| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 28 (ANTARA) - Infotainment programs which have so far attracted a lot of TV viewers have been declared by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) through its 'fatwa' (religious edict) as 'haram' or forbidden according to the Islamic law. According to the MUI fatwa, it is haram for Muslims to broadcast or to watch certain contents of infotainment, but will this stop TV stations broadcasting this type of entertainment programs or lead viewers to stop watching them? "It will have little impact," experts say. The MUI's fatwa will not have a wide impact on the public, Mohamad Ihsan, communication expert of the Bogor-based Institute of Agriculture (IPB) said on Wednesday. The same fatwa has also been issued by the Central Board of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdatul Ulama (NU) five years ago but the people simply ignored it. The NU issued the same fatwa declaring infotainment as 'haram'. It only colored media reports for several weeks. After that the news about it disappeared and televisions remained convenient in broadcasting infotainment programs. "The fate of MUI's fatwa, which was issued on Tuesday is most likely the same as that which once issued by the NU. It only sparked uproar for a moment before it died out again," Mohammad Ihsan said. The MUI issued a fatwa on Tuesday declaring infotainment television programs 'haram'. The 'fatwa' was announced by Ma'ruf Amin, chairman of the Fatwa Commission of the MUI during its national meeting (Munas). Based on the fatwa, discussing about others' shameful deeds or gossiping, or disclosing the public's and individuals' private life were haram based on the Islamic law. It was also mentioned in the fatwa formulation that it was haram for someone to write a news story which disclosed people's sins. The same was also true to taking benefit from a news story about gossips and others' sins. However, MUI said that it was allowed to broadcast, disseminate and watch stories about others' shameful deeds and gossips for the interest of enforcing the law and fighting evil deeds. Therefore, according to communications expert Prof. Sam Abede Parena of the Surabaya-based Dr Soetomo University (Unitomo), infotainment programs should not be generalized as not all of them are "dirty" or deviate from the norms of propriety or good taste. "We have to admit that there are one or two infotainment contents which are dirty, verging on pornography and deviating from public norms of propriety but these are only casuistic in nature," he said on Wednesday. Thus, he said, infotainment programs should not be generalized and be subjected to the same restrictive regulation. Parena who is a press ethics expert said that infotainment was a kind of information, facts or news which contained entertainment elements, the case of which was similar to soccer news. "If there is one or two items in infotainment program which are dirty, it had better be reported to the competent bodies," he said. The competent bodies are among others the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), Association of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI) and the Press Council of Ethics. Journalists have their code of ethics. Regarding infotainment programs that tended to invade people's private lives or affairs, Parena said that the public had the right to know the private affairs of artists, state officials or other celebrities. "It is only proper for the public to know about their private lives. But in this case, the private affairs the public needed to know are those that are not dirty. If the programs expose dirty affairs it should be reported to the PWI, AJI, IJTI or the Press Council," he said. In the meantime, Mohamad Ihsan, communications expert of the Bogor-based Institute of Agriculture (IPB) said that it was basically a good thing for MUI to issue the fatwa as it could serve as a means of people's morality control. "The fatwa provides a good education so that the people would become more cautious about the danger and impact that could be created by an infotainment program," he said. He mentioned as an example the behavior of artist Krisdayanti who showed a porn act with Raul Lemos through an infotainment program broadcast by a television station last week. "The act is against our culture and the Islamic teachings. This kind of infotainment fails to observe social ethics and norms," Ihsan said. He said that although he thought that the fatwa had a positive aspect, yet he was pessimistic that it would have wide impact on the people. The same opinion was also raised by Deputy Chairman of the Sirajula Falah (Sifa) Tarbiyah Institute, Sudeni Al-Fatoni. "The fatwa is very good but I am not convinced that it would have impact on the people," he said. Sudeni said that the weak impact of the fatwa could happen because there was no media regulation which could directly control such a program so that televisions could freely broadcast it. After all, at present there is no single means in the world that could carry out control over the mass media. "Even the state could not control the media. If a state carries out control, it would be accused by the press as interfering in the media which should remain independent," Ihsan said. He said that the role to control mass media, either electronics, online or print, was actually in the hands of the audience or readers and viewers. The role of the audience was great so that it could influence the color of the mass media. "The real control over the mass media is basically in the hands of readers/viewers. If we do not like a certain program, just leave it. Thus the program would not survive," he said. So, it seems that there is no point for MUI to issue the fatwa. According to NU chairman for Central Java M Adnan, there is no need for MUI to issue the fatwa on the infotainment program because not all of its contents are bad. "We are of the opinion that there is no need for MUI to issue a haram fatwa on infotainment programs because not all of their contents are haram," he said. The haram ones are infotainment whose contents besmirch other people, sully someone's name or gossiping others' shameful deeds. "It is known to us all that talking the bad things of other people is a sinful deed and even the Quranic verses have clearly banned people from doing such a thing ," Adnan said.***4*** |
Rabu, 28 Juli 2010
'HARAM' FOR MUSLIMS TO WATCH INFOTAINMENT PROGRAMS
Selasa, 27 Juli 2010
CAUSE OF DAMAGE TO CAR'S FUEL PUMPS STILL A MYSTERY
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 27 (ANTARA) - The cause of damage to the engine fuel pumps of hundreds, if not thousands, of cars in Jakarta in recent weeks still remains a mystery. While investigation is still underway, public suspicion has arisen that the damage could have been caused by law quality of premium gasoline sold by state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina. Even, there are suspicions that Pertamina has deliberately reduced the octane of its subsidized premium gasoline in an effort to discourage consumers from using premium gasoline so that they would turn to other quality of gasoline, although more expensive non-subsidized fuel, like Pertamax. The team carried out inspections in oil refineries, supply of imported premium and gasoline refueling stations (SPBU). Director General of Oil and Gas of the ESDM Evita Legowo said on the sidelines of a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VII on energy affairs on Tuesday that her side was still conducting field tests in a number of gasoline spots to obtain the final results. "Today, we visited seven gasoline spots in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi," she said. Evita said that based on the preliminary examinations in four gasoline spots, most of the 11 criteria like the octane rate, sulfur as well as water content in the gasoline were in accordance with the requirements. "The results of the study indicated that all have been in accordance with the required standards," she said. The Association of Indonesian Auto-Industries (Gaikindo) has earlier invited state-owned oil company Pertamina to jointly investigate the cause of fuel pump damage in a number of car brands suspected to have been caused by low-quality gasoline. "We will also coordinate with sole agents (ATPM) to collect information about the issue," Gaikindo general chairman Sudriman MR said. He said Gaikindo and ATPMs would meet and conduct coordination to determine the steps that needed to be taken and after that they would meet with Pertamia to discuss the damage to fuel pumps found in various car makes recently in the country. The president director of PT Toyota Astra Motor, Johnny Darmawan, said the ATPM along with Pertamina had better find solutions to the problem. "This is to avoid finger pointing," he said. He said he would not accuse Pertamina in connection with the issue like many others who had been reported in the media as saying that the problem was caused by the poor quality of the gasoline produced by Pertamina. Several popular car makes such as Toyota Avanza, Toyota Yaris, Vios as well as Honda Jazz, Freed, CR-V and City and Nissan Serena had recently been reported to have often had problems with their fuel pumps. The Blue Bird taxi group has reported that about 1,200 taxis of its fleet have suffered damage to their engines' fuel pumps. The director of marketing and after-sales service of PT Honda Prospect Motor, Jonfis Fandi concurred with Darmawan. "We will work together to investigate the root cause of the problem in the fuel pumps in several of our products," he said. Earlier, Bambang Soesatyo of the Golkar Party Faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) called on Pertamina and police to help explain allegations that premium gasoline had caused damage to many cars' fuel pumps due to its inferior quality. "Pertamina and police must honestly explain the quality of premium gasoline," he said. Bambang said that Petamina and its distributors must cooperate and support police steps to investigate the problem. "I am concerned because some people have been suspicious that Pertamina has deliberately lowered the octane content of its gasoline," Bambang said. He said he did not believe Pertamina had the courage to do that careless act but there was now opinion developing within the society that Pertamina had deliberately lowered the octane content in an effort to lower the volume of subsidized premium consumption. Thus, it would indirectly encourage consumers to choose other Pertmaina products with better quality like pertamax. "This story has been developing in the society because they did not receive honest explanations," he said. Therefore, Bambang called on Pertamina and its distributors to be proactive in collecting data in the fields to reinforce police finding. After all, the energy and mineral resources investigation team in its preliminary calibration premium gasoline sold by Pertamina is in line with its specifications. Director General Evita Legowo said that the field checks by the team found no problem with the premium gasoline. Evita suspected that the cause in the decline of gasoline quality was dirt at SPBU tanks. "The tanks must periodically be cleaned," she said. She also stressed that the change in the octane rate from 90 to 88 would not cause damage in the short term. "It will at the most cause the engine to tickle," she said. However, she added, in the long-run, the reduction in the octane rate would cause damage to the engine. Earlier, Erie Soedomo, director of the downstream fuel oil regulating body, suspected that damage to fuel pumps of car engines which of late had increased was caused by water which had entered into fuel tank containing premium gasoline. ***2*** |
Senin, 26 Juli 2010
RATTAN BUSINESSES COMPLAIN OF GLOOMY PROSPECT
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 26 (ANTARA) - Domestic rattan farmers and businesses which once have a glorious era in the past, are now complaining of gloomy prospect as demand for rattan-based products had been declining, causing more than 50 percent of rattan industries at home to close down over the past two years. This condition has raised concern that the sustainability of the country's rattan business could not be maintained if the government fails to adopt a proper policy regarding the country's rattan potentials. "The lack of a well-planned policy on rattan exports and the decline in demands for rattan products in the domestic and world markets are threatening the sustainability of rattan business in the country," Chairman of the Indonesian Rattan Business Foundation (YRI) Lisman Sumardjani said on Sunday. Since 2007, the performance of the local rattan industries had begun to slow down and their number had been declining. In addition, the trade minister's decree No. 36/ 2009 on rattan export restriction which came into effect as of August 11, 2009 was seen by Lisman as something which could not bridge the interest between the farmers and rattan furniture industries. "The export restriction is actually also restricting the farmers' rattan business, because they could not sell their products to furniture industries which were not required to purchase the farmers' rattan," Lisman said last year. In the meantime, demand for rattan-based products has been declining. Lisman said on Sunday the decline in demands for rattan made products was among others caused by the fact that most consumers began to turn to imitation rattan goods. Actually, he said, world demand for rattan-based furniture and rattan-made handicraft products are relatively high, where in 2008 and 2009 reached around US$100 and US$104 billion. Of the total market share, Indonesian rattan-based products could only reach 2.6 billion dollars in 2008 and 2.3 billion dollars in 2009. "This indicates that the market for rattan-based products was virtually wide open. We need to take advantage of the available market," he said. He said that the absorption capacity of the domestic market for locally made rattan products was only about 30,000 - 40,000 tons this year, or about 50 percent of the country's production capacity of 696,000 tons. Lisaman said that the government so far had no well-directed policy about the rattan business. It only often changed its export regulations. And what happened was a disruption of the growth of rattan-processing industries. If in 2007 the number of rattan-processing industries reached 614 units, in 2008 it dropped to 234, because the declining rattan consumption at home and the banning of raw rattan exports had affected 2.3 million rattan collector farmers. "Rattan which was formerly a reliable source of living of the locals could no longer be expected to become a source to live on," he said. He said that in a condition where certain types and volumes of rattan exports had been restricted, the value of rattan exports could only reach 240 million US dollars while in a condition where rattan exports were not restricted the value could reach 1.53 billion dollars. This is based on the figure of exports in the 1990-2004. With the gloomy prospect, Lisman expressed concern that rattan at home is now facing rapid extinction. He said that the sustainability of rattan could be maintained if world consumers continued to need rattan and its by-products, including rattan-based furniture, and this would benefit local rattan farmers. "Farmers will gather rattan only if rattan industries at home grow and develop well. Without all these, the story about Indonesia's rattan potential which controls 85 percent of the world market would remain only as a story," he said. According to Lisman, if managed well, Indonesia's rattan potentials could earn an annual income of 4 billion dollars a year and could provide jobs for about 5 million people. Therefore, Lisman asked the government to provide political support in order to revive the demand for processed rattan products. "Besides, all the nation's components should take part in promoting the use of rattan products, such as successful promotion of the use of 'batik'," he said. Deputy Chief Economic Minister for Industry and Trade Coordination Edy Putra Irawady supported the appeal of the YRI chairman, saying that government agencies should help promote and use rattan furniture. Edy concurred with Lisman that the sustainability of rattan in the country would face rapid extinction if all parties failed to promote rattan products. Moreover at least 2.3 million poor rattan farmers and rattan collectors earned a living from this sector. According to Lisman, rattan farmers are the most disadvantaged party with the present condition of rattan business in the country. He said the government's latest decision on rattan export restriction failed to encourage rattan farmers to help maintain sustainable rattan cultivation. "It is true if the government has to guarantee rattan stocks for the rattan industry at home but it must also guarantee that rattan farmers would be able to market their rattan products and reap reasonable profit," Lisman said recently. He said that the government has issued a policy which restricted rattan exports to meet local industries' needs for raw rattan but the furniture industries were not required to purchase the farmers' rattan. The trade minister's decree No. 36/ 2009 on rattan export restriction which came into effect as of August 11, 2009 did not bridge the interest between farmers and rattan furniture industries, he said. He said that the export restriction is actually also restricting the farmers' rattan because they could not sell their products to the furniture industries which were not required to purchase the farmers' rattan. This would discourage the farmers to preserve the continuity of rattan plantations, threatening the sustainability of the country's rattan industry. "Farmers are in the front line in the cultivation of rattan that would eventually guarantee the sustainability of rattan in the country. If farmers and locals near forests do not gain benefit from it, they would not help preserve rattan cultivation," he said. |
Sabtu, 24 Juli 2010
"HALAL" LABELS EXPECTED TO HAMPER FLOOD OF FOREIGN GOODS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 24 (ANTARA) - Foreign goods may find it difficult to compete with local products in the country, albeit in the free trade era, if the requirement to attach 'halal' (edible or allowed based on Islamic law) is imposed on consumer goods at home, a chief ulema says. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Amidhan Saberah said that the halal label would benefit domestic products, businesses and the country as a whole. After all, in Indonesia as a predominantly Muslim country, consumers have continued to demand for 'halal' products. Thus, local goods with halal labels will increase added values, benefit local industry and reduce the flood of foreign products in the free trade area. Unluckily however, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) estimates that less than 50 percent of products in the country have been certified as halal. Therefore, MUI is launching a promotion on the need to provide halal certification for products at home and asks the government as well as the House of Representatives (DPR) to deliberate and enact a bill on halal products. "This is still very low. Ideally it must be 100 percent or at least as high as the number of Muslims in Indonesia, namely 90 percent," the vice director of secretarial affairs and familiarization of the MUI's Institute of Cosmetics, Drug and Food Assessment (LPPOM), Osmena Gunawan, said in a talk show at the International Halal Business and Food Expo. Osmean Gunawan said by putting halal label on products people would feel certain that the products they would consume are halal, thus also increasing the added value of the products. The director of beverage and tobacco industry of the ministry of industry, Warsono, meanwhile appealed on the occasion to industries to put halal label on their products as it will give an added value to the products especially in Indonesia. "The halal label will increase the competitive power of the products not only at home but also abroad," he said. Malaysia for example has also put halal labels on their products for its consumers. So, if Indonesia wants to win a market share in that country it has to certify its goods as halal. Vice President Boediono also voiced the need for the country to attach halal labels on its products. "Therefore, Indonesia as the largest Muslim country in the world should play an active role as a potential market for various products and services with halal labels," the vice president said. He said the products and services of a country to be sold in international markets were no longer restricted by tight import duties or taxes but by their international halal certification standards. "What a pity it would be if Indonesian products and services fail to enter other countries' markets just because of their failure to meet halal standards," the vice president said. Therefore, the MUI called on the DPR and the government to speed up their deliberations on the bill on 'halal' products and pass it into law soon. "Having such a law in our country is a must because we are the biggest Muslim country in the world," MUI chairman Amidhan Saberah said after attending a talk show at the International Halal Business and Food Expo at the Jakarta Convention Center on Saturday. He said performing a halal deed was part of the religious obligations of a Muslim. In this case, the government should protect the Muslim community from the consumption or use of non-halal goods and services. The enactment of a law on halal products would also benefit producers at home because it would reduce the flood of foreign goods in domestic markets. "If we use tax or import duty restrictions we will not be able to curb the influx of foreign goods into the country. But the flow can be restricted with the halal certification requirement," the MUI chairman said. He said that Malaysia, for example, required Indonesian products to have halal certificates if they were to be marketed there. But Indonesia whose Muslim population reaches 200 million has not yet adopted a regulation which requires such certificates. As most Indonesian consumers are Muslims, the attachment of a 'halal' label on food packages will be advantageous to producers. "Demand for 'halal' certificates for food products is to increase and producers are also increasingly aware of the importance of attaching halal labels to their products," Head of the Auditing Section of MUI's Food, Medicine and Cosmetics Assessment Institute (LPPOM MUI), Muti Arintawati said. She said that Indonesia was a potential market for 'halal' products so that businessmen must be able to take advantage of this potential. Moreover, still quite many number of products produced at home that should be certified as halal. Meat is among the commodities which still have to be imported. "Indonesia is a potential market for halal meat because domestic meat production falls far short of national needs," Executive Director of the Indonesian Meat Importers Association (ASPIDI) Thomas Sembiring said. Thomas said that several countries had obtained accreditation from the MUI for halal meat export to Indonesia. Countries which had obtained MUI accreditation were Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Ireland. He said that about 100 thousand tons of meat were exported to Indonesia in 2009, which was an increase if compared with that in the previous year which stood at 90,000. According to MUI Chairman Amidhan, Indonesia already has stationed halal certification personnel in a number of countries such as Japan, Australia, Canada, and some European countries. "Thus all products and commodities from those countries are safe for consumption because they have gone through tight examination procedures and quarantines before entering the domestic market," Amidhan said.***2*** |
Jumat, 23 Juli 2010
GOVT URGED TO STOP CIRCULATION OF REFINED SUGAR
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 22 (ANTARA) - The government has been urged by legislators and businesses to overcome the circulation of refined sugar as direct sales to consumers of this type of sugar, which is only designed for industry, has caused businesses to suffer billions of rupiahs. "The government has to put in order refined sugar which has strayed into public market for direct consumption," Aria Bima, chairman of the House Commission VI for trade affairs said Thursday. The legislator made the appeal following reports that refined sugar which is designed for food and drink industries has been sold to the public for direct consumption in the past several weeks. The same appeal was also made by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). According to the Kadin, the government should tighten control over the distribution of refined sugar to prevent the commodity which is imported to meet industry's needs from straying into the consumer market at industry's expense. "The government has been supervising it but not yet effectively enough so it must still be tightened. We urge the police and other relevant agencies to increase supervision," Natsir Mansyur, chairman of the Permanent Committee for Trade and Distribution of the Kadin said. He said that Kadin would form a sugar distribution supervision team to assist the government in the supervision of sugar distribution to industry and consumers. "We will form an internal team to assist supervision, and government officials can join this team," Natsir who chairs the Indonesian Wheat and Sugar Business Association (APEGTI) said. In this case, Inayat Iman, director of the supervision of goods in circulation of the trade ministry, said that supervision over the distribution of sugar had been carried out well. "We have sent a letter to the relevant agencies in the regions and the capital city to monitor sugar circulation in the market and based on their reports there was no refined sugar in the consumer sugar market," he said. However Natsir said that it was a reality that refined sugar that based on regulation could only be used by industry was sold in traditional markets in Sulawesi, Maluku, Kalimantan and Sumatra. He said that businesses suffered a loss of some Rp30 billion due to the presence of refined sugar in consumer sugar markets. In Central Kalimantan for example, the absence of local sugar has caused the circulation in the market of refined sugar, like what was happening in Kapuas district. The Trade and Industry Services of Kapuas district said refined sugar has been circulating in the consumption market because local sugar was no longer found on sales. "Refined sugar circulated not only in Kapuas but also in all regions in Kalimantan because local sugar stocks are not available," Ferdinan Junarko of the industry and trade service said here on Thursday. He said that based on the government regulation refined sugar could only be sold to industries and was not allowed to be sold in the public market for consumption. Refined sugar has been in the market because the government did not provide local sugar so that traders were forced to sell refined sugar which was actually designed for industries. There is suspicion that traders are keeping their local sugar stocks that caused scarcity in the market, as it can be found in Central Java. According to Central Java's rice monitoring and control team (TPPH), it has recorded that about 32,000 tons of sugar were still kept and piled up in warehouses. Antonius Tri Puji of the TPPH said that off the 56,780 tons of imported sugar for Central Java, about 32,000 tons were still kept in a number of warehouses of state owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara XI. Sugar was one of the commodities whose prices were now on the rise over the past few months. The scarcity of consumption sugar in the market has led to traders to sell refined ones. In order to overcome the problem, legislators also urged the government to put the refined sugar in order. Legislator Aria Bima said the government should carry out a re-auditing of the distribution of refined sugar to see where the refined sugar so far had been channeled. The government had better examine the portion of refined sugar for food and beverage industries and supervise their distributors. Aria suspected that refined sugar had so far strayed into the consumer sugar markets because its distribution was not well supervised. He also asked the government to provide a detailed report over the amount of refined sugar which had strayed into the consumer sugar market. Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Refined Sugar Association (AGRI) Melvin Korompis said he had never known before that refined sugar had strayed into consumer sugar markets. Melvin suggested that the government set up a small team composed of representatives of inter-related sectors such as the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Trade. "This small team should supervise the distribution of refined sugar distribution," Melvin said. Melvin said he would coordinate with other AGRI members to study the distribution networks and to learn how refined sugar could stray into the consumer sugar markets in a number of regions. In the meantime, Chairman of the Indonesian Sugarcane Growers Association (APTRI) H. Arum Sabil said national sugar output this year is expected to fall 20 percent short of the government-set target of 2.9 million tons because of extreme climate change in recent months. The high rainfalls during the grand sugarcane harvest time had reduced the sugar content of sugarcane. "Though the sugarcane harvested is abundant its sugar content declines because of too much water," he said. With a population of about 230 millions Indonesia is a big sugar consumer needing about 3.8 million tons per annum. It needs some 2.7 million tons of sugar for direct consumption and 1.2 million tons of refined sugar for industries. However, its own annual sugar output from about 60 factories only ranges between 2.7 million and 3 million tons, requiring it to import the balance. ***2*** |
GOVT URGED TO STOP CIRCULATION OF REFINED SUGAR
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 22 (ANTARA) - The government has been urged by legislators and businesses to overcome the circulation of refined sugar as direct sales to consumers of this type of sugar, which is only designed for industry, has caused businesses to suffer billions of rupiahs. "The government has to put in order refined sugar which has strayed into public market for direct consumption," Aria Bima, chairman of the House Commission VI for trade affairs said Thursday. The legislator made the appeal following reports that refined sugar which is designed for food and drink industries has been sold to the public for direct consumption in the past several weeks. The same appeal was also made by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). According to the Kadin, the government should tighten control over the distribution of refined sugar to prevent the commodity which is imported to meet industry's needs from straying into the consumer market at industry's expense. "The government has been supervising it but not yet effectively enough so it must still be tightened. We urge the police and other relevant agencies to increase supervision," Natsir Mansyur, chairman of the Permanent Committee for Trade and Distribution of the Kadin said. He said that Kadin would form a sugar distribution supervision team to assist the government in the supervision of sugar distribution to industry and consumers. "We will form an internal team to assist supervision, and government officials can join this team," Natsir who chairs the Indonesian Wheat and Sugar Business Association (APEGTI) said. In this case, Inayat Iman, director of the supervision of goods in circulation of the trade ministry, said that supervision over the distribution of sugar had been carried out well. "We have sent a letter to the relevant agencies in the regions and the capital city to monitor sugar circulation in the market and based on their reports there was no refined sugar in the consumer sugar market," he said. However Natsir said that it was a reality that refined sugar that based on regulation could only be used by industry was sold in traditional markets in Sulawesi, Maluku, Kalimantan and Sumatra. He said that businesses suffered a loss of some Rp30 billion due to the presence of refined sugar in consumer sugar markets. In Central Kalimantan for example, the absence of local sugar has caused the circulation in the market of refined sugar, like what was happening in Kapuas district. The Trade and Industry Services of Kapuas district said refined sugar has been circulating in the consumption market because local sugar was no longer found on sales. "Refined sugar circulated not only in Kapuas but also in all regions in Kalimantan because local sugar stocks are not available," Ferdinan Junarko of the industry and trade service said here on Thursday. He said that based on the government regulation refined sugar could only be sold to industries and was not allowed to be sold in the public market for consumption. Refined sugar has been in the market because the government did not provide local sugar so that traders were forced to sell refined sugar which was actually designed for industries. There is suspicion that traders are keeping their local sugar stocks that caused scarcity in the market, as it can be found in Central Java. According to Central Java's rice monitoring and control team (TPPH), it has recorded that about 32,000 tons of sugar were still kept and piled up in warehouses. Antonius Tri Puji of the TPPH said that off the 56,780 tons of imported sugar for Central Java, about 32,000 tons were still kept in a number of warehouses of state owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara XI. Sugar was one of the commodities whose prices were now on the rise over the past few months. The scarcity of consumption sugar in the market has led to traders to sell refined ones. In order to overcome the problem, legislators also urged the government to put the refined sugar in order. Legislator Aria Bima said the government should carry out a re-auditing of the distribution of refined sugar to see where the refined sugar so far had been channeled. The government had better examine the portion of refined sugar for food and beverage industries and supervise their distributors. Aria suspected that refined sugar had so far strayed into the consumer sugar markets because its distribution was not well supervised. He also asked the government to provide a detailed report over the amount of refined sugar which had strayed into the consumer sugar market. Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Refined Sugar Association (AGRI) Melvin Korompis said he had never known before that refined sugar had strayed into consumer sugar markets. Melvin suggested that the government set up a small team composed of representatives of inter-related sectors such as the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Trade. "This small team should supervise the distribution of refined sugar distribution," Melvin said. Melvin said he would coordinate with other AGRI members to study the distribution networks and to learn how refined sugar could stray into the consumer sugar markets in a number of regions. In the meantime, Chairman of the Indonesian Sugarcane Growers Association (APTRI) H. Arum Sabil said national sugar output this year is expected to fall 20 percent short of the government-set target of 2.9 million tons because of extreme climate change in recent months. The high rainfalls during the grand sugarcane harvest time had reduced the sugar content of sugarcane. "Though the sugarcane harvested is abundant its sugar content declines because of too much water," he said. With a population of about 230 millions Indonesia is a big sugar consumer needing about 3.8 million tons per annum. It needs some 2.7 million tons of sugar for direct consumption and 1.2 million tons of refined sugar for industries. However, its own annual sugar output from about 60 factories only ranges between 2.7 million and 3 million tons, requiring it to import the balance. ***2*** |
RI-US DISPUTE OVER CLOVE CIGARETTES REFERRED TO WTO
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 21 (ANTARA) - The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) eventually decided to establish a panel that will settle a dispute between Indonesia and the United States over the ban of 'kretek' (clove-flavored) cigarette imports to the United States. Indonesia has so far asked the United States to lift its Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which it considers discriminative. The Act bans the importation of aromatic cigarettes, including Indonesia's 'kretek', but does not prohibits menthol cigarettes which according to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade are like products. As a last resort to settle the dispute, Indonesia last month took the ban which had been imposed since September 2009 to the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO asking the WTO to form a panel to settle the problem. Jakarta asked the panel to investigate the violation by the US against Article III of the GATT of 1994 and the use of Article XX of GATT 1994 without providing scientific evidence. It also failed to meet the provisions in a number of articles in the technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phythosanitary Act (SPS). Finally, on July 2, the DSB fulfilled Indonesia's request to form the panel. "Indonesia for the second time tabled its concerns at the DSB session over the US Tobacco Act 2009 which bans the importation of aromatic cigarettes, including clove cigarettes," Director General of International Trade Cooperation Gusmardi Bustami said on Wednesday. He said that at the second session of the DSB, the Indonesian request for the establishment of the panel was fulfilled. The session also accepted the requests of Brazil, Guatemala, Turkey, European Union and Norway to serve as the third parties in the dispute settlement. "The United States could not reject it but accept the DSB decision," he said. He explained that in a not-too-distance time, the DSB secretariat would work out a framework and select names for panel members who would be proposed for acceptance by all parties. The United States has imposed the ban since September 2009. Since then, Indonesia has stopped its export this year, thus reducing its income from cigarette exports. "Indonesia's foreign exchange income from kretek cigarette exports is expected to drop significantly this year due to the imposition of the ban," Frans Rupang, director for prosecution and prevention of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, said. Frans Rupang said that in 2009 cigarette exports contributed 6.451 million dollars to the state. Indonesia's kretek cigarette exports to the United States in 2008 totaled 298.932 million pieces worth US$6.662 million and in 2009 they stood at 267.308 million pieces worth US$6.451 million. Since the imposition of the ban, there was practically no Indonesia's kretek exports to the United States this year. Rupang said that the contribution to the state of the country's kretek cigarette exports to the United States was the biggest one compared to that exported to other countries. Therefore, the ban reduced Indonesia's income from kretek exports significantly, he said. According to the Ministry of Trade, exports of various kinds of cigarettes to the US in 2007 reached US$11,165,432 and dropped to US$9,703,991 in 2008 and US$8,338,419 in 2009. The realization of exports of the product from January to March 2010 reached US$2,531,317 higher than in the same period last year that was recorded at US$2,531,989. During the period however no exports of cigarette tobacco that include clove cigarettes were done. This happened following the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as of September 2009. The law prohibits sale of all kinds of flavored cigarettes including clove cigarettes in the US except menthol cigarettes, which are actually also aromatic ones. Therefore, the Indonesian government considers the law running against the WTO regulation because it exempts menthol cigarettes while menthol and clove cigarettes are like products according to Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade or (TBT) Agreement. Around 99 percent of clove cigarettes sold in the US are imported from Indonesia while all menthol cigarettes are produced in the US and because of that, according to the Indonesian government, the US implicitly bans imports of clove cigarettes. The government considers the ban discriminative. As a member of the WTO, the US must have carried out its international obligation as mentioned in the TBT Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade or GATT of 1994. The director general of international trade cooperation of the ministry of trade, Gusmardi Bustami, said the move to take the matter to the WTO dispute settlement body was the last resort. He said the government has already expressed its opposition to the regulation while it was still being discussed at the US Congress. "This is about principles. A discrimination had been made," Gusmardi said.***2*** |
Senin, 19 Juli 2010
PUBLIC CONCERN ABOUT PRICE HIKES RISING
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 19 (ANTARA) - The upward trend in commodity prices in the face of the fasting month of Ramadhan and the electricity tariff rate hikes has led many quarters to voice concern about the possibility of economic turmoil and to call for market operations to prevent inflation from rising to an undesired level. "The government needs to watch and take anticipatory steps over the upward trend in the prices of basic necessities following the electricity tariff hikes," chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Information and Development Studies (CIDES) Ricky Rachmadi said. Besides, the price increases are likely to boost inflation. Therefore, the government needs to revise its inflation target because in the coming two months prices of basic necessaries will continue to increase. "It is difficult to resist inflationary pressures in the coming two months because there are quite many factors that support rising inflation," Prof Eddy Suratman of the Economic Faculty of the University of Tanjungpura, said on Monday. He said that factors that would affect inflation included the electricity tariff rate hikes, weather conditions, the fasting month and post-fasting month festivities. "Commodity prices will increase in the period of these months so that it will be difficult to maintain the inflation target of 5.3 percent," he said. At present, prices of food commodities are showing an upward trend to a level within the range of between 11 and 30 percent. According to Ricky Rachmadi, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needs to ask his economic ministers to take anticipatory steps in the face of a possible national economic turmoil as a consequence of the raise in the the basic power rates. In order to maintain price stability, legislator Halim Kalla of Commission VII of the House of Representatives for research and technology affairs called on the government to help stabilize essential commodity prices so that it would not cause turmoil in society. "It is important for the government to maintain the stability of the prices of basic necessaries," Halim said at the parliament building. In response to the voices raised by various quarters over the possibility of higher-than-expected inflation following the power rate hikes, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on commodity producers not to raise their production cost unreasonably due to the power rate hikes. He said he would reprimand businessmen who manipulated the power rate hikes by doubling their production cost. "I will not hesitate to warn those who increase without heart the production cost of their goods and services beyond the limits of propriety," the President said when opening a limited cabinet meeting on economic affairs at the presidential office on Monday. He said that he would order field checks at a number of companies to ensure that no deviations were made by companies with regard to the basic electricity tariff hikes which were set at an average of 10 percent or 18 percent at the most for industries. The head of state also called on the relevant ministers to ensure that they would not make decisions that would put a further burden on the people in connection with the tariff increases. The government had decided to raise the basic power rates by an average of 10 percent effective July 1, 2010. The government said the increases would not exceed 18 percent. In the meantime, food and beverage industries have expressed their commitment not to raise their prices until the post-fasting month festivities. "There will of course be an effect of the power rate hikes, but large scale industries are still able to survive because they still have raw material stocks for one to two months," Indonesian Food and Drink Business Association (GAPMMI) chairman Adhi Siswaja Lukman said. He said that food and beverage businesses would do their best not to raise prices until the fasting month of Ramadhan and the Lebaran festivities which would fall in August and September this year. The GAPMMI chairman expressed hope that the weather would soon improve so that supplies of several raw materials such as chili and onions whose prices were on the rise due to shortage of supplies would soon return to normal. However, he said, if the supply stability continued to be disturbed due to the weather factor, industries would be forced to raise the prices of their products in the coming two or three months. "Prices could be raised by 10 percent to 15 percent. It could not be more than that because otherwise it would affect sales," Adhi said. Of late, the prices of several commodities such as chili, onions, eggs and chicken meat have shown a rising trend. The price of chili which was usually Rp18,000 - Rp20,000 per kg now has reached Rp35,000 - Rp40,000 per kg. In order to maintain price stability, the government will soon launch market operations. "We have ordered market operations. The market operations have been changed so we do not need to await a price difference of up to 10 percent to launch them," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Radjasa said on Sunday. But if the prices showed an upward trend the National Logistics Board (Bulog) would be authorized to launch market operations soon, he said. According to Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, the government is to give State Logistics Agency (Bulog) freedom to intervene in the rice market to reduce rice price volatility in the runup to Ramadhan (Muslim fasting month). "We are going to give Bulog the liberty to conduct rice market operations as already indicated by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said. Bulog now has a stock of 500,000 tons of rice for market operations, and the volume was considered sufficient to overcome any extreme price fluctuation. "Rice market operations are still an effective instrument and 500,000 tons of rice is not bad and it can overcome a price increase of 8-10 percent," Pangestu said. However, according to Eddy Suratman, the commodities whose prices were expected to increase were not only those which could be controlled by the government such as sugar and rice. "With regard to rice and sugar, the government can conduct market operations to normalize increasing prices," he said. But the prices of other commodities such as chili, red unions and garlic would fast fluctuate while these commodities could not be kept in storage for a relatively long time. He suggested that the government in the short term launch market operations while in the long run it should put in order the distribution networks because the distribution lines so far were too long. "This condition creates high cost economy because Indonesia still lacks an efficient distribution system," he said.***2*** |
Sabtu, 17 Juli 2010
GOVT EXPECTED TO DECIDE HAJJ COST NEXT WEEK
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 16 (ANTARA) - The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) failed on Friday to agree on the amount of the hajj pilgrimage cost (BPIH) a would-be pilgrim has to pay for his/her hajj tour of the Holy Land this year. At a consultative meeting on Friday, the government came up with a proposal to cut its previously proposed amount of US$3,577 by 36 dollars while the House Commission VIII on religious affairs asked the government to reduce it by US$119. "In our calculation, the BPIH still could be reduced by up to 119 US dollars," Muhammad Baghowi, a House Commission VIII member, said after the consultative meeting on Friday. In the meantime, the government considered that a reduction by US$36 in the hajj pilgrimage cost (BPIH) for 2010 was already enough. "The government cannot go lower than that," Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said on the sidelines of the consultative meeting with the House of Representatives? Commission VIII. He said that if the cut was set lower than that it would force the government to pay many components whose costs should actually be paid by the pilgrims. In reality, the cost of a number of hajj components has increased, particularly that for their boarding facilities. The government is doing its best to improve the quality of the Indonesian hajj boarding facilities, including their distance from the Haram Mosque. In 2009, only about 28 percent of the Indonesian hajj pilgrims stayed in the boarding houses within Ring I, but this year the government did its best to increase the percentage to 68 percent. Ring I has its farthest border 4 km from the Haram Mosque. Last year, a total of 209.819 Indonesians made the hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The minister said that the improvement of the boarding quality had increased pilgrimage cost. The government has set the boarding cost at US$3,000 but actually the real cost for it is US$3,100, the minister added. However, the minister said on Saturday that the previously proposed BPIH which was set at US43,577 for each pilgrim could just be cut by more than US$100 if the government and the House Commission VIII agreed to it next week. He said that the cut by that amount could be approved by both the government and the House but it would reduce the hajj optimizing funds and would cause next year's BPIH to be raised. Muhammad Baghowi said that the government had proposed a cut of US$36 while Commission VIII saw that the proposed US$3,577 still could be cut by US$119. The government had explained that last year's BPIH for each would-be hajj pilgrim embarking from Jakarta, for example, was set at US$3,444. So, it proposed a cut of US39 for the Jakarta embarkation BPIH so that this year it would amount to US$3,405. On the other hand, the BPHIs for pilgrims departing from other embarkation points were proposed to be cut by an average of US$36. "The amount of BPIH the government was proposing was based on the assumption that the cost for boarding houses for each pilgrims was US$3,000," Baghowi said. In the meantime Baghowi said, Commission VIII's assumption based on the calculation that of the US$3,000 boarding facility cost, US$2,700 would be paid by hajj pilgrims and US$300 with a subsidy using the hajj optimizing funds. He said that the amount of the subsidy would vary much depend on the location of the boarding houses in Mecca from Ring I to Ring III areas (Ring I's farthest border is 4 km from the Haram Mosque while Ring III's farthest section is seven km from the mosque). "With the boarding cost subsidy amounting to Rp1 trillion, the use of hajj optimizing funds would still be in surplus," Muhammad Baghowi said. The hajj optimizing funds are funds collected from the interest of would-be hajj pilgrims' preliminary payments which now has amounted to Rp1,172 billion. Because the government and Commission VIII failed to agree a certain amount for the BPIH on Friday, Commission VIII Chairman Abdul Kadir Karding adjourned the consultative meeting to Tuesday next week (July 20, 2010). Commission VIII last month urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs to cut the 2010 hajj pilgrimage cost. He said so far hajj pilgrims had been paying high fees to travel to Mecca and back but how the money was actually used and for what benefits had remained unclear. All kinds of cost are being borne by pilgrims whereas there are actually components which should be borne by the state. "We can understand if the government says it has not enough funds for that but it would also be illogical if all of the hajj cost components are borne by hajj pilgrims. We hope that hajj pilgrimage cost be partly borne by the government," he said. Gambiro said that there were at least 27 cost components that needed to be improved by the Ministry of Religious Affairs so that the burden of pilgrims could be reduced. In response to the BPIH problem, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono this week called on the relevant ministers and officials to prepare and smooth the hajj pilgrimage program. "I learned from the media that there are differences of views between the government and Parliament. Therefore the related ministers should be proactive and work together for the people," the president said. "The success of the hajj pilgrimage is our priority. If there is a problem, I expect officers in the field to act quickly," the president told a cabinet minister's meeting. |
RI'S COFFEE EXPORTS TO CHINA DECLINING
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 17 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, one of the world's coffee producers, is launching a promotional campaign in the world largest market China, amid predictions that its exports to that country are declining this year. Aiming at Chinese youth consumers, Indonesia this week was taking part in the Shanghai World Expo 2010, where, during the promotion event, it organized a drink coffee ritual program to attract Chinese consumers. It was part of its promotion efforts to increase exports to that country by among other things opening a special coffee outlet at the Indonesian Pavilion. "We have chosen a special stand for Indonesian original coffee and it has attracted quite many numbers of buyers. Hundreds of glasses of coffee could be offered every day," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said in a thanksgiving party held in connection with the achievement of the Indonesian pavilion at the World Expo 2010. While promotion is being held overseas, Indonesia's coffee production is actually declining at home due to various reasons. This year its coffee exports to China were predicted to drop. Yet, the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI) expressed optimism that Indonesia's coffee export target set at 325,000 tons worth US$650 million could be achieved even though coffee production in coffee producing provinces was declining. "In the middle of this year, the volume of Indonesia's coffee exports reached 200,000 tons with a value of US$325 million. I am confident the export target is achievable," AEKI executive secretary Rachim Kartabrata said. However, he said, Indonesia's coffee export volumes this year were expected to drop from 400,000 tons worth US$773 million per annum to 325,000 tons valued at US$650 million. Kartabrata said that the decline of Indonesia's coffee exports was due to the fact that coffee production in the region was declining while stocks gathered last year were not exported. Indonesia's traditional coffee export markets for Robusta included Japan, Latin American countries, South Africa and Europe, while for Arabica was exported to Germany and the United States. Indonesia's competitors for Robusta are Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador. Its competitor for Robusta is Vietnam. "Vietnam is the biggest Robusta coffee exporter in Asia while the Latin American countries were big exporters of Arabica coffee because they grow coffee plantations 1,000 meters above the sea levels," Karbarata said. Indonesia's Robusta coffee is produced by the provinces of Bengkulu, South Sulawesi and Lampung while the Arabica type by Aceh and North Sumatra. "About 80 percent of Indonesia's coffee exports are those of the Robusta type while the remainders are Arabica," Kartabrata said. According to trade ministry data, Indonesia's coffee exports to China from January to April 2010 reached US$0.53 million, up 31.3 percent from the same period last year. In 2009, the country's total coffee exports to China reached US$2.3 million. Deputy Finance Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said that Indonesia was aiming at young Chinese coffee consumers whose market share was expected to reach 350 million people. "The demand for coffee of this group reaches 17 percent of China's overall annual demand for coffee," Bayu Krisnamurthi said on the sidelines of his visit to the Indonesian Coffee Exhibition in Shanghai World Expo, Shanghai, China, said. The deputy minister was leading an Indonesian delegation to the Chinese expo with members consisting of 20 national coffee producing companies and members of the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI). The Indonesian coffee promotion delegation includes representatives from the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and 20 coffee producers. Four of the world's ten best coffee products, recognized by the world's coffee associations are from Indonesia, namely coffee from Toraja, Gayo, Mandailing and East Java. Krisnamurthi said that given the good coffee marketing prospects in China, Indonesia's exports of the commodity to that country may reach 50,000 tons a year. "Chinese consumers enjoy Indonesian coffee very much," he said through a short text message from Shanghai to ANTARA on Friday. He said Chinese consumers like exotic coffee products such as those from Toraja and Manado. Even though Indonesia's coffee exports are predicted to drop this year, hopefully, its overall exports to that country will grow. Hatta Rajasa said Indonesia's exports to China would continue to grow although that country's economic growth was declining. "China will continue to need enormous amounts of energy. Our exports will continue to increase though there is a slowing-down process there," the minister said on Friday. He said Indonesia's export commodities to China were commodities in which other countries could not easily compete with Indonesia. Statistical data indicated that China's economic growth in the first quarter of 2010 was recorded at 11.9 percent but in the second quarter it dropped to 10.3 percent. The slowing down in economic growth was believed to be intentionally designed by the Chinese government in an effort to avoid the overheating of the economy. Hatta said Indonesia would continue its efforts to maintain its surplus in its balance of trade with China. "In the near future an Indonesian team will be leaving for China to discuss the balance of trade. We should not suffer a deficit in our balance of trade with China," the chief economic minister said. He said that Indonesia's trade value with China at present reached US$30 billion. "I am optimistic that in 2014 the trade value will reach US$50 billion with a maintained balance of payments," Hatta Rajasa said.***2*** |
Selasa, 13 Juli 2010
GAS CANISTER BLASTS CONTINUE TO CLAIM VICTIMS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 14 (ANTARA) - The gas canister explosion in West Jakarta on Tuesday morning with two residents injured was the latest incident of gas stove blasts in many parts of the country. The frequent gas canister explosions have so far killed at least 22 and injured 127 others since the government introduced a kerosene-to-gas conversion program in mid 2007. The frequent 3-kg liquefied natural gas (LNG) canister explosions in the country have haunted and posed 'terror' to household users, creating unrest among the public and criticism against the government's kerosene to gas conversion program. "We have received 63 complaints from the victims of 3-kg gas stove canister explosion since we set up command post for complaints at the Indonesian Congress office five days ago," activist Adrian Napitupulu of the People's Democratic Fortress (Bendra) organization said here on Tuesday. Since the government had implemented the kerosene-to-gas conversion policy at last 190 gas cylinder-related blasts has been recorded. The Center for Public Policy Studies (Puskepi) had revealed that the number of blasts tended to increase from 61 in 2008 and 50 in 2009 to 79 blasts up to July 2010. The government introduced its kerosene conversion policy in mid 2007 as part of its efforts to reduce kerosene subsidy in the state budget and provided the poor with free 3kg gas stove canisters for free. The number of 3-kg cylinders distributed so far had reached about 60 million units from the 45 million packages which were distributed since 2007. In order to press the government to handle the gas explosion case in the country, Bendera which established a post in Jakarta last week will gather the victims family members to stage rallies at state-owned oil company Pertamina, the ministry of energy and mineral resources (ESDM) and the State Palace. According to Bendera activist Adrian said Pertamina was not convinced about consumers' safety in the use of its products because it did not provide a guarantee and insurance policy for users. After all, Adrian said, the amount of Rp50 million each victim family received in compensation from Pertamina was too small compared with the risks the victims had to suffered, not to mention family members who were injured and killed or damage to their houses. In the meantime, Ferdi Semaun, other Bendera activist, said that producers of 3kg gas canisters violated human rights because consumers were not given information on whether the gas stove tubes were proper for use or not. "This also causes terror to consumers because it creates fear to them," he added. As part of its attention to a series of 3kg gas cylinder explosions, the government had a field check last week. Three ministers, namely Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono, Industry Minister MS Hidayat and Minister for State Enterprises Mustafa Abubakar inspected a factory producing gas cylinders in the industrial area of Bekasi, West Java. The ministers made the inspection as it was reported that the frequent explosions of gas stoves with 3-kg LPG canisters were a result of substandard accessories such as regulators, valves and pipes which did not meet the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) requirement. Substandard products have caused fatalities among the public. The government noted that in 2007, there were five cases of gas canister explosions with injured victims. In 2008 there 27 cases with two dead and 35 injured while in 2009 there were 30 blasts killing 12 victims and injuring 48 others. Up to June 2010, a total of 33 blasts with 8 dead and 44 injured has been recorded. The trade ministry said it had conducted inspections several times to factories which produced, assembled or sold stove pipes and regulators. It also confiscated productions which did not meet the SNI requirements. In order to guarantee security and quality of gas cylinders, all gas canisters bearing state energy company Pertamina's label will be distributed only with the company's approval. "There will be new regulations on the production of new gas cylinders with Pertamina labels. All must be produced on Pertamina's orders and they can be distributed only with the state firm's approval," Industry Minister MS Hidayat said. According to Pertamina's spokesman Basuki Trikora Putra, the approval would be issued by Pertamina based on the result of inspections on the requirements of the Indonesian National Standards (SNI). "The SNI standards have been decided and Pertamina should check it," the minister said. In the past two months Pertamina has assigned a task force to carry out supervision and internal evaluation with regard to the implementation of the government's kerosene-to-gas conversion program. The office of the coordinating minister for people's welfare will coordinate the supervision of the conversion program and responsible for providing guidance for the people. The supervision of supporting products such as cylinders, valves, pipes and regulators is entrusted to the ministry of industry together with Pertamina, while the ministry of trade is assigned to supervise the circulation in the market of supporting devices. However, activists said that the best solution to prevent further accident was to replace the people?s gas canisters. The Indonesian Consumers Institute Foundation (YLKI) said that the government should replace three-kg gas cylinders besides their pipes and regulators. Tulus Abadi of the YLKI said that it would not be able to solve the problem of cylinder blast cases if the government only replaced cylinders accessories such as regulators and pipes. Tulus Abadi said that based on data available at the National Standardization Agency (BSN), about 66 percent of 3-kg gas cylinders, 50 percent stoves, 20 percent regulators and even 100 percent pipes were not proper for use. "There were many substandard gas cylinders circulating in the public. So the solution to the frequent cylinder gas explosions is to replace the cylinders," he said. |