Riau offers islands to foreign investors

The Jakarta Post, Batam | Sun, 08/30/2009 9:29 PM

Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah said on Sunday that his administration is inviting foreign investors to manage islands in the province.

“We will conduct the process transparently and according to the law. We want to avoid foreigners from managing the islands secretly,” Ismeth argued.

He said some islands in the province were already managed by foreigners.

“Nikoi island, for example, which is managed by foreign investors, attracts many tourists to its beautiful coral reefs.”

He said the involvement of foreign investors in the management of the islands had raised revenue for the island.

Ismeth explained that it takes a month for a foreign investor to get a permit, available from the province’s Investment Coordinating Agency, to manage an island. “The simple permit system is aimed at avoiding the practice of selling the islands.

Data from the agency shows that just 394 of the province’s nearly 1,800 islands are inhabited. Many islands border Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand.

“All the 1,795 islands in the province have been named to smooth the process and stop selling,” head of the province’s administrative affairs, Reni Yusnely, said.

Related Article:

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Cultural group registers bamboo instruments with UNESCO

Febriyan , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Fri, 08/28/2009 11:10 PM

The Bandung-based cultural group Saung Angklung Udjo has registered a bamboo musical instrument known as the angklung with the world cultural body UNESCO as fears continue to mount about the theft of cultural artefacts by other countries.

The group’s operational director, Satria Yanuar Akbar, said Friday the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Office of Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare had facilitated the registration process, which took place Wednesday.

“We registered the music instrument as a genuine article of Indonesia’s intangible heritage,” Satria said.

The move comes shortly after a commercial for a Malaysian documentary on the Discovery Channel, initially thought to a Malaysian tourism ad, triggered controversy when it depicted the Balinese Pendet dance.

Satria said 13 angklung playing communities across the country had gathered in Bandung about two weeks ago to support the initiative and verify Indonesia’s claim to the music instrument.

UNESCO will verify the claim and the role of the music instrument in sustaining local culture.

“If UNESCO approves our claim, angklung will rank among other internationally recognized Indonesian cultural artefacts such as wayang golek (wooden puppet), kris and batik,” Satria said.

Garuda to Start Direct Flights to Amsterdam Next Year

The Jakarta Globe,

Garuda Indonesia will begin direct flights to the Netherlands next year after an air agreement was signed between Indonesian and Dutch authorities, the Transportation Ministry said on Sunday.

Herry Bhakti Singayuda, director general of civil aviation at the ministry, said the bilateral agreement signed in The Hague revised the countries’ last agreement. “It was last updated in 1994,” he said. “Now we have aligned it to our agreement with the European Union.”

The EU lifted its flight restrictions on four Indonesian carriers — Garuda, Mandala Airlines, PremiAir and Airfast — in July, allowing them to fly in to Europe after being banned for two years. The ban is still in place for other local airlines.

Herry said the agreement designated Garuda and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as the two carriers to service the route between the countries, and included a code-sharing deal.

In the agreement, safety measures were updated in line with International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, he said, and tariffs were also discussed.

Garuda’s chief executive, Emirsyah Satar, said the airline would start flying to Amsterdam early next year.

“We will use our fleet of Boeing 737-800 NGs,” he said, adding that the airline also planned to use their Boeing 777s and Airbus 330-200s on the route.

The agreement with the Netherlands was reached after the “Initial Agreement on Certain Other Aspects of Air Services,” was signed between Indonesia and the EU on Aug. 17 in Brussels.

The EU agreement, Herry said, outlined possible new routes with Europe. The next destination was likely to be London, depending on market assessments.

A statement released by the EU said that the agreement would establish a direct legal relationship between Indonesia and the EU in the civil aviation field for the first time.

“Most importantly, it will remove nationality restrictions in the bilateral air services agreements between EU member states and Indonesia,” it said.

The flight ban was imposed by the EU on Indonesian airlines in July 2007 citing safety and monitoring issues.

Sail Bunaken - What a Spectacle!

Sailworld.com

What a spectacle, but no photos yet! An amazing 163 yachts took part in the 'Sail Bunaken 2009' festivities, which celebrated the Republic of Indonesian independence 64th anniversary last weekend in Manado, North Sulawesi province of Indonesia.

In the Sail Bunaken, the yacht rally was participated in by 25 countries and manned by 510 crew members, who sailed in a circuituous route through the islands of Indonesia, visiting 18 ports on the way. Not even any amateur photos have arrived fill the gap!

There were two routes for the Sail Bunaken participants namely from Darwin, Australia, which started on July 18 and went through Saumlaki, Maluku province to Manado

The second route, planned for yachts based in South East Asia, started at Kinabalu (Malaysia) on August 3, 2009 and passed through Tarakan, East Kalimantan (Indonesia), arrivomg in Bitung, North Sulawesi on August 12 to join Sail Bunaken.

The peak event of Sail Bunaken 2009 was the fleet review and sailpast which took place in Teluk Manado on August 19. On the day 31 warships, 3 tall ships, 42 yachts, 15 government boats and 40 fishing boat took part. Included in the sailpast were warships Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Philippines, England, Germany, Cambodia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Libya, South Africa, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria and Syria.

Seminars held in conjuction with the celebration on the subject of illegal fishing were attended by 16 Navy chiefs of staffs from 16 countries, including representatives of international and multilateral institutions.

During the festival, there were also staged musical performances, fireworks displays, industrial and maritime tourism exhibitions, culture and food festivals, an undersea photo competition, a flower festival and a city parade.

The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Transportation, the Navy and the North Sulawesi provincial government.

It is Indonesia's attempt to promote Manado as an alternative destination to Bali, and would have provided an amazing spectacle for the participating yachts, many of whom are involved in circumnavigations. The event coincided nicely with the normal seasonal departure of yachts from Darwin in July, headed to Asia and the Indian Ocean.

by Sail-World Cruising 10:09 PM Thu 27 Aug 2009 GMT

Tax refund for overseas tourists planned to boost tourism

Aditya Suharmoko , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 08/26/2009 1:53 PM

Indonesia plans to introduce a "tax refund" scheme for foreign tourists shopping here as early as next year, as stipulated under the amendment of the existing law on value-added tax and luxury tax, the House of Representatives says.

The government and House have agreed to approve the tax refund scheme in a bid to attract more tourists to come shopping here, which would eventually help increase the country's foreign exchange income, Vera Febyanthy, head of the House's working committee on the law amendment, said Tuesday.

Singapore and Malaysia have already applied a similar tax refund scheme.

Indonesia may start introducing the tax refund scheme as soon as 2010 as the bill on value-added tax and luxury tax is expected to be endorsed this year, having been first discussed in mid-2008 at the House.

"We have approved the tax refund (scheme).

"It will be applied to foreign tourists coming via air only, not including sea or land," said Vera, adding that the details of the tax refund mechanism would be elaborated later via government regulations.

The Finance Ministry's directorate general of taxation will need to cooperate with the Law and Human Rights Ministry's directorate general of immigration for the implementations of the refund mechanism.

Vera also said the House and the government had yet to agree on the minimum amount of purchases that would be eligible for the tax refund scheme.

"The government proposes a total purchase of at least Rp 5 million (US$498.5)," Vera said, but lawmakers are seeking a lower figure.

As a comparison, in Singapore, a tourist is eligible for a tax refund if he/she spends a minimum of S$100 (US$69.33) at a participating retail shop on a single day, according to the Singapore Customs website.

The tourist can accumulate up to three receipts on same day purchases from the same retailer to meet the S$100 threshold.

Retail expert Handaka Santosa said that, while it was good news, the government and the House had been "very slow" in deliberating the bill on value-added tax and luxury tax to anticipate the level of global competition in attracting tourists.

"While (the benefit of) the tax refund may be small, the psychological effect is good; it will encourage tourists to shop here," he said.

"Now, for the same items, tourists who travel Southeast Asia won't buy the items here, but in Singapore or Malaysia as they are cheaper there."

Handaka added that the government and the House should consider decreasing the currently high luxury tax imposed on hand-carried luxurious items, such as watches and handbags, as the tax made the luxurious items far more expensive than those in neighboring countries.

"Consider this. People would rather travel to and buy the luxurious goods at neighboring countries, considering the price differences. They don't have to declare the goods (to Indonesia's customs) when they arrive here," he said.

Holy Moly!

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 08/26/2009 4:42 PM

People in a Makassar Mosque look at a 1 X 1.5-meter Koran on Wednesday. The giant hand-written holy book was donated by a resident and ordered from Wonosobo, Yogyakarta. (JP/Andi Hajramurni)

Huffing and Puffing

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 08/26/2009 9:50 AM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (second left) talks Tuesday with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda (left), while State Secretary Hatta Radjasa (second right) and Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik look on, after a discussion over a TV spot for a series on Malaysia that used the Balinese Pendet dance. Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf

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Indonesia and Belanda to Match up Aviation Rules

WAHYUDIN FAHMI, Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 | 13:33 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Indonesian transportation department has signed a bilateral agreement with the Netherlands following the flight ban lifted by the European Union.

Earlier, Indonesia signed a horizontal agreement as a legal foundation for a bilateral cooperation with European Union countries.

The Government has chosen the Netherlands to be first country in the European Union that will work bilaterally with Indonesia.

The cooperation is related to the plan of PT Garuda Indonesia to open flight routes to the Netherlands next year.

“The bilateral agreement with the Netherlands was signed on August 19 in The Hague,” said Director General for Air Transportation, Herry Bakti S. Gumay by phone, yesterday (24/8).

At the signing, Herry represented Indonesia while the Netherlands was represented by special advisor/negotiator chairman, Hans de Jong.

Herry explained that the agreement was an updated version of an older agreement made in 1994. “So the old agreement becomes in line with the horizontal agreement,” he said.

In the bilateral agreement, Indonesia and the Netherlands have agreed to match up articles regarding flight safety and security with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

Both parties will also arrange the flight routes and code-shares. “Garuda Indonesia plans to work together with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines regarding the code-shares,” said Herry.