| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 20 (ANTARA) - The hustle and bustle of this year's post-fasting Idul Fitri Holidays or Lebaran remained festive even though the number of Lebaran travelers going to their home towns declined by 0.35 percent compared to that last year. After all, the death toll of traffic accidents during the period of seven days before and after the Idul Fitri holidays also declined 51.49 percent to 328 deaths from 637 deaths in the same period last year. The Ministry of Transportation said on Monday that the number of this year's Idul Fitri travelers slightly dropped from that a year earlier. "The number of Idul Fitri travelers this year dropped by 0.35 percent," Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said when he officially closed a command post for monitoring Idul Fitri travelers on Monday. He said that up to the D-Day minus seven and D-Day plus seven this year the number of travelers catered by all modes of land, sea and air transportation system reached 13,980,204, or 0.35 percent lower than the 13,980,378 travelers recorded during the same period last year. Last year, then transportation minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said the number of Idul Fitri travelers was estimated at 27.25 million, of which 16.2 million used various public transportation modes while the remaining 11.2 million used private cars and motor cycles. Freddy Number said that land transportation modes, including inland waterway transportation services, recorded a decline in the number of travelers by 0.43 percent. He said that last year land transportation modes recorded 8,666,392 Idul Fitri travelers while this year it was recorded at 8,629,030 passengers. The number of those using land transportation increased 1.5 from last year's 5,383,629 to 5,464,134 this year, and those for inland waterway transportation services recorded a decline of 3,59 percent from last year's 3,282,769 to 3,164,896 this year. Air transportation modes recorded a 15.52 percent increase from last year's 2,163,731 to 2,499,468 this year. "This could happen because of the availability of seats and guaranteed flight schedules," Minister Numberi said. He said that the sea transportation modes recorded a decline of 43 percent in Idul Fitri travelers from 718,307 last year to 409,429 this year. "But these data are recorded up to the D-Day plus seven. It is expected that it will still increase because sea transportation modes would still serve Idul Fitri travelers until D-Day plus 15," the minister said. He said that train transportation modes also recorded a decline of passengers by 1.59 percent from 2,431,948 last year to 2,393,277 this year. In the meantime, Idul Fitri travelers using two wheel motorcycles were also expected to drop by 15 percent. Director for Transportation Affairs of the Directorate General of Land Transportation, Sudirman Lambali said that travelers using motorcycles were not as high as we had predicted. "We have predicted that the number of travelers using two-wheel vehicles would reach over 3,6 million but in reality it was only 2.3 million. This is lower than last year's which stood at 2.7 million," he said. The number of two wheel motorists were monitored in five points such as in Ciasem, Sadang, Merak, Cianjur and Ciamis. Of the five points, it was found that the highest number of Idul Fitri travelers using motor vehicles was recorded at the Ciasem point in Subang district, West Java where a total of 1,115,199 were recorded, Sudirman said. In the meantime, police, during their Idul Fitri pacification operations code-named "Operasi Ketupat" held from September 3 to 18, 2010, found that total of 328 people had been killed in traffic accidents. The death toll of this year?s traffic accidents during the festivities dropped 51.49 percent compared to that in the same period a year earlier which stood at 637. Head of National Police Human Relations Brig. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said that the total number of traffic accident victims during the Lebaran festivities last week reached 1,460, including 328 deaths. Iskandar said that the victims suffering from serious injuries totaled 438 and light injuries 892. "Cases of traffic violations accounted for 36,962 during the operations, of which 31,377 were ticketed and 5,377 others receiving reminders," he said. Iskandar said that police also recorded at total of 3,503 criminal cases, of which 2,551 were conventional crimes and 665 were other form of crimes. During the operations, Police deployed 89,521 personnel with 2,592 security posts established throughout Indonesia. During the Idul Fitri exodus in 2009, police recorded a total traffic accidents of 1,544. The death toll in the total of 1,544 traffic accidents reached 576 people. The accidents caused over 600 people to sustain serious and 1,397 others light injuries. The death toll in traffic accidents during the Idul Fitri holidays reached 798 in 2007, and decreased to 548 during the Idul Fitri holiday season iof 2008. ***4*** |
Senin, 20 September 2010
NUMBER OF THIS YEAR'S IDUL FITRI TRAVELERS DOWN
Minggu, 19 September 2010
CENTRAL BANK'S NEW REGULATIONS TO BOOST REAL SECTOR
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 20 (ANTARA) - The development of the real sector in the country which so far only runs at a snail's pace will find a new boost when newly-issued regulations of Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank) are effective beginning next year. Thus, the BI policies regarding banks' minimum reserve requirement (GWM) and loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) will in turn generate the country's economic development in the long run. "If applied consistently, the BI policy on LDR will help develop the real sector," Chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) Erwin Aksa said in a press statement on Sunday. Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution has earlier said that banks were facing a big problem with liquidity access by businesses, and if it was left unheeded it would create inflationary pressures that would endanger national economy. In order to encourage banks' intermediary roles, Bank Indonesia issued a regulation of 8 percent minimum reserve requirement (GWM) based on loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) ranging between 78 and 100 percent. This regulation will be effective as of March 2011. Bank Indonesia will also issue a new regulation on lending rates in November 2010. Based on the new regulation, banks will be required to make public the interest rates of their credits based on each sector. In response to the central bank's policies, Erwin Aksa said that the financial sector would boost the real sector in the long run so that the big volumes of unpaid loans at banks could be absorbed by the real sector. "With the new regulations, banks would lead to extend credits and create competition. They will compete to find big and potential customers. In the meantime, bank customers will also look for interesting credit schemes offered by banks," he said. After all, he said, the transparent prime lending rate regulation will also make businesses easy to find competitive banks. So far, businesses felt that banks covered up many things, particularly with regard to the percentage of their credit interest rates, he said. "It seems that the big number of banks in the country is not yet able to produced a competitive market apart from the consumption sector," the HIPMI chairman said. In the meantime, BI Deputy Governor Halim Alamsyah said BI was upbeat its newly-issued regulation of minimum reserve requirement based on loan-to-deposit ratio would encourage sound competition among banks. "Banks which raise their lending rates mean that they transfer costs to customers to prevent a shortfall in their margins. However, they will face competition from other banks which do not raise their lending rates and reduce their margins because their margins are already high. Let's see how the competition will look like," he said. Halim said the increase in primary reserve requirement to 8 percent from 5 percent and the obligation to keep LDR at a range of 78-100 percent would likely raise banks' fund management costs. However, banks should not transfer the costs to customers and should start reducing their high margins, he said. He said the central bank had already considered all the possibilities as a result of the new regulation. "Therefore, we have not as yet announced all of our policies. Our next policy is that we will ask banks to announce their prime lending rates," he said. Hopefully, BI would issue the policy requiring banks to announce their prime lending rates later this year, he said. Under the new regulation, banks that have LDR outside the target range will be subject to disincentives based on the difference between the LDR and the target range. If their LDR exceeds the target range with adequate capital they will deserve incentives. The regulation will come into force as from March 1, 2011 to give banks a chance to meet the target range. As regard to the loan-to-deposit ration, Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution said banks did not need to increase their lending rates to meet the new requirement. "There are several ways to increase the LDR such as by reducing third party funds. So I do not agree that the new reserve requirement is causing banks to bear higher costs," he said. He said by reducing third party funds banks would incur lower costs of funds so that they could even cut their credit interest rates. The objections to the new reserve requirement policy which was to be implemented in March 2011 did not come from all banks as some of them already had an LDR above 78 percent. According to BI data the average LDR of banks in the country in September reached 78 percent. Objections to the policy, he said, only came from a number of big banks (BCA, Bank Mandiri and BNI) whose LDRs were below 78 percent because they had huge third party funds. "These banks seem intent only on collecting as many third party funds as possible. Just look at the prizes they are offering in their promotions," he said. But, he said, BI was hoping the banks would be able to meet the lowest limit of the LDR next March. "I think they will be able to achieve it. If they cannot they should increase their reserves," he said. He said BI had issued the policy to encourage banks to extend more loans, especially to productive sectors to help boost the country's economy and speed up development. Darmin predicted the growth of credits this year would still be below 20 percent although early in September it had reached 21 percent as credits were predicted to drop from September to the end of the year. Therefore, he said, banks should follow the new LDR-based reserve requirement so that their credit extension performance would remain high. |
RETURNING TRAVELERS FLOW
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 18 (ANTARA) - The reverse flow of this year's Idul Fitri or Lebaran exodus is expected to peak on Saturday or Sunday as millions of travellers are due to resume their routine activities on Monday after week-long reunions with family or relatives in their respective home towns or villages. Millions of seasonal passengers traveled to their home towns for the reunions during the annual post-fasting Lebaran holidays. "It is expected that the peak of the returning flow of Lebaran travellers will take place today," Ahmad Saputra, a spokesman of the Senen Railway Station in Central Jakarta, said here on Saturday. He said that the number of Idul Fitri travelers arriving at Senen station on Saturday was expected to reach 16 thousand. "I think the figure will not be too far from that arriving on D-Day plus four which reached 14,755 passengers," he said. Ahmad said that the number of arriving passengers on D-Day plus one (Sunday), plus two and plus three was only about 6,000 per day but it jumped on D-Day plus four to 14,755 passengers. On D-Day plus five it reached 14,858 and on D-Day plus six, the number of arriving passengers dropped to 11,771. Up to 11,30 hours on Saturday, a total of 8,396 returning passengers had arrived at the station on 18 trains. A total of 12 other trains had yet arrive. During this year's lebaran festivities, railway company Perum Kerta Api fielded 30 trains from Senen station, of which 20 trains were regular ones and 10 others were additional. In the meantime, the reverse flow of Idul Fitri travellers, both with vehicles or in person, on Saturday began to show density at Bakauheni port in the eastern tip of Sumatra which connected Merak port in the western tip of Java. Based on ANTARA's observation, thousands of passengers continued to flow and packed the waiting room of the ticket counters. They stood in queue to get their turn to purchase ferry tickets to cross the Sunda strait from Sumatra to Java. Most of passengers came from Rajabasa Main Bus Terminal in Bandarlampung which is one of the last bus terminals which connect passengers with other cities in Sumatra. Private vehicles, both two wheel and four or more wheels, has also flowed since in the morning creating long queues and accumulations. Based on data at Bakauheni command post, at least 408,526 returning Idul Fitri travelers have been ferried by the inland waterway transportation service PT ASDP from Bakauheni port of Lampung Merak port of Java. The figure was based on accumulative data of returning travellers from Sunday (Sept 12) to early Saturday at 00:00 Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB). The number of passengers ferried from Bakauheni to Merak on the D-Day plus one last Sunday reached 52,000, on the D-Day plus two 74,496, on D-Day plus three 81,009, on the D-Day plus four 80,219, on the D-Day plus five 60,125 and on the D-day plus six (last Friday) 59,793. On the D-Day plus three, the number of travelers was the highest one because the day was the end of the joint holidays announced by the government. In the meantime the number of vehicles transported from Bakauheni to Marak since the D-Day plus one to plus seven was recorded at 81,642 units. It consisted of 41,214 two wheel vehicles and 40,328 four or more wheel vehicles. The highest number of vehicles ferried took place on the D-Day plus three when it reached 16,879 units of various vehicles such as private cars, motorcycles, buses and trucks. Before the Idul Fitri holidays, PT ASDP recorded at total of 427,073 home-bound travellers who travelled to Sumatra from Java with vehicles amounting to 93,389 units, of which 44,131 were two wheel motor vehicles and 49,000 were four or more wheel vehicles. For the time being, the ferry service company has recorded 408,528 travelers who have returned from Sumatra to Java since the D-Day plus one with 81,642 vehicles, of which 41,314 were two wheel and 40,328 where four wheel or more. Meanwhile, the peak of the reverse flow of Idul Fitri travellers in East Java was expected to take place on Sunday. PT ASDP predicted that travelers from East Java through Ketapang port to Bali would peak on Sunday. "The movement of travelers' flow through Ketapang port could already be observed this evening and tomorrow. Sunday would be the last day of travellers' days off," PT ASDP Manager for Ketapang Charda Damanik said on Saturday. He said that schools would also begin their classes on Monday so that it was predicted that Sunday was the last holiday. Thus travellers who would be ferried to Bali would peak on Sunday. Damanik said that PT ASDP would not put into operations 28 units of ferries which had been prepared before because Uma Kalada ferry which replaced KMP Bontang Kaltim (now docking in Surabaya), would have its operation permit expired on Saturday. "Therefore, we will optimise the operations of KMP Uma Kalada today and tonight," he said. The number of travelers who were ferried to Bali on Friday up to 00:00 hours on Saturday was recorded at 8,323 passengers with two wheel vehicles reaching 5,291 and four wheel ones recorded at 1,176 units. The total number of travellers who had returned to Bali since the D-Day plus one was recorded at 206,068 with total two wheel vehicles at 33,132 and four wheel ones at 23,345 units. In the meantime, the total number of travellers crossing from Bali to Java during the D-Day minus seven to minus one was 110,223 persons, two wheel vehicles 3,745 and four wheel ones 18,883. During the Idul Fitri holiday season last year, the number of home-bound travellers reached 27.25 million, of which 16.2 million used various public transportation modes while the remaining 11.2 million used private cars and motorcycles.***4*** |
Kamis, 16 September 2010
MINISTERS INDIFFERENT OVER RESHUFFLE DISCOURSE
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 17 (ANTARA) - Some ministers did not react too much over the discourse that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was likely to reshuffle his cabinet ministers this year. The discourse on the possible cabinet shake-up was raised recently by Achmad Mubarok, member of the ruling Democrat Party (PD)'s board of patrons. Mubarok raised the issue after the Presidential Working Unit for Development Control and Supervision (UKP4) made the assessment that some ministers lacked maximal performance. Yet, a number of ministers in the Indonesia United Cabinet did not take it seriously. "There is no problem if some people voice inappropriate opinions in looking at a certain issue," Darwin Zahedy Saleh, energy and mineral resources (ESDM) minister, said after a cabinet session on Thursday. Some people have taken up the UKP4 assessment results to voice their opinions that some ministers are likely to be replaced by the president. Darwin has heard such an opinion. He admitted that his ministry had a red score on certain fields by the UKP4. "The energy and mineral resources ministry got a red report on certain fields," he said. However, the ESDM has got the red scores not merely because of its weaknesses but also of external factors such as the delay in the disbursement of budget that hampered the implementation of its programs. "So, we would like to see the red reports more as a blessing in disguise," Minister Darwin said. Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar did not either give much response to the discourse on the cabinet shake-up. "Just let people have their own opinions ," Patrialis said. He expressed regret about the attitude of certain people who considered the UKP4 assessment results as a signal that the president would be willing to replace his ministers. After all, the delay in a number of ministers' programs was not merely due to the mistakes of the ministries concerned. "Many have dreams to become a minister so that it seems as if they were using the red scores of the current ministers as a propaganda," Patrialis said. On separate occasions, Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi and Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said they had not yet received the final results of the UKP4 assessment, and that they did not respond to the reshuffle discourse. Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Minster Syarifuddin Hasan said he always followed the assessment of the presidential working unit but he refused to disclose the results of the UKP4 assessment of his ministry. "It should not come from me, but the UKP4," he said. In the meantime, Chief Patron of the United Development Party (PPP) Lukman Saefuddin said the reshuffle issue was raised by Achmad Mubarok to exert pressures so that Yudhoyono would reshuffle his cabinet. "It was a kind of a fait accompli" he said. He said that it was the president's prerogative right to replace or not to replace his ministers. Lukman said that the discourse only posed a difficulty to the president in deciding a policy regarding his ministers. The PPP chief patron said that keeping on raising the reshuffle discourse created the impression that the president was being pushed to go ahead with replacing his ministers. Therefore, he asked Democrat Party cadres to appreciate the president's steps in deciding his own policies regarding whether or not he was going to reshuffle his cabinet. He said that PPP felt it had nothing to loose with the cabinet shake-up discourse as long as it was raised by people other than the president himself. Therefore, Lukman hoped that the president would soon respond to the discourse affirming whether or not he would replace his ministers. If the president affirmed he would not reshuffle his cabinet, Lukman hoped that the Democrat Party cadres would stop raising the issue because it would only disturb political communications. "If the president says no, the discourse should be stopped soon," he said. Recently, Achmad Mubarok said that President Yudhoyono was likely to reshuffle his cabinet this year. "We have the experience in the past when the president replaced his ministers. The president will replace his ministers after one year of his government. It will be one year next October," said Mubarok. He said that the UKP4 assessment report could serve as a basis for Yudhoyono to relace his ministers who were considered lacking performance. "The UKP4 has made a report where a number of ministers have got red scores. This is a reference for Yudhoyono to carry out a cabinet shake-up," he said. Mubarok said he did know the ministers who would be replaced, neither did he know when the replacement would take place but he predicted that five ministers would likely be replaced. "Only the president who knows who and when," he said. However, Democrat Party Chairman Anas Urbaningrum denied if his party was encouraging the president to carry out a cabinet shake-up. "I have never heard about the 'reshuffle' issue (from the president). The Democrat Party will not involve itself in the issue because the reshuffle issue is not only the prerogative right of the president but also we do not want to disturb the concentration of ministers in carrying out their tasks," Anas said. He said that the Democrat Party had the commitment to reinforcing the country's presidential system by fully leaving the ministers affairs to the president. "There is no need to urge the president to reshuffle his cabinet. On the other hand the president should neither be hampered if he would carry out refreshment of his cabinet," said Anas. In the meantime, Democrat Party Deputy Chief Patron Marzuki Alie who is also the House Speaker, asked that people should not heed the reshuffle discourse. "There is no need to hear it. The reshuffle discourse came out of Mubarok's personal statement," said Marzuki. He stressed that as deputy chief patron of the party, he had never heard about the reshuffle. "I never heard about it," Marzuki who is also former secretary general of the Democrat Party said. He said that Mubarok could have made the statement because of his personal dislike of certain ministers. "It can be that he had made the statement about the reshuffle because he disliked certain ministers. I am close to all ministers myself," he said. Democrat Party associate chairman Radityo Gambiro said the cabinet reshuffle issue was raised by Mubarok based on his personal opinion. "That is his own opinions and analysis. We should respect his opinions," said Gambiro. ***1*** |
Minggu, 05 September 2010
IDUL FITRI TRAVELERS BEGIN TO FLOCK AT PORTS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 5 (ANTARA) - Transportation and ferry port operators throughout the country are busy these days, at least until the next two weeks, in the face of high mobility of homeward post-fasting Idul Fitri holiday travelers. Five days ahead of the Idul Fitri D-Day next Friday, millions of people in various parts of the country began flocking at seaports on Sunday to leave for their home towns for Idul Fitri (Lebaran) festivities. Increased activities were seen early on Sunday at Merak and Bakauheni, two of the busiest ferry ports in the country, which linked travelers from Java to Sumatra or vice versa. Others were Gilimanuk and Ketapang which connect Java and the tourist resort island of Bali. Operational Manager of inland waterway transport service PT ASDP, Zailis Anas, said the 29,806 figure indicated a drastic increase compared with the previous on Friday. He said that most of the passengers were passengers traveling on private and public vehicles. Of the 29,806, a total of 26,839 were passengers on vehicles and the remaining 2,847 were passengers in persons. The number of various types of vehicles also experienced an increase from 4,136 units to 4,989 units. During the D-Day minus six, the company put into operations 24 roll-on roll-off (roro) ferries with 89 trips. Data showed that the number of passengers from Bakauheni to Merak on Saturday was recorded at 29.08 while that of vehicles of various types reached 4,989 units. On Friday, the number of passengers reached 26,634 and various types of vehicles at 4,136 units, he said. "We have also increased the number of roro (roll in/roll out) ferries from 21 to 24," he added. The ferry port of Merak in the western tip of Java has predicted a 21 increase in Idul Fitri travelers this year. "Looking at passenger data last year, we believe that the number of Idul Fitri travelers this year will increase," Head of PT ASDP for Merak, Teja Suparna said. He said that based on the increase prediction, his side continued to monitor it for fear of a jump-up in the flow of both passengers in vehicles and passengers in persons. PT ASDP, he said, has predicted that the number of passengers and vehicles would begin to increase beginning from the D-Day minus five (five days before the Idul Fitri holidays) up to the D-Day minus one. He said that at present the number of passengers reached 65,000 while that of two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles (both private cars and trucks) reached 12,500 units. With the data, the flow of Idul Fitri travelers would increase to 21 percent this year. In the meantime, Idul Fitri travelers arriving at Ketapang port of East Java from Bali's Gilimanuk mostly used motorcycles. Data at PT ASDP for Ketapang showed that until 00.00 on Sunday, a total of 10,145 vehicles from Gilimanuk had arrived at the port, up 300 percent from 3,881 in the same period in 2009. The increase in the number of travelers using motorcycles was due to the fact that revelers were willing to have their own transportation facility during their trips and holidays in their home towns. Saiful who was traveling to Ciamis, West Java, said he and his wife and kids were prepared to travel a long trip on a motorcycle so that would be able to save money and have transportation facility during their holidays in their home town. "We do not want to disturb our relatives there so we travel with our motorcycle. If we are tired we can take a rest in a special place already prepared a long the way toward Ciamis," Saiful said. Increased flow of passengers also takes place. East Nusa Tenggara (NTT)'s Eltari airport even predicted an increase of about 10 - 12 percent in the flow of passengers during Idul Fitri holidays. Technical and Operational Manager of airport operator firm PT Angkasa Pura I, I Komang Sudiarta, said that the prediction was based on data recorded over the past five years from 2005 to 2009. "There must be an increase, but we do not yet know the exact percentage before we arrive at the D-Day plus seven or seven days after the Idul Fitri holdidays," he said. Sudiarta said that in 2005 the number of passengers flying through the airport during the period of D-Day minus seven and D-Day plus seven was recorded at 8,258, or about 516.13 per day. In the same period in 2006 it was recorded at 11,856, or an average of 741 per day, in 2007 it stood at 12,596 or about 787.25 per day, in 2008 there were 15,348 or an average of 959.25 per day and in 2009 it increased to 20,071 or 1254.44 per day. The same is also true to the airport in Ambon of Maluku province. The flow of passengers at Pattimura airport increased 25.21 percent on Saturday, six days before Idul Fitri. Leo Sahertian of the airport operator firm Angkasa Pura I said that from 6 am to 4 pm local time on Saturday the number of passengers was recorded at 1,063, an increase from 846 recorded in the previous year. He said that the increase was boosted by additional flights from Ambon to other cities. Usually, Ambon is catered with 10 airplanes and 12 flights daily but this year there are 14 airplanes with 14 routes. In Kalimantan, hundreds of Idul Fitri travelers packed Samarinda. The passengers, who came from several cities/districts in East Kalimantan, continued to flow and embarked on a ship that had moored at the pier of Samarinda seaport. "They embarked on Peratai Prima II ship which would take them to Parepare, South Sulawesi," Samarinda Police chief Senior Commissioner Akhmad Yusef Gunawan, who inspected the traveler's flow, said early on Sunday. He said that the number of passengers would continue to increase this Sunday. "Now hundreds of passengers have packed the port," he said. The peak of the Idul Fitri traveler's flow was predicted to happen on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, he said. Millions of seasonal passengers travel to their home towns to have family reunions during the annual post-fasting Lebaran holidays. During the Idul Fitri holiday season last year, the number of home-bound travelers reached about 27.25 million, of which 16.2 million used various public transportation modes while the remaining 11.2 million used private cars and motorcycles. ***4*** |
Sabtu, 04 September 2010
LEBARAN EXODUS BEGINS THIS WEEKEND
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 4 (ANTARA) - The exodus of post-fasting Idul Fitri or Lebaran holiday travelers is expected to start this weekend as millions of Lebaran revelers are to return to their hometowns for annual family reunions during the holidays. The start of the exodus could be observed with the increased activities at two ferry ports of Merak in the western tip of Java and of Gilimanuk in Bali. "I have been waiting for two hours. Seeing the length of the queue, possibly I will get my turn to embark on the next three ferry," Rusti, who drove a private car, said. During the annual season of Lebaran holidays, millions of travelers cross the Sunda Strait through the Merak port in Java and the Bakauheni port in Sumatra. Another passenger Achmad who was in queue with his family in a private car said they were not tired even if they were forced to stay in queue. "My wife and kids so far have no complaints but seemed to enjoy themselves when they looked at the beautiful night sea," he said. He admitted however that in spite of the fact that they enjoyed the trip, they also had worries. "We are worried to hear news from colleagues that ferries being operated by the Merak port are over 30 years old," he said. Based on data, most of the 33 roll-on roll-off ferries to be operated for home ward Indul Fitri travelers are old ships with only a number of them are less than 15 years. The data received from PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry showed that of the 33 ships under the firm at Merak port most were already old, or over 25 years, some others even almost reaching 40 years old. The 33 old ferries which will serve millions of home-bound Lebaran travelers and vehicles from Java to Sumatra or the vise verse, included the Jatra I and Jatra II produced in 1980. The others are Jatra III,1985, BSP I,1973, BSP II,1971, BSP III,1973, Bahuga Pratama, 1992, Bahuga Jaya,1987, Menggala, 1973, Mufidah,1979, Duta Banten, 1973, Jagantara, 1979, Nusa Dharma, 1986, Nusa Bahagia,1979, Victorius, 1990, Laut Teduh I, 1990, Musthika Kencana,1975, HM Baruna,1992, Tribuana, 1997 and Rajabasa I, 1990. Besides that other old ferries are SMS Kartanegara,1984, Windu Karsa Dwita,1997, Windu Karsa Pratama,1993, Titian Nusantara,1995, Panorama Nusantara,1987, Royal Nusantara,1985, Prima Nusantara,1975, Mitra Nusantara,1997, Titian Murni,1985, Nusa Agung,1992, Nusa Jaya,1987, Nusa Mulia, 1992 and Nusa Setia, 1994. Besides the increase in the number of private cars, the number of passengers traveling on public buses has also increased on Saturday. Passengers have flocked to the ports since early in the morning on Saturday. The have to stand in a long queue waiting for their turns in front of the ticket counters. "I decide to depart earlier, not on the eve of the post-fasting Lebaran holidays. Thanks God, although I have to queue, I can get a ticket smoothly," Ridwan, a traveler from Bogor who was on his way to South Sumatra said. Ridwan said after he was granted a leave from his office beginning last Friday, he prepared his departure with his wife and children. "Our trip from Bogor is also smooth," he said. Ruminah (45), a resident from Bandung, West Java, said that he deliberately spent the night in the port and would embark on the ferry that would take him to Bakauheni port in Sumatra at 6 am. He said he was traveling to Bengkulu province, and would not get a bus that would take him to Bengkulu if he had not delayed his departure until morning. Head of the inland waterway company TP ASDP for Merak, Teja Suparna said that the flock of passengers on Saturday morning at the port was only the beginning of the Lebaran exodus this year. "The number of passengers early on Saturday has increased significantly compared with that in the previous days," he said. Increased flow of travelers on Saturday was also seen at Bali?s Gilimanuk ferry port which connect the tourist resort island with Java. PT ASDP for Gilimanuk has put 24 of its 28 ferries into service to transport post-fasting month travelers whose number began to rise. The number of vehicles, particularly two-wheel vehicles, making the crossing to East Java's Ketapang port was expected to reach over 5,000 on Saturday. "Since yesterday, port activities have been increasing with the number of motorcycles ferried to Ketapang port recorded at 5,000 units," operations manager of inland waterway firm PT ASDP for Gilimanuk, Ospar Silaban, said . He said the number of motorcycles using ferry services on Friday reached 5,000 units and on Saturday it was expected to exceed 5,000 units. In an effort to anticipate a drastic increase, PT ASDP was operating 24 ferries of the 28 ships that had been made available. He said that although there was an increase in the number of vehicles, yet it did not create a long queue. "There is no queue at present," he said.The increase also happened with private cars. Based on the experience in previous years Gilimanuk port would see the peak of activities on two to one days before the Idul Fitri D-Day on Friday. Ospar called on travelers to conduct their Idul Fitri trips before the peak days in an effort to avoid traffic jams and long queues. Millions of seasonal passengers travel to their home towns to have family reunions during the annual post-fasting Lebaran holidays. During the Idul Fitri holiday season last year, the number of home-bound travelers reached about 27.25 million, of which 16.2 million used various public transportation modes while the remaining 11.2 million used private cars and motorcycles.***4*** |
MT SINABUNG EVACUEES ASKED NOT TO RETURN HOME
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 3 (ANTARA) - Thousands of refugees in Tanah Karo district, North Sumatra were on Friday called on not to return to their homes for the time being following the eruption of MT Sinabung for the third time in a week on Friday. The authorities also warned them of the danger of possible lava floods when rain falls on the mountain's slopes. The 2,640-m-high Mount Sinabung erupted for the first time (after the last one in 1600) on Sunday (Aug 29) at around 00.15 am local time, causing over 25,000 residents to flee their homes for safer places. It erupted for the second time on Monday (Aug 30) at around 6.30 am. It spewed thick volcanic ash, and cloud, and caused an earthquake which lasted for three minutes. Some refugees had earlier returned home but were once again evacuated Friday morning when the volcano showed increased activities, just an hour before it erupted for the third time. It caused visibility in Tanah Karo district to become substantially obstructed by volcanic ash since early on Friday. "Visibility is very bad," chief of Sukanalu village, Naman Teran subdistrict, Paten Sitepu, said. Paten said the smoke coming out of the volcano was like thick fog covering the mountain. Thousands of people were evacuated. The evacuation was done on Friday morning, at 3 am local time, according to Sastrawan Ginting, a villager of Kuta Rakyat. "Some refugees, including hundreds of Kuta Rakyat residents, who had returned home after the first eruption, were evacuated again this morning. They had gone back to their village to take care of their agricultural fields that have been neglected," Ginting, the village's security coordinator, said. In the meantime, the local people who live in the down stream areas of rivers that run down from the slopes of Mt Sinabung are warned of possible lava floods. "We issue this warning to the locals because rain of late often falls around the slopes of Mount Sinabung, which erupted early last Sunday," Iman K Sinulingga of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said. He said that Mount Sinabung was still in its Level IV alert status so that his side recommended several matters that should be paid attention to by refugees and the Karo regional government. Sinulingga said that residents who stayed and had activities within a radius of 6 km from Mt Sinabung's crater should be evacuated to safer places. If there is ash rain residents should use face masks and cover their water tanks which they use for drinking water. "Residents are asked to remain patient in following the instructions of the task forces because Mt Sinabung's nature of eruption and activities is not recognized. Task forces and local government should continue to coordinate in the field," he said. Owing to the danger nature of the volcano, residents were called on to stay in their emergency makeshifts. When handing over assistance to them, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin called on them to remain patient and tough in the face of the ordeals. In the meantime, humanitarian aid has also been flowing since this week. The second stage assistance from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived on Thursday. Director for emergency affairs of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Untung said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's assistance consisted of four trucks of logistics. The president has extended his first aid which was handed over by BNPB deputy for disaster handling, Soetrisono, and was received by Tanah Karo district head DD Sinulingga. It included 30,000 masks, and 7,500 containers of milk. The second assistance consisted of 8,500 blankets, 1,000 pieces of mats, 500 pieces of rolling tents, 3,000 cartons of noodles, 2,000 cartons of promina milk and 200 dozens of female underwear. It also included 500 cartons of napkins, 3,000 packages of medicines, 600 liters of cooking oil, 120 kg of salted fish ad 850 kg of sugar. "We hope this assistance would be used as well as possible for the need of evacuees," Samijan said. Assistance also came from Muhammadiyah Chairman Din Syamsuddin who on Thursday visited and provided the assistance. In his address when handing over the assistance Din asked the evacuees to be patient and tough in the face of the ordeals. "We have to be patient in the face of this challenge," he said. Din among other handed over 15 sacks of rice, 150 kg of sugar, 120 pieces of sarongs, one box of sardines, milk and instant noodles. Earlier the Ministry of Social Affairs has also sent aid to the location. It consisted of 50 tons of rice, 960 bottles of soy sauce, 400 cartons of sardines, 120 bottles of cooking oil, 5.000 pieces of blankets, 27,000 face masks, 76 tents, 3,000 sarongs, 2,000 long-sleeve and long-pant clothes, 200 mats, 4 mobile public kitchens, one truck and one mobile water tank to meet the evacuees' emergency needs |