Magic is still practised today throughout Indonesia, but is
particularly revered in Bali where more than 90% of the population
accept magic as a part of daily life. So strong is the belief
in magic that there is a television programme that regularly
discusses magic. But more extraordinarily, regular competitions
are held for beginners in the magic arts. An expert on Bali’s
black magic said it was safe to watch this annual competition
that will be again held in October, although others claim
that it can be dangerous recounting the story of farmers that
became ill after witnessing the spirit wars between the Balinese
villages of Medahan and Blahbutuh in 1996. The idea of magic
introduced into food is common with potent magic added to
food rather than by the magic spells of the European variety
of the art. Called citik, or poison, the black magic expert
said this type of magic could be dropped into coffee or mixed
in foods. “We have some black magic citik that can be
given to someone now, but it won’t take effect for a
year, so no one will ever know how their illness or death
came about. Revenge like this is outside the laws of humans
and can only be stopped by very strong magicians. Once you
start with black magic there is no going back,” said
the expert. Ngurah Harta said he does not recognise the concept
of black or white magic. How the skill is applied is based
solely on the character of the practitioner, he asserted.
“In Hinduism, black is the symbol of protection, safety
and fertility and white is the colour of dedication; a symbol
of holiness, so black or white (in magic sic) does not exist.
It depends on the character of the person who performs the
magic,” he said. For the sceptics who believe magic
is found only on the pages of Harry Potter novels, Grimms
fairy tales and within the walls of Camelot, Harta tells us,
“You can’t see God but you still believe. Belief
in magic is no different.” (September 24th 2006, Star
news)
Armed Hold-Up on Sunset Road
Herni Melia (33) of Jln. Mertasari in Sanur was robbed at
knife point as she was making her way home from work on her
bike at midnight on Saturday (23/9). The robbery occurred
on Sunset Road in Kuta when two men on a motorbike came up
close to the girl and thrust a knife at her belly demanding
that she hand over her bag. The woman handed over her bag,
and after the thieves had escaped two more men approached
her from behind asking if they could be of any assistance
(September 24th 2006, Radar Bali)
Jet Skids off Indonesia Runway in Smoky Haze
A passenger jet skidded off the runway upon landing in thick
haze in Indonesia on Tuesday (3/10) as forest fires in the
country spread a pall of smoke around the region. A Boeing
737-200 jetliner skidded 50 meters (164 ft) off the runway
in the town of Tarakan in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan
province on Borneo Island. “The visibility for the pilot
was clouded by the haze,” an airport official told Reuters,
adding all 110 passengers of the Mandala airline plane survived
the incident without major injuries. The haze, caused mostly
by farmers and plantation owners setting fires to clear land,
has forced many flights to be delayed or cancelled in Indonesia
in recent days, with five cancellations in the Sumatra island
province of Jambi on Tuesday. “The visibility is 500
meters,” said Olan Simanjuntak, a spokesman for Sultan
Thaha airport in Jambi. “We are very irritated (by the
haze). Officials here are using masks.” Purwasto, a
senior official in Indonesia’s Environment Ministry,
told Reuters that the PSI reading was “more than 100”
in the worst-hit parts of the country. “It is dangerous
for human health,” said Purwasto, who like many Indonesians
uses one name. (October 3rd 2006, Reuters)
Singapore Hit by Smog Caused By Forest Fires in Indonesia
Singapore has been hit by smog from forest fires in Indonesia,
newspaper Monday (25/10) quoted Singapore’s National
Environmental Agency as saying that the “haze”
appeared because of forest fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra
Island and a change in wind direction. The paper also published
a photograph showing that Singapore’s skyline was obscured
Sunday afternoon due to smoke from burning trees. The skyline
remained clouded as at 9:30 a.m. Singapore time (0100 GMT).
The haze - a term used in Southeast Asia to describe the annual
smog arising from the illegal burning of forests to clear
land for plantations in Indonesia - will likely continue in
the next two days, the paper quoted the agency as saying.
According to the agency’s Web site, Singapore’s
24-hour pollutant standards index is still “good,”
with a reading of 41 as of 4:00 p.m. Sunday. The agency defines
an index reading of below 50 as good, a reading of 51-100
as moderate, and anything above 100 as unhealthy. (October
1st 2006, Dow Jones)
Hotel Viena Beach Burns to the Ground - Karangasem
Hotel Viena Beach in Abang, Karangasem suffered extensive
damage in a fire during the early hours of Friday morning
(29/9). According to the Hotels Satpam he noticed flames coming
from the second story above the office at about 02.30 hrs.
By the time he could alert other staff members and neighbours
the fire had taken a hold of the grassed roofed building,
quickly engulfing 11 rooms. The fire brigade arrived about
an hour later and managed to control the blaze. Three motor
bikes were also destroyed in the blaze, and damages are estimated
at over USD $ 250,000. (September 30th 2006, Denpost)
Fireworks at Discovery Shopping Mall Causes Bomb Scare
The Discovery Shopping Mall in Kuta was evacuated on Saturday
(23/9) when a security guard noticed a suspicious package
in a plant pot outside the Musro nightclub adjacent to the
Mall. The authorities ordered immediate evacuation of the
area and the police bomb squad was called to evacuate the
package. According to a police spokesman the package was quickly
identified as being nothing more than a bag of left over fireworks
from the previous night’s rock concert which was held
outside the shopping centre.(September 25th 2006, Denpost)
Colossal 5,000 Performer Strong Kecak Dance at Tanah Lot
A massive performance of 5,000 Kecak dancers was performed
at the Tanah Lot temple in Tabanan on Friday (29/9). The performance
was filmed by Star TV, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic
and has been described as a significant world event in the
performing arts. The event was designed to fuse three aspects
of Balinese life; the spiritual aspect, cultural aspect and
economic aspect. The Kecak dance, is frequently performed
in Bali and particularly Tabanan, however the regular performance
does not usually consist of more than 100 performers It is
hoped that the Tanah Lot event will draw International attention
to the culture and spirituality of Bali as well as promote
Bali as a cultural tourist destination. (September 30th 2006,
Bali Post)
Three Teenagers Drown on Kuta Beach
Three teenagers from Padangsambian, Denpasar have drowned
in waters off Double Six Beach in Kuta on Sunday (1/10). A.A.
Baskara (16), Kadek Kristan (17), and Kadek Astrawan (17)
were swimming with two other boys at 8am when the five were
toppled by a large wave and dragged out to sea by a strong
rip. Two of the party managed to get back to shore however
the other three were nowhere to be seen. A police rescue boat
was unable to locate the boys on Sunday. A friend who witnessed
the incident cried for help, but onlookers felt helpless as
no trace of the teenagers could be seen from the shore. Their
bodies washed up onto the Kuta beach shores on Tuesday (3/10).
The families of the boys are devastated by the tragedy as
all three of the victims were the only sons in their families.
(October 4th 2006, Denpost)
New Zealand Man Arrested for selling Marijuana in Sanur Cafe
Richard Smarr of originally from New Zealand, was arrested
Wednesday (20/9) in a restaurant on Jln. Danau Poso in Sanur
for selling marijuana. Police claim they were tipped off by
a member of the public regarding the mans activities and caught
him red-handed selling 6 packets of marijuana totalling 42.5
grams. (September 25th 2006, Denpost)
Indonesia Deploys Extra Police to Poso after Series of Bombs
Indonesian paramilitary police have been deployed to the town
of Poso, after bombs exploded in protest over the execution
of three Christians. Police say one of the bombs was aimed
at a police bomb-squad van in the Central Sulawesi town, although
no-one was injured. The unrest follows the execution last
month of three Christians for inciting violence against Muslims
in the religiously-divided province in 2000. International
rights activists had criticised the fairness of the condemned
Christian convicts’ trials and suggested they were merely
scapegoats for the violence that rocked Central Sulawesi,
including Poso, in 2000-01. (October 3rd 2006, ABC)
68th Human H5N1 Infection Confirmed in Indonesia
Indonesian Ministry of Health officials have confirmed that
a 20-year-old male, from Bandung, West Java, is infected with
the H5N1 bird flu virus strain. He is the country’s
68th case of human infection. The man became ill with a fever
and cough on September 17th, went to hospital on September
24th, where he remains. His brother, 23, became ill on September
16th and died two hours after being admitted to hospital on
September 24th. As no samples were collected for the brother,
H5N1 infection is suspected, but not confirmed. Both men had
had contact with dead chickens - they fed carcasses to their
dogs. H5 infection has also been identified among birds in
their household. A sister of these two men, 15, was hospitalized
on September 25th. She is in a stable condition. Tests on
her samples have come back negative for H5 virus subtype,
but positive for the H1 subtype (normal seasonal influenza)
Of the 68 confirmed human cases in the country, 51 have died.
Indonesia’s death toll from bird flu has been steadily
rising as the virus has marched across the archipelago nation,
spreading to 29 of its 33 provinces. While the virus does
not spread easily among people, the chance of a mutation that
would allow it to do so is heightened as more humans catch
it from infected birds. Scientists fear that if this occurs,
a global flu pandemic with a massive death toll could result.
(September 27th 2006, Medical News Today)
