Archive for June, 2007
KARACHI: The Sindh Governor, Dr. Ishratul Ibad Khan, inaugurated the International Travel and Tourism Mart (ITTMP) 2007 at the Karachi Expo Centre on Friday.
He was accompanied by the Sindh Minister for Industry and Labour and Industry, Muhammad Adil Siddiqui, the Nazim of City District Government Karachi, Syed Mustafa Kamal, KCCI President Majyd Aziz and the CEO of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, Tariq Ikram.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor congratulated KCCI and 4th Dimensions Limited for their efforts and said that Karachi is a political, intellectual and commercial hub.
He also said that regardless of the May 12 incidents, the spirit of the Karachites has not wavered and there was further investment expected of 34 billion rupees.
Another $3 billion investment is under progress from Qatar with three mega projects in Sindh including hotel, cement and livestock.
Dr. Ishrat also said that the government’s full support is with the business community and the people of Karachi.Reminding the audience of the Nishtar Park incident, he said that despite fear of secretarian clashes, nothing of the sort had been seen. This is the strength of the city as it proves that the people are against forced violence.
ITTMP 2007 has been organized by the Ministry of Tourism and is being managed by 4th Dimensions. At least seven countries are participating including India, Indonesia, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Belgium. There are over 85 exhibitors participating including pavilions of Sindh, PTDC, TDCP, STDC etc.
The News - International - Pakistan
June 21st, 2007
For most people, traveling may be the only way to appreciate new cultural traditions.
But for participants at the second Indonesian Youth Karawitan Concert on Monday and Tuesday, that life-changing experience was all part of the show.
Almost 200 students from six schools and two art and dance studios, including Deutsche Internationale Schule (German International School) in Serpong, Banten, took part in the concert.
“The gamelan sound is unique,” said 10-year-old Sahriaa Fenna Ingratubun from the German school.
The girl said she joined the gamelan orchestra to meet new friends.
“They’re nice,” she said while showing a piece of paper filled with her new friends’ signatures.
The event, which was initiated last August, was a joint initiative of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the National Education Ministry, the National Commission for UNESCO and Radio of the Republic of Indonesia.
The concert was aimed at promoting a sense of appreciation for traditional Indonesian music and culture among youth.
Tita, a sophomore at the Lab School in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that her participation at cultural events like the concert had allowed her to be more appreciative of Indonesia’s cultural diversity.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” the gamelan (traditional Javanese orchestra) enthusiast said. “Watching other students practice and perform the Gondang Batak ensemble made me more interested in North Sumatra and its traditions.”
Gondang Batak was one of the six song-and-dance ensembles that performed Tuesday evening.
Saman, a traditional Acehnese rhythmic dance, was also part of the evening line-up. The performance also included a Javanese gamelan performance, a Kawih Sunda vocal ensemble, Balinese Yadnya and Janger vocal performances, and a Gambang Kromong and Rebana Betawi ensemble.
Traditional cultural performances may not be the top choice for many young Indonesians growing up as part of a generation idolizing pop culture.
But according to Putri, a participant from South Jakarta high school SMU 70, not all youth are solely enthused by contemporary music and dance.
“I’m one of those not keen on modern dance moves,” the freshman said. “We prefer traditional dance because it provides a more culturally enriching experience.”
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
June 20th, 2007
The Riau Islands provincial administration has offered the Haj Fund Board of Malaysia the opportunity to lease one of its islands for development.
Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah made the offer Monday to Minister in the Department of the Prime Minister Abdullah Mohammad Zein, during a ceremony to mark the opening of the fund board’s first palm oil refinery in Batam.
The new refinery will allow the fund board to enter the Chinese market, Malaysia’s top palm oil buyer for the past several years at more than two million tons annually.
The Haj Fund Board of Malaysia, or Lembaga Tabung Haji, owns oil palm estates in Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as teak plantations in Sabah and Sarawak, totaling about 129,663 hectares, according to Business Times.
“If interested Tabung Haji can lease one of the islands in Riau Islands for business development. There are many islands in Riau Islands province and they have the potential for the development of tourism and other businesses,” Ismeth said.
Ismeth said Tabung Haji had the financial clout to properly develop an island.
“Indonesia should learn from Tabung Haji Malaysia. Why doesn’t Indonesia, which sends up to 190,000 pilgrims on the haj annually, have any haj funds like Malaysia. We need to answer this question.”
The governor said the ability of Tabung Haji to build a refinery in Batam with an investment of up to US$15.5 million was an impressive achievement for the fund.
Responding to the offer, Abullah Mohammad Zein said the proposal was interesting and he would look into it.
“If leasing an island is possible for business development, we will possibly do it. This is a good offer.”
Ismeth said if Tabung Haji invested in an island in the province, it would have a multiplier effect on the investment climate in Riau Islands and encourage similar institutions to follow suit.
According to data from the provincial administration, there are at least 2,408 islands in Riau Island province, located in four regencies and two mayoralties. Nearly 40 percent are unoccupied and have not been officially named.
Ismeth also said Tabung Haji planned to build a residential complex in Batam for workers at companies owned by the fund.
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam
June 19th, 2007
By Rosli Abidin Yahya
Bandar Seri Begawan - Poets from Brunei Darussalam recently joined their counterparts from Indonesia and Malaysia in reciting poetry highlighting contemporary world issues at the Indonesian Poets Festival in Sumatera.
Held from May 25-28 at the Taman Budaya, Medan, the event entitled “The 1St International Poetry Gathering” managed to group together more than 60 regional poets.
Three poets from Brunei - Adi Swara, Camar Putih and ZA Brunei - joined Indonesian poets such as Viddy AD Daery, Dini Usman, Idris Pasaribu and Ahmadun Yosi Herfanda. Some 15 poets from Malaysia also attended the event including renowned literati Khalid Salleh, SM Zakir, Dr Ahmad Razali, Dr Ibrahim Ghafar dan Salleh Rahmad.
Held for the first time in Indonesia, the festival was declared open by Medan Head of Culture and Tourism Department, H Syarifuddin SH, as a representative of the Medan governor.
According to poets from Brunei, the four-day event was filled with poetry recitals, discussions, exhibition of posters, and sale of literature books and screening of short films.
Meanwhile, Dr Mukhlis Pa’eni – the Director General of Values of Culture, Arts and Film, Department of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Indonesia – attended the Regional Literati Forum (Musyawarah Sasterawan Nusantara) at a leading hotel in Medan last Monday (May 28).
A resolution passed during the forum was to organise the festival on an annual basis with next year’s event to be held at Kediri, East Java.– Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Brudirect.com News
June 18th, 2007
Hundreds of dancers clad in brilliant colors rush into the middle of a field while thousands scream their approval in the background.
Drums sound across the stadium like thunder over a Borneo rainforest, and dressed nearly as prettily as the dancers, government officials from Central Kalimantan’s 14 regencies enjoyed the spectacle from their front-row seats.
The spectacular May 19 opening of the week-long Isen Mulang festival at Palangkaraya stadium offered the kind of excitement and mass appeal typically reserved for pop stars.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Central Kalimantan province, this year’s festival aimed high.
The events to follow over the week featured more of the beautiful and the bizarre, a real cultural buffet from across the province. Blow-pipe contests, canoe races and traditional music competitions were on offer, but for sheer audacity few performers could match the antics of the “fireball soccer” players.
Playing on the first night with a coconut soaked in kerosene and set alight, they succeeded in alternately delighting and scattering the crowd whenever the ball came off the field. Suffering athletes with blackened feet were later seen limping off into the night.
The point of the festival is twofold — celebration and promotion. Isen Mulang is held in Palangkaraya, or Pahandut as it was originally called, a city designed by founding father Sukarno to be the capital of the new Indonesia.
It never made it however, and despite its virgin rainforests, orangutans and Dayak culture, Central Kalimantan has since had a fairly a low profile.
This may explain why the province is taking its golden anniversary to highlight Isen Mulang. Aside from primary industries, one sector as yet untapped is tourism — only 2,000 visitors came to Kalimantan last year.
“This year is very special for us,” said Central Kalimantan governor Teras Nerang. “Fifty years, golden years, and now we can show how we can develop this province.”
Lily, regent of Murung Raya in Central Kalimantan, said the festival was an important opportunity for the regency to showcase its potential for tourism and industry, with local teams performing in all events throughout the week.
But how can one regency stand out from among its 13 siblings?
“We have the largest area of any province,” said Lily. “Other regencies have some natural resources, but we have them all: mining, palm oil plantation, fuel.”
Isen Mulang is part of a larger story, the ongoing search for identity and development that continues here as it does across the rest of Indonesia. One man who has been key to that path is Abdul Salam.
The former House of Representatives member who served from 1982-87 sat back smiling in the front row among the cheering locals. He watched one of the floats pass by.
The float was named “Good Governance”, an oddity against the rest of the cultural vehicles, its banner proclaiming “Accountability, Transparency, Participation” to those gathered, who may or may not have noticed such a political declaration amid the gaiety of the cultural celebration.
Abdul now teaches exactly that — good governance — to civil servants in Central Kalimantan. He called the festival a celebration of national unity, yet he was in two minds about government itself.
“I think I don’t agree with democracy. Pancasila is our way of life,” he said, referring to the five-pronged state ideology established by Sukarno. “Governance? Not yet. It is a nice dream.”
Abdul said the lack of professionalism and legal regulation, combined with low pay and weak government systems, hampered self-government.
“Democracy in Indonesia is compromised by factions,” he said, adding that America needed 250 years to build what Indonesia had only just begun. For example, in every election money had to be given to an excessive number of contenders at high cost to the province. “Everyone is a candidate!” he said.
But while the old guard is ambivalent about the system, the new guard is set on the future.
Governor Teras, who is in high demand during this golden week, indicates the need to build infrastructure, health, education and the economy. He also says the province is well aware of the environmental pressures that loom in its future.
“We have a green government policy… We review plans, especially (on) palm oil plantations. We don’t just want palm oil, we want to look at other resources.”
What exactly this means for the province remains to be seen.
But whatever dance partners it finds, Central Kalimantan looks determined to build on its resources and bring development to its 1.8 million people, beginning with cultural tourism.
Cameron Broadhurst, The Jakarta Post, Palangkaraya, C. Kalimantan
June 18th, 2007
It may be a shock to some readers, but Jakarta’s five municipalities have won the Adipura award, the country’s only environmental prize for the cleanest and greenest cities Wednesday.
But the dirtiest cities in the annual competition, which was organized by the State Ministry for the Environment, were Jakarta’s neighbors — Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.
The capital’s main thoroughfare, Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, won the urban facility category, judged to be the best street in the country.
In addition, the Jakarta administration received an award out of all the provinces for the best written annual report on the environment.
However, the capital failed to receive the Adiwiyata award for clean schools, which was awarded to a state elementary school in Sukabumi, West Java.
The trophy for Adipura winners was handed over by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday, while the winners of Adiwiyata award and the environmental report award were announced by environment minister Rachmat Witoelar at the Hotel Sahid.
Rachmat said Jakarta’s success could set a good example for the environmental efforts of the city’s neighbors.
“Neighboring cities need to learn about how Jakarta treats its environment,” he said.
Jakarta has long accused neighboring cities of damaging its environment. This is despite the fact that Jakarta dumps more than 6,000 tons of garbage in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, every day.
Rachmat said the scoring system for the Adipura awards had been tightened after more administrations joined the program.
“There are now 362 cities … joining this year’s Adipura awards, compared to only 59 cities in 2002,” he said.
The award looks at factors such as waste management and green areas to determine the winners.
The Adipura award requires administrations to promote composting efforts in areas such as schools, traditional markets, hotels, terminals and restaurants.
Mohammad Helmy, one of the Adipura judges and the ministry’s deputy assistant for small scale enterprises and domestic waste pollution control, said Jakarta had done the best job of treating the organic waste.
“We’ve also seen the Jakarta administration’s seriousness about increasing green and open spaces, for example by converting Menteng park into some of the city’s green space,” he said.
The city currently has only 5,911 hectares of green space, around 9 percent of the capital’s total land area. This is far less than 30 percent stipulated by the Spatial Planning Law.
The administration is aiming for 9,156 hectares, or around 13.94 percent of Jakarta’s area, as green space by 2010.
Governor Sutiyoso handed the Adipura awards to each of Jakarta’s mayors before launching a victory parade through the capital.
“This is a great achievement and I am thankful to all the mayors who succeeding in leading their people to a live a clean life,” said Sutiyoso said.
Jakarta’s municipalities, with the exception of East Jakarta, also received the award last year.
“This is a precious gift, but I am not satisfied until all the rivers flowing through Jakarta are clean,” said Sutiyoso, whose term will end in October.
“We have to maintain our cleanliness so the awards won’t go to other cities.”
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
June 15th, 2007
Like Sysiphus of Greek mythology, who relentlessly carries a rock uphill, West Sumba native Elan Wukak Victor has for years carried out a similarly endless task, growing trees on rocks.
The 63-year-old English teacher started by encouraging his pupils to grow trees in their schoolyard, an idea he took from school to school.
And after 30 years, Elan has planted 400,000 trees, distributed 100,000 seeds to 23 green community groups he helped set up as well as built 81 water reservoirs across Waikabubak, a barren, hilly village in West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara.
Elan’s hard work paid off on Wednesday, when he, along with 11 other environmental activists, was awarded a Kalpataru, the highest award for environmentalists in Indonesia.
Elan won in environmental conservation pioneer category, together with Amandus Kaize from Merauke, Papua, and village head Slamet Tugiyanto from Magelang, Central Java.
Kaize was honored for his efforts to grow a rare variety of plants in a protected forest controlled by his tribal community, while Slamet won for promoting multiple crops among local farmers.
One notable figure who also won the award was former West Java governor Solichin Gautama Purwanegara, for his campaign against illegal logging and on the regreening of community-controlled forests in nine regencies in West Java.
Apart from the Kalpataru awards given to environmental activists, the government has handed out Adipura awards to cities that strive to promote cleanliness.
This year, the government gave the awards to 84 cities throughout the country. More than 300 cities were nominated for the Adipura awards this year.
All five municipalities in Jakarta won Kalpatarus in the category of metropolitan city. Other cities in the category which won Kalpataru are Palembang in South Sumatra and Surabaya in East Java.
Jakarta’s gain, however, was at the loss of other cities in the greater Jakarta area such as Bekasi, Bogor and Tangerang. None of these cities won Adipura in this year’s contest.
Other cities which also won Adipura include Padang (West Sumatra), Yogyakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Malang (East Java) and Pekanbaru (Riau).
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his speech before presenting the two awards that the Indonesian people did not have to wait for people in other countries to save the environment.
“Let us save the earth together with other people in this world,” Yudhoyono said.
The President also called on local governments to take environmental protection into account when making policy.
He also reiterated his statement about the need to prepare for global warming’s fallout.
Yudhoyono said that global warming would have a disastrous impact on Indonesia as an archipelagic country, as the rising of sea levels would drown many of the country’s small islands.
“The time is high for us to find a breakthrough and brace for global warming,” he said.
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
June 15th, 2007
Atop Borobudur temple early Waisak morning, 2551 years after the enlightenment of Buddha, few visitors stood alongside stone pagodas to witness the surrounding mountains emerge from mist. On the lower levels of the huge structure, a line of Mahayana Buddhists slowly circumambulated the walkway, chanting and burning incense. An equanimous atmosphere pervaded the stones and the sky.
Three kilometers away at Mendut temple, it was a different story. A chaotic bustle of believers and visitors crowded the grounds in readiness for Waisak, which fell on June 1.
Devotees clad in the costumes of the 12 major schools of Buddhism that make up Walubi, the nation’s Council of Buddhist Communities, sat divided in camps according to their schools. (The schools are split further into respective sects.) The council’s flags and banners filled the streets surrounding Borobudur and Mendut, as well as the temples’ grounds.
“We feel that we can give thanks to the Buddha,” Walubi president Soedjito Kusumo said on Waisak day, “because Buddha gave us teachings about the Dharma.”
Soedjito said 25,000 people had gathered from across Indonesia and other Buddhist countries for the day’s activities, which had taken three months of planning.
Because each Buddhist school organized itself, the job had not been difficult and he optimistically claimed the post-celebration clean-up would be finished in a day.
After a series of rituals held separately in the various camps, people gathered at midday day near a colossal banyan tree whose high-hanging roots seemed to embrace the followers below.
The next stage was the slow three-kilometer walk to Borobudur in the sweltering heat. Crowds of local residents stood staring from the sidelines as the procession made its way up to the largest Buddhist monument in the world.
The event garners its share of attention through size alone, but it was helped by Walubi’s industriousness.
Metro TV reporter Bertha said the council paid Rp 1.2 billion for the station to cover Waisak. For the third year in a row, Metro TV brought in a crew of over 50 people, broadcasting multiple live feeds for the evening’s Imaging Buddha performance and the processions from Mendut.
Bertha said the array of colors and sounds were an obvious visual pull of Waisak, with flowers, robes, banners and incense all suddenly brought together from the nation’s often very different Buddhist traditions.
Here you found saffron-robed Theravadan monks, white-gowned Maitreya laypeople and Tantrayana monks clothed in red and yellows. A fair supply of Buddhist T-shirts also filled the scene.
But beyond the spectacle were other factors: the TV reporter said several Muslim visitors she spoke to had come because they wanted to be blessed by Buddha Gautama. While this may not be a sentiment likely to be sanctioned by any Muslim group, perhaps it shows something of Indonesia itself.
The Majapahit Kingdom was founded with Buddhism and Hinduism as core religions, and Borobudur was built in the 8th century at the height of Buddhist influence. When Islam swept the archipelago, Buddhism lost its foothold, and now its followers only make up about 1 percent of the population.
But not for nothing is the nation founded on the ideals of Pancasila, one of which espouses belief in God as obligatory — although this is technically problematic, as Buddhism is a non-theistic religion.
In the same way that Indonesian folk religion has influenced Islam in places, Buddhism has never gone away, and there may be things perceived as uniquely Buddhist.
“They meditate, there are several sects but they all pray in the same place, in front of Buddha Gautama,” said Bertha, referring to the Puja Bakti evening ceremony. She also noted that Buddhist teachers say Buddhism does not seek to convert others or see other religions as competitors — probably a helpful attitude in a country with an 80 percent Muslim majority.
Coinciding with Indonesia’s Year of the Buddhist, this Waisak brought president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Borobudur, and the Muslim head of state delivered the evening address to the nation’s Buddhists.
The sanction of the state brought its own presence to the grounds too.
A group of Theravadan monks hurried along the corridors of the hotel where both they and the President were staying when the presidential guard suddenly appeared, six men in military uniforms vigorously staking out the hotel with submachine guns raised at everyone in their path. A military exercise, perhaps to back up the day’s blessings?
Certainly Thai monk Bhikku Jakaro Panyo seemed unfazed by the incident afterwards.
“It’s a great spirit and an honor,” he said of the presidential visit. “It’s good for the Buddhist community, it really gives us spirit. All these years we’re living in peace. It’s a really good gesture in the Year of the Buddhist.”
Jakaro, who has lived for five years in Jakarta with Sanga Dhammaduta, was exhausted after the procession that some monks had completed twice that day. He said Waisak was a month of celebration concerning the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.
“We are paying respect to such a glorious event of Buddha,” he said. “It gives strength to the spirit of all Buddhists.”
Two young Mahayana nuns-in-training dressed in black robes stood among the crowded grounds of Borobudur as the sun fell low in the sky. A humble innocence and calm complemented their freshly shaven heads.
“It reminds us of the birth of Siddharta,” said Rumi, 20, who is from Central Java with Mejulis Agama Buddha Mahayana. Her companion Nungky, 19, added that their brief three-week period of postulancy was almost over, and a week after Waisak, they would enter full ordination as Buddhist nuns. Why?
“We have always followed the Buddha’s story,” said Nungky “and now we’ve entered training for a true life.”
Cameron Broadhurst, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
June 14th, 2007
The heir to the Pagaruyung Sultanate conferred a traditional Minangkabau title on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani (Photo above) on Friday.
Yudhoyono received the traditional sasangko title of Yang Dipertuan Maharajo Pamuncak Sari Alam, while Ani was made Puan Puti Ambun Suri.
An initial ceremony was held at the Tanjung Alam village assembly hall and led by community elders. The First Couple wore traditional Minangkabau attire during the event.
The couple later left for the Pagaruyung Palace to attend the official installation ceremony, led by elders from the Minangkabau Alam Traditional Council and the heir to the Pagaruyung Sultanate.
Yudhoyono sat on the far right in the men’s section in the palace’s main hall, flanked by Anwar Nasution, head of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), who had previously received a title, and West Sumatra Governor Gamawan Fauzi.
Ani, sat at the far right of the women’s section, facing the bajamba ceremonial banquet.
Minangkabau Alam Traditional Council chairman Datuk P. Simulie said the title was awarded to noble leaders who had been of service to the nation.
“The process of granting the title started in May 2004. One point of consideration is (Yudhoyono’s) his close rapport with Minangkabau communities residing outside the province and his attention to the development of the country’s traditions, including the Minangkabau culture,” Simulie said.
Heir to the Pagaruyung Sultanate Sutan Muhammad Thaib in his address, said the bestowal of the Minangkabau titles on Yudhoyono and Ani was proof of people’s devotion to their leader.
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Batusangkar
June 13th, 2007
Around 1,000 street children from around Greater Jakarta are expected to take part in a three-day cultural festival aimed at giving them an opportunity to express their interests and talents.
The event, which will be held by Sanggar Ciliwung, a non-profit organization that deals with street children is themed: “Street Children: the Struggle to Break the Limit”.
“Street children are often neglected by the government and society even though they can be as good as other kids,” the organization’s Father Sandyawan said Tuesday.
“We’re inviting street children to perform in activities such as documentary film making, photography, writing opinion pieces for print media, dancing and singing,” he said.
Sandyawan said around 50 organizations working with street children are expected to take part. He said children at the festival will perform and show their talents, without being judged competitively.
Stephanie, one of the festival’s coordinators, said the workshops were being carried out to encourage children and organizations to join the festival.
“We want to spread the spirit of caring for street children and encourage the public to take part in this event,” she said.
Stephanie said the committee was still looking for financial backing for the event.
“I understand we will need to work very hard to make this event come true, especially the financial aspect. So we’ll welcome any donor, including from the government and the private sector,” she said.
The festival will be held from July 13 to 15.
For further information, please contact Sanggar Ciliwung. Telephone: 021-8308255.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
June 12th, 2007
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