PEOPLE URGED TO VOTE IN NEXT WEEK'S LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 31 (Antara) - As worries increase that many people may go "Golput" or abstain from next week's legislative elections, the government and political parties urged eligible voters to vote to make the elections more democratic.          "We call on the people to exercise their voting rights in this year's legislative elections and the presidential election, so that they are democratic and produce better quality results," Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Sidarto Danusubroto said at a press conference last week.          Worries about a big number of Golput voters in this year's elections were among others also stated by Boki Ratu Nita Budhi Susanti, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission II on home affairs.          She predicted that about 40 percent of the 185.8 million eligible voters might go Golput or abstain and stay at home on the election day.       "I am afraid that the number of Golput voters will reach 40 percent of the eligible voters," Boki Ratu Nita Budhi Susanti said last Friday.

COOPERATIVES, SMALL BUSINESSES READY TO FACE AEC

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 25 (Antara) - Although Indonesia still has to do many things to prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), small businesses and cooperatives in the country are now ready to compete in the region's free trade in 2015.          Indonesia's cooperatives and small-and-medium enterprises (SME) are ready to face the ASEAN free trade as long as they build consolidation with cooperatives as they are the key to face the free trade.          "If cooperatives in Indonesia implement the cooperative principles and learn a lesson from advanced countries in developing world class cooperatives, the Indonesian cooperatives are now confident in welcoming the AEC," Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Minister Sjarifuddin Hasan said after inaugurating a market under a Traditional Market Revitalization Program in Cianjur, West Java, on Tuesday.          The minister expressed hope that the AEC would encourage all lines of businesses in the country to increase their efficiency in their economic activities, including cooperative activities. The implementation of the AEC will boost competition among countries in the ASEAN region.

WOMEN'S QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY, NEEDED IN PARLIAMENT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 24 (Antara) - Political parties should nominate qualified woman legislative candidates so that they can work and represent the interests of their constituencies in the parliament.          "There is no problem if the number of woman legislators in the House of Representatives (DPR) is small, provided that they are qualified and can work for the people," Dewi Motik Pramono, the general chairperson of the Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani), stated on Monday.          "The quota of 30 percent seats in the DPR is meaningless if they are not qualified. Can we mention how many qualified woman legislators are there in the House now? For me, it will be better to have 20 or 30 woman legislators in the House as long as they are qualified," Dewi noted when contacted by Antara.          Therefore, Dewi pointed out that she was one of those who did not agree with the 30 percent quota concept for women on the list of legislative candidates. The most important thing is quality, rather than quantity.

PKS TARGETS BIG THREE IN 2014 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 22 (Antara) - The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the fourth largest electoral contestant in the 2009 legislative elections, has set itself to become one of the Big Three parties in the April 9 legislative elections next month.          "The result of our internal survey is encouraging, so we are convinced that we can achieve the big three target," PKS President Anis Matta said when campaigning in Lampung Province on Saturday.          Based on national surveys, PKS has returned to a position in which it could receive a large number of votes, and the past two months has seen an increase in its electability across the country, the PKS President said.          According to Anis, PKS, which won 7.88 percent of the votes and secured 57 parliamentary seats in the 2009 legislative election, is determined to increase its seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) to 115 in this year's elections.          He reiterated that his goal in leading PKS is to become one of the Big Three political parties in this year's elections.

ALL FISHING PORTS EXPECTED TO ADOPT ECOPORT CONCEPT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 21 (Antara) - As the global market increasingly demands clean fishery products, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) urged all fishing ports in Indonesia to apply the ecoport concept to eradicate environmental pollution in ports.         The ecoport concept is also expected to help the government develop sustainable fisheries and advance the country's fishery industry.         The ministry has now launched an ecoport pilot project in at least four fishing ports, after which the country's more than 800 fishing ports will follow suit.         Besides that, the ministry is also launching a fishery research program, particularly for tuna fish, as part of its efforts to develop a sustainable fishing industry.         "The Ministry of Marine Resources and Fisheries (KKP) has launched a tuna research program to develop sustainable fisheries," Marines Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo said on Wednesday.         Tuna is considered the most threatened fish variety in Indonesia. According to Minister Sutardjo, the exploitation of tuna fish in Indonesia had reached an alarming level and all parties need to cooperate to stop it.

WOMEN NEED TO WORK HARD TO MEET QUOTA IN PARLIAMENT

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 19 (Antara) - Woman candidates still need to work hard to win more votes and to meet their quota accounting for 30 percent of the 560 seats in Parliament during the upcoming April 9 legislative elections.          The movement for gender equality has given birth to a law, which provides a quota of 30 percent of the parliamentary seats to women legislators. But, in the past three general elections organized since the reforms era, the quota of 30 percent seats for women has never been met.          Women were only able to secure 9 percent of the seats in the 1999 elections, 10 percent in 2004 and 18 percent in the 2009 legislative elections.          With these figures, gender equality still remains far from reality. After all, the number of women in Indonesia is larger than that of men. Based on the country's population census in 2000, women account for 51 percent of the population.          "In the current legislative election campaigns, women legislative candidates must take up strategic issues in the society to win voters' support. Woman legislative candidates must be able to take advantage of this momentum so that they can secure the 30 percent quota in the House of Representatives (DPR)," Political observer Junaidi Abdullah of Bangka Belitung's Pertiba High School of Law, pointed out.

CONTESTANTS URGED NOT TO INVOLVE CHILDREN IN POLITICS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 18 (Antara) - Child protection campaigners have expressed concerns about the alleged abuse of children who were taken to campaign grounds by political parties in the current legislative elections campaigns.          "Data at the Child Abuse Supervision Desk show almost all political parties allowed children to take part in their campaign activities," Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection (KPAI) Commission, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, said on Tuesday.          Over the past three days, the Indonesian political parties have been conducting their 21-day campaign to contest in the upcoming April 9 legislative elections. However, they apparently involved children, even though by regulations electoral contestants are not allowed to involve children in their campaigns.          Therefore, the KPAI urged political parties to follow the regulations and not abuse children in their campaign activities. "KPAI will report the results of its monitoring to the Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu) on Wednesday," Niam Sholeh said.          Niam noted that even though it was not allowed, political parties still let parents bring their children to the campaign sites.

IF IT WINS, PDIP WILL NEED SUPPORT OF OTHER PARTIES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 17 (Antara) - The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) will need the support of other political parties if it wins next July 9 presidential race.          Therefore, it should not be over confident after naming the popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as its presidential candidate. Even if it wins, Joko Widodo will need the support of others to maintain balance in the parliament.          "If PDIP wins the presidential race and Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, becomes president, it will still need others' support. In a multiparty presidential system like in Indonesia, the possibility of a political party becoming the single majority in the parliament is very small," political analyst of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Firman Noor, said over the weekend.          The PDIP should be clever in picking up a vice presidential candidate pair for Jokowi to avoid the repetition of its experience in the 1999 general elections.          In 1999 the PDIP won the general elections but it failed to win the presidential race because it did not have the majority support in the parliament.

POLITICAL PARTIES KICK OFF NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGNS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 16 (Antara) - A total of 12 political parties at the national level kicked off a 21-day nationwide campaigns on Sunday to win the votes of 185.8 million voters in the April 9, 2014 legislative elections.          On Saturday, leaders of the 12 political parties fielding candidates in the 2014 legislative elections declared their commitment to maintaining the security and integrity of the campaigns, to be carried out March 16 to April 5, 2014.          The declaration was read before the secretary general and seven commissioners of the General Elections Commission (KPU,) as well as hundreds of members of the political parties, at National Monument Square (Monas).          During the campaign and election activities, the Jakarta Police will deploy about 18,000 personnel to secure all activities.          "The Jakarta Police will field some 18,000 personnel to secure the legislative elections. They will be stationed at all polling booths," Jakarta Police Spokesman Senior Commissioner Rikwanto said on Sunday.

JOKOWI EXPECTED TO WIN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 14 (Antara) - The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) will benefit from its decision to name Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as its presidential candidate in the July 9, 2014, presidential race.          "It is a choice of political realities," political observer Said Salahudin noted, following a statement made by Joko Widodo that he had been given the mandate by the PDIP Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri to become the party's presidential hopeful in the next presidential elections.         According to Salahudin, the decision to nominate Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, as the PDIP presidential candidate was made not merely because of Jokowi's popularity and his chance to win public support, but also due to the awareness of the party leaders and other factors.          "It is not merely a matter of Jokowi's chances, but also of other factors," the political observer said, adding that the factors included the fact that Jokowi is a public favorite, both in terms of popularity and electability.          Political analyst Ari Junaedi of the University of Indonesia believed that the PDIP will win 27.02 percent, or about 152 seats in the parliament, with the nomination of Jokowi as its presidential candidate.

PEOPLE WANT TRANSPARENT MANAGEMENT OF HAJJ FUNDS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 11 (Antara) - The 2.5 million people now on waiting lists as they seek to travel as hajj pilgrims hope to see transparent management of the estimated Rp77 trillion hajj fund.          Representatives of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VIII on religious affairs has also expressed its hope that the hajj funds would be managed transparently to assure the public that the funds are being administered properly.          "The potential of funds from would-be hajj pilgrims is large. It is estimated to have reached Rp77 trillion. The government is expected to increase its hajj facilities and improve its services to would-be hajj pilgrims," House Commission VIII Chairperson Ida Fauziah said in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Monday.

GOVT CLAIMS IMPROVEMENT IN FISHERMEN'S STANDARDS OF LIVING

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 10 (Antara) - The government claimed its Fishermen Welfare Improvement Program (PKN) launched in 2011 had succeeded in improving the welfare of Indonesia's fishermen.      "In the past when they went fishing for one week, they would earn an income of less than Rp10 million, but now they can earn Rp37 million for a week's fishing," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutarjdo said, when delivering fishing boats to fishermen as assistance, in Aceh Province on Saturday.          The minister did not elaborate whether the income of Rp37 million per week is earned by an individual fisherman or groups of fishermen. If the Rp37 million is earned by a group of ten fishermen, it means that each fisherman can now earn more than Rp500 thousand per day.

CONTRACTS OF ALL MINING FIRMS TO BE AMENDED

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 8 (Antara) - The government has set a target to finish amending all contracts of mining companies before October this year, as part of its efforts to comply with Law No. 4/2009 which bans mineral ore exports.          Law No.4/2009 bans raw mineral exports as of January 12, 2014, resulting in companies in the mining business  --both mineral mining and coal mining and which export raw minerals-- must amend their contracts due to the law.         "All companies holding mineral mining permits (KK) and coal-contract of work licenses (PKP2B) should have signed contract amendment agreements before the end of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration term in October," Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik stated on Friday.          Jero Wacik said all 112 holders of KK and PKP2B permits  are expected to sign contract amendment agreements before October as part of the efforts to implement the law.          Under the law, mining companies are required to process minerals inside the country before exporting them.  "Based on the law, we are no longer allowed to export (raw minerals) as of January 12, 2014. We should consistently abide by it," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa noted recently.          According to a director for technical and environment affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the government has given mining firms five years to develop factories or smelters to process or refine ore. Yet many mining firms had not begun operating smelters within that period.

SMALL BUSINESSES MUST BE PREPARED TO FACE FREE TRADE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 8 (Antara) - Indonesia's small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the main pillar of the country's economy, need to be prepared to compete in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) next year.          SMEs, which are made up of private sector businesses, have proven to be resilient in the face of the global economic crisis. Indonesia's economy is built on three main pillars, namely state-owned enterprises, cooperatives and private corporations.          Yet, in the era of economic crisis, SMEs have proven they can survive and serve as a real pillar for the country's economy. Therefore, this sector must be prepared to face the AEC, which will begin operating in 2015.          "Like it or not, we are facing the AEC in 2015. This means free trade will also be implemented in Indonesia. If we are not ready, we will be eroded by the free trade system," Airlangga Hartarto, the chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VI on trade, cooperatives and small business affairs, said on Friday.          The legislator was speaking at a Business Capacity Building (PKU) training session in Cibinong, Bogor District, West Java.

GOVERNMENT PREPARING NEW PACKAGE OF ECONOMIC POLICIES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 7 (Antara)- As the country experienced a trade deficit of US$657.2 million last September, after a trade surplus of US$132.4 million the previous month, the government introduced a number of policies to overcome the problem last year.          Now it is preparing a third package of economic measures to face this year's economic challenges.          It has twice, since August last year, introduced a package of economic policies, which proved to be effective in lowering the country's current account deficit to 3.2 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) in late 2013, from 4.4 percent in the second quarter of 2013.         According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Indonesia reported a large trade surplus of US$776.8 million in November, which was  significantly higher than the revised US$24.3 million surplus of the previous month.         The trade surplus widened again to US$1.5 billion in December, as imports fell and exports of manufactured goods gathered momentum, according to the BPS.

MINISTER WARNS ABOUT PROTRACTED HAZE IN RIAU PROVINCE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 6 (Antara) - Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan has warned Riau Province's local authorities about the possibility of protracted haze in the current dry season, as it could pose a danger to people's health and the economy.          The haze problem in Riau has caused the death of a victim, while smoke still continues to blanket parts of the province, while the dry season is expected to peak in June and July.          At least four flights were delayed on Thursday due to thick haze that still shrouded Sultan Syarif Kasim II (SSK II) airport. Visibility had dropped to a dangerous level for an airplane.          According to SSK II airport authority, four flights that were scheduled to arrive had to be rerouted to Batam's Hang Nadim Airport. "We averted four flights as visibility this morning dropped to a dangerous level of only 500 meters," SSK II Duty Manager Hasnan said on Thursday.          The haze that disturbed flights and people's activities has been occurring for several weeks.          Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan asked the local government on Wednesday to be serious in handling the smoke problem and try to prevent the repetition of last year's incident, when the President had to offer an apology to neighboring countries for the smog from Riau.

JAKARTA GOVT CONTINUES DISCUSSING PLAN TO BUY 4,000 BUSES

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 6 (Antara) - Although 15 imported Transjakarta buses, including 10 articulated buses, are found to have been damaged and suffering from corrosion problems, the Jakarta government will continue discussing plans to import 4,000 more buses, worth Rp5 trillion.         "Though we have a problem, we will continue our plan to  purchase buses, because it has been included in the Jakarta regional government budget for 2014 and has been approved by the Jakarta Regional Legislative Assembly (DPRD)," Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, stated here on Thursday.          The buses to be bought include 1,000 two-section Transjakarta buses and 3,000 others buses.          According to GATRAnews online media, the Jakarta governor hoped industries at home would be able to meet the needs of bus operators for manufacturing buses to spur domestic industries.          Jokowi said he would not withdraw the plan, even though last year the purchase of Transjakarta buses faced problems due to damage and corrosion. "How could we withdraw it? We will go ahead," the Jakarta governor stressed.

INDONESIA NEEDS HARD WORK TO MEET ITS OIL PRODUCTION TARGET

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 5 (Antara) - After failing to achieve its oil lifting target last year, Indonesia has set a higher oil production target this year and will need to work hard to achieve it.          Moreover, Indonesia is heading for an energy crisis that can be averted only by increasing its oil and gas production.          According to a deputy at the upstream oil and gas regulator (SKK Migas), Aussie B. Gautama, Indonesia is facing an imminent energy crisis, requiring the country from now on to carry out its own explorations.          The government should encourage Indonesian companies to carry out oil and gas explorations, Aussie said at a panel discussion on "enhance oil recovery (EOR)."     In general, Indonesia could not meet its oil and gas lifting target in 2013, yet for 2014 it set an even higher target that will pose heavy challenges in the oil and gas sector. SKK Migas' acting head Johanes Widjonarko said production in 2013 was below the target set at the 2013 Revised State Budget.          The SKK Migas said the country's oil production in 2013, averaged 825,000 barrels per day falling short or 98.3 percent of the target of 840,000 barrels set in the state budget.          Production of gas also was below target reaching only 1,218,000 Barrels Of Oil Equivalent Per Day (BOEPD), or 98.4 percent of the target of 1,240,000 BOEPD, Johanes Widjonarko said.

PEOPLE AWAITING LAW ON 'HALAL' PRODUCTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 3 (Antara) - The Indonesian Muslims who are accounting for 90 percent of  the country's 240 million,  are awaiting the issuance of a law on 'halal' (permitted under the Islamic law) products.          'Halal' products so far are only decided with a certification label by the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI). After all, only 59.01 percent of the  175,157 products in the country already have the 'halal' labels.          The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) have been deliberating a draft law on 'halal' product guarantee  in the past nine years, but the bill has not yet been passed into law.          "We hope the bill will not face a too long problem so that it would be enacted into law quickly,"  Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar said on Monday.          The regulation is now formulated in the Draft Law on Halal Product Guarantee. Unluckily, the bill has now entered its ninth year, yet it was not yet enacted into law.          "I cannot see any vested interest which delays the enactment of the bill on the halal product. In the past period (2009), we had tried to do it   but we finally failed," he explained.

STABLE ECONOMIC BASE BEING PREPARED FOR NEXT GOVERNMENT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 3 (Antara) - The current government, which will end term in October this year, is determined to lay a stable foundation for economic development for its successor to continue.          "We will continue maintaining economic stability and applying macroeconomic patterns in 2014. If we can do this, it can serve as an effective base for the implementation of development programs by the new government," Finance Minister Chatib Basri stated last Wednesday.          He added that the current government will do its best to maintain economic stability although it is facing political events this year, through a legislative election on April 9 and a presidential race on July 9.          The year of 2014 is actually a tough year. According to Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Agus  Martowardojo, the economy still faces tough challenges in 2014, though this year it has been performing better than last year so far.          "Therefore, BI, regional governments and other stakeholders must intensify their cooperation in stabilizing the economy," he pointed out on Friday.