Indonesia 'dog doctor' rescues canines from pandemic peril

Yahoo – AFP, Haeril HALIM, July 11, 2020

Indonesian doctor Susana Somali started confronting butchers after seeing a
video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Indonesian doctor Susana Somali and her staff cut tightly-bound plastic ropes off dozens of whimpering dogs rescued from the butcher's block after being sold or abandoned during the coronavirus pandemic.

Somali's sprawling Jakarta complex, home to about 1,400 canines, has become a refuge for at-risk animals as cash-strapped owners sell them into the Southeast Asian nation's controversial dog meat trade.

Mostly acting on tip-offs, Somali and her team hit the streets looking for stray dogs and butcher shops where more and more doomed animals are spending their last days howling in cramped cages.

Somali -- who juggles a day job testing COVID-19 samples at a local hospital -- started the shelter in an upscale Jakarta neighbourhood more than a decade ago.

Back then, she rescued one or two dogs from a butcher each week. But that number has soared to as many as 20 in recent months as strays are snatched off the streets for their meat.

The 55-year-old mother of two negotiates with often unfriendly butchers, sometimes paying them cash or supplying other meat to secure the animals' release.

"The real battle isn't rescuing them from butchers, although that is always scary. The challenge is taking care of these dogs during the pandemic," Somali said.

'Tears in her eyes'

Somali and about 30 staff at Pejaten Animal Shelter are struggling to care for a huge number of animals as donations plunge in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The money is crucial to help cover upwards of $29,000 in monthly expenses, including employee salaries and the daily cost of half a tonne of meat for the animals.

Somali's sprawling Jakarta rescue complex is home to about 1,400 dogs 

(AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Myriad breeds, including huskies, pit bulls, and German shepherds, roam the 5,000 square metre (54,000 square foot) shelter, which Somali started in 2009.

She started confronting butchers after seeing a video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered.

"Someone posted images of this crying dog on social media and I saw the tears in her eyes," she said.

"That's when I became aware of the butchers."

Somali and her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean eatery this month, but they don't always make it in time.

"I tried to reach the area but was told that the dog had already been (killed)," she said of one recent dash to a butcher's shop.

"It was a minute too late."

Animal welfare groups estimate as many as one million dogs are killed annually across Indonesia, with more than 100 restaurants in Jakarta alone serving their meat, according to government figures.

Dog is often a culinary speciality among Indonesia's non-Muslim minority groups.

The animals are considered unclean in Islam and rarely kept as pets in Muslim-majority countries.

Somali and her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean

eatery this month (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Indonesia is relatively relaxed by comparison, but working at the shelter can still be tricky for Muslim volunteers like Ria Rosalina.

"Many people have asked me why I take care of dogs but also wear hijab," she said, referring to the religious head-covering worn by many Indonesian women.

"But I don't care. I just tell them that dogs were created by God, just like humans."

Snatched and killed

The plight of Indonesia's dogs isn't limited to the megacity capital.

Animal welfare organisation Four Paws has warned that thousands of strays in Bali were at risk of starving or being snatched by dog meat traders, as a plunge in tourism hammers the holiday island.

It is also a growing problem in other parts of Southeast Asia as traders prey on owners facing hard economic times, said Katherine Polak, a veterinarian with Four Paws.

"Animals are at a very heightened risk," she said.

"Some low-income people might be tempted to sell their pets."

For years, activists have called on the government to halt Indonesia's dog meat market -- a goal shared by Somali.

"Ending the dog meat trade may sound like a dream but everything starts from a dream," the shelter owner said.

"I'll always keep fighting."

Foot fetish: Nibbles a specialty at Indonesian restaurant

Yahoo – AFP, November 22, 2019

Indonesian diners have lunch while fish nibble dead skin from their feet at a
restaurant at Wedomartani village in Yogyakarta (AFP Photo/OKA HAMIED)

Yogyakarta (Indonesia) (AFP) - As he scarfed down a traditional Indonesian meal, Adi Karyanov got himself the two-in-one special at a new restaurant offering pedicures by fish.

The tables and chairs at Soto Cokro Kembang in Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta sit in ankle-deep water, home to thousands of little fish that nibble dead skin off the feet of diners.

"I felt the fish biting my feet -- it was ticklish but nice," Karyanov said.

"They make it fun to eat here. It's kind of unique."

Many spas across southeast Asia have for years touted a fishy pedicure as an unproven but novel way of treating various skin conditions.

But restaurant owner Imam Nur, who opened in June, has gone a step further by offering it alongside his traditional Javanese "sole food".

Nur credits his father for coming up with the idea for the open-air restaurant, which has some 7,000 Red Nile Tilapia swimming around its patrons.

A diner wades through a fish pond to her table to have a 

lunch while fish nibble at her feet at a restaurant in Indonesia

(AFP Photo/OKA HAMIED)

"We initially opened this restaurant just for locals living nearby," he said.

"But what's happening now is beyond what we had initially planned. It's become like culinary tourism. Many people are coming here from different cities."

Pressing fish into service to remove dead skin is not without controversy.

Some cities in North America and Europe have banned it over concerns about bacterial outbreaks, while People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has warned over both the health risks and possible cruelty to animals.

Still, visitors like Anna Widia were keen to give the fish treatment a whirl.

"I've never seen any place like this," she said.

"And it's big enough to bring the whole family."

Jews live in the shadows in Muslim-majority Indonesia

Yahoo – AFP, Peter Brieger in Jakarta and Ronny Buol in Tondano, 5 March 2019

Most members of the tiny Jewish community in Muslim-majority Indonesia
keep their identity under wraps

Yaakov Baruch is the rabbi at Indonesia's only synagogue but he keeps his religious identity under wraps, like most of the tiny Jewish community living in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.

A group of men threatened Baruch with death and called him a "crazy Jew" as he walked in a mall with his pregnant wife several years ago, prompting him to limit when he wears his kippah -- a Jewish skullcap.

"It's never happened again because I chose to hide my identity as a Jew in public," he said.

There is a similar ripple of concern among many of the estimated 200 Jews living in the Southeast Asian country of 260 million people, with most centred in a remote corner of the sprawling archipelago.

Manado on Sulawesi island is one of the few places that Indonesia's remaining Jews -- mostly descendants of traders from Europe and Iraq who were once thought to number around several thousand before World War II -- feel comfortable showing their faith.

A 62-foot-tall menorah, possibly the world's largest, stands near the town of Tondano -- around 20 kilometres (13 miles) south of Manado -- where Baruch holds regular services at a modest, red-roofed synagogue.

Indonesia's remaining Jews are mostly descendents of traders from Europe and

Iraq who were once thought to number around several thousand before World War II

'The enemy'

The Shaar Hasyamayim synagogue is Indonesia's lone house of worship for Jews after the only other one in the city of Surabaya was demolished in 2013.

It had been the site of anti-Israel protests for years, and was sealed off by religious hardliners in 2009 and left to decay.

Indonesia has long been praised for its moderate brand of Islam, but more conservative forms of the religion have taken centre stage in recent years, driven by increasingly vocal hardline groups.

Tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and the Palestinians, spill over here and deepen religious divides.

Thousands of hardliners demonstrated in Jakarta when US President Donald Trump announced last year that the American embassy in Israel would be moved to the contested city of Jerusalem.

"There is still a lot of anti-semitic sentiment in Indonesia," Baruch said.

"Generally speaking, Indonesians don't differentiate between being Jewish and Israel. They think Jews and Israel are the enemy of their religion and state," he added.

"There is no denying that tolerance is fading in our country."

The size of the Jewish community makes it almost invisible so Jews have not 

been the target of Islamist militants like some of Indonesia's larger religious minorities

The size of the Jewish community makes it almost invisible so Jews have not been the target of Islamist militants like some of Indonesia's larger religious minorities.

A wave of deadly suicide bombings at churches in Surabaya last year highlighted the threat to minority groups, while Shiites and Ahmadis -- regarded as heretics by some majority Sunni Muslims -- have also been the target of violence.

Kosher food shortage

Still, Indonesia's Jews are on the radar of some groups.

Monique Rijkers' efforts to bridge the divide with a TV programme about Judaism drew the ire of the Indonesian Muslim Students Association, which she claims reported her to government and broadcast regulators.

"They demanded that I be fired and that the programme be cancelled," said Rijkers, founder of Hadassah of Indonesia, a non-profit organisation that offers cultural education programmes centred on Israel, Jews and the Holocaust.

Indonesia's Jews face some practical challenges, too, such as finding kosher food in a country where it's not widely available.

Another hurdle is that Indonesia has long allowed for only six different religious categories on all-important ID cards -- Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.

Indonesia's Jews face some practical challenges, too, such as finding kosher 

food in a country where it's not widely available

The cards are crucial for accessing government services, and for doing things such as registering marriages and births, meaning most Jews lie and put "Christianity" on the documents.

Even some Muslim Indonesians learn that taking an interest in anything Jewish can raise eyebrows.

Sapri Sale, who started teaching a Hebrew class in Jakarta a year ago, has been studying the language since the 1990s and compiled what he says is the world's first Hebrew-Indonesian dictionary.

But his interests got little positive feedback at home.

"I was called Sapri the Jew," he said.

Thai street food cook feels heat of Michelin fame

Yahoo – AFP, Joe Freeman, 21 December 2017

Jay Fai's eponymous streetside eatery shot to global fame overnight after it
was awarded a Michelin star this month at the launch of Bangkok's first guide

Wearing her trademark ski goggles for protection from flying sparks, Thai cook Jay Fai hunches over two sizzling woks as tourists from around the world line up in three-hour-long queues at her modest streetside eatery.

The 72-year-old's crab-stuffed omelettes have always been popular among local gourmands, but her eponymous restaurant shot to global fame overnight after it was awarded a Michelin star this month at the launch of Bangkok's first guide.

While she is proud of the achievement, former dressmaker Jay Fai is still adjusting to the media frenzy that has seized her open-air kitchen in Bangkok's old quarter.

"There are advantages and disadvantages," she told AFP as she flung ingredients into a wok, explaining she did not have time for a formal interview.

"The downside is being exhausted ... Also, the government wants me to promote Thailand. I feel like I don't have a choice," she added.

She has been asked to appear at the seaside town of Hua Hin for an international tennis tournament this weekend, where she will teach top-ranked players to make her signature crab omelette and the Thai soup dish Tom Yum Kung.

"I will not be selling for two days," she said ruefully, adding that she would even consider handing back the coveted star if it meant returning to her normal routine.

Any distraction from work means a loss of business for Jay Fai, whose spirited cooking style -- a flurry of activity from grabbing handfuls of raw seafood to dishing out plates of the finished product -- is one of the main attractions.

Her supersized portions of crab and jumbo prawns are also part of the draw, though the dishes are far pricier than the city's average street vendor at upwards of $20 a pop.

The unflashy eatery, which has partial indoor seating, was the only streetside venue among the 17 Bangkok restaurants awarded stars on December 6, when Michelin unveiled its first guide for the Thai capital.

Michelin only awards stars to establishments with fixed addresses, leaving many of Bangkok's famous roadside stalls out of the running at a time when the city is attempting to move them off the pavements and into organised markets.

Jay Fai had heard of the brand name Michelin but was not aware that the French tyre company had anything to do with cooking.

She is not the first chef to feel the heat over the flood of attention that comes with a Michelin star.

In September a chef in southern France with three stars said he wanted to be stripped of the award because of the "huge pressure" to meet its standards on a daily basis.

But Jay Fai's colleagues are not worried about her.

"She's quite strong. She never gets ill," said Kung, an assistant who has worked there for 10 years.

Pea-sized gesture: Arabs, Jews who share hummus get discount

Yahoo – AFP, October 21, 2015

Kobi Tzafrir, serving diners on October 21, 2015, offers half off regular menu 

prices when Jewish and Arab patrons share tables at his Hummus Bar restaurant

in the central Israeli town of Kfar Vitkin (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Call it a pea-sized gesture, but the Israeli owner of a hummus restaurant cooked it up anyway.

Kobi Tzafrir, an Israeli Jew who runs the Hummus Bar in Kfar Vitkin near the Mediterranean coast, said he was offering 50 percent off for any table where Jews and Arabs sit together.

It is a bid to encourage co-existence even in the most difficult times, with a wave of violence and unrest since the start of the month having raised fears of a full-scale Palestinian uprising.

Many Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews weary from violence would likely look upon the effort with a great deal of scepticism.

But Tzafrir said: "I heard and saw many cruel and harsh things from both Arabs and Jews in these difficult circumstances, and I saw the stress and tension. But I believe that we must live together."

He said a number of groups had already taken advantage of the deal, but did not give a number.

At least one other similar effort has occurred. In the old city of Acre in northern Israel, the owners of the Al Marsa restaurant, Moussa Alaa and Marwan Sawaed, invited the owners of nearby Jewish restaurants to join them for dinner.

"Acre is a mixed city, and the situation in the country affects the Arabs and Jews," Sawaed told AFP.

When violence starts, "the Arabs go with the Arabs and the Jews go with the Jews, and this affects Acre."

"We must live together for the solution. Sitting around a table eating and talking in a civilised manner is the best way to live a common life."

Arab Israelis make up around 17.5 percent of the population of Israel and are largely supportive of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

They are the descendants of Palestinians who remained after the creation of Israel in 1948, and they hold Israeli citizenship.

Voicing Indonesia’s Silence on 1965 in The Hague

Jakarta Globe, Sie Yoe Lien, Jun 07, 2015

Leila S. Chudori speaking with historian Martijn Eickhoff, left, and Aboeprijadi
Santoso of the International People’s Tribunal 1965, in The Hague. (Photo
courtesy of Tong Tong Foundation)

The music and happy chatter next door seem to be a world away as Indonesian author and Tempo journalist Leila S. Chudori speaks about her novel “Pulang” (“Going Home”). In front of a hushed audience, Leila recalls that she had only heard that there was such a thing as Indonesian political exiles when she visited Paris in the 1980s.

“There are thousands of Indonesian exiles in Europe, many in the Netherlands. And that’s not even counting their families,” Leila said. “That’s why I felt I should write about those exiled abroad and the political prisoners in Indonesia. They are closely related to one another.”

Her bestseller Pulang tells the story of Dimas, who was stranded in Paris and unable to return to Indonesia after the failed coup of September 1965, blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In the months following the coup attempt, hundreds of thousands of people — some say over a million — accused of being communists were brutally tortured and killed, while many others were jailed without trial. 

Dimas’ character, Leila said, was based on real exiles in Paris who could not obtain Indonesian passports until after the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime, more than three decades later.

Cisca Pattipilohy, 89, who was in the audience that afternoon, was emotional when she said that the 1965 events “have wounded our whole nation, not just those directly victimized.” Cisca, a former journalist, had to leave Indonesia with her four young children after her husband, also a journalist, was arrested following the failed coup. He died in jail without ever seeing his family again.

‘1965’ at the Tong Tong Fair

Literature, history and social issues have always been an integral part of the Tong Tong Fair, says programmer Leslie Boon. “While the Fair is a celebration, it should also be a venue where heavier subjects can be discussed,” says Boon, who is also the granddaughter of Tong Tong founder Jan Boon, better known under his pseudonym Tjalie Robinson.

This year’s main themes include ‘1945’ and ‘1965,’ to commemorate the 70th and 50th anniversaries of key events in Indonesian history.

The fair is held from May 27 till June 7 this year.

“Each country has dark pages in its history,” Boon says. “For the Netherlands, 1945 marked not only the end of World War II but also the imminent loss of its biggest colony, and the wars it fought there. For Indonesia, meanwhile, it was 1965.”

The issue of 1965 is presented at the Fair through different perspectives, as Boon explains: “From the literary side we have Leila, and from the activists’ side we have IPT 1965 [International People’s Tribunal]. We also have an academic from NIOD [the Dutch Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies].”

Boon tried to get US filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer to speak, “but unfortunately he already had an engagement in Japan.” Oppenheimer’s controversial documentaries “The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence” show how, decades after 1965, the perpetrators of the killings still walk free while many of the victims live in anger and fear.

Decades of silence

Leila, who took part in three discussions during the 12-day festival, spoke of how effectively the New Order regime presented its version of what happened in 1965 as the only truth. “My father [Muhammad Buchori] was a journalist, but even I grew up largely uninformed about 1965,” she said. “Traveling and studying abroad has given me new glasses to look at my country.”

Even after the fall of Suharto in 1998, the silence about 1965 has been far from broken. In 2005, Leila recalls, Tempo magazine founder Goenawan Mohamad urged the weekly to do a special edition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. “At first I thought: why do this old story? But then I started interviewing the families of the victims, and was stunned at all the untold stories that came out. Since then, we’ve decided to do a special edition on the subject every year.”

People’s Tribunal

Leiden University lecturer Ratna Saptari also shared the Tong Tong podium as part of the Holland-based IPT 1965, which was formed in 2012 by a group of human rights activists, artists, intellectuals and academics in Europe and Indonesia. “It is so important that 1965 is discussed in a platform with a general audience like the Tong Tong,” she said.

IPT 1965 plans to organize a people’s tribunal in The Hague later this year for the atrocities of 1965, based on similar tribunals held in countries like Japan or the former Yugoslavia. The charges prepared for the tribunal range from torture and deportation to mass murder. While the court’s outcome would not be legally binding, Saptari explains, the tribunal would be able to hear witnesses and examine evidence. “We have been gathering evidence, and we have collected data from some 13 provinces in Indonesia.”

Breaking the silence

NIOD historian Martijn Eickhoff, who has done research in Indonesia, is optimistic that the frozen subject is slowly thawing. “I have seen changes in the past few years. The younger generation, especially university students, are getting curious about their past, and are starting to look more critically at the state’s official version of the country’s history.”

Eickhoff spoke of the so-called Oppenheimer effect: that the documentaries have sparked many Indonesians, including those who did not grow up under Suharto’s rule, to seriously question what really happened in 1965. “And books like Pulang also contribute to this. Maybe we can now also mention the Chudori effect.”

But the author — whose book has been translated into English, French, German and Dutch — remains somewhat pessimistic about the future.

“Take the novel Bumi Manusia [The Earth of Mankind],” she said, referring to the classic work of literature by writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was jailed for 14 years following the failed coup. “For years, Indonesian filmmakers have been trying to adapt this novel to the screen. But every time the investors hear the name of the author, they back out. Even now.”

About the Tong Tong Fair:

During the colonial rule in Indonesia, many Dutch civil servants and merchants ended up living in the archipelago, marrying locals and raising families. After Indonesia became independent, hundreds of thousands of Indos – those of mixed Indonesian and Dutch heritage — migrated to the Netherlands.

In the 1950s, Indo writer and intellectual Tjalie Robinson set up a group to organize events to celebrate Indo culture and make it wider known in the Netherlands.

In order to raise money, they organized the first Pasar Malam. It was held in The Hague’s city zoo for three days and attracted some 3,000 visitors.

Since then the Pasar Malam — renamed the Tong Tong Fair in 2009 — has grown into a two-week event with over 100,000 visitors. The festival is one of the largest annual fairs in the Netherlands, and features cultural events such as music, dance, theater and literary discussions. And, very importantly for most visitors: an abundance of Indonesian and Asian food.

A Little Piece of Indonesia in Hong Kong

Jakarta Globe, Antony Sutton, Feb 15, 2015

Hong Kong’s Victoria Park has become the go-to hot spot for Indonesian
domestic workers on their one day off in the week.  (JG Photos/Antony Sutton)

There are an estimated 100,000 Indonesians living and working in Hong Kong; about 80 percent are female, with many working as domestics for local families.

Their work can be varied. For some, it is taking care of children. Others find themselves taking care of older family members who need constant supervision.

Stories like Erwiana, the maid who was beaten and tortured so severely she could hardly make it to the airplane that returned her home, are not the norm but they are the ones that make the headlines.

For many, Hong Kong is a place of work; an alien landscape with an alien language. But as is the way of expatriates the world over, Indonesians find their own way of keeping close to their roots.

Hong Kong plays host to its famous Rugby 7s tournament every year. Fans come from around the world, paint their faces, wear funny costumes and do their best to drink Wanchai dry for a few days’ festivities. The fans bring a little bit of their countries with them and identify themselves by their chants and clothes.

The Indonesian community is no different. Except they express themselves on a weekly basis. Hong Kong Island becomes a little Jakarta for a day. The famous double-decker trams are filled to overflowing with the chattering mob and their one day off the leash.

Victoria Park is the de facto center of the Indonesian community on Sundays. In the same way that English football fans are notorious for taking over town centers around the world, drinking and dancing in fountains, the Indonesians, nearly all of them women, gather in the park to catch up on the latest gossip from home with their friends.

It is certainly a sight to behold. The brave ones sit out on the grass on their makeshift mats, digging into their picnic baskets and braving the heat. Others, perhaps early arrivals, find the positions with the best shade and they too dig into their food. Amid the tai chi practitioners and joggers, vendors make their way among the small pockets, flogging further little tastes of home.

On the roads surrounding the park, other women set up stalls selling favorite dishes from the home country while still more people take up residence on footbridges for their picnics and natters.

They are everywhere: under the overpass, on the road side, under the trees. Hundreds of Indonesian women turning downtown Hong Kong in to their own turf for a few short hours. And if they run out of supplies, this being Hong Kong, the island of the entrepreneur, there is an Indonesian market of course!

For some, the day begins even earlier. It’s Sunday — a party day in Wanchai. As many drunks are winding their home from their own exertions, some of the girls are about to start their own partying and they dress to kill.

I was sat in one of the pubs fairly early on and there was already one group of girls taking over one corner of the bar, laying into the beers and food. Another group came and sat at my table as I was nursing a beer and watching a rerun of English football on one of the screens.

The girls came and joined me, calling out familiarly to the lone, harried barman, “Hello my darling,” ordering their food and drinks without a glance at the menu.

More friends would arrive (“Hello sexy lady!”) and soon the table was creaking with food, smartphones and handbags. I could hardly see the game which was just as well: my team was losing.

One girl, all legs and cleavage, ordered a soup only to return it, saying it contained pork, and ordered something else.

One of the girls was Skyping her son back in Indonesia. She would hug one of her friends asking which one he would choose for a girlfriend. It was good old-fashioned banter; the kind you find in bars around the world.

It was approaching Sunday lunch time, they were half-way through their party and they were determined to make the most of the few free hours they had to be together. It was a similar tale in other bars. One had a handful of girls and they were singing along to Abba songs while a couple of nonplussed old-timers sat by the door watching the world go by.

Apparently, things get wilder in other venues. The girls I saw were rowdy but polite and respectful, although the one who offered me some of her chips did say perhaps I was correct not to take one because “you are already fat enough!”

Monday was hours away yet early evening saw many of the girls start to make their journeys home. You couldn’t help but wonder: What would their employers think if they new what the quiet, demure child minder got up to on her day off?

Like generations of expats before them, and that could mean anyone from those hoary old sea dogs who settled in Indonesia back in the 17th century to penny pinching English teachers and high-flying oil and gas types, the Indonesian in Hong Kong seeks out the familiar in their alien environment. And far from the dulling societal norms of patriarchal home, these women cut loose in any number of ways.

Related Article:

Hong Kong woman guilty in Indonesian maid 'torture' case

Singapore Firm Launches Mobile App for Halal Foodies

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Jan 07, 2015

A photo illustration shows a man displaying the ‘HalalTrip’ app outside a
restaurant in Singapore on Jan. 7, 2015. (AFP Photo/Mohd Fyrol)

Singapore. A Singapore-based company on Wednesday launched a mobile application that enables Muslim foodies and travellers to share halal restaurant discoveries around the world.

The free “HalalTrip” app, available for Apple iOS and Android devices, enables users to take and upload photos of halal dishes, write comments and share them through social media.

Clicking on a photo gives details about the dish as well as the location of the restaurant. The app, which has English and Arabic interfaces, also uses a traveler’s location to display photos of halal dishes served in nearby restaurants.

The term halal is used for food, products and services that comply with Islamic requirements.

“Halal food is one of the biggest drivers of tourism for the Muslim market,” said Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive of HalalTrip, part of a Muslim-oriented business group called CrescentRating.

“When traveling, one of the main concerns of Muslims is halal food. What we did is to bring in a social media element into discovering halal food and making it more fun and more intuitive,” he told AFP.

Fazal predicted the Muslim travel market would be worth $192 billion a year globally by 2020, up from $140 billion in 2013.

Agence France-Presse

Melia Hotel Chain Praised for Taking Shark Fins Off Menus

Jakarta Globe, Abdul Qowi Bastian, Aug 05, 2014

People walk past shark fins drying on a road in Hong Kong on July 30, 2014.
Hong Kong and China is one of the world's biggest markets for shark fins where it
 is commonly served as a soup at wedding banquets and corporate parties, but
 conservationists say booming demand for fins has put pressure on the world's
 shark populations prompting calls for measures to restrict their trade. (AFP
Photo/Dale De La Rey)

Jakarta. One of the world’s biggest hotel chains, Melia Hotels International, said on Tuesday that it had removed shark fins from the menus of its restaurants around the world, including the Gran Melia Hotel in Jakarta, joining a growing global campaign against the popular delicacy in Asia.

“With the removal of shark fin as an ingredient, Melia is contributing to the protection of the important role sharks play in maintaining balance in the marine ecosystem,” the company said in a statement. “As predators, sharks are a key species in the food chain and also indicators of the health of our oceans. They eliminate the weakest prey, maintain balance with competitors, and guarantee the diversity of species,” it added.

Melia, which runs more than 350 hotels in 40 countries, making it one of the world’s largest hotel companies, said the ban on shark fins would also apply to all events held within its facilities.

Ratna Sjamsiar Idris, director of marketing and communications at Gran Melia Hotel Jakarta, said that the ban takes effect immediately.

“The order [of the shark fin ban] was carried out before the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan,” Ratna told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. “We now no longer accommodate consumers who order shark fin soups in our establishment,” she added.

Prior to the ban, the delicacy was a popular dish for corporate functions or weddings, but not on individual orders, she said.

Environmental activists have for years campaigned against shark finning, during which sharks would have their fins sliced off — often while they are alive — before the fish are thrown back into the ocean to die.

Considered by many to be a powerful aphrodisiac, shark fin is popular in Indonesia and in other Asian countries such as China and Hong Kong, where, according to sharksavers.org, more than 70 million sharks are killed each year to fulfill the demand in the market.

Diver and environmentalist Riyanni Djangkaru appreciated the Melia initiative, saying it set an example for the country’s hospitality industry.

“What Gran Melia did was a breakthrough,” Riyanni, who is also the editor in chief of DiveMag Indonesia, told the Globe. “There were gentleman’s agreements among hotel chains in Indonesia to not serve shark fins to their clients, but those were unwritten. It’s time for a new public relations method like this, as customers these days care more about environmental issues,” she added.

A bowl of shark fin soup in Indonesia is priced at between Rp 400,000 to 1 million ($34 to $85), depending on the texture of the meat.

Indonesia, along with India, account for more than a fifth of global shark catches, according to 2013 data released by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.

Both countries account for nearly 80 percent of the total shark catch reported between 2002 and 2011.

Melia is the latest among a string of companies to boycott shark fin consumption in recent years following lobbying by conservationists.

The first shop in Indonesia to remove shark fin from its menu was Crown Marine Products, located on the premises of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2012, after a petition circulated online.

National carrier Garuda Indonesia last year banned the transportation of shark fins aboard all flights. Garuda previously transported some 36 tons of shark fins a year, according to environmental conservation group WWF Indonesia.

Additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

Related Articles:

Indonesia, India named as biggest shark catchers

New Zealand to ban shark finning

EU tightens ban on shark finning

China Bans Shark Fin Soup From Official Receptions

Hong Kong Bans Shark Fin at Official Banquets

Singapore casino stops serving shark fin

Shark fin goes off the menu at Peninsula hotels

Philippine Airlines Quits Flying Shark Fins Amid Outcry
Garuda Bans Shark Fin Transport on Flights: WWF-Indonesia

Fiji's Air Pacific bans 'unsustainable' shark fins
Korean Air Joins Cathay Pacific in Curbing Shark Fin Transport

Google Gives Ramadan A Digital Make-Over

Jakarta Globe, Sylviana Hamdani, Jul 15, 2014

Google’s new hub looks to make Ramadan easier. (JG Photo/Sylviana Hamdani)

It’s common to hear the phrase “just Google it,” in everyday conversation these days. Sometimes even just to mock people who are too lazy to do a little research of their own.

But the fact that Google has become a preferred term for the verb “search” is a testament to its status as an Internet search engine giant. It is possible that the company will eventually replace more verbs as it takes on a bigger role in everyday life.

After creating an election hub during Indonesia’s legislative election earlier this year, Google now aims to be more useful during the Islamic holy month.

It recently launched a Ramadan hub at www.google.co.id/ramadan, which offers a one-stop platform with information and features to support activities during the fasting month.

Krishna Zulkarnain, marketing manager for Google Indonesia, said Google aims to facilitate family get-togethers and school reunions that usually take place at dusk as they break fast.

“Google, as a technology company, wants to give practical solutions for us to plan and organize all the activities in the fasting month effectively,” he said.

The hub contains a number of web-based and mobile-friendly features that make people’s lives easier during Ramadan. Some of these features have existed before, but the hub creates a seamless experience. For example, the web page displays the current date and time, and the remaining days in the month and hours until the breaking of the fast.

The four main tabs of the Google Ramadan hub offer you a place to plan, eat, get together and enjoy the holy month.

Plan the holiday

With Google Calendar, the company makes it easy to arrange meet-ups and send out reminders. All you have to do is enter the date, time and venue of events you are planning on your Google Calendar. In the “guest” column of the calendar, you can add e-mail addresses of guests that you are inviting to the event. The app allows you to set up notes to remind yourself and your guests of the upcoming event.

Drawing up a list of errands and shopping can also be done by using the app. Google Keep is another feature to save your thoughts wherever you are. Krisna called it the electronic version of Post-It notes, as you can also take photos of the things you have to do or make voice notes. The app also allows you to set up reminders, which will send notifications to your smartphone along with e-mails to help you remember errands and special events.

Going home

Mudik, or the annual exodus from the city to return home and gather with extended families, is one of the highlights of Idul Fitri. With millions of Indonesians traveling at the same time, visiting family requires careful planning and organizing. You can organize your trip by using the “Plan Your Trip Home” feature in the hub. Once you type in the city of origin and destination, it will bring up the Google Maps feature, where you can see the distance of the cities in kilometers and the estimated traveling time by plane and car.

You can also see a list of airlines traveling to your hometown. If you choose to drive, Google Maps can also list a number of routes to reach your hometown. The route options usually put the fastest on top, but it also offers alternatives just in case you want to avoid ferries and tolls along your journey.

Google Maps is also capable of finding nearby mosques or halal restaurants to break your fast. In the list of restaurants on the website, you can find their distances to your current location, opening hours and reviews, if available.

All the searches on Google Maps can also be done by voice.

Kokiku TV, a channel on the video sharing website, is an Indonesian online
 culinary program that offers dozens of innovative recipes for Ramadan.
(JG Photo/Sylviana Hamdani)

Fascinating feasts

Those who are passionate about preparing meals will enjoy exploring the many cooking videos that can be found on Youtube. Kokiku TV, a channel on the video sharing website, is an Indonesian online culinary program that offers dozens of innovative recipes for Ramadan.

Chef Yuda Bustara, one of the regular chefs on Kokiku TV, loves the potential for interactivity with his viewers on Youtube. He is able to read comments and speak directly to his viewers, Yuda says he often gets new ideas from his YouTube fans.

“Two-way communication can help people to cook better,” the 27-year old chef said.

You can also share your favorite YouTube recipes with your friends and family. On the top right-hand corner of YouTube, there is a branch-like button that you can use to share the current cooking show you are watching. There is also a plus sign on the top right-hand corner of video sharing website that you can use to compile a playlist of your favorite videos to watch again later.

Enjoy together

If you cannot go home for Idul Fitri, you can always see your loved ones with Google Hangouts. The company has been working to get more people to use its social network. Hangouts allows photo and video sharing as well as voice chat and video conference, free of charge, but it also has a rare feature of letting users to set up a video conference with up to ten people at the same time.