MULTIBRAND

Temporary Domain

2012-02-03T12:22:00.001+07:00

Last night I visited this blog's domain : www.multibrand.biz and I was very surprised because I was directed to the website of Go Daddy i.e the site which I have purchased my said domain via Blogger.com, saying that the domain is for sale.

After I protested via several e-mail communications with Go Daddy admin, I was told that they will immediately fix the matter.

Due to this fact, I have decided to temporarily return to my previous domain www.multibrand.blogspot.com until Go Daddy fix my domain. I hope that it would not be long.

Sorry for any inconveniences.

Credit Card Limitations

2012-01-14T22:21:00.000+07:00

There are so many people in Indonesian who love credit cards.

According to news report, there are 14.3 million credit cards holders among our country's 240 million population.

This is obvious because credit cards provide possibility for people to live conveniently i.e. it provide them the chance to buy things by credit.

The bad thing about credit card is that it drove many of its holders into very consumptive people, it makes them buy things they want even though their financial position is weak.

I know some people whose monthly salary only enable them to pay the minimum payment limit i.e. 10% of the total credit card expenditures, therefore they facing trouble settling the credit and interest.

The most sadistic case happened last year when a holder of credit card issued by Citibank was beaten to death by debt collectors at the major U.S bank's Jakarta office.

In order to prevent credit card crisis, the Central Bank i.e. Bank Indonesia, issued regulation No. 14/2/PBI/2012 regarding Credit Card Transaction Procedures, among others as follows :
1) Minimum age of a holder is 21 (currently 17) years old.
2) Minimum salary of a holder is Rp 3 Million, maximum credit limit is 3 times the amount of salary.
3) Those who have salary below Rp 10 Million may only have two credit cards
4) Those who have salary above Rp 10 Million may get higher credit limit from the bank

The new regulation will become effective on 1 January 2013, with a two years transition period for banks to adjust their existing regulation with the said new regulation.

I hope that this new regulation would prevent any credit card crisis in the future.

Please keep Aceh Peaceful

2012-01-13T12:44:00.000+07:00

The signing of the Helsinski Peace Agreement on 15 August 2005 has ended many years of violence in Indonesia's eastern most Province of Aceh, and since then people in the province have been enjoying a peaceful life.

This peaceful situation was confirmed after Irawadi Yusuf, an independent candidate supported by former separatist GAM, won the Governor election on December 2006, and the Aceh Party (reincarnation of GAM) won the provincial parliamentary elections in 2009.

And then there was a verdict of the Constitutional Court on December 2010 which determined that independent candidates may be nominated as candidates in the 2011/2012 Governor and Regents elections. The Court's reason was to provide opportunity for not-political party backed candidates to be nominated, and the fact that more than 50 % of the Regents and Governor were independent candidates.

This verdict was protested by the Aceh Party who said that independent candidates can only be nominated in the 2006 election, after that all candidates should be nominated by political parties.
The general election commission plan to implement the Constitutional Court's verdict, therefore the Aceh Party said that it will boycott the elections.

In recent months, there has been lots of shootings that have killed 13 people and wounding 13 others. According to the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Laws and Security General Djoko Suyanto this violence is related to the Regional Election in Aceh.

Due to this violence, there is a possibility that the regional election in Aceh will be postponed.

Considering the above, I hope that the central government in Jakarta, the general election commission and all the parties in Aceh would seat down together and find the best solution acceptable by all the political parties, including the Aceh party.

Weekend in Jambi

2012-01-10T23:15:00.000+07:00

Last Saturday and Sunday I visited Jambi, a province in the southern part of the Sumatera Island.

This was my first visit to mainland Sumatera. Many years ago I visited Batam, an island on on the province of Riau on the eastern part of Sumatera, as a transit point for several visits to Singapore.

I left Jakarta at 9.40 am with two of my old law school friends i.e Arief and Phillip, flying on Lion Air, and arrived at Jambi City airport at 10.50 am. We were picked at the airport by a driver of Chairul, another old friend at law school.

Chairul held a wedding ceremony for his eldest daughter i.e. Mirna on Saturday at 4 pm, and he arranged that we stay at the Ratu Hotel next to the Ratu Convention Center where the wedding party was held on Sunday 11 am - 3 pm.

As soon as we have put our luggage at the hotel, we took a taxi to Jamtos (Jambi Town Square) shopping mall for lunch. Later in afternoon we took a taxi to a place on the side of the Batanghari River which seems to be a place where people of the city of Jambi entertained themselves. We ate roasted Corn cob and Padang Satay.

In the evening we walked to nearby Ramayana Shopping mall which looked like malls in Jakarta with Hypermart, Kentucky Fried Chicken, A&W, etc.

We returned to the hotel using three Ojek i.e. motor-cycle taxi, one for each of us. It was still early so we spent 3 hours at hotel's Karaoke until 2 am.

On Sunday morning we have breakfast at the hotel after that we went to the wedding party at 11.30 am. Chairul was happy when we shook hands with him, his wife, the bride and groom and parents.
The party itself was a big fat wedding party with a whole lots of guests, organizing committee, delicious food, etc.

At 1.30 pm, we returned to the hotel, packed our bags, took a car taxi to look for souvenirs on our way to the airport. Our plane departed at around 6 pm and arrived in Jakarta at 7 pm.

The trip was enjoyable, but it would be much better if better public transportation are available i.e, argo-metered taxi and minibuses with better routes. Besides, more arts and souvenir shops should also be available in the city. This are important if Jambi wants to attract more tourists from other provinces and other countries.

Weight Reduction

2012-01-04T11:49:00.000+07:00

Like most people, before or during the changing of a year to another year I made resolutions on basic things that I want to achieve on the following year.

And one of my resolutions for the year 2012 is to reduce my Weight from 90+ Kg. to around 78 Kg. For which purpose, I am going to step up daily physical exercise e.g gymnastic, seat up, push up. I will also control consumption of food among others by eating less Rice and Meat, and eat more Fish, Vegetables, and Fruits. Moreover I will also be Fasting maybe one or two days in a week.

Based on my previous experience, I am aware it would not be easy to achieve this resolution, however considering that I really want to reduce my weight and therefore live more healthily, I am sure that I can make it.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T23:23:00.000+07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.
Let us pray to God and hope that 2012 would be better than 2011.

PS: I hope that I can up date this blog as frequently as in the past.

Yours sincerely,
Harry Nizam

The Komodo is one of the Wonders of the World

2011-11-02T23:44:00.001+07:00

The Komodo is an ancient giant Lizard that only lives on the Island of Komodo and nearby islands in the Indonesian Province of East Nusatenggara.

In order to protect the Komodo, the Indonesian government has declared the places where the Komodo lives as the Komodo Island National Park.

Former Minister of Culture & Tourism, now Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources, Jero Wacik, has been eager to promote the National Park i.e. by nominating it in the selection of New 7 Wonders of the World (N7W) organized by the New 7 Wonders Foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland.

In 2009, the said Foundation announced that the Komodo Island National Park has been selected as one of the 28 Finalist from a total of 440 nominations from 220 countries.

In 2010, Indonesia was chosen as the official host of the announcement of the winner of the competition, but the Ministry of Culture & Tourism refused because it claimed that they have been asked by the Foundation to pay them US$ 10 Million for License Fee and US$ 47 Million for celebration of the event.

On 15 August 2011, Jero Wacik (Democrat Party) announced that Indonesia has decided to withdraw from the competition. He told reporters that the Foundation has taken actions that are not professional and transparent. He also said that the it was "not credible" and "unaccountable".

An independent Komodo lovers community protested Jero Wacik's said decision, so they appointed former Vice President Jusuf Kalla (Golkar Party) as the Komodo Ambassador.
He said that the winner of the above global competition shall be determined by text messages (sms) send to support nominees. He said that Komodo Island needs 100 million supporters latest by 11 November 2011.
According to Jusuf Kalla's supporters i.e. Emmy Hafidz, 100 million text messages have been received until last Saturday, she expect by 11 November there will be 120 million tex messages recieved.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture & Tourism announced that they are not involved in new promotion of the Komodo Island by Jusuf Kalla, and the Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland Djoko Susilo warned that his embassy doubt the credibility of the Foundation.

Considering the above, and the fact that the Komodo has already been famous as an ancient giant Lizard that only lives in the Island of Komodo and surrounding island a.k.a the Komodo Island National Park, I felt that it is not necessary to waste so much time, energy and money to participate in the competition organized not by UNESCO which is supposed to be the most credible world organization to do that.

It would be a lot much better to use the time, energy and money to help preserve the Komodo and to help develop the Komodo Island National Park.

Photo: Courtesy if The Jakarta Globe
.

Motherhood : a Woman's Exclusive Right

2011-10-30T20:30:00.000+07:00

Rima Fauzi (http://rimafauzi.com) is one of the few Indonesian bloggers that I continuously followed since I started blogging in 2007.

Rima (36) is a singer/songwriter living in Brussels, Belgium since 2001, where she and her friends set up a band called The House Painters.

Based on the consent that I have got from her via Twitter@mbakrimaH, I would like to share with you one of her interesting blog post (below) about Motherhood, which may sound controversial for some of you.
I shall be very grateful to receive your comment. Happy reading.

ON MOTHERHOOD:
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
By Rima Fauzi
10.14.11

When I was younger, I welcomed the idea that as human beings it is our fate to couple up, get married and have children. I thought it was normal for me to think that our sole-purpose is indeed to serve God by way of non-stop praying, getting married and procreating. As I got older and more exposed to the evil ways of the west (and by this I mean the frowned upon atheistic western “logics” and “common sense”) I started to think differently.

The first thing that changed was my perception of God. I used to think God was this really grumpy old guy who just loves to smite people and take his wrath upon us, eerily leering from above, waiting for us to do something wrong and then when you think you are safe, “WHAM!” He smites us to a thousand pieces. When he is feeling lazy, he would send down his angels to make a list of all the things we do wrong then keep it in his grudge cabinet so that when we die he will happily drown us in a pool of boiling hot lava-like liquid for as long as he likes or until he has something better to do or new people to torture.

Now, I strongly feel that if there really is a God (I say “IF” because no one really knows, it’s all down to personal faith) he would most likely be a deity-like entity who is loving, understanding and kind, who emanates eternal peace and is made up of all things good, like sugar and spice.

People who say things like “That tsunami is a warning/curse from God” or, “The heretics who were murdered were asking for it, if those people didn’t take their lives, God would’ve done the job himself sooner or later” irritate the hell out of me. I know they have a right to their opinions, they do and I am fine with that don’t get me wrong, but they are just irritatingly ignorant. Yet there is nothing

I can do to change the way they think as I used to be one of these people and I understand their way of thinking although I surely do not condone it. Nobody changed my way of thinking, it just happened gradually on its own through natural selection, personal experiences, education, social interaction and a myriad of other factors that may or may not have the same effect on other people on a similar boat.

Thank goodness I have become this common-sense worshiping, moral loving, reasoning addicted infidel that I am today. I don’t mind not going to “heaven” as from what I was told heaven is going to be nothing but a huge, non-stop orgy full of men drinking wine from the rivers and having sex with virgin angels anyway. It’s not like I haven’t been in one before and if only the men are going to have fun in this so-called heavenly orgy, I wouldn’t want to be one sitting there watching all the fun, how boring would that be, right

But, I digress.
The same thing happened with my idea of motherhood. While I know that it is indeed a natural part of life and I don’t oppose of it, I don’t think it’s for everyone. My friends told me that I will hear my biological clock ticking and I will know when it’s time. Well, I am almost 36 and either my biological clock needs a new battery or it just isn’t happening for me.

I actually don’t mind not having kids. Nope, let me rephrase that, I actually don’t want any kids.
*Gasps* “How can she say that? It’s blasphemy!!” some people may think.
Well a few years ago, I feel guilty whenever I even think about this and I certainly never say it out loud. Whenever people ask me, “So Rima, when will you have a baby?” or “Don’t you want to hear the pitter-patter of ‘tiny feet in your house??” I answer, “Not now, maybe in a few years.” (Although
I constantly have the urge to answer the second question with, “If I want to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet in my house I’d buy a Chihuahua and have it wear small dog boots around the house. Problem solved”)

But who am I kidding? I didn’t want a baby then, and I sure as hell don’t want one now.
Now I have become more assertive in my life decisions and I no longer feel guilty telling people that, “Kids are just not for me.” because “I think my life is perfect the way it is.”

The thing is, I know parents who don’t really want children but were forced into having them by society and their families. I have seen what that does to their children and it’s not pretty. I am fulfilled by my life, I have my routines, my job, my side job, my hobbies, my friends and my family. I am content with my life and I think I’m blessed with so many good things in life that there is nothing more I could possibly want. So why ruin a good thing?

I don’t want to have kids just for the sake of having them, “cos everybody else has them.” As if kids are a pair of Gucci loafers or a Plasma TV. No, if I ever have kids it will be because I really, and I mean REALLY want them.

If I give in to the pressure and norms of the society, I could end up resenting my kids and feel like I have given up many things I enjoy to have them. I know this sounds selfish, but it is more selfish to have kids so that people will accept you and think you are “normal”. Let me tell you something, there is nothing normal about having unwanted kids because it will screw up that kid and scar them emotionally for life, not to mention turning you into an asshole.
Now I should know, I was one of these kids. And again I tell you, it’s not pretty for both the parties involved as it is sad and unfair for an adult to have to do something they don’t really want but feel like they “must” do while it’s especially unjust and unfair for a child to be born to parents who don’t really want them.

So the next time I hear somebody asking me that dreadful question again or making a snide remark about who will take care of me in my old age if I don’t have kids, that is when I will say “If I ever decide to have kids, I will do so because I really want to. And I will love that child and educate them so that they have free will, an open mind and a loving heart. Not so that I have a guaranteed spot in a homey retirement home.” I won’t even care if a person insinuates that women who never bear children are not real women. Yes, there are people like that out there, total bitches.

Because at the end of the day, having children (or not) is your personal choice and nobody should be able to pressure you into doing it or talk you out of it when you want to do so. It’s your right, your prerogative and no one else.

United we'll stand, Separated we'll fall

2011-10-28T10:10:00.000+07:00

The Indonesian national motto of "Unity in Diversity" points to one of the greatest attractions of Indonesia.

There are around 300 ethnic groups, a result of Indonesia's unique geographical make-up consisting of more than 17,000 islands, and history.

Many Indonesians see themselves first by their ethnic, religion and cultural group, and secondly as Indonesians.

The glue that binds the people together is the usage of the Indonesian language and adoption of Pancasila as national philosophy which stressed the doctrine of Religious pluralism, Humanism, Unity, Democracy and Social Justice.

Considering the above mentioned facts, I felt that Indonesia could only exist as a country if its people keep on believing on what have been pledged by our founding fathers on 28 October 1928, as follow :
- We are one Nation : Indonesia
- We have one Language : Indonesia
- We have one Country : Indonesia

Bloggers' contribution for Indonesia

2011-10-27T23:40:00.000+07:00

I just just read on the blog of fellow blogger Unspun that today is the National Blogger's Day.

He explained that this event was declared four years ago i.e 27 October 2007, by the then Communication and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh when he opened the first annual gathering of Indonesian Bloggers a.k.a Pesta Blogger at the Blitz Megaplex in downtown Jakarta.

At a time when most news media in Indonesia are owned or controlled by people who have money, Bloggers provide the public with more independent and non-biased information.

Bloggers have made some contributions to the implementation of justice. The most noticeable being the case of Prita Mulyasari i.e a mother of two very young children who was jailed for sending e-mails to her friends about the sub-standard treatment she received from the OMNI Hospital, and fined Rp 200 million but released after strongly protested by Bloggers who also collected money to pay for the fine.

Then there was the case of Vice Chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) i.e. Chandra Hamzah and Slamet Bibit Rianto who were jailed on charges that are not clear, therefore released after strongly protested by Bloggers.

In this connection I hope that Indonesian Bloggers would use their freedom wisely in accordance with the laws and regulations.

Happy National Blogger's Day.

Restless Papua

2011-10-25T22:35:00.000+07:00

The Indonesian part of the Island of Papua has the world's largest Gold and Copper mining operated by PT. Freeport Indonesia as a subsidiary of the multinational company Freeport-McMoran, USA.

The mining operation that began in 1967 has made PT Freeport Indonesia, Freeport-McMoran and some high ranking Indonesian officials very rich.

Unfortunately not many people of Papua enjoyed the Gold and Copper money, many of them are still living in very poor condition, and the infrastructure on the territory are still in poor condition.

The company only thinks about getting as much money as possible, they do not care about the well being of their employees, and do not care about the great destruction that their mining operations have caused to nature.

Due to this facts, on 15 September 2011, the workers of PT. Freeport Indonesia has stop working, and until now they are still negotiating with the company's management for better salary and working conditions.

Further, on 19 October days, some groups of people held the third Papua People's Congress in the town of Abepura. Unlike the first two congresses which ended peacefully, this congress was disbanded by the Police because the participants have violated the conditions for holding such congress i.e. they have declared the independence of West Papua, raised the flag of Free Papua Organization, named its President and Prime Minister. Three men died in the clash between the Police and the participants, 600 hundreds others, including university and school students, were arrested, but many of them released soon afterwards.

On 21 October, three men working with the contractor of PT. Freeport Indonesia were shot to death by unknown gunmen. One week earlier, three workers of PT Freeport Indonesia were shot to death by mysterious group of men.

Yesterday, a chief of Police in the sub-district of Mulia, namely Adjunct Comm. Domingus Awes, was shot to death at the local airport by two unknown men who grabbed his gun and used it to kill him, took the gun and runaway to nearby forest. This was the second killing a Police officer at the same airport this year. On 24 June First Brig. Yazin was shot to death and his firearm was taken away.

The ambush at PT. Freeport's mine is part of a recent string, the first in April left two workers dead and two others wounded.

In reaction to the above mentioned violence, the central government in Jakarta has deployed extra Police and Military troops to join existing force of 14,000 troops in Papua to maintain security and order.

In my opinion, the never ending violence in Papua is caused by lack of social, economic and legal justice as I have mentioned above. Therefore such violence cannot be calmed merely by sending more Police and Military, but should also be followed by giving a lot much better attention to the people of Papua.

For example by persuading PT Freeport Indonesia to provide salary and working conditions as demanded by its workers, to develop free schools and health facilities, to expedite the developments of infrastructure.

Moreover, the central government, the House of Representatives and law enforcement agencies should do their utmost to show that Indonesia is lead by clean, uncorrupt, unselfish, wise and fair leaders who will properly take care of money collected from all provinces in Indonesia, especially Papua. That way the people of Papua would not felt cheated and therefore willing to be part of Indonesia.

Last but not least, if possible perhaps the central government could start to have talks with the separatist movement in Papua to find a peaceful solution like we have done in Aceh.

Dahlan Iskan - From Reporter to Minister

2011-10-21T15:43:00.001+07:00

One of the new Ministers that has been appointed by President SBY last Tuesday is the Minister of State Owned Enterprises i.e. Dahlan Iskan (60).

Dahlan Iskan is a professional, not a politician, who started his carrier as a Reporter of a local newspaper in Samarinda, East Kalimantan in 1975. After that, he moved to the Tempo Magazine in 1976. From 1982 until now he leads the Jawa Pos Group. And on 23 December 2009 he was appointed as President Director of the state electricity company PT. PLN.

One extraordinary thing that differentiate Dahlan Iskan from all the government officials is that he refused use all the facilities that the state provide for President Director of PT. PLN. i.e. housing, car, etc. He preferred to live on his own home, used his own car, etc.

And after he was appointed as Minister he told reporters that if possible he would like to live on his own personal home, use his own car etc., and not use state facilities. WOW!

On the day of his inauguration as Minister, Dahlan Iskan wore sneakers instead of official shoes!

I only hope that the President would fully support Dahlan Iskan in doing his job as the Minister of State Owned Enterprises, a very vital position handling lots of state money dreamed by politicians and political parties, therefore very vulnerable to " disturbances " .

Photo: Wikipedia.

After the Cabinet Reshuffle

2011-10-20T23:23:00.000+07:00

Last Tuesday evening, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) finally announced the names of his new cabinet.

Around one third of the 34 Ministers were changed, and the number of Vice Ministers were added from 10 into 19. Beside that, Leut Gen. Maciano Norman has been named as the new Chief of the State Intelligence Agency. Please find attached the details for your perusal.

The reshuffle effected three major members of the coalition government. President SBY's Democrat Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) each of them lost one Minister replaced by professionals.
The Golkar Party did not lost any of its Ministers but its Deputy Chairman Fadel Muhammad was replaced by another Deputy Chairman of the party i.e. Syarif Cicip as Minister of Maritime and Fishery.

However, two other members of the coalition i.e. Muhaimin Iskandar, Chairman of the National Awakening Party as Manpower Minister, and Suryadarma Ali, Chairman of the United Development Party, will still hold their positions.

Due to the lost of its Minister, PKS plan to conduct an internal meeting to decide whether or not it will remain in the coalition. Earlier, some officials of PKS have vowed that the party will leave if any of its Ministers is fired.

Meanwhile Golkar Party accepted the President's decision, although Fadel Muhammad seemed to be disappointed because he has never been given any reason for the firing.

In my opinion, the reshuffle would make the Cabinet more " fatter ", causing heavier bureaucracy and burden the state budget. However, it would be better to give the Ministers and Vice Ministers some time, at least 12 months, before we make any judgement about their performance.

Are we Protecting Deforestation ?

2011-10-16T22:40:00.000+07:00

Last Thursday the Immigration Office at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has deported the Executive Director of the environment organization Greenpeace UK John Sauven.

Sauven was quoted by The Jakarta Globe as saying that he has obtained the correct visa issued by the Indonesian Embassy in London, but was informed by the Immigration officer at Jakarta airport that his name is in the "Red List" therefore banned from entering Indonesia. However, no official notification was issued.

Sauven said that during his visit to Indonesia, he planned to meet with government officials, one of the largest palm oil producer, visit an area deforested by a pulp and paper company in Sumatera and meet the British Ambassador.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Immigration Office Herawan Sukoaji told the press last Friday that Sauven was denied entry to Indonesia because he would threaten the stability of Indonesia. He also said that there was the possibility that Sauven would bring instability and disorder here.
But when he was asked for details, he refused to comment saying that it is a " State Secret ".

This deportation reminds me of several results of campaigns made by Greenpeace against companies involved in the deforestation in Indonesia, such as Unilever's stop of purchase of palm-oil produced by PT Sinar Mas, and Mattel's (Barbie Doll) stop of purchase of paper produced by PT Asia Pulp & Paper in Riau, Sumatera.

I agree that as a sovereign state Indonesia may choose to accept or refuse the visit of any foreigners, however if a foreigner already got a visa from our Embassy abroad the case would be different, it shows inconsistency of the Immigration Office in implementing policies.

The news about the deportation would send a message to the world which is not favorable for Indonesia because in 2007 President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) has promised world leaders that Indonesia will reduce 26% carbon gas emission by 2020 which means that we will stop deforestation.
For which purpose the government has issued regulations regarding Carbon Gas Emission reduction last September.

Further, our government has also signed a Letter of Intent with the Norwegian government regarding Deforestation Moratorium.

For which purposes, the government has recently issued regulations regarding Carbon Emission reduction, including Deforestation.

I hope that the government would be consistent in implementing its Forest Protection policies.

Freedom Vs. Security

2011-10-13T21:16:00.000+07:00

After nine months of debates and discussions with top government officials, last Tuesday the House of Representatives finally decided to accept the Intelligence Bill.

According to the news media the House's said decision was protested by some human rights and liberal democratic activists, who said that the new Intelligence Law would endanger democracy in general, and limit freedom of expression in particular.

One of the things they objected is the right to wiretap phone calls, which they thought might be abused by the intelligence agencies especially the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Due to this fact, activists groups like the Indonesian Corruption Watch, Legal Aid Foundation, Kontras, Impartial, Elsam and other NGO planned to request the Constitutional Court to conduct a Judicial Review on Articles 25 and 26 of the said Law regarding Secret Intelligence Information including the criteria of State Security and Defense, Natural Treasure, National Economic Resilience, and Foreign Policy Interest.

As a lover of democracy, I felt that the new Intelligence Law would surely limit people's freedom therefore its implementations should be closely observe by the society so as to avoid any abuse of power.

However, as a peace loving citizen, I believe that our country, which still has so many poor people, can only develop properly if peace and order exist, if there is no acts of terrors, violence and bombings. And that can only be achieved if there is strong law enforcement that is balanced with citizen's freedom to think, speak and act on whatever is good for the people and country.

Considering the above, I felt that as long as the implementation is according to the laws and regulations, it is okay to give certain power to the intelligence agency. For example said Law ruled that wire taping can only be done if there is permit from the Court of Law.

World Cup 2014: an Almost Impossible Dream

2011-10-12T21:52:00.000+07:00

Last night our national football team was beaten by the Qatar team with a score of 2-3.

Playing in front of an audience of 28,000 at the GBK Stadium in Jakarta, our team, spearheaded by striker Cristian Gonzalez who made the two goals, didn't show their best performance, while the Qatar team played very well.

With this result, our team's chance to win the Asian qualification for the World Cup 2014 became very slim. It has to win three other matches against Qatar (11 Nov), Iran (20 Nov) and Bahrain (Feb 2012).

Frankly speaking, I am not really surprised with the result of above match. It is not that I doubt the capability of our team's players, but I am very disappointed with the management of football in this country.

I don't know much about football but I felt that the change of chairman of the football association (PSSI) several months ago followed by the improper changing of coaches failed to improve performance quality of the team.

I am back!

2011-10-10T19:41:00.003+07:00

Guys,

I am very glad that my previous post titled " Sick Leave " has received lots of comments from each and every one of you. Your attentions really mean a lot to me.

Due to some " non-blogging activities ", for the time being I would not be up-dating this blog as frequently as before, but I will keep on visiting and commenting on your blogs.

Best regards,
Harry

Sick Leave

2011-10-03T22:34:00.001+07:00

Guys,

It has been 6 six days since I last updated this blog.

The reason is because, according to the doctor at the hospital in Bintaro,
I have been too tired therefore need a good rest free from any kind of disturbances.
But all in all my health condition is okay.

I hope that each and every one of you are okay.

Faithfully yours,
Harry Nizam

The Roots of Terrorism

2011-09-27T23:51:00.001+07:00

Today the National Police announced the identity of terrorist who blew himself at the Church in Solo, Central Java, last Sunday i.e Pino Damayanto a.k.a Ahmad Yosepa Hayat (31) who was wanted by the Police for his involvement in the suicide bombing at the Police mosque in Cirebon, West Java, last April.

The mass media reported that Ahmad Yosepa and three others were prepared by the Cirebon Terrorist group to carry out suicide bombings.

As a normal human being, I strongly believe that normal human beings would never want to kill themselves and other people for decent reasons.

People who commit suicide to kill others are either frustrated or suffer mental depression or politically or religiously fanatic because of the situation and condition in their lives. Or, alternatively, they are brainwashed or hypnotized by other people who has the power to do so.

All of which can be caused by poverty, lack of education, lack of jobs, injustices, corruption, ugly political condition, etc.

Considering the above, I felt that terrorism cannot be eliminated just by eliminating people who are allegedly involved in any acts of terrorism like urging people to take illegal actions against other people who have different ideology or religion, and/or campaigning illegal actions to the society for example through the internet

Terrorism cannot also be eliminated by merely giving extra-power to the intelligence agencies whose ability and seriousness to detect acts of terror is under question. This is proven from the fact that the Solo bomb exploded just 5 months after the suicide bomb at the Police mosque in Cirebon, although the Police has issued a wanted persons list.
This can also be seen from the fact that violent organizations and website that advocate radical actions like arrahmah.com were allowed to exist.

The best way to eliminate terrorism would be by eliminating all the things that causes terrorism i.e. provide enough job, decent and inexpensive housing, schools, eliminating corruption, fair business competition, decent political practices, law enforcement based on equality before the laws, presumption of innocence and respect of human rights.

Who Should be Responsible for the Solo Bombing?

2011-09-25T23:39:00.000+07:00

A man killed himself by blowing a bomb he carried with him at the Kepunton Church in Solo, Central Java, 10.45 a.m today, injuring 19 others.

In this regards I would like to express my deepest sympathy to those who have been hit by the bomb.

President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) condemned the bombing, saying that it is the work of the Cirebon Terrorist Group whose member blew a bomb at a mosque in Cirebon, West Java, killing himself and injuring a Police officer on 15 April 2011.

The President also said that preventive and proactive actions shall be taken to find out about this bombing incident.

Further, an internal investigation on the Police, Intelligence and Military units, especially those in Central Java, shall be carried out to find out whether they have coordinated well to prevent terrorist action.

Furthermore, he said that this bombing proves that what he has often warned about terrorists threat is real, not just a make-believe.

I hope that an overall investigation will be conducted immediately to find out who is the suicide bomber, the people behind him and what is the motive, why can it happen ? why can't our intelligence detect it ?

Jakarta Social Media Festival

2011-09-23T12:10:00.000+07:00

If you are a social media activist, or you want to know what the social media is about, and you are living in Jakarta and vicinity, or you just happened to be visiting Jakarta between 22 and 24 September, you better come to this event which is held at the FX Life X'nter building, Jalan Jendral Sudirman, Central Jakarta.

For details, please visit the website : http://www.socmedfest.com.

I'd like to go there but I'm not sure when, I shall be happy if I can meet you there, for which purpose you may contact my e-mail: harrynizam@gmail.com.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Harry Nizam

The Wasted Monorail Project

2011-09-21T23:14:00.000+07:00

As a capital city that has a total population of more than 8.5 million people (2010), Jakarta needs a mass rapid transportation (MRT) system.

For this purpose, the government of former Governor of Jakarta i.e. Sutiyoso has given a license to PT Jakarta Monorail to build and operate a 26 kilometers Monorail Transportation system.

Construction of the project began on June 2004, but was stopped after 13 kilometers of concrete pillars was erected in 2007 when Sutiyoso ended his office term, because his successor Fauzi Bowo refused to provide a guarantee needed by PT Jakarta Monorail to finance the project.

Since then, the Monorail's concrete pillars remain standing for four years like some kind of wasted monuments on the streets of Jakarta.

Last Monday, Fauzi Bowo announced that his government has decided to stop the Monorail project, and the government shall compensate PT Jakarta Monorail with the amount of Rp 204 Billion. This is much lower than the Rp 600 Billion compensation requested by the said company.

This is a very sad news for me, because I have been expecting for so many years to ride on the Monorail in Jakarta.

School Students Vs Reporters

2011-09-21T10:01:00.000+07:00

Last Friday, some students of State High School No.6 in Kebayoran, South Jakarta, attacked a cameraman of TranTV i.e. Oktaviardi, and took his video cassette, when he was taking pictures of a fighting between students of said High School and neighboring State High School No. 70.

Tempointeraktif reported that on Monday angry reporters from various news media came to High School No.6 to look for the students who attacked Oktaviardi. After they found the student, they beat him badly.

After they know about the reporters' attack, hundreds of other students came to rescue their badly beaten friend, and fought back the reporters.

The Police tried to stop the fight by shooting their guns three times to the air but failed, because their they were outnumbered.

So the reporters ran away to nearby headquarters of the National Police.

According to Kompas six reporters were injured, i.e. Panca Syaukani from Media Indonesia, Yudistiro Pranoto from Seputar Indonesia, Aldi Gultom from Rakyat Merdeka, Wahyu from Elshinta Radio, Anton from MetroTV and Ardhi from Kompas.

This is a very shameful incident which would not have happened if the High School management and the students' parents could control those students, and the Police could prevent the reporters from hanging around the school.

Justice for Victims of the Rawagede Massacre

2011-09-20T00:26:00.001+07:00

After Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces at the end of the World War II, on 17 August 1945, people of the former Dutch colony in South East Asia declared the independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

In spite of this fact, the Dutch Armed Forces wanted to re-conquer said former colony, for which purpose they tried every efforts, including mass murder of hundreds even thousands of Indonesian people.

One of the bloodiest massacre took place on 9 December 1947 in Rawagede (now called Balongsari) a village located between Karawang and Bekasi, West Java, where the Dutch killed 431 innocent people.

In the past I would think that the Rawagede Massacre would remain a mystery, and those responsible would not be touched by the laws, just like the Westerling Massacre in Sulawesi, or victims of Nazi massacre in Europe. Especially that the Indonesian government doesn't seem to support this action.

That's why I was pessimistic when I read that 10 widows of the victims of the Rawagede Massacre initiated legal action against the Netherlands on 10 September 2008.

But thank God, I was very happy when I read on The Jakarta Globe and the blog of Dutch blogger Colson that last Wednesday, 14 September, a Dutch Court has ruled that the Netherlands must pay compensation to seven of the widows (the other three widows died while waiting for the verdict).

I hope this success would inspire the families of victims of other mysterious killings, such as people who died after the 30 September 1965 tragedy, and/or Trisakti University students and others who were killed after the Reformasi on May 1998, and/or the killing of Munir, to initiate legal actions against anyone allegedly responsible for those killings.

Of course it would not be easy considering that it has been very long time, therefore witnesses and/or evidences might not be available anymore, but who knows ?

Orangutan Smoking Cigarettes

2011-09-19T00:17:00.000+07:00

Orangutan are endangered animals which according to the Indonesian law must be protected from anything that might endanger its existence.

That's why I was very surprised when AFP reported that Orangutan are 'allowed to smoke in Indonesian zoos' (below).

I hope that the zoo authority in Indonesia will clarify this disturbing report.

Orangutans 'allowed to smoke in Indonesian zoos'

JAKARTA — An activist said Saturday that orangutans in many of Indonesia's zoos were allowed to smoke as visitors could freely toss cigarettes to them without proper monitoring.

"Cigarettes are bad for orangutans' health. We demand the zoos closely monitor the orangutans," Centre for Orangutan Protection campaigner Hardi Baktiantoro told AFP.

"Orangutans can also smoke cigarettes because they tend to imitate human behaviour," he said.

Baktiantoro said the apes were able to receive any food or cigarettes thrown to them as there were no barriers between them and zoo visitors.

In Malaysia, an orangutan named Shirley that amused visitors by smoking cigarette butts thrown into her cage was being forced to go cold turkey after authorities seized the great ape from a state-run zoo last week.