Indonesia: A nation without sense of urgency

Anand Krishna , Jakarta Thu, 09/04/2008 10:14 AM Opinion
It was not pleasing to hear prof. Jeffrey Winters of Northwestern University, U.S., criticizing us on local television here that we, Indonesians, lacked a sense of urgency.
Many considered his observation unfriendly. One of our high officials remarked cynically, "What do bule (slang term for white people) know about us?"
Well, my dear Tuan Pejabat (Mr. Official), the so-called bule do know about us. And for that matter, so do Chinese, Japanese, Indians, even Africans and Middle Eastern people.
What better evidence can there be of their knowledge about us than the volume of literature written by them about our culture and heritage -- and the success stories of their entrepreneurs in this country?
Compare their success stories in our country with the success stories of our (non-white skinned) people in their countries.
Sorry, Tuan Pejabat, but they are more knowledgeable about us than we are about them.
Some time back, I was in the neighboring country of Singapore to attend an important conference. And, there was this man dressed very simply, who sat through my entire presentation, taking up his seat with the rest of the audience.
At the end of my presentation, when he rose to congratulate me, one of the organizers introduced us.
"He is our Minister for ...."
Wow! Our ministers here, when invited to a conference, would normally stay only to hear themselves speak. After the opening or closing ceremony, they would immediately disappear. No wonder most of them have no idea whatsoever of what is happening in real life. They live in castles of their own imagination. Blame not our scholars who do the same, for they just follow suit.
Instead of listening to other speakers at the conference, we would rather play golf, socialize with friends or even accompany our wives to go shopping. Of course, at taxpayers' expense!
Recently, a lady told me she was being offered a "sure" seat in parliament, of course at some cost. The middleman who made the offer said, "It is not much, you can afford it. You can make much more than that in four years."
So, then the lady asked, "Why four years, I thought the seat was for five years?"
The middleman explained, "Look my dear lady, you actually need no more than one year for the return of the investment. The second year is to save something for your rainy days. The third year is to help your kids and kin. The Fourth year is to show your appreciation to your would-be supporters in the next election. But, the fifth year must be kept dry. No hanky-panky. You must work for your constituency to ensure their votes again."
I feel our present parliamentarians did not have such a fine middleman to advise them. That is why even during their last years in office, they still pay no attention to what is going on outside.
Back to our sense of urgency: On Aug. 28, 2008, a young maiden in her twenties, Istiqomah, was beaten up by a group of radicals in the courtroom, witnessed by police personnel, attorneys, et cetera.
Surprisingly, these radicals are being defended by some of our best lawyers, in the name of professionalism.
I shall try to "connect" myself with one of them and initiate an imaginary dialogue ....
"Why Sir?" I ask.
"I am a professional. They are my clients," he replies.
I try to convince him they were not on the right side. What is his priority, what is his urgency? Defending a client for the sake of professionalism, or saving the country from disintegration. Clearly, those radicals have crossed all limits.
To this, he says, "Well, my client says the same thing about you guys -- that you have crossed the limit. They are trying to save the country too."
So the famous lawyer had no sense of urgency to ask his own conscience as to how they were trying to save the country?
Was it by yelling "Kafir!" (infidel) in the court room?
Was it by intimidating people sitting beside them, yelling "Keluar! Bonyok! ..." (Get Out! We Will Smash You!)?
Was it by asking others in the courtroom to show their ID cards, maintaining that non-Muslims were not supposed to attend the hearing of their supremo?
My dear Mr. Attorney-at-Law, where is your sense of urgency? What is your priority? What if your child, your daughter or your sister was maltreated in the way Istiqomah was maltreated that day?
You are right Prof Winters. We do lack a sense of urgency. Our religious leaders are busy organizing interfaith dialogues in the five stars, but are not bothered about what radicals are doing on the streets, supported by our corrupt officials and politicians without a conscience.
The other day, they again displayed a show of force by circling around Jakarta on motorbikes without helmets. They challenged the authorities in the name of their human/religious rights, saying "Our cap is our religious identity".
I was so relieved to hear the newly elected Constitutional Court chief Prof. Mahfud MD say he did not agree with religious based bylaws that have now become popular in several districts.
He has some sense of urgency, for he knows the religious-based bylaws may disintegrate this nation. But aside from him, who else has a similar sense of urgency?
Our ministers? No, they are too busy partying and spending lavishly on the weddings of their children, nephews and nieces.
Our representatives? No, they are too busy jalan-jalan (out and about) to make full use of their remaining time in office.
The supremos of our political parties? They are busy contesting for seats.
But, do not despair. We still have our "selves" to respond to Prof Winters' challenge.
Let us develop the necessary sense of urgency to deal with the problems faced by our nation.
The writer is a spiritual activist (www.anandkrishna.org; www.californiabali.org, www.aumkar.org).

Bali bombers execution postponed until after holy month

The Jakarta Post Wed, 08/27/2008 3:36 PM National
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has officially postponed the executions of three convicted Bali bombers, Amrozi, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudra, until after Ramadan.
Assistant attorney general for general crimes Abdul Hakim on Wednesday said the decision was made to allow the convicts to experience what would be their last Ramadan.
According to Islam, during the holy month Muslims must not eat or drink between dawn and dusk for 29 or 30 days. Many Islamic teachings believe the act purifies Muslims of all their sins.
"It has been postponed so as to avoid excesses," he said as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com on Wednesday. The execution, he said, would be carried out after Ramadan ends on Sept. 30.
Earlier, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji set a deadline for the executions to be carried out before the start of Ramadan on Sept. 1.
Abdul denied the decision was a result of pressure from certain parties and it came straight from the attorney general.
The three terrorists, now detained at a maximum security prison on Nusa Kambangan Island in Central Java, were sentenced to death in 2002 after being found guilty of masterminding the bombings in Kuta, Bali, year that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. (and)

Malaysian music industry wants Indonesian songs restricted

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Wed, 09/03/2008 6:29 PM Life
The association of Malaysian music industry employees, Karyawan, has demanded the local authority limit the number of Indonesian songs on radio broadcasts, Antara news agency reported Wednesday.
Karyawan head Ahmad Abdullah said the association planned to propose to the Malaysian Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Minister, Shaziman Abu Mansor, a broadcasting ratio of 90 percent Malaysian songs and 10 percent Indonesian.
"The association will accept an 80:20 ratio," said Ahmad, who added that the association was supported by several Malaysian artists and was planning to meet with the minister on Thursday.
The association said Malaysian radio stations play too many Indonesian songs, hurting the Malaysian music industry by increasing sales for Indonesian music.
The radio producers, however, argue they are only following market demand.

The three top Malaysian radio stations -- Era FM, Hot FM and Suria FM -- air their own Indonesian music charts every Sunday morning.
Malaysian rock star Amy Search said radio stations would turn Malaysia into Jakarta every night by playing Indonesian songs until dawn.
Catering to market demands, many Malaysian telecommunications companies sponsor Indonesian band concerts in the country. (dre)

ASEAN agrees to trade pact with Australia

The Associated Press , Singapore Thu, 08/28/2008 4:52 PM World Southeast Asian countries said they reached a tentative agreement with Australia and New Zealand on a comprehensive free trade pact aimed at boosting the US$48 billion annual trade between the nations.Economic ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, said in a joint statement with their counterparts from Australia and New Zealand that the countries have "completed the negotiations and forged a comprehensive single undertaking free trade agreement."The statement didn't say the terms of the pact, adding that "a small number of bilateral market access issues" must be resolved, and that each country must approve the agreement before a final signing in December.ASEAN officials also said they had struck a free trade deal with India on goods, but not on services and investment. ASEAN and India had about $38 billion of trade between them last year.ASEAN officials also said they had made "substantive progress" toward an investment agreement with China.Those two agreements are also expected to be finalized and signed in December."The ministers see the agreement as paving the way to enhancing the region's economic integration and to deepen and broaden the trade and investment among the twelve participating countries," the statement said.The trade agreement would cover goods, investment, services, and intellectual property, the statement said. The value of goods traded between ASEAN countries and Australia and New Zealand jumped 17 percent last year to US$48 billion, led by ASEAN exports.

Climate conference makes progress on key dispute

The Associated Press , Accra Sat, 08/23/2008 12:46 PM World
Delegates at a key U.N. climate conference moved forward Friday on a plan to encourage developing countries to regulate carbon emissions by focusing on their largest industries.The so-called "sectoral approach" sidesteps objections from countries like India and China, which refuse to accept national targets for the overall emission of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.How to get developing countries to commit to reducing pollution levels has deeply divided countries seeking to craft a new climate change agreement to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.The meeting of 1,600 delegates and environmentalist from 160 countries was the third conference this year working on the accord, due to be adopted in Copenhagen in December 2009.The Accra meeting also was discussing ways to integrate the coservation of the world's ever-shrinking forests into the Copenhagen agreement, as well as studying ways to raise and distribute the tens of billions of dollars needed annually to help poor countries deal with the consequences of climate change.Under the Kyoto pact, only 37 industrial countries were required to meet specific targets. Together, they were required to cut emissions by an average 5 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. The United States refused to participate in the Kyoto regime because it excluded China and other large emerging economies from any obligation.Under the approach now taking shape, devloping countries would set pollution targets for specific industries, like cement production, steel or aluminum. Unlike the industrial countries, they likely would not be punished for missing their targets."Something quiet but quite dramatic is happening," said David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "People are now talking about the same idea in the same language."China and India voiced reservations, but did not reject the concept."There is now a basis for discussion" on the issue, said Katrin Gutmann, policy coordinator of the WWF Global Climate Initiative. "Before, we woried there would just be more clashes."Details of any agreement on a sectoral approach would be complex and difficult to reach, and it is only one of many disputed components of an agreement.But consensus appeared to coalesce around the idea that industrial countries will remain legally bound to mee a national cap on their carbon emissions, while developing countries would have flexibility in deciding which industries would be controlled and at what levels.Advanced countries would provide the technology and funding to help other countries curb emissions in heavily polluting industries.Japan, wich introduced the proposal earlier this year to a chorus of criticism, said it was pleased with the generally positive response to the modified plan it brought to Accra.Developing countries had earlier feared the Japanese plan was a backdoor device to impose binding targets that would limit their economi development."That is a great advancement compared with the beginning of this year," Japanese delegate Jun Arima told the conference.The latest proposals also were met with guarded approval by the U.S. chief delegate Harlan Watson, who saw it as a potential boon for private enterprise and invstment. The idea "will help engage industry in the process" he said at the meeting. "The private sector will have an important role to play."The second day of the conference coincided with the publication in Geneva of a new report identifying the world's "humanitarian hot spots," where millions of pople are most vulnerable to a heightened risk of natural disasters due to climate change.In 2005-2006 natural disasters killed 120,000 people, affected 271 million people and cost US$250 billion, said the joint report by the CARE relief organization and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs."Climate change is blurring the distinction between natural and man-made hazards," said the report. Weather-related disasters would occur anyway, but severe events such as droughts, floods and storms are growing more frequent and more intense - "and the consensus among experts is that we are to blame."The report, "The Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change," said the areas at highest risk during the next 20 to 30 years are Africa, particularly the northern Sahel, the Horn of Africa and central Africa; Central and South Asia, particularly the belt from Iran and Afghanistan through Pakistan, India and the Caspian region; and Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. (and)

Japanese economy posts second-quarter contraction

The Associated Press , Tokyo Wed, 08/13/2008 9:38 AM Business
Japan's GDP contracted in the second quarter as the world's second largest economy succumbed to the pressures of high oil prices and the prospects of a global slowdown.
Japan's gross domestic product, or the total value of the nation's goods and services, in the April-June period shank at an annual pace of 2.4 percent, a sharp downturn from a 4.0 percentrise registered in the first quarter, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.
The last time GDP turned negative was in April-June 2007.
On a quarterly basis, GDP contracted 0.6 percent from a 0.8 percent increase in the January-March period.
The data provided further evidence that the world's second largest economy has ended its six-year expansion, and may now be perilously close to a recession.
Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of real GDP, dropped 0.5 percent from the previous quarter.
Two main drivers ofJapan's six-year economic recovery - business investment and exports - also weakened as expected.
Private-sector investment in factories and equipment fell 0.2 percent, while overall exports of goods and services slid 2.3 percent. (***)

US, allies weigh punishment for Russia

The Associated Press , Washington Wed, 08/13/2008 9:30 AM World
Scrambling to find ways to punish Russia for its invasion of pro-Western Georgia, the United States and its allies are considering expelling Moscow from an exclusive club of wealthynations and have scrapped plans for an upcoming joint NATO-Russia military exercise, Bush administration officials said Tuesday.
But with scant leverage in the face of an emboldened Moscow, Washington and its friends have been forced to face the uncomfortable reality that their options are limited to mainlysymbolic measures, such as boycotting Russian-hosted meetings and events, that may have little or no long-term impact on Russia's behavior, the officials said.
With the situation on the ground still unclear after Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Tuesday ordered a halt to military action in Georgia, U.S. officials were focused primarily onconfirming a cease-fire and attending to Georgia's urgent humanitarian needs following five days of fierce fighting, including Russian attacks on civilian targets.
"It is very important now that all parties cease fire," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "The Georgians have agreed to a cease-fire, the Russians need to stop their military operations as they have apparently said that they will, but those military operations really do now need to stop because calm needs to be restored."
At the same time, however, President George W. Bush and his top aides were engaged in frantic consultations with European and other nations over how best to demonstrate their fiercecondemnations of the Russian operation that began in Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia, expanded to another disputed area, Abkhazia, and ended up on purely Georgian soil.
"The idea is to show the Russians that it is no longer business as usual," said one senior official familiar with the consultations among world leaders that were going on primarily byphone and in person at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where alliance diplomats met together and then with representatives of Georgia.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe confidential conversations among the leaders of other nations, said European and other leaders have been blunt withRussia that it must withdraw its forces. Russian leaders have said they do not plan a long-term occupation, the official said. The official was not specific about whether Russia has offered atimeline for withdrawal.
"People are saying, 'You know you cannot stay,"' the official said. "We have been hearing from Russia, 'We don't want to stay."'
For now, the Bush administration decided to boycott a third meeting at NATO on Tuesday at which the alliance's governing board, the North Atlantic Council, was preparing for a meeting with a Russian delegation that has been called at Moscow's request, officials said.
In addition, a senior defense official said the U.S. has decided to dump a major NATO naval exercise with Russia that was scheduled to begin Friday.Sailors and vessels from Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. were to take part in the annual Russia-NATO exercise aimed at improving cooperation in maritime security. But the official saidthere is no way that the U.S. could proceed with it in the midst of the Georgian crisis.
The naval exercise began a decade ago and typically involves around 1,000 personnel from the four countries, officials said. The Pentagon also is looking at a variety of ways it couldrespond to humanitarian needs in Georgia, but officials have not yet made any final decisions.
In the medium term, the United States and its partners in the Group of Seven, or G-7, the club of the world's leading industrialized nations that also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, are debating whether to effectively disband what is known as the G-8, which incorporates Russia, by throwing Moscow out, the officials said.
Discussions are also taking place on whether to revoke or review the May 2007 invitation to Russia to join the 30-member, Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment, which consists primarily of established European democracies, the officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have yet been made and consultations with other countries involved are still under way.
Bush spoke on Monday and Tuesday with fellow G-7 leaders as well as the heads of democratically elected pro-Western governments in formerly Eastern bloc nations, some of which are among NATO's newest members and have urged a strong response to Russia's invasion of a like-minded country.
On Monday on his way home from the Olympics in China, Bush talked with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Polish President Lech Kaczynski. He then called Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, the White House said. On Tuesday, he spoke with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Rice, who returned early to Washington late Monday from vacation to deal with the crisis, held a second round of talks with foreign ministers from the Group of Seven countries in whichthey were briefed on European Union mediation efforts led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who met Tuesday with Medvedev in Moscow.
"They believe that they have made some progress and we welcome that and we certainly welcome the EU mediation," Rice told reporters at the White House.
Later, Saakashvili told reporters that he accepted the cease- fire plan negotiated by Sarkozy.
Despite the flurry of activity, there was still uncertainty about whether Russia had in fact halted its military action in Georgia, with reports of continued shelling of civilian andmilitary sites.
The State Department on Tuesday recommended that all U.S. citizens leave Georgia in a new travel warning, saying the security situation remained uncertain. It said it was organizing a third evacuation convoy to take Americans who want to leave by road to neighboring Armenia. More that 170 American citizens have already left Georgia in two earlier convoys.
Just hours after Bush said in a White House address that the invasion had "substantially damaged Russia's standing in the world" and demanded an end to what he called Moscow's "dramatic and brutal escalation" of violence, Medvedev said he had ordered an end to military action.