TRAFFIC JAM AT MERAK PORT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 10 (ANTARA) - Merak port in the western tip of Java and  Bakauheni  harbor in the eastern point of Sumatra, two ports so far serving as a main economic lane for the two important Indonesian islands,  have of late experienced traffic flow problems.          Trucks transporting commodities needed by consumers in the two main islands of the country were forced to stay in queues for days or even weeks before they could be ferried to their destinations.          The main cause of the traffic jams is the decrease in the number of ferries operating to serve heavy flows of cargoes and passengers that would cross the 36-km Sunda Strait.          Of the 33 ferries usually plying the route, 11 are now put at dock-yard for maintenance or repair.          "There were usually 33 ferry ships operating but now only 22 ships because 11 of them are under repair. This has caused traffic jams at Merak port," Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said on Sunday.          Currently however  a total of 17 ferries at Merak port in Cilegon city, Banten, are not in operation because they are undergoing maintenance processes  or have been sent to  dock-yards for repairs. "There are 17 ferries usually serving the Merak-Bakauheni ports which are not in operation. Today, there are only 22 ferries are serving passengers at the two ports," Hery Widarto, a supervisor of TP ASDP for Merak.          The government is now considering building a bridge that would connect the Java island with  Sumatra in its efforts to solve the transportation problems between Java and Sumatra in the long run, but for solution to the problem in the short term, the government is still trying to find the best way.          Among the solutions that are being thought by the government included building additional piers, separating piers between those for faster ships and those for slower ones. The urgent step to be taken is to evaluate docking schedules for ships going for repair of maintenance.          For this, Minister Freddy Numberi asked the Inland Waterway Service (PT ASDP) to evaluate its ship-docking arrangements at Merak port. "It should evaluate its docking arrangement and fix accurate schedules. The other efforts that could be made include separating special piers for faster ships," the minister said.         He said that his office continued to do its best to overcome the traffic jams that had hampered the flow of trucks at the ferry port of late. Therefore, Numberi said, he has asked PT ASDP and its private partners to evaluate the schedules of ships which would be sent to the dock-yard. The schedules should be arranged properly so that it would not cause overlapping and take too long at the dock-yard.          Besides, the other effort that could be made is separating or grouping faster ferries and direct them to certain  piers, not to piers where slower ships would also berth at. "Faster ships could be put in a group to be directed to special piers, for example to pier 5 or pier 4," Numberi said     "We have complaints that low-speed ferries that transport queuing trucks  hamper those of the fast speed ones. We have reported to the vice president that we have regrouped ships based on their speed classification. So that later on, the low-speed ones will  be facilitated by a special pier," the minister added.          He said the government would therefore increase the number of piers at ports so that each of the ferry ports would have six piers. The construction of the piers is a follow up effort to overcome the traffic jams at the two ports which connect  Java with Sumatra.          The minister said the construction of piers in Merak would cost Rp120 billion while those in Bakauheni would take some Rp450-Rp550 billion.           In the meantime, Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, whose administrative areas included Marak, has asked PT ASDP to help overcome the traffic jams at Merak port.          "The queues of trucks willing to be ferried from Merak port in Banten (Java) to Bakauheni port in Lampung (Sumatra) of late are caused by the small number of ships operating," she said.          The governor said  that besides the small number of ferries, the traffic jam at Merak port had also been caused by bad weather. "Bad weather factor has caused long queues of trucks," she said.          The governor said that the best solution to the problem was the construction of the Sunda Strait bridge (JSS) project. "We hope that the JSS project would be started soon. The presidential regulation on that matter is expected to be issued this month," she said.          The JSS whose construction is expected to start in 2014 and would constitute the world's second longest bridge (36 km) after the Shanghai bridge in China, will cost some Rp150 trillion.           But the JSS project is a solution for the problem in the long run, so that the ports of Merak and Bakauheni must be revitalized soon. Ratu Atut said that revitalization of the ports of Merak and Bakauheni in Lampung should also be carried out.           Former mayor of Cilegon, Tb Aat Syafaat, regretted the performance of the transportation ministry which until now was still unable to overcome traffic flow problems at Merak port. "I once submitted a proposal to the ministry of transportation but it seemed that my concept has got no response," he said.            When he was still Cilegon city mayor, he proposed the construction of additional piers and increase the number of ships. "Ferries existing now are old ships. They need to be replaced," he said.            Most of the 33 ships under ASDP firm at Merak port are already old, or over 25 years, some others even almost reaching 40 years old. It included the Jatra I and Jatra II ferries which were produced in 1980.          The others are Jatra III (produced in 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. ***5*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/21:010/A/S012)10-04-2011 21:10:

CREEPING HAIRY CREATURES 'INVADE' EAST JAVA

   Jakarta, April 9 (ANTARA) - A number of districts in East Java have during past few days been plagued  by sudden caterpillar  (desiciria inclusa) population explosions. People's mango trees,   orchards and houses were invaded by uncountable numbers of the creeping hairy creatures.
     Experts said the caterpillars would in due course of time  change into  cocoons and eventually into  butterflies but they also warned that the attacks could recur.
     The  caterpillar invasion at first happened  in Probolinggo district but it later  spread to other districts in East Java such as Pasuruan, Jombang, Banyuwangi, Bojonegoro, even to certain districts in Central and West Java.
     "It reportedly has spread to other regions,"  Agriculture Minister Suswono said on Saturday. The minister however called on the people not to panic because the intensity of the pest which attacked the leaves and stems of plants was  declining.
     The people are called on to remain cautious and coordinate with field officials from the agriculture office when they found potential caterpillar attacks. The regional government of East Java has made every efforts to anticipate the worst impact of the caterpillar attacks.
     The caterpillar attacks in East Java's Probolinggo district spread to eight sub-districts and two district in Probolinggo city.  The worst attack happened in Sumber Kedawung and Pondok Wuluh villages.
     According to Prof. Aunu Rauf, a pest expert at the Bogor-based Institute of Agriculture (IPB), the outbreak of caterpillars was a result of the weather anomalies which killed caterpillar predators.   "The prolonged rainy season caused predator Braconid and Apanteles unable to stay alive," he said.
     Pest analyst of the Jember Uniersity (Unej) Hari Purnomo said meanwhile that the presence of virus and bacteria were two pathogens which could control the outbreak of caterpillars.  "In other countries,  NPV (nuclear polyhadrosis virus) and bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis) are able to oppress the presence of caterpillars because both of them were pathogens which are able to eliminate them," he said.
     He said environmental damage and weather anomalies had partly paralyzed predators, parasites and pathogens thus allowing caterpillars to break out and attacked people's plantations. However not all of the predators had disappeared, particularly parasites.
     The species of caterpillars which spread in East Java was that of the moth (lymantriidae) family or butterflies which are active during the night time, Hari said.
     According to Prof Aunu, the caterpillars which attacked people's plants last week head turned or morphed into cocoons. "The caterpillars have morphed into cocoons or even some have become butterflies. But one should be aware that caterpillars have a life cycle of 1.5 months so that their second attack  should be anticipated," Aunu said.
     Hari Purnomo said about 50 percent of caterpillar cocoons in the mango plantations of villagers in Probolinggo had died due to attack by parasites, pathogens and predators.
     "We found that cocoons in a number of plantation plots which were not sprayed with pesticides have been attacked by parasites up to 50 percent so that the cocoons turned blackish and  died," he said.
     Yet, Prof. Aunu warned the people of possible second invasion of the pest. "Their development has to be controlled and it could emerge again as the caterpillar has a life cycle of 1.5 months. People must be ready to spray, sweep and burn them because otherwise it would spread. If it remains unchecked it would incur a great loss to the local mango farmers," Aunu said.
  After all, reports on the outbreak of the pests said that caterpillar attacks have also reached Central and West Java.   Caterpillars have begun to invade mango plants in two villages in Kudus district, Central Java.
     Field official of the Agriculture Service of Kudus,  Aris Priambudi said caterpillars had attacked the village of Hadiwarno of the Mejobo sub-district and Jati Kulon of Jati subdistrict in Kudus.
     "At present, the population of caterpillars that attack people?s mango plants could reached tens of thousands. It could even increase in the coming several days," Aris said.
He said that mango trees become their main homes in the two villages but when they have become massive it is not impossible for them to move to other types of plants.
      In West Java, caterpillars have entered two districts, namely Subang and Bekasi districts. According to Oo Sutisna, chairman of West Java's Fisherman and Farmers Association (KTNA), the regional government should take immediate anticipatory steps as two districts have been affected by the pest.  "We ask the regional government to take anticipatory steps to stop the spread of the pest," he said.
     He said that his organization had reported that caterpillars had attacked the subdistrict of Paseh in Subang and a village in Bekasi. "Based on the report of our friends in KTNA, caterpillars have entered Subang and Bekasi," he said.
     Yet, the massive attack of caterpillars in Java has not yet caused significant losses.  The Ministry of Agriculture said up to now it has as yet to receive any report on significant damage caused by the caterpillar 'invasion' of several areas in Java.
     Agriculture Minister Suswono said the outbreak of the caterpillar pest, especial in Probolinggo, only caused damage to about 1.2 percent of the mango plantation there.
    "Up to now, no one has reported to have suffered from losses. The attacked plants were not killed and they were not in a flowering condition. The pest outbreak could not yet be categorized as wreaking havoc on the plants," the minister said.


(T.A014/A/HAJM/21:15/....  ) April 9, 2011

SAUDI BRIDGES HOMES TO INDONESIAN OVERSTAYERS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 5 (ANTARA)  - Tens of thousands of Indonesians who overstayed their visas and have taken  refuge under several bridges in Saudi Arabia are facing an uncertain fate as the Indonesian government is only planning to repatriate 50 percent of them this year.          Of the 50,000 over-stayers, the government is only planning to help some 25,000 return home this year for lack of funds  while the remaining 25,000 will still have to stay there until they see what the government will do with them.          This year, the Indonesian government only has Rp128 billion in funds to repatriate some 25,000 over-stayers. Until last month, only 2,073 of the planned 25,000 have been facilitated to return home.          Yet, the government promises that it will do its best to bring  home in stages its nationals who have overstayed their stay permits.          Head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers (BNP2TKI) Moh Jumhur Hidyat said in written statement to a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Monday said that of the 50 thousand Indonesian nationals/migrant workers (WNI/TKIs), the Indonesian government had repatriated 2,073 in six batches since February 14, 2011.          In the near future, the government will again return 2,927 others using ship "Labobar" of the state-owned shipping firm PT Pelni, so that the plan of repatriating 5,000 TKIs in the first phase would immediately be realized.          For 2011, the BNP2TKI has not yet set any budget amount for the repatriation of the remaining 45,000 TKIs.  "We need additional budget for the continuation of the repatriation," he said.         He said  the relevant agencies needed to coordinate and gather funding based on the results of a  meeting recently held at the office of the coordinating minister for people's welfare.          For the repatriation of 5,000 TKIs for the first phase, the government has to spend Rp37.2 billion, of which Rp5.02 billion were owed to the national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Rp24.5 billion to Pelni and Rp7.8 billion to others.          Of the Rp7.8 billion, 2.5 billion came from the ministry of religious affairs, Rp400 million from the ministry of social affairs, Rp1.8 billion came from the BNP2TKI, Rp393 million from the ministry of health, Rp1.9 billion from police and Rp550 million from the office of the ministry of people's welfare.          Jumhur predicted that the number of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia reached 1.45 million with some 650 thousands staying in accredited areas of the Indonesian Consul General in Jedda, and Rp800 thousands in the accredited areas of the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh.          He said that the overstayers were initially problematic workers who fled their employers' homes  to various boarding facilities partly because they were not paid, treated inhumanely, had heavy workloads, worked not based on their contracts, had sexual harassment, had been abused, were not competent in work and  faced cultural shock.          Besides, some overstayers are visitors who come to Saudi Arabia to  perform a minor haj pilgrimage or umroh. There are  umroh travel agencies which have not adopted a good management system so that pilgrims have the potentials to over-stay. This is due to the weaknesses of the system such as the lack of coordination between the Indonesian government and its Saudi counterpart.          After all, manpower suppliers and agencies overseas tend to have business orientation only so that they ignore protection and security aspects for workers. In addition, sanctions against manpower supplier firms (PPTKIS) which break the law, are still weak.          Even some PPTKIS do not provide enough guidance for employers and fail to provide data on TKIs arrivals for the Indonesian Embassy.          Therefore, the government will tighten its control on travel agencies organizing minor hajj pilgrimage (Umroh). Moreover, some 30 percent of overstayers who have been sent home turned out to have come from umroh travel agencies.          "Records on Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) who overstayed in Saudi Arabia and have been returned to Indonesia show that about 30 percent of them came from umroh pilgrimage groups," Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said in a hearing with the House of Representatives on Monday.          He said that the overstayers worked illegally after they performed religious rituals. "They want to perform rituals and work at the same time," he said.  "Some others said they wanted to go home for free (waiting for repatriation) or wanted to follow their husbands who worked in Saudi Arabia," he added.          Based on the findings, the manpower ministry has asked the ministry of religious affairs to tighten its supervision on travel agencies organizing umroh pilgrimage.          The manpower ministry will also tighten its control over irresponsible manpower supplier firms that are found to have neglected their workers in Saudi Arabia.          "In order not to repeat this problem the manpower ministry and other relevant agencies will seriously tighten the mechanism in the sending of migrant workers, especially to the Middle East," the minister said.     (T.A014/A/HAJM/12:55/f001 )05-04-2011 12:49:5

RI BEGINS EVACUATING ITS NATIONALS FROM JAPAN

Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 14 (ANTARA) - Indonesia began on Monday evacuating its nationals from disaster-stricken areas in Japan with some 104 evacuees expected to arrive in Jakarta on Tuesday. They arrived in Tokyo from Sendai on Monday.          More than 400 Indonesians living in different parts of earthquake and tsunami-stricken regions in Japan are going to be evacuated to Tokyo and eventually sent home, Indonesian ambassador to Japan Muhammad Lutfi said.          According to data of the Foreign Ministry, 31,517 Indonesians are at present living in Japan, mostly or around 24,000 in Tokyo and around 6,700 in Osaka.  However, evacuation will be carried out for those living in three most affected areas, namely in Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi and Fukushima.          There were 496 Indonesian citizens who were spread in the three areas located near the epicenter of the earthquake. They were 140 people in Iwate Prefecture, 274 people in Miyagi and 82 people in Fukushima City.         Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Sunday 121 Indonesians would be relocated from Sendai on Monday, who consisted of 60 percent men and 40 percent women.        "The 121 Indonesians are expected to leave from Sendai and arrive in Tokyo on Monday evening," the minister said, adding that most of the evacuees are students comprising 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women.          On Friday, Japan was hit by an earthquake measuring 8.9 on Richter scale that triggered a towering tsunami which crippled the north-eastern region of Japan, killing at least 1,000 people.         Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa immediately reported the disaster to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who ordered immediate safety efforts.  "We will collect information as fast as possible. Certainly this news is shocking. We hope the situation will not deteriorate and our people could all be protected,"  the foreign minister said.         President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday asked the  foreign affairs ministry and Indonesia's diplomatic mission in Japan to locate all Indonesians following last Friday (March 11)'s natural disaster.          In the meantime,  Indonesian Minister for  Women's Empowerment  and Child Protection Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar asked the Indonesian embassy in Japan to prioritize women and children in its efforts to help Indonesians affected by Friday's earthquake and tsunami disaster.          "We have contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Japan and discussed the fate of women and children affected by the earthquake and tsunami," said Linda Gumelar Monday.          Linda said her ministry has contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Japan to ensure that Indonesian citizens  there remained in good condition, especially women and children. "I am really concerned about the disaster, and I want to make sure that children and women  residing in that country are safe,"  she said.          In order to provide assistance, the embassy has set up and sent teams to the affected regions to provide help for Indonesian nationals.          "The Indonesian Embassy has set up a team for rescuing our people in Japan, especially those who are staying in Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi and Fukushima. An airplane has been sent to evacuate them to Tokyo," said Ambassador Lutfi.         The Indonesian embassy has rescue teams Miyagi and Iwate prefectures  who arrived on Saturday.   "The Indonesian embassy in Tokyo  sent two evacuation teams to Miyagi and Iwate on Saturday," the embassy said.         Yet some Indonesians are running short of logistics in Sendai for example. Tens of Indonesian nationals sheltered at Sendai  are in dire need of food and drink, according to the embassy in Tokyo.         Right now priority in the distribution of food is gaven to senior citizens and children while the supply of drinking water is also limited. But a team of embassy employees had arrived at Sanjo junior high school building where the Indonesian nationals were being sheltered.         They later set up a public kitchen to provide food to the Indonesian nationals. Yet a shortage of foodstuff posed an obstacle. They were all in good health, though  some of them began to complain about poor facilities at the evacuee camp.         In Sendai, capital of Miyagi prefecture, the relief team  evacuated on Monday ten Indonesians.  Head of the National Workers Placement and Protection Agency (BNP2TKI) Jumhur Hidayat  said the ten evacuees consisted of seven nurses and three students.          The seven nurses were Mugiyati, Desi Subarkan, Jajang Rahmat, Emey Wahyudi, Siti Nur Lailiay, Wihel Maridadewi and Wisita Permanasari while the three students who were also evacuated to Tokyo were Robert Dwipura,Tahta Erlangga and Achmad Faisal Dwiputra. "They are expected to arrive in Tokyo at midnight today." Jumhur said on Monday.          Jumhur also pointed out that  there were four Indonesian nurses in Fukushima prefecture who survived the earthquake and tsunami. The whereabouts of the four Indonesian nurses were previously not known but later it was reported that they were safe and had been evacuated to a Tokyo military hospital.          They were taken to the hospital to be examined whether or not they were exposed to radiation following the explosion of a nuclear power plant (PLTN) in Fukushima as a result of the quake and its subsequent tsunami.          The four Indonesian workers were Dwi Astuti from Klaten district, Central Java; Puspawati from Mimika Baru, West Papua; Harlina Semi from Panakkukang, Makassar; and Yulianti from Senapelan, Pekanbaru, Riu province.      (T.A014/A/H-NG/A014) 15-03-2011 01:13

RI SURVIVES JAPAN'S TSUNAMI THREAT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 11 (ANTARA) - After having about eight hours of panic and tense, villagers in the coastal areas of North Sulawesi, North Maluku and Papua provinces, took a deep breath of relief as the devastating tsunami in Japan  did not reach their areas.          The towering tsunami which crippled north-east of Japan, did not reach their areas until the deadline set by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at 6 pm western Indonesia Time (WIB) had passed on Friday evening.          "Based on procedures, the tsunami warning is lifted if one hour after the deadline is passed. Now that we have passed one hour of the deadline, the BMKG is now withdrawing its tsunami warning and declared that all areas in Indonesia are secure from the threat," BMKG Chief Sri Woro B Harijono said in an interview with TVone station Saturday evening.          The BMKG has earlier issued a warning that Japan's tsunami may reach the eastern part of Indonesia, particularly North Sulawesi, North Maluku and Papua provinces following a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale which took place about 373 km from the national capital of Tokyo and triggered a giant  tsunami.         "The tsunami was first expected to reach Indonesia at 6 pm WIB or  8 pm Central Indonesia Time (WIT)," BMKG head Sri Woro B Harijono told ANTARA on Friday noon. She said it would likely hit Papua, North Maluku and North Sulawesi.          Following the warning, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono called for the evacuation of people living in the  coastal areas in Indonesia's northeast.          He  said a tsunami would possibly sweep West Papua, Papua, North Maluku and North Sulawesi provinces and areas around them.  People in the regions have to be on  heightened  alert.          "They must all be prepared, especially those living in Indonesia's eastern regions," he said.  Agung therefore called for the evacuation of people living in coastal areas in Indonesia's northeast. "If necessary, we will evacuate people in coastal areas to higher ground immediately." he said.          The minister also asked the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in the regions concerned to be ready for  eventualities.          He called on the people to remain calm and not to panic but to be ready for eventualities.          Chairman of the BNPB's Data and Information Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho also believed that waves from the tsunami in Japan may reach  West Papua, Papua, North Maluku, and North Sulawesi on Friday at around 6 pm Western Indonesian Standard Time.          "BNPB has asked for assistance from the regional authorities, the Indonesian military (TNI) and the Police to inform the public living in coastal areas so they can be on alert," he said.          An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours. Reports put the territories of Guam, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Micronesia and Hawaii under a lower tsunami watch.          In the meantime, reports of Japan's earthquake with its subsequent tsunami which until Friday had killed at least 23 people, caused panic among people living in North Maluku, North Sulawesi and Papua.          Residents of Tobelo city, North Halmahera district, North Maluku province, rushed to higher areas upon hearing the information on possible tsunami to hit the province.          "We fled to Kupa Kupa which is higher than our area. We live in a coastal area so that we rushed to a higher land area when we heard the BMKG warning through television,"  Jopi Soselissa of Tobelo said.          BMKG chief for Ambon, capital of Maluku, Irwan Slamet said his side gave priority to residents living in areas that sit on a fault in North Maluku, which was a meeting point of the Euroasia and Pacific plates.          "We are intensively monitoring the impact of Japan's quake and its subsequent tsunami though we predict that Maluku would not be affected by the tsunami waves,"  he said.          In North Sulawesi, local residents were also panicked to hear the news that a tsunami due to an earthquake in Japan could sweep their areas. Civil servants at the North Sulawesi regional government office burst out of their office as soon as they learned the news.          Some of them contacted their families at home and asked them to avoid Manado (capital of North Sulawesi)'s coastal areas. Some others came to pick their family members to evacuate.          "My family live in the coastal area so that I go home to pick them up and ask them to evacuate to a safer place," said Steven, a civil servant working at the North Sulawesi regional government office.          Star Wowor, who is North Sulawesi regional government secretary, also contacted his family soon to avoid staying in the coastal areas. The same is also true to those in the shopping centers. They burst out of the shops and sought for higher fields as soon as they heard the news about tsunami.          In Papua, most of people living around the Wafnor beach, Biak Kota, in Biak Numfor district, also fled their homes to seek secure places. Some residents admitted they were panicked when they heard the BMKG tsunami warning that the waves would likely reach their village at 8 pm WIT.          "My family members were evacuated to higher places to avoid the tsunami waves as warned by the BMKG," Launsi, who lived in Wafnor coastal area, said.      (T.A014/A/H-NG/A/S012) March 11, 2011

CABINET SHAKE-UP SEEN IMMINENT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 8 (ANTARA) - Observers called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to reshuffle his cabinet ministers immediately amid a discourse on the  stance of two government coalition members,  the Golkar Party and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).          Golkar and PKS supported a recent tax mafia inquiry motion which was rejected by the alliance under the leadership of the ruling Democrat Party (PD).          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said last week that political parties in the government coalition that had not met their commitments could no longer remain in the alliance, a clear reference to the Golkar and PKS parties which were viewed to have taken steps violating their commitments.          Observers are of the opinion that if the president  intends to revamp his cabinet,  he had better carry it out immediately in order not to miss the momentum. After all, the president now only has 3.5 years left to carry out his mandate.          "If he is willing to reshuffle his cabinet, now is the time because it only has 3.5 years left. It will be too late if he waits for one or two more years," political observer Katjung Marijan of the Airlangga University (Unair) said on Monday.          He said  if the president did not carry out a cabinet revamp he would continue to face the same problem which so far had been created by his coalition partners. Moreover, the idea of a cabinet reshuffle existed for a long time and if it continued to be raised it would disturb the government in  carrying out its development programs optimally.          Secretary General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Tjahjo Kumolo said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had better reshuffle his cabinet ministers soon.          "PDIP only reminds (the president of the cabinet revamp) because if it is delayed it will miss the momentum," he said at the parliament building on Monday.          Katjung Marijan concurred with Tjahjo's opinion saying that  a cabinet shake-up followed  by the coalition's restructuring is needed to ensure the government stability so that it would work more effectively.          According to Katjung, a cabinet reshuffle should be made a momentum to renew its commitment and improve coordination among political parties supporting the alliance, two things which so far were proven to be weak.          "Ideally, a coalition must be in one home, under one roof and have one door. What happens so far is that each of the coalition members has its own home and door so that a common policy is not created," Katjung said.           He said it should be acknowledged that Yudhoyono's coalition now was still confined to power-sharing, not a coalition built to achieve a common goal. Fragmentation within the coalition, where each political party has its own interest, could not be avoided, much more coordination was weak. "Commitment and coordination must be improved which could be done by excluding political parties which so far did not fulfill their commitments," he said.          Political observer Yunarto Wijaya of Charta Politika  said now is the correct momentum for  Yudhoyono to reduce the number of parties in the government coalition so that his administration would run effectively.         "The large size of the coalition has proven  to be ineffective and put shackles on the government so that the administration over the past one and a half years was not effective as it was shackled by the interest of political parties," Yunarto said.          Yunarto said  he hoped Yudhoyono would use the momentum to down size the cabinet posture so that it would become more professional by including elements which were free from interests that shackle the cabinet.          He said the change in the composition of the coalition by excluding those considered to have violated their commitment and include others in the cabinet would not have a significant impact on  the government's performance.           "Letting one party go but asking another one to come in to replace it to maintain the coalition strength is only a mirage," he said.          He said that by asking other political parties like the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and Gerindra (the Greater Indonesia Movement Party ) to replace the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) the president would face difficulties in giving incentives to a loyal party or in taking ministers from the professional circle.          "The president has the logic that if A is excluded from the coalition, B must be included in the alliance to maintain strength. But this will automatically reduce the room for him to provide reward for loyal parties or to take ministers from professionals to support his government," he said.          PDIP and Gerindra are so far not included in the government coalition. According to Yudhoyono, the political parties who have joined the coalition are the Golkar Party, PKS, National Mandate Party (PAN), United Development Party (PPP), National Awakening Party (PKB) and the (ruling) Democrat Party (PD). These parties have signed 11-point agreements which would serve as rules of the game in the coalition.          Owing to the fact that certain coalition members are viewed to have violated their commitments, while calls and discourse on possible reshuffle, the president is now about to revamp his cabinet.          However, analyst believed that a reshuffle should not be based on a political reason but on the performance of a minister.          "A reshuffle should be carried out if the president considers the performance of his ministers to be bad. This is very important. If the cabinet is reshuffled for political reasons, I think it is not appropriate," Maswadi Rauf of the University of Indonsia (UI) said.          He said  if the cabinet was revamped because of  political reasons, it would affect the government's performance. It would likely disturb and reduce the performance of ministers.          A presidential aide said a cabinet reshuffle would be based on performance consideration.  "It is not a discourse. It is real and is going to be discussed soon. So if a reshuffle really happens  later, the basis for it will be an evaluation of ministers'  performance," Heru Lelono, the president's special aide for information, said.      (T.A014/A/HAJM/00:25/a014) 08-03-2011 00:53

GOVT STILL UNDECIDED ON FUEL CONSUMPTION CUTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 3 (ANTARA) - The government is still undecided on  whether to go ahead with its  plan to limit subsidized fuel consumption as of April or postpone it until July 2011.          If the government goes ahead with its April plan amid world crude price increases, now reaching over US$100 per barrel, it will boost inflation. On the other hand, it has to increase additional funds amounting to between Rp3 trillion and Rp6 trillion if it postpones the plan.          "Looking at the price progress (of crude oil) which is now skyrocketing and triggering inflation on foodstuff, and the readiness of the Jakarta and its surrounding areas (to accept the limitation), it would be better if we postpone it," said Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said.          Although the implementation of the limitation of subsidized fuels needed to  be postponed, yet the government has yet to make a decision as the plan still has to be consulted with the House of Representatives (DPR).          Legislator M Romahurmuziy of the DPR's Commission VII on energy affairs suggested that the government postpone the implementation of the plan so that it could make preparations.          "The plan will most likely be put on hold in view of the current situation," Hatta Rajasa said on Thursday.          He said the global oil prices which recently reached a level of US$100 a barrel due to the Middle East crisis might raise the price of non-subsidized fuel Pertamax and if the use of subsidized fuel was limited many motorists would fearfully be reluctant to switch to Pertamax.          For its part, the government was waiting for the results of a study conducted by a team of officers on the impact of limited use of subsidized fuels, he said.          "The high oil prices may increase spending on Pertamax. The other assumptions will later be adjusted to the results of the study to see if there is distortion," he said. After all, he said, the imminent postponement of the plan to limit the use of subsidized fuels was an option the government still had to discuss with the House of Representatives (DPR).           Therefore,  the government has not made a final decision with regard to the implementation of the plan and a study is still being made to see the readiness and effectiveness of the plan in Greater Jakarta.           Finance minister Agus Martowardojo said the postponement could make the volume of subsidized oil consumption to reach above 40 million kiloliters to surpass the quota of 38.6 million kiloliters set in the 2011 budget.          State oil company PT Pertamina has earlier planned to implement limited sales of subsidized fuels (gasoline and diesel) in Jakarta and its surrounding towns in March 2011. This policy is also to be implemented nationwide in 2013.          The curb on subsidized fuel consumption may help Indonesia cut its subsidy spending in the state budget by 8.9 percent to 184.8 trillion rupiah for 2011.  The program will help the government cut subsidized fuel quotas in the 2011 budget by 40 percent to 22.16 million kiloliters, according to Karen Agustiawan, president director of the PT Pertamina in December 2010.          Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said "if the plan cannot be implemented effectively in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Depok and Bekasi it would possibly be postponed. And if is decided to be postponed the message from the finance ministry is that consumption must not surpass 38.6 million kiloliters."     He said consumption above the quota would risk fiscal resilience particularly in terms of budget subsidy and volume. He said postponement of the plan had the potentials to increase the budget for subsidy by Rp3 trillion to Rp6 trillion.          "If it surpasses the quota I have already taken measures to provide an additional subsidy of Rp3 trillion to Rp6 trillion," he said.          He said that the figure was based on the world's oil price assumption at US$80 per barrel. "In general, we have the budget reference of the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) at US$80 per barrel. Now the world crude price has reached over US$100 per barrel. However, we still have no plan to revise the assumption," the minister said.          The minister said his ministry still hoped that the government would go ahead to cut subsidized consumption in order not to increase consumption of subsidized fuel oil that exceeded 38.5 million kiloliters.          "If it is postponed it must be because the government is not yet convinced with the effectiveness and feasibility of the study. But we in the finance ministry have made a schedule for the subsidy cuts. The cuts in the sense that the limitation program should not exceed 38 million kiloliters," he said.          The chief of the team charged with studying  the impact of the limitation on socio-economic conditions, Anggito Abimanyu, said he hoped the government would stick to the plan because based on the results of study it was feasible.          "They had better accept it because it is done in April which is a deflation month. I think it is already due and I can give the testimony because I have studied it myself and seen the readiness at policy-making and ground levels. But for sure let us just wait for the options that we are going to give," he said.          Yet, legislator Romahurmuziy is of the view that the government had better postpone the implementation of its plan from April 2011 to September 2011, to have a chance of making preparations.          "It had better be postponed until September so that the government would have six months to make more comprehensive preparations," he said on Thursday.          He said that by making comprehensive preparations the government could apply the consumption cuts not only in Jakarta and its buffer towns but also in Java and Bali.      (T.A014/A/HAJM/00:02/a014)04-03-2011 00:17:5