PURCHASE OF RUSSIAN SUKHOIs PROCEEDS AT SNAIL'S PACE

By Andi Abdussalam

    Jakarta, Sept 21 (ANTARA) - The deal at home on the purchase from Russia of six Sukhoi jet-fighters worth over US$300 million is racing against delivery schedules  as three of the warplanes are expected to arrive in Indonesia next month while the loan  agreement for their purchase have yet to be approved by the House of Representatives (DPR).

         "We hope we can put the new Sukhois into service before October 5, Indonesian Defense Forces Day, so we can fly them on that day," Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Sobandrio said last month.

         However, the loan agreement, which was signed by representatives of the finance ministry and Natixis Bank of France in Jakarta last September 5, has yet to be approved by the DPR.

         The loan agreement has to be approved by the DPR before it could be submitted to Bank Indonesia (BI) which will issue the needed L/C (Letter of Credit).

         "Now we are still waiting for the approval of the DPR because the L/C can be issued only after the House has approved the loan agreement. It takes time, but this is the procedure and mechanism which we have to follow. We just wait," the defense ministry's director general for defense facilities, Rear Marshal Eris Herriyanto, said over the weekend.

         The purchase of the Russian made Sukhois has been planned based on the Air Force's Fleet Development Program for 2005-2009.

         In the 2005 budget year, funds totaling US$310 million had been allocated for the procurement of six Sukhois. The procurement of the six warplanes will be conducted in stages in the  2007-2009 period.

         The Russian Sukhoi producing company on August 21, 2007, announced the sale of six jet fighters to Indonesia worth US$300 million.

         However, the sales value in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on their procurement signed on the occasion of the Moscow aerospace exhibition on August 21, 2007, was set US$355 million.

         Now that the six Sukhois are expected to be delivered in stages in 2008 and 2009, the defense ministry and the National Defense Forces (TNI), as the aircraft's would-be users, are expecting the DPR's green light soon.

         "We hope it will come out soon so that the three Sukhois can support national air defense operations," Herriyanto said.

         Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Subandrio also confirmed the DPR's approval was needed before the Sukhois could be paid for and sent to Indonesia.

         The House needs to give its approval so that the delivery schedules could be met. Three units, with an SU-30MK armament system, are slated to arrive in 2008, hopefully before October 5. Three others, also with SU-27SK armament system, will arrive in 2009.

         In the meantime, the House of Representatives said it had no intention to delay deliberations on the purchase of the warplanes.

         "We will give priorities to the deliberations of the jet-fighter purchase plan," Djoko Susilo of the House's Commission I which deals with defense affairs said on Sunday.

         He said that Commission I already had a lot of agenda, such as the agenda to deliberate the ASEAN charter, before it received the proposal for the approval of the warplane purchase.  
    Commission I has to re-arrange its agenda if it received new items for immediate deliberations. "If we directly discuss newly received letter it would raise public suspicion," he added.

         He said that Commission I would first hold a meeting with the ministry of defense to hear its program. "It should explain to the House its Sukhoi purchase plan program."
    Djoko hoped the House Commission I would have started deliberating the Sukhoi purchase plan next week. "If possible we will finish the deliberations next week."
    On whether or not the jet-fighters could arrive before the Indonesian Defense Forces celebrate its birthday on October 5, the legislator looked doubtful. "It could be but it would not depend on DPR only," he said.

         Currently the air force already has four Sukhois consisting of two SU-27s and two MK-30s. Called Flanker, the jet-fighter is of the Sukhoi Su-27 SK Upgrade type equipped with a couple of Lyulka AL-31F engines with booster strength of 12,550 kg each.

         The superiority of the jet-fighter lies in its Infra Red Search and Track (IRST) equipment in the cockpit capable of detecting a target as far as 70 km, an instrument which is not found in other jet-fighters made in the West.

        The Sukhoi is also able to carry AA-12 Adder airborne missiles which have a cruising range of 50 km, exceeding that of AMRAAM which has a cruising range of 40 km only. It also has the capacity to carry R-73 missiles which are able to hit targets on the side direction at an angle of up to 70 degrees.

        For targets on land, the Sukhoi could be equipped with H-31P missiles with a cruising range of 100 km or with H-31A anti-craft missiles capable of reaching targets as far as 50 km away.

        With a capacity of holding 6,000 kg of fuel, the jet-fighter is able to conduct  petrol flights as far as 1,500 kilometers for four hours from its base.

        All of the arms systems constitute the deadliest air weaponry system known at present, which are reportedly more reliable than Israel's Python or AIM-9L/M Sidewinder often used by  the West. (T.A014/HNG/A/H-YH)   21-09-2008 22:52:42

INDONESIAN HOUSE PUTS PASSAGE OF PORN BILL ON HOLD

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 19 (ANTARA) - The House of Representatives (DPR) has finally succumbed to public pressure to delay the passage of a controversial pornography bill whose supporters had hoped would be a valuable Idul Firti (Muslim post-fasting month festivity) present if it were passed into law on Tuesday (Sept 23)

        "We still need to popularize it and seek feed-back from the public," Chairman of the Pornography Bill's Committee Balkan Kaplale said here on Friday.

        The DPR was previously slated to deliberate on and pass the bill into law on Tuesday (Sept. 23 2008) amidst pros and cons in the public.

        "God Willing, the bill will be passed into law in a plenary session of the DPR next Tuesday," Ali Mochtar Ngabalin, a member of the porn bill drafting committee, said on Thursday.

        However, as controversies arose on the plan, the passage of the bill was postponed. Up to now, pros and cons among factions in the House itself are also still taking place.

        The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) faction had opposed the bill since the beginning. But other factions, such as those of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Democratic Pioneer Star Party have been fully supporting the bill.

        The postponement of the bill will at least provide more time for the House to popularize the bill and to collect inputs from the public.

        The bill had in the past few days drawn protests.

        Balinese tourism businessmen affiliated to the Association of Indonesian Travel Agencies (ASITA) rejected the House's plan to revive the bill which had also been raised three years ago because the proposed legislation would according to them put an end to Bali's tourism industry.

        "We, who work in the tourism industry, will be very disappointed if the anti-tourism bill is passed into law," A Purwa, chairman of ASITA's Bali chapter, said.

        Earlier, members of Bali's Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) had also expressed opposition to the bill. This also sparked protest from Bali students.

        Tens of university students held a rally outside the Bali Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) Monday expressing their opposition to the Pornography Bill in the central parliament.

        In response to the pros and cons, the Women's study Center of the University of Gajah Mada (PSW UGM) said the bill needed multi-disciplinary approaches and studies before it could be endorsed.

        "The studies are needed to define the subjects called pornography because the limitations of pornography in the bill are not yet clear," Head of the PSW UGM, Siti Hariti Sastriyani, said.

        Article 1 in chapter I on the general provision of the bill defines pornography as materials which would arouse sexuality produced by human beings in the form of pictures, sketches, illustrations, photos, writings, sounds, voices, moving pictures, animation, cartoons, lyrics, conversations, body movements, or other forms of communication displays delivered in the form of various media communications or performances in front of the public that could arouse sexuality or violate social norms in society.

        Those opposed to the bill are of the view that with such a definition, Indonesian traditional dances would be affected. According to Sastriyani, Javanese dances with the 'kemben' attire could be affected.

        "Since the time of our ancestors, the dance has been performed with such an attire. Yet no debate on it has been raised since then," she added.

        A Purwa, chairman of ASITA's Bali chapter also expressed concern saying that one of the articles in the bill forbade women to wear bikinis when at the beach to swim or sunbathe whereas this was exactly what female tourists normally like to do when they were in Bali.

        A fact was that the possibility of engaging in beach activity was one of the main things drawing tourists to Bali and other parts of Indonesia, he said

        "So, if the Pornography Bill is adopted, then Indonesian tourism is finished," Purwa said.

        The bill would also ban dances like the 'lengang lenggok' (in which swaying movements dominate) whereas these dances were part of a local culture's attraction for tourists, he said.

        Yet, not all are opposed to the bill.

        A children's welfare activist and a noted author have urged the House of Representatives to pass the Pornography Bill after making some necessary changes to its substance.

        "A law against pornography is urgently needed to protect our youngsters from pornography and its by-products," Inke Maris, general secretary of the Save Indonesian Children Alliance, said.

        Pornography was a product of the commercial sex industry which could encourage criminal practices such as women's exploitation and sexual abuse of underage children, Maris said.

        Therefore, the bill should be passed soon so it could further enhance the existing legislation that was protecting society from various social evils such as the laws on films, children's protection, people's trafficking and the press, she said.

        The same opinion was also aired by Retno Setyowati Gito, chairperson of the Demography Research Center of the People's Service and Research Institute of Surakarta's Sebelas Maret University (UNS).

        "We now need a regulation as everything has developed in a very vulgar way for children. This is a serious threat to kids' development," she said.

        However, Maris suggested that the House's Pornography Bill Committee should give a clearer definition of the term 'pornography' so it would not cause confusion or misinterpretation in the future.

        She also suggested that the bill's chapter 14 on arts and culture be deleted since traditional rituals must not be categorized as pornography.

        "Chapter 14 about arts and culture must be entirely removed because it will trigger debates and misinterpretation among people," she said.
(T.A014/A/HAJM/17:30/a014) 19-09-2008 18:07:01

PASURUAN TRAGEDY NEGATES GOVT CLAIM OF REDUCED POVERTY?

By Andi Abdussalam

     Jakarta, Sept 17 (ANTARA) - The Pasuruan tragedy in East Java in which  21 people were trampled to death on Monday in a rush to receive  tithes  has prompted the opposition party to criticize the government's poverty reduction program.
     The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP)'s faction in the House of Representatives abruptly picked up its gun and used  the incident as a 'bullet' to open fire at the president.
     "This is a real condition that indicates increasing poverty in our society. It contradicts the president's statement in his state-of-the nation address last August that the poverty rate this year is the lowest so far," Hasto Kristanto, PDIP faction member, told a House plenary session on Tuesday.
     President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his state-of-the-nation speech at a House of Representatives (DPR)' plenary session last August 15, 2008 had stated the poverty rate in 2008 was the lowest in the past 10 years.
     The poverty rate had declined from 17.7 percent in 2006 to 15.4 percent in March 2008. The open unemployment rate in 2006 was recorded at 10.5 percent. It dropped to 8.5 percent in February 2008, according to the president.
     Yet, the Pasuran tragedy, Hasto Kristanto said, itself negated the president's claim of reduced poverty rate in the country.
     Twenty-one women were killed and dozens of others injured in a stampede in the remote East Java district of Pasuruan on Monday as crowds rushed to receive a cash tithe of Rp20,000 from philanthropist Syaichon.
     Kristianto noted that the number of people who died so far after they were trampled on in a stampede had reached 24 in the past two years, breaking down the number into 21 deaths at Pasuruan and three others in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta during a tithe distribution last year.
     According to Police General Sutanto, such an incident had taken place  four times since 2003. In 2003, four persons died under other peole's feet in a rush to receive handouts  in Pejaten, also in South Jakarta.
     "In contradiction to the claimed decrease in poverty, we  see factual indicators of increasing poverty, an increase of 11.3 percent in food prices  and of 8.8 percent in the cost of education. So, we are convinced that the president's claim in his August 16, 2008 address has been  denied by realities," Kritianto said.
     The office of the International Labor Organization (ILO) released a report recently that one in two workers in Indonesia was paid US$2 a day, indicating that poverty is still a major problem for Indonesian workers. But the ILO also pointed out that Indonesia's economy within 2000 and 2007 showed healthy indicators.
     Therefore, Kristanto suggested that the government reexamine its data on  the country's poverty rate, instead of unilaterally claiming reduced poverty to complement its eforts to  'charm' the people.
     Kristanto's data might just be valid. But the objectivity of his argument on the death of 21 people in the tragedy is also questionable if he takes it as a means of measuring the extent of poverty in Indonesia, which has a population of about 228 million. After all, he is a politician of an opposition party.
     The Indonesian government doesn't see any correlation between the Pasuruan tragedy with the country's poverty rate. According to Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, the tragedy has not in any way negated or disproved the government's recent pronouncement that the poverty rate was dropping.
     "It (the tragedy) doesn't show anything. Our poverty rate is declining. The tragedy doesn't negate our data. Therefore, it should not be linked to the number of the country's poor," he said.
     It could be true that Indonesia is today in much better economic conditions  than in previous years. However, it needs to restructure its economic policies to boost the real sector and solve its poverty and unemployment problems.
     Rachmat Gobel of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said  the Indonesian  economy was currently in much better shape  than 10 years ago when the country was hit by a monetary crisis in 1998.
     "According to latest studies by the World Bank in 2008, the commodity price hikes had a positive impact on Indonesia, and on the other hand, it negatively affected China, Thailand, the Philippines, Lao and Cambodia which suffered great losses," Gobel said recently.
     That's why Indonesia was lucky that it was rich in natural resources and had a vast domestic market so it was not so badly affected by the world's oil and food price hikes compared to other developing countries.
     Yet, poverty and unemployment still remain a problem. Therefore, the government has set a poverty reduction target of 12-14 percent in 2009 because the poverty rate had in reality already reached 15.4 percent by March 2008.
     Latif Adam, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said however, that the unemployment rate in Indonesia now stood at 8.5 percent. It was expected to grow by 0.5 percent to 9 percent in 2009 while the government's target was 7-8 percent.
     The government will therefore continue to make efforts to lower the poverty rate. "The poverty graph or trend in Indonesia has steadily decreased. The poverty rate in 2008, both in percentage and absolute numbers, is the lowest in the last 10 years," said presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng.
(T.A014/A/HAJM/A/S012) 17-09-2008 19:44:31

GOVT CREDIT SCHEME UNABLE TO SATISFY MICRO-BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam
     Jakarta, Sept 14 (ANTARA) - The government's smallholder's business credit scheme (KUR) is basically helpful for financing the informal business sector but to cover the country's over 42 million small-scale businesses and cooperatives, the scheme which this year is expected to help 1.5 million recipients with  funds totaling  Rp15 trillion is almost meaningless.
      "About 99.99 percent of the country's 42.45 million cooperatives, small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) run their business on capital they obtained from informal sources at high cost," Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin)'s Fiscal and Monetary Committee said.
      He said that the capital of as many as 41.8 million of the country's small enterprises comes from the informal money market such as money-lenders who charge interest rates averaging as high as 20 percent," he said.

RI BRACING FOR EXODUS OF IDUL FITRI TRAVELERS

By Andi Abdussalam

     Jakarta, Sept 13 (ANTARA) - Virtually all big cities in Indonesia are currently bracing themselves for an exodus of an estimated  15.8 million people who are to spend the annual Idul Fitri post-fasting month holidays in their home towns or villages later this month.
     In the runup to the D-Day of the Idul Fitri season which  according to the official calendar this year falls on October 1, the government is preparing and repairing various modes of transportation to serve  the home-going people.
     In Indonesia, where most of its  228 million population are Muslims, the end of the Ramadhan fasting month , locally called 'Lebaran', is an important event where most urban workers and their families would return to their home towns or villages to have  reunions with relatives and old friends.
     This year the number of home-bound travelers is expected to increase by 6.14.
     Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said the number of this year's Idul Fitri home-going travelers would reach 15.8 million, or an increase of 6.14 percent compared with last year's.
  "Of the number, 9.9 million will travel using land transportation, 1 million by sea and 1.9 million by air," the minister told the press last week.
   In order to facilitate transportation means for travelers, the government has prepared transportation seats which reached 35.67 million. This seems to have exceeded the estimated demands for seats at only 15.8 million. "So, the availability of seats will be guaranteed," the minister said.
    Besides transportation facilities, the government is also determined to provide security for people during the Lebaran exodus.
    Security apparatuses, police officers and military personnel are  all ready to safeguard transportation during the Lebaran festivities.
    "Security preparations in 8 main provinces are also being made," Minister Jusman Syafii added.
     Head of Police Headquarters for Operational Affairs, Brig Gen Edhi Susilo said police in the efforts to secure the Lebaran festivities would launch an operation code-named "Operasi Ketupat 2008" which would be reinforced with about 43,700 personnel.
     As the number of two-wheel vehicle travelers is expected to reach 2.5 million, police have made anticipatory preparations to escort them.
     Other preparations are being made by the government in the runup to the Lebaran festivities are facilities for land, air and sea (inland waterways) transportation services.
     At least 67 ferries will be operated to cater passengers who will leave Java island to Sumatra, Madura and Bali.
     PT Indonesia Ferry said it would operate 25 ferries of the ro-ro (roll-on-roll-off) type to serve Idul Fitri passengers who would cross the Sunda Strait from Java to Sumatra.
     "During the peak season, all of the ships will be operated," PT Indonesia Ferry President Director Bambang Soerjanto said last week.
     He said that the state-owned company was making preparations in all lines of the ferry service. "Our target is to provide services far better than the one we provided last year," he added.
     Like in Merak port, preparations are also made for passengers who will use ferry services from East Java to Bali through the Ketapang-Gilimanuk ports.
     A total of 24 ferry ships are now standby with good conditions, except two which are now still under repair in a dockyard in East Java. They will ply the Bali strait to serve passengers.
     "The repair of the ship will be finished 10 days before Lebaran," Didik Budiastono of the Seaworthiness Affairs of the Ketapang Port said on Thursday. He said the two ferries were actually on a routine docking in Surabaya, provincial capital of East Java.
     Other Idul Fitri travelers in Java who will celebrate the festivities in Madura island will also be served by at least 18 ferries. The 18 ships are prepared by the Inland Waterway Transportation Service (ASDP) of Ujung Kamal, Bangkalan (Madura).
     Soetarjo of the ASDP said of the 19 ships, 12 were regular ones and 6 others were non regular which were especially prepared for the Lebaran event.
     In the meantime, for passengers who intend to travel by air, the Transportation Ministry is making efforts to increase seat capacity by concluding increase frequency flight approvals (FA) with airlines.
     "We are preparing at least 35 FAs in the face of home-going Idul Fitri exodus," Air Transportation Director General Tri Sunoko said on Thursday.
      The effort would at least add flight seats of flag carrier Garuda Indonesia which were reported to have almost been fully booked. PT Garuda Indonesia said tickets for regular flight were now almost fully booked for this year's Idul Fitry holidays.
      According to Tri Sunoko, the 35 additional FAs are new flight routes created to serve passengers. They are proposed by Sriwijaya Air (14 routes), Mandala Air (4 routes), Batavia Air (6 routes), Garuda and Lion Air (11 routes).
      The government predicted that about 1.8 million of 15.8 Idul Fitri travelers will use air transportation service this year. This is an increase by 9 percent compared with that a year earlier at 1.7 million.
      Other transportation means which are mostly used by travelers is train. State-owned train company PT INKA is also making preparations.
      Especially for Lebaran transportation this year, the government through the Transportation Ministry has ordered at least 25 economy-class coaches  and  20 executive class  ones from PT INKA.
      "All coaches for executive-, business-, economy-class  and community trains have been completed by PT INKA and they are now ready for use," the company's president director, Roos Diatmoko, said.
      Overall, the number of coaches ordered for this year's Lebaran holidays reached 86. They have been constructed in a marathon way since June 2008 by about 800 workers.
      "So, we are ready to operate during the Lebaran festivities," Roos Diatmoko said.

(T.a014/A/HAJM/14:30/a/f001) 13-09-2008 14:38:49

TEMASEK LOSES LEGAL BATTLE IN RI'S SUPREME COURT

By Andi Abdussalam

     Jakarta, Sept 12 (ANTARA) - After a legal battle for about five months, Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd has to accept an unfavorable decision by the Indonesian Supreme Court (MA).
     The highest law enforcing body rejected Temasek's legal review suit against a ruling by Indonesia's Business Competition Commission (KPPU) that the Singapore company had violated the country's monopoly and business competition law.
     "(The judges) in their verdict rejected (the appeal) with improvements," Chief of Public Relations and Legal Bureau Affairs of the Supreme Court (MA), Nurhadi said on Friday.
     The ruling was decided by a panel of supreme judges chaired by Chief Justice Bagir Manan with members justice Harifin A Tumpa and Doko Sarwoko on September 10, 2008.
     He said that the decision was final and binding so that other legal avenues were no longer possible.
     "With the (MA) decision, the Central Jakarta district court ruling on Temasek will remain effective except point 6 of the verdict which has been revoked," he said.
     Point 6 of the Central Jakarta district court's verdict mentioned conditions on the relinquishing of stake ownership of Temasek, where buyers are each limited to purchase 6 percent only of the stake to be let go and the buyers might not be associated with Temasek.
     "The judges abolished only point 6 of the verdict, other rulings in the Central Jakarta district court verdict still remain," he said.
     The Central Jakarta District Court found last May that Temasek had violated Article 27 a of Law No. 5 /1999 on Monopolistic and Unsound Business Competition Practices.
     "Temasek Holdings and its subsidiaries violated Article 27 point (1), Law No. 5 / 1999," Presiding Judge Andriani Nurdin said at that time.
     The KPPU in November last year found that Temasek Holdings had violated Article 27 a of Law No. 5 /1999 and Monopolistic and Unsound Business Competition Practices.
     However, Temasek challenged the Central Jakarta district's verdict after its appeal was rejected. It filed the appeal with the Central Jakarta district court over a ruling in November last year of the KPPU that it and its subsidiaries had violated Indonesia's anti-monopoly law, particularly the law's articles on cross-ownership.
     The Central Jakarta District Court found that Temasek had violated Article 27 of Law No. 5 /1999 on Monopolistic and Unsound Business Competition Practices.
     "Temasek Holdings violated Article 27 point (1), Law No. 5 / 1999," Presiding Judge Andriani Nurdin said.
      The court ordered the Singaporean investment firm to sell or reduce its stakes in the two Indonesian mobile-phone-service providers, Telkomsel and Indosat.
     The court also fined Temasek, Telkomsel, Indosat and each of its subsidiaries Rp15 billion (US$1.6 million) and gave Temasek a choice of relinquishing at least 50 percent of its shares in both Telkomsel and Indosat or letting go of all shares in either company within a year.
     The KPPU in November last year found Temasek Holdings guilty of cross-ownership in the two domestic mobile telecommunication companies leading it to abuse its dominant position in the market and to practice monopoly.
     The business competition law bars a company from having a controlling stake in another company in the same business sector with a market share of 50 percent or more.
     The KPPU said last year Temasek had to let go all indirect shares either in PT Telkomsel or in PT Indosat, and to pay a fine of Rp25 billion for breaching the anti-monopoly law.
     At that time Temasek owned a 54.15 percent stake in SingTel Group which held a 35 percent stake in Telkomsel, while Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) which was wholly owned by Temasek controlled 75 percent of Asia Mobile Holdings which in turn had a 41.9 stake in Indosat.
     The largest market shareholder in Telkomsel was found guilty of violating article 17 of the law, particularly of abusing its dominant power to determine the interconnection tariffs among operators.
     Temasek's subsidiary SingTel said it was disappointed by the Central Jakarta district court's verdict to reject Temasek's appeal.
     "SingTel is deeply disappointed with the Central Jakarta District Court's ruling to uphold the KPPU decision. The court's ruling is without any basis and we object strongly to it. SingTel and SingTel Mobile do not own majority shares in any Indonesian company. Further, neither SingTel Mobile nor SingTel controls Telkomsel. Telkomsel is majority-owned and controlled by PT Telkom," SingTel was quoted last May as saying in a statement.
      According to KPPU chairman Syamsul Maarif, consumers had suffered a loss of between Rp14 trillion and Rp31 trillion over the past three years due to the high cellular phone tariffs determined by the two cellular phone service providers.
     "The cellular phone tariff is 40 percent higher than that in neighboring countries," Maarif told a private TV station 'MetroTV' recently.  (T.A014/A/hajm/A014/A/A014) 12-09-2008 20:12:17

ECOLOGISTS FACING POACHERS IN SAVING SUMATRAN TURTLES

 By Andi Abdussalam
          Jakarta, Sept 5 (ANTARA) - Ihsan Alhamid Andalas, a nature lover, was happy with face looked shining as he explained  he was to have about 400 new 'babies' this week.  Not only Andalas, other conservationists grouped in Bengkulu province's Young Nature and Environment Lovers Association (KP3ALH) were also delighted. They all shared the same reason for happiness as the 400 bred-turtle eggs they had laid in four holes were about to hatch, where about 400 young turtles would be born.
         Located in the Air Hitam Nature Park area, Muko-Muko district, Bengkulu province, Sumatra, the turtle eggs had been laid there  about 60 days ago.
         "We hope the eggs will hatch this week. We have four holes which are filled with 100 eggs each," Andalas who is the KP3ALH chairman told ANTARA on Tuesday (Sept.2 2008).
         The KP3ALH's efforts to breed the rare species is in line with the increasing awareness of the country's nature lovers of the importance of conserving the animal in the face of declining population due to local poaching, either for consumption or for commercial purposes.
         In Bangka Belitung (Babel), a new province in Sumatra, sea turtle hunting has been increasing over the past few years. 
    Dozens of Leatherback sea turtles are hunted and killed each month to be used as ingredients for production of traditional medicines and as raw materials for leather good accessories, Head of Babel's Agriculture and Forestry Service Andre Wiryono said.
         As a result of rampant hunting, the population of leatherback turtles, locally called 'Penyu Belimbing' (Dermochelys Coriacea) in the province has fallen to only about 1,000.
         "It is very difficult for local fishermen now to get the species," Andre Wiryono, said. The rare species is usually found in three different locations, including the waters off Mendarnu Island, he said.
         The local turtle species facing a serious risk of distinction in Babel includes five local turtle species, namely 'Penyu' Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys Kempi) and 'Penyu Sisik' (Eretmochelys Imbricata) which according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) are at the greatest risk of being extinct.
         The others are 'Penyu Hijau' green turtles (Chelonia Mydas), 'Penyu Lekang' or Grey Turtle (Lepodochelys olivacea) and 'Penyu Tempayan' or loggerhead turtle.
         Conservationists should therefore take the lead in the breeding of local turtles in Babel such as their colleagues are doing in Bengkulu. Otherwise, Babel's turtles are facing extinction as poachers continued to hunt them.
         In Benkulu, turtle breeding by conservationists get support from the Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA). Thanks to the support, the quality of the KP3ALH's breeding place could be further improved.
         The turtle hatchery site which gets assistance from the BKSDA is developed with permanent walls and barbed fences with a door. So it is relatively secure and could be protected from thefts.  Inside this location, only one hole with 100 turtle eggs has been made, however.
         Unlike the other location, which has four holes with 400 eggs, its condition is still prone to theft.
         The location was fenced with wood only. The sand layer inside which functions as a medium of hatching could clearly be seen from outside so that it is quite prone to thefts. There were four holes in the breeding location, each containing 100 turtle eggs.
         Although turtle egg is prone to natural predators, its main enemy is actually human beings. "Predators like monitor lizards and pigs eat the eggs based on their need only. On the other hand, human beings, when they find them, will take them all," Andalas said.
         He said that turtle eggs need 60 days' time to hatch and when young turtles are born they would slide into the sea where the offspring will face another threat from, for instance, sharks.
         Local people usually collect turtle eggs for consumption or for money. They sell them at Rp1,200 (about 13  dollar cents) each. That's whey it is easy to find turtle eggs in food stalls in Muko-Muko district.
         Sand along the coast of Air Hitam, including the Air Hitam Natur Park (TWA) constitutes natural habitat for Sumatran turtles to lay their eggs each year. Here one can find leatherback turtles or other types such as green turtles, grey turtles (lepodochelys olivaccea) and one called 'penyu sisik' (eretmochelys imbricata).
         Along this coastal line is actually a place for various turtles from all continents of the world to lay their eggs. A tagged turtle was once spotted here which was later known to originate from the Philippines.
         Besides, the coast of West Sumatra is also a place for turtles to lay their eggs. The West Sumatra regional administration is developing the coastal lines as a tourist resort to help promote the Visit Indonesia Year 2008.
         A number of foreign journalists representing various news agencies and newspapers in the world were recently invited to release turtle offspring produced by breeding into the open sea from Mandeh Beach, Pesisir Selatan district, West Sumatra.
        "Apart from releasing the turtle offspring, the foreign journalists also visited the Mandeh maritime tourist resort, one of the attractive resorts in the Visit Indonesia Year," Basril Basyar, the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) chairman of West Sumatra chapter said.
         West Sumatra even promoted the site during the Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) in Singapore last April.
        "We have places where tourists can see something more unique, namely the turtle breeding process. For such an experience, why should we go to Brazil. Let's come to Pulau Penyu (Turtle Island) in West Sumatra," Head of the West Sumatra Tourism, Arts and Culture Office, H James Hellyward, said during the ADEX event in Singapore. (T.A014/A/HAJM/21:00) Sept. 5 2008

MARKET OPERATIONS CALLED FOR TO OFFSET INFLATION

Jakarta, Sept 2 (ANTARA) - Businesses and economic observers advised the government that it should launch market operations, control goods distribution and not to raise Bank Indonesia (BI)'s benchmark interest rate in an effort to offset inflation and basic necessary price hikes in the face of religious Idul Fitri, Idual Adha and Christmas holidays as well as new year.
     As prices of essential food commodities in the current fasting month are on the rise, economic observer Aviliani forecast that inflation in September 2008 would reach about one percent, exceeding the August rate of 0.51 percent.
     "Inflation will reach this level if the government is unable to control the increasing prices of goods and services," she said.
     She said inflation was expected to be relatively high in the months ahead due to an expected surge by about 10-25 percent in basic necessaries' prices.
     In order to curb the inflation, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) called on the government to launch market operations. It was important for the government to control basic commodity prices so that speculators would not capitalize on high demand during the fasting month and in the runup to the Idul Fitry holidays.
     "Although inflation in August declined to 0.51 percent from 1.37 percent in July, it will likely increase to about 25 percent in September," Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of KADIN's permanent committee for fiscal and monetary affairs, said.
     He said the August inflation rate of 0.51 percent had not included price increases of basic necessaries and liquefied petroleum gas which had been on the upward trend since two weeks before the fasting month.
     "KADIN hopes that the government and the monetary authorities will not let the seasonal inflation hikes take place as a routine matter in the face of the religious holiday festivities," he said.
      However, according to economic observer Edwin Sinaga, the annual inflation rate which has reached 11.5 percent will prompt the Indonesian central bank (Bank Indonesia/BI) to once again raise its benchmark interest rate (BI Rate) which at present stands at 9.0 percent. BI recently raised its rate by 25 basis points from 8.75 to 9.0 percent.
    "BI will once again raise its rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent in an effort to curb the upward trend in inflation which has exceeded the government's target of 11.2 percent," Edwin Sinaga said.
     Director for macro-planning affairs at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Bambang Prijambodo, said BI should maintain its benchmark interest rate at 9 percent while ascertaining whether a present easing in the upward trend in inflation will continue to take place.
     "In essence, there is need to make sure  the easing  in the upward trend in the inflation rate will last  before taking a decision to change the benchmark interest rate," he said. He was referring to the August inflation rate at 0.51 percent which declined from 1.37 percent a month earlier.
      He said BI did not yet need to respond to the August inflation of 0.51 percent and the year-on-year inflation of 11.86 percent by raising or lowering its reference interest rate.
      Therefore, Bambang Soesatyo suggested that the government conduct market operations. The government still had a chance to control the increase in the basic commodity and gas prices at the retail level by launching market operations.
     "Market operations could eliminate the chance for speculators to raise prices at will," he added.
     He said if the government was not able to curb the prices of basic commodities and gas which at present had reached Rp100,000 at the retail level in a number of cities outside Java, inflation would  badly affect the national economy.
     It seems, however, that market operations alone would not work effectively. Aviliani, who is an INDEF (Institute for Development of Economics and Finance) researcher said the government could take under control only the prices of four commodities through market operations, namely sugar, rice, cooking oil and wheat flour.
     The government would be helpless with regard to the increase in the prices of other commodities because they were controlled by the market mechanism.
     Therefore, she called on the government to control the distribution of goods. "There is a way to reduce the price increases, namely by supervising goods distribution. No matter how large the number of stocks, if their distribution is not controlled their prices will go up," she said.
     She said gas for household needs, for example, if its distribution was not controlled, it would most likely become a trigger of inflation, even without a government decision to raise its price.
     In connection with an estimate that inflation would reach 12 percent in 2008, Aviliani asked BI not to increase its benchmark interest rate.
     "There is no need to offset inflation by raising the interest rate. This is for the sake of banking credit growth and the development of the infrastructure and plantation sectors," she added.
      Yet, Edwin Sinaga saw positive points for BI to increase its rate. He said that the increase in the BI Rate was expected to encourage foreign investors to place their funds again in the Indonesian money markets.
     "So far, many foreign investors have withdrawn their funds and invested their money in other markets which are more profitable," he added.(T.A014/A/HAJM/A/E002) Sept 2, 2008