INDONESIAN VOICES

LEAVING INDONESIA

2010-05-20T01:42:00.000-07:00

Over 6 million Indonesians are employed overseas, where most toil as domestic workers, labour on construction sites and in factories or chauffeur their bosses around. Unlike the relatively small number of Indonesian professionals who find work in metropolitan capitals throughout the world, these semi- and unskilled migrant workers are concentrated mainly in Asia and the Middle East. They mostly hail from places where there are few or no attractive options for work. But there are also those who see labour migration as their only chance to experience what the outside world is really like. These migrant workers may or may not be recognised in their host countries, depending on how they get there and what happens after they arrive.

Regardless of their initial intentions, prospective migrant workers are first faced with the challenge of how to obtain access to work abroad. Once they've found someone to link them with a potential employer, the next question is 'what will my boss be like', followed by a series of complex feelings about whether or not they'll return as a success. Their ambitions of showing the people from their village how they've been able to make it despite the odds are key to understanding why they decide to leave their friends and family. The desire to succeed in fact is so strong that they are not deterred by stories about the obstacles they'll face or tales of others who have tried and failed.

The first three articles in this edition draw our attention to state procedures and ways around them. Wayne Palmer and Nurul Ilmi Idrus focus on the important role played by middle-men, or calo, in the labour migration process. Our journey begins in two villages - one in Java and the other in Sulawesi - where migrant workers are recruited. Palmer explains how calo attract potential labour migrants by offering them 'pocket money', while Idrus describes the experiences of undocumented migrants who use the services of calo to cross the border at Nunukan in East Kalimantan to work on plantations in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Activist Alex Ong then offers a critical perspective on the outcomes of Indonesia's attempts at migrant worker diplomacy in Malaysia, where bilateral agreements have proved to be largely ineffective.

The second group of articles shifts our attention to questions of migrants' expectations and agency. Rosslyn von der Borch and Dahlia Gratia Setiyawan begin by describing the hopes and dreams of migrant workers - and the obstacles they face in achieving them - in two very different contexts. In the first of these pieces, von der Borch examines the role that 'luck' is seen to play in determining the experience of domestic workers while abroad, arguing that it both captures women's position of relative powerlessness and their capacity to shape their destiny through skilful accommodation of their employers' needs. In the second, Setiyawan explains how irregular labour migrants in Philadelphia, many of them ethnic Chinese, jockey and strategise to achieve their American dream.

The remaining three articles focus on collective action and advocacy. Robert Tierney reminds us of the importance of collective action in his account of Indonesian fishers' responses to their poor working conditions on fleets operating out of Taiwan. Michele Ford and Wahyu Susilo then describe how NGOs came to be the principal advocates of migrant worker rights over the last two decades in Indonesia itself. Eni Lestari then rounds out the collection with a personal insight into why she migrated and how she learnt to organise while employed as a domestic worker in Hong Kong.

As these articles remind us, migrant workers - especially the low-skilled ones described here - face significant challenges throughout their time abroad. Entirely dependent on the goodwill of their hosts, they use their wits to negotiate the best possible working arrangements or, if all else fails, the best way out of a bad situation. Just leaving Indonesia requires cunning to navigate through, or around, the state migration program. At both ends - and in the middle - migrant workers' lives are fraught with risks involving not only time and money, but also personal safety because they lack the resources and education needed to achieve the easy international mobility that white collar migrants may take for granted. As this edition shows then, there is nothing simple or straightforward about becoming a migrant worker.

Michele Ford (michele.ford@sydney.edu.au) chairs the Department of Indonesian Studies at the University of Sydney, where she teaches about social activism and human rights in Southeast Asia.

Wayne Palmer (wayne.palmer@sydney.edu.au) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Indonesian Studies at the University of Sydney, where he is researching illegal practices in Indonesia's labour export program.

DOING BUSINESS IN INDONESIA 2010

2010-05-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

Indonesia's investment climate reforms began to bear fruits. In the new World Bank publication

This new titled Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times, Indonesia is considered

as the countries most actively engaged in reform.

Indonesia's ranking in ease of doing business has increased from 129 to sequence the

to-122 of the 183 countries that disurvei.Kendati improved, Indonesia's investment climate still

lagging among ASEAN countries. In the annual report of the World Bank / IFC seventh

is, Interesting to note, at least 131 from the 183 countries around the world actively engaged

regulatory reform of the business world.

In East Asia and Pacific, 17 from 24 countries to reform the regulation against crisis

The global financial order their businesses more efficiently and encourage business opportunities for business

kecil.Dalam global scale, the best ranking achieved the ease of doing business in Singapore,

New Zealand, and Hong Kong (China).

Singapore's first champion for four consecutive years since introducing service

computer-based online public and to accelerate the business start-ups, construction permits, and

property transfers. World Bank survey was to analyze various regulations relating to

10 stages of doing business.

Stages include: starting a business, construction permits, hiring employees, the

registering property, obtaining credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading

cross country, enforce contracts, and closing business. Business regulation can affect

the extent to which small and medium-sized companies to overcome the crisis, how fast the local entrepreneurial

began to seize opportunities when the recovery began to appear.

However, this survey did not measure all aspects of the business environment that are important to

investors and companies, such as security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, the level of

skill, or strength of the financial system. Three stages of a business in Indonesia assessed

improved significantly. First, starting a business. To start a business in

Indonesia needs nine procedures, takes 60 days, with 26% of the cost

income per capita, and initial capital of at least 59.7% of income per capita. This means

much better than in 2008 in which to do business required 11 procedures and 76 days,

2007 was also the year in which to do business takes 12 procedures and 105 days.

Second, Registering property. For the registration of property in Indonesia through the six procedures,

It took 22 days, costing 10.7% of property value.

Third, protecting investors. Efforts to investor protection assessed by a number

index, with a range of 0 (lowest) to 10 (best). It is best to index

transparency (10), followed by investor protection index (6). While how far director liability

index and the ease of shareholder suits index each assessed five and three.

Presumably SBY government efforts to reform the investment climate fundamentally

since been appointed as president in October 2004 began to bear fruits. In an era

government has issued various policy packages aimed at improving

investment climate in Indonesia. At least this is shown in the following policy packages: (1)

Investment Climate Improvement Policy Package in the Presidential Instruction No. 3 / 2006, (2) Acceleration Package

Real Sector Development and SMEs Development in the Presidential Instruction No. 6 / 2007, and (3) Pack

Investment Climate Policy in the Presidential Instruction No. 5 / 2008 on Focus Economic Development 2008 -

2009. The third policy package contains a variety of policies to improve the climate

investment, accelerating growth in the real sector and SMEs in Indonesia.

Ease of doing business in Indonesia is still less compared to other ASEAN countries

lainnya.Dalam World Bank report this year, Indonesia ranked the number-122 is still under

Singapore (1), Thailand (13), and Malaysia (23), although already in the Philippines (144th), Cambodia

(145), and Laos (167).

Many studies have found that decentralization since 2001 has worsened

investment climate in Indonesia.Lingkungan healthy business needs to attract investors

domestic and foreign. KPPOD survey conducted shows, the institution is a factor

determining the attractiveness of investing in an area, followed by social and political conditions,

physical infrastructure, local economic conditions and labor productivity.

Overlapping central and local regulations, which not only inhibit the flow of goods and

services, but also create an unhealthy business climate, it should be eliminated. Going forward,

SBY-Boediono government has a golden opportunity to make fundamental changes to

Indonesia. First, urging developed grand strategy of regional autonomy. Less than five

years, the law governing local autonomy is Law No. 22/1999 modified and

revised by Law No. 32/2004. Three main things desired by the investors and entrepreneurs:

simplification and licensing system, decreasing the various levy that overlap, and

transparency of licensing fees. Overlapping central and local regulations, which not only

impede the flow of goods and services but also create an unhealthy business climate, it is necessary

eliminated. Priority should be given to the deregulation and coordination of various local regulations

and centers.

Experience China's need to attract foreign capital we examine whether interesting to try. In China,

to permit sufficient contact the Office of Foreign Investment. Minimum investment $ 30

million. Investment applications must obtain permission from the center. However, under that amount, enough

contact the Office of Foreign Investment in the region. When the maximum foreign investment approval

three days. When more than three days no notice of this office, the application of investment

considered acceptable. Law on Investment (Law) No. 25/2007

apparently has not expressly regulate the division of authority between central and local government

in licensing and services such as investment in China. To that end, Law need to be equipped

with a number of government regulations, more detailed.

The second fundamental change, the bureaucrats and officials at central and local levels are still much

that behaves as a "predator", and yet to become a facilitator for the business world. This

great challenge to president SBY and his cabinet later on. When you want to improve export performance

and eradicate corruption, suggested: "clean up" roads, ports, customs, and

Police from various forms of grease money.

Five-year government of SBY-JK to be over, but the business world economy is still characterized

high cost. Concerns of businessmen is increasingly burdened with various

increase in charges "benign" (read: tariff and taxes) and wild (illegal). Business environment

tends to lead to the competitiveness of domestic products and our growing national industry

slump.

Finally, it is the direction of reforms been in the "right track", but

presumably still "wrong gear." Like a car, the engine of economic growth, which is based on

industries and services need to be moved into high gear (gear) higher to achieve the vision of the state

forward in 2025.

The implication is still a lot of "homework" for the central and local government. Improvement

The fundamental investment environment needs to be accompanied regional marketing strategy and efforts

more proactive in attracting investment. With all the effort, hopefully in famine

investment over soon.

Indonesia Need Investment Rp120 trillion for Geothermal

2010-04-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

NUSA DUA - MI: Bali again become an important international conference. Meeting of the World Geothermal Congress (WGC2010) will be officially opened on Monday (26 / 4) by President SBY at the International Convention Center, Westin, Nusa Dua, Bali.

Five-yearly event which was attended by more than 2,500 participants from 85 countries are expected to be a moment that could change the world for the better with the use of environmentally friendly geothermal energy.

"The meeting is expected to boost renewable energies and environmentally friendly, could be more widely used by the world community," emphasized President of Indonesian Geothermal Association (INAGA), Surya Darma, in Nusa Dua Bali, Sunday (25 / 4).

WGC2010 theme Geothermal: The Energy to Change the World. According to Chairman of the Committee for WGC 2010, Herman Darnel Ibrahim, the theme of the show a dream to change the world through the application of renewable energy sources are environmentally friendly. "This theme is a dream that we should follow up with in order to become a reality. So begins the dream, and together we make a plan and then together we apply to safeguard our environment," said Herman.
WGC2010 followed by academics, experts, policymakers, and investors are moving to develop geothermal energy.

"This Congress is a forum for the sharing of success in the management of geothermal power, starting from upstream to downstream. Starting from ekspolorasi, drilling, exploitation, to business sales. Any new discovery related to geothermal will be presented at this forum, and people can learn from there," Herman firm.

WGC2010 become an important moment for the development of geothermal energy worldwide, considering the number of participants who attended the event this time.
"In the history of the organization of WGC, this is the organization with the most participants. This shows the enthusiasm of the world geothermal community to be more serious to develop this energy," said Surya Darma.

WGC was first held on May 18 to 31, 1995 in Florence, Italy with participants from 70 countries only.WGC1995 produce a handbook that contains a variety of theories and case examples, as reference to how the development geothermal utilization for various countries.

According to Surya Darma, the forum was first held against the background of the necessity of understanding the stakeholders that geothermal is something the community needs the world because of renewable and environmentally friendly.

"So this geothermal should be exploited in larger quantities. Aware that development requires huge funds, it needs the cooperation of the parties to the other party. With the implementation of this forum, it is very possible cooperation," he said.

The Indonesian government is targeting the development of geothermal energy to reach 9500 MW by 2025 next year. To achieve this target, the government through the acceleration program targeting an additional 10,000 MW of energy 4000 MW of geothermal energy to the end of 2015.

To develop 4000 MW of geothermal energy, the estimated need of about $ 12 billion or Rp.120 trillion. Thus expressed Chairman of Indonesian Geothermal Association Surya Darma, interrupted a press conference ahead of opening of the World Geothermal Congress (WGC2010), Sunday (25 / 4). (OL/OL-7)

THERE CENTURY BEYOND CONSPIRACY?

2010-04-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

KOMPAS.com - Despite the hustle and bustle of cases of Century Bank began to subside in the mass media, this case review process is still ongoing. Legal efforts directed to unpack and find who is at fault, especially in rescue actions behind Century Bank. Finding who is at fault, certainly not free from the assumption of state losses resulting from the policy.However, the problem does not stop there, because over time, the outstanding issue of conspiracy theories linking Century Bank bailout funds with election fundraising effort by one political party, bribery of police officers, to widen the issue of lizard vs crocodile. Economic issues was shifted to political issues.

In the movie Conspiracy Theory, Jerry Fletcher character played by Mel Gibson, said that a good conspiracy is a conspiracy that could never be proved. JFK assassination or Watergate, are examples of conspiracies that are difficult to prove. Until today, that appear are the various theories and speculations about what happened. Dozens of books published to analyze the historical and controversial event. But what actually happens, we'll never know. Is there really a conspiracy? We also never know.

In the field of political economy, the stories of speculation about a conspiracy too often emerged. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, the disclosure of the case Madoff, leaving many mysteries about the story of Jewish economic polarization.Domestically, the Bank Bali case until the case of Century Bank, for example, are various examples that relate how politics, power and money, are brethren.

A brother of another faith who often participate in kelindan was a "crime". Mario Puzzo in the novel Godfather writes, "Behind Every great fortune, there is 'a crime'. In other words, Puzzo want to say, "Behind the bertriliun amount of money, no crime."

Bailouts amounting to Rp 6.7 trillion rupiah, the strength of parties and individuals who reach billions of rupiah, and a very large flow of funds, would become an issue of "sexy" that invites questions. From where and to where those funds flow? And whether the funds associated with the conspiracy?

The question was certainly not easy to find answer. Then we too often led to claims to facts in making speculative interpretation of symptoms. Finally, no less of us are trapped into a disheveled and keterjebakan epistemic problems. A game of logic, which means, we assume something as the real thing. And that's just the fact that our assumptions. We regard a thing that happens, when it was only supposition we would an event.

The issue of a conspiracy behind the rescue of Century Bank, if any, would be interesting to reveal. However, with various limitations and analysis of empirical data, at least there are some things that need to be recorded prior to the query.

First, the views of experts and analysts in addressing the case of Century Bank is often inadequate. Often we see that most actual problems, both political and economic, attempted solved by common sense and logic, but weak empirical base.What do we know until now of more cases of Century Bank of the learning by Hearsay, or waffle a la coffee shops in various His throne: some say the high level of information leaks, gossip side of the road, or analysis of a more speculative nature than empirical. If we look at the responses on the blog or other media, it's more real. Responding to this case, each person bring their own analysis, which looks sophisticated, but of course, speculative because the support is insufficient empirical data.

Second, within the limits of empirical data, one fact that we can see is actually the macroeconomic conditions at Century Bank saved. At that time, it is difficult policy choices. Banks closed or saved, has its own risks. Preferred policy authority when it is saved Century Bank. And it is public policy made by the calculation to rescue the financial system more broadly.

Authorities often say that the rescue was done by a policy of good faith or good faith for the sake of macroeconomic area.Without thinking rescue to save the one hand, let alone help the owners. We see that the owner of Century Bank itself precisely captured. But we also understand, good intentions do not suffice. Good intentions are stored only in the liver, it is difficult to prove. Is visible is the impact of those policies. The impact of the policy for most people is more important to look at.

We see the current condition of the financial system is relatively stable and strong. Maintained the trust was able to avoid melt deeper than our financial system, and able to keep us from further crisis. Macroeconomic conditions in Indonesia one year after the policy was decided also much more solid and better. Meanwhile, fears of missing funds can also be minimized because of Century Bank is still operating, with a new name is Pearl Bank. That is, the possibility of bailouts to return there as well. When Pearl Bank operation improve, then the income will be used to replace the bailout.

Then what about a conspiracy? Where are the funds flow? And Who is to blame in this case? This analysis can only be stopped at the edge of Century Bank as a rescue policy are made.

But on the other side of the edge that, if then there is a conspiracy behind the bailout rescue, or whether there are political interests from the use of bailout funds, wholly located in a dark mystery that is far from my empirical coverage. That's a puzzle behind the dark night sky (the Riddle of a dark night sky).

My hope is that hopefully this case can be resolved properly and not just the expense of a certain party is politically weak, for the sake of mere spectator satisfaction "soap operas", as often happens in each case.

FORECAST ACTIVE VOLCANO DATA AND ALERT THE YEAR 2010

2010-04-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

This article is merely an estimate based on the description of human behavior and behavior that are not in harmony, harmonious, balanced in maintaining the natural order of life on earth Archipelago. For anyone who reads this paper is up to the assessment and interpretation of each, not to believe much less cause fear or unrest, both a mind and instincts of our feelings. Let us examine together and return everything that has happened to God the creator of the universe. Merdeka ....!
I. SUMATERA
1.G.Sorik Marapi
2.G.Talang
3.G.Kerinci
4.G.Krakatau

II. JAWA
1. G.Guntur
2. G.Ceremai
3. G.Tangkuban Perahu
4. G.Selamet
5. G.Merapi
6. G.Kelud
7. G.Semeru
8. G.Argo Puro
9. G.Merapi
10.G.Raung
11.G.Papandaian

III. BALI
1.G.Agung

IV. NTB AND NTT
1.G.Tambora
2.G.Rinjani
3.G.Kalimutu

V. SULAWESI
1.G.Lompo Batang
2.G.Soputan

VI. MALUKU
1.G.Ibu

EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION IN NUSANTARA 2010

2010-04-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

I. SUMATERA

1.Laut Nias: 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ...

2.Tapak Tuan: 6, ... SR s / d 7, ... SR

3.Laut Mentawai: 5, ... SR s / d 7, ... SR

4.Painan: 5, ... SR s / d 7, ... SR

5.G.Merapi: 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ...

6.Laut Bengkulu / Kota Agung: 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ...

7.Laut Enggano / Manna: 6, SR ...

8.G.Krakatau: 6, SR ...

III. JAWA

1. Ujung Kulon: 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ...

2. Laut Pelabuhan Ratu: 6, SR ...

3. Sukabumi: 6, ... SR s / d 7, ... SR

4. Bogor: 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ...

5. Bandung: 6, SR ...

6. Tasikmalaya: 6, SR ...

7. Laut Garut : 6, SR ...

8. Laut Cilacap : 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ...

9. Wonosobo: 5, SR ...

10.Jogjakarta: 6, SR ...

11.Laut Jogja: 6, ... SR s / d 7, ... SR

12.Laut Pacitan: 6, SR ...

13.G.Semeru: 6, SR ...

14.Pasuruan: 6, SR ...

15.Laut Blambangan: 5, ... SR s / d 6, SR ..

16.G.Raung: 6, SR ...

III.BALI

1.Laut Nusa Penida: 6, SR ...

2.Pantai Herzliya: 5, SR ...

3.Denpasar: 5, SR ...