Strong Winds Kill 6 in Bali
At least six people were killed and nine injured when strong
winds hit Bali felling many trees. The heavy winds triggered
by Cyclone George, caused casualties and injuries, Antara
news agency, quoting an official, said. The blustery weather
severely damaged electric wires and poles disrupting electric
supply in some areas, Wayan Redika, spokesman of the Bali
electricity supply service said. (March 9th 2007, Bali Post)
Garuda Crash Bodies Flown Home
The remains of five Australians who died in a Garuda Indonesia
plane crash last week were brought home aboard a Royal Australian
Airforce plane, on Wednesday (14/3). Family members will also
be flown home by the government, aboard a Qantas flight. “The
secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
the head of AusAid and the commissioner of the Australian
Federal Police will all travel with the bodies coming back
on the C-130,” Mr. Alexender Downer said. The Australians
killed in the crash were federal police officers Brice Steele
and Mark Scott, diplomat Elizabeth O’Neill, journalist
Morgan Mellish and AusAID’s Allison Sudradjat. Mr. Downer
said the four associated with the government were all tied
to Australia’s Jakarta embassy. (March 15th 2007)
Philippines Slams Corruption Index, but Indonesia Happy
President Gloria Arroyo dismissed a survey Tuesday that named
the Philippines as Asia’s most corrupt economy, saying
the perceptions were outdated. The index, based on the views
of nearly 1,500 expatriate businessmen, was based on “old
data” that was no longer accurate, she said. “Our
credit ratings are fine,” she told Business News Asia
magazine. “The political analysis, they work on old
data. They don’t work on up-to-date data.” The
survey was compiled by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic
Risk Consultancy (PERC) and showed the Philippines bottom
of a list of 13 nations and territories in terms of the executives’
perception of corruption. Singapore and Hong Kong were seen
as the cleanest economies, while China, Indonesia and Vietnam
posted improvements. PERC, which advises companies and governments,
said the poor ratings for the Philippines were more linked
to frustration than any actual worsening in corruption. “It
is bad and has been bad all along,” it said in its report.
“People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity
of leading officials when they promise to fight corruption.”
Constancia de Guzman, head of an anti-graft commission that
works for Arroyo’s office, insisted the Philippines
was taking action. “The government is doing something,”
she told journalists, “but the people want to see actual
results like convictions, dismissals and the like.”
In contrast, Indonesia - bottom of the pile last year - was
pleased that its image had improved. It now lies in joint
11th place with Thailand. “I think there is enough basis
for that rating, because there have now been a lot of anti-corruption
policies put in place,” said Teten Masduki, chairman
of Indonesia Corruption Watch. He said reforms were beginning
to yield results within government, including in curbing corrupt
practices and promoting transparency. “Of course we
are happy,” said Johan S.P. Budi, spokesman for Indonesia’s
National Anti-Corruption Committee. “At least it shows
the seriousness of the government in its efforts to improve
its image and in curbing corruption.” The PERC report
said Thailand’s image had worsened on last year. The
military that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra as Thailand’s
prime minister last September promised to fight corruption
“but there is no reason to be confident that its behaviour
will be any cleaner,” PERC said. Somchai Jitsuchon,
director of macro-economics at the Thailand Development Research
Institute, said he was not surprised by the findings, which
related mainly to the Thaksin era. “Circumstantial evidence
has clearly shown that there was no improvement in terms of
policy corruption, while emerging conflicts of interest got
worse during Thaksin’s government,” Somchai told
AFP. “Policies endorsed during Thaksin’s administration
overwhelmingly benefited certain business groups, especially
those owned by Thaksin himself.” “Given limited
tenure of this interim government, the chance of corruption
rising further is minimal. But it doesn’t mean all these
bureaucrats would not become corrupt if they had a chance,”
he said. - AFP/ir.
President asks NTB to Keep Up with Bali`s Tourism Sector
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said West Nusa Tenggara
(NTB) province had a lot of typical tourist sites and thus
the province should keep up with Bali`s tourist sector. “In
the future NTB should be an international tourist destination
like Bali,” President Yudhoyono said before NTB Governor
Lalu Serinata and several local government officials at Selaparang
airport here on Thursday (15/3). Yudhoyono made a one-hour
stopover at Selaparang airport here on his way back from Manggarari
district in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province to Jakarta.
The head of state was in Manggarai on Thursday morning to
visit the flashflood and landslide victims and to have a dialog
with the local fishermen and farmers. On the occasion the
president said the governor and his staff members should work
hard to develop the tourist industry in West Nusa Tenggara
to improve the welfare of the local people. Yudhoyono said
various tourist resorts such as Senggigi beach in West Lombok
and Kuta beach in Central Lombok are beautiful enough and
good for foreign holidaymakers. “I frequently come to
Lombok but I cannot linger for a long time to enjoy its natural
beauty because of my tight schedule as president. I will come
again and stay longer here after I retire,” Yudhoyono
said.
Indonesia’s Air Chief Replaced Following Plane Disaster
Indonesia has replaced its air transport chief, an official
said Wednesday (14/3), a week after a fiery airliner disaster
killed 21 people. The move comes amid pressure for better
safety in Indonesia’s skies following last Wednesday’s
accident - filmed in grisly detail by a cameraman who survived
- and a crash on New Year’s Day that killed 102 people.
Budhi Muliawan Suyitno became the head of air transport on
Tuesday (13/2). He replaced Iksan Tatang, who subsequently
was appointed Transport Ministry inspector general, Suyitno’s
former role. The appointment came as a senior expert from
a transport task force set up by Indonesia’s President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said air safety had hit a “low
point.” Indonesians’ confidence in air travel,
which helps to bind their archipelago nation of 17,000 islands,
has been badly shaken by the disasters. The country has suffered
both air and ferry tragedies recently, with the total death
toll from the worst accidents running into hundreds. Experts
blame old planes and ships, lax standards and insufficient
investment in safety measures, despite booming passenger numbers
(March 15th 2007, AFP)
Aussies on Death Row Could Face Lethal Injection
Six Australians on death row over their role in the Bali Nine
heroin smuggling ring could be put to death by lethal injection
rather than firing squad if their final appeals fail. Indonesia’s
Attorney-General Abdulrahman Saleh today said the government
was mulling “more humane” lethal injections as
the preferred way to carry out death sentences. Saleh flagged
the possible change during the first formal hearing today
of Bali Nine member Scott Rush’s constitutional challenge
to the death sentence he has been handed. Bali Nine ringleaders
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have also launched constitutional
challenges to their death sentences. Saleh told the hearing
that Indonesia continued to believe in the death penalty,
ruling out any move to abandon it. Saleh said the existing
method was to blindfold convicts and put them in front of
six shooters, with just one bullet loaded into the six weapons.
After the shooters fired, a doctor is tasked with checking
that the convict is dead. If not, the commander of the shooting
squad is responsible for delivering a coup de grace. (March
15th 2007, News.com.au)
Bali to Send Art Delegation to Malaysia
Bali will send 23 students and lecturers of the Denpasar-based
Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) to Malaysia for art performances
and painting exhibition in the neighboring country in Malaysia,”
I Kadek Suartaya, an ISI lecturer, said here on Friday (9/3).
They will start their dance and music performances in Kuala
Lumpur and then move to other cities in Malaysia, Suartaya
said. Apart from Malaysia, the ISI Denpasar has also established
similar cooperation with art institutes in Thailand, India,
Japan, and the United States. (March 11th 2007, Antara News)
No Let-Up in Mud Flow despite Concrete Plug
A torrent of mud that has inundated villages in East Java
shows no signs of abating despite efforts to plug it by dropping
hundreds of concrete balls into its source, an official said
on Tuesday. The mud has displaced about 15,000 people following
an oil-drilling accident in May in Sidoarjo, an industrial
suburb near Surabaya city in the east of Java Island, and
destroyed toll roads, railways tracks and submerged factories.
In the latest move to halt the mudflow, scientists have dropped
296 clusters of concrete balls linked to steel cables into
the mouth of the eruption. But scientists involved in the
effort said it was too early to say whether the work was a
success. “We are still evaluating. We are studying the
volume of the flow, which has now increased from 125,000 cubic
meters to 160,000 cubic meters a day,” said Rudi Novrianto,
a spokesman for the government team tasked with dealing with
what Scientists dub the “mud volcano”. (March
15th 2007, Antara News)
Garuda Plane Fails to Take off Because of Engine trouble
A Garuda passenger plane that was scheduled to fly from Sultan
Iskandar Muda airport to Jakarta at 12.20 Western Indonesia
Time on Wednesday (14/3) failed to take off because of engine
trouble and its 66 passengers had to disembark after being
in their seats for 30 minutes. According to information collected
at Iskandar Muda airport on Wednesday evening, the departure
of the Boeing 737-300 with flight number GA-189 was eventually
postponed until 07.00 on Thursday. Its passengers were put
on an extra Garuda flight that left for Jakarta at 22.00 Wednesday
night. Amir Fakhruddin, a Garuda technician, said the plane
could not take off because of a malfunction in its engine
drive pump. The defect could not be repaired immediately because
the needed component was not available at Iskandar Muda airport
and had to be supplied from Jakarta. (March 15th 2007, Antara
News)
Kuta Hotel Burgled
The Istana Rama Hotel on Jalan Pantai Kuta was robbed on Sunday
(11/3), the thieves escaping with a bounty of USD $13,000.00.
The cash had apparently been kept at the front desk of the
hotel where it was supposed to be collected by the hotel’s
owner. When the owner arrived to collect the money the four
members of staff could not locate the envelope containing
the cash. (March 15th 2007, Denpost)
Expatriate Man Killed in Sanur - Harley Hits Tree
British expatriate James Allen Williams (60) was killed on
Jalan Betngandang, Sanur on Wednesday (14/3) when his Harley
Davidson motor cycle collided with a tree. The accident occurred
in the early hours of Wednesday morning.Mr. Williams had been
living at a private residence in the Tumbak Bayuh village,
Badung. (March 15, 2007 Denpost)
