Month: January 2011

Jakarta’s Suicide Hotline Ringing Off The Hook: Ministry

The Jakarta Globe

Jakarta. The Ministry of Health’s suicide hotline has seen a sharp rise in the number of calls since its launch almost three months ago, officials said on Friday.


Dr. Bella Patriajaya, chairwoman of the Suharto Heerjan Mental Health Hospital, said more Jakartans were turning to the crisis center, reached at the hotline number 500-454, for help with their emotional problems.

“[Before], there were only three or four people calling a day,” said Bella, who works at the West Jakarta hospital chosen by the ministry to run the project.

“After the center was [mentioned] in the media in early January, the number of [callers] is now increasingly high,” he said.

Bella said about 50 to 60 calls were now handled by 30 trained counselors at the 24-hour center, launched on World Mental Health Day in October last year.

The ministry created the center to help reduce the number of suicides in the city.

While no official statistics are available to indicate rising suicides, the Jakarta Police reported 81 cases of suicide last year.

Newspapers have recently reported cases of people jumping to their deaths from mall balconies or stepping in front of trains.

Though the majority of callers at the crisis center confessed to wanting to kill themselves, Bella said, the rest experienced depression and other mental disorders.

Most of the callers, he said, were between the ages of 30 and 50, suffering from a variety of problems, from stress to relationship woes.

“It varies, ranging from job loss, like being demoted,” Bella said. “If it’s a teenager, usually the problem is romance troubles with the opposite sex.

“If the person is above 50 years old complaining about love, usually it’s because their children all live in different cities.”

Dr. Irmansyah, chairman of the Health Ministry’s directorate for medical care, said counselors at the center were not expected to solve problems but should listen with a sympathetic ear.

“If necessary, the caller will be advised to seek optimal care in a hospital, or inform them of the nearest mental health services,” Irmansyah said.

He said the ministry was planning to scale up the project and launch crisis hotlines beyond the capital, especially in stressful areas such as big cities.

World Health Organization data from 2001 pegs the country’s suicide rate at 1.6 to 1.8 incidents per 100,000 people. However, Irmansyah said the number could be “much larger.”

“In Jakarta alone, the suicide rate is more than 10 cases per month,” he said

Residency for Mixed-Marriage Spouses Back on the Agenda

The Jakarta Globe

Foreigners married to Indonesians could finally be granted permanent resident status if landmark proposed changes are made to the highly unpopular 1992 Immigration Law.


The draft amendment to the law has been with the House of Representatives since July 2009, but House members backing the bill have recently invited public discussion on the issue, helping it to regain momentum.

Under the law, foreign spouses of Indonesian citizens are not granted permanent residency and must instead possess a valid work permit to remain in the country.

That also applies to adult children from the marriage. Gayus Lumbuun, a member of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs and is deliberating the draft amendment, said on Wednesday that employment should not be the defining criteria for granting permanent residency to foreign spouses, as it is at present.

“Mixed-marriage couples have long been a reality in this country but the government continues to give them a hard time by making it difficult for spouses to obtain permanent residency,” he said.

“Therefore we need to help spouses achieve their goal of staying with their families in the country.”

However, he said any amendment should not allow for unscrupulous foreigners to gain residency through a contract marriage with an Indonesian.

“As such, applicants should meet a minimum time requirement of being married to the same person,” he said.

Julie Mace, a representative for the International Rainbow Alliance (APAB) and the Indonesian Mixed Marriage Society (PerCa Indonesia), suggested several amendments to the law, including that requirements for permanent residency be clearly regulated.

Another is to allow permanent residency for adult offspring retaining their foreign parent’s nationality but wanting to stay in Indonesia.

She said that foreign spouses were essentially treated like migrant workers, despite having family in the country. “It’s not fair for our families,” she said.

“The government needs to change the 1992 Immigration Law, especially with regard to the permanent residency issue.”

She added it was impractical to force spouses and adult offspring to get a work permit, which requires that the applicant have certain skills, work experience and a corporate sponsor.

“What if the son or daughter is only 22, just out of college in the foreign parent’s country, where they may be eligible for free education, and now wants to come back and work in Indonesia?” Julie asked.

“They don’t have the necessary work experience, and while they can stay here on a social visit visa, it doesn’t allow them to work, which is what they need to gain experience.”

TV Show Canceled At Urging Of Police

The Jakarta Globe

A television station in East Java’s Malang district has pulled a musical based on the life of a national hero after police voiced concerns about the program’s “communist” content.


Batu TV was visited by intelligence officials from the local police department to inquire about the musical, based on the life of nationalist and communist leader Tan Malaka.

Sr. Comr. Yantofan, a spokesman for the Batu Police, said the officers found indications of communist-related content in the recorded musical, though he did not provide any details.

“ ‘Opera Tan Malaka’ is totally different from the film ‘G30S/PKI,’ which dealt with the topic of communism in a more traditional way,” Yantofan said on Tuesday.

“G30S/PKI” is a film promoting the Suharto government’s vision of the events surrounding a failed coup d’etat in 1965, which was blamed on communists.

“Because there are elements of communism [in the musical], Batu TV should not broadcast it,” Yantofan said. “And even if Batu TV wants to broadcast it, I wonder who will watch it as [the recording] is blurry.”

Adj. Comr. Kuncoro, an intelligence official from the Batu Police who visited the TV station last Thursday, said the visit was not to ban the program, but simply to “get information about the substance of the program, ‘Opera Tan Malaka.’ ”

“I met with Andry Hoediono, the director of Batu TV. He told me that he had not watched the recorded musical but promised that Batu TV would not broadcast the recording,” Kuncoro told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

The musical was produced by Tempo TV, a television production company that offered the package to 45 television stations in the country. Ten stations agreed to air the musical on different dates in January.

“Unfortunately, of the 10 stations, Batu TV and KSTV in Kediri [East Java] canceled their broadcasts of ‘Opera Tan Malaka’ after they were visited by intelligence officials from local police departments and were urged not to broadcast it,” said Eri Sutrisno, from TempoTV.

Muftie Ali, the operational coordinator of KSTV, confirmed that intelligence officials from the Kediri Police had visited the station.

“The intelligence officials who came to see us never banned the film, they just advised against broadcasting the film because it contains communist elements,” he said.

Nezar Patria, the chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI), criticized the police’s handling of the program.

He also pointed out that the musical had already been performed live for hundreds of people in October. 

“If there is a problem on Tan Malaka, then why can we still enjoy the book about Tan Malaka nowadays? So, it is clear to see that the problem is the lack of understanding of the country’s history at a local level,” he said.

Nezar regretted that BatuTV and KSTV decision to submit to the intelligence units suggestion for canceling the broadcasting of the Opera Tan Malaka.

HKBP Leaders Testify About Alleged Attack on Church by FPI Hard-Liners

The Jakarta Globe

Two protestant congregation leaders testified in the Bekasi District Court on Monday about a brutal attack on one of their church’s services in September at which both were injured.


The Rev. Luspida Simandjuntak and Asia Sihombing of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) were presented as witnesses in the case against 13 men accused of brutally assaulting them on Sept. 12, 2010.

Asia was stabbed during the attack while Luspida was beaten with a bamboo stick. The incident occurred as the congregation was making its way to a vacant lot in Ciketing, where it had been holding services after authorities sealed off the home that the HKBP had used as a church in Pondok Timur Indah.

Luspida told the court the congregation had received written permission from the regional secretary of Bekasi to use the vacant lot after their church had been shut.

“We first moved our Sunday service to Ciketing on July 11, 2010. However, before we ran our first Sunday service there, several protest banners had been erected saying that the local residents did not want us there,” Luspida said. “We didn’t think our Sunday service would really disturb anyone in the area, so we went ahead and conducted our normal activities such as praying and preaching.”

Luspida told the court she had held a dialogue with the protesters before the assault, including with Murhali Barda, the leader of the Bekasi chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), about conducting a church service on the lot at Ciketing. During the talk she presented letters from authorities granting her church permission to hold services there, but she said the FPI rejected her argument.

Asia Sihombing, secretary of the Bekasi congregation, told the court that the protests started in December 2009 when the HKBP was holding Sunday Masses in the house in Pondok Timur Indah.

Asia also testified that the HKBP had received a letter from the regional secretary allowing them to use the vacant lot in Ciketing after they were evicted from their house of worship.

Following the leaders’ testimonies, defendant Murhali’s lawyer, Shalih Manggara Sitompul, presented two letters to the court from local authorities advising the HKBP against holding Sunday services at the vacant lot and directing them to use the sports building at Jl. Chairil Anwar in East Bekasi instead for Masses.

“They were advised by the government not to hold their service in the vacant lot, but proceeded to ignore that advice. That is why the local residents rejected the church holding their services there,” he said.

Judge Wasdi Permana reviewed the letters presented by Shalih and concluded that the local authorities had indeed advised the HKBP not to worship at the vacant lot.

“This is not an issue of obstructing the congregation’s freedom of religion but they were reminded even by the government not to hold services there. But they neglected this advice,” Shalih added.

He also insisted on his client’s innocence because of the 11 eyewitnesses presented thus far, none have implicated Murhali. Shalih asked that his client therefore be released from detention. He further claimed that Luspida and Petersen Purba had not been truthful under questioning.

The hearings will continue at the district court on Thursday with more testimony from eyewitnesses.

KPK Moves to Investigate Use of Football Funds

The Jakarta Globe

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has said it will call for a thorough audit of the funds set aside by the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) for the improvement of teams across the country.


Johan Budi, spokesman for the KPK, said on Friday that the commission had preliminary findings pointing to the possible misuse of state funds earmarked for football teams nationwide.

“We believe there is unrecorded usage of funds by the PSSI,” Johan told the Jakarta Globe.

“The funds from the government to improve the quality of football teams nationwide are disbursed through the PSSI, which receives the funding through the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs as well as KONI [the National Sports Committee of Indonesia].

“However, based on information and data we received a few days before the AFF [Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup] finals, there is a discrepancy in the usage of funding by the PSSI.

“Therefore, we require an audit to check if all the funds were used correctly or otherwise. We ourselves plan to review the PSSI.”

Indonesia lost 4-2 on aggregate to Malaysia in the final, with the first leg played at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil Stadium on Dec. 26 and the second leg taking place at Gelora Bung Karno on Dec. 29.

On the matter of the PSSI allegedly sending free tickets to state officials to watch the final — which the KPK considers bribery — Johan said the KPK had yet to invite the general secretary of the PSSI, Nugraha Besoes, for questioning.

“We have only written him a letter to clarify whether or not the PSSI had sent off free tickets to state officials. Other than that, we have not taken any further action so far,” he said.

PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid was previously jailed for corruption, though he continued to serve as chairman from behind bars.

State, NGO Offer Opposing Claims About Maid’s Rape in Malaysia

The Jakarta Globe

Camelia Pasandaran, Elisabeth Oktofani & Antara

The state body in charge of migrant workers’ welfare denied allegations that an Indonesian maid had been raped by a Malaysian government minister three years ago, but an NGO said otherwise.


Jumhur Hidayat, chairman of the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI), said on Friday that the maid, identified as Rubingah, had denied being raped.

“There has been a direct written explanation from Rubingah that she was never raped while working in Malaysia,” Jumhur was quoted by Antara as saying.

The rape allegation emerged earlier this month in Malaysian media, based on a WikiLeaks document of an investigation by Migrant Care, an Indonesian nongovernmental organization.

The alleged perpetrator, Rais Yatim, Malaysia’s minister of communication and culture, has vehemently denied the claims.

But Anis Hidayah, Migrant Care’s director, said Rubingah had claimed at the time that she had been raped.

“She told us in 2007 that she was raped,” Anis said.

“We never meant to publicize the investigation, but after it was reported by WikiLeaks, we’ve had to open it.”

“We’re not in a position to say whether the allegations are true or not, and I don’t wish to go against the BNP2TKI’s statement,” she added.

Migrant Care, she said, had already submitted a copy of its 2007 investigation report to the National Police and the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

She urged the state to speed up the implementation of a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia on increased protection for Indonesian migrant workers.

The two countries have been deadlocked over the issues of minimum wages for migrant workers and who must shoulder workers’ placement fees.

Wahyu Susilo, a migrant worker policy analyst, said the memorandum’s provisions should comply with International Labor Organization standards to prevent the exploitation of Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

“Currently, employers don’t allow their workers to retain their own passports or to have a weekly day off,” he said.

Many Indonesian workers, he added, are also barred from associating with fellow workers or contacting their embassy.

But Anis said it would be hard to get the two governments to adopt ILO standards since neither country had laws enshrining these protections.

“If both countries had laws guaranteeing workers’ rights as per ILO standards, then they could implement the [memorandum] sooner,” she said.

Both countries, she added, had also failed to ratify the pertinent ILO conventions.

Neither Indonesia nor Malaysia has ratified Convention 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining. Indonesia has not ratified Conventions 138 and 182 on abolishing child labor.

Malaysia did ratify Convention 105 on eliminating forced and compulsory labor in 1958, only to reverse its decision in 1990.

Anis said it was crucial to have the memorandum in place to end worker abuse as well as to prevent Indonesian workers from going to Malaysia illegally to find work, in defiance of a moratorium imposed by Jakarta in the wake of abuses.

Worship Decree an Excuse For Attack

The Jakarta Globe

Elisabeth Oktofani & Yuli Krisna

Two men standing trial for a brutal assault on two church leaders in Bekasi told the district court on Thursday that they had been motivated to confront the victims because of a government decree that placed restrictions on houses of worship.


In total, 13 men stand accused of assaulting Asia Sihombing and the Rev. Luspida Simandjuntak, leaders of a congregation of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP), on Sept. 12.

Asia was stabbed during the attack while Luspida was beaten with a bamboo stick.

The incident occurred as the congregation was on its way to a vacant lot in Ciketing, where it had been holding services after authorities sealed off the home it was using as a church in Pondok Timur Indah.

Questioned by prosecutor Indra Pribadi, the first defendant, Supriyanto, said that even though he was not from Bekasi, he had been motivated to confront the church leaders by updates on the Facebook page of Murhali Barda, a suspended leader of the Bekasi chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). Murhali is also a suspect in the case.

Indra read out one of Murhali’s updates to the court. “Praise be to God. Reskon Sitorus, the HKBP priest who likes to hide under a woman’s armpit, I challenge you to show up.

On the 12th [of September] we will fight one-on-one,” it said. “Hey, you priests who like to use their congregation to gain popularity and respect, I challenge you next Sunday.”

Supriyanto told the hearing that news about the Ciketing services had made him angry.

“More so after reading Murhali’s Facebook update. I was motivated to help the government to enforce the law.”

A 2006 joint ministerial decree on houses of worship requires the approval of at least 60 residents in the immediate vicinity of a house of worship, copies of 90 identity cards from congregation members and written recommendations from the local offices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interreligious Communication Forum (FKUB).

Supriyanto added that he did not know Murhali personally, having only met him on Sept. 12, the day of the attack, at Miftahul Jannah Mosque in Ciketing.

Meanwhile, Ade Firman, another defendant in the case, said he had met with at least eight of the other suspects at an Islamic get-together when he received a message from Murhali.

“It said that society should reject the HKBP’s Sunday services in the vacant lot in Ciketing because it violated the 2006 joint ministerial decree,” he said.

Ade said Murhali had suggested they meet at Nurul Huda Mosque, which is located some distance away from Miftahul Jannah Mosque.

“We did not get to Nurul Huda because before we could, we saw the HKBP congregation. We saw some of the congregation members beating up a motorcyclist,” he said.

“Some minutes later, I saw a motorbike with three people coming toward me. I was trying to defend myself and I hit the woman who was sitting on the back of the motorcycle.”

The woman that was hit was identified as Luspida.

The motorcyclist allegedly beaten by the HKBP congregation was Ismail bin Abdullah, another defendant who addressed the court on Thursday.

“I was driving my bike when suddenly the HKBP congregation got hold of me and called me a thief,” he said.

“All I knew was that I was supposed to meet my friends for a get-together at the Nurul Huda Mosque. Ade asked some of us to go to Ciketing, but he did not explain why.”

Ministry Report Pushes Bali Governor to Consider Construction Moratorium

The Jakarta Globe

Elisabeth Oktofani & Made Arya Kencana

Denpasar. The Bali governor is considering imposing a moratorium on hotel development in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar to balance tourism development in the island.


Made Mangku Pastika said on Wednesday that he had received the assessment report done by the Tourism Ministry’s team, which stated there is an oversupply of hotel rooms in the island’s main tourist destinations.

“It is recommended that there should be no more hotel investment in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar until 2015.

Instead, the hotel investments would better be directed to areas such as Buleleng, Bangli, Karangasem and Jembrana,” he said.

However, the introduction of the moratorium must be first consulted with the island’s regent chiefs. Pastika said that, under the Autonomy Law, the regent chiefs are the ones authorized to issue building permits, not the provincial government.

Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, chairman of Bali Tourism Board, said South Bali has been the major destination for tourists because other parts of Bali are lacking in infrastructure.

“To bring tourists to another part of Bali, the government needs to build and improve the infrastructure, especially the access road,” he said.

Wijaya agreed with the idea of imposing a moratorium on the construction of new hotels in South Bali, but he said the plan is likely to present problems for the economy.

“As regional autonomy is implemented in the province and the regional government depends on the regional income, it might be difficult to stop giving permits to the investors because the tourism business has been the major for the local government,” he said.

Provincial spokesman Ketut Teneng said he had not yet received a copy of the report done by the tourism ministry’s assessment team.

However, Teneng said the call for a development moratorium would be seriously considered.

He also called on tourism industry authorities in Bali to do their own assessment, which can serve as a supporting document during the deliberations on the moratorium issue.

According to the ministry’s assessment team, Bali currently has 55,000 hotel rooms which is 9,800 more of the ideal number of rooms.

I Gede Pitana Brahmananda, the head of the ministry’s Culture and Tourism Resources Unit, said if the governor fails to issue a regulation stopping hotel construction, Bali will eventually suffer from overdevelopment.

“The governor needs to issue the regulation as soon as possible because if they do not issue it, they cannot stop investors from building hotels in Bali,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, the Gianyar regent chief, said the moratorium should be implemented selectively in order to avoid unhealthy competition among local investors.

He suggested that only developers that plan to impose accommodation rates at $1,000 (Rp 9 million) per night or more should be allowed to proceed with building new hotels.

“There are already thousands of rooms within the price range of $100 – $500 per night,” he said, adding that the island should now focus on attracting high spenders in order to promote a more exclusive image of Bali tourism.

Religious Affairs Ministry Courts Controversy With Islamic Awards

The Jakarta Globe

Elisabeth Oktofani, Ulma Haryanto & Fitri R.

Critics have lashed out at the Ministry of Religious Affairs for recently handing out awards to Muslim leaders, saying it unduly favored Islam over other faiths.


The ministry on Monday presented awards to six governors and 10 district heads and mayors for “explicitly including Islamic education in regional bylaws.”

Recipients included the governors of Bangka-Belitung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

The winning district heads and mayors were from Lhokseumawe and Sabang in Aceh, East Ogan Komering Ulu and Palembang in South Sumatra, Lebak and Tangerang in Banten, Sukabumi in West Java, Jepara in Central Java, West Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara and Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi.

Ismail Hasani, a senior researcher at the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said the ministry “showed favoritism” by handing out the awards.

“It’s supposed to be the Religious Affairs Ministry, not the Islamic Affairs Ministry,” Ismail said on Tuesday.

“I fear that the objectivity of the country’s public officials has been compromised,” he added. “They no longer work for all groups in society, but rather they see things based on the dichotomy of majority and minority.”

In particular, Ismail questioned the ministry’s decision to honor West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi, who pushed for a ban on Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect considered deviant by most mainstream Muslims, in his province.

“Zainul is an Islamic cleric whose grandfather founded Nahdlatul Wathan, the biggest Islamic organization in the province,” Ismail said. “Now he has ambitions to build the country’s biggest Islamic center there, for which he’s already had two schools bulldozed. Not to mention he’s already quarantined the Ahmadiyah.”

Members of the sect have been forced to live in temporary shelters in Mataram after being barred from returning to their homes. Several provincial officials have proposed relocating sect members to a deserted island.

Taqiuddin Mansur, director of the Al Mansuryah Islamic boarding school in Central Lombok, said Zainul’s administration treated Nahdatul Wathan institutions more favorably than those run by Muhammadiyah or Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s two biggest Islamic organizations.

“A governor shouldn’t be so primordial or sectarian like that,” he said.

Tantowi, a coordinator for the Institute of Humanitarian Studies (LenSA) in West Nusa Tenggara, said funding was skewed toward Zainul’s pet organization and projects.

“The provincial Islamic center gets an annual budget of Rp 500 billion [$56 million],” he said. “Meanwhile, anyone wanting to build a church or house of worship for any other religion gets a hard time from the authorities.”

Noorhaidi Hasan, from Jakarta’s Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said the awards might have been politically motivated.

“Research shows that religious bylaws are often used only to accumulate power or influence, and they’re not always implemented,” he said. “That the administrations getting the awards are those that pushed for Islamic interests — there might be something there.”

Ismail said the awards were introduced after Suryadharma Ali became the religious affairs minister in October 2009. “During his rule, he has often made decisions that reflect his Islamic political background and not his role as a public official,” he said.

Afrizal Zein, a spokesman of the Religious Affairs Ministry, said the awards were initiated by the head of the Directorate of Islamic Education, which naturally recognized efforts to help Muslim schools.

“If other directorate heads want to do the same thing, they are allowed to do so,” he said. “It just depends on whether they have the budget for it.”

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Setara’s deputy chairman, said the state should “maintain its distance” from all faiths.

“Unfortunately, the government does things that it thinks are right, but that only turn out to be discriminative,” he said.

Ministry Eyes 7.5m Tourists Going Beyond Jakarta, Bali

The Jakarta Globe

Indonesia will strive to promote destinations in the country other than overcrowded Bali and Jakarta to help achieve its target of 7.5 million foreign visitors this year, a Tourism Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.


Gusti Ngurah Putra said the government would promote the country as an ecological and cultural destination, as well as a MICE venue — an industry term referring to meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

In terms of MICE, Putra said Yogyakarta, Padang, Solo, Manado and Bangka-Belitung would be promoted as alternatives to Jakarta and Bali.

“For the two Asean Summits, which will be held in April and October, we will prepare Jakarta and Bali as the locations because the standard of facilities needed for heads of state are only available in those two areas,” Putra said. “However, there are approximately 600 international events that will be held all over Indonesia in 2011.”

He said the opening of more international airports this year, such as the Lombok airport in Mataram, would also help in reaching the 7.5 million goal — half a million more than last year’s target.

“We now have 17 international airports all over Indonesia,” he said. “It would really help the distribution of tourists as well as the development of tourism in several places that have cultural and natural attractions.”

The expectation was that several international entry points would lead to an increase in demand for tourism facilities such as hotels and restaurants.

But Putra added that the government was keen to ensure the ensuing tourism development was eco-friendly. A new destination management system, he said, would be employed by the ministry to this end.

“This means a complete development that involves many sectors, so that tourism development is not just about business but will not destroy the ecosystem and harm the society,” he said.

This system, he said, was successfully implemented in the last two years in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, where the Komodo National Park is located.

“We built an access road to Komodo National Park from Labuhan Bajo with funding from the Switzerland government, making it easier for tourists to go there,” he said.

“Moving forward, we have a complete development plan for the tourism sector in Flores that will benefit both the society and tourists.”

This year, he added, Indonesian tourism development would be pro-growth, pro-job, pro-poor and pro-environment.