Scores of Seafood Slaves in Indonesia, Officials Turned Blind Eye: Report

Jakarta Globe, Tri Listiyarini, Apr 05, 2015

Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti says she will closely monitor
 fishing companies operating in Indonesia to prevent slave labor. (Reuters
Photo/Tim Wimborne)

Jakarta. Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti pledged to closely monitor fishing companies operating in Indonesia after a year-long Associated Press investigation revealed at least one Indonesian firm — and likely many more — using slave labor.

Susi said she was disturbed to learn Pusaka Benjina Resources had been keeping 327 workers, mainly from Myanmar, working in captivity without pay, on pain of torture or even death.

Her office has since shut down the company, based in Benjina, in Maluku’s Aru Islands district.

“We will launch an investigation; we will sanction [those involved],” the minister said on the sidelines of her visit to a fishing village in Pangandaran, West Java.

“In Benjina, even though the victims are foreigners, Indonesia felt it must take action because [the case] happened within Indonesia’s jurisdiction,” she said.

Susi said her office quickly inspected other fishing companies operating in Benjina and found 1,185 fishermen working there, mostly from Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, in slave-like conditions.

The minister said there was rampant evidence that other firms in the area were using slave labor — and had been for years.

With the help of sympathetic locals, the AP interviewed the Myanmar workers, who said they were forced to work 22 hours a day, whipped with toxic stingray tails, denied any pay, and barred from returning to their home country or tell anyone about their plight. Some were put in cages.

The director general for monitoring maritime resources, Asep Burhanuddin,  said the ministry formed a task force with the local prosecutors, immigration offices, the Indonesian Navy and National Police.

On Friday, days after the story broke, task force officials deployed to Benjina for a crackdown.

“We were able to confirm that there are slavery practices [at PBR],” Asep told Detik on Sunday. “Some were electrocuted for the tiniest mistake like falling to sleep. This is inhumane.”

The workers, some of whom have been slaves for nine years, were taken to the Tual, some 100 kilometers west of Aru Islands, where they were repatriated.

Company officials have been charged with human trafficking and violating the Manpower Law while the task force investigates who else may have been involved.

Joko Heads to Japan, China to Make Investment Push

Jakarta Globe, Novy Lumanauw & Carlos Paath, Mar 22, 2015

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, left, walks with China's President Xi Jinping.
Joko left for a state visit to Japan and China on Sunday. (AFP Photo/ Greg Baker)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo kicks off a seven-day state visit to Japan and China on Sunday, a trip he hopes will to drum up foreign investment and cement bilateral ties between Indonesia and the two Asian economic giants.

The president, first lady Iriana Widodo, and senior government figures arrive in Tokyo this evening and will stay until March 25, before moving on to Beijing and returning to Jakarta next Saturday.

At a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta today, Joko said he hoped the trip would be of benefit to Indonesia.

“The government is committed to developing this country and to run a good, clean administration,” he said. “We want to speed up infrastructure development, stimulate investment and boost the maritime industry.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Natsir said the main purpose of the visits was to improve economic cooperation and trade with Japan and China.

On top of meeting government representatives, Joko is scheduled to attend business forums in both countries where he will inform business leaders of investment opportunities in Indonesia, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Joko will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi; Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil; Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Chief Gen. Moeldoko; Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto; and Chief of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Franky Sibarani.

Indonesia’s imports from Japan rose 17.8 percent to $19.25 billion between 2009 and 2013, according to data from the Trade Ministry. Over the same period Indonesia’s exports to Japan climbed 9.3 percent to $27.1 billion.

Never a Dull Moment on Jokowi’s Policy Trail

Shake-Up: From the fuel subsidy to executions, the new president has stirred debate

Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, Jan 02, 2015

President Joko Widodo arrives for the 12th Asean India Summit at Myanmar
International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Nov. 12, 2014.
(EPA Photo/Rungroj Yongrit)

Jakarta. In the just over two months that he has been president, Joko Widodo has earned both plaudits and criticism for some of his policies, most of them a complete 180 on his predecessor’s take on the same issue.

One of his most attention-grabbing moves was to order the sinking of foreign fishing vessels caught poaching inside Indonesia’s maritime borders.

Since then, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has enrolled the Navy to round up 19 boats and sink five of them.

The policy has drawn praise, with observers saying the administration needs to get touch on fish poaching if it is to turn Indonesia into a global maritime fulcrum as Joko envisions.

“It’s necessary to sink those illegal vessels,” says Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia.

Under the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration, he says, “fish poaching as a problem was hardly looked into by the government.”

“There are many boats that continue to poach our sea resources, and we’ve done little about the problem,” he says. “So now, by sinking these boats, our government wants to convey its stance that Indonesia will never compromise with any foreign boats that steal our fish.”

Hikmahanto says the sinking of the vessels will not damage relations with the countries where the boats are registered, because Indonesia’s response is targeted toward an illegal act being committed in its own waters.

“We are dealing with illegal fishing boats that violate our maritime territory, not the countries where those boats come from,” he says.

He adds, though, that over the next few years, the government will need to make its policy clear to other countries to prevent unwanted diplomatic rows.

“What’s being done now must be continued. We cannot be discriminatory in selecting the boats,” Hikmahanto says.

“In addition, it is best for the Foreign Ministry to inform other countries around the world that we have this policy in place so there won’t be any misunderstanding. Ideally, these other countries must start prohibiting their fishermen from poaching in Indonesian waters.”

A less flashy though far more impactful policy move under Joko has been the raising of subsidized fuel prices as part of an effort to trim the burgeoning subsidy and allocate the savings to more productive programs.

The hike, Joko calculated, would save the state around Rp 100 trillion ($8.04 billion).

On Nov. 18, less than a month since his inauguration on Oct. 20, Joko duly raised the pump price of the widely used Premium brand of low-octane gasoline, from Rp 5,500 per liter to Rp 8,500 per liter. The price of subsidized diesel sold under the Solar brand also went up, from Rp 5,500 per liter to Rp 7,500 per liter.

But on Wednesday, the government announced that there would be another price adjustment — downward this time, in light of the falling price of crude oil.

As of the first day of 2015, Premium has been tamped down to Rp 7,600 per liter, and Solar to Rp 7,250 per liter.

The move seems to have vindicated critics of the initial hike, who said at the time that there was no urgent need to raise pump prices just them with the world oil price on a decline since June this year.

Another controversial issue in the past couple of months has been Joko’s insistence on not just maintaining by actively implementing the death penalty, which was rarely employed during Yudhoyono’s second term as president.

Joko previously claimed that five death row inmates who had exhausted all avenues of appeal would be put to death in December. The Attorney General’s Office, which is responsible for arranging executions, later said that only two of those inmates would face the firing squad that month.

The AGO typically carries out executions in secret and down not announce whether they have been carried out until well after the fact.

As of Thursday, there was no word yet on whether the two executions, set to take place in Batam, Riau Islands, and Cilacap, Central Java, had been carried out.

Rights activists have accused Joko of reneging on campaign promises to champion human rights.

“Joko has [...] violated the spirit of human rights in our country,” says Hendardi, from the Setara Institute, a rights and democracy advocacy group. “Joko shouldn’t continue this policy. It is against global opinion.

“The government will be better off reviewing capital punishment for drug convicts,” he adds.

“It is useless and wouldn’t serve any deterrent effect for drug dealers. There are no statistics showing that capital punishment discourages drug dealing,” Hendardi says.

Haris Azhar, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), says Joko has “no understanding on human rights.”

Related Articles:

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AirAsia, Indonesia and Effective Crisis Management

President Joko Widodo, center, talks to the head of Indonesia’s national search
 and rescue agency, Soelistyo, left, and Chief of the Sea Security Coordinating
 Agency, Vice Admiral Desi Albert Mamahit, right, shortly before a news conference
 about missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8501 in Jakarta, on Dec. 29, 2014.
 (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

Chinese Ambassador: Maritime Links Key in Boosting Ties With Indonesia

Xie Feng speaks at length about his thoughts on President Joko Widodo, the historic treatment of ethnic Chinese, and the future of bilateral relations as both countries pursue parallel visions

Jakarta Globe, Nov 13, 2014

President Joko Widodo (left) walks with China’s President Xi Jinping after
 arriving to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders
 meeting at Yanqi Lake, north of Beijing on Tuesday. (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

On the eve of President Joko Widodo’s departure for Beijing to attend this week’s APEC Summit and meet a number of world leaders, including China’s President Xi Jinping, the Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, Xie Feng, was interviewed by the Chinese newspaper Global Times.

In the interview, Ambassador Xie, who has been in the country since June, talked about his impression of Indonesia, his interaction with the new president, economic ties between China and Indonesia, and the correlation between Jokowi’s vision of a “maritime axis” and President Xi’s plan to build a “21st-centurty maritime silk road.”

With permission, the Jakarta Globe is republishing the interview, which first appeared on Nov. 6. It was edited for style only.

Global Times: Global media said that Mr. Joko Widodo won voters’ support because he’s a ‘People’s President.’ After your arrival in Jakarta, have you had any contact with him and what are your impressions about him?

Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng. (Photo
 courtesy of the Embassy of the People’s
 Republic of China)

Ambassador Xie: In less than a decade, Mr. Joko Widodo’s journey from being a furniture businessman to president is truly a political miracle in Indonesia and even worldwide. In my first week as ambassador, I had the honor of meeting with him briefly and was deeply impressed by his sincerity, easy-going style and kindness. After that I had two in-depth conversations with him and paid courtesy calls on him on several occasions with visiting Chinese delegations after he won the presidency. I believe President Joko Widodo is a firm, visionary, pro-people and down-to-earth leader, with a clear sense of purpose. His policy agenda has a lot in common with that of Chinese leaders. These include governance in the interest of people, pushing forward reform, developing economy, improving public well-being and fighting corruption. The Indonesian people have quite high expectations for him.

President Joko Widodo told me that he much values the face-to-face communications with the public. He believes such communications should happen day in and day out and this is the only way to understand what people need. That’s why he frequently visits traditional markets, rural villages and street food vendors to talk to and eat together with people. In the Javanese language, there is a specific word to describe his work style, blusukan. It means impromptu visit, which is akin to what we call “reach out to the grassroots.”

Global Times: What does President Joko Widodo’s trip to China mean to the APEC Summit and China-Indonesia relations?

Ambassador Xie: Indonesia was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. In 1950s, China, Indonesia and other Asian and African countries initiated the Bandung Spirit. At the heart of it is peaceful coexistence, seeking common ground and shelving differences. The Bandung Spirit remains a significant norm in state-to-state relations today. China today is Indonesia’s largest trading partner, its No. 1 source of overseas tourists and a major destination for Indonesian students. In October last year, President Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Indonesia. He and Indonesian leaders agreed to lift the China-Indonesia relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This has laid a solid foundation and mapped out a blueprint for the long-run development of our bilateral relations. In 2014, Indonesia’s general elections year, our bilateral relations have had a smooth transition and got off to a good start. President Joko Widodo attaches great importance to China-Indonesia relations. He has chosen China for his first overseas visit after inauguration.

Indonesia was the birth place of APEC Bogor Goals. Last year, Indonesia hosted its second APEC Summit in 20 years, and raised three major topics including achieving the Bogor Goals, promoting sustainable and equitable growth and improving connectivity. China actively echoed and supported these ambitions. We look forward to closer coordination and cooperation with Indonesia for positive outcomes out of this year’s APEC Summit, including launching the process of the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area (FTAAP), promoting innovative development, economic reform and growth, and improving connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Global Times: It’s almost five months since your arrival in Jakarta. Can you share with us some of your impressions about Indonesia?

Ambassador Xie: I’ve been deeply impressed by Indonesia in many ways.

First, Indonesia is a big country with rich resource endowment. Indonesia has around 250 million population. It is the world’s largest archipelagic state, with over 17,000 islands. It takes 9 hours to fly from its east to west. That’s roughly the distance between London and Tehran. Indonesia has abundant natural resources and is known as the Emerald of the Equator. My Indonesian friends often say with great pride that ‘please don’t ask what we have, just ask what we don’t have!’

Second, diversity and inclusiveness. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, yet it’s also known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. We Chinese value ‘harmony but not uniformity.’ In the same vein, the Indonesian people believe in ‘unity in diversity.’

Meanwhile, Indonesia has around 20 million Chinese Indonesians, that’s the largest ethnic Chinese community outside China. Over the past hundreds of years, generations of Chinese migrants sailed to Indonesia. They settled down and took root in this country. They survived the tribulations yet always worked hard to pursue a better life. Today, many of them have built a successful career and become social elites. They have made major contribution to Indonesia’s economic, social development and cultural prosperity, and have acted as a unique bridge in promoting China-Indonesia friendly exchanges and cooperation. Since 1998, successive Indonesian governments have made active efforts to improve the social status of Chinese Indonesians and promote ethnic harmony. In 2000, President Abdurrahman Wahid lifted the ban on Chinese culture and customs. In 2002, President Megawati Soekarnoputri announced the Chinese Spring Festival as a public holiday in Indonesia. In 2006, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) passed a new law on citizenship, annulling the previous legal distinction between native and non-native Indonesians. It marked an end to many discriminatory policies against Chinese Indonesians. In March this year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono repealed the discriminatory term for the Chinese Indonesians through legislation and adopted ‘Tiongkok’ and ‘Tionghoa’ to refer to China and Chinese Indonesians respectively. This past August, Indonesia’s first Museum on Hakka history and culture was completed. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and I attended the opening ceremony. In his remarks, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke highly of the Chinese Indonesians’ outstanding contribution to Indonesia’s independence, development and progress.

Third, goodwill and kindness. The Indonesian people are warm, hospitable and are always ready to help others. Their happiness index is quite high.

Fourth, great potential. Indonesia’s population, landmass and GDP are all over 40 percent of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states combined. It’s the only Southeast Asian member of the G20 and is the 16th-largest economy around the world.

Global Times: China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner. Where is the growth point for the bilateral commercial cooperation in the future?

Ambassador Xie: China and Indonesia are both major emerging markets and developing countries. Our economies are highly complimentary and the cooperation potential is huge. Two-way investment will be a bright spot in our business cooperation in the years ahead. And infrastructure is expected to be a new growth driver in this regard. My Indonesian friends told me that the cargo freight from Papua to Jakarta is three times the cost of shipping the cargo from Shanghai to Jakarta. Nearly 50 million population in Indonesia have no access to electricity. Infrastructure is a major bottleneck holding back Indonesia’s economic growth. The Indonesian new government is implementing the ‘ocean highway’ strategy, and planning to build 2,000 kilometers of road, 10 new airports, 10 new sea ports and 10 industrial parks. The purpose is to promote air, land and sea connectivity, and improve energy, telecommunications and transport infrastructure. In my recent meetings with Indonesian leaders, responsible officials of economic departments and entrepreneurs, I could feel their strong desire to enhance cooperation with China.

Global Times: President Joko Widodo vows to develop marine economy and turn Indonesia into a global maritime axis. What’s the purpose of this strategy? What does it mean to China-Indonesia relations?

Ambassador Xie: Indonesia sits between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and connects Asia and Oceania. It controls a number of strategic chokepoints, such as the Malacca Straits, the Lombok Strait and the Sunda Strait. In history, Indonesia was a major hub in the maritime silk road, with a rich legacy of friendly exchanges between our two countries. The city of Semarang has been named after the well-known Chinese navigator Admiral Zheng He. It retains much heritage of Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas in the 15th century.

In his inauguration speech, President Joko Widodo called for building Indonesia into a maritime power. This policy agenda focuses on raising maritime awareness, building ocean highways, promoting maritime connectivity, developing marine economy, upholding maritime security and conducting maritime diplomacy. And the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs has been established. In his visit to Indonesia in October last year, President Xi Jinping announced the strategic initiative of building a “21st century maritime silk road.” This is to develop a ‘silk road’ spirit of peace, friendship, openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation among China, Indonesia and other coastal countries of the maritime silk road. The purpose is to promote policy communication, transport connectivity, trade relations, monetary circulation and understanding between the people, and build a community of common destinies. This shows the strategic visions of Chinese and Indonesian leaders complement each other. Maritime cooperation will become a ‘blue bond’ connecting our two countries’ development strategies. It is expected to be a new highlight and a new driver for strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership and deepening the practical cooperation between our two countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past US President Barack Obama

as Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana and other world leaders

and their spouses get into position for a family photo before a banquet in Beijing

on Nov. 10, 2014. (EPA Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky)

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We Are Waiting for You to Invest in Indonesia, Jokowi Tells APEC in Speech

Jakarta Globe, Nov 11, 2014

President Joko Widodo delivers a speech at the APEC CEO Summit as part of the
 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the China National Convention
Center in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2014. (AFP Photo/Pool/Andy Wong)

Jakarta. Indonesian President Joko Widodo addressed business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit in Beijing on Monday, where he put out a call for greater investment in the archipelago and promised a friendlier climate for doing business in the country.

The following is his speech:

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and CEOs.

First, on behalf of Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to thank you for coming to my presentation. Today I am very happy to be among with you because you know I was a businessman years ago. So this morning I am very happy because we can talk about business, about investment with all of you.

This picture shows you our map of Indonesia. We have a population of 240 million and the distance is like from London in the UK to Istanbul in Turkey. And imagine, we have 17,000 islands.

Our national budget in 2015 is $167 billion and the fuel subsidy [allocation] is $27 billion. It’s huge. So we want to channel our fuel subsidy from consumption to productive activities. We want to channel [the money] to farmers for seed, for fertilizers, and also for irrigation. And we want to build dams — 25 dams in five years from our fuel subsidy to maintain the water supply to farming areas.

Some subsidy [funds] we want to channel to fishermen, to give them boat engines [and] refrigerators. We want to increase the income of the fishermen. Some fuel subsidy [funds] we want to [give to] micro and small enterprises in the villages. We want to help them raise working capital. And some subsidy [funds] we want to channel to the health program [and] the education program. And the subsidy [funds] we [also] want to channel to infrastructure.

In five years we want to build 24 seaports and deep seaports. We have 17,000 islands, so we need seaports and deep seaports. And this is your opportunity: 24 seaports and deep seaports.

This picture shows our Jakarta port, Tanjung Priok Port. In 2009, the capacity was 3.6 million TEUs a year. And our plan in 2017 is around 15 million TEUs a year. This is the potential [for] ports in Indonesia. This is your opportunity. We want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi, Maluku, also in Papua. And we plan to build our [railway network]. We already [have railway lines] in Java and we want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. This is your opportunity.

Now we talk about mass transportation. We want to build mass transportation in six big cities in Indonesia. We started in Jakarta last year, and we want to build in Medan, Makassar, Semarang, Bandung [and] Surabaya. So, this is also your opportunity. Because you know our national budget is limited.

Now we [will] talk [about] our maritime agenda. We want to build [a] sea toll. What is [a] sea toll? [A] Sea toll is [a] maritime transportation system to make our transportation costs lower [and] more efficient. We want to build from the west to the east. We hope not only the vessels can enter our sea toll but also mother vessels can enter the sea toll. So the price, the cost of the transportation, [becomes] more efficient.

For example, the price of [...] one sack [of] cement in Java is $6 [...] But in Papua the price is $150 [...] Imagine, 25 times [as much]. So we hope with our sea toll the price in our islands [will be] the same.

Electricity. We need power plants. We need around 35,000 [megawatts] to build our industries, projects, industrial zones, [manufacturing] zones. So we need power plants. This is also your opportunity to invest in this project. Because we need our power plants for manufacturing, for industrial zones.

Many investors, a lot of investors, when they come to me most of them [...] always complain about land acquisition. I will push my ministers, my governors, my mayors to help clear this problem. I have experience with land acquisition when I was a governor. We [had the] Jakarta Outer Ring Road [project that] started 15 years ago but stopped eight years ago, because we had a problem. One point five kilometers [was] unfinished because there [were] 143 families [who did] not accept [...] the compensation price. So last year I invited them [...] to lunch and dinner. Four times. Ah, this is me. I invited them and then we talked about the problem. Four times. And the problem [was] cleared.

And now the toll road has been [in use since] seven months ago.

Now [let’s] talk business permits. We have a national one-stop service office that can help you, that will serve you, that will facilitate you, that will give you your business permit. For example, [a] principle business permit [will take] three days to process.

Finally, again on behalf of the Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to thank you for your listening my presentation. We are waiting for you to come to Indonesia. We are waiting for you to invest in Indonesia. Thank you.

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Draft of the Master Plan for National Capital Integrated Coastal Development. 
(JG Screen Grab courtesy of the website of the Coordinating Ministry of
Economic Affairs)

A North Jakarta Fishing Community Learns How They Are Being Cheated

Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata, November 18, 2013

A worker walks between dried fish during dry fish processing at Marunda
beach in North Jakarta, on Sept. 2, 2013. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

Members of the Muara Angke fishing community in North Jakarta make their living from the sea, but it is a living that many residents say is increasingly at risk from pollution and environmental degradation.

So when one of Indonesia’s corporate law firms recently organized a class in Muara Angke, residents packed a community hall to learn about fishery and environmental laws, and to be briefed on city bylaws and regulations for running a small business, including the process to secure a business permit (SIUP) and certification for home-based food businesses.

Tri Sutrisno, a youth activist in the area, welcomed the initiative and said it offered important information that could benefit residents.

He said, for example, that residents had learned that obtaining a SIUP should be free, as regulated in a 2012 Jakarta bylaw, as opposed to the Rp 1 million ($86) or more that residents reported being regularly asked to pay in the past.

“The process is apparently quite simple and should not be as complicated as we have encountered,” he said after participating in the class, organized by the law firm Soewito Suhardiman Eddymurthy Kardono (SSEK), along with 75 other residents at the hall.

“I also found out from the session that the docking fee for a 30 to 50-ton fishing boat is actually only Rp 75,000, according to a city bylaw. In reality, we have to pay an exorbitant fee of up to Rp 1.5 million every time we dock our vessel,” Tri said.

Though the deeply ingrained bureaucratic culture of red tape and illegal fees will be hard to eliminate, Tri said, at least residents were now more aware of the laws and regulations that affect their lives and their livelihoods.

That, according to Denny Rahmansyah — a partner at SSEK who helped organize the event on Oct. 19 — was the goal. He said they did not expect an immediate sea change, but the firm wanted to give the community the knowledge that would allow them to begin improving their lives.

Another partner at the firm, Dyah Soewito, agreed that it was important to take that first step of familiarizing the community with the law.

“SSEK came to Muara Angke and organized this seminar because understanding the law, realizing what is expected and required of them, and of officials, is the first step for residents in fighting for and obtaining their rights,” she said.

Basso Tawang, a retired fisherman, said understanding the law was important for pushing back against the environmental degradation of Jakarta Bay that has made it difficult for fishermen to earn a living.

Basso, who was born in South Sulawesi but moved to Jakarta with his family when he was young, said he and the other Muara Angke residents now knew more about gathering evidence of environmental damage and filing complaints with the appropriate government agencies.

“Jakarta Bay is heavily polluted and it is no longer the pond of milk as described by Koes Plus in their song,” Basso said, referring to the song “Kolam Susu,” or “Pond of Milk,” by the Indonesian band. The song talks about the riches of Indonesia’s waters, with fishermen able to count on a fruitful harvest even when using just a net or fishing pole.

The legal session was held in cooperation with the North Jakarta Police, who spread the word about the class to the local community, which is administratively unrecognized by the city, and encouraged residents to attend and empower themselves to run small-scale fishery businesses.

Head of the Sunda Kelapa subdistrict police, Anton Elfrino Trisanto said police fielded numerous complaints from residents about business deals gone wrong.

Salim Gunawan, a community leader, said he had been victimized by his former business partners.

“I used to run my own flower crab wholesale business but I was conned out of money and went bankrupt,” he said, adding that it was the result of blindly trusting his partners without having the proper legal knowledge of how to run a business.

Anton said the police welcomed the chance to empower the Muara Angke community. “It could help them in doing business,” he said.

China Pledges $10b Loan for Asean Neighbors

Jakarta Globe, November 18, 2011

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Nusa Dua, Bali. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday Beijing would offer its Southeast Asian neighbors $10 billion in infrastructure loans, as he sought to deepen trade ties in the region.

He made the announcement in a speech at China’s meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders on the Indonesian island of Bali, after Beijing in 2009 announced a similar $15 billion loan to the region.

The earlier loan “has supported more than 50 infrastructure development projects, involving almost all Asean countries,” said Wen, according to a copy of his speech released by China’s state news agency Xinhua.

He said China and the 10-member regional bloc should enhance financial cooperation, including “local currency swap and encourage the quoting of China’s yuan and Asean currencies in each other’s inter-bank foreign exchange.”

China has an ambitious goal to turn the yuan, also known as the renminbi, into a global currency rivalling the dollar.

“China-Asean relationship is solidly based and has great potential and a promising future,” said Wen, promising China would “forever be a good neighbor, good friend and good partner” of Asean

“We will work closely with you to implement all the agreements we have reached to bring more benefit to our people and make greater contribution to peace and prosperity in our region,” he said.

Wen announced the establishment of a 3.0 billion yuan ($470 million) fund to step up maritime cooperation with ASEAN states that covers marine research, navigation safety, combating transnational crimes, among others.

Agence France-Presse

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attends the 14th Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Summit in Bali,

Indonesia, Nov. 18, 2011. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

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SBY to be 'lead speaker' in G-20 development session

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 11/11/2010 4:52 PM

The upcoming G-20 Summit in Seoul will have at least two new items on the agenda: development and maritime environmental security, according to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Yudhoyono told a press conference here Thursday before his departure for Seoul that he would be a 'lead speaker' at the summit’s development discussion.

"This year's G-20 Summit will discuss development, which is very important for developing countries such as Indonesia because we don't want the global economy to become unbalanced, unfair or ignorant of the problems faced by developing countries," Yudhoyono said.

"[Development] will be discussed for the first time and thank God Indonesia will be given a role. I will be a lead speaker at the G-20 Summit session tomorrow discussing important development issues."

Yudhoyono said South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had called him on Wednesday evening and asked Yudhoyono to attend the summit and support the interests of developing nations by playing active role in the development session.

The summit will also discuss maritime environmental security, which Yudhoyono said was very relevant to the interests of Indonesia as the world's largest archipelago.

Other subjects to be discussed at the summit include strong, balanced and sustainable economic growth; international financial institution reform; financial system regulation; climate change and trade and investment, Yudhoyono said.

Related Article:

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President: Revitalized must be further developed

Antara News, Saturday, January 30, 2010 05:32 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after Indonesia`s agricultural, plantation and fisheries sectors had been successfully revitalized, they needed to be further developed to reach a higher performance level.

"The first revitalization wave in agriculture five years ago has been accomplished. We acknowledge it has been successful but we will not stop at this point. We will carry out a second revitalization program over the next five years," the President said in Jakarta on Friday.

The second wave of agriculture, plantation and fisheries revitalization would be done to enhance self-sufficient and sustainable food security and can come to be reserves or food supplies for the world, he said.

To achieve the goals the President mentioned eight keys of success, which are devising a strategy and adopting the right policies, such as selecting qualified commodities which are given priority development.

The 15 commodities selected by the Chamber of Commerce and also used by the government consisted of four strategic commoditiesm, namely rice, corn, sugar and soybeans, and six superior export commodities such as palm, coffee, tea, cocoa, tuna fish and shrimps.

There are other two commodities to support public health consisting of cows and chickens meat, also three other popular commodities of mangoes, bananas and oranges.

"These 15 commodities are very important, but we still have to maintain rice and corn self-sufficiency and surplus, immediately fill the sugar self-sufficiency, reduce dependence on soybean imports, and increase the adequacy of cows meat supply," he said.

The President also called for improved research and technology development, by seeking new production enhancement innovations without opening a new field.

Keeping the environment is also mandated by the president, to run the agriculture, plantation and fishery development are environmentally friendly.

"Indonesia`s spatial must be done correctly. Businessmen and farmers should not only pursue profits. I expect the field fire to be stopped. We`ll help the local communities not to easily burn their field to farm," he said.

The President also reminded to continue to improve the farmers, planters and fishermen welfare and not to make them only as a production factor, because they are the state`s assets, owner and the national economy.

Beside production increasing, the President also expected the basic food commodities prices remain affordable to the people.

Related Article:

President : Listen to farmers

Indonesia Seeks to Build Food Security

VoaNews, Sara Schonhardt | Jakarta 29 January 2010

Indonesian farmers work in a rice field during a harvest in Tabanan, resort island of Bali, Indonesia (Photo: AP photo)

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Indonesia is home to nearly 240 million people, making it Southeast Asia's most populous country. But fertile farmland is limited in this island nation and shortages of major commodities such as rice and sugar are common.

The main hall of Jakarta's convention center teems with rice, noodles and meatballs. Bananas and mangos in every variety stand on display. The exhibition's tagline "Feed the World," acknowledges Indonesia's responsibility to help countries struggling with food production.

But Franciscus Welirang, chairman of the Committee on Food Security at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the government also realizes it must first help the people of Indonesia.

"Food is for everybody," said Welirang. "The basic idea is how to feed our nation first, but we are not alone in this world, and we also should participate based on our best competitive product."

The Chamber of Commerce, which organized the two-day expo, targets six commodities for export - tea, coffee, cacao, tuna, prawns and palm oil. It is also working to expand production of beef and chicken.

But rice and sugar are the country's main crops.

"We want our people to diversify, but still rice is very important," he said. "We are sufficient on it We hope we can withstand our continuity on that, and if possible, that we have an excess of rice, then we can export rice."

The Chamber of Commerce wants to see increased food production through infrastructure development, improved agricultural policies and financial support for small farmers. Welirang says that requires micro-loans and specialized agricultural lenders.

"There must be an agricultural bank, because to finance agriculture is totally different than with industrial, the risk is different; that's number one," he said.

The government has implemented a fertilizer subsidy to reduce farm costs and it provides seeds to improve harvests. On larger farms, the government partners with big businesses on land cultivation.

A free trade agreement for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations means Indonesian could increase farm exports. But when it comes to food, regional tastes can be fickle. So, Welirang says, maybe it is better to say: "Feed Indonesia, then feed the world."