Cempaka Culture and Tourism: Sharia deters tourists from Aceh

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Sharia deters tourists from Aceh

Hotli Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh | Tue, 12/02/2008 10:39 AM

Businesspeople in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam have blamed the improper implementation of sharia (Islamic law) for the lack of development in the province's tourism industry.

"The image of Aceh as a sharia-ruled region has caused reluctance among tourists to visit," Totok Yulianto, owner of a travel agency here, said recently.

As a destination, Totok went on, Aceh actually had all the potential to develop into a world-class tourist spot.

"The natural beauty here -- the sea, beaches, mountains, forests -- and the people's hospitality are the main capital for the tourism industry," Totok said.

And yet, he added, Aceh remained the country's least developed province in terms of tourism, thanks to the improper implementation of sharia in the sector.

As an example, Totok pointed out the requirement for female tourists to wear jilbab (headscarves) while bathing at beaches in Aceh.

He said such a requirement needed a clear bylaw. He also suggested the provincial administration make a clear distinction between beaches for women with jilbab and for those without.

"That's just an example of an insubstantial problem. There are many other bigger problems that the Aceh people and administration have to resolve," he said.

Unless something is done to bring regulations and bylaws on tourism in line with sharia, he warned, Aceh's tourism industry would never develop, much less to catch up with those of provinces such as Bali.

Dahlan Sulaiman, chairman of the World Bank-sponsored Aceh Tourism, Industry and Trade Working Group, expressed similar sentiments, saying other sectors such as trade and industry were facing similar problems over regulations, policy and security.

"To date, we see that the government, especially the immigration office, has yet to side with the interests of businesspeople," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

He pointed out the lack of a visa-on-arrival facility at Banda Aceh's Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport as clear proof of this.

Dahlan suggested all these issues could be resolved if the provincial administration and the business community worked together on the matter.

Otherwise, he warned, Aceh's economy would continue to deteriorate, especially with the end of the post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction process and the dissolution of the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Body fast approaching.

If the Aceh administration wanted to create a tourism concept based on sharia, Dahlan went on, it must look to countries employing a similar concept, such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, as an example.

He added Aceh was rich in sites that reflected Islam, which could also be used to attract tourists to the region.

Unfortunately, most of these sites are neither well-preserved nor well-maintained, with some even abandoned, he lamented.

"We have a lot to do to catch up and compete with other provinces, especially in this post-conflict and post-tsunami stage," Dahlan said.