INDONESIA DIGEST Indonesia's complex Issues in a Nutshell By: Ms. Wuryastuti Sunario Published by: TBSC-Strategic Communication No.: 09.06 - Dated: 21 March 2006 In this issue:
MAIN FEATURE: BILL ON PORNOGRAPHY AND PORNO-ACTION TO BE OVERHAULED NEWS AND BACKGROUND: 1. Tourism and Transportation: Tourists using Visa Card Spend More; Outbound Down 30%; Incentives for Bali Recovery in early 2007; Tourism Summit November 2006 Government backs Garuda and Merpati with Letters of Undertaking 2. Health and the Environment: Indonesia's Bio Farma to produce Avian Flu Vaccine Elephants and Humans fight for Habitat -------------------------------------------------------------- MAIN FEATURE: BILL ON PORNOGRAPHY AND PORNO-ACTION TO BE OVERHAULED One would have thought that, faced with problems of Indonesia's widespread unemployment, rising consumer prices, rising oil prices, stagnant industries, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, terrorism, malnutrition, and the threatening Avian Flu pandemic, and not to mention rife Corruption, the Government and Parliament had enough emergencies and challenges to contend with and to correct. But apparently, not so. Parliament, in this case Commission VIII, still seems to have ample time to spark up more public emotions through "socializing" the Bill on Anti-Pornography and Porno-Action, slated to be enacted into law. And protests they received. Most vocal were the Women's Movement Groups and Artists who staged demonstrations in most cities across the country, objecting to the Bill, bearing placards along main streets and meeting Members of Parliament. Among political parties, the Anti group was strongly backed by the nationalist PDIP, while the Pro-group is backed by Moslem parties, PKS and PKB. Finally, in a Palace Press Conference, Women Empowerment Minister, Meutia Hatta, stated that her Department was against the formulation of morality and pornography as stated in the Bill, and that she, therefore, recommended that the Bill be revised. However, most vocal and most adamant rejecting the promulgation of the Bill was the provincial government, its Parliament and people of Bali. Their common stance was poured into a resolution made by the Bali Provincial Parliament, backed by the community and co-signed by the Bali Governor himself. This common rejection contradicts earlier statements made by a number of Members of the Special Parliamentary Committee that discussed the Bill, who professed that majority Indonesians interviewed were pro the Bill, and only a small majority was against, whilst in Bali, those against were a mere minority in the tourism industry. With Bali's rejection - where the Hindu-Bali religion is strongly embedded -, the Bill entered the political arena, whereby the threat of disintegration of the nation and the cohesion of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia would be at stake, if legislators insist to push through with the present Bill. Who evaluates Morality? Blatant weaknesses found in the Bill are felt first and foremost in its definition of pornography and porno-action (an English word coined in Indonesia?) which are vague and therefore, remain wide open to multiple interpretations, and herein lies the danger. By the word "pornography" as formulated in the Bill is meant "any material in the mass media or through any means of communnications that transmit materials that exploit sexuality, indecency and/or erotica". Whereas, by "Porno-action" is defined "such deeds that exploit sexuality, indecencies and/or erotica in public". Furthermore, article 51 calls on "every citizen to actively ensure that morals of the community are being upheld". The question that remains is: Indonesia being a multi-ethnic nation, a melting pot of religions, traditions and values, whose values, and what values, are upheld as the norm? And with modernization, internet and mobile phones - how are these values to be controlled? And who controls them? Is it the government, the police, or "anyone?" Where, then, is a person's right to privacy? Unfortunately, to those supporting the Bill, when one is not for the Bill, then one is considered in favour of Pornography and indecency. In fact, it is in the details of the Bill and paradigms behind the formulations that are the problem. Details of the Controversial Bill It is reported that the Bill on Anti-Pornography and Porno-action was submitted to Parliament by the government in 2002. However Parliament of that period was not enthusiastic to discuss it, so that it was only by the Parliament elected in 2004 that the Bill was finally slated for discussion in 2005, however, only it was given priority 22 of the 55 Bills to be promulgated into a Parliamentary Act or Law. The Bill consists of 11 Chapters, 90 Articles and a Chapter of Clarification. Chapter I covers Terminologies, consisting of two sections and 3 Articles, The first chapter contains 20 points covering definitions, from the formulation of the meaning of pornography, porno-action, kinds of print and electronic mass media used to publishing of pornography and porno-actions, and means of communication (letter, e-mail, mobile phones), also pornographic materials (books, newspapers, magazines, tabloids, film, videos, VCDs, DVDs, or Personal Computers). Further mentioned are definitions of categories of jobs related to pornography and porno-actions, their publications and their consumers, Here is also determined the age limit being 12 years old, that distinguishes a child from an adult. Chapter II contains 33 articles, whereas, articles 4 to 33 mention prohibition that are similar to the above: " Every person is prohibited to write, talk or record voice, film or similar onto film, lyrics, poetry, pictures, paintings, or photographs that exploit particular parts of the body that are considered sensual to an adult" (article 4) While other articles that differ from article 4 cover material covered, among which, the exploitation of the naked body of an adult person, parts of the body of erotic dancers, activities of a couple kissing on the lips, sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, intercourse with the same sex, intercourse with a corpse or with animals, to orgies and sex shows and the like. Article 12 mentions the publication of pornography and porno-action in print and electronic media. This article threatens the offender with jail term of between 2 - 6 years, or slapped a fine ranging from Rp. 300 million to Rp. 2 billion. Exceptions made are mentioned in article 34 of Chapter III, which include for purposes of education, science or medication, as well as for reason of tradition, ethnic culture, and religious rites or beliefs. Also for purposes of sports and arts which may be done at assigned locations but with prior permission from the government Furthermore, in Chapter VI, it is mentioned that to prevent and fight pornography, a special Board will be established, namely the Anti-Pornography and Porno-Action Board (BAPPN), which will be a non-government body directly responsible to the President. The function of the Board is to act as coordinator among government agencies, and is extended powers to evaluate the opinions and behaviour of society vis-à-vis pornography and porno-action. Punishments meted out to violators are mentioned in Chapter IX, consisting of 33 articles, where, on average offenders are punished with jail terms ranging between 1 to 20 years, or fines between Rp. 100 million to Rp. 3 billion. (Translated into English from www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Revised Bill to target the Pornographic Industry It was, therefore, with a sigh of relief that the public received the news from Parliament that the Bill will now be completely overhauled, beginning from its systemic formulation to its final target. Speaking in a Seminar entitled: "Quo Vadis Bill on Anti-Pornography and Porno-action?" on Thursday 16 March, Badryah Rayumi, Member of the Special Team from the PKB party was quoted in Kompas as saying that the revised Bill will have as main target the Pornographic Industry. "We now are aware that the earlier Bill was very difficult to implement, and we admit that we were wrong to propose the Bill as our right of initiative, without prior detailed consultations". Other Panel Members of the Seminar agreed that the Bill should focus on controlling publications and the industry that exploits pornography for commercial purposes. While, State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta Swasono said Wednesday the focus of the Bill should be on limiting the distribution of obscene materials, not on prosecuting personal conduct, especially the conduct and dress of women. The day before, Chairman of the House committee deliberating the Bill, Balkan Kaplale, said the revised bill on pornography would focus on pornographic material. This change in the emphasis of the bill was made only after waves of public protests. And so, although Parliament was slow to respond to the public outcry, it could, nonetheless, no longer ignore voices opposed to the Bill. (Sources: Kompas, Media Indonesia) (Tuti Sunario) --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND BACKGROUND: 3. Tourism and Transportation: Tourists using Visa Card Spend More; Outbound Down 30%; Visa Asia Pacific recently announced that total spending by foreign visitors using Visa Cards during their stay in Indonesia in 4th. Quarter of 2005 went up by 7% compared to the same period in 2004, reaching US$127 million (or Rp. 1.16 trillion). The amount is not including cash expenditures. Visitors from the USA, Australia, Japan, Britain and Singapore were biggest spenders, comprising 59% of total spent by Visa credit card, amounting to US$ 74.7 million between October through December 2005. This means that although actual number of tourists during this period was down, however, actual spending had gone up, said Ellyana Fuad, Visa Asia International Country Manager for Indonesia. Largest percentage (33%) was spent on accommodation, 15% on shopping, 6% on restaurants and food, 6% on transportation, and 6% on sport and recreation. Meanwhile, Bayu Buana, one of Indonesia's largest Outbound Tour Operators reported a decline of between 25% - 30% of its outbound clients during December 2005 through February 2006 due to lowered consumer spending power, with main reason being the 100% increase in fuel prices announced late last year, which washed out the usual December peak season. Incentives for Bali recovery in early 2007; Tourism Summit November 2006 The government will provide tax incentives to Bali's tourism industry to ensure that the island's mainstay will recover early 2007, said Deputy Minister for the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Edy Putra Irawady recently in Bali. Through such incentives, the government hopes to restore tourist arrivals to this prime island from the present low 2,000 daily to 6,000 per day. Incentive measures include firstly, waiver of VAT on services in arts and entertainment to those organizations and establishments hitherto applied, as well as tax waiver on services in hotels, restaurants and small food cafes; secondly focus on Presidential Decision No. 127 of 2001 on investments in tourism and small and medium scale industries; and thirdly, emphasize the implementation of Presidential Instruction No. 16 of 2005 for other sectors to support tourism development; synergize overseas promotion undertaken by the national government and various local governments through closer coordinated efforts with trade and investment sectors. Bali is the main focus for national tourism recovery since Bali receives 28% of arrivals to the country, and the latest bombings here have cut down significantly on arrivals, adversely affecting its supporting industries, including small and medium scale industries, resulting in increased unemployment, said Irawady. Tourism, leverage to national and regional economic growth In the latest development, Edy Putra Irawady, accompanied by Deputy Coordinating Minister for Welfare, Risman Musa, and Specially assigned Official, Lalu Mara, announced in Jakarta, that the government plans to organize an international "Tourism Summit" in November 2006, for which all Regions are called to submit their proposals for investments, which may include resort development, spas, hotels and piers. Proposals have been received from the Regencies of Bangka-Belitung, Klungkung (Bali) - to build a marina, from the island of Batam, while Jambi has proposed the development of a bird park. Deputy Minister Edy Putra Irawady is convinced that tourism has an important role to play in Indonesia's economic development and to improve people's income. Tourism pushes investments, attracts buyers, pushes entrepreneurship, increases national and regional incomes and promotes economic activities of the people, he said. According to statistics, said Irawady, contribution of Tourism to Indonesia's GDP in 2002 was 6.15% or Rp. 98.8 trillion. Whereas, in 2009, its contribution is expected to rise to 14% from total GDP with 10 million tourist arrivals expected, offering a national receipt of between US$ 10 billion to US$ 15 billion from tourism. On the other hand, the government also realizes that some of the existing weaknesses in Indonesia's tourism include the less than adequate accessibility to destinations and attractions, poorly managed development of many destinations, poor product packaging and inadequate promotional activities, said Irawady as reported by Suara Pembaruan. Government backs Garuda and Merpati with Letters of Undertaking Parliament has recently given its agreement to a proposal that the Government issue Letters of Undertaking to back cash-strapped Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Airlines, so as to allow financial institutions to give their financial backing to the two state airlines. This will allow Merpati Nusantara to obtain loans up to Rp. 450 billion. Rp. 150 billion of which are to increase productivity thus improving its ratio between aircraft and crew to 1:50, scaled down from the present 1:155. Whereas, Rp. 145 billion will be earmarked to settle the airline's debts with vendors and its due debts repayments; while Rp. 155 billion are to be used to lease ten Boeing 737-400 aircrafts for its operations. Commenting on this decision, Garuda's CEO, Emirsyah Satar said that this was option was new to him, however, with the government's Letter in hand, this will allow Garuda to seek new investors or strategic partners. The first option that was initially proposed by the Government was to inject funds to both airlines totaling between US$355 million to US$605 million, to be sourced from other state enterprises. However this proposal was turned down by Parliament. Garuda has total outstanding debts amounting to US$ 800 million, US$ 510 million is owed to the European Credit Agency (ECA), US$130 million to holders of promissory notes, and the remaining US$ 160 million owed to Bank Mandiri and the airport authorities of PT Angkasa Pura I dan II. Garuda has also been unable to pay out US$ 55 million to promissory notes holders due by the end of December 2005. Nonetheless, both the government and members of Parliament as well as the majority of Indonesia's public still wish to see Garuda as Indonesia's national flag carrier to continue flying as the country's standard bearer into the international world. . Nonetheless, in order to succeed in this function, Garuda must radically change its paradigm, from being a (protected) state-owned enterprise the airline must emerge as a world-class airline, that can successfully compete among world class airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, Qantas, MAS or Thai Airways, and not merely compete with Indonesia's own low-cost airlines such as Lion Air, Adam Air, Awair or similar, said observers. 4. Health and the Environment: Bandung's Bio Farma to produce Avian Flu Vaccine This year Indonesia's PT Bio Farma in Bandung is ready to start production of avian flu vaccines for humans, said its President Director, Marzuki Abdulah recently. At present the company is considering cooperation with one among three companies. These are Baxter of the United States, Sanofi Pasteur of France and another Italian company that has the technology to produce vaccines for humans. It will be a downstream process, whereby the company will import semi finished materials from abroad while final production will be done in Bandung. Bio Farma has produced a number of vaccines, and is therefore confident that it is also capable of producing the avian flu vaccine. The President Director of Baxter, Kim Bush, has already inspected Bio Farma's facilities, and has assessed that the company's facilities, existing technology and experts are available so that production may be started immediately. At present, the company is placing its priority to train its experts in avian flu vaccine production which is done through sending the experts overseas, or invite overseas experts to train experts here in Bandung. Elephants and Humans fight for Habitat 16 Sumatra elephants have been killed or found dead in the last four months in the province of Riau, said Nurchalis Fadli of the Human Elephant Conflict Mitigation Coordinator, World Wildlife Foundation, in Riau. Some two weeks ago a herd of elephants stampeded at Balai Raja, destroying plantations and tens of houses. Since November last year the Foundation has caught and relocated the pachyderms so as to reduce escalating conflicts between elephants and humans. However, 8 elephants were found sick at Tesso Nilo, since the animals were not familiar with the new surroundings and did not know where to find food. Two were found with a chain around the neck. Six were found killed at the border between Rokan Hulu and South Tapanuli in North Sumatra. In 2002, sixteen inhabitants were killed by elephants, as they were living on land that used to be the grazing grounds of the elephants that have now been converted to plantations and settlements. For your comments or further inquiries, please e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. 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