Month: June 2011

Govt Reviews Migrant Training After Maid Tragedy

The Jakarta Globe


Officials on Friday vowed to review training programs for migrant workers as news reached the country that a maid who had attempted suicide after failing a Singaporean placement test had died in the hospital.

Sadono, the Asia-Pacific director for protection at the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2RKI), said the state would ensure that workers were prepared for life abroad before approving their permits.

“Workers who have not completed their training cannot be placed in any country to avoid any [problem] over the lack of skills or language training,” he said.

Last week, Sulastri Wardoyo, 26, tried to commit suicide by hanging herself at a hostel apparently because she flunked an English-language test three times, preventing her from working in the city-state.

Media reports said she suffered brain damage after the suicide attempt and was brought to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Staff claimed that she had been depressed over the failure.

On Friday, the Straits Times reported that Sulastri passed away on Wednesday after being confined in intensive care.

Reyna Usman, secretary for training at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, said Sulastri’s case highlighted the need to prepare workers mentally for the stresses of life abroad.

“[Aside from] language skills, they also need to prepare mentally,” she said, adding that the government should find out why Sulastri failed the test.

“It is very important for the government to craft pro-training policies. This needs to be discussed nationally,” she said.

The government requires private recruitment agencies to give preparation courses for workers and state bodies like the State Ministry for Women’s Empowerment also teaches skills.

But Reyna said the state should not depend on recruiters to provide quality instruction.

Anis Hidayah, the executive director of Migrant Care, said on Thursday that the government needed to “tighten supervision” of placement agencies.

She said migrant workers’ readiness should be measured by their ability to speak the language of their employer country, their completion of administrative requirements and the skills they need for the job.

Reyna said the government would evaluate the preparations provided by placement agencies.

“I acknowledge that training programs are still weak and the government needs to evaluate the migrant-worker training system,” she said.

“It would even be better if the government will also be involved in giving training to the migrant workers. That way, we can improve the quality of the workers we send abroad,” she added.

Jakarta in Hot Seat On British Mission

The Jakarta Globe

All fingers were pointing to the Jakarta administration after the British Embassy relocated its offices in response to the dismantling of security barriers on the road leading to its building opposite the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

A spokesman for the city, however, has denied any knowledge of the relocation.
Two boom gates, set up more than 12 years ago as part of the embassy’s perimeter security, were pulled down on May 20 after complaints from residents about the inconvenience of having to go through the security checks.
Since then, media reported, the embassy has relocated to an adjacent building. The embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sr. Comr. Suntana, director of the Jakarta Police’s vital facilities unit, said that while his office was involved in taking down the gates, it was the city’s decision.
“All I know is the governor [Fauzi Bowo] said the road was a public one, so the gates had to be removed,” he said. “We just did what he wanted.”
He added that while the embassy had requested the barriers be put back up, the governor had insisted against it.
Cucu Ahmad Kurniawan, a spokesman for the Jakarta administration, said he had not received the news about the embassy’s relocation.
He added that he would “coordinate with the transportation office and the [Central Jakarta] municipality” to find a solution to the problem.
Cucu said the administration would “immediately ensure security” at the embassy, although he did not say whether this meant replacing the gates.
Suntana said that even without the gates, the embassy was still safe from threats. “In terms of security, that’s a very safe area,” he said. “We always have personnel on guard there.”
He added there were always at least six police officers stationed outside the embassy, while backup was available from the police post at the traffic circle.
Ignacio Kristanyo Hardojo, director for diplomatic security at the Foreign Ministry, said his office was seeking a “win-win solution that can accommodate the wishes of the Menteng residents and the security needs of the British Embassy, because we want to solve this problem as soon as possible.”
“However, it needs to be understood that Indonesia has the same standard of security for all foreign embassies in Jakarta, including the British Embassy, where we want to create a sense of safety,” he said.
“Hopefully we’ll have a solution by next week.”
Last month, Rudy Pamaputra, who owns the building adjacent to the embassy, said the gates had caused problems for both his staff and clients. He has owned the building since 1975 but opened a golf simulator on the premises only five years ago.
Rudy said he had been complaining to the embassy since the gates went up in 1998.
“My clients are reluctant to come here because not only do they have to pass through the portals, but they must also go through security checks,” he said last month. “This is a public road but the embassy treats it as its own, especially with the security officers who are so arrogant.”

It’s Not That Bad at Mt. Dieng: Officials

The Jakarta Globe

Inaccurate information about poisonous gases said to be spewing from all craters of Mount Dieng in Central Java has caused a sharp drop in visitors to the area, officials said on Thursday.


Winarno Sudjas from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism told the Jakarta Globe that soon after reports were published that the entire Dieng plateau was emitting poisonous gases, tourism there dropped to 70 percent of the normal average of 1,500 visitors per day.

“It is very important that the PVMBG informs the public again in detail about Mount Dieng’s status — about the danger zone and the places that the people can and cannot visit,” he said, referring to the Volcanology and Geographical Disaster Mitigation Agency.
The Dieng Plateau is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Central Java. It combines culture and nature as it is the site of eight small Hindu temples from the 7th and 8th centuries, while it is also the location of colorful sulfur lakes.
Mount Dieng has six craters: Sileri, Siglagah, Condrodimuko, Sikidang, Sinila and Timbang. According to scientists, the latter two are the most active.
PVMBG chief Surono said on Thursday that the only dangerous area at the Dieng Plateau was that surrounding the Timbang crater. “It is not true that all the craters in Mount Dieng cannot be visited. In fact, the only place that cannot be visited is the Timbang crater,” Surono said.
He added that the PVMBG had declared a one-kilometer radius around that specific crater off-limits to the public .
The other craters can safely be visited, Surono said, because the Timbang crater emissions do not pose a threat for locations outside of the designated radius.
Umar Rosadi, the head of the Emergency Response Team at the PVMBG, said the level of carbon dioxide in the air at the Timbang crater had a volume percentage of 1.65 on Thursday. A percentage greater than 0.5 is dangerous for humans.
Just like carbon monoxide, which is also being emitted at the crater, carbon dioxide is colorless, odorless and toxic at high levels. The gases are difficult to trace. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has been distributing face masks to people in the area.
Since Sunday, the government has relocated more than 1,100 people living in the area to shelters in nearby Batur subdistrict.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said the agency is assisting its local branch office in drawing up contingency plans.
According to Sutopo, the BNPB has given the local office Rp 250 million ($29,000) to buy food for people in the shelters.

Semanggi Shops Say Traffic Barrier Killing Business

The Jakarta Globe

The concrete barricade blocking off the entrance to Plaza Semanggi mall from Jalan Gatot Subroto has disrupted business as it discourages visitors who are unwilling to take a longer route to get to the shopping center, store owners said on Tuesday.


Subur, who opened an electronics shop on the ground floor of the South Jakarta retail center almost seven years ago, said his revenue had dropped dramatically since the city had closed off the westbound entrance to ease congestion.

“My shop income has dropped as much as 50 to 70 percent per month since the closure in September,” he said.

Subur said fellow shop owners had also cited the same problem and some had even closed down due to the declining number of visitors, which they attributed to the closure.

“Lets remember that there are many people working here not only to provide for themselves but also for their family at home,” he said. He added that he did not think the concrete barriers had in any way helped to reduce congestion in the area.

Triyani, a shopkeeper at the Micel Boutique, repeated Subur’s complaint, saying that the shop’s revenue has dropped from about Rp 40 million ($4,500) per month to about Rp 20 million.

“We usually contact our customers by SMS when we have a new collection, but lately many of them said they don’t like coming to Plaza Semanggi because they have to take a longer route,” Triyani said.

The barrier issue was thrust into the spotlight last week when members of the Indonesian Legion of Veterans (LVRI) began a campaign of repeatedly removing the barriers in the face of police warnings.

The veterans, who earn money from the rental of the land and its buildings by the Lippo Group’s shopping mall division, say the traffic diversion is cutting into mall revenues so severely that their income is threatened.

Police have threatened to punish the veterans for tampering with city property.

Dewi, who works for a mobile phone shop on the second floor of the mall, said the owner of the store had complained to the mall’s management about the falling foot traffic.

“Every month, we have to pay Rp 6 million for the rent and we used to earn Rp 20 million to Rp 30 million per month. Now, we only earn Rp 10 million, while we are paying the same amount of money [for rent],” Dewi said.

And it is not only shopkeepers and employees that are complaining about the situation.

Taxi driver Lili Rusli, who must often take roundabout detours to ferry passengers to the mall, believes the main culprits of the frequent traffic jams on Gatot Subroto are the busway stop and a nearby toll road entrance, which backs up traffic during rush hours.

“When there are more than one buses at the bus stop, it immediately causes traffic on Gatot Subroto,” Lili said.

Lili said that he often had to listen to passenger complaints regarding the entrance closure.

“I have heard many complaints from the passengers,” he said. “But what can I really do other than giving them an option between being dropped in front of the Crown Plaza Hotel [further down the road] past the barricade, or we have to take a longer route, which means they have to pay more on the fare.”

Another taxi driver, Supriadi said he believed the barricade had increased traffic in the area and he also bemoaned complaints from angry riders.

“My passengers often get mad at me because they cannot be dropped inside of the Plaza Semanggi area. But this is not really my fault because they do not come from the ‘right’ direction to go to Plaza Semanggi,” he said.

H. M. Aziz M., a spokesman for LVRI, said his group would stop removing the barriers once the city made good on a promise to provide an alternate route to the mall as promised.

“They said they will have the alternative route ready in April 2011. But where is it?” he said.

Nation Suffering as National Ideology is Neglected: Citizens

The Jakarta Globe

Sixty-six years since the state ideology of Pancasila was enshrined in the national conscience, its messages of religious tolerance, pluralism and social justice are being ignored, officials and ordinary citizens say.


Hajriyanto Thohari, deputy chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), said true social justice, where the welfare of the people was prioritized over the interests of the elite, was still a long way off.

“Just look at the state budget,” he said on Tuesday. “Sixty percent of it goes toward civil servants’ pay and overheads. At the regional level it’s even worse, at around 80 percent.”

He said that with so little spent on public needs and an estimated 31 million people still living below the poverty line, there had been a clear failure to fully adopt Pancasila.

“Where’s the social justice?” he asked. “Corruption cases, abuse of power — it makes people even more pessimistic about Pancasila.”

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a legislator with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the recent spate of religious violence was proof that the goal of tolerance had not yet been attained.

She said it was important to have a firm leader who could ensure that the values of Pancasila were not violated.

“That way, we can more effectively nurture these principles in society,” Eva said.

Prof. Sutaryo, the chief adviser at Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) Pancasila Study Center, said the reforms implemented since the end of the New Order era were responsible for the loss of adherence to the values of the ideology.

He said that since the downfall of President Suharto, several regulations and bylaws had been issued that discouraged the adoption of Pancasila by the country’s youth, including a regulation that scrapped the teaching of the ideology at schools.

But Siti Marsha Wena, a seventh-grade student, was more hopeful about Pancasila’s prospects.

“The third point of Pancasila is on the unity of Indonesia and calls for mutual respect,” she said. “I don’t like to see my friends fighting over something because that doesn’t show any unity among us. So in order to foster unity, we need to respect one another.”

Eduardo Andhika Kurninawan, a recent high school graduate about to enroll at UGM, agreed that tolerance and mutual respect were important in returning to the spirit of the ideology.

“We need to keep in mind that this is democratic country where everyone is free to express their opinions,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong in expressing our opinions, as long as we don’t force our points of view on others.”

The five principles of the Pancasila were first proposed by President Sukarno on June 1, 1945.