Generalis Maximus

Hello world

2012-04-27T17:49:00.001+07:00

Hello world, long time no see.

A nice alley near the Eiffel Tower.

Mitsubishi to inspect Strada Triton for loose bolts

2010-06-08T16:06:00.000+07:00

PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors (KTB) will launch in mid-June an inspection campaign for its Mitsubishi Strada Triton pick-up vehicles to tighten loose bolts in the vehicle’s front suspensions.

“The inspection campaign has been decided by our principals Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, who asked us to conduct a filed fix campaign,” KTB marketing director Rizwan Ilhamsyah told reporters on Thursday evening.

“It is only minor inspection work where our technicians will release the bolts before tightening them”.

However, he said, it could lead to serious problems if the bolts were not tightened. He said the affected bolts were located on the front, left and right upper-arm ball joint for Strada Triton manufactured between February 2007 and January 2009. The vehicle was launched in Indonesia in May 2007.

Earlier last week, Mitsubishi also recalled some 42,500 Strada Tritons in Australia for similar problems affecting vehicles produced between October 2006 and January 2009.

“We were told to conduct inspection campaign by our principal after [recalls in] Australia,” Rizwan said.
“So far we haven’t received any customer complaints”.

Rizwan said there were about 11,000 Strada Tritons produced in the affected period out of a total of about 14,700 vehicles having been sold in Indonesia until April.

“About 70 percent are fleet purchases for mining companies in remote areas. We may have to visit mining sites to conduct inspections,” he said.

“Those living in urban areas, we will ask them to visit our dealers to be checked”.

First published on The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, June. 8, 2010

Discourse: TNI reforms and respect for rights have come a long way: Minister

2010-03-22T16:44:00.000+07:00

Erwida Maulia and Novan Iman Santosa

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Defense Ministry last week celebrated the first anniversary of the Indonesia Defense University (Unhan).Although the name is barely familiar to the public, the ministry appears to have high expectations of the new institution, hoping it plays a part in reforming the military, which has been plagued by accusations of human rights abuses in the past, and to help the country’s defense sector cope with future challenges. Defense MinisterPurnomo Yusgiantoro shared more about the issues with The Jakarta Post’s Erwida Maulia and Novan Iman Santosa on the sidelines of the anniversary commemoration. Here are the excerpts:

Question: How far do you actually expect Unhan to help the country’s defense sector cope with future challenges?

Answer: Unhan is an implementation of reform at the Indonesian Military (TNI), especially with regards to the relationship between civilians and the military. Unhan was established a year ago as we saw a need to produce people who fully understand the country‘s defense matters.
We lack people like this, experts in the field. We can of course turn military officers into military experts, but we also need those working at the National Development Planning Board, the Finance Ministry and the State-owned Enterprises Ministry to understand defense matters. They will all, at some point, get involved in the defense sector, especially as we now also face non-military threats, such as political and economic problems, which can be bigger than military threats.
So we need to develop capable people who will occupy important positions in the country’s defense sector.

We will this year roll out defense economics and disaster management programs. This is also a way to answer the growing complexity of future challenges.

The fact that the university has both civilian and military students is another sign of military reform. We expect the institute to be a joint forum to improve the civilian-military relationship.

What about within the TNI itself? What kind of reform measures have you been taking?

Knowledge of human rights issues has actually been incorporated into the curriculum of the Staff and Command College. More interestingly, and this is visible, we can see in the Army’s Special Forces Command (Kopassus) how human rights knowledge is being taught and practiced, how soldiers distinguish non-combatants from combatants. Kopassus officers drill themselves on this. Also in the Staff and Command College are exercises to document human rights requirements in the legal requisites to an operation order.

Today a commander must clearly understand that the military operation he heads will not violate human rights and humanitarian laws. Before launching an operation, a commander must issues an operation order complete with logistics and other attachments, including a legal attachment. This is mandatory.

Last year, junior officers from 12 military commands were trained on human rights and humanitarian law. The Army, Navy and Air Force simultaneously organized such training, too. Two years ago, the Defense Ministry trained 500 officers on the same issue. Feel free to test their knowledge of human rights so you don’t doubt them in the future.

We’ve cascaded this from top to bottom. Field commanders now clearly understand human rights principles and whether the measures they take would violate human rights.

Also the Defense Ministry and the TNI will now take serious measures against those committing rights abuses. If a soldier is found to have committed genocide or other crimes against humanity, we will not hesitate to punish them accordingly. They will be removed from their position in the military, suspended and questioned according to existing legal processes.

Those found guilty of committing gross rights abuses will be brought before a civilian court. This is the military’s commitment to respecting civil authorities, and it has to be done transparently and accountably. The TNI has for too long been seen as an opaque and secretive organization.

Past human rights issues have affected our military relationship with other countries including the US. You claim they have acknowledged our reform process.

From our point of view, we no longer feel that we’re in trouble. We’ve fulfilled the principles of reform set out 10 years ago. As an example, there is now no longer a TNI wing at the House of Representatives. We’ve also grown professionally. The 2004 TNI Law and the 2002 National Defense Law clearly affirm that we have to comply with principles of human rights and professionalism. In fact since 2000 we’ve endorsed 12 laws addressing rights issues.

Countries including Norway and Canada have acknowledged the advances we’ve made in addressing rights issues. There is a human rights watchdog in Norway tracking rights records all over the world and it recognizes our progress.

The TNI and Defense Ministry have also worked with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry and the Foreign Ministry to support human rights. We have joint activities under the umbrella of human rights, which we call national action plans on human rights. We’ve also earned recognition from the UN Human Rights Council on our extraordinary progress.

Recently the International Federation of the Red Cross commented positively on the conditions at our military prisons in Cimahi, West Java. Apparently they believe we treat our prisoners more humanely than the US, which has been reprimanded for the inhumane way they treat their prisoners.

First published on The Jakarta Post on Monday, March 22, 2010

Mitsubishi 'to inspect' its popular Colt L300 model

2010-02-20T16:19:00.000+07:00

Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi has announced an inspection campaign for its light commercial model Colt L300 due to a minor problem with its power-steering gearbox.

"Most users feel steering is slightly harder than it should be, despite the vehicle being equipped with power steering," Rizwan Alamsjah, marketing director of PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors (KTB), said Thursday.

"We have not received complaints from our users concerning this problem. But we are following advice from our principal."

KTB, which distributes Mitsubishi passenger and commercial vehicles in Indonesia, issued a statement Friday, saying that in very rare cases, small residue might remain in the oil path of the power-steering gearbox, which could occasionally impact on the power steering.

Rizwan said L300 users may not realize there was a problem with their vehicles.

"As most L300s are used in business, the users may find the inspection obstructs their operations," he said.

"Therefore, we are providing free lubricants to customers who have their L300s inspected."

Rizwan also said that the inspection would only take an hour of maintenance.

The glitch has affected about 17,000 units of L300 produced from July 2008 to October 2009. About 550,000 units of L300 have been sold in Indonesia since its introduction in 1971.

Rizwan said the defect was found during a routine inspection at the assembly line around March 2009.

"We contacted one of our principals, the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation *MMC*, to discuss the problem," he said.

"It was decided around September that it was a problem."

The MMC manufactures passenger and light commercial vehicles while Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus manufacturer larger trucks and buses.

Rizwan insisted the move was only an inspection, saying: "We are not recalling the vehicles, we are simply inspecting them."

Recall has become a sensitive word lately for automakers following a global recall carried out by Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) totaling some 8.5 million cars.

Honda Motor Co. and French PSA Peugeot Citroen also had to recall their cars recently.

In Indonesia, PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM), the sole distributor of Honda here, announced on Feb. 2 a recall of 3,240 units of its City model over a potentially faulty power window switch that could lead to driving hazards.

HPM said the recall in Indonesia applied to all City units sold between the start of 2007 and the end of November 2008.

Meanwhile, PT Toyota Astra-Motor said on Feb. 2 that Toyota vehicles in Asia and Oceania were not affected.

First published on The Jakarta Post on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010

BMW Indonesia reports record sales growth in 2009

2010-01-20T16:36:00.000+07:00

A not very good year for the country’s automotive sector failed to push the prestige premium BMW off the road, with a pristine performance last year, as BMW Indonesia posted a trend-defying 25 percent growth in sales.

In a year when automotive sales dropped overall by 20 percent on the year before, 901 premium BMWs found happy owners in 2009, as against 720 a year earlier.

“We are extremely happy with the achievement. Indonesia is one of a few markets in the world where volume continued to grow significantly in 2009 despite the global economic crisis,” BMW Indonesia president director Ramesh Divyanathan told a press gathering.

BMW reported sales of 42 luxurious 750Li and 740Li saloons, plus 50 sales for the BMW 7 Series representing a 163 percent growth in sales against the previous year, leading BMW’s overall performance in sales growth for any given model.

The sales of the BMW 5 Series did well at 208 cars sold, or a growth of 41 percent and the BMW 3 Series booked sales of 539 cars, or a growth of 34 percent for that model.

In addition, the sales of previously-owned BMWs, known as the BMW Premium Selection by Bestindo Car Utama saw an increase of 35 percent with 202 cars.

As for 2010, Divyanathan predicted a double digit growth, barring any unforeseen events, with BMW Indonesia planning to introduce 10 new models, as well making strategic investments in brand building, the refurbishment of dealer showrooms and sales facilities, and human resource training.

The Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) expects sales of luxury cars to hit the 4,300 to 4,500 mark in 2010, up from around 3,700 units in 2009.

“Our focus is sustainable long-term growth and increased customer satisfaction,” Divyanathan said.

“We will avoid any short-term push that will affect the image of our brand in exchange for volume.”

He said it was not BMW’s policy to sell its cars to taxi companies.

“Our customers have told us they do not want to see any BMW taxis,” he said on the sidelines of the exclusive gathering.

The 10 new models to be introduced in Indonesia will feature BMW EfficientDynamics technology that reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions while continuing to provide outstanding performance and driving pleasure as expected for BMWs.

“Our commitment to environmental protection in Indonesia is to bring technology such as BMW EfficientDynamics to the whole model range rather than to introduce a single so-called green model, for example,” Divyanathan said.

“The quantity of CO2 emissions that we can reduce by introducing the technology across the whole fleet of our cars in Indonesia will be much higher than if we offered this only for limited niche models.”

BMW Indonesia also launched Wednesday the BMW X6 M at the BMW Studio in Plaza Indonesia, Central Jakarta.

The new BMW X6 M is priced at Rp 2.3 to Rp 2.7 billion depending on features and options.

First published on The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010

Ministry aims for four-point ‘pro-welfare’ system

2010-01-13T18:53:00.000+07:00

The Defense Ministry has set a four-point defense policy dubbed the “pro-welfare state defense system” for the 2010 fiscal year.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the first point was “optimizing the formulation and implementation of various regulations and policies on state defense”.

“The regulations include the 2002 State Defense Law and 2004 Indonesian Military [TNI] Law.”

Purnomo was addressing a press conference after opening a leadership meeting attended by ministry officials.

The meeting was also attended by TNI chief Gen. Djoko Santoso, Navy Chief of Staff Vice Adm. Agus Suhartono, Air Force Chief of Staff Vice Marshal Imam Sufaat and Army Deputy Chief of Staff. Lt. Gen. Suryo Prabowo.

“The second point is intensifying defense industry roles for national economic strength to support TNI and other government agencies, as well as to supply foreign markets,” Purnomo said.

The minister also called for the solidity and cooperation between his ministry and other ministries and agencies to achieve state defense missions.

“We are also developing patterns on the management of border areas and outlying islands,” Purnomo said.

He also said 2010 was the start of the 2010-2014 mid-term development plan facing various threats and challenges calling for policies on strategies, budgeting, human resources, legislation, facilities and infrastructure, and the management of defense potential.

The detailed policies included, among other things, the Minimum Essential Force, bureaucratic reform, defense industries, international cooperation, military business hand overs and the Indonesian Defense University.

Evaluating 2009, Purnomo said the defense ministry managed to absorb 100 percent of its budget compared to 90 percent in 2009 and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had updated its opinion from “disclaimer” to “qualified”.

Purnomo said his ministry and the TNI was responsible for upholding state sovereignty, its territorial integrity and state safety.

“We are monitoring the limits of state safety because it incorporates a broad spectrum, from military to non-military,” he said.

“Non-military threats, in the mid-term, can be in the form of ideologies or politics.”

As for border areas, Purnomo said there were three conditions.

“First, we have yet to finish border negotiations with neighboring countries,” he said.

“Second, we have set the borders but are facing monitoring problems.

“Third, we have to monitor border-crossing posts.”

Purnomo pointed to the recently established National Border Management Agency led by the home affairs minister.

“The agency is managing border areas from a defense and socio-economic perspective,” he said.

“In fact, most problems are socio-economic.”

He cited the border along Papua province and Papua New Guinea (PNG) where the condition is much more stable on the Indonesian side.

“Recently a number of Papuans were repatriated from PNG because they did not live better in PNG,”
he said.

The Indonesia-PNG land border continues for about 760 kilometers.

The land border between Indonesia and Malaysia runs for 2,004 kilometers. Another land border exists between Indonesia and East Timor, stretching 388 kilometers.

First published on The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Wed, 01/13/2010 9:32 AM

Shortsightedness on halal food issue

2008-03-03T17:24:00.000+07:00

The recent debates on mandatory halal food certification have so far focused on whether this could be regulated by the state or if an organization would be trusted to conduct the assessments.

Critics of the halal bill say since Indonesia has a Muslim majority, food and other products should, by default, be halal.

It's the haram products, they say, that should be certified.

Proponents of the bill, however, suggest Indonesia's large Muslim population get behind mandatory certification.

But are we only thinking of domestic consumption?

What about export?

There are more than 1.4 billion Muslims out there in need of certified halal food. With around 1.4 billion Muslims worldwide this global market is worth some US$600 billion (annually), Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said Wednesday at a seminar on halal food.

Being the perennial loser that Indonesia is, a highly pessimistic scenario where we contribute a mere 1 percent to this market, we would still stand to gain US$6 billion.

Halal-certified food production should not be limited to Muslims, following the strict dietary law to take advantage of the relatively untapped market.

Being a Buddhist country does not prevent Thailand, for example, promoting halal food.

Under its 2003 budget, the Thai government provided a grant for the establishment of the then Central Laboratory and Scientific Information for Halal Food Development at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

This center serves as the hub for Thailand's halal science network. Currently named the Halal Science Center of Chulalongkorn University, the center works in cooperation with more than 10 laboratories based in other universities and institutions across Thailand.

It is easy to find halal processed food in Thailand -- canned tuna, biscuits, you name it -- in most retail outlets, from minimarkets to hypermarkets, simply by looking for the halal sign.

Australia, a major meat exporter, has also begun focusing on exporting halal food and products.

Multinational food producers have taken advantage of halal certification, producing certified food in central locations and distributing it to other countries in the region.

Nestle for example, has chosen Malaysia as its center of excellence for producing halal food.

With such examples including non-Muslim countries making investments and then reaping rewards from the halal food market, Indonesia needs to concentrate on this lucrative business.

We should not waste time debating whether the halal label is necessary or not.

This could be a more productive endeavor but is extremely difficult due to different views held by various branches and schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).

Currently, there is no widely accepted standard and each country stands by its own certification. Products certified halal in one country may not necessarily be deemed halal elsewhere.

Indonesian poultry for example cannot be exported to Brunei Darussalam since authorities there demand their own certification, Anton said.

Conversely, he said, when Indonesia plans to import meat from Argentina, MUI send a team there to check the process even though the meat is certified halal by Argentinean authorities.

A unified standard would remove these hassles and ensure a free flow of halal food and products, in this era of globalization and free trade.

Critics of the bill also question the capability of MUI (which currently issues halal certification) saying it lacks resources, equipment and competence.

Others accuse MUI of taking money and kickbacks from supposedly innocent producers, by charging certification fees.

These issues could be resolved with better cooperation between agencies such as food-related academic institutions and testing agencies.

Otherwise the MUI could move from being an operator to having a more regulatory function by setting a standard such that various agencies can take responsibility for the certification instead of the MUI itself.

MUI should focus on studying various halal standards so that halal food and products from Indonesia would be accepted in most if not all other countries with Muslim communities.

The main aim is of course, again, is to set a universal halal standard.

If MUI fears loosing certification fees, it could still charge testing centers and not food producers.

There is nothing wrong with charging fees as long as all the procedural standards are met and upheld. The certifying business itself is already big business. Take, for example, the certification of various ISO standards.

By decentralizing testing centers, halal producers could get products certified cheaper and faster, thus expanding the halal market.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post. He can be reached at novan@thejakartapost.com.

First published on The Jakarta Post on Monday, March 3, 2008

Marhaban ya Ramadhan

2006-09-24T16:28:00.000+07:00

Welcome O Ramadhan.

Today, Muslims in Indonesia started the one-month fasting month during the holy month of Ramadhan.

We are not allowed to eat, drink and have sex from dawn to sunset. Doing these things will cancel your fast of the day. But conforming to this is only the lowest, mere physical level.

The true test is how to be calm, not to be angry easily. We must also take care of our mouth, eyes, ears, heart and the rest of our bodies. While gossipping will not cancel the fast, it will surely ruin it so you fast for nothing but hunger and thirst.

This year all Muslims in Indonesia start the fasting together. But I don't know yet whether we will end it together. An Islamic lunar month may have 29 or 30 days.

There are two ways to determine when a month is started or ended: Hisab or calculating and Rukyah or direct, visual observation of Hilal or the lunar crescent.

You can get more information by visiting Islamic Calendar.

Indonesia have witnessed several times different timing of starting and ending Ramadhan, depending on the way being used by particular groups.

For me, I will just follow the government's announcement.

They say difference is a blessing.

May we all be blessed during Ramadhan this year.

Claiming my blogs with Technorati

2006-09-02T12:37:00.000+07:00

I have just claimed all my four blogs using Technorati.

My three blogs in Blogspot have embedded functions such as search and links using the advanced option. Unfortunately that's not the case with Friendster blog in which I can only use Post Claim.

I learned how to claim my blogs using Technorati when I bumped into Refleksi dan Blog Tutorial while I was browsing Blogger Indonesia A. Fatih Suyud Weblog. So, thanks to both bloggers.
Can't wait to claim my blogs using other engines. See ya.

Puny Pluto gets the boot as astronomers approve a new definition

2006-08-25T17:34:00.000+07:00

PRAGUE (AP): Pluto, beloved by some as a cosmic underdog but scorned by astronomers who considered it too dinky and distant, has been unceremoniously stripped of its status as aplanet.

The International Astronomical Union, dramatically reversing course Thursday just a week after floating the idea of reaffirming Pluto's planethood and adding three new planets toEarth's neighborhood, downgraded the ninth rock from the sun in historic new galactic guidelines.

Powerful new telescopes, experts said, are changing the way they size up the mysteries of the solar system and beyond. But the scientists showed a soft side, waving plush toys of the Walt Disney character -- and insisting that Pluto's spirit will live on in the exciting discoveries yet to come.

"The word 'planet' and the idea of planets can be emotional because they're something we learn as children," said RichardBinzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped hammer out the new definition.

"This is really all about science, which is all about getting new facts," he said. "Science has marched on ... Many more Plutos wait to be discovered."

Pluto, a planet since 1930, got the boot because it didn't meet the new rules, which say a planet not only must orbit the sun and be large enough to assume a nearly round shape, but must "clear the neighborhood around its orbit." That disqualifies Pluto, whose oblong orbit overlaps Neptune's, downsizing the solar system to eight planets from the traditional nine.

Astronomers have labored without a universal definition of a planet since well before the time of Copernicus, who proved tha tthe Earth revolves around the sun, and the experts gathered in Prague burst into applause when the guidelines were passed.

Predictably, Pluto's demotion provoked plenty of wistful nostalgia.

"It's disappointing in a way, and confusing," said PatriciaTombaugh, the 93-year-old widow of Pluto discoverer ClydeTombaugh.

"I don't know just how you handle it. It kind of sounds like Ijust lost my job," she said from Las Cruces, New Mexico. "But I understand science is not something that just sits there. It goes on. Clyde finally said before he died, 'It's there. Whatever it is. It is there."'

The decision by the IAU, the official arbiter of heavenly objects, restricts membership in the elite cosmic club to the eight classical planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Pluto and objects like it will be known as "dwarf planets", which raised some thorny questions about semantics: If a raincoatis still a coat, and a cell phone is still a phone, why isn't a dwarf planet still a planet?

NASA said Pluto's downgrade would not affect its US$700million New Horizons spacecraft mission, which earlier this yearbegan a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.

But mission head Alan Stern said he was "embarrassed" by Pluto's undoing and predicted that Thursday's vote would not end the debate. Although 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations attended the conference, only about 300 showed up to vote.

"It's a sloppy definition. It's bad science," he said. "It ain't over."

The shift also poses a challenge to the world's teachers, who will have to scramble to alter lesson plans just as schools open for the fall term.

"We will adapt our teaching to explain the new categories," said Neil Crumpton, who teaches science at a high school north of London. "It will all take some explanation, but it is really just
a reclassification and I can't see that it will cause any problems. Science is an evolving subject and always will be."

Under the new rules, two of the three objects that came tantalizingly close to planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, has nicknamed "Xena." The third object, Pluto's largest moon, Charon, isn't in line for any special designation.

Text of the resolutions approved Thursday by the IAU which define planets and downgrade Pluto:

Contemporary observations are changing our understanding of planetary systems, and it is important that our nomenclature for objects reflect our current understanding. This applies, in particular, to the designation "planets." The word "planet" originally described "wanderers" that were known only as moving lights in the sky. Recent discoveries lead us to create a new definition, which we can make using currently available scientific information.

The IAU therefore resolves that "planets" and other bodies, except satellites, in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:

(1) A "planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

(2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a
hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, (c) has not cleared theneighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.

(3) All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun shall be referred to
collectively as "Small Solar-System Bodies."

The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The IAU further resolves: Pluto is a "dwarf planet" by the above definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects.

ANN AsiaPoll on the China-Japan Rift

2006-08-23T17:36:00.000+07:00

Once again, the Asia News Network is organizing a poll on Asian issues. Last year the theme was ASEAN identity. This year it is about the China-Japan Rift. You can participate by clicking ANN AsiaPoll on the China-Japan Rift.

The poll is being prepared by The Straits Times who will compile the results from all ANN members of 14 publications in 12 countries across Asia. A number of accompanying articles will also be released.

Deadline is on Sept. 5, so hurry. Thank you very much for your participation.

Back to basic

2006-08-23T17:14:00.000+07:00

Back to basic, very basic. Learning html with its various tags. We are on day 2 of a crash course on (very) basic web design. It is obsolete alright although you have to know it anyway.

We will also be working with Front Page, Dreamweaver and Firework.

I think I am 10 years or even 15 years too late to learn this, especially the basic html. But it is better late than never, no?

East Timor is Southwest Pacific, not Southeast Asia

2006-08-12T17:53:00.000+07:00

It's been quite some time since I last posted to this blog.

Many reasons, many excuses.

And a lot of things have happened.

Finally Mari Alkatiri stepped down as East Timorese Prime Minister and replaced by none-other-than Jose Ramos-Horta, the so-called Nobel Prize Winner by news wire agencies. It's quite a pity that the agencies now seldom say anything -- if any -- about former Dili Bishop, Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. I think the bishop was quite ambitious to lead the tiny, impoverished country.

As I have suspected, Ramos-Horta made the application to join ASEAN. He was the one who bluntly said in 1999 -- right after the referendum showed two-third East Timorese wanted to secede from Indonesia, thanks to UNAMET -- that East Timor had no intention to join ASEAN as the territory, err the country was not an Asian, not a Southeast Asian.

Ramos-Horta said the territory-turn-country was part of the bigger Melanesian tribe of Southwest Pacific countries. I wonder if all the East Timorese leaderships and elite could really identify themselves with being Pacific and not Portugues....

As live is getting harder and harder in East Timor, Ramos-Harta had to take his words back and turn to ASEAN. Why? Well, most of the countries and territories are so small and impoverished except for Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. In reality, it is Australia and New Zealand who have become the lifeline for most of the countries and territories. Oh ya, and the U.S. also have some protectorates and territories here and there.

So, being blackmailed by Australia -- the one who "liberated" East Timor -- over the oil deposit in Timor Gap, East Timor had no other place to go except to ASEAN as a leverage. Most of East Timor's basic supplies still come from.... Indonesia.

Many believed that Alkatiri was dumped by the Aussies for being "ungrateful" luring investors as far as China and former colonizer Portugal insted those Down Under.

I wonder if the laymen in East Timor now (starting to) think it is better to live under Indonesian rule instead of becoming a sovereigned country. Just like many Indonesians who think it is still better to live under Soeharto and his Orde Baru regime instead of having Reformasi.

Any clue?

Still a long way before biofuel is on the market

2006-08-10T15:01:00.000+07:00

Imagine a world where a farmer could extract oil from his own crops, like palm, soy or peanut oil, and fill up the tank of his tractor. There would be no need to stop by at the gas station for petroleum-based fuels.

The farmer would neither run out of fuel -- so long as he was growing sustainable crops -- nor rely on conventional fuel, the price of which is sensitive to issues ranging from production cuts to political upheaval.

Some people might say biofuel self-sufficiency is a utopian scheme, while others have demonstrated it can be done.

In general, biofuel is any fuel that comes from biomass -- or living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. It can come from plants or cow manure, for example.

Many people think the idea of developing biofuel is a new one, but in fact it has been around for more than a century.

It is safe to say the venture started 113 years ago when German inventor Robert Diesel -- the inventor of none other than the diesel engine -- used peanut oil to fire an engine he built in Aupsburg, Germany. The landmark date -- Aug. 10, 1893 -- has been declared International Biodiesel Day.

Another great automotive pioneer, Henry Ford, pondered the use of gasohol -- a mixture of gasoline and alcohol -- in 1916 for three years. Alas, the Prohibition era made it unlawful to produce alcohol.

Biodiesel and gasohol are the two most common forms of biofuel, especially regarding the internal combustion engines found under the hoods of cars.

The efforts of both Diesel and Ford to develop biofuel never really took off as there was an abundant supply of crude oil back then. Low fuel prices have also helped keep the spotlight off biofuel.

Nowadays, with declining oil production and ever increasing fuel consumption, the government has decided to promote biofuel to reduce soaring fuel subsidies.

Indonesia might consider itself lucky to have been blessed with a vast fertile ground for the various crops required to produce biofuel.

Some areas are suitable for corn or jathropa, while other regions are good for oil palm or sugarcane, tapioca and a host of other starch crops. If that is not enough, we also have vast waters suitable for the cultivation of algae, claimed to be the most efficient source of biodiesel.

Several parties -- state agencies and private companies -- promoted biodiesel, from both crude palm oil (CPO) and jathropa, and gasohol during the Indonesian International Motor Show, which ended late July.

On the other hand, however, we have to admit that oil palm is the most readily available source for biofuel both in biodiesel and pure plant oil (PPO) forms.

Indonesia is the second-largest producer of CPO in the world after Malaysia. But keep in mind that Malaysian companies also have their oil palm estates on Indonesian soil.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has offered Malaysian firms the opportunity to invest in biofuel, saying about six million hectares of land are available for the crops.

The fact that Indonesia already has refineries scattered across the country, as well as the distribution network, is expected to lure investment.

As for jathropa, its proponents say that it can be planted practically anywhere and it requires less attention than oil palm. But there have been only a few, if any, refineries extracting castor oil from jathropa seeds.

The production of gasohol is not getting off to such a solid start as the crops are not that widely cultivated here. Indonesia is still importing sugar as the domestic production of sugarcane is not sufficient to meet local demand, let alone to supply material for gasohol.

Farmers are also backing away from cultivating tapioca as the crop cannot provide a stable income. The price invariably drops during harvest time.

Efforts to produce gasohol would certainly help farmers, not only those planting sugarcane and tapioca but also other starch crops.

With so many options, we do not need a uniform program to cultivate only one or two crops. Farmers can choose what they want to grow, provided their soil is suitable.

All the government needs to do is to maintain the price of the crops to a profitable level for the farmers to harvest, for the refineries to buy and process, and for the end customers to buy.

However, since it is a long process, we can be sure that the price will not be much lower than that of petroleum-based fuels.

Currently only state oil and gas company Pertamina is offering a biodiesel blend -- B5 -- at five fuel stations across Jakarta. Foreign companies may want to see further regulations set in place before launching their own biofuel products.

Some companies also sell biofuel as an "additive", to be mixed manually by customers.

Why should customers buy biofuel?

Automakers have often said the government should offer tax incentives to promote eco-friendly fuels.

Vehicles able to run on biofuel may still need some modifications to avoid mishaps. Gasohol, for example, is corrosive and some piping may need to be stainless steel on the inside. Biodiesel can cause rubber hoses to wear out earlier and it attracts water.

Several carmakers have announced that some of their models can run on biofuel, while others are still studying biofuel.

Reducing tax, however, will meet strong opposition from bureaucrats at the Finance Ministry, whose main duty is to fill up the state coffers. Unless we can provide them with figures showing a reduced need for petroleum-based fuels, thus reducing subsidies, which would mean reducing the current deficit.

Although biofuel pioneers were also automotive pioneers, this does not mean biofuel is only of interest to private car owners. Operators of buses, ships and trains may also find it an interesting alternative.

State power firm PT PLN should also give it a try, rather than using "dirty" coal to generate power.

The writer is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post and can be contacted at novan@thejakartapost.com

Published on The Jakarta Post on Thursday, August 10, 2006

Foreigners start leaving Timor Leste

2006-04-01T08:20:00.000+07:00

KUPANG (Agencies): Dozens of foreigners living and working in Timor Leste have begun leaving the country for East Nusa Tenggara province, following a riot by deserters from the armed forces, an Indonesian Military officer said Friday.

Reports said at least 54 Indonesians and 18 other foreigners from the U.S., Portugal, Australia, the Philippines, China and South Korea have arrived from Timor Leste in Indonesia.

"There are about 18 foreigners from the capital Dili whose documents are being checked (by immigration officials) in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara," Col. APJ Noch Bola was quoted by Antara as saying Friday.

The deserters -- more than one-third of the Timor Leste's soldiers -- went on strike Feb. 8 complaining about poor living conditions and selective promotion.

The rioters on Wednesday ransacked the residence of the deputy chief of the Timor Leste police, which is located near the Indonesian Embassy in Dili. They also pillaged houses in several towns.

Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976 after its colonial master, Portugal, pulled out in 1975.

The annexation got tacit approval from Western countries, especially the United States and Australia, fearing a communist domino effect following the American defeat in Vietnam.

During Indonesia's rule, the deserters belonged to Timor Leste President Gusmao's left-leaning Fretilin resistance group.

Meanwhile, Sonora radio reported that three battalions of the Indonesian Military were told to intensify border patrols to prevent a possible exodus of Timorese to Indonesian territory if the situation worsens. (**)

TNI on alert, ready to close border with East Timor

2006-03-29T16:36:00.000+07:00

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (Antara): The Indonesian Military has put its soldiers on alert along border with East Timor following riots incited by deserted soldiers there and ready to close the border, an Indonesian military officer said Wednesday.

"All border posts are on red alert and we will close the border if there is another exodus caused by the riots," said Wirasakti Regional Military Command Col. APJ Noch Bola.

"We do not want the deserters to use our territory as their fighting base."

Bola said if violence escalated in East Timore, there would be another exodus just like what the East Timorese did during the 1975 civil war and after the secession referendum in 1999.

East Timorese Armed Forces commander Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak dismissed about 600 soldiers who went on strike since Feb. 8 complaining poor living conditions and selective promotion.

The deserting soldiers -- more than one third of East Timorese force -- carried along with them their weapons. About half were reportedly run amok in Dili while the rest were being consolidated in East Timorese forests.

"We do not want East Nusa Tenggara province to keep getting humanitarian burden from East Timorese problem. I am sure the East Timorese National Police' border patrol unit will force their people to enter Indonesia," said Bola.

"That's why we are closing our border for East Timorese."

Bola also said there was no need to deploy reinforcement along the border with current three battalions of about 2,200 soldiers guarding the border.

Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976 after its colonial master, Portugal, pulled out in 1975.

The annexation got tacit approval from Western countries, especially the United States and Australia, fearing a communist domino effect following the American defeat in Vietnam.

During Indonesia's rule, the deserters belonged to Gusmao's left-leaning Fretilin resistance group. (***)

Indonesians leaving East Timor after riot

2006-03-29T15:24:00.000+07:00

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (Antara): Indonesians working and residing in the Timor Lest capital Dili have started to leave the city following a riot by deserters from the East Timor armed forces, an Indonesian Military officer said Wednesday.

"There were about 30 Indonesians who fled Dili and entered East Nusa Tenggara province Tuesday afternoon following the riot," said the commander of the Wirasakti Regional Military Command, Col. APJ Noch Bola.

"There are about 300 fully armed deserters running riot in Dili and another 300 deserters are consolidating in the forests in East Timor," he added, quoting reports.

The riot started March 25 when the deserters weredecommissioned by East Timor armed forces commander Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak.

The deserters -- more than one-third of the country's soldiers -- went on strike Feb. 8 complaining about poor living conditions and selective promotion.

The rioters ransacked the residence of the East Timor police deputy chief, which is located near the Indonesian Embassy in Dili. They also pillaged houses in several towns.

Bola urged all Indonesians still in East Timor to immediately leave the former Indonesian province.

"The possibility of a civil war is there in East Timor after the UN ends its mission there on May 20. The deserters brought with them their weapons," he said.

"Not even their commander and President Xanana Gusmao are able to stop them."

Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976 after its colonial master, Portugal, pulled out in 1975.
The annexation got tacit approval from Western countries, especially the United States and Australia, fearing a communist domino effect following the American defeat in Vietnam.

During Indonesia's rule, the deserters belonged to Gusmao's left-leaning Fretilin resistance group. (***)

About 200 more East Timorese soldiers join strike

2006-03-03T09:31:00.000+07:00

DILI (AP): Around 200 more soldiers from East Timor's 1,500-strong army have joined a strike over poor conditions and selective promotions, officials said Thursday.

The troops walked out of their barracks to join the 400 who have been on strike since Feb. 8, said Gastao Salsinha, a coordinator of the strike.

The soldiers have refused to return to duty, demanding an independent investigation into their complaints about working conditions and promotion rules. They delivered a petition to President Xanana Gusmao, who urged them to return to barracks andpromised a government inquiry.

"We demand the government and President Gusmao set up a good mechanism to solve our problem because more and more soldiers are on strike," said Salsinha, adding that a total of 593 troops had now joined the action.

A military spokesman said he could not confirm that the strike was spreading.
"I have not heard that. We will need to investigate the report," said Col. Lere Anan Timor, deputy chief of the East Timor Defense Force.

The defense force was formed six years ago, when the United Nations took over control of the nascent country following an independence referendum that ended Indonesia's 24-year presence.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 after the region was left by Portuguese colonial rule in civil war. The Indonesia's move was supported by the U.S. and other Western countries, fearing the spread of communism to the region.

The force currently consists of two light infantry battalions and two reserve battalions. It also has a small naval component numbering about 100 men and equipped with two patrol boats supplied by Portugal.

The army - which was trained by Australian and Portuguese instructors - is designed to deal with border incursions from Indonesia or, in the case of another full-scale invasion, to slow down the attackers until outside help arrives.

Most of the servicemen involved in the protest are said to be former insurgents who fought against Indonesia's occupation forces during the 24-year war in which nearly 200,000 Timorese perished. (**)

Mass mutiny hits E Timor army

2006-02-28T10:38:00.000+07:00

Mark Dodd

More than 400 mutinous East Timorese soldiers -- a quarter of the country's army -- will be dismissed for deserting after protesting over poor conditions and selective promotions.

The mass sacking is a great blow to the strength of East Timor's fledgling defence force and poses a potential security risk.

At large is a volatile, undisciplined group with military training who were previously seasoned guerilla fighters against the Indonesian occupiers.

Their dismissal is also an embarrassment for Canberra because most of the rebel troops received training from the Australian Defence Force as part of the Howard Government's $26million defence co-operation program with East Timor.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson last night declined to comment, with a spokesman saying the minister needed more information.

But a Defence Department spokesman told The Australian: "The situation has disrupted Australia's training and infrastructure development activities at Metinaro base (west of the capital Dili).

"We have moved ADF advisers normally based at the Metinaro facility to Dili, until the situation is further resolved."

East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has threatened further punishment for the mutineers, including civil and military justice. Dr Alkatiri said many were former resistance fighters "not used to the discipline of a regular military force".

Most of the 400 are former Falintil guerilla veterans of the bloody 24-year struggle for independence against Indonesia.

Ambiguity remained yesterday over the timing of the dismissals. According to one senior Western military source, the rebel troops had been given until tomorrow to end their "strike", while other reports suggested the sackings had already occurred.

East Timor's army commander, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, was quoted in one of Dili's mainstream newspapers, Suara Timor Lefte, as having "thanked" the rebels for their service and considered them dismissed for refusing to meet a deadline to return to base.

The standoff began on February 8 when the soldiers deserted their barracks and arrived in Dili to present a petition to their commander-in-chief, President Xanana Gusmao, asking for their complaints to be investigated.

Mr Gusmao accepted the petition and ordered the troops to return to base. The order was refused despite the rebels winning a government inquiry into their grievances.

East Timor human rights group Yayasan-HAK said the army lacked a "transparent" code of military conduct, and disciplinary problems within the ranks of the 1500-strong force were increasingly widespread.

"We found there was no regulation or disciplinary code and no regulations concerning promotion," Yayasan-HAK spokesman Jose Oliveira said.

The ADF has played a key role in training the But a Defence Department spokesman told The Australian: "The situation has disrupted Australia's training and infrastructure development activities at Metinaro base (west of the capital Dili).

"We have moved ADF advisers normally based at the Metinaro facility to Dili, until the situation is further resolved."

The ADF has played a key role in training the F-FDTL.

Carmakers roll out fuel-efficient vehicles

2006-02-19T19:16:00.000+07:00

The Indonesian automotive industry entered a new era when Japanese carmaker PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) presented a Honda Civic Hybrid for testing purposes to the government.
The car was presented by PT HPM president director Kenji Otaka on Feb. 10 to Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) chairman Kusmayanto Kadiman, who is also the state minister of research and technology.

A hybrid vehicle is usually defined as a car using two engines: a conventional internal combustion engine for high-speed drive and an electric motor used at lower speeds.

While it is more expensive than a regular car -- 15 to 40 percent more expensive -- hybrid vehicles have advantages: cleaner and more fuel-efficient as the electric engine reduces the internal combustion engine's load at certain conditions.

Currently, carmakers worldwide are working on how to create cars that are cleaner as well as more fuel-efficient given increasing crude oil and fuel prices. Not to mention that fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy and supply will eventually become scarcer.

An even more expensive endeavor in ensuring a cleaner vehicle is fuel cell technology using hydrogen as a fuel. It emits nothing more than water vapor.

The principle of fuel cells is similar to ordinary batteries but with the ability to replenish the stored energy by an external supply of fuels: hydrogen on the anode side and oxygen on the cathode side.

Most fuel cell vehicles are still in the trial stage, although some are undergoing public trials.
German carmaker BMW tested fuel cell technology with its BMW 750hL saloon in 2000 and Mini compact car in 2001. The BMW 750hL was claimed to be the first production-based car using fuel cells.

Another German carmaker, Mercedes-Benz, has a fleet of A Class F-Cell compact sedans being tested in Europe, Japan and Singapore. It also has 30 Citaro F-Cell buses in 10 European cities and three in Perth, Australia. It also has tested its Sprinter van using fuel cells.

Meanwhile, American carmaker General Motors delivered last April a Chevrolet Silverado truck to the U.S. Army for evaluation, which will end in July.

While hybrid and fuel cell technologies are no doubt for the distant future in Indonesia - if not improbably -- there are still plenty of options for alternative fuel that are more down to earth for this nation.

Using an alternative fuel, we can still use regular internal combustion engines with no or little modification and produce cleaner emissions.

Among the popular alternative fuels, perhaps compressed natural gas (CNG) is the most widely used. Vehicles using CNG are called natural gas vehicles.

The Jakarta administration, for example, is planning to use more buses that run on CNG for its second and third busway corridors.

In Bangkok, all taxis run on gas, although the gas containers do reduce trunk space. In addition to taxis, most tuk-tuk (three-wheeled taxis similar to Jakarta's bajaj) have also been converted to use CNG.

Compressed natural gas usually takes the form of methane and may also contain ethane, propane and butane in varying amounts. It is the cleanest form of all fossil fuel having the highest energy:carbon ratio among all fossil fuel and produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy.

In Indonesia, the problem is that there are too few CNG filling stations. Even in Jakarta they are scarce.

This makes it less feasible for carmakers to market vehicles that run on CNG. No driver is willing to queue too long to fill up the tank even if the price is lower than for gasoline. It is quite ironic as Indonesia has a huge untapped reserve of natural gas and is among the world's top suppliers of natural gas.

Recently, the government announced that it would decrease exports of natural gas and instead focus on domestic supply to reduce dependency on oil. Let's hope the policy will also mean the provision of more CNG for the transportation sector.

Despite being the cleanest fossil fuel, natural gas resources will someday be exhausted also as it is nonrenewable.

That's why various government agencies as well as universities and private companies are banking on biofuel.

In general, biofuel can be termed as any fuel that comes from biomass -- or living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. It can come from plants or cow manure, for example.

It comes in the form of bioalcohol for engines running on gasoline and biodiesel for engines running on diesel fuel. Bioalcohol is sometimes also called gasohol, which is a short form of gasoline alcohol.

The most common is a mixture of 10 percent biofuel to 90 percent fossil fuel. Hence the term E-10 and B-10 for bioalcohol and biodiesel respectively.

It is, however, possible to increase the mixture of biofuel to 85 percent or even to use pure biofuel.

These mixtures are claimed to produce cleaner emissions than those running on pure gasoline or diesel fuels.

Bioalcohol -- in the ethanol form -- can come from cassava, corn, sugarcane or other plants rich in sugar or starch.

Brazil is the largest producer and user of bioethanol made from sugarcane. The country introduced it to the public in the 1980s and has managed to reduce its fuel imports. Most new cars in Brazil can run on both gasoline and bioalcohol.

Fuel stations in Thailand also sell E-10 gasohol together with regular gasoline, although it has yet to reach the scale of Brazil.

As for biodiesel, it can come from plants such as oil palm, jarak (castor seeds) or rapeseed. With some modification, engines can even run on vegetable oil or cooking oil and used cooking oil.

In Indonesia, some public tests have been undertaken for biofuel usage. Some private companies and individuals have also use biodiesel in their vehicles. The use of bioalcohol, however, is still limited.

Let's see whether biofuels will become mainstream fuels here anytime soon.

Published on The Jakarta Post on Sunday, February 19, 2006

How does it feel to be 33?

2006-02-05T17:08:00.000+07:00

Am I old? Am I young? It can be half empty or half full. Some say I got one year more while others say I got one year less. Suppose that I got 66 years in my life time, this year is already the middle of my life. I have 33 years more to go while last year I had 34 years to go.

Whatever.

And don't expect that I have party as I was stuck in the office uploading the website. What a way to celebrate my birthday.

Well, whether it is one year more or one year less, still plenty of things to do.

Web counter ready to record visitors

2006-02-05T16:04:00.000+07:00

This is just a small announcement that I have put web counter from Free Counter Plus to my Blogspot blogs. The counter is free but it carries a link to an advertiser. You can generate it randomly. Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this cruel world. :P

The good thing about this counter is that it has a (basic) site statistics. While the design is basic, it comes in several color schemes to match your blog design.

So, for those who have not use this webcounter, have a try.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2006-01-03T16:16:00.000+07:00

I wish you all (and me too) a happy and prosperous new year. :)

I will do my best to update this blog with the latest development in my life....... I hope it can cover as varied as possible of things.

Cross your fingers.......

Minor change

2005-12-28T18:11:00.000+07:00

I was told two days ago that sur will return to his former position as editorial secretary. This left adm in a limbo but sources said he's going to join hbk in the training dept. Meanwhile, bnt is going to world -- another comeback -- replacing aps who's going to city.

On Jan. 9, the new rookies will start their days as "real" reporters because all these time they were groomed in the training ground with their "blind" salary.

emb has invited all editors to a plenary meeting on Jan. 6 to synchronize the new production process especially with the new editors.

I hope everything will go smoothly.

'Reshuffle' is the word of the day

2005-12-07T20:59:00.000+07:00

On Monday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) announced the much-awaited reshuffle for the economic team with seasoned technocrat Budiono replacing Aburizal Bakrie as the coordinating minister for the economy.

The announcement was made at Gedung Agung Presidential Palace in Yogyakarta, once served as Indonesian capital during the independence struggle against the Dutch colonial power.
Aburizal, however, will retain the coordinating minister position being named the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare replacing Alwi Shihab.

Susilo said Alwi was named as his advisor and special envoy for cooperation with Middle East countries as well as the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

Another minister being called out the Cabinet is Minister of Finance Jusuf Anwar who is going to be named as ambassador to "an important country."

Jusuf is replaced by Sri Mulyani Indriyani who was State Minister of Development Planning and chairwoman of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).

Mulyani is replaced by Golkar Party politican Paskah Suzetta, currently chairman of the Commission XI for Finance Affairs at the House of Representatives (DPR).

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris is replacing Andung Nitimihardja as Minister of Industry.

Fahmi is replaced by Erman Soeparno, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB). Erman was the deputy chairman of House' Comission V for Communication and Infrastructure.
These new ministers were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon at the Merdeka Presidential Palace.

Well, I don't really give a damn about their new positions as long as they can make Indonesia out of this prolonged crisis. Which is doubtful especially for Aburizal a.k.a Ical who was born with a silver spoon on his mouth. It's quite a change from a very rich tycoon to a minister taking care of people's welfare. Poor people, sick people, those being sidelined all this time.

This afternoon, just after the new ministers were sworn in, my chief editor Endy M. Bayuni announced his own version of the reshuffle. And a drastic one, I may say, affecting almost every desk editors. But the ever-optimists will say this as a full rotation.

yan moves to sports from business replacing brc who will head the new department of front page. rei will return to business as desk editor together with hen as deputy editor. jsk will replace hen in supplement while pan replaces rei in national. dey will replace lin as "chief farang" or check desk editor because lin is moved to supplement.

kan will replace jsk as sunday editor while emf will move from features bneing promoted as city editor replacing kan. asa will replace emf as features deputy editor. bnt will also join feature at the moment. hhr will move to archipelago as desk editor because the editorial management has decided to separate archipelago from national desk. Then, imn will go to the front page and will be replaced by adm. amd will also move to opinion replacing mds who is, again, promoted as managing editor.

Hmmm, I hope I have included everyone.

*** A-ha..... I forgot to continue that mds will replace hbk who will replace rt as head of training department. rt will earn his fully deserved retirement. ***

The only desk not affected is world. anj stays as world editor, ivy deputy and aps reporter.

jsr keeps features editor, bby stays as city deputy, mnk national deputy, stevie archipelago deputy, chisato sunday deputy and mfd sports deputy.

dmr is transferred to sports, eva to business and bam to website.

As for me, I will stay in my comfortable corner and get "rookie" bam replacing hhr. Honestly, bam is not a real rookie because he has been working with TJP for about 3 and a half years. But being in website is different than in print. You have to do some website technicalities such as html.

So, here we go again doing the training session. But hey, look at the bright side. I will have more people knowing how to run the website.