Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

That’s as may be. Yes, call me stupid if you like, but I’ve never understood the myth, the holy grail as some call it, of economic growth as exemplified in this Jakarta Post editorial.

Taking advantage of the current benign inflation outlook, Bank Indonesia surprised most analysts last week by cutting its policy rate by 25 basis points (bp) to a record low of 5.75 percent in a concerted bid to invigorate domestic consumption and further boost the economy which last year grew a respectable 6.5 percent.

Just what does “respectable” mean? Consider this: the average Indonesian spends nearly half of his/her income on food.

The informal sector and women’s poverty
The minimum wage in Jakarta for 2012 is set at Rp 1,529,150 (US$170) per month, or an average of Rp 305,830 per each household member. So, if only the breadwinner of a family of five works, all family members would be categorized as poor given the government’s poverty line benchmark of Rp 355,480 set in 2011.

Give Indonesian women workers a reason to stay
According to the National Authority for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers, women make up about 90 percent of all Indonesian migrant workers, bringing the number of women overseas to an estimated 6 million.

With push factors such as low educational qualifications and a lack of job opportunities in their areas of origin, in combination with pull factors such as the lure of better wages abroad, a large proportion of Indonesian female labor migrants migrate to Saudi Arabia to work as domestic workers.

In the Malaysian Economic Report 2010/2011 compiled by the Finance Ministry, it is stated that of the 1.8 million registered migrant workers in Malaysia, 38.2% were employed in the manufacturing sector, 16% in the construction and 14.2% in the plantation sectors and that 50.9% were from Indonesia. Women work predominantly as housemaids or as cleaners.

Malaysian Trade Union Congress deputy president Mohd Jafar Abdul Majid says, “It goes without saying that foreign workers have indeed contributed to the growth of our economy, especially in sectors where we have an acute shortage of workers such as construction.”

What is more, a case study in Sragen Regency, Central Java, states that according to data from 2007, foreign exchange from Indonesia migrant worker remittances is estimated at $5.9 billion, which contributed significantly in Indonesia Balance of Payment (BOP). And, it should go without saying, to the welfare of a large percentage of those struggling at or below the poverty line.

Yet children continue to suffer.

The plight of Balinese child workers (2008)
“On normal days I make around Rp 10,000 (c.$1.10) per day. On busy days, I can make Rp 20,000 per day.”

Badung Market’s child workers (2012)
“If we don’t work our families are hungry. US$5 a day is possible if the customers aren’t stingy. Most of the time I earn less than that each day.”

Not much change in four years then!

In 2007, according to statistics reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 19.6% of children under 5 years old in Indonesia were underweight and the country ranked fifth in the world for the number of children with stunted growth.

I agree with friend Oigal when he suggests that the country’s elite have stunted minds.

Consider this paradox: firstly. respondents to this survey were unanimous in their view that Indonesia lacks the funds to invest, so obviously foreign investments are to be welcomed.

Example 1: US firms want a piece of Indonesia
Buoyed by strong economic growth and a relatively stable political environment, Indonesia is poised to become a key investment destination for US companies, provided that the historical impediments to investment in the country are addressed.

Example 2: Shinsei Bank eyes RI for offshore expansion 
Senior managing executive officer Hitomi Sato said last week after meeting Industry Minister MS Hidayat that the bank was looking into the possibility of entering the local banking sector by setting up a representative office and establishing a leasing firm in Indonesia to tap into the expanding demand for financing in the domestic market.

Yet RI firms invest heavily abroad.

As of the end of December 2011, Indonesian companies had invested a whopping US$7.7 billion in a variety of business sectors in Asia, the Americas and Africa. The investment value grew by 185 percent compared to $2.7 billion in 2010.

In comparison to the investments made abroad, domestic businesses spent a total of $8.4 billion on direct investments in the country, or a 25 percent increase from $6.7 billion invested in 2010.

Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said that legal uncertainties in Indonesia and the usual impediments in the domestic investment climate also factored into the decision to invest abroad. Indonesian companies are struggling with high production costs, particularly logistics, with a lack of infrastructure development the biggest obstacle.

On top of the infrastructure bottle neck, companies suffer from deals made by politicians in regional governments with workers unions. Recently Apindo was forced to agree to a 23 percent increase in the minimum wage in Tangerang and Bekasi.

Apindo argues that regional governments abuse their power by disregarding policy recommendations from the National Wage Council (DPN), claiming that many companies will have to relocate due to the new salary standards.

Example 1: Korean companies
Chairman of Indonesia Employers Association (Apindo) West Java Deddy Wijaya said there are lots of South Korea investors who invest their shares in more than 1,500 companies. He said since the beginning, the South Korean investors have asked about worker minimum wage (UMK) which has infringed the procedures. Even, they have talked South Korea Ambassador to ask about this problem to provincial government of West Java.

“At least 200 plants owned by South Korea investors ask for relocation.”

Example 2: Indonesia Keen on Investing in Malaysia
The businessmen of Indonesia are waiting with keen eyes to grab the chances to invest in Malaysian manufacture, health and tourism sectors.

Yet, as I wrote a short while ago, the Indonesian tourism sector is in dire need of investment in infrastructure.

So, let me summarise.
- Indonesian migrant workers, who are from the poorest sector of the population, and foreign investors contribute significantly to Indonesia’s income whilst Indonesian businesmen prefer to invest abroad a couple of.billion dollars more than the migrant workers bring in.
- Indonesian business folk, the fat cats who exploit workers here, are considering investing abroad, thus ensuring that more poor folk will lose even their subsistence level income – unless they find work abroad, separated from their families..

That’s not very patriotic in my view.

Just don’t mention the economy to me, stupid.

Was today a typical Monday?

Hardly. which is why I’m recording it here.

Waiting for a mikrolet, a Suzuki Carry which serves as local transport, to take me to the main road where I can get a taxi, I was well pleased to spot a Koperasi, which is generally reliable as they are owner-driven. What’s more, he knew the route to my destination so my Monday morning stress level, which is fairly low just after 6am, was kept ticking over.

On the way, I spotted a dark cloud to the north, except, as I soon realised, it was black smoke from a fierce fire. According to this short article in the Post, four household plastic factories in Kapuk, West Jakarta, were gutted, and firefighters from 32 fire engines extinguished the fire at 6 a.m. From a high vantage point at 10, I could still see this plume of black smoke.

Fires are regular events in Jakarta, as are traffic jams, but not like the one I got trapped in a few minutes later.

Having left the toll road at Kebon Jeruk, we turned left and at the junction we expected to turn right in order to access the bridge which carries traffic to the other side of the toll road. There is usually a traffic policeman here who stops oncoming traffic from the right, but not today. Thus, instead of two lanes of traffic heading into town, there were three. We couldn’t move, no-one could, not even the hells’s cherubs who’d squeezed into every available gap.

Of course, no-one was going to give way, to back off; that isn’t the Indonesian way.

After a full five minutes, I’d had enough and got out of my taxi well aware that the driver was unable to drive off with my belongings. There were four cars causing the chaos and there wasn’t space enough for them to reverse, so it was a matter of clearing the logjam at the front of my queue whilst standing in front of the two lanes who weren’t at fault. It may have taken me five minutes to put things right, but at least there was movement. Naturally I waited for my taxi to arrive.

As I watched the umpteen motorcycles and perhaps thirty cars to pass me, one driver wound down his window, held out his hand and said, with a smile,” Thank you, mister.”

Now, I didn’t do it for the thanks, but I do wonder why no-one else could express their appreciation.

Surely, that should be, must be, the Indonesian way. It saddens me deeply that the vast majority really couldn’t give a shit about anyone other than themselves and their immediate social circle.

And only three people later wished me happy birthday.

Ho hum.

Any chance that you will instantly recognise which country is being referred to in this article?

This is a country …. where democracy flourishes; where a president steps down after two terms in office because that is what the constitution required … and where the opposition freely criticises the government.

It is a country where economic growth has been strong, where literacy is almost universal and two-thirds of the population have a phone.

If you said "Indonesia", think again.

This is the next sentence: It is also a country that beats many EU countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2011.

Indonesia is ranked at 100 out of 183 countries, with a score of 3 out of 10, categorised as "Highly Corrupt".

"For every corrupt politician, there are a dozen corrupt business people."
Mo Ibrahim

Any chance that politicians such as Aburizal Bakrie could relinquish one (or preferably both) of those two roles?

Any chance that Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton will be translated into Indonesian, preferably by Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI – Indonesian Ulema Council)?

This book proposes that we should look to religions for insights into how to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and more.

More pertinently, perhaps I should ask if they would understand its central message. If they did, then "deviant sects", such as Ahlul Bait Indonesia (Shiite) and Jemaat Ahmadiyyah Indonesia (Ahmadiyya) would be accepted as members.

Any chance either that its constituent members will remember that when first established by Suharto in 1975 its primary aims were threefold:

• Strengthening religion in the way the Pancasila describes to ensure national resilience.
• Participation of the Ulama in national development.
• The maintenance of harmony between the different religions in Indonesia.

Any chance that they will consider issuing a fatwa condemning attacks on churches by rogue elements of the Islamic faith.

Malaysia and Indonesia together account for 85% of the world's palm oil. In June last year, the United States Department of Agriculture issued a 'Commodity Intelligence Report' on Malaysia's palm oil industry.

Malaysian companies have collectively established over 1.0 million hectares of active oil palm plantations in Indonesia and own a further 1.0 million hectares of land (land bank) which has official permits allowing its development in the future. As a result of these sizable investments, Malaysian conglomerates have become the 2nd largest commercial palm oil enterprises in Indonesia – behind only the Indonesian companies themselves.

Wilmar, a Singaporean conglomerate, is the world's largest listed palm oil firm, with plantations in Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.

Singapore is also the headquarters of Cargill Asia Pacific Holdings; Cargill operates a 27,000 hectare oil palm plantation in Sumatra.

SBY is a great supporter, at least, he says he is, of  the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) scheme, whereby countries are paid to not cut down forests. I wonder if he is aware that Norway, which has given $30m (£19m) to Indonesia to get the REDD scheme underway, actually made $150 million in profits in 2010 from Norwegian companies which are involved in "logging, plantations, and mining companies currently deforesting large areas of Indonesia." Source

Any chance that SBY will stop complaining about locally (i.e. government) registered, branches of international NGO's which criticise the environmental malpractices of these non-Indonesian companies?

Berry Nahdian Forqan, the executive director of Walhi (The Indonesian Forum for the Environment), a domestic environmental group which builds partnerships with many international NGOs, said, "The President has clearly misunderstood NGOs, which strive for sustainable development in Indonesia. It’s also obvious that he sides with the corporations. He should have launched an evaluation on the performance of companies operating in this country and meted out punishments to those who violated human rights.”

Ah, but he won't Berry; he's been greenwashed!

Any chance that any of the above will come to pass this year?

Fat chance!

……..to come home to Tegal.

How could I not let the world know what a fruitcake Regent Ikmal Jaya of Tegal, Central Java is? And how could I not try and boost my hits, eh?

That the story in the Jakarta Post which was in yesterday's paper edition but does not appear online could just be because the Simpering Twitterfool and his band of merry cohorts have included the article in their search for online titillation which only they are allowed to view.

Anyway, this is the gist of the story.

Two sisters, Jade and Nyomi Marcela have been working in the States for some years in the US pornographic film business. Apparently their home town is Tegal, but the Regent isn't too sure because he's trying to track down the girls' parents so he can offer them '"respectable jobs" in Tegal.

On Saturday, Ikmal made an announcement through local media asking residents of Tegal to look for the women's parents so he could "enlighten" them. Ikmal said he would like to talk with the women's parents directly and to talk with Jade and Nyomi, if there was a telephone number where they could be reached.

"I will ask them to come home to Tegal," he said.

As for respectable jobs, Tegal used to be a major centre of Indonesia's sugar industry but is now more 'famous' for the numerous wartegs (warung Tegal) where cheap meals can be had in generally seedy surroundings, and tea.

There are surely more important affairs for the Regent to get on with, such as water shortages in the dry season, and paying teachers a living wage.

Mind you, whereas in 2008, Tegal was named the second-most corrupt city with a score of 3.32, a year ago it was named as the second cleanest with a score of 6.26.

Transparency International chairman Todung Mulya Lubis said that despite being relatively cleaner than other cities, even the good-scoring areas failed to reach a score of 7.

"So we are seeing that some aspects of the cities’ administrations are still perceived as corrupt. We are still a long way from a 9. If a city got such a score, it would be a model for governance reform.”

Perhaps he was referring to suspected malfeasance in the distribution of books glorifying SBY to junior high schools.

No matter. It is the criminal corruption by public servants which concerns most of the rakyat rather than the supposed moral corruption of two 30 year old sisters who live in the USA.

I very rarely copy and paste anything straight from another publication, preferring to provide links to my references and sources. However, the article below, taken from the front page of yesterday’s Guardian Online does not need much by way of commentary, that is, apart from one line: the project appears to be hampered “by the byzantine Indonesian system.”

A UK conservationist plans to create four new islands in northern Sumatra for sick and injured orangutans currently in cages. Orangutans who are unable to be reintroduced to the natural habitat would be destined for the new islands.

A British conservationist is leading an audacious plan to create a chain of man-made islands in northern Sumatra that would liberate the Indonesian island’s population of caged orangutans.

Dr Ian Singleton aims to create four islands of grass, shrubs and trees for sick and injured orangutans – those who are unable to be reintroduced to the natural habitat – to roam, freeing them from the 3x4m cages in which they currently reside.

Singleton is currently in the process of securing land for the islands. The ideal location would be near the coast with a consistent supply of fresh water via a stream or river.

Diggers, operated by local contractors, will then carve up the land to create moats, thereby encircling the land with water. The earth removed by the digging will be used to landscape the islands to make them ape-friendly.

Orangutans, which can’t swim, will be reluctant to leave the islands due to the water, although Singleton plans to erect an electric fence to ensure the creatures don’t drown.

“Depending on the site, it shouldn’t take us too long to create the islands, as long as the moats don’t leak,” Singleton told the Guardian from northern Sumatra.

“The biggest challenge is finding the right land that has the right security and a water supply that isn’t full of effluent. Finding a clean stream in Sumatra can be difficult as there’s lots of pollution, but we have the option of creating a bio-filtration system to purify the water.”

Singleton and his team have released more than 150 orangutans into the wild over the past decade, but currently have 50 further apes in medical quarantine.

A handful of orangutans have been earmarked for immediate transportation to the island, including twins that made headlines earlier this year due to both of their parents being blind.

Singleton has been in Sumatra since 2001, following stints at zoos in Jersey and Edinburgh. He leads the Orangutan Conservation Programme in the country and is funded by a Swiss NGO, PanEco.

While the immediate aim is to protect the captive orangutans, Singleton hopes the project will inform local people about the threat to the animal’s survival via an education centre and guided walks.

There are only an estimated 6,000 orangutans left in Sumatra, due to deforestation and conflict with humans.

“These orangutans are refugees from forests that don’t exist any more,” he says. “You have animals like Leuser who has been blinded by an air rifle and you don’t want him living for 45 years in a small rusty cage. I want people in Medan (capital of the north Sumatra province) to see how these orangutans have been shot or had their arms chopped off or got hepatitis B.”

“There needs to be a change in behaviour, otherwise the project is a waste. It’s all very nice getting westerners here, but we need to reach the people who are chopping down the trees here and shooting the orangutans because they’re in their habitat.”

“Lots of middle class people, even policemen, steal orangutans and have them as a status symbol. The irony is that the people who are meant to uphold the law here are the ones with orangutans in cages.”

Singleton says that he is close to acquiring a 20 ha (49.4 acre) plot of land to create the islands, but claims he has been hindered by the byzantine Indonesian system.

“I fluctuate between cautiously optimistic [and] very pessimistic,” he says. “The business lobby is so powerful here and vote buying so prevalent, that it’s hard to change anything. One minute the government will say that it wants to protect the forest and then they will grant a permit to clear 15,000 hectares of forest. Very few people are prosecuted for keeping an orangutan as a pet.”

Singleton is working with the Australian Orangutan Project to raise funds for the island development.

The symbols of democracy pinned up against the coast, the outhouse of bureaucracy surrounded by a moat./ Citizens of poverty are barely out of sight/ The overlords escape in the evenings, brothers on the night.
Washington DC by Gil Scott-Heron

The only Wall Street here in Jakarta is an English language institute so I assume that apart from students and teachers demonstrating their language fluency, there won’t be much, if any, direct non-violent action by the have-nots in Indonesia.

Elsewhere, the Occupy Wall Street movement has gone global with protests planned in nearly a thousand cities worldwide today to show “the global solidarity of the 99 percent with their grievances against the 1 percent.”

Knowing one’s enemy is fundamental if change is going to come. And come it must if future generations are to experience the joys of humanity rather than being condemned to an abject and unfulfilled life of misery.

Another perspective for capitalists to consider is that their greed is depriving themselves of umpteen billions of consumers, but we don’t want or need that. It’s consumerism which is destroying Planet Earth.

Inequality
How much longer can elites hide their privileges from view?
Taxing questions
The Indonesian government wants more people to pay tax so it should stop tax evasion by the rich.
Evil and wealthy
Indonesian martial arts comics do not flatter the rich.
Be rich, stay rich
Why are the New Order billionaires still doing so well?
Lifestyles of the rich
These newsbriefs present snapshots of how the rich live . . . and die.
The rich in Indonesia
How do they live? How do they make their money? How good are they for Indonesia?
Fascinated by Versace
Beautiful living in Indonesia is possible if you are superwealthy.
Rich, fat, and sitting down
Childhood obesity is a growing problem among the urban rich.
‘We can’t be seen as cheap’
Money matters when preparing an upper middle class Batak wedding in Jakarta.
Who will tame the oligarchs?
Not democracy but rule of law is Indonesia’s central problem.
Prosperous in the provinces
Friends and connections hold the key to riches in Kalimantan’s Barito region.
(fr. Edition 104 of Inside Indonesia, the online magazine.)

This post is yet another indication of my solidarity with the 99%.