Month: April 2011

Emphasis on Exams Unhealthy: Critics

The Jakarta Globe

The inordinate focus placed on national exams results is holding back the development of education in Indonesia, nongovernmental organizations and teachers said on Sunday.


Some 2.4 million Indonesian students will take their national exams today, supervised by more than 270,000 teachers across the nation.

Bambang Wisudo, executive director of nongovernmental group Schools Without Borders, said by focusing only on the results of the exams, the government was neglecting other important areas of childhood education that could still be improved.

“The marks from the national exam should not be used to indicate if a student should graduate,” Bambang said. “Because the actual point of studying, for the purpose of learning, is forgotten.

“The high value placed on exam results encourages students to focus only on achieving good grades,” he continued.

“Instead of producing critical thinkers, the national exam produces robots, who depend on final exam results that can be achieved through a variety of deceptive methods.”

In the past, the national exams were the sole determinant for whether a student graduated, which led to widespread cheating by students. The Education Ministry responded by including end-of-term tests and reports in consideration for the final graduation score.

The exams’ detractors have claimed the tests encourage rote learning, saying that once the exams are over, students forget what they have memorized.

Critics also say too many resources are poured into the exams, citing the fact that the ministry has prepared five different versions of each paper to minimize cheating.

Separately, Retno Listyarti, a teacher at State Senior High School (SMAN) 13 in North Jakarta, said it seemed the government’s primary concern with the national exams was that schools and students did not collude to obtain high marks. The government, Retno said, was not really interested in improving the quality of education.

Education critics have accused teachers at state schools of attempting to pass their students at all costs. Teachers often gain significant benefits, such as promotions or additional work, from having a high pass rate.

“The government is only concerned that schools and students don’t collaborate or work together to help students pass exams, irrespective of whether or not they are actually learning anything at school,” Retno said.

“This can be seen in the way the ministry has prepared five different versions of each question for the students.”

Lody Paat, an education observer, said if the government truly saw the exams as the ultimate determinate of whether a student should graduate, it should allow schools to evaluate their own students.

Meanwhile, students on Sunday attended mass prayers for success in the exams. Pono Fadlullah, the headmaster of SMAN 68 in Central Jakarta, said the prayers were important to relieve stress and provide the students with psychological balance.

However, Utomo Dananjaya, the director of Paramadina University’s Institute for Educational Reform, said the phenomenon of holding mass prayers before the exams showed that students and teaching staff were too concerned about the results of the exams, when the time would be better spent studying.

Cancer Foundation Says Thanks to Supporters

The Jakarta Globe

The Indonesian Cancer Organization marked its 34th anniversary on Sunday by honoring a long list of members and donors, including Lippo Group founder and CEO Mochtar Riady, for their support.


“Without the support of professionals and donors, our programs could not proceed smoothly,” said Karlinah Umar Wirahadikusumah, a board member of the charity, also known as YKI.

“Therefore, YKI is acknowledging the loyalty and dedication of those members and donors who have been actively supporting us either financially or professionally to raise public awareness on cancer,” she said.

The awards, in the form of certificates of appreciation, were awarded to a number of donors and several YKI branches, including those in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Papua, South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan.

The award for Mochtar Riady was accepted by Theo L. Sambuaga, Lippo Group president. The Jakarta Globe is affiliated with Lippo Group.

In addition to educating the public about cancer, Karlinah said the foundation also actively helped cancer patients obtain treatment, especially those from poor families.

“Using funding from donors, YKI is trying to help cancer patients from disadvantaged families get treatment,” Karlinah said.“Other than that, we have also built a clinic, Sasana Marsudi Husada, in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta,” she said.

Mei Ukas, the vice treasurer of YKI, said the clinic only charged patients Rp 30,000 ($3.50) per day to stay there.

“Currently, Sasana Marsudi Husada has 20 rooms for patients. Each patient is charged Rp 30,000 per day and for that they get a place to stay, three meals a day and also milk,” Mei said.

She said on average six to eight patients stayed at the clinic every month, most of whom were in Jakarta to seek treatment at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.

According to the World Health Organization, cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.9 millions deaths in 2007. Cancer of the lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast claim the most lives.

“Seeing that breast, liver, lung and stomach are listed as the cause of the most cancer deaths each year, we have prioritized the 10 most dangerous cancers to be part of our public cancer education programs,” Mei said.

“The 10 cancers are cervical breast, liver, lung, skin, colorectal [bowel], nasopharynx, leukemia, malignant trophoblastic and lymphoma malignum,” she said.

Karlinah said, “As cancer is listed as the leading cause of death worldwide, it is very important that we help to improve awareness of it by running campaigns and educating the public.”

YKI was founded by 17 people, including the country’s first vice president, Mohammad Hatta, former Health Minister Gerrit A. Siwabessy and former Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin, to educate the public about cancer, with particular emphasis on minimizing risks, including through early detection.

In Duri Pulo Schools, Space for Libraries Is More of a Problem than Finding Books

The Jakarta Globe
In Duri Pulo Schools, Space for Libraries Is More of a Problem than Finding Books

A school library is a luxury. Just ask the students and teachers of 10 state elementary schools in Duri Pulo in Central Jakarta.

Situated on Jalan Setia Kawan III in Central Jakarta, these 10 schools — from SDN 1 Duri Pulo to SDN 10 Duri Pulo — are built within a single complex. Each school has 240 students, but not one of them has a proper, separate structure for a library.

The problem? Lack of space and funding. In fact, space is so limited and funding so scarce that two of the schools — SDN 6 Duri Pulo and SDN 10 Duri Pulo — already have been forced to let classes share classrooms.

Hetdina Tobing, a teacher at SDN 4 Duri Pulo, told the Jakarta Globe that all the school could manage was to empty out one classroom and use a portion of it as a makeshift library, with the remainder serving as the teacher’s lounge.

This, Hetdina said, is being done by each of the schools in the cramped complex.

“We had to sacrifice one classroom for this makeshift library. Therefore, first- and second-grade students now have to take shifts studying in one classroom — first grade in the morning and second grade in the afternoon,” Hetdina said.

SDN 4 Duri Pulo has a collection of more than 1,000 books located in a 16 square meter room on the second floor of the SDN Duri Pulo school complex.

Nurul Amri, the librarian at SDN 4 Duri Pulo, said other than purchasing books itself every year, the schools often receives book donations from companies, foreign embassies and nongovernmental organizations.

As the book collection keeps growing, Nurul said he hopes to someday place them in a proper library building. “I hope the students get a new library, butI know it’s impossible as we do not have space for it,” he said.

“Even though ours is only a makeshift library, so many students come and visit during recess. They can’t visit every day because the library is so small that we are unable to accommodate many students. We give them a schedule so they can visit twice a week.”

“Most of the students are interested in books with colorful pictures, such as science encyclopedias,” Nurul added.

“Even if we do not have a proper library, it would be very good if we could get science comic books to add to our collection and stimulate our students.”

The Kompas daily recently reported that Ministry of Education data shows at least 55 percent of elementary schools nationwide do not have libraries.

Alan Mulyana, a fifth-grader at SDN 3 Duri Pulo, believes that reading can help him expand his knowledge.

“My teacher told me books are a window to the world,” he said.

“That’s why I love to read them.” names checked even as the school had been built in the 80s

“Despite the fact the book is purchased with the school operational aid from the central government, we also often get book donation from other parties, including novels, encyclopedias, books on Indonesian history book or Indonesian folklore. But again, problem is space and funding,” Nurul Amri said.

Never Far From Strife, Buddha Bar Takes New Road

The Jakarta Globe

Brushing off the controversy that marred its short run in Jakarta, the former Buddha Bar will soon reopen as Bistro Boulevard.


When the Buddha Bar set up shop in the pre-World War I Bataviasche Kunstskring (Batavia Art Circle) building in October 2008, it was the first of the global chain of cocktail lounges to open in Asia.

However, the bar soon found itself at the center of controversy as religious groups protested its name and the use of Buddha statues as decorations in the bar and restaurant. It was eventually ordered to shut down last year.

In a recent statement, the management of the restaurant, Nireta Vista Creative, said it had donated the colossal Buddha statue to one of Jakarta’s Buddhist temples.

“This action marks the end of a franchise settlement between Buddha Bar Jakarta and Buddha Bar worldwide,” it said.

However, a new controversy is brewing, with some groups questioning ongoing renovation work in the building. In January, Jakarta

Building Control and Monitoring Office (P2B) sealed the property because management had failed to obtain an official renovation permit.

Hendri Marheroso, the operational manager of Bistro Boulevard, said on Friday that although management was still waiting for a formal renovation permit, it had the “green light” from the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Office to conduct renovation work.

“It’s because rain water leaked inside the building and there was the possibility that it could cause significant damage, so we had to fix it,” Hendri said, adding that although management was still waiting for a renovation permit, it had already secured a business permit.

On Wednesday, Arie Budiman, the head of the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Office, said the governor had asked that the building be turned into an art gallery.

Hendri said the art gallery would be the part of the restaurant. “This building is a cultural heritage building which means it is a public space, so we will open an art gallery in the lobby and an exhibition hall on the second floor,” he said.

Ade Purnama, the founder and director of Friends of the Museum, or Batmus, said it was good that the building was being managed by a private operator.

“The private sector usually knows how to care for museums or cultural heritage better than the government,” he said. “As long as they do not change the building, the government should just let them [renovate it] as it will make the building more lively.”

The new restaurant will open in two weeks.

Mosque Bomber’s Motive a Mystery

The Jakarta Globe

Farouk Arnza & Elisabeth Oktofani

Condemnation of Friday’s suicide bombing in Cirebon, the first such attack inside a mosque in this country, came quickly from all corners of society — but answers have been scarce.


The blast, which took place during Friday prayers at the Cirebon Police’s compound in West Java, left 26 people injured, including policemen and intelligence officers.

Only the suicide bomber perished after he detonated what police sources described as a low-level explosive filled with nails and shrapnel.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono strongly condemned the terrorist bombing and ordered law- enforcement agencies to find out who was responsible, according to Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.
West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan decried the attack as a human rights violation that had disrupted peace in the province.

In a statement on Friday, the Maarif Institute, a think tank, said it was a “heinous act that hurt Muslims,” while the head of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) in West Java, K.H. Hafidz Utsman, called it an attempt to pit people against each other.

Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, facing the death penalty for terrorism-related charges, said the assailant was a kafir, or infidel, according to his personal assistant, Hasyim Abdullah. “It’s haram [forbidden] to bomb a mosque. Only kafir do that,” Hasyim said, quoting Bashir.

The blast is the first major terrorist attack in the country since the July 2009 hotel bombings in Jakarta.

The attack — which shocked many due to its unusual locale — came in the wake of the arrests of suspected Muslim extremists, as well as a string of book-bomb scares last month.

“This has never happened before in Indonesia. It’s outrageous,” said Mardigu Prasantyo, a terror analyst at Narapatih Center. “This is much more dangerous than previous attacks in the country [because] we never thought a mosque would be a target.”

In 1999, a bomb exploded in the basement of the country’s largest mosque, the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. Three were injured, but it was not a suicide bombing.

Though officials said it was too early to speculate on who was behind Friday’s attack, an antiterror police source said it could be linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network or Negara Islam Indonesia, a group seeking to establish an Shariah state.

“From our initial analysis, we suspect that the group behind this could be related to the NII movement that has been radicalized by the JI,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

Two suspected terrorists killed in a police raid following the 2009 bombings, Zaifuddin Zuhri and Ibrohim, hailed from Cirebon and were both known as NII activists, the source added.

However, military expert Andi Widjajanto said targeting a mosque ran counter to NII and JI ideology. “It appears that the target is the National Police, similar to the bicycle bomb,” he said, referring to last year’s bombing attempt in Kalimalang, Bekasi.

Noor Huda Ismail, a security analyst, did not rule out JI or NII involvement, saying they could have been targeting a dhirar mosque, which he said deviate from Islamic teachings and shelter hypocrites. He also said the Al Qaeda-style attack appeared to be carried out by an amateur.

Additional reporting from Fidelis Satriastanti, Yuli Krisna & AFP

TNI Denies Link to Citibank Scandal in Official’s Removal

The Jakarta Globe

A senior Indonesian Air Force official was removed from his post at the National Defense Agency, but not because of his suspected links to the ongoing Citibank embezzlement scandal, a military spokesman said on Thursday.


Air Vice Marshal Rio Mendung Thalib, who was deputy governor of the agency, also known as Lemhannas, was stood down on April 9 as part of procedural changes due to his upcoming retirement, said Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul, a spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

Iskandar said Rio’s scheduled retirement in October required him to be replaced three to four weeks before then.

“While that process was going on, the issue on Rio’s involvement in the Malinda embezzlement scandal came up,” he said. “Therefore, we decided to have an emergency meeting regarding this case.”

Rio is listed as a commissioner at Sarwahita Global Management, a company that was partially owned by Inong Malinda Dee, a senior relationship manager at Citibank Indonesia accused of embezzling Rp 20 billion ($2.3 million) of her customers’ money.

Police suspect Malinda laundered at least Rp 2 billion through Sarwahita, although this has been denied by the company’s current president director.

“From the results of the emergency meeting, we decided that the best solution was to remove Rio from his position as deputy of Lemhannas, and from any other positions,” Iskandar said.

But he stopped short of saying that Rio’s involvement with Sarwahita was the reason behind his removal from the agency.

Budi Susilo Supandji, governor of Lemhannas, confirmed that he had met with Rio to discuss his relationship with Sarwahita, but declined to comment on Rio’s removal.

“I invited Rio to explain his involvement in Sarwahita Global Management and he has explained it. However, that information is classified,” Budi told journalists on Thursday. “Regarding the current investigation, it is up to the National Police to give an explanation.”

Rio is not a suspect in the Citibank embezzlement case and has not been summoned for questioning by police.

However, Iskandar suggested Rio might face a military tribunal for violating the military code of conduct over the issue.

“As there was an emergency meeting regarding Rio’s involvement in Sarwahita Global Management, resulting in his removal as a deputy Lemhannas, you can guess what will happen,” he said. “He was still active in the military at the time.”

Military regulations forbid TNI personnel from being involved in politics or business while on active duty.

Iskandar said Rio’s replacement had not yet been selected.

“Currently, we do not have any candidates to replace Rio as deputy governor because it will take some time to decide,” he said.

City Wants to Turn Ex-Buddha Bar Into Gallery

The Jakarta Globe

City authorities plan to return a heritage building that once housed the Buddha Bar in Menteng, Central Jakarta to its orginal function as an art center, an official said on Wednesday.


“The governor has requested that the building be turned into an art gallery,” said Arie Budhiman, head of the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Office.

When the Buddha Bar opened in the pre-World War I Bataviasche Kunstskring (Batavia Art Circle) building in October 2008, it was the first of the global chain of cocktail lounges to open in Asia.

However, the bar soon found itself at the center of a controversy as religious groups protested its name and the use of Buddha statues as decorations in the bar and restaurant.

Authorities eventually bowed to public pressure and sealed off the building last year.

Arie said the owner of the Buddha Bar, Nireta Vista Creative, had filed a request for a new business permit and drop the use of the name Buddha.

It now plans to open the “Bistro Boulevard” restaurant in the building .

“The request is still being processed,” Arie said.,

He said, however, that the building should operate primarily as an art gallery, with any restaurant or cafe opened in the same building operating as a secondary business.

He said the granting of a business permit to the owner would be conditional on this.

Donna Pratamawansyah, a spokeswoman for Bistro Boulevard, said when the Buddha Bar was still in operation, the building had featured an art gallery owned by the local government.

“And it was managed by us,” Donna said.

“So, although we have not yet been informed about who would manage the proposed art gallery in the building, there is a possibility that we would manage it as before.”

She said she envisaged the gallery acting as an entrance point to the restaurant.

Hendrik Sirait, from the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI), questioned why the owner of the building was being allowed to carry out renovation work despite the property having been officially sealed off.

The official city Web site, BeritaJakarta, quoted workers there as saying that no major renovations were being carried out.

“The sealing of the building is a legal action that should be respected by the building owner. After it has been sealed there should be no activity inside the building, including business or renovation,” Hendrik said.

Weather Blamed for Caterpillar Plague

The Jakarta Globe

Fidelis E. Satriastianti & Elisabeth Oktofani

Unpredictable weather coupled with a decline in natural predators is responsible for a recent plague of caterpillars in parts of the country.


Though the phenomenon is centered largely in Probolinggo, East Java, smaller reported outbreaks in Central Java, West Java, Bali and, most recently, Jakarta have prompted fears of a widespread infestation.

But Aunu Rauf, an entomologist at the Bogor Institute of Agricultural (IPB), says there is no connection between the outbreaks in Probolinggo and those in the other areas.

“There are at least 120,000 types of caterpillars in the world, so those found in Bekasi [West Java] and Probolinggo would be different from each other,” he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

“I’m sure the ones in Tanjung Duren [West Jakarta], where people have claimed to have been ‘attacked’ by caterpillars, are also a different type.”

Since March, millions of hairy caterpillars have cropped up in at least five subdistricts in Probolinggo, invading fields and homes. They have also caused itchy rashes among residents.

The caterpillars have also destroyed more than 8,800 mango trees — the district’s main agricultural produce. However, the caterpillars in Bekasi were found largely in bushes, while those in Tanjung Duren were found on pine trees.

“Basically, in the life cycles of pests, it’s normal for them to increase in number at the start of the dry season — especially caterpillars,” Aunu said, adding that the country was currently in the transition period to the dry season.

“In the current case, however, their numbers exploded because of the prolonged rainy season last year that disrupted [the population growth of] natural predators, particularly birds and other insects.

“In addition, parasitoids, insects similar to wasps whose larvae live within caterpillars as parasites, are for some reason on the decline. Their role as the caterpillars’ natural enemy is very important because they lay their eggs inside the caterpillar, and when those hatch, the larvae eat up the caterpillar from the inside.”

Aunu said the outbreak in Probolinggo, coming 70 years after the last similar outbreak there, was remarkable only for the extent of the damage being caused to mango trees.

“These caterpillars have had a tremendous effect — not only economic, from eating all the mango leaves, but also social,” he said. “Because now the villagers are afraid to carry out their regular activities due to all these insects coming into their houses.”

Aunu said while it was good for people to be aware of the caterpillar phenomena, including in Tanjung Duren and Bekasi, he stressed it was normal for the caterpillar population to increase at this time of year and should not cause too much concern.

“If these caterpillars were the type that run around fields or enter homes instead of clinging to tree branches, then we would have to take action,” he said.

Hari Sutrisno, an entomologist from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that as long as the caterpillars were not harming people, they should be left alone.

“There’s been quite a frenzy over these caterpillars, and it’s all a bit too much,” he said, adding that the reports from Bekasi were particularly exaggerated. “Caterpillars don’t claim lives.”

Hari said the best way to deal with the insects was to collect them for incineration rather than use pesticides on them.

“Another method is to blend dead caterpillars with water and spray it on the live ones,” he said. “The spray acts as a natural insecticide because caterpillars that die naturally usually contain a virus that’s deadly for the species. It’s a lot better than using pesticides, which can have a long-term impact.”

Aunu also cautioned against using pesticides. “Just pick them off the tree branches and get rid of them,” he said.

“Don’t use pesticides because you don’t know what other kinds of insects you’ll be killing that serve a function for the tree.”

In the Probolinggo case, Aunu said the caterpillar numbers were already declining because most of the insects had already turned into butterflies.

“The only way to deal with them is still through their natural enemies,” he said.

“To do this, put caterpillar pupae into a jar and see whether they become butterflies or wasps. If they turn into butterflies, then we need to kill them. But if you get a wasp, that means they need to be released because parasitoids are present and functioning.”

Darmuna, a resident of Tanjung Duren, said the problem was that the hairs of the dead caterpillars were being blown around by the wind and making people itchy.

He added that the outbreak was not a new problem, with a similar event taking place in 2007.

Sholeh, deputy head of a neighborhood unit in Tanjung Duren, suggested the best way to get rid of the pests would be to chop down the 29 pine trees along Jalan Sekretaris on which they were gathered. He also said the trees needed replacing because they were old and several had been uprooted during rainstorms.

“We expected the city administration to take our opinion seriously and take action on this case by chopping down the trees and replacing them with new ones,” he said. “Instead, they just sprayed the lower parts of the trees [with pesticide].

“Every day we have to deal with the hairs that make us itchy. We could chop the trees down ourselves, but it’d cost Rp 300,000 [$35] per tree and there are 29 of them. Besides, the administration already has a budget to chop down trees.”

Women Bike 605km in Honor of Kartini

The Jakarta Globe

Ten female cyclists will embark on an eight-day trek today to celebrate Kartini Day on April 21 in the national women’s rights pioneer’s hometown of Jepara, Central Java.


The cyclists, from the women’s group Srikandi, will cover the 605 kilometers between Jakarta and Jepara with stops in 15 districts and towns in West and Central Java.

Glenn Salmon, the cyclists’ coach, said on Tuesday that they had been preparing for the event for the past two months and were ready for the trip.

“They’ll cycle for around eight hours every day with an hour’s rest at lunchtime,” he said.

“On the fourth day, they’ll stop for a day in Cirebon [West Java]. The key for the success of this trip is to make sure that they eat and rest properly throughout.”

He added that the Srikandi cyclists would be accompanied by a medical team and mechanics to assist them along the way.

Lucy Iskandar, one of those taking part in the event, said that once in Jepara, the cyclists would deliver a donation of books and tree seedlings to the Semai Elementary School for children with special needs.

“We want to tell them how important it is to keep the environment green with fruit trees because, in addition to helping reduce pollution, fruit trees also produce healthy food,” she said.

“This is our way of encouraging the future generations to keep the world green.”

Linda Gumelar, the minister for women’s empowerment and child protection, said the Srikandi mission was a positive one and reflected the ambition of modern women to stay healthy and show concern for future generations and for the environment.

Toto Sugito, founder of the Bike2Work Community, Indonesia’s largest commuter cycling group and a supporter of the Jepara trek, said he expected the event to take place regularly every year with a growing number of participants. “We hope this inaugural trip will encourage other women to take an interest in cycling,” said Toto, who is also the head of the event.

Kartini Day, celebrated every year since 1964, falls on the birthday of Raden Ayu Kartini, a late-19th-century Javanese noblewoman who championed women’s rights, particularly greater access to education.

Another Indonesian Film to Feature International Porn Star

The Jakarta Globe

The latest Indonesian movie featuring an international porn star is set to hit the country’s screens at the end of the month, the producers said on Tuesday.


Iyan Widjaya, a publicist for the movie “Pocong Mandi Goyang Pinggul” (“Shrouded Corpse Bathing While Hip-Shaking”), said it would feature an appearance by US porn starlet Sasha Grey.

“Although this is an Indonesian movie, Sasha’s lines are in English and she plays the main role in the movie,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

“Basically, we’e ready to bring this movie to cinema screens on April 28 because it’s been passed by the LSF [Film Censorship Board].”

Iyan said the movie, produced by K2K Production, was set in Jakarta and Los Angeles, where Grey’s scenes were filmed over 10 days.

“Because there are also Indonesian actors in the movie, after we finished filming Sasha’s part, we continued production in Jakarta for a couple of weeks of shooting,” he said, adding the Indonesian actresses in it were Anisa Bahar and Baby Margaretha.

He said the producers would launch a contest for the public as part of efforts to promote the movie, with three lucky winners getting flight tickets to Los Angeles.

The movie is the latest in a growing list of Indonesian productions employing foreign porn stars to generate box-office hype. Previous cameos have been done by Japanese starlets Maria Ozawa aka Miyabi, Rin Sakuragi and Sora Aoi, as well as US porn queen Tera Patrick.

Iyan said “Pocong Mandi Goyang Pinggul,” directed by Yoyok Dumpling, went with Grey because she was “more prominent” than Miyabi, who is hugely popular in Indonesia.