
will be channeled through
local work units,” said Head
of Tourism Arie Budiman.
Investment in the Stock Market
All this time, investment in
the stock market is known to be
‘high risk, high return’.
“High risk is basically caused
by ignorance of investors concerned, “ said Lo Kheng Ho, an
individual investor who has been
on the trading floor for 24 years
and now has assets worth trillions of rupiah, making him the
largest individual investor today.
“There is no investment
instrument that can match returns provided by stocks. For example, I bought Charoen Pokphand’s stock at Rp400 per
sheet in 2002. Now the price is
Rp5.200. Due to the stock split
several times before, the total
stock value becomes 6000 times
higher than the original one.
Which investment instrument
can give such big benefits? We
seem to have a moneymaking
machine,” he said.
Key success in investing in
the stock market, according to
Kheng Ho, is “do not buy a cat in
a sack. Learn about the company’s stocks by reading the news,
financial reports and prospectuses. Then look for stocks that
are cheap but from good companies.”
In addition to that, Giring Ganesha (a member of the band Nidji) said, also look at the management of the company concerned.
“If the people are qualified,
most likely the company will
grow well.”
If Kheng Ho focuses in investing on the trading floor, Giring
prefers to diversify by investing
not only in shares but also in
mutual funds, gold and property. The habit of investing is supposed to be a lifestyle of Indonesians today, he said.
“This makes future more secure and our lives will be happier.”
Quotes and Thoughts
Mochtar Riady, Founder of Lippo Group
“A tree planted in pots
or in houses will never
grow higher, but it would
be otherwise if they are
planted in large areas.”
Liem Sioe Liong, Founder of Salim Group
“If you only listen to what
people say, you will go
crazy. You have to do what
you believe in.”
Bradley Sugars, Founder ActionCoach
“As an entrepreneur, it is
dangerous when you make
decisions based solely on
perspectives.”
A2
December 2013 Vol. 2 No. 12
Opinion
The Network Diplomacy Millennium
The information revolution and emergence of new
Internet technologies has changed both public and
official diplomacy, which at present is conducted through
mobile phones, e-mails and social networks in addition
to traditional telephones and teletypes. However, the
WikiLeaks incident as well as NSA former contractor
Edward Snowden’s revelations about methods of
American intelligence-gathering operations, indicate that
the problem of information security remains prominent.
change of data by both satellite
and fiber optic cables.
By Hendra Manurung
O
n August 30, 1963,
the Moscow-Washington hotline became
operational as a response to
the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Its primary purpose
was to prevent a nuclear conflict
that could result from a misunderstanding between the Soviet
Union and the United States. It
also offered a fast, secure channel of communication in case of
other emergencies.
The first hotline used teletype
and encryption and wasn’t actually a telephone at that time,
but it was considered revolutionary and more reliable and less
prone to interception than a regular transatlantic phone call.
The connection established in
1963 was for written communications only. A voice component
was added decades later as the
system evolved from an undersea telegraph cable to today’s ex-
By 1990, U.S. presidents had
used the text-only hotline more
than fifteen times. President
Lyndon B. Johnson notably used
it during the six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967 in order to prevent
internationalization and escalation of the conflict.
Then-U.S. President Ronald
Reagan and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev were
the last leaders who exchanged
messages via the hotline. In
1991, the Kremlin and the White
House established a direct telephone line, which was often used
by George H.W. Bush and Boris
Yeltsin. Since then, telephone
calls have replaced written messages as the preferred mode of
communication between the nations’ leaders. The line proved
helpful in the improvement of bilateral relations. Vladimir Putin’s call to Bush after the events
of September 11, 2001 became
famous as a step towards coop-
eration and trust. Today, U.S.
and Russian leaders prefer to
communicate by telephone.
In 2008, an e-mail line was
also established. It uses a dedicated and encrypted computer
line, based on modern technologies such as satellite and fiber
optic cable. This line provides
chat facilities for coordination
among users as well as e-mail
for text messages. There’s no information whether this e-mail
connection among leaders has
ever been used, and according
to the media, the telephone line
seems to be much more convenient and frequently used.
U.S. and Russian leaders continue to make telephone calls in
extraordinary situations when
they arise, while foreign ministries are responsible for the routine process of dialogue between
countries. Typically, the hotline
is necessary in cases that require personal communication, such as in the aftermath
of large-scale terrorist attacks
and tragedies, when the leaders
are committed to personally express condolences. For example,
Putin and his American counterpart Barack Obama spoke on
the telephone after the terrorist
attacks in Boston.
Hotlines also exist among
major nuclear powers, such as
the U.S. and China, the U.S.
and UK, China and France, India and Pakistan, etc. Originally, hotlines were intended for the
exchange of information and
consultations in case of crisis.
The Moscow-Washington hotline
is a classic example of Cold War
diplomacy, and its purpose was
to provide a channel of communication for the leaders of states
locked in conflict, mistrusting
each other and with only limited interaction. But since then,
the diplomatic practice has
changed.
ingly proposed that he and thenRussian President Dmitry Medvedev abandon the hotline in
favor of communication by Twitter.
hotline is still operational. Its advantages include safety and reliability, as well as the possibility of written communication,
which is particularly important
in times of crisis, when stakes
are high and every word needs
to be chosen with care.
Most of the operating hotlines
exist among major nuclear powers because they provide a direct and secure communication
channel in relations where every
mistake or delay could be fatal.
However, with technical progress new options for the use of
hotlines appear. The U.S. and
Russia plan to establish a direct
link in order to prevent a potential conflict in cyber space. On
the one hand, this indicates the
importance of securing cyberspace and resolving the information security problem. On the
other hand, it emphasizes the
importance of direct communication between the states and
the creation of special and secure channels.
So, in the dynamic, complex
and highly interconnected international political system of today, hotlines remain an effective
diplomatic instrument. In many
ways, they complement the possibilities offered by Internet diplomacy. Moreover, new problems
that gain prominence on the international agenda of Asia Pacific, such as information security,
require hotlines and direct communication links of their own in
order to stabilize interstate relations.
The information revolution
and emergence of new Internet
technologies has changed both
public and official diplomacy,
which at present is conducted
through mobile phones, e-mails
and social networks in addition
to traditional telephones and teletypes. However, the WikiLeaks
incident as well as NSA former
contractor Edward Snowden’s
revelations about methods of
American
intelligence-gathering operations, indicate that the
problem of information security remains prominent. E-mails
and telephone calls can be intercepted, resulting in reputational
as well as strategic costs. Thus,
in the era of wide information access through the Internet, a way
to conduct secure diplomacy is
still relevant.
The reliability of communication channels is especially important if national and international security issues are discussed.
That’s why most of the “hotlines”
established back in the Cold War
are still in use. Moreover, in 2011
the United States offered to host
such a hotline with Iran in order
to stabilize the relationship between the states and prevent the
escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
With the end of Cold War at
the end of the twentieth century and the increased interdependence of states, the diplomatic
practice has changed, reflecting
the transformation of contemporary international politics. International relations in the twentyfirst century are multilevel and
multifaceted, the number of international actors has increased
and new channels for communication have appeared. Such forums as the G8, G20, BRICS,
and APEC provide an opportunity for leaders to discuss bilateral
and global problems face-to-face.
The new term “networked diplomacy” was included in the official Concept of the Foreign Policy of Russia for such high-level
diplomacy.
Moreover, public diplomacy,
aimed at citizens of other states,
has emerged as an effective
practice. Presently, diplomats
and even heads of states use social networks and the Internet
in order to communicate with
the wider public. This practice
is called ‘e-diplomacy’ or ‘digital
diplomacy’. In 2010 Obama jok-
The
Moscow–Washington
in the dynamic,
complex and highly
interconnected
international political
system of today,
hotlines remain an
effective diplomatic
instrument. In many
ways, they complement
the possibilities offered
by Internet diplomacy.
Moreover, new problems
that gain prominence on
the international agenda
of Asia Pacific, such as
information security,
require hotlines and
direct communication
links of their own
in order to stabilize
interstate relations.
Hendra Manurung is currently is
Permanent Lecturer of International
Relations at Faculty of Business and
International Relations, President
University, City of Jababeka,
Cikarang, West Java, Indonesia. He
graduated from Sankt Petersburg
State University, the Russian
Federation.
RI and Strategic Partnership
Challenges in Africa
The new strategic
partnership with Africa
offers many challenges
and opportunities.
Globalization has provided
alternative options in
developing the relations
level and intensity
between Indonesia and
Africa. However, to
optimize the new strategy
options, a high political
commitment is needed.
By Prof. Anak Agung Banyu Perwita, PhD
T
he values in the
Dasasila
Bandung, which were
the strategic output
from the 1955 AsiaAfrica Conference, still have important meaning and are still
contextual in the current regional and global interactions. These
values became the foundation of
cooperation between Asian and
African nations in their fight
against neo-colonialism in the
political, economic and socialculture sectors. Ties with African nations are deemed a high
priority as evident with President
Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono’s
recent visit to Africa.
In the ever changing dynamics of international relations,
Asian-African nations are faced
with three major challenges:
economic development, security
and global peace, and global political restructuring.
In the efforts to enhance economic and trade interactions between Asian and African countries, especially with Indo¬nesia,
there are at least two agenda
that need to be addressed.
First, Asian-African nations
have to strengthen their information networks on trade and
investment in order to understand the market dimensions of
both continents more comprehensively. Indonesia also needs
to strengthen its information
network to improve its competitiveness among several neighboring countries that are aiming to expand their markets in
Africa.
Secondly, institutional regu-
lations between both continents
should also be improved in order
to strengthen strategic dialogs
between Asian and African nations to build a new awareness
about business opportunities for
Asian-African entrepreneurs.
High economic cost, limited infrastructure and insufficient number of trained human
resources and the complicated legal system in many African
countries will become the main
obstacles in enhancing trade and
investment volumes between Indonesia and several big African
countries.
consensus to reach a common
stance. In many cases, NAM
has proven to be “a house divided” when handling matters related to multilateralism, including the UN.
Given the developments mentioned above, the chance to build
a new Asia-Africa strategic partnership is still open wide. However, the increase of level and interaction intensity will not only
rely on the traditional “G to G”
relations but it will also involve
“G to Business”, “B to B” and
even “People to People” relations.
The globalization phenomenon
with its multidimensional element needs to function as the
motor to create a more systematic intersociety interaction that
offers mutually beneficial interactions between Indonesia and
Africa. The interactions between
the Asian society, including In-
In the political sector, the demand to reform the United Nations’ Security Council, especially from the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) nations, will
depend on the willingness of developing countries to reach a
donesians and Africans were relatively still limited.
That’s why the need to enhance and improve dialogs
among groups in various formal
and informal meetings must
also involve various community
groups, including academicians
both in Asia and Africa. Such dialogs could lead to the establishment of some kind of center for
African studies in various universities across the country.
In other words, community groups in Asia and Africa
and non-governmental organizations in their respective communities have to play a role as
“agenda initiators” and as “agenda con¬trollers” to boost interactions among them while at the
same time complement the official interactions in the government level.
The new strategic partnership
with Africa offers many challenges and opportunities. Globalization has provided alternative options in developing the relations
level and intensity between Indonesia and Africa. However, to optimize the new strategy options,
a high political commitment is
needed.
Indonesia is expected to make
this as one of its foreign policy
priorities in order to enhance interactions with African nations
so that the new strategic partnership can be implemented realistically to promote economic,
social and political developments
in the new international relations era.
The writer is head of the
International Relations Studies
program, President University,
Jababeka, Cikarang.
ENGLISH EDITION
The President Post
The President Post - Circulation Departments
Menara Batavia 25th Floor
Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur Kav. 126
Jakarta 10220, Indonesia
Phone: +62 21 703 360 99 Fax.: +62 21 572 7338
Email: [email protected]
THE SPIRIT OF INDONESIA
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name
Mr.
Address
Mrs.
Home
Office
Postal Code
YES! I WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE
The President Post
Date of Birth
Company
Jabodetabek
SAVE
6 Issues
Rp. 120,000
-
Mobile
12 Issues
Rp. 216,000
10%
Email
18 Issues
Rp. 306,000
15%
24 Issues
Rp. 384,000
20%
Phone
Please transfer to:
Bank BCA 546 030 1001
Account Name PT. Kawasan Industri Jababeka
The President Post
T H E
S P I R I T
O F
I N D O N E S I A
TO SUBSCRIBE
Call: (021) 572 7337
Fax.
What other business newspaper do you read?
PAYMENT METHODS
ENGLISH EDITION
Position
CEO & EDITOR IN CHIEF: Rachmat Wirasena Suryo I CONTRIBUTORS: Atmono Suryo; Andri Marsetianto;
T Manivasugen; Paulus Khierawan; Hendra Manurung; Iqbal Alaik
REPORTER & PHOTOGRAPHER: Rians Rivco; Heros Barasakti I CIRCULATION: Sheila Febria Putri
DESIGN: Mohamad Akmal I MARKETING MANAGER: Achmad Iqbal I MEDIA PARTNER MANAGER: Daniel Trioska
PLEASE FAX THIS FORM AND PAYMENT RECEIPT TO: 021 572 7338
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE CALL: 021 703 360 99 / 0812 8000 6090
PUBLISHED BY: PT Media Nusa Prima. Menara Batavia 25th Floor
Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur Kav. 126 Jakarta 10220, Indonesia I Phone: (021) 572 7337
Fax: (021) 572 7338 I Email: [email protected]
Printed by: PT Media Nusantara Press
A3
International
ASEAN, EU Meet for Maritime
Cooperation Dialogue
deplu.go.id
The dialog was held with
the purpose of giving
opportunities to related
stakeholders to exchange
views to strengthen
maritime cooperation
between ASEAN and the
EU.
Maritime issues were always critical and had many
challenges which were necessary to handle through
regional cooperations. The
EU involvement was further
seen as inspiration not role
model to ASEAN. The forum could create holisticintegrative-comprehensive
perspectives and contribute
to the solutions which were
beneficial to all parties.
Maritime cooperation issues included many traditional and non-traditional
issues, among others were
illegal fishing; sea security;
navigation security; piracy
and robbery at sea; efforts
of maintaining sea environment, conservation of sea
biodiversity sources, sea
tourism, and maritime connectivity.
“A
s an archipelago country, Indonesia
has
huge interest
in strengthening maritime cooperation especially to handle illegal fishing
issues (IUU Fishing) and maritime connectivity development
nationwide or in ASEAN”. This
was confirmed by Jose Tavares,
the Director of ASEAN PoliticsSecurity, Directorate General of
ASEAN Cooperation (KSA), the
Indonesian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, in the opening ceremony
of ASEAN-European Union (EU)
Summit Dialog on Maritime Cooperation in Jakarta (18/11).
According to him, further
handling on both issues could
make use of the existing regional
mechanisms, including ASEANEuropean Union cooperations.
Also giving opening speeches were Le Luong Minh, ASEAN Secretary General, and Ugo
Astuto, Director of South and
Southeast Asia, European Union
External Action Service (EEAS).
Also present was Olof Skoog,
Head of EU Delegation to Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, and
ASEAN.
The dialog was held in cooperation between Directorate General of KSA, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and EEAS
as well as Regional EU-ASEAN
Dialogue Instrument (READI),
which was held by the Habibie
Center.
The dialog was held in cooperation between Directorate General of KSA, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and EEAS as well
as Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (READI), which was held by the Habibie Center.
The dialog was held with the
purpose of giving opportunities to related stakeholders to
exchange views to strengthen
maritime cooperation between
ASEAN and the EU.
The dialog participants were
government officials, academicians and researchers from the
think-tank institutions of Indonesia and all other ASEAN
countries, as well as the EU.
M.I. Derry Aman, Acting Director of Speaking Partner and
Inter Region, Directorate General of KSA, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially pointed out the importance of
following up the results and recommendations of the dialog in
order to get acknowledgement
and approval either in Senior
Official Meeting (SOM) or ASEAN and the EU Foreign Ministers.
Hence, the discussion results
might be used as official reference and benefited as advancing maritime cooperation of the
two parties in the field of maritime cooperation.
As part of the Dialog, a Public
Forum was also held in Jakarta
on 19 November 2013. This Public Forum took the theme of “Towards an Integrated Maritime
Cooperation: Exchange of Lessons and Experiences between
ASEAN and the EU”. This Public Forum was an open discussion forum which involved stakeholders and society as well as the
media.
In the Public Forum, Ambassador Agus Sriyono, Deputy in
the Coordination of Foreign Politics, the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry of Politics Human
Rights and Security, gave the
remarks which basically pointed out the need of implementing
concrete maritime cooperation
between ASEAN and the EU.
This was as mentioned in
Bandar Seri Begawan Plan of
Action to Strengthen the ASEAN-EU Enhanced Partnership
2013-2017 where both parties
were expected to be able to share
knowledge and experiences.
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, the Deputy Secretary of Vice President
in Politics, the Secretariate of Indonesian Vice President, who is
also chairman of the Institute of
Democracy and Human Rights,
the Habibie Center, said that
maritime issues had two important aspects, source of income as
well as source of conflicts.
Indonesia, Poland
Sign Cooperation in
Environmental Field
standing is expected to be the
basis to strengthen cooperation
between the two countries in
terms of environmental protection and improvement, particularly in terms of climate change,
environmental
technologies,
sustainable environmental development, as well as the protection of the ozone layer.
Based on Indonesian
Embassy’s notes,
Indonesia-Iran
trade value grew
significantly in
the last five years.
However, 2012 saw a
decrease caused by
a wrong mindset and
excessive concern
from the stakeholders
in Indonesia following
the unilateral sanction
on Iran.
nesian Chamber of Commerce,
and the Indonesian Joint Business Council to the Chamber of
Commerce of both nations.”
In addition, the Indonesian
Embassy also managed to facilitate the visit of hundreds of Iranian business people to Indonesia, primarily to the Trade Expo
Indonesia (TEI) 2013 event, and
the biggest foreign trade mission
visit in the history of the Chamber of Commerce, which was to
Iran.
During dinner with the Indonesian Embassy’s “Big Family”
at Wisma Duta, Indonesian Ambassador to Iran Dian W. said
that each trade negotiation will
bring actual benefit to stakeholders in Indonesia, and not just to
fulfill a political commitment.
“So that our efforts to cash-in
on good sustainable diplomatic relations can also be enjoyed
by the people in the homeland,”
said Ambassador Dian.
I = : H E > G > I D ; > C 9 D C : H > 6
According to Indonesian Ambassador to Poland Darmansjah
Djumala, the MoU is the basis
for the development of IndonesiaPoland cooperation in the field of
the environment and as a followup and results of the Indonesian
president’s visit to Poland in early September this year.
“The two countries agreed to
implement the MoU in the form
of cooperation in the field of
waste management and water
treatment in the various regions
and provinces in Indonesia,” he
said in a release to the Foreign
Affairs Ministry’s portal.
The signing of the MoU in the
field of environment, said Ambassador Djumala, was timely because in recent years there
have been a number of Indonesian and Polish companies signing cooperation agreement in the
field of green technology, such as
wind turbines, biomass production, and waste management
plant.
kemlu.go.id
:C<A>H=:9>I>DC
Minister of Environment Balthasar Kambuaya and the Minister of Environment of Poland,
Marcin Korolec, signed an MoU
on cooperation in the environmental field (20/11). The MoU
was signed by both parties on
the sidelines of the 19th COP
held in Warsaw, Poland.
The Memorandum of Under-
Darmansjah Djumala
Indonesian Ambassador to Poland
Indonesia and Iran once again
sat at the negotiating table to
continue discussions on efforts
to increase market and trade access. The discussions were made
in Ahad (11/17), at the Iranian
Central Office Trade Organization.
“This meeting is very important with the aim to consolidate
perception and form a common
ground for the next negotiation
stage,” said a release by the Tehran Indonesian Embassy to the
Foreign Affairs Ministry’s website.
This meeting is also important for showing goodwill of both
parties in efforts to advance bilateral cooperation in the sector
of trade, after this meeting had
been postponed several times
since 2010.
In this meeting, the Indonesian Delegation was led by
Syamsul Bahri, Director of Bilateral Cooperation of the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, comprising representatives of the
Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Industry, and the Tehran Indonesian Embassy.
Based on Indonesian Embassy’s notes, Indonesia-Iran
trade value grew significantly
in the last five years. However,
2012 saw a decrease caused by
a wrong mindset and excessive
concern from the stakeholders in
Indonesia following the unilateral sanction on Iran.
Recorded in 2012, besides the
decrease in value, bilateral trade
surplus was on Iran’s side.
“The Tehran Indonesian Embassy, in line with its function,
will continue to advance bilateral cooperation for national interest. In 2013, the Indonesian
Embassy succeeded in pushing
for the founding of the Iran Permanent Committee to the Indo-
:9>H>>C9DC:H>6
According to Indonesian
Ambassador to Poland
Darmansjah Djumala, the
MoU is the basis for the
development of IndonesiaPoland cooperation in the
field of the environment
and as a follow-up and
results of the Indonesian
president’s visit to Poland
in early September this
year.
Other important issues
were efforts of overcoming
border bilateral or regional
disputes, including peacesettlement efforts in relation
to South China Sea.
The participants of the
Dialog and Public Forum
thought that the efforts of
strengthening maritime cooperation should be carried
out by realizing the nature
of maritime issues which
were complex and crosscutting involving many other areas.
“Therefore, the handling
shall and need to be conducted through more holistic and comprehensive approaches by involving the
related stakeholders”.
Indonesia, Iran to
Increase Market and
Trade Access
iedhi#Xdb
gZh^YZc
lll#i]Ze
lll#i]Z
egZh^YZc
iedhi^cYd
=VkZndj
gZVY^i4
id6YkZgi^hZ!HjWhXg^WZ!VcYEjWa^XVi^dcXVaa/%'&,%((+%..
The MoU was signed by both parties on the sidelines of the 19th COP held in Warsaw, Poland.
cZh^V#Xd
b
A4
ASEAN Review
Asean Position In The Global Economy
With all its many shortcomings, ASEAN has slowly
but surely become a regional grouping of 10 nations
with a sizeable aggregate economic size. ASEAN has
developed to become the 5th largest economy in the
global economy. After the European Union, USA, China
and Japan.
By Atmono Suryo
I
t will be recalled that
ASEAN was established
some 46 years ago on 8
August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
the Philippines and Singapore.
Since then ASEAN’s membership has expanded to include
Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. It has now
become the well-known ASEAN
10.
With all its many shortcomings, ASEAN has slowly but
surely become a regional grouping of 10 nations with a sizeable
aggregate economic size. The following comparative GDP data
shows that ASEAN has developed to become the 5th largest
economy in the global economy.
After the European Union, USA,
China and Japan.
No.
Country
GDP
($ billion)
1 European Union 27
17,578
2 USA
15,094
3 China
7,298
4 Japan
5,869
5 ASEAN
2,178
6 Russia
1,850
7 Canada
1,737
8 India
1,676
9 Australia-New Zealand
1,650
10 South Korea
Source: ASEAN Sec, IMF
1,116
With a total population ASEAN is among the largest and attractive market in the region, after China and India. It has a very
fast increasing middle class with
rather high purchasing power.
In addition ASEAN has a huge,
but still less-developed group of
SME’s (small & medium enterprises).
While in terms of economic
growth, until 2011 ASEAN has
been rated to be among the fastest in the world with an average
growth of more than 5%.
ASEAN economic development
has thus far shown an upward
trend, particularly in the areas
of GDP growth, GDP per capita
and increased trade. Current account balance and inflation has
been under control.
ASEAN is strategically located
in East Asia which is becoming
the center of gravity of the global.
ASEAN Trade
Since the year 2000 ASEAN trade statistics shows that
the trade performance has been
quite remarkable. Total trade
was only $576 million in 2000
but went up immensely to $2.3
trillion in 2011 and went slightly up to $2.4 trillion in 2012. The
2013 figure is expected to be lower because of the uncertain developments in the global economy affecting most countries in
the world.
The main trade partners in
2011 are: Intra-ASEAN 25%;
China 12%; Japan 11%; EU-27
ASEAN Trade, 2011 - 2012 (as of July 2013)
value in US$ million; change in percent
Country
Brunei Darussalam
2011
Exports
12,362.3
Imports
2,460.0
2012
Total trade
14,822.3
Exports
13,182.2
Imports
Year-on-year change
Total Trade
Exports
16,856.3
6.6
49.4
13.7
3,674.1
Imports
6,710.6
6,133.6
12,844.1
7,434.9
11,228.8
18,663.7
10.8
83.1
45.3
Indonesia
203,496.7
177,453.6
380,923.3
190,031.8
191,689.5
381,721.3
(6.6)
8.0
0.2
Lao PDR
1,746.5
2,209.4
3,955.9
2,655.2
3,503.5
6,158.8
52.0
58.6
55.7
Malaysia
226,179.1
187,542.8
415,721.9
227,387.3
196,615.5
424,002.8
(0.3)
4.8
2.0
Myanmar
8,119.2
6,805.9
14,925.1
7,509.8
6,525.9
14,035.7
(7.5)
(4.1)
(6.0)
48,042.2
63,709.4
111,751.6
51,995.2
65,386.4
117,381.6
8.2
2.6
5.0
Singapore
409,443.5
365,709.1
775,152.6
409,772.1
380,986.8
790,758.9
0.1
4.2
2.0
Thailand
228,820.7
230,083.6
458,904.4
229,524.2
247,777.7
477,301.9
0.3
7.7
4.0
Vietnam
95,365.6
104,216.5
199,582.1
114,510.7
113,282.5
227,703.3
20.1
8.7
14.1
1,242,266.4 1,146,305.9 2,388,592.3 1,254,003.6 1,220,670.7 2,474,674.3
0.9
6.5
3.6
ASEAN
Source: ASEAN MerchandiseTrade Statistics Database (compiled/computed from data submission, publication and/or websites of ASEAN Member States’ national,
ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) units, national statistics offices, customs departments/agencies, or central banks)
The cumulative FDI
net inflow to ASEAN
2006 - 2011
Notes: 2011 data are preliminary figures and exclude
Myanmar’s data and Singapore’s data on inter-company
loan for 2011 with intra/extraASEAN breakdown shown
are estimated by the ASEAN
Secretariat since the data are
presently not available.
Source: ASEAN FDI Database
by major source country
Indonesia 13.1%
ASEAN
16.5%
USA
9%
Japan
12%
China
4%
The top 10 ASEAN exports
by products show that electronics, electrical machinery contributes the largest share, followed by mineral fuels and oils
and also machinery, applianc-
Lao PDR 0.4%
Malaysia 9.9%
Myanmar 0.8%
Others
39%
10%; USA 8%; and ROK (South
Korea 5%). The Intra-ASEAN
trade figure is considered too
small; it is important to boost
up Intra-ASEAN trade. Especially for countries like Indonesia
which is one of the smallest contributor of intra-regional trade.
Exports
by receiving country
EU
19.5%
Philippines 2.6%
Singapore 50.9%
Thailand 11.3%
Vietnam 9.3%
Brunei
Darussalam 0.7%
Cambodia 1.0%
es and nuclear reactors. It is not
clear why they are included and
which countries are the exporting countries. Rubber & appliances are among the 10 largest
export products.
FDI (foreign direct investment)
In addition to trade foreign direct investment (FDI) is of crucial importance to ASEAN. The
cumulative FDI net inflow to
ASEAN, during the period 20062011 is as follows:
Until 2011 the major FDI
source countries are: EU, ASE-
Electronics, electrical machinery
(20.2%)
Mineral fuels, oils (18.4%)
Total Trade
Cambodia
The Philippines
Top 10 ASEAN exports
by products (2011)
AN, Japan, USA and China,
while the main receiving countries are Singapore, Indonesia,
Thailand and Malaysia
ASEAN Economic Community
A strategic step was taken
by ASEAN with its decision to
move towards regional integration and in particular to establish the ASEAN Community by
2015, underpinned by three pillars: the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and
the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Com-
Nuclear reactors, machinery &
appliances (10.9%)
Rubber & articles (4.2%)
Business services & misc. repairs
(4.1%)
Animal/vegetable oils & products
(3.8%)
Plastics & articles (3.0%)
Organic chemicals (3.0%)
Vehicles & parts (2.5%)
Source: ASEAN Stats, ASEAN Secretariat
munity. Basically ASEAN aims
to provide peace, security, economic growth and social progress for its member countries.
The ASEAN Economic Community aims to establish the following goals:
a)a single market and production base
b)a highly competitive economic
region
c)a region of equitable economic
development
d)a region fully integrated into
the global economy
ASEAN single market concept
includes the Free flow of goods –
services – investment and skilled
labor. The question is whether
the single market and the free
flow concepts will also be able to
increase sufficiently intra-ASEAN trade and investment and
strengthen ASEAN’s collective
and integrated economy in facing the challenges of the global
economy.
Tasks ahead
• ASEAN has achieved consid-
Precious stones, jewelery (2.1%)
erable progress. But it is realized that the tasks ahead
in the area of regional economic development are still
enormous. They are manifold and in a way very complex;
• The immediate task for ASEAN, however, is to beef up its
efforts to establish the ASEAN Community by 2015;
• The ASEAN community, (including the political community, which is not eager to
promote economic integration) must be fully aware that
ASEAN will be facing a very
competitive external economy in the Asia-Pacific region
and in the global economy;
• Through closer cooperation
and economic integration
ASEAN has the potentials
to become another powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region. And to play an increasingly active role in the global
economy.
The writer is former
ambassador to the EU.
A5
Law & Regulation
The Use of Stamp Duty in Documents
Not all documents need
a stamp duty stamp and
please bear in mind that
there is no requirement
to have a stamp duty on
a letter of agreement in
order to make it lawful.
By Paulus Khierawan
The use of stamp duty
is regulated under
Law No.13/1985. The
regulation stated that
the customs imposed
on the stamp duty is
treated as tax for the
document. Article
1 clause 2 of Law
No.13/1985 stated that
a document is a paper
that contains a writing
that has a meaning or
intention of an action,
or that explained a
situation or reality of
an individual and/or
parties concerned.
A
lmost every individual has used a
stamp duty stamp
on letters or documents that contain sales-purchase agreements,
leasing agreements, contracts of
work and others. Many consider that an agreement without a
duty stamp is invalid and thus
take the trouble to renew their
agreement with a stamp duty.
But is an agreement without a
stamp duty really invalid?
The validity of an agreement
has been stipulated under Civil Code (KUHPdt) Article 1320
KUHPdt, which requires one to
meet these four conditions:
• That they made a binding
agreement;
• They have competence to
make an agreement;
• It contains a certain issue;
and
• There is cause that makes it
valid.
It is clearly stated that an
agreement that had met the requirements under article 1320
of KUHPdt is valid even with the
absence of a stamp duty. The
next question is, is it necessary
to have duty stamps on documents?
The use of stamp duty is regulated under Law No.13/1985.
The regulation stated that the
customs imposed on the stamp
duty is treated as tax for the document. Article 1 clause 2 of Law
No.13/1985 stated that a document is a paper that contains a
writing that has a meaning or
intention of an action, or that
explained a situation or reality of an individual and/or parties concerned. Article 2(2) explained the types of documents
that need to use stamp duty:
Many consider that an agreement without a duty stamp is invalid and thus take the trouble to renew their agreement with a stamp duty.
a.A letter of agreement and other letters that were needed as
evidence of an action, reality
or situation;
b.Documents from notary public, including the copies;
c.Documents made by an official who had been given the
authority to issue land certificates (Pejabat Pembuat Akta
Tanah) including the copies;
d.A letter that involved money
worth
more
than
Rp1,000,000,- (one million):
• Which stated that the money had been received;
• Which stated a financial
statement or saving in a
bank account;
• Which contains information of a savings balance in
a bank;
• Which contains a confession about a total amount of
debts or that some of them
had been repaid or were being calculated;
e.Valuable notes such as promissory notes and checks with
nominal worth more than
Rp1,000,000,- (one million rupiah);
f. Securities under whatever name or form if the nominal is worth more than
Rp1,000,000,- (one million rupiah).
Aside from regulating the
types of documents that need to
have a stamp duty, it also regulated documents that didn’t need
a stamp duty related to internal
corporate transactions, related
to tax payment and state documents such as:
• A document that serves as evidence on the storage of goods,
•
•
•
•
evidence on the delivery of
goods for sale that were paid
by the sender and other letters.
Any form of certificate.
Salary receipt, waiting fee,
pension fund, allowance and
other payments related to
works and letters that were
submitted to get the payment.
Receipt related to the state
money, regional money and
from banks.
Receipt on any tax and other
state, regional and bank income.
• Receipts issued for internal organization needs.
• Documents about savings,
payment by a bank, cooperatives and other bodies in the
related sector to the bank account holder.
• A pawn letter issued by the
state-owned pawnshop company Perum Pegadaian.
As such it is clear that not all
documents need a stamp duty
stamp and please bear in mind
that there is no requirement to
have a stamp duty on a letter of
agreement in order to make it
lawful.
A6
Property
Property as a Favorite
Investment in 2013
www.atlant-invest.ru
The constant increase
of Indonesia’s property
value in line with
regional economic
growth showed that
property investment
in Indonesia is one of
investors’ favorites, for
both local and foreign
investors, aside
from capital market
investments.
By Andri Marsetianto
O
ur national media
often run advertisements on property in Australia,
Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and others.
This shows that Indonesian investors are highly potential targets in line with the growth of
our middle-income class that
have reached 50–60 million people. We are given property investment options in our neighboring countries, but this can
also be seen as an indicator that
property markets in those countries are stagnant. On the other
hand, property investment options (in Jabodetabek) no longer offer plots of land but rather residences, apartments, and
commercial spaces with all their
supporting facilities
The good news is that some of
our major property developers
such as Bumi Serpong Damai,
Agung Podomoro, Lippo Karawaci and Alam Sutera managed to post corporate earning
growths of more than 50% on
average and net profit growth
of more than 100% in the first
quarter of 2013. The income
growth was contributed by sales
growth in the development of areas (houses, shop-houses, plots
of land), increasing hotel occupancy rate, higher leasing price
and occupancy of commercial
properties and joint property development with foreign investors.
Such condition is also contributed by the stable macro-economic condition and a relatively
stable benchmark banking rate
at 5.75%.
The constant increase of Indonesia’s property value in line
with regional economic growth
showed that property investment in Indonesia is one of investors’ favorites, for both local and foreign investors, aside
from capital market investments. Developers and schools
overseas have expressed their
readiness to build cooperation
with Indonesian developers to
develop property projects in potential areas. Toyota Group and
Lippo Karawaci in Cikarang,
Bekasi developed apartmentshouses, AEON-Bumi Serpong
Damai (BSD) built a shopping
center in BSD city, Tangerang
and Lotte Group with Ciputra in Jakarta, furniture retailer (IKEA with Alam Sutera in
Tangerang, premium houses
by BSD with Land at BSD city,
Tangerang and an education
park in Jababeka.
However, our property investors’ optimism will be loomed
by inflation risks which will increase in line with the government’s plan to increase subsidized fuel price. The policy will
bring impacts on the houseownership/apartment-ownership (KPR/KPA) loan rate and
it will increase prices of staples
and building materials. Property sales will be affected in the
short term to medium term and
developers will anticipate subsidized fuel price adjustments.
Bank Indonesia will likely adjust
the BI rate to curb inflation rate
caused by the price increase and
the public’s weaker purchasing
power, especially ahead of Idul
Fitri.
That’s why amid the optimism
of foreign investors, developers
and retailers about our country’s
economic and property prospects we should have more confidence to start mapping several
potential areas before the condition changes after the government adjusts the subsidized fuel
prices in the near future. The
value in property investment is
not determined internationally as in the prices of other investment commodities (such as
gold). The prices are local, based
on property demand and offer in
the areas and based on the property project development concept
on whether it would develop a
city or whether the orientation
was merely as the main supporting facility.
“Know Your Value,
Know Your Property”
Amid the optimism of foreign investors, developers and
retailers about our country’s economic and property
prospects we should have more confidence to start
mapping several potential areas before the condition
changes after the government adjusts the subsidized fuel
prices in the near future.
A7
Infrastructure
Oil and Gas Infrastructure:
Master Plan Prepared
donggisenorolng.co.id
The government is preparing a master plan for
the development of oil and gas infrastructure to
link the producing regions with consumers that
are spread throughout Indonesia.
I
GN Wiraatmaja, Expert
Staff to the Minister of
Energy and Mineral Resources on Institutional
Relations and Strategic
Planning, said the issue of infrastructure is a very serious matter for connecting producers and
consumers of gas. All this time,
the oil and gas infrastructure is
still inadequate and it often becomes an obstacle to the optimisation of the use of gas.
“Our effort is to map the problems, then make a development
Donggi Senoro, with a total investment of $1.7 billion, is targeted to operate in 2015.
master plan. So we will create
a master plan that is integrated from the upstream sector, infrastructure, and demand,” he
said.
Wiraatmaja said that currently the proven reserve of natural
gas is mostly located in the region of Eastern Indonesia and
the deep sea, whereas the biggest number of consumers is in
Western Indonesia. This requires
infrastructure capable of linking
the two regions.
The government itself has five
oil and gas projects with great
potential, and these have become the government’s foothold
to meet domestic demand; these
include the East Natuna Block,
which has gas reserves of up to
46 trillion cubic feet (TCF) with
an estimated total investment of
US$ 41 billion, and which will
start producing after being developed for 10 years.
Then, there is Donggi Senoro, with a total investment of
$1.7 billion, which is targeted to
operate in 2015. Next is Tangguh Train 3, with an investment
amounting to $ 12 billion and a
target production in 2018.
Subsequently, there is Masela project with total reserves of
9.18 TCF and total investment of
$ 4.99 billion and a production
target from the second quarter
of 2018. The last one is the Cepu
project with its 609 million barrels of reserves, and an estimated investment of $ 6.6 billion, as
well as production target in 2014
and capacity of 165 million barrels per day.
Currently, the government is
also encouraging the development of a gas pipeline that is integrated from the West of Sumatera to the East of Java. In
addition, the government also
continues to encourage the development of gas infrastructure
in order to get it completed on
time, such as the revitalisation of
Arun LNG, construction of Arun
- Belawan pipeline and development of Lampung FSRU.
Ministry of Finance to Establish PPP Center
Ministry of Finance will realise the formation of PPP Center
in 2015, which will be in charge
of determining financial support
for public private partnership
projects.
Special Caretaker of Director
General of Debt Management of
the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), Robert Pakpahan, said that
the public private partnership
(PPP) Center will assist with the
preparations of projects, deter-
mine the forms of financial support, as well as evaluate progress
of the projects in question.
The financial support being
referred is provided via PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (Infrastructure Guarantee
Fund/IIGF) or through viability
gap funding (VGF).
All this time, determination of
financial support for public-private partnership (PPP) projects
has taken more than one year
because of the length of licensing process that must be passed
to obtain funding approval from
the Finance Ministry.
“Its preparations can take up
to one year, even more if calculated with the tender,” he said on
the sidelines of the launch of the
PPP Book 2013.
He explained that the purpose
of the PPP Center is to ascertain
and evaluate, as well as to make
a decision or recommendation
for a project. “Of course all this is
done in collaboration with Bappenas, Coordinating Ministry
for Economic Affairs (Kemenko
Perekonomian) and other ministries/agencies,” he said.
Ministry of Finance has established a PPP (KPS) assessment
centre, but it has not been focused enough because [the task]
does not fall into the main duties
under the Fiscal Policy Office. In
due course the PPP Center will
be under Directorate General of
Debt Management.
Realisation of PPP projects
faces several challenges in the
next year, including the increase
in BI Rate to 7.5 percent, which
can put the brakes on construction loans.
Previously, Forum of AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) during APEC summit in
2013 agreed to set up a PPP Center in Indonesia to identify bankable PPP project plans and to
resolve problems through project-based domestic coordination.
In the same place, Bastary
Panji Indra, Director of Public Private Partnership Development of the Ministry of National
Development Planning/ Bappenas, said that establishment of
the PPP Center is quite a pressing issue in relation to the implementation of infrastructure
projects through the PPP mechanism.
“The target is for the PPP Center to have been established by
the end of next year and the
Committee for the Acceleration
of Priority Infrastructure Development (KPPIP), which exists today, will be the embryo of the
PPP Center,” he explained.
A8
Education
PRECEDENT 2013:
Nationalism Spirit in Preserving
Indonesian Culture
TPP/Yudis
For the second time President University held “PRECEDENT”, an English competition
for senior high school students at 16th to 17th November 2013 in the Ballroom
President, Cikarang. The event was organized by PACT (President of the Association
of Critical Thinkers), an English club at President University in collaboration with
Marketing President University.
T
he event was held in
order to commemorate World Heritage
Day with the theme
“Nationalism Spirit in Preserving Indonesian Culture”. It offers a total prize of up
to Rp 4 billion, including scholarship category 2 of President University, trophies, certificates and
amount of cash. This event has
managed to become an annual
event of the President University
that shows fairly impressive results, seen from the number of
schools that participated in the
competition.
This year, Precedent consists of five competitions such
as debates, Scrabble, writing speeches, and news casting. Participants who followed
the competition were from high
schools in Jabodetabek area and
Bandung, reflecting the more
extensive coverage of the competition compared to last year’s.
Starting from writing competition, the winner is Sendika Gegyan Tuhu of SMAN 19 Bandung,
who successfully eliminated the
nine other participants. Newscasting competition that puts
the focus as a professional news
anchor was won by Andre Gaga
Suwanto of Mutiara Nusantara
International School, who man-
aged to lead among 13 other
contestants. The winner of the
speech competition is Aussie Nurul Anisa of SMAN 3 Bogor.
The victors in Scrabble competition are from Tangerang, namely Andre Jonathan and Hardiyanti Citrawatisteal with a total
of 329 points. And after arguments that earned the admiration of the audience, an open debate was held between SMAN 5
Tangerang represented by Deborah Ruth Lambok, Rismala Sari
and Aprisha Z. Putri and Pelita Harapan Sentul City School’s
Tiffany Valeska, Jennifer Sanantha and Makhijani Sherni. The
latter eventually prevailed.
Four Indonesian Students
Receive IELTS Scholarship 2013
Unisadhuguna Testing Center
(UTC) working with the British
Council are hosting the IELTS
Scholarship Ceremony, Monday
(25/11) at Graha CIMB Niaga.
This year is the first IELTS
Scholarship programme in Indonesia; it will be a yearly event
for both UTC and British Council. The IELTS Scholarship is given to students in the form of educational financial aid in the
amount of Rp 25,000,000, which
will be used for tuition payment
for the bachelor or masters programme studies at an Australian, English, American or other
educational institutions in other
countries.
For 2013, the scholarship is
awarded to four students, namely, Ashok Awinash Dulip, Azalia
Primadita Muchransyah, Mawin
Mahen, and Daniel Joseph Gunawan.
“IELTS is a globally recognized
qualification that helps students
achieve their ambitions for studies overseas. This scholarship
further helps those ambitions by
providing support in a tangible
way through a financial grant.
This is an excellent scheme and
one which the British Council is
delighted to partner UTC with. I
congratulate the winners, hope
that they have a wonderful educational experience wherever
they study and encourage others to go for the scholarship in
the years to come,” Sally Goggin,
Country Director, British Council.
“The objective of this financial
aid is to help with the university tuition fees for those who will
Mariam Kartikatresni
Unishaduguna Testing Center (UTC) Director
The IELTS test is developed by
some of the world’s leading experts in language assessment.
It has an excellent international reputation, and is accepted by
over 8,000 organisations worldwide, including schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional
bodies.
IELTS is the most widely accepted English language test
that uses a one-on-one speaking
test to assess your English communication skills. This means
that you are assessed by having a real-life conversation with
a real person. This is the most effective and natural way of testing your English conversation
skills.
start studying in 2014/2015 and
have taken the IELTS test which
is held by UTC and British Council,” Unishaduguna Testing Center (UTC) Director, Mariam Kartikatresni stated.
This award ceremony is the
main event of a series IELTS
Scholarship event 2013 which
will be attended by scholarship
recipients, parents and representatives of educational institutions.
The UTC and British Council would like to congratulate the
recipients and wish them all the
best in their studies.
The international English language testing system (IELTS) is
the world’s most popular English language proficiency test
for higher education and global
migration, with over two million
tests taken in the last year.
UTC is one of UniSadhuGuna’s educational bodies, which
administers international testing and examinations in Indonesia. They provide examination
services for public, schools, universities and institutions.
UTC also administers examinations for United Kingdom universities and institutes which
cover a wide range of academic,
vocational subjects and distance
learning courses. They also administer testing & assessment
for English language, such as
IELTS ™, Cambridge ESOL, and
TOEFL®.
UTC offers and guarantees
the security of the administrations of the examinations and
also provides a qualified international standard testing room for
conducting test or examination
supported by a clean and quiet
environment.
The objective of
this financial aid
is to help with the
university tuition
fees for those who
will start studying in
2014/2015 and have
taken the IELTS test
which is held by UTC
and British Council.”
“No Culture, No Future”
“Culture is the driving factor to achieve sustainable
development,” said Minister
of Education and Culture
Moh. M. Nuh at the opening of the 1st World Culture
Forum (WCF) in Nusa Dua,
Bali.
In his report to the Indonesian President, the Minister of Education and Culture
also said that the character
of culture is not stiff; it can
move in any direction and
can adapt quickly so that
culture can be used as the
right tool to achieve welfare.
“With culture, a virtual
connection can be achieved
between global communities, who will support one
another so that a Cultural
Convergence will be created
leading to all cultures in various parts of the world to develop in harmony.”
The World Culture Forum itself emerged from the
thoughts of President Susilo
Moh. M. Nuh
Minister of Education and Culture
Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005.
At the time, the President
came up with the idea that if the
world has a World Economic Forum and a World Social Forum,
then the world should also have
a World Cultural Forum, where
all culture activists in the world
can get together and share ideas
and exchange experiences on
culture and abstract the goodness of culture to promote welfare.
“No culture, no future,” said
Nuh in his speech.
Minister Nuh said with
the blurring of boundaries
and the narrowing distance,
cross-cultural flow is increasingly torrent. This fact,
he said, would cause the intersection of culture thatcausing two possibilities.
“First is cultural domination Of course, we do not
want it to happen because it
won’t bring peace and harmony,” he said.
The second possibility is
the convergence of culture,
which is built on the principle of mutual understanding
and mutual respect. To realize cultural convergence, dialogues and cultural cooperation involving all elements
of culture in the world are
needed.
The World Culture Forum
I, held in Nusa dua, Bali, November 24-27, 2013, saw
800 participants from 65
countries.
This year, Precedent
consists of five
competitions
such as debates,
Scrabble, writing
speeches, and news
casting. Participants
who followed the
competition were
from high schools in
Jabodetabek area and
Bandung, reflecting
the more extensive
coverage of the
competition compared
to last year’s.
President University Rector, Dr. Chandra Setiawan, Ph.D
Minister Syarif Hasan Receives Honorary Professorship
From Fukui Preferctoral University
Minister of Cooperatives
and Small and Medium Enterprises Syarif Hasan has
received an Honorary Professorship from the Fukui Prefectoral University
(11/18).
On the occasion, Minister Syarif also gave a pub-
lic lecture which was attended
by business people, representatives of the Fukui Regional Government, Indonesian observers
and academics.
The Minister explained about
the potential and development of
cooperatives and small and medium enterprises in Indonesia,
especially to support Indonesia’s
economy.
This matter is on the agenda of activities of the Ministerial
Working Visit Delegation to Japan, November 16-22, 2013.
During the working visit in Japan the Minister of Cooperatives
and Small and Medium Enter-
prises had a dialog with the association of technology graduates who work in Japan, Enjina
Nusantara in Osaka, visited the
Tempe (soybean cake)Factory
owned by Rustono in Shiga, had
a meeting with Governor Toyama, and continued his visit to
Tokyo.
The President Post
BUSINESS
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Petrochina Increases Gas Supply
For Tanjung Jabung Power Plant
PT PetroChina Jabung Ltd finally agrees to increase gas supply for the
gas-fired Tanjung Jabung Power plant in Tanjung Jabung Barat District in
Jambi.
Additional gas is needed by the power plant to increase its power supplying capacity, Field Administrator of PetroChina Riza Firmahendra said
in Kuala Tungkal, Tanjung Jabung Barat municipal city.
The agreement on the addition of 2.5 MMFD of gas for the power plant
had been signed between Petrochina and the Tanjung Jabung Barat district administration, Riza said on Thursday.
He said the additional supply is expected to solve problem of shortage
in power supply in that district, which has experienced inconvenience due
to frequent blackouts so far. “Hopefully the problem could be sorted out
this week,” he said.
He said the power plant already has enough gas but the use of power is
SECTION B
December 2013
Vol. 2 No. 12
too much at night in the district. He said there is no shortage of supply in
daytime, adding “the problem comes only at nighttime.”
If the gas supply is increased, there would be oversupply of power at
daytime, therefore addition of gas supply has to be well calculated, he
said.
Head of the district energy and mineral service Yon Heri said the addition to be provided by Petrochina would bring the total gas supply to 4
MMFD for the power plant.
reduce imports by 6.8 million tons a year, Hidayat said. He said the joint
venture project is expected to be completed and to be commissioned by
the president on Dec. 23 this year.
“We are confident that the factory will boost development of downstream industries in related sector such as shipbuilding, infrastructure
and machinery industries, he said.”
PT Krakatau-Posco Now
Less Dependent on Steel Imports
PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk (Garuda) said it will launch a rights issue
by selling 10 percent of rights shares in the first half of 2014.
“The underwriter for the rights issue will be announced next week,”
Emirsyah Satar, the president of the nation’s flag carrier, said here on
Tuesday.
The right issue plan has been approved by the shareholders,
Emirsyah said without giving details about the fund to be earned from
the share sales.
He only said that the fund would be used for business expansion
such as opening new domestic and international routes and to strengthen capital. “Next year we will serve direct flights to London,” he said,
adding the funds would not be used to buy new aircraft.
Funds for aircraft shopping has been available from banks and lessor, he said. Currently , the airline has 131 units of aircraft and next year
there will be an addition of 27 units, he said.
Construction of the integrated steel factory by PT Krakatau-Posco is
aimed at reducing dependence on steel imports , which reach 9 million
tons a year.
PT Krakatau-Posco in Cilegon, Banten, is a joint venture between the
state owned steel maker PT Krakatau Steel and the South Korean steel
giant Posco.
“PT Krakatau-Posco, which will have an annual production capacity
of three million tons and investment in nine other base metal industries,
would contribute considerably to steel supply in the country ,” Industry
Minister MS Hidayat said in Cilegon on Thursday.
The factory of Krakatau-Posco and nine other base metal factories will
Garuda To Do Rights Issue
infobanknews.com
HSBC: RI
Remains Top
Investment
Destination
HSBC Indonesia predicted that Indonesia will still chalk up positive investment
growth in 2014 despite discouraging trend of economic slowdown.
H
SBC
Indonesia
predicted that Indonesia will still
chalk up positive
investment
growth in 2014 despite discouraging trend of economic slowdown.
The investment would continue to grow because of good handling of inflation and trade balance by the government, HSBC
Indonesia Managing Director
of Global Markets Ali Setiawan
said in a seminar on “HSBC
Global Economic Outlook 2014”
here on Wednesday.
“Bank Indonesia has taken a
series of steps and the government has been consistent in its
policy in dealing with structural problem and redressing trade
balance,” Ali said.
He said foreign investors are
still interested in doing business
in Indonesia, notably Japan. He
added Japan still places Indonesia on top of its investment
destination list.
“Indonesia has done good job
in the eyes of the international
community. Indonesia is most
interesting not only for Japanese investors. European and
US investors also are similarly
interested,” he said.
The investment market is
still big in Indonesia, he added, citing Java is still open for
new investments such as infrastructure. “In the infrastructure sector we are still lagging
behind neighboring countries.
Fundamentally, the Indonesian
economy is still growing. Therefore, there is much concern,” he
said.
The government, however,
needs to be more transparent
and consistent in carrying out
its policies, he added.
HSBC Economist Su Sian Lim
said Indonesia and other ASEAN
countries have basically shown
strong economic performance.
“Huge domestic demand and relatively low unemployment rate
are an advantage from the point
of retail and household shopping
as well as business sector,” Su
San said.
She said steps taken by Bank
Indonesia followed with fiscal
policy of the government through
the finance ministry aimed at
narrowing current account deficit, controlling exchange rate,
curbing inflation and maintaining foreign reserve have worked
well.
“It has to be acknowledged that
oil fuel price adjustment in June
2013 had helped reduce current
account deficit,” she added.
SOE Minister Wants
N. Sumatra Steam Power
Plant Project Completed Soon
State-Owned
Enterprises
(SOE) Minister Dahlan Iskan
has asked the technical team to
settle various problems and accelerate the development of the
Pangkalan Susu-Langkat steam
power plant (PLTU) project in
North Sumatra.
Head of SOE Ministrys Public Relations and Protocol Affairs
Faisal Halimi said here on Monday that in response to the ministers call, it was important for
the technical team and other related elements to conduct a test
and evaluation on the Pangkala
Susu-Langkat PLTU project .
Faisal said that minister
Dahlan on Sunday night held a
meeting at the PLTU Pangkalan
Susu-Langkat Hall, which lasted
until the wee hours on Monday.
The meeting was also attended
by Hamansyah Purba (the PLTU
project manager), Said (the projects mother transmission general manager), Dyananto (general manager for North Sumatra
area) and Lin of GPACK.
The minister expressed his
hope that the meeting would
provide a clear picture about the
problems being faced in the development of the project.
“All need to be assessed to see
the obstacles being faced and
SOE Minister Dahlan Iskan
be evaluated to know what have
to be done. For that we need to
work fast to catch up the target,”
Minister Dahlan said.
The meeting lasted in a friendly atmosphere and was interspersed with a dialog in the
Mandarin language between the
minister and Lin. Dahlan was
seen impressed with the meeting
results where the technical team
expressed its readiness to complete certain works in certain
deadlines such as the work on
pier, water installations, water
treatment, coal handling, boilers, turbines, switch yard and
transmission.
“What else, what urgent problems are there that need to be
handled soon. If all can already
be tested, just do it immediately. Regarding transmission, just
report it immediately to me if
there are towers which enter the
plantation areas of a state firm
(BUMN). If need be, just send me
a text message or call me directly,” the minister said.
The minister also asked the
team to write on the whiteboard
all details of the obstacles such
as transmission problems and
a number of towers which had
been pulled down by the local
people. He also asked the details
of problems with regard to locations whose land had not yet obtained a license and had not yet
received power supply, thereby
delaying the testing works.
On a number of areas considered difficult to obtain land
clearance for tower construction
sites, Minister Dahlan asked the
project executors to make approaches as well as possible, including efforts to ensure that the
local people would not be disadvantaged.
“It should not happen that
the people whose affected plantations or lands become disadvantaged by the project. I do not
agree with it (if the interest of local people is harmed,” the minister stressed.
“HSBC Global Economic Outlook 2014” seminar. HSBC Indonesia Managing Director of Global Markets Ali Setiawan said the investment would continue to grow because of good
handling of inflation and trade balance by the government.
B2
Business
Pertamina, Chevron, Star Energy
to Develop Geothermal Projects
elshinta.com
PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) has signed principles of agreement (PoA) with Chevron
Geothermal Indonesia Ltd and Star Energy Geothermal Pte Ltd to develop six geothermal power
plants in the country.
P
GE spokesman Hendi Suhendi said on
Wednesday that the
agreement was signed
in Jakarta on Tuesday. “With the PoA, all sides have
agreed to cooperate to develop a
financial model and work schedule for the geothermal projects,”
he added.
He said four of the six projects – Hululai, Tambang Sawah,
Sungai Penuh and Semurup –
will be developed in cooperation
with Chevron.
Star Energy will develop units
1, 2 and 3 of the Karaha Bodas
geothermal power plant, he added. “Chevron and Star Energy
were earlier PGEs joint operation
contract partners,” he noted.
Star Energy was PGEs joint
operation partner for the Wayang
Windu project, while Chevron
was the partner for the Gunung
Salak and Darajat projects, Hendi said. The Hululais project in
Bengkulu, the Sungai Penuh
project in Jambi and the Karaha Bodas project in West Java
are part of the second phase of
the fast track program (FTP-2),
he pointed out.
According to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Regulation No. 21/2013, the Hululais project will have a capacity
of 2x55 MW, while the Sungai
Penuh project will have a capacity of 2x55 MW. Unit 1 of the
Karaha Bodas project will have a
capacity of 30 MW, while units 2
and 3 will have a capacity of 55
MW each.
The FTP-2 projects cover 76
units with a combined capacity
of 17,918 MW. Seventeen units
with a capacity of 5,749 MW will
be developed by state electricity company PLN, while 59 units
with a capacity of 12,169 MW
will be developed by independent
power producers (IPP). Unit 1 of
the Patuha geothermal power
plant, with a capacity of 55 MW
in West Java, is expected to become the first FTP-2 project to
start operations.
Pertamina Developing
Arun Gas Terminal
Pertamina has meanwhile begun constructing the Arun liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Aceh
Province and is expected to be
completed at the end of 2014.
Pertamina Director for Gas
Affairs Hari Karyuliarto said in
a press release here on Sunday
that the gas project was expected
to meet the need for gas of Aceh
and North Sumatra provinces. “The gas terminal is the first
LNG refinery conversion into regasification project,” Hari said.
The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted on Saturday
by Hari at the LNG Plant site
in Arun, Lhokseumawei, North
Aceh. President Director of PT
Rekayasa Industri Mochammad
Ali Harsono, President Director
of PT Pertagas Indra Jaya and
President Director of PT Pera
Arun Gas Teuku Khaidir also
attended the groundbreaking
ceremony.
LNG conversion of LNG refinery project into regasification
was first decided by the government in 2012. The Arun Terminal has a capacity of 400 million
metric standard cubic feet per
day (MMSCFD) or three million
tons per annum.
Hari said that at present the
terminals gas commitment was
still 120 MMSCFD for stateowned power firm PLN.
The Arun terminal will be
integrated with Arun-Belawan transmission pipes which
stretch 340 km long. At present,
the construction of pipes with an
open access scheme is underway
and is scheduled for completion
in 2014.
It is expected that about 50
percent of the project would be
completed at the end of 2013.
The project is worth $570 million, of which $80 million for the
construction of the terminal.
Pertamina, Thai company to
acquire Hess oil and gas block
Pertamina and PTTEP, a Thai
oil company, have agreed to acquire oil and gas blocks of Hess
Corporation in Indonesia at a
price of $1.3 billion.
Pertamina spokesman Ali
Mundakir said here on Monday
Pertamina and PTTEP would
split the acquired assets of the
US company paying the price 50
percent each. “The deal would
be settled in line with a number
of conditions set in the sale and
purchase agreement,” Ali said.
Pertamina will be represented
by its subsidiary PT Pertamina
Hulu Energi and PTTEP by PTTEP Netherlands Holding Cooperatie UA. With the acquisition,
Pertamina and PTTEP would
have 75 percent participating interest in the Pangkah block and
23 percent in the Natuna Sea A
block.
Both Pangkah and Natuna Sea A are offshore blocks.
Pangkah is located northeast
of Java with a production rate
of 7,000 barrels of oil per day
and 33 million cubic feet per
day (MMSCFD)of gas. The Pangkah block has a proven reserve
of around 110 million barrels of
oil equivalent. Pertamina and
PTTEP will jointly operate the
Pangkah block.
The Natuna Sea A block is located in the West Natuna sea
with gas production rate of
220 MMSCFD including 145
MMSCFD from the Anoa field
and 75 MMSCFD from Gajah
Baru, and oil production rate of
2,350 barrels of oil per day. The
Natuna Sea A block has a proven reserve of around 209 million
barrels of oil equivalent.
Other shareholders of Natuna Sea A block are Premier Oil
as the operator with a 28.67 percent share , Kufpec as a 33.33
percent owner and Petronas
holding a 15 percent stake.
Ali said the acquisition plan
is part of Pertamina’s ambition
to become a dominant player
in upstream oil industry in the
country in 2015. “In 2025, Pertamina’s oil production is to be
pushed up to 2.2 million barrels
of oil equivalent per day including from its production units
in the country and abroad,” he
said.
Recently Pertamina wrapped
up the process of acquiring oil
blocks in Algeria and Iraq. In Algeria it acquired the 405a block
from ConocoPhillips Algeria
Limited at a price of $1.75 billion, adding 23,000 barrels of
crude oil to its daily output and
more than 100 million barrels to
its oil reserves.
In Iraq, Pertamina completed
the acquisition of a 10 percent
stake in the West Qurna I block
from ExxonMobil Iraq Limited.
West Qurna I, which is located
near the city of Basra, southern Iraq, has a production rate
of 500,000 barrels of oil per day.
With the 10 percent stake acquisition, Pertamina will have a
share of 50,000 barrels of crude
oil per day from the block.
The share is expected to increase as oil production of the
West Qurna 1 block is expected to rise to more than 1 million
barrels per day in the near future. The West Qurna block has
reserves of around 9 billion barrels of oil .
With the ambitious expansion abroad, Pertamina hopes
to break into the ranks of world
class oil companies in the next
several years. The company’s
president director, Karen Agustiawan, said in a press statement here on Saturday that
the acquisition was part of the
company’ss efforts to achieve its
vision of becoming a world-class
company. “The corporate action
is a strategic stepping stone to
expand its business abroad, especially in countries with abundant oil and gas resources such
as Iraq,” she said.
She noted that Pertamina’s
expansion overseas was aimed
at supporting the government’s
program of sustainable energy
resilience. The acquisition of a 10
percent share, or a participating
interest in West Qurna I Block,
was carried out by PT Pertamina Irak Eksplorasi Produksi as
Pertamina’s subsidiary.
Besides Pertamina, ExxonMobil also sold 25 percent of its
shares in the block to PetroChina Co. ExxonMobil will later only
control 25 percent of the shares
in the block but it will remain as
the operator. The remainder of
the shares belong to Iraqi stateowned company South Oil Company (25 percent) and Shell West
Qurna BV (15 percent).
Pertamina is also now involved in acquisitions of shares
in Block 405a belonging to
ConocoPhillips Algeria Limited
in Algeria, valued at $1.75 billion, or about Rp20 trillion. With
the acquisition of Block 405a,
Pertamina would have an additional supply of 23,000 barrels
per day.
Pertamina’s additional reserves from Block 405a are more
than 100 million barrels of oil.
Pertamina officially has three
main oil fields, namely Menzel
Lejmat North (MLN), Ourhoud,
and EMK in Block 405a, which
was initially controlled by Conoco.
After the acquisition, Pertamina will control 65 percent
of the participating interest in
MLN and act as the operator. In
Ourhoud and EMK, meanwhile,
Pertamina will have 3.7 percent
and 16.9 percent participating
interest, respectively, but it will
not be the operator of the fields.
Oil production from Block 405a
is to be processed at Pertamina’s
refineries.
SOEs Profit to Reach
Rp150t in 2013
SOEs in sectors such
as telecommunications,
banking and construction
were the major profit
contributors.
State-Owned
Enterprises
(SOE) Minister Dahlan Iskan on
Thursday has said that the net
profit of Indonesian SOEs will
hit Rp150 trillion (around $136
billion) in 2013, increasing 15.3
percent from last years Rp130
trillion.
“Amid the global crisis in
2013, the fact that net profit of all
SOEs can grow by Rp30 trillion
is remarkable,” Minister Dahlan said after a meeting with the
SOE Ministrys top brass in Jakarta on Thursday.
The net profit growth of 141
SOEs is higher than the estimated growth rate of five to six percent for the national economy in
2013, Dahlan added.
SOEs in sectors such as telecommunications, banking and
construction were the major
profit contributors. However, not
all SOEs posted a profit in 2013,
Dahlan noted. Enterprises in
the plantation and mining sectors struggled amid the global
crisis as some commodity prices dropped in the international markets. Therefore, SOEs are
being urged to set new efficiency
standards and work together to
develop their potential, he said.
Pertagas-PGN Merger Possible
Dahlan has meanwhile called
on leaders of PT Perusahaan
Gas Negara (PGN), PT Pertamina and its subsidiary PT Pertagas for a meeting to find a solution to a war of words about the
idea of merger between the state
gas companies.
“I call them to hear their respective arguments. There would
be no emotional debate. Everyone will speak proportionally,”
Dahlan said on Thursday.
The conflicting statements
spread by the mass media came
after the idea of merger between
PGN and Pertagas, a gas subsidiary of Pertamina. PGN said
it could acquire Pertagas, but
Pertamina claimed it is in a better position to acquire PGN to be
merged with Pertagas.
The idea of merger followed the
governments scheme of open ac-
Amid the global
crisis in 2013, the
fact that net profit of
all SOEs can grow
by Rp30 trillion is
remarkable.”
Dahlan Iskan
State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister
cess under which Pertagas is allowed to use PGNs infrastructure of gas pipelines. The share
price of publicly listed PGN fell
after the merger row, but Dahlan said,”I dont believe the share
price fall was caused by the acquisition issue.”
He said the open access
scheme is “good for the state although it may not be very good
for PGN.” Earlier he suggested
Pertamina acquire PGN.
On Thursday he said in implementing the open access scheme
the government will be fair to
both sides but most important
is the interest of the state. “The
government seeks to combine
ideas that no party would be
harmed,” he added.
Pertamina said a merger between Pertagas and PGN would
strengthen its oil and gas business. Pertamina’s vice president
in charge of corporate communications, Ali Mundakir, said Pertamina is stronger than PGN
in gas business fundamentals. “Therefore, PGN should be
placed under Pertamina,” Ali
said, adding, “However, it is for
the government to decide.”
He said Pertamina has finished studies on possible merger
between PGN and Pertagas and
the result was already submitted
to the government late last year.
A PGN director Wahid Sutopo
said PGN should be the one to
acquire Pertagas to integrate gas
pipelines. “We have prepared
the concept. It needs only a decision from the shareholders,” Wahid said
PGN controls the largest network of gas distribution in the
country but it produces no gas.
Pertamina produces gas with
distribution handled by Pertagas.
According to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Regulation No. 21/2013, the Hululais project will have a capacity of 2x55 MW,
while the Sungai Penuh project will have a capacity of 2x55 MW. Unit 1 of the Karaha Bodas project will have a capacity of 30 MW,
while units 2 and 3 will have a capacity of 55 MW each.
Merpati Nusantara Debt
To be Converted into Shares
The debt of PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines to a
number of other state companies would be converted
into shares in order to save
the debt-ridden state owned
airline, an official said.
“We agree with the conversion of the debts,” Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa said here
on Tuesday after a meeting
to save the airline .
In addition, the debt in
the form of sub-loan agreement (SLA) to the government would be converted
into non-cash state capital
participation, Hatta said
According to Hatta, currently Merpati ran up a total debt of Rp6.7 trillion to
20 creditors. Debts to state
companies including airport operators Angkasa
Pura I and II, Bank Mandiri, energy company Pertamina and insurance company
Jasindo totaled Rp2 trillion.
The rest includes Rp2.5 trillion in SLA to the govern-
Hatta Rajasa
ment and around Rp3.2 trillion
in tax and to other creditors.
Hatta said the government decided to restructure the debts of
Merpati as it believes the airline
could still rise from its financial
woes. “Merpati is still needed to
serve pioneer flights in a number
of provinces especially in eastern
part of the country,” he said.
Merpati would be given one
month to submit its business
plan to the government and other loan providers. “Merpati is
also allowed to look for funds for
the procurement of aircraft,” he
said.
Looking for partners, Minister for State Enterprises Dahlan
Iskan said he agreed with
the decision of the government to give Merpati more
opportunity to resume operation. “Actually, based on
a conclusion of the state asset management company
PT Perusahaan Pengelola
Aset (PPA), Merpati should
be closed down, but the
government found a way
out by converting debts into
shares,” Dahlan said.
He said after the process of debt conversion has
been wrapped up Merpati
is allowed to look for partners. “So far Merpati may
not have partner as it has
a big deficit. Now with the
book cleaned of debts, Merpati could invite investors to
jointly develop its business,”
he said.
He did not rule out Merpati merging with Garuda, the nation’s flag carrier. However, the conversion
plan still needs approval
from the Commission VI of
the House of Representatives, he said.
PT Pertamina EP Gets
New President Director
The management of the
states oil and gas company,
PT Pertamina, has appointed President Director of PT
Pertamina Geothermal Energy Adriansyah to replace
Syamsu Alam as president
director of PT Pertamina
EP.
A Pertamina EP press
release received here on
Thursday said Syamsu had
subsequently become the
senior vice president (exploration) for the Pertamina
Upstream Directorate, replacing Rony Gunawan.
Meanwhile, Rony will be appointed as president director of
Pertamina Geothermal Energy
to replace Adriansyah. Pertamina also appointed Sigit Raharjo
as the VP Upstream Technology
Center director to replace Richard H. Tamba.
Meanwhile, Sigits position as
Pertamina Geothermal Energys
director of operations has been
handed over to Richard. The entire handover was conducted in
Jakarta on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
Pertamina believes Adriansyah is the right person for the
position of president director of Pertamina EP as he
has had a long career in
the development of the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Technology Center
under the Pertamina Upstream Directorate.
Adriansyah
said
he
would bring improvements
to Pertamina EP with a
view to enabling Pertamina to emerge as a worldclass energy company by
2025. “The production target should continue to increase,” he remarked.
B3
Investment
Divesting in the Stock Market
By Wawan Hendrayana (Research & Investment Analyst)
Investors with longterm perspectives
are not worried
about the bourse’s
volatility. History
showed that long term
investment is very
profitable provided that
domestic economic
fundamentals are
stable.
H
istorically the end
of the year is an
interesting time
for investors in the
stock market because listed companies normally
issue their third quarter financial report in these last months,
which could serve as the barometer to assess their 2013 performance. Listed companies usually report higher income in line
with the country’s sustainable
economic growth. Such a condition would fuel investors’ optimism to purchase shares of listed
companies that posted positive
performance. Such trend is evident in the past 10 years where
the composite index (IHSG) performed better compared to other months every December with
gain probability up by 100%.
Historically, the probability of
the IHSG to book positive returns in November over the past
10 years is only 80%. It’s true
that there is no guarantee that
historical data will repeat itself,
the probability that the IHSG
would book a negative performance may be derived from various factors such as inflation, interest rate which continued to
show an increasing trend and
the weakening rupiah exchange
against the US dollar following
companies’ needs to pay out dividends and loan interest.
As for this year, the impact
of the government’s decision to
raise the price of subsidized fuel
will be reflected in the inflation
rate at the end of the year which
will unlikely lower bank loan
rate. Such a condition could add
to the negative sentiments in November.
The orientation on
the stock investment
should be long term,
but to optimize the
yields investors
should have the
courage to take profit
as well as to perform
cutloss.
Investors with long-term perspectives are not worried about
the bourse’s volatility. History
showed that long term investment is very profitable provided
that domestic economic fundamentals are stable.
Despite Indonesia’s sound economic fundamentals and many
analysts’ optimism that the IHSG
would return to the 4,800 mark
at the end of the year, it’s inevitable that the index movement is
still influenced by overseas sentiments. The correlation between
IHSG and DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average) reached 0,1
in the past three months. This
means, the movements of these
two bourses are relatively not going in the opposite direction. The
Indonesian bourse didn’t enjoy
the US bourse’s positive rally.
The movement in the opposite direction is believed to have
started since the Fed announced
the possibility of cutting the economic stimulus in the United
States. As a result, many foreign
capitals parked in our capital
market were pulled out by investors over liquidity problem worries. Fundamentally, the United
States is observing several major issues such as its efforts to
strengthen its domestic economy, minimizing unemployment
rate and the tapering development. Improvement in its economy in the short term is expected
to trigger capital flight from Indonesia to the United States that
could cause the IHSG to suffer a
correction because 65% of investors in the Indonesian bourse are
foreign. The correction, which is
likely to happen from January
until February, can be seen as
an opportunity to hunt for relatively cheap shares with good
fundamentals while continuing
to keep a close watch on development of inflation and interest
rates.
February should serve as an opportunity to enter the bourse,
either by purchasing stocks or
mutual fund stocks.
These accumulations can optimize investors’ returns because according to studies, window-dressing phenomenon or
share price increase always occurred ahead of the new year
in Indonesia. Over the past 12
years, the IHSG always crawled
up from early November–end of
December and generally the rally would continue until April, so
that any corrections in January-
Bear in mind that this assumption is made based on the
history of data over the past 12
years and that there is no guarantee that the same pattern
would repeat in 2013. It is best to
have a long term orientation for
investment on shares but to optimize the yields, investors should
have the courage to take profits
and to cut losses. Happy Trading!
B4
Automotive
BMW M5: Elegant Sport Sedan
with the Latest Technology Innovations
ausmotive.com
The latest innovation of this model is focused
on design improvements in certain parts, which
aims to deliver the best driving experience. The
combination of elegant design and hallmark M is
very athletic, indicating the presence of the new
BMW M5.
B
MW Group Indonesia launched the
latest innovation
for the classy luxury sedan with the
high performance,
the new BMW M5.
The latest innovation of this
model is focused on design improvements in certain parts,
which aims to deliver the best
driving experience. The combination of elegant design and
hallmark M is very athletic, indicating the presence of the new
BMW M5. It features a new design and the addition of various
BMW ConnectedDrive reinforces the character of innovative
features on this vehicle. It comes
with the best performance and
with more innovation than ever
before.
“The fans of BMW M series
in Indonesia have given a warm
welcome to 8 BMW M series
models that have been launched
in the last four years - including
the BMW M6 Gran Coupé. This
is one of the important factors
the center console area larger.
The composition of a typical M
black grille - such as three columns of air flow at the bottom of
the bumper - confirms the need
for cooling air to the engine behind the grille.
There is also a large 10.2-inch
screen that is connected with the
iDrive system wrapped around
a chrome-plated frame. For the
first time, a Touch Controller is
now available, with a touch-sensitive surface that enables users
to enter characters when programming destinations in the
navigation system.
The new BMW M5 has a
10 percent greater power
and maximum torque
has been increased by
30 percent. But in terms
of fuel use, it is more
efficient, which is 30
percent lower.
ausmotive.com
in the success of BMW M,” said
Ramesh Divyanathan, President
of BMW Group Indonesia.
The most striking design in
the appearance of the new BMW
M5 is the M “kidney grille” which
displays lines showing doublespoke design alloy wheels as the
BMW M. Standard equipment
on the new BMW M5 includes
Adaptive LED Headlights and
taillight design that uses a thin
line of LED lights that produce a
contrast effect that is easily recognizable, especially at night.
In the interior, the typical accent of BMW M is presented
through the M leather steering
wheel rim design that is adapted
from the BMW M double-spoke
design, and this model has storage space under the arm rest in
In addition to high performance, the new BMW M5 experienced a significant increase in
efficiency. M TwinPower Turbo
technology developed for the engine of this model combines with
technological innovation of professional racing circuit with the
EfficientDynamics concept. The
new BMW M5 requires 4.4 seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/ hour, and it only
takes 13 seconds to accelerate
from 0 to 200 km/h. Its maximum speed is electronically limited at 250 km/hour.
The new BMW M5 has a 10
percent greater power and maximum torque has been increased
by 30 percent. But in terms
of fuel use, it is more efficient,
which is 30 percent lower. Fuel
consumption is an average of up
to 10 km/l with CO2 emissions
of 232 g/km
A unique feature of the new
BMW M5 is the Head-Up Display
that projects important information onto the glass right in front
of the driver’s area. The combination of the color spectrum is used
to display the various graphics and symbols, so that traffic signs can be displayed realistically. Head-Up Display of the
BMW M also shows the gear being used and engine speed conditions marked by various colors, complete with Shift Lights.
The new BMW M5 is priced at
Rp2.088.000.000 off-the-road,
and is equipped with BMW Service Inclusive, which includes
treatment for 5 years or 60,000
miles, whichever comes first.
tflcar.com
B5
Events Review
Dozens of Infrastructure Investment
Projects to Strengthen Indonesia’s
Competitiveness
TPP
To improve Indonesia’s competitiveness through
infrastructure development, the Government
has set up dozens of investment projects worth
hundreds of trillions of dollars.
C
oordinating
Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa stated that one
of the goals of infrastructure development is to
reduce the cost of logistics. He
mentioned the cost of logistics
that can be saved by infrastructure is 14.08 percent of the cost
of production. Infrastructure
will also reduce the number of
logistics costs to GDP to 22 percent or 10 percent of the total
cost of goods production.
“If we cannot reduce infrastructure development costs,
then our competitiveness cannot be improved,” he said in the
Indonesia Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition in Jakarta Covention Center (JCC),
Wednesday (13/11).
Hatta also said to improve
Indonesia’s
competitiveness
through infrastructure development, the Government has set
up dozens of investment projects worth hundreds of trillions
of dollars.
“We’re going to rectify and prepare projects on a large scale. 2025 projects are to be launched
with an estimated investment
of Rp 380 trillion, “ Hatta said
when opening the event.
Infrastructure projects shown
in IIICE 2013 are included in the
Master Plan for the Acceleration
and Expansion of Indonesian
Economic Development (MP3EI)
initiated by President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono in 2011.
MP3EI is designed to help Indonesia enter into the top 10 world
economies by 2025 with a total
GDP of $4.5 trillion through the
development of infrastructure
in six economic corridors in Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan,
North Maluku, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Papua, Maluku and Java.
“This event is an appropriate
vessel to develop Indonesia’s infrastructure to face the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community,” said Djoko Kirmanto, said
the Public Works Minister in his
speech at the opening ceremony
of IIICE 2013.
Meanwhile, Alan Solowiejczyk, CEO of PT Infrastructure
Asia 2013 who organized the IIICE 2013, said: “To be able to
improve competitiveness, a nation must constantly improve the
quality of its infrastructure. Indonesia under President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono has shown
determination and real work
to improve the quality of infrastructure in Indonesia through
the launch of MP3EI program.
We, from PT Infrastructure Asia
as the organizer of IIICE 2013, is
proud to integrate the mission of
the government and the private
sector to contribute to the advancement of Indonesian infrastructure through this event,”
he said.
Coordinating Minister for
Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa
at the Indonesia Infrastructure
Conference and Exhibition
in Jakarta Covention Center
(JCC), Wednesday (13/11).
Kendal to Have Integrated
Industrial Estate
TPP/Heros Barasakti
PT Jababeka Tbk plans to
build an integrated industrial area in Kendal, Central Java,
said Chairman of Jababeka SD
Darmono in the Socialization of
Kendal Industrial Estate in the
auditorium of Kendal District
Office, Monday (19/11).
The event was also attended by Regent of Kendal Widya
Kandi Susanti and Head of Investment and Integrated Licensing (BPMPT) Kendal Alex Supriyono.
Darmono said the establishment of Kendal Industrial Estate will have positive impact on
the economic progress of Kendal
and its surroundings. Darmono
cited Kendal as a strategic area
and has vast natural resources.
PT KIK (Kawasan Industri Kendal) will resemble the Cikarang
industrial estate in West Java.
PT KIK is a joint venture
between PT Graha Buana
Cikarang (GBC), a subsidiary
of PT Jababeka, and Sembcorp
Development Indonesia (SDI), a
Singaporean government-owned
company that is an expert in developing industrial zones in Asia.
The company is 51 % owned by
GBC and 49 % owned by SDI.
The plan of groundbreaking is
April 2014.
“Starting April 2014, Kendal Industrial Estate will begin
to be realized with an estimated
growth of 80 hectares of land per
year,” said Darmono.
Darmono also promised to invite Prime Minister of Singapore
Lee Hsien Long and President
SBY to inaugurate the construction of Kendal Industrial Estate.
Darmono further said that
there are some requirements
from the investors, such as proximity to international airport,
harbor, toll road, sufficient electricity, gas sources, water sources and advanced telecommunication, and adequate human
resources and a large market.
To meet the investors’ requirements, Darmono is willing to
build an integrated facility. For
the quality of human resources
to work in the Kendal Industrial Estate, Darmono had recruited workers from Kendal currently working at several companies
in Jababeka Industrial Estate,
Cikarang. Thus when it begins its operation, it already has
skilled labors.
According to him, a modern
industrial estate is like the arm
of a government which organizes industrial areas with onestop-service to serve investors,
not only the provision of land but
also management of infrastructure.
For that matter, he invites
stakeholders to support the
great plan. He also invited the
commitment and support of the
government, both district and
provincial levels, in addition to
the readiness of the community which also plays an important role.
“We (PT KIK) has big dreams
with Kendal community, and we
will start step-by-step. For that
we need the support of the government and the communiuty,”
he said.
In line with Darmono, Kendal Regent Widya Susanti Kandi said she expects the development of Kendal industrial estate
to be accelerated.
“The industrial area will create employment, improve the
economy, and the welfare of society,” she said.
In the future, Kendal industrial estate will be gradually developed and to reach 3,000 hectares.
“Each company is estimated to take about 10 hectares of
land that can absorb up to 1,000
workers. Therefore, 300 companies will be built here and absorb
total workforce of 300,000 people,” said Darmono.
SD Darmono said, “Jababeka is believed to be an arm of the government in terms of developing industrial zones and Special Economic Zones.”
B6
Events Review
Finance Minister: Government Policy
is Asset of State Excellence
TPP
Finance Minister Chatib Basri said that in the
future, comparative advantage among other
countries is an intangible asset in the form of
government policy.
F
inance
Minister
Chatib Basri said
that in the future,
comparative advantage among other
countries is an intangible asset
in the form of government policy. The minister said, in Indonesia Investment Summit 2013,
the upcoming policy will focus
more on supply sectors, including infrastructure, bureaucratic system of government and human resources development. In
terms of infrastructure, the government will draw up regulations on land acquisition that is
widely perceived to be ineffective
and inefficient.
On the bureaucratic side, the
minister gave an example on investment permits in Indonesia
which are complicated, timeconsuming as well as high-cost.
These matters obviously will affect the attractiveness of investment in Indonesia from the perspective of investors. Thus, the
process of investment needs to
be updated or reformed to become more friendly.
In the sector of human resources, the minister stated the
quality improvement of human
resources by conducting training is considered to be the domain of the private sector in accordance with their needs. This
is more appropriate as training
given by the government may
not be in accordance with market demand. Therefore, the government will support human
resources development by the
private sector by providing fiscal
incentives.
“I hope with these policies sustainable economic growth in Indonesia will be achieved since
2013-2014 is a period of stabilization of economic growth,”added
the minister.
At the same event, Vice President, Boediono, in his opening
speech, said that Indonesia is a
prospective investment destination given the wealth of natural resources, growing domestic
market and growing young population structure.
According to him, the government will continue to maintain
fiscal sustainability and provide
room for expansion in order to
encourage sustainable economic growth.
The event was held by the Investment Coordinating Board
(BKPM) Indonesia and the Financial Times. It was attended by participants from various
countries comprising of CEOs,
entrepreneurs, leading thinkers,
academics and government officials.
Finance Minister Chatib Basri stated the quality improvement of human resources by conducting training is considered to be the domain of the private sector in accordance with their needs. This is more appropriate as training
given by the government may not be in accordance with market demand. Therefore, the government will support human resources development by the private sector by providing fiscal incentives.
BKPM: Indonesia Investment
Climate is Conducive
watch the video at:
www.thepresidenttv.com
As Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Mahendra Siregar has a number of
challenging tasks in the future.
One of them is improving investment services to become more
simple and orderly.
In the presence of number of
industry players during a visit to
the Jababeka Industrial Estate,
Mahendra announced several
important achievements.
“Not long ago we announced
the realization of the third quarter of total investment into Indonesia in the period of July to September. And for the first time the
total realization of joint investment between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Investment, Indonesia managed to
exceed Rp100 trillion. Secondly,
for the first time in two consecutive quarters since the second
quarter, domestic investment
reaches half the value of FDI.
This has never happened before.
Out of Rp100,5 billion, Rp33,5
billion is domestic while Rp67
trillion is FDI,” says Mahendra.
Mahendra further talked
about minimum wages in Indonesia, which he said is not classified as a developed country but
is no longer considered as a poor
country. So any talk related to
wages, according to Mahendra,
should no longer be in the context of being the only income of
workers concerning matters of
life and death.
“In the near future, we will
have universal health care or
BPJS, where pensions, annuities, death or work-related accidents are all there so that wages do not cover insurances,” said
Mahendra.
TPP
Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Mahendra Siregar
B7
Events Review
OJK Launches Blueprint of
Indonesia Financial Literacy
OJK to Raise
Number of Domestic
Investors in IDX
presidenri.go.id/Abror
The launch was
carried out by OJK
and the Association
of Financial Services
Institute (LJK) of the
entire financial industry
such as banking,
insurance, capital
markets, finance,
mortgage, and pension
funds. This program
is important regarding
the importance of
education to make
citizens learn about
financial services so
that the community
can take the
advantages of it.
O
toritas Jasa Keuangan has launched
the blueprint of National Finance Literacy Strategy of
Indonesia to increase understanding of the financial services for related parties in society.
President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono during the inauguration of the program said that
the economy and the country
continue to grow with a certain
complexity. But that is not necessarily mean all people know
Chief Executive Officer of Capital Market Supervisory of OJK Nurhaida
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the inauguration of the program said that the economy and the country continue to grow with a certain complexity. But that is not
necessarily mean all people know about financial services.
about financial services.
“Therefore, we have to take
real strategic steps as the solution,” said SBY.
He also said that the program
is important regarding the importance of education to make
citizens learn about financial
services so that the community
can take the advantages of it.
“The financial services industry must continue to evolve to
develop the economy of country,”
the President said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the
Board of Commissioners of OJK,
Muliaman Hadad, said that the
current level of literacy or access to finance in Indonesia is
only 20%, much lower than the
Philippines with 27%, Malaysia
66%, Thailand 73%, and Singapore 98%.
The launch was carried out by
OJK and the Association of Financial Services Institute (LJK)
of the entire financial industry such as banking, insurance,
capital markets, finance, mortgage, and pension funds.
The launch of the financial literacy was marked by the introduction of the Financial Literacy Car (Si Molek), the mascot
and jargon of financial literacy
(Treat the Money Wisely-SiKAPI Uang dengan Bijak), as well
as a mini website and the Financial Customer Care (FCC) at 021500655.
OJK or Otoritas Jasa
Keuangan will increase the
number of domestic investors. A member of OJK’s
Board of Commissioners
and Chief Executive Officer
of Capital Market Supervisory of OJK Nurhaida said
that the number of investors in Indonesia’s capital
market is still very small or
only about 0.2 % of the total
population of Indonesia. It
is a challenge for OJK in the
future to raise the number
of domestic investors.
In addition, in the event
of Annual Citi Capital Market Outlook 2014, Nurhaida, Monday (18/11), she
also said that OJK will increase the supply of products in the capital market, both in numbers and
types. The steps to be taken, among others, are simplifying new rules on minimum release of shares to
the public through initial
public offering or IPO. Previously, Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) proposed an
increase to 20% from the
current ruling of 10%.
The number of investors
in Indonesia’s capital
market is still very small
or only about 0.2 % of
the total population
of Indonesia. It is a
challenge for OJK in the
future to raise the number
of domestic investors.
Nurhaida added that it has
obtained feedback to enhance
the rate to 30%. She said that
before simplification is applied,
OJK will provide socialization
and assess whether it is crucial
or not.
Currently, the number of listed companies in Indonesia Stock
Exchange (IDX) is 479, the lowest
among countries in the region.
BSE India recorded the highest
number of listed companies at
5,267 companies. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is just above
the IDX with 577 followed by the
Singapore Exchange with 782.
B8
Events Review
“Government
Policies Should Pro
Poor, Pro Job, Pro
Environment”
The Importance of Public
Relations in Business
TPP/Chandra Nur
Domestic or foreign
investment is still
needed by Indonesia.
Every dollar invested
in Indonesia produces
one job.
T
rade Minister Gita
Wirjawan has said
that though the Indonesian economy
is growing vast, the
number of citizens with low income is still too large. The government should be responsible
for the welfare of the citizens.
“Therefore, the policy should
be taken not only pro-growth, but
pro-poor, pro-jobs, and pro-environment,” he said in a speech at
the seminar at University of Pelita Harapan, Tangerang.
On that occasion, Gita also reminded that the pattern of consumption determines the nation’s welfare.
“Consumption patterns will
determine our welfare. If you
tend to buy imported goods, remember that the money will go
to the people in the country of
origin. Thus, be wise on your
consumption patterns,” he explained.
He added that if people like to
buy goods produced in Indone-
The founder of the London School of Public Relations, Prita Kemal Gani.
Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan was giving a speech at the seminar at University of Pelita Harapan, Tangerang.
sia, it will nurture the nation’s
economy so investors are happy to invest, build factories, pay
taxes and hire labors from this
country.
“In the era of free trade, protective policy on domestic industry is not the solution. But smart
consumers must be established.
Indeed, we should choose good
products at competitive prices,
while still considering the impact on the health of our economy,” he said.
Gita also explains that Domestic or foreign investment is
still needed by Indonesia. Every
dollar invested in Indonesia produces one job. According to him,
foreign investment is still 70%
in Indonesia, while domestic investment is only 30 %. But that
does not mean anti-nationalism.
“Nationalism can be associated with the capacity to produce
prosperity for people, not merely
the possession of assets.”
According to him, the government does not allow foreign investors in strategic sectors.
The founder of the London School of Public Relations, Prita Kemal Gani,
shared her knowledge on
public relations (PR) in a
discussion held at the Financial Club, Jakarta.
According to her, PR is
about reputation. “Reputation should be obtained.
How do we get a reputation? By keeping our performance first,” she explained.
She said PR is about what
you do, what you say and
what others say about you.
“So it is important to say
about yourself, about what
you have, and what you are
thinking,” said Prita.
Prita also said that PR is
very important to tell the
story of a company. She
took the example of TWG
Tea, which was established
How can we ask our
employees to serve
clients properly if
they themselves are
not happy? So of
course we have to
make our employees
happy first.”
in 1937. The company also provides training on how to drink
tea in a proper way.
“The things that they do will
always make customers remember them if one day they drink
tea, though it may not be TGW’s
Tea,” said Prita.
Prita, who also serves as
chairman of PERHUMAS, revealed that PR also includes
maintaining a positive situation
in the company by way of obedience on paying taxes, providing
insurance to employees and protecting the environment.
She also added it is very important to make employees feel
happy. “How can we ask our employees to serve clients properly
if they themselves are not happy? So of course we have to make
our employees happy first,” she
explained.
In addition, according to Prita, PR should also able to maintain good relationships with clients, not just current clients but
past clients so that one day they
might be able to work together
again.
Consumption
patterns will
determine our
welfare. If you tend
to buy imported
goods, remember
that the money will
go to the people in
the country of origin.
Thus, be wise on
your consumption
patterns.”
BRAD SUGARS:
Entrepreneur’s Job is Not to Stay Comfortable
In a seminar attended
by approximately
100 prominent
entrepreneurs, Brad
explained that the task
of an entrepreneur is
not to remain always
“comfortable” but
rather “uncomfortable”.
It is intended that an
entrepreneur should
get out of the comfort
zone and make
changes.
ActionCOACH Founder
Bradley Sugars said that
an entrepreneur must have
the courage to make changes. “Change is a fact of life,”
said Brad in Entrepreneur’s
Masterclass organized by
ActionCoach in Bali, 26 to
29 November 2013.
Brad Sugars established
ActionCOACH
(originally
known as Action International) in his 20s. ActionCOACH is a global business
training company based in
Las Vegas, USA.
Brad said that the formula for life success is be x do
= have. So if you have a goal,
then be and do is the plan and
action.”
In addition, Brad, in a seminar attended by approximately
100 prominent entrepreneurs,
explained that the task of an
entrepreneur is not to remain
always “comfortable” but rather “uncomfortable”. It is intended that an entrepreneur should
get out of the comfort zone and
make changes.
He said, “you may attend
workshops, learn how to change,
do it for a week or two and then
go back to your old and more
comfortable ways. That’s the hu-
man tendency, to go out of the
comfort zone for a moment but
come back again to the comfort
zone. For that business coaching
is required.”
Brad also shared how to obtain a quality of life. The first
begins with quality of mentor/
teacher, quality of education/
knowledge, quality of beliefs
and dreams that lead to quality
of questions, decisions, results,
and quality of actions.
As a founder, Brad is now the
main speaker at ActionCOACH
seminars around the world. His
mission is to provide business
and investment education to as
many entrepreneurs. In addition to seminars, Brad also pub-
lished books and conducted webinars.
ActionCOACH now has a presence in 50 countries with over
1,000 offices. In Indonesia, ActionCOACH was founded by
Herman Susanto in 2001. ActionCOACH is in now Indonesia
and has nine offices in Jakarta,
Bandung, Surabaya, and Bali.
Brad also shared how
to obtain a quality of
life. The first begins
with quality of mentor/
teacher, quality of
education/ knowledge,
quality of beliefs and
dreams that lead to
quality of questions,
decisions, results, and
quality of actions.
The President Post
Special Report
SECTION C
December 2013
Vol 2. No. 12
Developing Tourism,
Developing the Nation
Improving tourism is crucial since the country
will eventually run out of natural resources,
which are the biggest income contributor. When
this happens, tourism will hold a vital role in the
country’s economy. Many are optimistic that
Indonesia’s tourism, with the right policy, will be
able to play its role as the spearhead of national
economy.
I
n the past few years, the
tourism sector has been
developing rapidly. Its positive impacts can be seen
from the increasing contribution to the country’s income and its work force absorption.
“Indonesia is a rich country”
is not a myth; as the second biggest mega-biodiversity country in
the world, Indonesia in fact now
finds difficulty in determining its
tourism icon. Meanwhile, other countries are already closely associated with their respective tourism icons. For example
Singapore with its Merlion Statue, Malaysia with the Petronas
Tower, England with Big Ben
and Thailand with its white elephants.
The fact is, Indonesia has 746
languages and 1,128 ethnic
groups with every region possessing its own uniqueness in
terms of nature, culture, religion, history, heritage and culinary delights. As such, perhaps
diversity should become the icon
of Indonesia.
Although its management
is not yet perceived to be optimal, Indonesia’s tourism sector
is growing. Last year, according
to Mari Elka Pangestu, the Minister of Tourism and Creative
Economy (Menparekraf), tourism contributed 4% to the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) directly
and 9% indirectly. The tourism
sector, as Mari Elka put it, is one
of the country’s promising driving forces of economic growth.
“With 9% of GDP, 30% of service export and 1 out of 11 employment absorbed by the tourism industry, the industry has
become an engine of economic
growth, employment and poverty eradication,” she said.
In the year of 2013, Menparekraf aims to get $10 billion
from the tourism sector. This expectation is considered realistic
as foreign exchange from tourism in 2012 managed to reach
$9 billion from eigth million for-
With 9% of GDP,
30% of service
export and 1 out
of 11 employment
absorbed by the
tourism industry,
the industry has
become an engine
of economic growth,
employment and
poverty eradication,”
eign tourists. Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China and Japan were the top five countries
that contributed the most to this
number. With this achievement,
the tourism sector was the fourth
biggest contributor to the country’s foreign exchange of goods
and service exports. Mari, a former Minister of Trade, mentioned
that tourism growth was 6.6% in
the first semester of 2013. This is
above the global tourism growth
figure of only 5%.
Furthermore, Mari said that
tourism investment in 2012 increased by 200% as the result
of high demand for lodgings and
other tourist facilities. Mari underscored the tremendous rise
outside Java Island. “I spoke to
people from the hotel industry
and they said that many investments outside Java are due to
the lack of MICE facilities. This is
said to be the effect of accessibility that is getting better and direct flights to many regions with
affordable prices,” added Mari.
Mari pointed out the importance of cooperation with local people to maintain the
environment’ssustainability for
the sake of nature preservation
that will eventually impact tourism.
“In order to manage the sustainability of the environment,
we have to educate local people
to care more for their surroundings, for example not to use dynamites when fishing. Of course,
we also have to think about the
economical benefits they can
get. So, we have to direct them
to other options like becoming
guide tours, diving tours or we
can recruit them to take care of
coral reefs,” said the minister.
Kemenparekraf has established collaboration with many
other bodies to make tourism
destinations in Indonesia thrive.
One of them is with the Ministry
of Switzerland Economy (SECO)
through an MoU on the development of tourism destinations in
Indonesia, which started in July
2010 and will be in force until
Mari Elka Pangestu
Minister of Tourism and Creative
Economy (Menparekraf)
Last year, according to Mari Elka Pangestu, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf), tourism contributed 4% to
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) directly and 9% indirectly. The tourism sector, as Mari Elka put it, is one of the country’s promising
driving forces of economic growth.
2015. This MoU covers Flores Island (East Nusa Tenggara), Tanjung Puting (Central Kalimantan), Toraja (South Sulawesi)
and Wakatobi (Southeast Sulawesi). The improvement is done
through a promotion and destination management organization (DMO). Therefore, the Swiss
government is not only involved
in the management but also in
promotion.
Basically,
developing
tour-
ism is the same as developing a
country, as the sector cannot be
built partially. The development
of tourism requires the involvement of all parts of the country. For instance, hotel-building
will have to be followed by road
construction, clean water supply, electricity supply, and many
more. Improving tourism is crucial since the country will eventually run out of natural resources, which are the biggest
income contributor. When this
TPP/Heros Barasakti
happens, tourism will hold a vital role in the country’s economy.
Many are optimistic that Indonesia’s tourism, with the right policy, will be able to play its role as
the spearhead of national economy.
Government Regulation (PP)
No. 50/2011 regarding Master
Plan of National Development
2010–2025 outlined at least 88
strategic areas of national tourism (KSPN). However, the Kemenparekraf strategy is now
still focussed on 16.7.16 policy,
which refers to 16 KSPNs, 7 special interest tourism areas and
16 main desired markets.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister of
Tourism and Creative Economy Sapta Nirwandar said that
the people’s orientation is still
on land sites despite numerous
types of tourism objects in Indonesia. As a maritime country
and at the same time the biggest
archipelago in the world, marine tourism deserves to be enhanced.
“Let’s take Raja Ampat; once
we dive in, we can see more than
200 marine biotas in there. Our
societies have yet to grasp the
opportunities in marine tourism. Some marine service providers are even largely dominated by foreigners,” said Sapta.
Still, Sapta acknowledged
that tourism growth in 2012 hit
a new record with tourists visiting Indonesia reaching up to 8
million people, contributing foreign exchange worth up to $9
billion or about Rp 90 trillion.
For 2013, Kemenparekraf is targeting 9 million foreign tourists
and 250 million local tourists.
Sapta emphasized the fact that
progress in the tourism sector is
actually producing a multiplier
effect. The work force in the tourism increases by 200 to 300,000
people per year. Wages also increased, by around 4.03%, as
well as the GDP and the regions’
original revenues (PAD).
Sapta also highlighted the significance of tourism in bringing positive impact to economic
growth both directly, such as hotel and transportation, and
indirectly, such as agriculture and industry.
“So, tourism is one
of the ways we can
do to improve social welfare,” affirmed Sapta.
Chairman of Tour and Travel Association (ASITA) Asnawi
Bahar reckoned that the budget for Indonesia’s tourism promotion in 2013, at Rp 300 billion, is still small. Nevertheless,
the budget has to be maximized
effectively to maintain local markets and penetrate new markets.
According to Asnawi, the minimum budget allocated for tourism promotion does not mean
that the government is not serious in managing this sector.
“The return in capital in tourism investment is faster compared to in other sectors; its
multiplier effects are also faster. That’s why the DPR (House of
Representatives) has to be convinced that tourism is a comprehensive industry. But I hope
to see an increase in the budget
so that we have one clear vision
in developing tourism,” said Asnawi.
On the MICE industry in Indonesia, Asnawi said that its development is going well though
still only in certain regions. He
proposed every ministry should
conduct domestic activities in
many other regions other than
Bali, Medan and Yogyakarta.
“The government should consider which region should be a
MICE international destination
after Bali. I am sure that MICE
will help boost tourist visits, especially as hotels in all regions
are already pretty sufficient,”
stated Asnawi.
Asnawi did not deny that the
number of foreign tourists’ visit
to Indonesia is considerably behind compared to that of neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. He said
Indonesia has to catch up by
increasing the promotion budget, targeting the right market,
finding new alternative markets
to raise the number of tourists
and, of course, getting real support from all parties, especially the government. In Malaysia,
according to Asnawi, the budget
for tourism promotion abroad is
backed up 70% by the government. The same thing cannot be
said of Indonesia.
“Our optimistic target in ASITA on foreign tourists’ visit this
year is 10 million, and the pessimistic target is 9 million. Actually, we have covered the European market though not yet
maximum. This year, the world’s
tourism growth is good enough
for us to seize the moment to
enter a new market like
China. We hope to
get 100,000 tourists
from China,” said
Asnawi.
Another potential market is Sau-
The return in
capital in tourism
investment is faster
compared to in
other sectors; its
multiplier effects are
also faster. That’s
why the DPR (House
of Representatives)
has to be convinced
that tourism is a
comprehensive
industry. But I hope
to see an increase
in the budget so that
we have one clear
vision in developing
tourism,”
Chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Indonesia Chapter, SD Darmono proposes to the government, in this case the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy
(Kemenparekraf), to develop at least 100 new tourism destinations. Darmono voiced the proposal in the PATA International Conference held at the Hotel Royal Ambarukmo,
Yogyakarta, which was inaugurated by the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sapta Nirwandar and attended by PATA CEO Martin Craigs, PATA Indonesia
Chairman SD Darmono, Director General of Tourism Destination Development of the Ministry Firman Rahim, as well as some of the other delegates.
Asnawi Bahar
Chairman of Tour and Travel
Association (ASITA)
continue to page C2
C2
Special Report
Developing Tourism, Developing the Nation
from page C1
di Arabia, a country whose number of tourists to Indonesia is
currently very low. Asnawi said
that ASITA, in collaboration with
the Religious Affairs Ministry,
has made a program using empty aircrafts originally transporting pilgrims to bring in tourists
from Saudi Arabia. The program
will take effect this year, said Asnawi.
“Aside from Saudi Arabia, another potential market worth
chasing is Russia, whose people currently prefer Pattaya and
Phuket in Thailand as tourism
destinations. Staying time of
Russian tourists is long enough,”
stated Asnawi.
Coordination is needed to
have a budget that is required
to do promotion effectively. Asnawi said that the main problem
of tourism is the lack of promotion and poor infrastructure. He
hoped that when doing promotion, all related groups focus on
the campaign of tourism objects.
In Malaysia, for example, all related groups and institutions focus on campaigning tourism objects so there is integration in
their promotion.
“It might take a long time for
tourism to be the biggest contributor to the country’s income.
But this is neither daydreaming nor a grandiose ambition. We
have the potentials.”
On a different occasion, Director of Marketing and Business
Development of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko Agus H. Canny requested the government
to reconsider the current promotion strategy. In his opinion,
what the government has been
doing is not effective to boost the
visit of foreign tourists to Indonesia. The best way to promote
Indonesian tourism destina-
It should be realized that the main draw of Indonesia’s tourism is
actually not its nature but its people as they are graced with a warm
attitude, cordial manners, friendly smiles and generous hearts. With
all its potentials and multiplier effects, the tourism sector should be
given a bigger chance to become a priority in regions’ development.
tion is by doing joint promotions,
just like PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and
Ratu Boko is doing.
“There are several kinds of
promotion we are doing. But the
biggest one is maximizing the
use of social engines, from running main and supporting websites, cooperating with the biggest traveling community, and
providing applications in various
languages. But the most important thing is doing joint marketing with a number of the world’s
large tour operator like TUI. Lat-
er, the TUI will be the one collaborating with big companies
worldwide to promote Borobudur. If we do not have such a collaboration, it will be impossible
for our product to be in their promotion agenda,” said Agus.
So far, Agus asserted, his company has cooperated with about
100 big companies in the world
to promote the Borobudur Temple as tourism destination.
“Because of this cooperation,
we are helped by their digital
marketing. Imagine hundreds
of these big companies activate
their digital marketing teams every year, it will generate huge impacts and we are the only one in
Indonesia that dares to do this
kind of vast promotion aside
from local and central governments. Direct budget disbursed
was around Rp 7 billion and
there was also an indirect budget that in total amounts to Rp
15 billion,” added Agus.
Agus said that Bali is by far
the focal attraction of Indonesia’s
tourism. Of 7.7 million foreign
tourists in 2013, only 400 thou-
sand visited Borobudur. The rate
of growth of Bali’s tourism is
very fast, conversely Yogyakarta tends to be just so-so. For this
reason, Agus said his company
has to take tactical steps by doing joint promotions.
“I only give the Germans raw
materials and they do it their
own way. Hence, I hope the government could reconsider their
next campaign. Exhibitions
abroad are good but not enough.
They probably last three days,
then what’s left? While what my
company does appears in numerous tourism guidebooks. As
long as the physical part is not
ruined, the promotion will always continue,”said Agus.
Through investment and efforts to revitalize sources of economic growth such as tourism,
sustainability and high growth
of the economy can be achieved.
Marine tourism has massive
potentials and could be a new
source of economic growth since
this country is an archipelago
with rich biodiversity acknowledged worldwide. Other tourism objects that can also be new
sources of economic growth are
culture and heritage, ecotourism, sports and recreation, culinary delights, shopping, healthcare and MICE.
It should be realized that the
main draw of Indonesia’s tourism is actually not its nature but
its people as they are graced with
a warm attitude, cordial manners, friendly smiles and generous hearts. With all its potentials
and multiplier effects, the tourism sector should be given a bigger chance to become a priority in regions’ development. The
tourism industry in some countries plays important roles as the
most promising sector for economic growth and it is not impossible that one day the same
thing will happen in Indonesia.
In Pursue of Meeting Target,
KEK Intensifies Development
tanjunglesung.com
Unlike other Special Economic Zones (KEK)
initiated directly by the government, the KEK
Tanjung Lesung will be developed by the private
sector: the Jababeka Group.
A
s a Special Economic Zone, Tanjung Lesung keeps
on enhancing its
development to attract more tourists.
As a matter of fact, this tourism
destination in Banten is envisioned to be the next Bali.
Unlike other Special Economic Zones (KEK) initiated directly by the government, the KEK
Tanjung Lesung will be developed by the private sector: the
Jababeka Group.
As conveyed by Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs
Hatta Rajasa, Tanjung Lesung
has a big potential in the Indonesian tourism sector. Therefore, this zone will be developed
to be integrated with tourism, regardless of the insufficient infrastructure. The decision of Tanjung Lesung as a tourism KEK
is enforced through government
regulation PP No. 26/2012 on
Special Economic Zones–Tanjung Lesung.
On supporting facilities, Hatta highlighted the need for freeways to shorten the duration
from Jakarta to Tanjung Lesung
that usually takes 4-5 hours.
“Following up on this matter,
the central government plans to
evaluate the feasibility of constructing a road to Tanjung Lesung. The funds for it is for the
Minister of Public Works (PU) to
analyze,” he told journalists
after the evaluation meeting
on KEK proposal in Jakarta some time ago (26/7).
He projected this tourism
zone to be in operation in
the early 2015.
Previoulsy, Hatta said
that an airport will be built in
the area of Tanjung Lesung. The building
of this airport
has to be
backed up by road construction.
The Ministry of Public Works
(PU) itself, according to him, has
announced that the initiator has
proposed the plan to build an
airport. At that time, he affirmed
the distinction between Tanjung
Lesung and the other KEK.
“It is different, Sei Mange
was proposed mostly by BUMN
(state-owned enterprises) whilst
Tanjung Lesung by the private
actor,” he said.
The development of this area
actually has been carried out
since 1998. Director of PT Banten West Java (BWJ) Tourism
Development Setiawan Mardjuki, as the organizer of this area,
said the lack of improvement of
infrastructure is causing slow
development. This is unfortunate as the number of tourists
visiting this place keeps increasing every year.
“The development is slowing down because of poor infrastructure. Yet, visitors start to
come and their number increases every year. Now, we can attract about 100 to 150 thousand
per year,” said Setiawan.
According to Setiawan, the
area of Tanjung Lesung will be
expanded to 1,500 hectares in
which 2,000 units of rooms will
be built. Recently BWJ launched
the newest type of villa from Kalicaa Villa Estate.
As conveyed by Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, Tanjung Lesung has a big potential in the Indonesian tourism sector. Therefore, this zone will be developed to be integrated with tourism, regardless
of the insufficient infrastructure. The decision of Tanjung Lesung as a tourism KEK is enforced through government regulation PP No. 26/2012 on Special Economic Zones–Tanjung Lesung.
Today BWJ is still focusing on
infrastructure improvement related to accessibility such as a
freeway and an airport. BWJ is
finishing the development of 1.6
km-long airstrip. This airstrip
will accommodate charter flights
plying the route of Halim Perdana Kusuma–Tanjung Lesung
and will start operating by the
end of 2013. With the airstrip, it
is hoped that visitors will have
an alternative access to Tanjung Lesung. Meanwhile, the advancement of port facility is also
included in the Tanjung Lesung
Master Plan. A port will be built
for cruise ships whose agendas
include Krakatau or Ujung Kulon.
Setiawan stated that there are
not enough rooms available to
accommodate the increasing visitors on weekends. “Nowadays,
every weekend our rooms are always full and on weekdays many
MICE events are held in Tanjung
Lesung,” he said.
The development of Tanjung
Lesung area until 2020 consists of three steps and the ongoing process is now in the first
step. Setiawan said that the marina is facilitated with a 18-hole
golf course, villas and a theme
park that are estimated to cost
$100 million. Not long ago, BWJ
signed an MoU worth $50 million with a Chinese company for
There is always opportunity and hope, and it is not
impossible that one day Tanjung Lesung can become
an international tourism destination. Bali is an island,
while Tanjung Lesung is a resort. The latter has beautiful
nature. Bali has the sea, but so does Tanjung Lesung;
Bali has mountains and its strong cultural elements,
but so does Tanjung Lesung. The government, with the
help of the media, is expected to be more vigorous in
promoting this KEK. The question is, how fast can this
process be done.”
Setiawan Mardjuki, Director of PT Banten West Java (BWJ) Tourism Development
the development of a marina and
a hotel, though it needs times to
put the project into realization.
When inquired about the finishing target by 2020, Setiawan
is optimistic that the target can
be achieved.
“Our target is indeed that year,
but there are so many problems to solve, including infrastructure, internal matters and
of course, we need the support
from the government because
we cannot move alone, unlike
Bali that has been integrated entirely,” said he.
Tanjung Lesung, he admitted,
is not yet familiar to many people. Subsequently, his company
is working to promote it like organizing an exhibition in Singapore some time ago aimed at the
upper middle class.
“From here, we believe there
will be many interested parties.
This is our way of segmenting
the market. Still, of course, we
want to attract as many tourists
as possible,” added he.
So far, Tanjung Lesung is still
dominated by local tourists. The
others are expatriate tourists
from Singapore, Malaysia and
Korea. For Tanjung Lesung’s
future development, Setiawan
hoped that the government
would support the improvement
of infrastructure in the area.
“It is impossible to depend
only on the investor without as-
sistance from government. We
want parallel cooperation,” he
affirmed.
BWJ and the government are
maintaining intense communications in order to smoothen the
implementation of the KEK in
Tanjung Lesung, including permit processing and other investment-related issues.
“We hope this can be resolved
soon so we will not miss investment opportunities,” he stated.
With ease in obtaining permits and government regulation
on tax incentives and tax nonincentives, it is hoped that foreign investors will be more interested to invest in KEK Tanjung
Lesung. “There are only a few
KEKs in Indonesia, so the implementation of KEK development
can be maximized,” he added.
Setiawan is optimistic in the
prospects of KEK Tanjung Lesung.
“There is always opportunity
and hope, and it is not impossible that one day Tanjung Lesung
can become an international
tourism destination. Bali is an
island, while Tanjung Lesung is
a resort. The latter has beautiful
nature. Bali has the sea, but so
does Tanjung Lesung; Bali has
mountains and its strong cultural elements, but so does Tanjung
Lesung. The government, with
the help of the media, is expected to be more vigorous in pro-
moting this KEK. The question
is, how fast can this process be
done,” Setiawan said.
The development in Tanjung
Lesung is conducted along with
the empowerment of the people
in the surrounding area, such as
dancers and sculptors.
On domestic tourism, Setiawan acknowledged its growing
number from year to year, especially with the increasing number of foreign airlines with direct
flights to Indonesia. However, he
said, there are still so many regions that have not yet perform
well in terms of being helpful in,
for example, getting visas to enter Indonesia.
“Here, there is still the impression of having complications in
obtaining visa whereas in Singapore the immigration office is
widely open,” he said.
Will the tourism sector be able
to be a national economicforce?
BWJ’s Director answered that
it is not impossible. Many other
countries depend their income
on tourism, but to be like them
it needs to be thought the design
and stsrategy as our current biggest source of income is natural
resources.
“One day, we will run out of
natural resources and others.
However, if we can manage our
tourism effectively, we can still
see to it that the people prosper,”
said Setiawan.
C3
Living
Air Pollution as a Heart Threat
skift.com
Bit by bit over the past few decades, scientists
have been building a new understanding of the
ways that air pollution threatens human health.
Much of their attention has been focused on lung
diseases, including cancers. With good reason,
it turns out: just last month, the World Health
Organization declared air pollution to be one
of the planet’s most dangerous environmental
carcinogens.
B
ut cardiovascular
disease is much
more
common
than cancer. Sadly, there is now a
pile of evidence,
sometimes startling, that air
pollution also plays a role in
heart attacks and strokes. The
new studies suggest that air
pollution not only worsens cardiovascular disease — but can
also cause it.
“We’ve known for about 20
years that we see increased risk
of heart attack and stroke in association with increased levels
of air pollution,” said Sara Adar,
a professor of epidemiology at
the University of Michigan. The
most recent data show that “air
pollution does more than just
make you worse.”
Scientists like Dr. Adar have
been studying fine particulates adrift in the cloud of unfriendly gases shrouding many
of our communities. Measuring
2.5 micrometers (or microns) or
less, these bits of material are so
tiny that it would take about 30
of them to equal the diameter of
a human hair. A series of studies has found that they penetrate deep into the lungs, embedding in tissue and setting
off a cascade of inflammatory
effects. Researchers believe the
inflammation also spreads into
the circulatory system, altering
the way blood vessels function.
Although air pollution is a
long-recognized and regulated health hazard, only gradually have researchers come to
appreciate the threat of particulates. In 1989, C. Arden Pope
III, a professor of economics
at Brigham Young University,
published a paper based on the
temporary shutdown of a nearby steel mill, showing a linear relationship between emissions and hospitalizations. He
traced the illnesses to particulates in the air.
Dr. Pope originally had focused on air pollution’s effects
on the lungs, but over the years
he kept turning up increases
in cardiovascular disease. “By
2002, I’d given up on the idea
that this was just some anomaly in the study design,” he recalled in an interview. Eventually he identified the culprit:
fine particles, far smaller than
those tracked in his original
steel mill study. “The deeper you dive into the data, the
more clearly you see the effect
on cardiovascular disease,” Dr.
Pope said.
Dr. Adar and her colleagues
have been tracking the damage at the microscopic level in
the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution
(MESA Air), which has followed
more than 5,000 people in six
states for more than a decade.
It is funded primarily by the
National Institutes of Health
and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Researchers working with
the project have contributed
to an increasingly precise understanding of risks associated
with fine particles that float in
polluted air. Dr. Adar and her
colleagues have shown, for instance, that increased expo-
There is now a pile of evidence, sometimes startling, that air pollution also plays a role in heart attacks and strokes. The new studies suggest that air pollution not only worsens cardiovascular disease — but can also cause it.
sure to pollutants, after other factors are factored out, can
be directly linked to narrowing
of blood vessels and to a steady
thickening of artery walls.
Their most recent study, published this year in PLoS Medicine, described a near-linear relationship: as air pollution levels
dropped, the thickening slowed.
When exposure to air pollutants
increased, signs of damage increased.
The MESA Air study also
has reinforced a sense that vehicle exhaust may be unusually harmful. Researchers in the
United States and many other countries have linked traffic
pollution to heart rate variabil-
ity in a range of people – from
vehicle drivers to bicyclists traveling congested roadways. A
study published this year in
Environmental Health found
evidence of “acute changes” in
heartbeats in people, aged 22 to
56, driving in Mexico City traffic. Another recent study, of bicyclists in Ottawa, found that
their heart rhythms appeared
to be altered for hours after they
had returned home in ways unrelated to exertion.
“There’s increasing evidence
that there’s something about
traffic-related pollution in particular,” said Dr. Joel D. Kaufman, an epidemiologist at the
University of Washington in Seattle.
Vehicle emissions are thought
to include an unusually high
proportion of very small, or ultrafine, particles, allowing them
to penetrate deeper into the
body. Researchers say there
is also some evidence that the
shape of these particles gives
them an unusually high surface
area, which permits other contaminants to stick onto them. As
a result, they may actually concentrate toxic compounds in polluted air.
“The evidence is pretty overwhelming that fine particles do
harm,” said Dr. Russell V. Luepker, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health,
a co-author of two scientific re-
ports on air pollution for the
American Heart Association.
But, he added, health choices — such as poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise — and
conditions such as hypertension
still pose greater risks. “If we got
rid of air pollution, heart disease
would not disappear,” Dr. Luepker said.
Researchers studying the
health effects of air pollution
are starting to look at ways that
their findings can be used for
greater protection. Dr. Adar and
her colleagues are looking for
ways to better identify and control the most dangerous vehicle
emissions, while other scientists
are pondering everything from
improved air purifiers to particle-absorbing barriers. But one
of the most effective responses is
environmental regulation.
Several decades of clean air
regulations in the United States
have had lifesaving effects. A
study published this year in the
Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that
there has been a 35 percent drop
in deaths and disabilities related
to air pollution, including cardiovascular diseases, in the United
States since 1990.
“Our public policy efforts to reduce air pollution are one of the
most effective medical interventions in the last 20 to 30 years,”
Dr. Pope said.
NYT
suspendyourgarage.com
Hopeful Glimmers in
Long War on Cancer
This week’s Retro Report video examines the “war on
cancer” — a federal research initiative authorized by
President Richard M. Nixon in 1971. Many anticipated
quick results, in part because of the public relations
campaign, complete with ads suggesting we could cure
cancer by the bicentennial, that successfully pushed Mr.
Nixon into making the commitment.
Since then, the United States government has spent
over $100 billion on research.
It was 2008 and a woman my
editor and I knew had just died
of cancer. One of the last things
she said to my editor was a bitter
lament: “What ever happened to
the” [expletive] “war on cancer?”
Well, I told my editor, it was
clear we hadn’t won that war.
But the question was why. Why
was progress so slow? Was it
that cancer is a difficult disease
or was it that other impediments
got in the way? I thought it was
probably that cancer was hard to
fight. But it turned out that was
only part of the problem.
Much money was being spent,
but not always wisely, medical
experts said.
There were federal grants ostensibly about cancer that were
only tangentially related. It reminded me of my days as a molecular biology graduate student. A friend was studying the
expression of genes in bacteria
that were involved in lactose metabolism. He got a grant from the
arthritis institute of the National Institutes of Health. I asked
him how he ever accomplished
that and he explained that if you
write your proposal correctly you
can make bacteria gene expres-
sion sound relevant to almost
anything.
There also was money squandered on clinical trials that were
so unimaginative and so uninteresting that they dwindled
away, unable to recruit enough
patients to come to any conclusions.
There were national campaigns to get people screened
for cancers, even though many
types of cancer screening have
not been found to reduce death
rates. Screening also leads doctors to find and aggressively
treat cancers that would never
have grown or spread or caused
a problem if they had never been
found and had been left alone.
The only screening tests that do
reduce death rates, studies have
found, are Pap tests for cervical
cancer, any of the three screening tests for colon cancer —
colonoscopy, fecal occult blood
tests or sigmoidoscopy — and
a lung cancer screening test for
smokers.
The much touted recent drops
in some cancer rates were mostly
attributable not to cancer breakthroughs but to a decline in
smoking that began decades ago
— propelled, in part, by federal
antismoking campaigns that began in the 1960s.
Another drop in cancer rates
was a consequence of something
totally unrelated to the war on
cancer. In 2002, a large federal
study, the Women’s Health Initiative, stopped early because it
was finding that the treatment
being tested, hormone therapy for menopausal women, had
harms outweighing any benefit. Women immediately stopped
taking the drugs. It turned out
that one of the harmful effects
was a slightly increased risk of
breast cancer. When women
stopped taking the hormones,
an estrogen and a progestin, the
breast cancer rate finally fell —
the first time that had happened
— by almost the exact amount
predicted if women stopped taking the pills.
So it looked like progress
against cancer had not come
from the “war” so much as from
other events. And it looked like
cancer was just about as formidable as ever.
But that was in 2008. Now
scientists seem to be entering a
new era of optimism.
It began with insights from the
much ballyhooed and then much
maligned Human Genome Project. The project, to determine the
sequence of human DNA, at first
used expensive and laborious
methods but as it went on, scientists developed much cheaper
and faster ways of sequencing.
With fast sequencing, the cancer
institute sponsored large studies of cancer genomes, looking
for mutations that seem to drive
tumor growth. And drug compa-
nies looked on their own for critical cancer mutations that might
make good targets for drugs.
But whether the war
on cancer was more
slogan or solution,
most researchers
believe cancer
treatment, at least, is
starting to change.
After decades of little
progress, they now are
starting to go beyond
the old mainstays
(chemotherapy, surgery
and radiation) that have
never been enough
against this disease.
The results are dozens of drugs
that attack various mutated
genes in cancer cells. The drugs
are just now starting to enter the
market. A few of the older ones,
like Herceptin and Gleevec, developed before the new sequencing methods evolved, have made
previously untreatable cancers
treatable. Gleevec has turned
certain blood cancers from a lethal cancer into a manageable
chronic disease. Herceptin has
made a form of breast cancer
with the worst prognosis into one
that now has the best prognosis.
But the problem with the new
targeted drugs is that just as
bacteria grow resistant to antibiotics, so cancers almost inev-
itably grow resistant to a drug
that attacks a crucial mutation.
The new targeted drugs can buy
patients with metastatic cancer
time, and, eventually, by combining drugs, scientists might
be able to bar all cancers’ escape routes. But for now, the
new drugs rarely are cures, and
they also are incredibly expensive, usually costing well over
$100,000.
On the horizon is yet another sort of treatment. It unleashes
the immune system, allowing it
to kill cancer cells. These drugs
are only starting to be developed,
but some patients have had astonishing responses. Companies
and researchers are buoyant,
though they are also mindful
of previous failed drugs and are
wary of overpromising.
One way to look at the era researchers say they are entering
is to say that the war on cancer
was the impetus. It spurred interest in the disease and as a result money flowed to basic research. Another way to look at it
is to say basic research was the
key and the war on cancer was
incidental.
But whether the war on cancer was more slogan or solution,
most researchers believe cancer
treatment, at least, is starting
to change. After decades of little
progress, they now are starting
to go beyond the old mainstays
(chemotherapy, surgery and radiation) that have never been
enough against this disease.
The biggest challenge, prevention, remains. And other
than stopping smoking, nothing yet has been terribly promising. NYT
A new study reports that older adults who took lessons at a young age can
process the sounds of speech faster than those who did not.
Long-Term Benefits
of Music Lessons
Childhood music lessons can sometimes leave
painful memories, but they
seem to carry benefits into
adulthood. A new study reports that older adults who
took lessons at a young age
can process the sounds of
speech faster than those
who did not.
“It didn’t matter what instrument you played, it just
mattered that you played,”
said Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist at Northwestern
University and an author
of the study, which appears
in The Journal of Neuroscience.
She and her collaborators
looked at 44 healthy adults
ages 55 to 76, measuring
electrical activity in a region
of the brain that processes
sound.
They found that participants who had four to
14 years of musical training had faster responses to
speech sounds than participants without any training
— even though no one in
the first group had played
an instrument for about 40
years.
Dr. Kraus said the study
underscored the need for
a good musical education.
“Our general thinking about
education is that it is for our
children,” she said. “But in
fact we are setting up our
children for healthy aging
based on what we are able
to provide them with now.”
Other studies have suggested that lifelong musical
training also has a positive
effect on the brain, she added. Dr. Kraus herself plays
the electric guitar, the piano
and the drums — “not well
but with great enthusiasm,”
she said. NYT
C4
Health
3 Things to Know About the
New Cholesterol Guidelines
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association
just released new cholesterol guidelines to reduce atherosclerotic
cardiovascular risk – and the change from the previous version, last
updated in 2004, is profound. Here are three things you need to know
about these new guidelines.
First, the guidelines have moved
away from achieving target
cholesterol levels.
myw
ellne
ss.in
Americans
have
long been urged to
focus on their laboratory
numbers.
Many people are obsessive about checking
their cholesterol
levels
and pursuing even
better numbers.
Doctors have been
told to focus on these
numbers and, in some
cases, the quality of their care
was assessed by the percentage
of their patients with low cholesterol levels.
Those days are over. The new
guidelines recognize that for pa-
When Doctors Share
With Their Patients
At our very first visit, I was
overwhelmed by all of the issues
my new patient faced. She was
nearly 300 pounds and her diabetes was raging out of control.
She had asthma, but smoked to
ease her anxiety. Her obesity severely limited her mobility, but
the constant stress in her life led
her to overeat.
She had been raised in a family faced with psychiatric, medical and social challenges, and
now the cycle seemed to be replicating itself. Her three children
all had emotional and educational needs that required intensive services.
She couldn’t figure out how to
get a handle on her life, and as
her new physician, I wasn’t sure
how to get a handle on it either.
Should I work on her diabetes
first? Her smoking? Her weight?
Her asthma? Her anxiety and
stress? Her life seemed frighteningly out of control. On what
could we connect, I wondered?
But then I stopped myself.
I remembered an article I’d
read about how doctors
often “self-disclose” to
patients in an attempt to
empathize: “My father also
had lung cancer; I know
how difficult it can be,” or
“I also had knee surgery;
I know how hard the
recovery is.” But contrary
to what might be expected,
such self-disclosures
often turned out not to
be helpful in addressing
patients’ concerns or
building rapport. Patients
sometimes interpreted
them as disruptive.
In the middle of our visit, her
cellphone rang. She glanced at
the caller ID, then looked apologetically toward me. “It’s my
son’s teacher,” she said. I told her
to please take the call. As a parent of three school-age children,
I well understood how hard it
could be to reach a teacher, and
how critical such calls were.
“I know my son missed two
assignments,” she said into the
phone, as I scrolled through her
labs. “Sometimes he’s anxious
after therapy session, so I have
to give him time on the playground.”
She paused and listened to the
teacher. “We keep a chart,” she
said, “and he gets a check for
each homework he finishes.”
When she hung up the phone,
she apologized for the interruption. “Don’t worry,” I reassured.
“Teacher calls are important.” I
was about to continue, to offer
her some of our commonalities,
thinking that common ground
could offer us a good start on a
working relationship.
But then I stopped myself. I
remembered an article I’d read
about how doctors often “selfdisclose” to patients in an attempt to empathize: “My father
also had lung cancer; I know
how difficult it can be,” or “I also
had knee surgery; I know how
hard the recovery is.” But contrary to what might be expected, such self-disclosures often
turned out not to be helpful in
addressing patients’ concerns or
building rapport. Patients sometimes interpreted them as disruptive.
As she carried on the conversation, I found myself feeling
more connected to her. I knew
about the driving necessity of
playground time. I knew about
the charts and the checks required to keep children focused
on their tasks. I knew the frenetic juggling required to keep
up with three children and their
schedules. I also knew the awkward sensation of explaining details of a life to a teacher, unsure
if they will pass muster.
A week earlier, I had a visit with one of my long-term patients — a woman in her 60s
who has been alone, and lonely, for as long as I’d known her.
At the end of our visit, she asked
why there weren’t any new pictures of my children; the photo on my desk was about three
years old by now.
“I never get around to printing
any photos,” I said sheepishly.
“They just sit on my phone.”
She leaned toward the cellphone sitting on my desk, somewhat expectantly. I figured it
would be O.K. to show her a
quick photo, since we’d known
each other for so many years at
this point.
My patient gave a wistful smile
when she saw the photo. “What
a happy family you have,” she
said. “Your husband looks like
such a nice person. Your kids
look so smart.” The plaintiveness in her voice was so palpable, and I suddenly realized what
a mistake I’d made.
I’d thought it would strengthen our bond to share a bit of
my life. But it turned out it may
have had the opposite effect, as
she projected onto my life some
of the things that were missing
in hers.
I quickly closed the photo, embarrassed at the awkward dynamics. There were likely some
patients for whom the addition of
the human element of the doctor’s life might be helpful, but
this patient probably wasn’t one
of them. I felt terrible that I might
have done something detrimental.
And now as I sat with my
new patient, a woman who in
most ways was so vastly different from me, I wondered if sharing some of the communalities we did have would enhance
our alliance, and give us a better chance at tackling her medical issues. After all, that was my
ultimate goal.
In the end, I decided to keep
quiet. I couldn’t be sure if such
disclosure would offer solidarity,
or inadvertently toss in a monkey wrench. Instead, I simply acknowledged how challenging the
situation with her children must
be. I offered my admiration for
her efforts, and pointed out her
successes.
She reddened slightly, but
smiled. “Raising kids is harder
than I’d ever imagined.”
“I know,” I said.
I wanted to say that I really
did know, but I decided to leave
it at that. NYT
tients who have exhausted lifestyle efforts and are considering
drug therapy, the question is not
whether a drug makes your lab
tests better, but whether it lowers your risk of heart disease
and stroke. Studies over the past
several years have shown that
improving your lab profile with
drugs is not equivalent to lowering your heart risks. Drugs have
thousands of effects on the body,
and a drug’s effect on an individual lab test cannot necessarily
predict its overall effect on you.
Importantly, the guidelines
still state that cholesterol is important. But the point is that
changing your cholesterol level
with medications is now accompanied with the appreciation
that other effects of the drugs
may offset any benefit to reducing cholesterol.
There’s one exception to the
numbers rule. People with very
high levels of the harmful cholesterol known as LDL still need
to worry about targets. The new
guidelines set that LDL level at
190 milligrams per deciliter –
but the principle is that if people
have very high cholesterol levels,
then their cardiovascular risk is
so high that it is likely that treatment to reduce the levels would
offset any risks of the drug treatment.
So, the new guidelines are
saying: we should not be chasing
the cholesterol levels alone. The
“know your number” campaign
is no longer consistent with the
guidelines, and the days of doctors adding additional medications to get you to some arbitrary
cholesterol level should no longer
occur.
Second, know your risk.
The guidelines are
now focusing you
on your overall risk
of heart disease and
stroke. They indicate
that drug treatment is recommended for people with a high
risk — and that more powerful treatments are best for those
with the highest risk.
So what they are saying now
is: know your risk of heart disease and stroke. They have published an online calculator to
help you -– but more important
is the general concept that drug
treatment with effective medications (those proven to lower risk)
should be used in people with
the most to gain.
The guidelines do set thresholds for risk, but my view is that
these recommendations should
not be considered dictums to be
followed without question. They
say that if your 10-year risk
of heart disease and stroke is
7.5 percent or higher, then you
should be treated with drugs.
However, I believe that only you
can determine what constitutes
a high enough risk that it is
worth it to you to be treated with
drugs. Such a decision depends
on how you feel about your risk
of heart disease and stroke and
how you feel about taking drugs
— and their risks and benefits.
Third, use medications proven to
reduce risk.
The understanding that simply improving
cholesterol lab tests may not
reduce your risk for
heart attack and stroke has focused attention on the choice of
drug therapy. In the “treat to target” era, there was a sense that
we could use any of the medications to lower LDL — and what
was most important was the lab
test.
However, there have been numerous studies showing that
many popular drugs that may
have improved lab tests for cholesterol failed to reduce risk.
These studies led the authors
of the guidelines to make a distinction between proven and unproven medications.
Thus, the focus of the guidelines is on statins, the drug class
with clear evidence that it can
lower risk in many groups of
patients. In fact, statins seem
to lower risk regardless of your
cholesterol levels. This fact has
led many of us to think about
statins as risk-reduction medications rather than just medications that modify cholesterol
levels. Regardless, the evidence
that statins lower risk is very
clear.
So, the new guidelines are
saying: we should not be
chasing the cholesterol
levels alone. The “know
your number” campaign
is no longer consistent
with the guidelines, and
the days of doctors adding
additional medications to
get you to some arbitrary
cholesterol level should no
longer occur.
So the guidelines now make
clear that if you use drug therapy for higher risk, you should
use statins. If you cannot tolerate one statin, you might want
to try another statin, after consultation with your doctor. If you
use another type of drug, then
you should know whether that
drug has been shown to reduce
risk in contemporary studies.
Many popular drugs, like Zetia (ezetimibe), have not yet been
proven to save lives.
Bottom line: The new guidelines are a marked departure
from the era of chasing targets
and being agnostic to the drugs
you used. The new message is
don’t chase targets, know your
risk, and — if you need drug
therapy — use statins. These
principles should guide your discussions with your doctor. NYT
C5
Tanjung Lesung
Tanjung Lesung Offers High Returns
To Investors, Heaven to Tourists
Tanjung Lesung, an exclusive integrated tourism destination
located in Pandeglang, Banten or 170 km from Jakarta, offers
a unique attraction—not only beautiful sceneries but also a
lucrative investment opportunity.
N
ot far from Jakarta, about 3-4 hours
by land to the west
via the Jakarta–Merak toll road towards
Pandeglang, you will find an exclusive world-class destination
that can cater to all your holiday
and investment needs. You no
longer need to fly to Bali and buy
expensive tickets to enjoy a luxurious holiday. Tanjung Lesung
is ready to offer an unforgettable holiday that would make you
feel as if you were in Nusa Dua,
Bali, without having to spend extra money.
Tanjung Lesung, which has
a coastal line of ± 13 Km long,
is known as a tourism gate to
one of the most popular volcano tourisms, Anak Krakatau,
Ujung Kulon National Park, and
the Baduy cultural tourism.
The nature in Tanjung Lesung
is still original and untouched.
Here, you could easily find exotic white sandy beaches such as
the Bodur and Cipenyu beaches that offer an incredible panoramic view and calm and clear
bluish-greenish sea.
You could do all sorts of activities during your holiday here at
Tanjung Lesung. At the Beach
Club, you could enjoy snorkeling, diving, banana boat, and
jet skiing. Tanjung Lesung’s un-
The nature in Tanjung Lesung is still original and untouched. Here, you could easily find exotic white sandy beaches such as the
Bodur and Cipenyu beaches that offer an incredible panoramic view and calm and clear bluish-greenish sea.
ism
Development
(“BWJ”), a subsidiary
of PT Jababeka Tbk,
the owner and operator of the Tanjung
Lesung area, recently launched a new villa type called Beranda
Villa. It’s an exclusive accommodation with a luxurious design,
the latest type from the Kalicaa
Villa Estate.
Beranda Villa has more
opened and spacious veranda
that offers its occupants better
comfort thus enabling them to
better enjoy the natural environment of Tanjung Lesung. Such
atmosphere is most suitable for a
family vacation or for individuals
who like outdoor activities. The
facilities at Beranda Villa include
a kitchen, gazebo and a private
pool made of natural stones. Beranda Villa comes in two types, a
3-bedroom accommodation on a
420-square meter land and 209
square meters building and a
2-bedroom accommodation built
on a 345-square meter land and
158 square meters building.
derwater beauty offers a wide diversity of fishes and coral reefs,
making it a place that you must
explore.
Tanjung Lesung is 1,500 hectares wide and there are various
At the launch of Beranda Villa at the end of October, Philip Lim, CEO of BWJ said: “With
several development plans of the
area on the table, Tanjung Lesung is the right investment location. Beranda Villa, our latest
types of accommodations available in the area such as Tanjung
Lesung Beach Hotel, Blue Fish
Hotel, Sailing Club, Green Coral
Camping Ground, and Kalicaa
Villa, an exclusive cluster villa
with private pools.
How is the investment opportunity in Tanjung Lesung lucrative? Tanjung Lesung is wide
open for investment opportunities. PT Banten West Java Tour-
property product, is
very suitable for families from the middle up
social class as well as for
investors”.
Setiawan Mardjuki, President
Director of BWJ, added: “We are
targeting the upper class segment which is individual investors from Jakarta and other cities. We have received quite a
significant number of demands.
They are interested because
these villas are located in the
Tanjung Lesung Resort tourism
area, which is private and exclusive and is managed professionally, and which also offers handsome investment returns and
yields”.
Investors will receive a wide
range of extra bonuses such as a
two-year leasing guarantee with
leasing income rate of 18%, 30
points to stay at Beranda Villa
and free maintenance and utility charges (electricity and water)
if they invest in Beranda Villa.
Not only that, investors are also
offered light payment schemes
and they can pay in installment
by up to 24 times.
Tanjung Lesung is supported by a complete range of infra-
structure such as roads,
electricity, internet, telephone, clean water and
waste water treatment plant
which is operated based on environmentally-friendly policies
that are expected to support the
area’s future growth.
BWJ is preparing to build a
series of infrastructure and supporting facilities such as an airstrip which will accommodate
chartered flights bound from
Halim Perdana Kusuma to Tanjung Lesung. The airstrip is expected to be finished by the end
of this year to provide tourists
and investors with transportation alternatives and easier access to Tanjung Lesung. It is also
planning to build other supporting facilities such as an 18-hole
golf course, a marina for yachts,
and a theme park.
Tanjung Lesung has since
2012 been rewarded with the
Special Economic Zone (KEK)
status, which offers both investors and tourists both fiscal and
non-fiscal incentives. On top of
that, the government’s efforts to
improve infrastructure in the
area will also add value to the
tourism and investment attraction such as the development of
the Serang-Timur Panimbang
toll road and the South Banten
International Airport.
C6
Travel
Awed by TERNATE
There are several diving spots in Ternate such as at the Sulamadaha beach, Telaga Nita, Ternate’s port, the
Residence bridge and Swering, a transplantation place for corals. The diving spots were very close to the heart of
the city and the main roads, and they can all be accessed easily and each of them offering different sensations.
Text: Iqbal Alaik
Photo: Adita, Nico, & Alaik
F
loridas is a popular
diving spot in Ternate, North Maluku. The diving spot
was named Floridas
because it is located
underneath a restaurant called
Floridas. To reach the place, I
had to take a motor boat from
the Ternate port. In just about
five minutes, I was able to see the
restaurant which stood tall on a
high cliff.
Upon arriving at the site, I immediately wore my diving suit.
However, I was a little bit distracted by a view in front of me.
The surface of the sea was filled
with floating plastic trash, which
reduced the beauty of the wide
blue sea. The trash contaminated the diving spot because it was
located very close to the heart of
the city. It was such a shame because the view at the diving spot
is so beautiful.
I was immediately greeted by
a colorful coral wall. The mild
current and the 25 meter visibility range made it possible for
divers to enjoy the movements of
fish tails that swam between the
reefs. There were plenty of nudibranch or commonly known as
sea slugs. The tiny animal has a
very attractive shape and colors
that makes it a great photo object. However, while diving one
should be extra careful not to
damage the corals.
madaha beach, Telaga Nita, Ternate’s port, the Residence bridge
and Swering, a transplantation
place for corals. The diving spots
were very close to the heart of
the city and the main roads, and
they can all be accessed easily
and each of them offering different sensations.
Ternate is also known for its
historical tourism. There are
several forts from the Portuguese and Dutch colonization at
the city which is located at the
foot of the Gamalama Mountain. One of them is the Tolukko
fort. This fort was built in 1540
by a Portuguese commander
named Fransisco Serao, for defense in his efforts to take control
over cloves and herbs and spices. Although the fort has been
around for hundreds of years,
it is still strong and well-maintained. The front side of the fort
faces the Gamalama Mountain,
while from the opposite side we
can enjoy the beautiful views of
the sea and the Tidore Mountain
which can be seen from a distance. It was a perfect combination of harmony, beauty and history. Now, theTolukko fort has
become a tourism site for history
and one of the most favorite site
to take pre-wedding pictures.
My most special moment was
when I saw a flathead crocodile
fish, a fish with the camouflage
ability to adapt with its environment similar to a chameleon. I
almost couldn’t tell the difference between the fish and the
corals around it. It was able to
make a perfect camouflage. Not
only that, I also got a glimpse of
a black tip shark and a hawksbill sea turtle but it was too bad
that I didn’t get a chance to take
pictures of them. It was unbelievable that a diving spot which
was very close to the heart of the
city was able to offer such an incredibly beautiful scene.
There are several diving spots
in Ternate such as at the Sula-
Ternate is also known for its historical tourism. There are
several forts from the Portuguese and Dutch colonization
at the city which is located at the foot of the Gamalama
Mountain. One of them is the Tolukko fort. This fort
was built in 1540 by a Portuguese commander named
Fransisco Serao, for defense in his efforts to take control
over cloves and herbs and spices.
C7
Golf
The Calmness of Golfing at
Merapi Golf Club House
golfwonderfulindonesia.com
Merapi Golf is located
in the valley of Mount
Merapi, which is the
most active volcano
in Indonesia. Its
calm and peaceful
environment and
stunning scenery
make golfers enjoy the
game—they certainly
will not miss the
exciting field, a place
for golf lovers to play
without being bothered
by heat and pollution.
I
f you love playing golf, you
definitely should be familiar
with the Merapi Golf Club
House. Yes, the Merapi golf
course has several advantages in addition to the cool air—
it also has scenic beauty: a view
of the Merapi mountain.
It has 18 holes covered in
6,370 square meters, par 72 and
is located 30 minutes away from
the ancient city of Yogyakarta.
The Merapi golf course’s design is truly a dazzling masterpiece, which was created by the
master of golf course Thomson,
Woverride & Perret.
Nestled in the village of Cangkringan, deep in the countryside
of Java, Merapi Golf provides im-
exotika-lands.com
exotika-lands.com
exotika-lands.com
pressive calmness far from the
pollution of the city.
The blend of natural beauty and freshness of mountain
weather and challenging hilly
landscape with volcanic rocks
makes this golf course one of the
most attractive courses in Central Java. Each hole is designed
and carefully placed with its own
difficulties, serving a great test
for clubbing.
Merapi Golf is located in the
valley of Mount Merapi, which is
the most active volcano in Indonesia. Its calm and peaceful environment and stunning scenery
make golfers enjoy the game—
they certainly will not miss the
exciting field, a place for golf lovers to play without being bothered by heat and pollution.
In addition to the golf course
you can go to Kaliurang, which
is a family vacation spot to enjoy
the coolness and beauty of nature.
The blend of natural beauty and freshness
of mountain weather and challenging hilly
landscape with volcanic rocks makes this
golf course one of the most attractive
courses in Central Java.
R
A
E
Y
W
T
E
A
N
M
R
O
F
N
W
E
O
I
N
S
I
V
W
E
N

precedent 2013 - The President Post

Transcription

Similar documents

Wides Targeted Offer flexibility CALL US Targeted

Trakindo Internal Magazine Antarkita – Within Us

Information of ＩＭＤＩＡ Auditor Change

ACICIS – inviting heading

EID MUBARAK!

20160105 Profil Anggota AC ENG Periode 2015

Outbound student mobility to Indonesia and the New Colombo Plan

ambassador republic of indonesia

FN_NST_31Mar2014

The TELKOM Assessment Center - International Congress on