Month: March 2011

7Wonders Saga Has Ministry Rethinking Strategy

The Jakarta Globe

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Thursday that the New7Wonders of Nature debacle had taught it a very valuable lesson — to conduct a thorough screening of partners that it intended to work with in the future.


The New7Wonders foundation is running an online vote to name the new seven natural wonders of the world. Komodo Island National Park is Indonesia’s entrant.

Indonesia and the foundation have become embroiled in a dispute following the foundation’s allegations that the Ministry had reneged on its commitment to host an event to announce the competition’s winners.

The Ministry, however, said that there had been no agreement signed on the matter and that the foundation was asking for too much to hold the ceremony.

New7Wonders has stated that the Tourism Ministry is no longer allowed to officially support the park’s campaign because it had failed to meet its obligations.

The Ministry said they were scratched from the list because the foundation insisted that Indonesia pay $10 million in licensing fees and Rp 420 billion ($47 million) to host the ceremony. New7Wonders has denied such claims, saying the government’s only commitment was $10 million to support the private group organizing the ceremony.

Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer representing the ministry, said it was still mulling legal action against the foundation.

“We want to give them a lesson that as a foundation that attracts worldwide attention, they need to be fair with participants of the competition,” Todung said. “That the Ministry was removed after we refused to pay the millions of dollars must be questioned.

“We have sent them letters and they bounced back to us,” he added. “What kind of organization has no exact address that we can contact?”

Despite the controversy, Todung said, what really mattered was that Komodo Island received the attention it deserved.

Nia Niscaya, the ministry’s director of conventions, said it had only signed a Standard Participation Agreement with the foundation, which did not contain specifics on the matter of payment.

“They had told us that in order to host the award ceremony, we would have to pay a licensing fee of $7 million,” she said. “Suddenly, we were informed it had gone up to $10 million.”

Jakarta Sets Out Vision for City’s ERP Toll Scheme

The Jakarta Globe

If the proposed Electronic Road Pricing scheme eventually pushes through, Jakarta motorists may find themselves paying up to Rp 21,000 ($2.40) every time they travel through large parts of the city.


That is roughly the price ceiling being considered in the master plan for the ERP by the Jakarta Transportation Office, according to its chief, Udar Pristono.

“We are proposing an average tariff for the ERP ranging from between Rp 6,579 and Rp 21,072,” he said.

Udar said the prices took into consideration current tariffs on the city’s toll roads, comparative rates overseas, consumer surveys and the cost of so-called jockeys, who help motorists circumvent the city’s three-in-one carpool regulation.

However, he said his office would first propose a set tariff of Rp 12,500 for at least the first phase of the program, after which the price could be reviewed.

To implement the scheme, the office is proposing three electronic toll gates be installed on each stretch of road where the ERP would be implemented.

Two gates, at the start and end of the stretch, would verify vehicle license plates, while the other would process how much to automatically deduct from motorists’ accounts via the on-board unit.

The ERP scheme is hoped to replace the current three-in-one system that is made redundant by the abundance of jockeys, who offer their services for between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000 to help motorists meet the three-passenger minimum needed per vehicle at certain times on certain roads.

Udar said his office had already come up with areas where the ERP could be applied, many of which included roads that were not covered by the three-in-one scheme.

But before the project could proceed, Udar said the authorities still needed to wait for government regulation related to the 2009 Law on Traffic and Road Transportation, which is still being debated.

It also needed the 2009 Law on Regional Taxes and Levies to be revised in order to allow the city to receive revenues from the scheme.

Separately, Jakarta motorists said they were already wary of the proposed new system.

Maria Dewi Purwitasari, an office worker, said she worried about how it would impact her family’s monthly budget.

“My husband and I often take the Sudirman, Thamrin and Harmoni route to commute between home and work. But if the Jakarta administration implements the ERP like this, we will have to manage our monthly budget again,” she said.

Andy Lala, a journalist from Trijaya FM, said the proposed tariffs would probably be fine for most people but questioned what the city would do with those revenues. “Will we have well-maintained roads that won’t get flooded during the rainy season or what?” he said.

Udar said the ERP scheme was just one of three immediate steps the city planned to take to alleviate chronic traffic problems. The other two initiatives included the construction of five more busway corridors and the development of an integrated transportation system.

“Hopefully those three steps can begin this year,” he said. “We will work hard to reduce the capital’s traffic congestion.”

Meanwhile, Jakarta Deputy Governor Prijanto said the city administration and central government had finally agreed on how to structure the financing for the construction of a 14.3 kilometer-long Monorail project. The project had been dropped in the absence of any investor.

The expected Rp 4.42 trillion cost of the project would be divided equally between both parties, he said.

Agus Pambagio, from the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), said that to ease traffic, the city should in the short term work to provide an adequate busway fleet, put restrictions on motorcycle numbers, hike parking rates along busway routes, tighten issuance of driver’s licenses and create incentives for police to book traffic offenders.

“But to do all these things, a strong and daring leadership is needed to make decisions,” he said.

“A leader should be firm — and even a little bit crazy — in executing his policies.”

Filmmakers Critical of Govt Plan to Subsidize Patriotic Movies

The Jakarta Globe

The Indonesian film industry appeared lukewarm to the government’s plan to allocate a special budget to subsidize the production of films that “instill love to the nation, raise patriotism and national defense.”


Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, speaking in Jakarta on Tuesday, said the subsidies would begin next year, though he did not say how much the program would cost.

“Good films that are full of messages of national character-building will be subsidized,” Jero said, adding that he would establish a team to determine the criteria for films to be subsidized.

Joko Anwar, a prominent Indonesian director, said the idea was not well considered.

“If the ministry only subsidizes films that improve patriotism, it would actually just foster the creation of bad patriotic movies,” he said.

“Filmmakers will try to meet the criteria needed to get the subsidy instead of focusing their creative efforts on producing a quality film.”

Ody Harahap, another local director of note, said that if the government pushes through the plan, it should have clear criteria and a transparent mechanism for doling out the subsidy.

“There is a possibility that the government will only support the filmmakers who have a close relation with the government,” he said.

Both directors said there were better ways to develop the local film industry.

Joko said supporting promising filmmakers instead of certain kinds of films was a better use of money, citing as an example the tax break provided by the New Zealand government to the producers of the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Ody suggested focusing efforts on improving facilities for Indonesian filmmakers.

“They can build a film school or a film library with a good collection so filmmakers can learn,” he said.

Jero also said he would pursue the implementation of more fiscal incentives in the form of tax reductions for national film production.

“The government will propose a zero percent tax for national film production,” he said.

The government recently implemented a zero taxation policy on importing raw materials used in film production.

Indonesia’s national film production has reached 100 titles a year and is expected to keep rising to reach 200 by 2014 to equal the number of imported films screened in theaters.

Jero said the government, through the Ministry of Finance, was still calculating the amount of tax for national film production. It is also still calculating the appropriate tax for imported films, he said.

Maroon 5 Run Into Tobacco Sponsorship Controversy in Indonesia

The Jakarta Globe


In yet another cigarette sponsorship controversy to hit Indonesia, American rock band Maroon 5 have requested that tobacco affiliations associated with its concert in Jakarta on April 27 be removed.

Again, the controversy has attracted international attention, with Internet petition host and blog Change.org saying that after receiving 180 letters complaining of Maroon 5’s tie-in with Gudang Garam’s Surya Professional Mild, the band “and their management moved quickly to have the tobacco company’s name removed from all posters and advertising.”

“Maroon 5’s management informed Change.org that the band does not have a direct sponsorship agreement with Surya Professional Mild, but that the entire concert series was sponsored by the company,” the organization said on its Web site.

“After learning from the petition that the band’s name was being used in conjunction with tobacco advertising, Maroon 5’s management contacted the tour promoter, Java MusikIndo, to immediately cease the use of the Surya brand in the promotion of the concert.”

Change.org noted that Maroon 5 was a group of artists involved in a new youth program that “encourages all young people to get connected and help create a world without cancer.”

“It seems ironic then, that after using their name to advocate for cancer awareness among youth, Maroon 5 is now helping to promote to youth a leading cause of cancer — cigarettes.”

Indonesia’s National Commission for Child Protection on Tuesday urged Java MusikIndo to withdraw the cigarette sponsorship and stop using tobacco companies to sponsor concerts.

The commission, also known as Komnas Anak, had sent a letter to the band and management on Jan. 20, requesting that Java Musikindo remove tobacco promotion.

Commission chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait also criticized the government, saying tobacco advertising should have already been banned given the health dangers that smoking posed.

He said that according to the law, tobacco was an addictive substance similar to alcohol.

“Therefore, if there is no alcohol advertisement through the media, tobacco should be treated the same say.” Arist said.

“It is very important also that the tour promoter find another alternative sponsor for their big events other than tobacco, especially when the tour promoter presents artists or musicians who have many teenage fans.”

Alex Papilaya, chairman of the Tobacco Support Center, said if foreign musicians could perform concerts free of tobacco sponsorship, so could local artists.

“All artists, foreigners or Indonesians, should also care about their fans. Slank for instance, if they can be an antidrug icon for their fans, they also can be anticigarette.” Alex said

He added that artists could also adopt antismoking themes in their music.

Triadi Noor, the director of Velvet Productions, an Indonesian tour promoter that refuses to plug cigarettes, said it was not difficult to promote concerts without tobacco sponsorship.

He said there were many alternative sponsors, including telecommunications companies, Internet providers and soft drink companies.

“We are doing it because we care about the … fans, who are the future … of this country.”

Indonesia Sends Out Mixed Signals in Film Ban Debate

The Jakarta Globe

The government has given conflicting messages about the ongoing controversy over curbing foreign-movie imports, with the customs office saying a ban may be enforced and the culture minister ruling out such a move.


Thomas Sugijata, director general of customs, said on Monday that in less than two weeks, three importers that had failed to pay royalties over the past two years could be barred from bringing in films.
“We sent them a letter on January 12 regarding this issue, and they have to respond by March 12,” he said. “If they fail to pay or to file an objection with the tax court by that time, we will have to revoke their import licenses.”
Thomas said the three importers owed Rp 31 billion ($3.5 million) in unpaid royalties and could face similarly steep fines for their failure to pay.
Seven other companies licensed to import movies have ceased operations, he said.
According to the tax law, importers have to pay 23.8 percent of a film’s customs value, including import tax, value-added tax and income tax.
Previously, royalties were not factored into the cost because distributors argued that the amount would only be known after the film was released.
The customs value of imported films had previously been based on the physical length of the film roll, with each meter valued at 43 cents.
The government now wants to tax royalties up front because a 2006 customs law stipulates that royalties should be included in the import-tax calculation.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which counts major Hollywood studios as members, said last month that the government’s decision to include royalties in its import tariffs would be detrimental to the flow of imported films into the country.
It also announced it would halt supplies of imported films to Indonesian cinemas pending the settlement of the dispute.
Jero Wacik, the minister of culture and tourism, said on Monday that any move to ban movie imports would kill the local film industry.
He also said the government was open to negotiations with film importers if they thought the royalties were too high.
“We’ll make every effort to keep foreign movies coming into Indonesia to keep the local film industry alive,” the minister said, “because the Indonesian film industry hasn’t been able to produce enough films to fill local screens.
“We also don’t want to force foreign-film lovers to resort to buying pirated DVDs by making the movies unavailable here.”
Jero said the government would still collect a percentage from ticket sales and the figure would depend on how popular a film was.
“If the film is popular and thus generates a large amount of revenue, the importers will have to pay a high tax,” he said. “But if it’s not popular, then they won’t have to pay that much. However, the final form of the tax scheme is still being discussed.”
Jero said the government would help improve the domestic film industry without shutting out foreign films.
He said the state would provide grants to encourage producers to make movies that would “have a good influence on developing the nation’s character.”
“Reducing the number of imported films in Indonesia is only one of the ways to safeguard the national culture and develop the nation’s character,” the minister said. “[We can also] reduce the tax on local films.”