Al-Qaida Indonesia Claims Hotel Attacks on Internet Blog
An Internet blog purportedly speaking on behalf of a group calling itself “Al-Qaida Organization Indonesia” has claimed responsibility for the July 17 Jakarta hotel bombings. The entry was posted on a blog site on Sunday (26/7) but was only discovered on Wednesday (29/7) and reported in the Indonesian media. The message in Indonesian and Arabic was signed by “Abu Muawwidz Nur Din bin Muhammad Top” and praises two “holy warrior brothers” who blew themselves up at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in central Jakarta. Two suicide bombers killed seven people including six foreigners in the coordinated blasts at the adjacent luxury hotels. Police have said the attacks bear the hallmarks of Malaysian Islamist Noordin Mohammed Top. Noordin is suspected of masterminding suicide bombings in Indonesia in 2003, 2004 and 2005 which killed a total of 42 people and injured scores more. Police were not available to comment on the claim, which could not be independently confirmed. Terrorism analyst Sidney Jones, of the International Crisis Group, said she could not say whether the claim was authentic but noted that blogs were “often used by some of the jihadi groups”. (July 30th 2009, AFP)
Garuda Indonesia Launches New Direct Services between Australia & Jakarta
Indonesia’s national carrier, Garuda Indonesia, yesterday announced new direct flights to Jakarta from Australia’s two major cities - Sydney and Melbourne. The inaugural flights, which take effect from August 3rd (ex Sydney) and August 4th (ex Melbourne) mark a significant new era for the carrier as it seeks to further expand its business between Australia and Indonesia. Poerwoko Soeparyono, Garuda Indonesia Pacific head, said the non-stop services to the Indonesian capital will operate three days a week from both cities using new Airbus A330-200 wide-bodied aircraft, and represent a key element of Garuda Indonesia’s transformation strategy. The new A330-200 aircraft servicing the Sydney-Jakarta and Melbourne-Jakarta routes feature a new interior configuration which includes totally flatbed seats in Business Class and personal entertainment systems in all seats. The aircraft feature Garuda Indonesia’s new signature interior, with individual touch-screen LCD TVs throughout Executive and Economy Classes with Video on Demand (VOD) entertainment systems offering 25 feature films and 250 audio tracks. The full lie-flat beds in Executive Class feature a 74-inch seat pitch. (August 3rd 2009, E-travel News)
Minister: Don’t Send Female Workers to Violence-Prone Countries
State Minister of Women’s Empowerment Prof. Dr. Meutia Hatta Swasono has urged the government not to allow sending of female workers to violence-prone countries such as those in the Middle East. Every citizen of Indonesia must get protection from the government if they get into problems overseas, the minister said. She regretted the fact that female workers were usually sent overseas without having enough knowledge and skills needed to implement their jobs. “The mastery of English or Arabic is poor, and they are often sent overseas illegally. These could cause a lot of problems,” the minister said. The state ministry for women’s empowerment has established cooperation with local administrations and NGOs in various regions to provide brief courses for female workers intending to work abroad, according to the minister. The minister also asked would be workers not to use the services of illegal suppliers of workers. (July 27th 2009, Antara News)
Australian Man’s Body to be Flown Home after Drowning off Lombok
The body of a West Australian man who died while snorkeling in Indonesia will be flown to Perth this week. Matthew Peter Hamblin was last seen on Wednesday (29/7) before he went diving on his own at Gili Trawagan Island, north-west of Lombok. When he failed to return, Mr. Hamblin’s girlfriend and a friend hired a boat to look for him and Indonesian authorities launched an official search. The 25-year-old’s body was found on Saturday. Indonesian authorities conducted an initial post-mortem examination on his body yesterday. It is understood they found no wounds on the body and believe Mr. Hamblin drowned. His body has been released back to the family. An uncle will fly to the island to escort the body home. (August 4th 2009, ABC News)
Megawati Challenges Indonesia Vote Result
Indonesia’s vice-president, who ran against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in elections this month and lost, has filed a lawsuit demanding that the results be annulled, citing inaccurate voter lists. Yudhoyono won 60.8 per cent of the votes in the July 8 presidential election, according to the official count by the General Election Commission (KPU). Vice-president Jusuf Kalla won 12.41 per cent of the votes, and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri got 26.79 per cent. Those results were in line with many of the opinion polls and election quick count results, but both Ms Megawati and Mr. Kalla had said they would challenge the results. Analysts do not expect these challenges to affect the election outcome. Complaints by Ms Megawati and Mr.Kalla of voter list irregularities dogged the final hours before the actual election, and in the end, the authorities allowed those whose names did not appear on the electoral rolls to use their identity cards in order to vote. “We want the KPU’s decision to be cancelled. If it is cancelled, it means the election has to be repeated,” said Andi Muhammad Asrun, one of the lawyers from Mr Kalla’s legal team. The constitutional court accepted the lawsuit and a clerk at the court said that the first hearing was set for August 4. Ms Megawati’s legal team also plans to file a similar suit to the constitutional court on Tuesday. (July 28th 2009, Reuters)
Rat Plague Destroying Rice Harvest in at Least Three Regions of Bali
Kompas.com reports that a plague of crop-destroying rats are attacking farms in a number of areas of the island, with the worst affected regions in Tabanan, Badung and Gianyar. Farmers, many of whom are now facing a potentially tragic third cycle of failed crops, are blaming climate change for the army of rats that have denuded 72 hectares of agricultural land and threaten a further 472 hectares. The Badung regency has suffered an especially hard hit, affecting large areas of that district where crops have been decimated by unusually large influx of rats believed to have migrated from the adjoining Tabanan regency in search of food. Tabanan agricultural officials estimate that in 2008 some 70 hectares of rice and corn crops were destroyed by the marauding rats. Valuable seed nurseries, covering 20 are (2,000 square meters), have been attacked by the rodents and the Badung officials have distributed rat poison in the affected region and urged farmers to undertake mass killing programs against the rats. Officials are concerned that the current plague of rats will adversely affect rice production in Bali this year. (August 2nd 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
Bali Police Circulate Noordin Top’s Latest Photos
Bali police on Wednesday (29/7) circulated the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top over the weekend. The Bali Police’s public relations chief, Senior Commissioner Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra, said here on Wednesday (29/7) the circulation of leaflets with Noordin M Top’s picture on them was part of an effort to anticipate the threat of terrorism in the island resort. “We do this so that the people in Bali may develop an understanding of the threat, and a responsibility to help the police in the war on terrorism in Indonesia, in Bali in particular,” Sugianyar said. He said the leaflets with Noordin M Top’s photos on them were distributed at public places such as schools, market places and bus terminals to familiarize the public with his face. Sugianyar expressed hope that through the leaflets, the people would give information to the police if they saw someone whose face matched Noordin M Top’s picture. Suicide bombers posing as guests attacked the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the Mega Kuningan area, South Jakarta, killing nine people and injuring more than 50 others. Ansyaad added that although there had been a lull in terror attacks in the past four years, Noordin M. Top and his network of Jemaah Islamiyah bombers were still active and consolidating their strength. “This incident proves that they are still strong, and now, catching the main actor, Noordin M. Top, must be our main priority. As long as the actor is still at large, our terror fighting efforts will be futile,” he said. (July 30th 2009, Antara News)
Bali to Provide Free Medical Care for the Poor in 2010
Bali’s provincial government is preparing a budget of Rp.250 billion (US$25 million) to pay for a free medical care program to be introduced in 2010. “Jaminan Kesehatan Bali Mandara” is the extension of a program launched in 2008 in 500 villages at a cost of Rp. 12 billion (US$1.2 million) that covers the cost of medical examinations, treatment, surgical operations, outpatient care and hospitalization. Quoted in Kompas.com, Bali’s governor Made Mangku Pastika said: “We are prioritizing this health program together with our educational program. It’s certain that (as a result) a number of expenditures in other areas will have to be tightened, such as expenditures for official travel which can be reduced.” The allocation for the new health program will come from the provincial budget (APBD) for 2009. To ensure sufficient funds are available, Pastika has asked for additional contributions from all the regencies and city governments on the island. The governor told the press how people who are sick will receive free medical service by presenting only their identity card (KTP) and the family card (kartu keluarga) without any further enquiry on their status. Emphasizing that the program would be simple and straight forward, Pastika said all would be entitled to health care at local hospitals with admission into a 3rd class ward. Underlining the point, Pastika said: “This applies for all the people of Bali, for all types of illnesses, without any discrimination. All you have to do is be prepared to accept hospitalization in a 3rd class ward.” Wayan Rata (50), a resident of the Badung regency, said he is enthusiastic about the new health program. He added that he hoped the processing and service would be less complicated than his recent experience where he could only receive medical service after presenting a letter from the district government certifying his impoverishment. Through the end of the first semester of 2009, a total of 2,500 visits by medical teams to 300 villages across Bali have been performed. The most common medical complaint encountered by the medical teams has joint pain and cataracts. Bali’s medical service estimates that 35% of the total population is suffering some sort of illness. From that total, 2-5% needs hospitalization. Bali’s government estimates that 540,000 or 15.4% of the island’s total population of 3.5 million can be categorized as “poor.” (August 1st 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
Ministry: Komodo Dragons Move Purely for Conservation Purposes
A plan to move 10 komodo dragons from Flores Island to Bali is purely for conservation purpose, according to a forestry ministry official. “The planned transfer from Flores to Bali is aimed at genetic purification, not for any other purpose,” Darori, the forestry ministry’s director general of forest protection and nature conservation, said here on Tuesday (28/7). The plan was in line with the demand of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) which recommends a studbook system of genetic purification for endangered species, he explained. According to Darori, 17 komodo dragons in Flores have started to enter human resettlement areas and they could threaten local residents and their own survival. “Komodo dragons are cannibal. If their food chain is cut off, they will eat each other. The forestry ministry is worried that komodo dragons in Flores will disappear naturally. Therefore, we plan to carry out an ex-situ conservation through breeding program at Gianyar Safari park in Bali,” he said. He believed that the participation of the Gianyar Safari Park would help increase the number of komodo dragons within the next five years, which would be quite costly but the forestry ministry did not have to spend any money thanks to the Safari park`s involvement.(July 28th 2009, Antara News)
Bali’s Dep’t Immigration to Negotiate a Following Embezzlement Scandal
44 immigration officers at Bali’s main airport have been under investigation for embezzling an estimated Rp. 3 billion (US$294,000) in visa-on-arrival fees between October 2008 and May 2009. Kompas reports that a decision has been made by the Immigration Department to limit punishments to only disciplinary and administrative sanctions. In announcing the settlement of the case, the Director General of Immigration, Basyir Ahmad Barmawi, told the 44 officers that they were “all considered like children or younger brothers and sisters whose mistakes can be remedied.” Following an investigation by the State Audit Board (BPK), a decision has been made reduce the rank of the offending officers and order them to repay the missing Rp. 3 billion. The money to be repaid by each of the 44 immigration officers varies from between Rp. 70 million to Rp. 100 million (US$6,800 - US$9,800). Investigators concluded that the officers colluded to embezzle the visa fees by surrendering only US$10 fees for a 7-day visa when, in fact, US$25 had been collected for a 30-day visa by arriving tourists. Through a process of reverse extrapolation, a portion of the visa fees of approximately 20,000 foreign tourist were misappropriated in this manner during the subject six month period. The Secretary-General of the Department of Justice and Human Rights, Abdul Bari Azed, told Kompas that his office had purposely met with the BPK to find a way out via the imposition of disciplinary and administrative sanctions, preventing the case from changing into a criminal prosecution. Following the announcement of the decision, the 44 offending officers left the building without commenting to the press. In Jakarta the Minister of Law and Human Rights called on the BPK to audit all of Indonesia’s national air gateways, admitting that it was not impossible that similar violations had occurred in other places. (August 2nd 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
