Sri Lanka to ban women from being maids abroad: minister

The Daily Star, AFP, January 24, 2013

Sri Lankan Buddhist monks and their supporters march outside the president's
 residence demanding authorities to stop sending Sri Lankan women as maids
 to the Middle East following the recent beheading of a Sri Lankan maid by Saudi
Arabia, during a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/
Eranga Jayawardena)

                            

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka said on Thursday it would bar women of all ages from travelling abroad to work in menial jobs, following an international outcry over the beheading of a young nanny in Saudi Arabia.

Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella announced that women under 25 were now banned from going to the Arab state to work as maids, adding that it was the first step towards a worldwide travel ban for low-paying jobs.

The move was in response to the execution earlier this month at a prison in Riyadh of Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafik, who was only 17 when she was charged with smothering a four-month-old baby in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

"As a first step we are raising the age limit to 25. We will gradually move towards a total ban on our women going abroad to do low-paying jobs," Rambukwella told reporters.

He did not say by when the total ban would kick in, but said the authorities have started to discourage women from going to the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia where most maids are paid less than $300 a month.

Nafik was beheaded after she was found guilty of smothering an infant in her care after an argument with the child's mother, the Saudi interior ministry has said.

The US and the United Nations led international condemnation of the Saudi authorities over the January 9 execution.

Nearly 1.7 million Sri Lankans are employed abroad and the $6 billion they sent home last year is a key source of foreign exchange for the government.

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Indonesia on same level as BRIC countries: minister

Asia News Network, The Jakarta Post, Hendarsyah Tarmisi, 25-01-2013

With its large domestic market, stable economic fundamentals and sustainable economic growth, Indonesia has reached the same economic standard of the so-called BRIC countries, according to Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan

Speaking during a panel discussion at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Gita said that Indonesia did not want a status that it did not deserve.

But with its latest economic performance, the country had reached the same economic standards as the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, Gita told the forum.

He said that Indonesia and the BRIC countries, which contributed more than 20 per cent to the world economy, played an important role in coping with the global economic slowdown. These countries should, therefore, be able to maintain their economic growth so that the world would no longer rely on industrialised nations such as the US or European countries.

Gita also acknowledged that corruption would remain a problem in bringing Indonesia to a higher economic level. But he said awareness among the government and people on the need to eliminate corruption was quite high.

Low salaries remained a major problem in fighting corruption in the state bureaucracy, he said. “It is, therefore, important to provide fiscal space to support a more conducive democracy for well-distributed and sustainable welfare,” he said. “I am quite sure, in the next few years, Indonesia will see less corruption,”

he said.

The trade minister also acknowledged that the development of infrastructure could be taken forward quickly in the more democratic Indonesia, as the people had more say in determining, for example, the location of projects.

However, he said that political reform would create a positive economic impact in the long term.

The WEF founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, opened the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2013, which is taking place from Jan. 23 to 27, under the theme “Resilient Dynamism”.

More than 2,500 participants from over 100 countries, including nearly 50 heads of state or government, 1,500 business leaders, and representatives from civil society, media, academia and the arts, are taking part in the forum.

Gita said with its strong domestic consumption, Indonesia — with a population of 237 million — had become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

The Indonesian government has been able to maintain low inflation and sustainable economic growth of above 6 per cent in the past several years. With its strong economic credentials, the largest economy in Southeast Asia has successfully evaded the global economic slowdown that has hit the globe since 2008.

McKinsey & Co. predicts that Indonesia will be the seventh-largest economy in the world and will add 90 million people to its middle class by 2030. There are 45 million middle-class Indonesians today, and the country ranks as the 16th largest economy in the world.

Gita said that domestic consumption and investment remained the main drivers of the Indonesian economy as exports showed no significant growth during the last two years. But he added that with the signs of recovery in major trading partners such as China, the contribution of Indonesia’s exports to Gross Domestic Product would be higher.

In addition to Gita, the chairman of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board, Chatib Basri, and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, one of candidates to succeed Pascal Lamy — the director general of the World Trade Organisation — also took part in the WEF annual meeting.

RMB on way to becoming global reserve currency: IMF official

Want China Times, Li Tao-cheng and Staff Reporter 2013-01-18

IMF deputy managing director Zhu Min. (Photo/CNS)

With China's economy gaining global strength, the renminbi is set to become a global reserve currency, Zhu Min, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Tuesday at an economic forum in Hong Kong.

China avoided a hard landing last year and recorded economic growth of 8.2%, Zhu said at the Asia Financial Forum. Yet "the key to China's economy is not its growth rate but the quality of growth," he said.

"China needs to boost its domestic market growth. It is a must rather than an option," he added.

Analysts were worried last year about a potential collapse of the eurozone and the United States' fiscal cliff, but those two issues have largely been avoided, he said. "This year will be better than last year," Zhu concluded.

Commenting on the contentious issue of the Chinese currency's exchange rate, Zhu, a former deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said the yuan is more reasonably valued against other currencies these days.

On Japan's push for a weaker yen, Zhu said Japan triggered a wave of monetary easing in many economies, but the effects of the global financial crisis four years ago are still being seen.

Japan's main issue was a lack of demand, he said. But competitiveness could be enhanced not only from a weaker currency but from better technology, R&D and branding efforts.

On innovative financial services, Zhu reiterated the IMF's stance of supporting innovative ideas, but added that the sector should focus on providing services to the public, instead on focusing on making profits for itself.

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"The U in Kundalini"- Oct 18, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Kundalini, Unification, EU, Nobel Peace Prize 2012, Middle East, South America, Only 5 Currencies on Earth, Old Souls, Duality will dismiss, 3D Humanity will melt with Multi dimensional higher self, Global Unity… etc.)

Jakarta Business District Floods After West Flood Canal Dike Collapses

Jakarta Globe, Ronna Nirmala & Lenny Tristia Tambun, January 17, 2013

A general view showing floodwater at Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in

Central Jakarta. (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

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Central Jakarta’s business district flooded with water on Thursday after a 30-meter-long section of the West Flood Canal dike collapsed, the Jakarta Public Works Agency said.

Jakarta officials suspect the collapse was caused by surge of water sent into the canal after the Manggarai floodgate was opened hours earlier. The dike could not withstand the force of water, which flowed into the canal at 500 cubic meters per second, Jakarta Public Works Agency head Hendri said.

Homes and roads in the Menteng area were inundated with 1.5 meters of water late Thursday morning as floodwaters covered portions of Jalan Teluk Betung and Tosari. Jalan MH Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman were also underwater by Thursday afternoon.

Train service was cancelled in the greater Jakarta area after floods destroyed 40 meters of tracks near the Tanah Abang station, KAI spokesman Mateta Rizalulhaq said.

The train company is unable to fix the damaged tracks until the dike is repaired.

“We cannot fix the railway as long as the water is still there,” Mateta said. “It can only be done after it is dry.”

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo visited the site at Thursday afternoon and urged the Ministry of Public Works to fix the dike while emergency funding is available.

“I will call on the Ministry of Public Works to fix this,” Joko said.

As long as the dike remains damaged, the flooding will continue along Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman, Hendri said.

“If it is not fixed, the floods… will keep on getting higher,” he said.

The agency plans to construct a temporary stone wall to try to stop some of the rushing water before crews begin making permanent repairs.

Jakarta will remain under emergency status until January 27.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, second left, and Foreign Minister

 Marty Natalegawa, left, roll up their pants as they inspect the inundated

 yard of the presidential palace in Central Jakarta. (Photo courtesy of 

presidensby.info)

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SBY to Welcome Argentinian President, Japanese PM

Jakarta Globe, Abdul Qowi Bastian, January 15, 2013

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)  

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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is set to meet with the Argentine and Japanese heads of state this week in order to bolster Indonesia’s bilateral relations with both nations.

Yudhoyono will receive Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on Thursday and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the following day at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

“The state visit by the Argentine president and the official visit by the Japanese PM will hopefully strengthen ties between Indonesia and both countries, not only between the government, but also among its people and businessmen,” Presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said in a statement received by the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

During the meetings, Yudhoyono and the two leaders will discuss how to develop mutual ties in various areas.

“President SBY and each of his counterparts will focus on reinforcing bilateral relationships, including building partnerships in the economic sector,” Faizasyah said referring to Yudhoyono by his initials.

Argentina is the second-largest importer of Indonesian goods in South America after Brazil. Indonesia, meanwhile, is Argentina’s biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

Bilateral trade between Argentina and Indonesia reached $1.94 billion in 2011. As of October of last year, trade between the two countries was measured at $1.67 billion.

“There is still room to develop economic partnerships with each country. Even more, Indonesia should maximize Argentina and South America’s market potential for its products, [especially] amid global economic downturn,” Faizasyah added.

Fernandez’s appearance represents Argentina’s first state visit to Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Yudhoyono’s meeting with Abe will refocus on the Japan-Indonesia Strategic Partnership for Peaceful and Prosperous Future, formed in 2006 during Yudhoyono’s visit to Japan.

Japan is one of Indonesia’s main partners in both the trade and investment sectors. Bilateral trade between both nations in 2011 totaled $53.1 billion, and reached $44.85 billion as of October of last year.

Analysts have said that Abe’s trip to Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries — namely Thailand and Vietnam — demonstrates that Japan wants to establish closer ties in the region as its relationship with China continues to deteriorate.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are at the forefront of Asian economic growth. Japan, on the other hand, is mired in deflation and stuck in its fourth recession since 2000.

“It’s important to strengthen the cooperation with the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries to ensure peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region,” Suga said.

Abe’s visit to the archipelago will be his first official trip overseas following his inauguration last month.

Supreme Court Judge Hopeful's Rape Remark Sparks Anger

Jakarta Globe, January 14, 2013

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The Indonesian Child Protection Commission on Monday condemned Supreme Court Judge hopeful Daming Sunusi for his insensitive remarks about rape during a fit-and-proper-test at the parliament building in Senayan, Jakarta.

During the test, Andi Azhar, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party, asked Daming’s opinion about sentencing rapists to death, to which he answered, “Both the rapist and the victim enjoy it. So, [we] have to think again about death sentence.”

“Has Daming felt what it’s like to be a [rape] victim [or a member of the victim’s] family? It’s extremely inappropriate for a Supreme Court judge hopeful to [joke about] the suffering of the people and their feelings,” the commission’s secretary, M. Ihsan, said in a statement, as reported by news portal detik.com.

The commission, known as KPAI, asked Daming to scrutinize the 2002 Law on Child Protection, particularly clauses that state any person who lies, tricks or persuades another to have sex is subject to receive anywhere from three to 15 years in jail.

“What if the rape victims were our children, our siblings or even our mothers?” Ihsan said.

In response to Daming’s remarks, Ihsan urged the House of Representatives not to pick Daming as a Supreme Court judge. He also asked the Supreme Court chief to discharge Daming from his position at Banjarmasin High Court.

After the test, Daming told reporters that his remarks were made to break the ice.

“I saw we [Supreme Court judge candidates] were too tense. [I made the remarks] to ease the tension. We had a brief laugh,” he said.

Himmatul Alyah Setiawati, a member of the House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees women’s empowerment, said that she took Daming’s remarks into consideration.

“Yes, his response is inappropriate. He is a senior judge who has been serving for 24 years,” Himmatul said.

On Monday, six Supreme Court judge candidates were interviewed by Commission III at the House of Representatives.

In total, the Judicial Commission submitted 24 Supreme Court judge hopefuls to parliament last week, and Commission III will interview six judges per day from Monday to Thursday of this week.

Sohaila Abdulali is the author of the novel "Year of the Tiger."

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Keeping the Peace a Priority for New Asean Chief

Jakarta Globe, Zubaidah Nazeer - Straits Times, January 10, 2013

Newly inaugurated Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary-General,
 Le Luong Minh of Vietnam, left, poses with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty
 Natalegawa, center, and former Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan, right, during
 the office handover ceremony at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta, on Wednesday.
(EPA Photo/Mast Irham).

               

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Jakarta. The new secretary-general of Asean began his term on Wednesday by saying the group needs to accelerate negotiations with China on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.

Le Luong Minh also hopes to bridge differences within the 10-nation bloc so that Asean can reach its goal of becoming an integrated community by 2015.

The 61-year-old former deputy foreign minister of Vietnam is taking over at a time of heightened tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, the Philippines' Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario asked China to explain its deployment of a patrol ship to guard disputed territory it claims in the South China Sea.

del Rosario said Chinese diplomats have previously said that Beijing will only assert its claims, including by possibly intercepting foreign ships, in waters off its province of Hainan. But China also claims that most of the South China Sea falls under Hainan's jurisdiction, he said.

The Philippines has asked China to specify the limits of the territory it will guard, he said. "Everybody's hot and bothered," del Rosario said.

"That's why we're saying, define, please define for us, but they're not answering."

Tensions over the South China Sea ran high during a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in July last year, when the 10-member bloc failed to issue a joint communique for the first time in its 45-year history. Critics fear such national interests could drown out Asean's collective voice.

The failure also raised concerns that increasingly assertive big powers like China could drive a wedge in the group's unity. Four Asean nations — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — as well as China and Taiwan claim territories in the South China Sea.

Minh, a seasoned diplomat for 38 years, says more must be done to shape standards, norms of conduct, build confidence and put in place measures to prevent conflicts and resolve them.

"Asean should speed up efforts towards an early start of negotiations with China, with a view to achieving an early conclusion on a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea," he said in his speech at the handover at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta.

Also speaking at the ceremony were his predecessor, Surin Pitsuwan, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. All touched on the importance of peace and stability in the region.

Minh is the first chief Asean diplomat from one of the four newer members that joined in the 1990s. He faces a daunting deadline of bringing about an Asean Economic Community by 2015.

"The more open flow of investments, capital, labor, goods and services will pose different challenges and opportunities for member states," he said.

Integration won't be complete without narrowing the development gap within Asean, he added.

"Providing our young people with good education is one of the most effective ways out of the poverty trap," he said.

Surin said that as Asean becomes the center of global growth in the next decade, prosperity will bring in more players.

"We cannot kick anybody out," he said.

"We can only manage their interactions among ourselves so we can benefit and we can help to sustain the strategic bonds that we would like to see here in the region."

Marty said that Indonesia, as Southeast Asia's largest country, wants to continue to play an active role in managing this.

"Asean must continue to be at the forefront of a regional architecture that promotes Asia Pacific peace and stability," he said.

Reprinted courtesy of The Straits Times

Anger over photos of Indonesian cattle cruelty

ABC News Australia, 7 January 2013

PHOTO: Workers unload cattle by using
 ropes hanging around their necks in
Surabaya, East Java. (AFP: Juni Kriswanto)

Animal rights activists have denounced the "cruel" treatment of cattle in Indonesia after pictures emerged of cows being lifted by a crane from ropes tied to their heads.

It is another blow to the country's reputation for dealing with livestock following international criticism in 2011 when the ABC's Four Corners program aired footage of Indonesian abattoir workers torturing cows shipped from Australia.

The scandal prompted the Government to suspend live exports to Indonesia for a month.

In the latest pictures, taken by an AFP photographer, a crane is shown transferring three bony cows from a boat in the eastern Javanese city of Surabaya using a loop of rope around their skulls.

Another photograph shows seven live cows being lifted in a similar fashion in one group, with their necks outstretched.

The boat transporting the cattle had come from Sumbawa island, around 500 kilometres east of Surabaya, but it is not clear whether that is where the cattle were reared.

The cattle were to be transported to the capital Jakarta, according to a worker in the operation who declined to give his name.

It is not known which company was transporting the cattle.

While a large number of cattle are transported around Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, it is not normal practice to lift animals up by their heads.

"It is crazy that cruel practices are still happening," Jakarta Animal Aid Network campaigner Benvika told AFP.

Indonesian Veterinary Association chairwoman Wiwiek Bagja said animal welfare laws in effect since 2009 did not work because they do not actually lay out what punishments people should face for animal cruelty.

"In short, Indonesia is very far from implementing and enforcing the law," she said.

PHOTO: 'Cruel practice': seven cattle being lifted by ropes. (AFP:
Juni Kriswanto)

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Mining Company Freeport Agrees to Cut Concession Area

Jakarta Globe, ID/Retno Ayuningtyas, January 03, 2013

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Mining company Freeport Indonesia has agreed to trim its concession area in Timika, Papua, indicating that the government’s efforts to renegotiate mining contracts have started to bear fruit.

“There has been some progress with renegotiation, the concession area [of Freeport] will be cut,” Thamrin Sihite, the director for mineral resources and coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said last week.

Thamrin did not mention how much of Freeport’s concession area would be cut, however, according to the 2009 mining law, the maximum size of a concession area must be limited to just 25,000 hectares.

Currently the company controls 170,000 hectares in Timika where the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest gold mine in Indonesia, the Grasberg mine, is located.

Limiting the size of concession areas for miners is part of the renegotiation goals initiated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration. The 2009 mining law also compels to government to seek more revenue, bigger royalty fees, order miners to establish ore processing facilities as well as divest stakes to local entities.

Miners under the “contract of work” or the previous mining contract are not affected by the law. Only miners under the new permit called the “mining business licenses” are affected.

Yudhoyono said in June last year that he has a “moral obligation” to seek changes in contracts, some of which were signed decades ago that he believed are “unfair.”

Led by Chief Economics Minister Hatta Rajasa the government has set up a team to renegotiate contracts with miners that hold contract of works, such as Freeport and Newmont Nusa Tenggara.

Thamrin said the government views royalties, concession areas and the length of contracts as related to each other and are all for a greater benefit of the state.

“For the government, the bigger the royalty, the better it is,” he said.

Freeport currently pays 1 percent in royalty on their gross gold sales, apart from a 35 percent corporate income tax, which is bigger than the common 25 percent tax charged for non-resource companies. The government is seeking to increase the royalty for gold to 3.75 percent.

Freeport Indonesia’s president director, Rozik B. Soetjipto, said his company is willing to renegotiate with the government.

The company has also sent responses toward the six clauses of contracts that will be reviewed.

“Internally, we already have our position, but we cannot reveal it yet,” he said.

Rozik believes the cut in concession areas will not impact on the company’s production.

He said Freeport Indonesia, which in the past relied on open-pit mining, for extracting copper ore, has begun underground mining construction as surface reserves have depleted.

The project will involve between $16 billion to $18.5 billion in investments. The underground mining is expected to start in 2017.