US to Provide Funds for Indonesia Airline Safety Overhaul
The U.S. has signed a deal to provide $381,000 in grants to the Indonesian Transport Ministry to fund efforts to improve aviation safety in the country, a U.S. embassy official said late Tuesday (23/6). The grant is to be “used for helping (the ministry) to reform and make more efficient the supervisory systems” within the aviation sector, Lawrence Johnson, commercial attaché with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, told reporters. Johnson said Indonesia is “very serious” about improving airline safety and that improved safety standards could assist the country’s airlines in eventually gaining access to routes to and from the U.S. No Indonesian airline currently flies to the U.S. Johnson said the U.S. would “send American experts” to help with regulatory and oversight reforms, but didn’t elaborate. Indonesia’s airline sector has been plagued by a string of high-profile fatal crashes in recent years, and all Indonesian aircraft were banned from entering European Union airspace in 2007. The transport ministry has since worked with European auditors and regulators to improve safety and maintenance standards in the sector, and has said it hopes to have the ban lifted in the upcoming session of the European parliament. (June 26th 2009, Dow Jones)
Bali Tourists Urged to Avoid Budget Airlines Following IndoJet Bungle
A body that promotes trade between Australia and Indonesia is urging Western Australians to choose established airlines rather than budget carriers when traveling to Bali. The call comes after IndoJet passengers were left stranded when the company had problems chartering aircraft. Ross Taylor from the Australia Indonesia Business Council says people should fly with larger carriers to avoid being caught in a similar situation. “Given the very high level of competition with the low cost carriers now, for a few dollars extra it’s a good way of ensuring that you and your family do get to Bali and enjoy your holiday,” he said. Mr. Taylor says established airlines are more reliable. “People can travel in relative confidence that the service will be operating, so in that light my suggestion would be to really shop around, have a look, there are plenty of bargains to Bali and these services are run by reputable carriers,” he said. (July 2nd 2009, ABC News)
Japanese Tourist Arrivals in Bali Fall 7.18 Percent
The number of Japanese tourist arrivals in Bali went down by 10,215 or 7.16 percent from 142,337 in the first five months of 2008 to 132,122 during the same period in 2009. “Despite the quite drastic fall, Japanese tourists still rank second on the list of the top 10 countries contributing to Bali’s tourist dollar earnings,” Ida Komang Wisnu, head of the Bali provincial Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said here on Friday (3/7). Japanese accounted for about 15.19 percent of the total number of foreign tourists visiting Bali (870,029) during the January-May period in 2009, he said. Japan and Australia contributed the largest number of tourist arrivals on Bali Island. In May 2009, some 22,901 Japanese people visited Bali, down 5.80 percent from 23,311 people in May 2008, he said. The Japanese tourist arrivals constituted 12 percent of the total number of tourist arrivals of 190,803 in Indonesia’s most famous tourist resort. (July 3rd 2009, Antara News)
EU Set to Lift Garuda Ban
The European Union is this week expected to lift a two-year ban on Garuda Indonesia, the country’s national airline, paving the way for plans to take the company public on the back of an extensive makeover. European and Indonesian officials say they are “confident” that Garuda will not be on the EU’s next quarterly list of airlines banned from the region when it is published later this week. All 51 registered Indonesian airlines were banned in June 2007 following a slew of deadly accidents that exposed systemic flaws in the aviation sector’s supervision as well as problems within airlines. The incidents included a Garuda crash in Yogyakarta, central Java, in March 2007 in which 21 people were killed. The pilot of that plane has been imprisoned for two years for criminal negligence. No Indonesian airlines operated flights to the EU at the time, but the EU warned its citizens against flying on Indonesian airlines anywhere. (June 30th 2009, ABC News)
US, Indonesia Agree To Debt-For-Nature Swap
Indonesia will protect its tropical forests, home to elephants and tigers, in exchange for reducing debt to the U.S. The U.S. and Indonesia on Tuesday (30/6) announced a debt-for-nature swap that is the largest such deal under a 1998 conservation law. The agreements will reduce Indonesia’s debt payments to the U.S. by nearly $30 million over the next eight years. In return, Indonesia committed the funds to support grants to protect and restore its tropical forests. The forests are home to the endangered Sumatran tiger, elephant, rhino and orangutan. (June 30th 2009, Dow Jones)
93 Illegal Bali Tour Guides Brought to Court
93 unlicensed travel guides were recently brought to trial after being caught operating at various tourism sites around Tabanan, such as Alas Kedaton, Tanah Lot and Ulun Danu. According to BeritaBali.com, the trials were held at Tabanan’s District Court on Tuesday, June 30, 2009. The unlicensed guides, many hailing from outside Bali, were punished by the court with fines of Rp. 150,000 (US$14.70) for violating the provincial law on tourism guiding. The sole presiding judge, Tavia Rahmawati, said that among the 93 convicted guides were individuals whose guide licenses had expired, others who had no license at all, and others who were apprehended for failing to wear traditional costumes while leading tourist visitors. The illegal guides were caught in a recent series of joint operations conducted by provincial tourism officials, the courts, tourism police, the manpower department, the Bali Guide Association (HPI) and immigration authorities. 85 of the 93 illegal guides were apprehended working at Tanah Lot, while the remaining 8 were netted at Alas Kedaton and Ulun Danau in Bedugul. (July 3rd 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
Indonesian Officials Visit Australia Seeking Fire Fighting, Conservation Support
A senior Indonesian delegation is visiting Australia to learn more about fire prevention and conservation strategies. Their country often suffers from massive forest fires that spread smoke and ash around Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s Director General of Biodiversity and Conservation, Darori, is in Australia with colleagues to assess progress on the nations’ joint Fire Watch program. The program aims to help Indonesia manage and control forest fires. Darori will also visit Perth Zoo in Western Australia and see an orangutan colony that is helping to repopulate the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Indonesia. Australian fire monitoring experts have been helping the Indonesian government reduce smoke haze and the incidence of fires, which have caused much damage to farmland as well as native flora and fauna in recent years. Much of the managing of fires is done with the use of satellite technology, which allows officials to see where blazes start. Nearly every year, Indonesia experiences dozens of forest fires across hundreds of thousands of hectares. The fires destroy homes and farms, and kill untold numbers of animals. They also spread a choking haze that reaches to Malaysia, Singapore and other Southeast Asia nations. The haze can be deadly to those with respiratory diseases or other health problems. Weather patterns this year have some meteorologists and fire experts in Asia warning that Indonesia may experience a particularly bad fire season. Australia also is helping its northern neighbor expand the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park to protect the region’s iconic wildlife. There have been recent conflicts between villagers and Sumatran elephants and tigers as humans have encroached on the animals’ habitat. There are growing concerns in Indonesia over land clearing in sensitive ecosystems and its likely impact on the critically endangered orangutan (July 1st 2009, VOA)
Aussie ‘Admits Drug Use in Bali’
An Australian pearl farmer caught with hashish outside a Bali bar admitted to using the drug, Indonesian police say. Jason Scott McIntyre, 33, was arrested outside a bar in Kuta in the early hours of April 20, allegedly carrying about five grams of hashish. In Denpasar District Court today, Mr. McIntyre was formally charged with drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail, and drug use, which carries a maximum penalty of four years’ jail. Arresting officer Cokorda Alit said he found Mr McIntyre stumbling down the street talking gibberish. “He said he got the drugs for free from a woman,” Alit told the court. “He admitted that he was using it and his urine tested positive.” (June 29th 2009, AAP)
RI Stepping up Swine Flu Precautions at In’tl Airports
Indonesia will step up checks on pilots and crew arriving from abroad to anticipate the swine flu threat, a Jakarta international airport official said. “Tightened control will especially be done at international airports such as the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta,” the administrator of the Soekarno-Hatta airport, Edward A Silooy, said here on Monday (29/6). He said checks would be done using a body scanner on pilots and crew before they leave the airport. “The checks will be a must for pilots and crew,” he said. A pilot was found infected with a swine flu after visiting several foreign countries recently. Silooy said pilots and air crew were vulnerable to spread of a swine flu virus particularly those serving overseas routes. Transport minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said after a coordination meeting on people’s welfare that he would notify pilots and crew serving countries affected by the virus to increase caution. “We will send a notice to airman and an announcement to shipping crew to be more alert towards the disease and to ask passengers to fill in health alert cards,” he said. Air and shipping crew from infected countries also have to ask their passengers to follow flu control procedures set by the government including scanning at airport and wearing a mask minimally three days after arrival, he said.(June 29th 2009, Antara News)
2.6 Million Abortions Happen in Indonesia Annually
The abortion rate in Indonesia reaches around 2-2.6 million annually, or 43 abortions per 100 pregnancies, Dr Titik Kuntari, a lecturer at the medical faculty of the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) said. “Around 30 percent of the abortion cases were conducted by those aged between 15 and 24 years old,” she said here on Monday (29/6). The data was obtained from a survey with relatively limited coverage, as comprehensive data on abortion in Indonesia was not available, she said. According to data based on the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI) on married women between 15-49 years old, the abortion rate in 1997 was around 12 percent of the pregnancies, she said. According to DR. Kuntari, unsafe abortions were estimated to contribute to the 11 percent of mothers` deaths in Indonesia, while in the world’s average rate is 13 percent. “Those deaths actually could have been prevented if women had access to contraception information and services as well as to abortion complication medical treatment,” she stated. According to the survey carried out in 10 cities and six districts in Indonesia, abortion incidents are higher in urban areas than in rural areas, she said. “More than two million abortions happen annually, and of the total, over one million cases or 53 percent occur in cities,” she said. As for the abortion provider profile, some 73 abortion cases in cities were handled by midwives, family planning clinics or hospitals. While in rural areas, traditional midwives carried out around 84 percent of the abortion cases.(June 30th 2009, AntaraNews)
