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Pope Francis and other religious leaders at the Vatican. Photograph: AP |
The Jakarta Post | Wed, 02/18/2009 6:10 PM
Several students of private high school SMA Al-Azhar perform a traditional dance from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province, Saman, during a dance contest at Senayan Indoor Stadium in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. The exhibition features universities across the city and will be held until Thursday. (JP/J. Adiguna)
The Jakarta Post | Wed, 02/18/2009 4:39 PM
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, talks with Indonesian students upon her arrival at Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday. Secretary of State Clinton is hoping to rehabilitate America's image abroad, especially with Muslims, during a visit to Indonesia and to strengthen economic and development ties with Southeast Asia. (AP/Achmad Ibrahim)
Hillary Plans to Meet With Inter-Faith Figures
Hillary holds meeting with F.M. Wirayuda
Indonesian Muslim leader snubs Clinton
Clinton seeks to improve US image with Muslims
Clinton Arrives for Indonesia Visit
The Jakarta Post | Wed, 02/18/2009 2:20 PM
Newly-born baby: Panthera Tigris bengalensis Kartini and her one-day old cubs are seen at Bali Zoo Park in Gianyar, Bali on Wednesday. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati)
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VEILED SOLDIERS: Women soldiers line up during the 52nd
anniversary
of the Iskandar Muda military battalion in Banda Aceh on Monday.
Under Aceh's
local sharia-based ordinance, all women including soldiers, are
required to wear
veils in public. JP/Hotli Simanjuntak
|
Thaindian News, February 14th, 2009 - 8:45 pm ICT by IANS
Bali, Feb 14 (IANS) A week-long yoga festival is to be organised here in March with a view to promoting spiritual tourism in Bali and Indonesia.
The Bali-India Foundation, which is based here, will hold the International Bali-India Yoga Festival March 3-10 with the theme “Yoga for Health and Peace”.
The organisers said the festival will take place in many regions of Bali with the support of the tourism department in an attempt to make the island a destination for spiritual tourism.
The head of the organising committee is Somvir, an Indian academic based here. Several eminent scholars from Europe and India will attend the event, he said.
Among those invited to the event are Jero Wacik, the Indonesian minister for culture and tourism, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, H. Utang Ranuwijaya of Majelis Ulama Indonesia, as well as H. Salman Harun of the Islamic State University of Jakarta.
Somvir, who heads the Bali-India Foundation and is an expert on yoga and Vedic Philosophy, said the festival would be organised annually to promote Indonesia as a destination for spiritual tourism.
-Indo-Asian News Service
The Jakarta Post | Sun, 02/15/2009 8:50am
L for lungs: Teen campaigners show off their hearts as they participate in Tebaran Kasih Sayang, Bukan Asap Rokok (Spread love not smoke) rally around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
Giving presents on Valentine’s Day remains popular among young people in Indonesia’s big cities as they believe the day is special.
“Despite pros and cons of giving presents on Valentine’s Day discussed among various circles, giving a gift to the loved one on the day is more special for me than on other days,” Doni, a senior high school student in Pangkalpinang, Bangka-Belitung province, said over the weekend.
He said he gave a colorful doll to his girlfriend on Saturday.
“Love has a broad meaning, not only for the girlfriends, but for everyone including parents. But at the moment Valentine’s Day focuses just on the girlfriend,” Doni said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Doni’s sentiments were shared by Ziska, another high school student, who said he had arranged a special moment with his girl. In Banyuwangi, East Java, youth were busy preparing presents for their special ones the day before.
Ari, a vocational high student in Banyuwangi, said, “I gave my girlfriend a doll worth Rp 32,000 (US$2.9).
In Surabaya, East Java, flower sellers on Jl. Kayoon felt the windfall from Valentine’s Day.
“This week we’ve been very busy serving customers,” Ina, the owner of Inafem flower shop in Surabaya, said Saturday.
Roses are the traditional token for Valentine’s Day, but not everyone is celebrating. In Yogyakarta 100 Gadjah Mada University students, from the Campus Proselytism Institute Forum, staged a rally on campus Friday, opposing the celebration of Valentine’s Day, as, they said, it tainted the holiness of love.
In Bandung, West Java, a local chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council issued an edict, stating celebrating Valentine’s Day was haram, or not permitted by Islamic law.
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The Jakarta Post | Sat, 02/14/2009 9:24 AM
The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Sat, 02/14/2009 10:18 AM
Miangas Island - Let's go to School (indira 's Site)
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda has brushed off rumors of a takeover of Indonesia’s northernmost island of Miangas by the Philippines, saying Manila was fully aware Miangas was Indonesian territory.
“Making a fuss about Miangas Island is a waste of time. The Philippine government has not even officially claimed anything yet,” Hassan said Saturday as quoted by Antara news agency.
He was responding to a map published recently by the Philippine Tourism Authority, which showed Indonesia’s outermost island as falling under the jurisdiction of the Philippines.
The small island, called Las Palmas in Spanish, has an area of around 3.15 square kilometers and a population of 680.
Geographically, Miangas is closer to the Philippines than to Indonesia — 77 kilometers away from the former and 232 kilometers away from the latter.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post a private sector error might be to blame for the controversy.
“We don’t think the Philippine government has any formal intention of making Miangas Island their property. They probably entrusted the mapmaking task to a private company that was not aware of official borders,” he said.
He added that because Miangas used to belong to the Dutch colonial authorities, it became Indonesia territory after independence.
“In 1976, the Philippine government signed an extradition treaty with Indonesia, stipulating that Miangas belonged to the latter,” Teuku said.
Navy Chief Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said earlier this week the Philippine government had claimed Miangas as its own, and that it had gone as far as seeking a UN ruling on the matter, based on the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
However, Teuku said the matter had never been raised at bilateral talks between the two countries.
He added the Foreign Ministry would investigate the map matter through the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao City.
“We will not yet hold bilateral talks on the island. However, we will find out who’s responsible for this and demand clarification,” he said.
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Desy Nurhayati, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Fri, 02/13/2009 9:07 AM
Ancol Dreamland Park’s dolphin arena welcomed a new member into the sea mammal family with the birth of Spekta on Thursday.
The baby dolphin was born at 7:20 a.m. to parents Lily and Charon.
Spekta, a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), measured 80 centimeters in length and weighed in at around 8.5 kilograms.
“We named the baby dolphin Spekta, short for spektakuler [spectacular],” Ancol director Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters at the park, located in Ancol in North Jakarta.
Spekta's birth went smoothly and only took around one-and-a-half hours, said Ancol veterinarian Yus Anggoro Saputro.
Spekta is the first baby born to 17-year-old Lily.
A female dolphin usually reaches sexual maturity at the age of 9, said Yus, who supervised the observation of the delivery process.
The team of vets said Spekta was in good health, and within hours of being born, the baby dolphin was seen swimming side by side with the mother inside the aquarium at the Fantasea Dolphin arena.
“As soon as the baby comes out, it will reflexively swim up to breathe, and the mother will guide the baby to help it adapt to the new atmosphere outside the uterus,” Yus said.
He added his team had noticed Lily was ready to give birth since Wednesday.
“We noticed Lily had lost her appetite since yesterday," he said.
"Loss of appetite is the clearest sign to look out for in a pregnant dolphin about to give birth."
He added, “We can also observe its way of swimming.
“When the delivery is nearing, the female usually swims in an upright position and becomes less active.”
Yus said Lily had been pregnant for 12 months.
However, he said the veterinary team could not immediately determine if Spekta was male or female.
“We have to wait for at least several months to find out,” he said.
With the birth of Spekta, the arena now has a total of 29 dolphins. Spekta becomes the 32nd dolphin born there.
The park's management welcomed the good news and attributed Spekta's successful birth to the park's intensive efforts to breed dolphins.
“The birth of Spekta is a good outcome for our intensive efforts in breeding dolphins over the past several years," Budi said.
"We will continue with such great efforts."
He said the conservation program at Ancol was a success, despite the fact that breeding dolphins was difficult because the sea mammal was a very sensitive animal.
Budi added that Ancol was planning to establish a conservation zone for dolphins in Bidadari Island.
“We will build a special pool where visitors can swim together with the dolphins.”
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A 10-day disaster preparedness training program sponsored by the Australian Government for museum staff in Yogyakarta and Gadjah Mada University ended last week with participants receiving hands-on experience including through a simulated disaster recovery operation, the Australian Embassy said in press statement here on Monday.
"The training program contributed to safeguarding invaluable and irreplaceable public heritage collections, ensuring their longevity so future generations of Indonesians can learn about their heritage," Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer said.
The ambassador said that this aspect of caring for Indonesian museum collections was critical, especially in light of the frequency of earth tremors and earthquakes that have affected central Java in recent years.
The training program, from 27 January to 5 February, was delivered by the Northern Territory Government`s Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), a public cultural institution located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
With its close proximity to Indonesia, the MAGNT has a strong reputation as an active contributor to the delivery of museum training programs in Southeast Asia.
"Delivering this important training program in Yogyakarta, with the aim of fostering the improved care of Javanese museum cultural collections, was an exciting opportunity for our Musuem," said Joanna Barrkman, MAGNT Curator of Southeast Asian Art and Material Culture.
Stage One of the program, Museum Disaster Preparedness Training, was delivered at Sonobudoyo Museum and provided a `hands on` experience to show museum staff how to conduct a hazard assessment of their collections and how to develop and document a counter-disaster plan.
Participants also undertook a simulated disaster recovery operation.
Stage Two, Museum Collection Management and Storage Procedures Training, explored practical approaches to upgrading the storage conditions of the Sonobudoyo Museum's ceramic collection. Ms Sandra Yee and Ms Kristin Phillips, professional museum conservators, delivered the program.
The project was sponsored by the Australian Government through the Australia International Cultural Council (AICC) under IN2OZ: Creative Australia aimed at strengthening bilateral cultural links and understanding.
Lindsay Barnett, Los Angeles Times, 12:29 PM, February 11, 2009
The Sumatran elephant, a subspecies of the Asian elephant, is imperiled -- but its numbers (estimated by the World Wildlife Fund to be between 2,440 to 3,350) just got a much-needed, if tiny, boost.
This little guy is 2 days old and lives in Indonesia's Safari zoo. While he's sure to grow substantially, Sumatran elephants are the smallest of the Asian elephant subspecies, of which there are four (the others are the Indian elephant, Sri Lankan elephant and Borneo elephant).
Photos: Adi Weda / European Pressphoto Agency
Claudia Sardi, The Jakarta Post, Pecatu | Thu, 02/12/2009 2:33 PM | Bali
A Rp 3 trillion development on Pecatu Hill in Jimbaran in southern Bali is showing no signs yet of being affected by the global financial crisis, with developer PT Bali Pecatu Graha (BPG) selling 124.5 hectares of land to investors for an ambitious new property project.
The Pecatu Indah Resort project will eventually comprise exclusive residences, international-standard hospitals and schools, shopping malls, a 15,000-person capacity convention center, and recreation places, including theme and water parks.
"None of the investors has pulled out of the contract so far, and we just signed a new contract with Condotel last October," said Arturo Seril, BPG project manager.
"The project is scheduled for completion in 2020. I'm still very optimistic that we can finish it without more major incidents."
BPG had prepared the master plan for the project in 1998, but due to the Indonesian economic crisis and the two terrorist bombings on the island, the company only began rolling out the project in early 2006.
The New Kuta Golf Course, which opened its doors in 2007, is the first completed project on the site.
It will play host to the Indonesia Open tournament this February, and plans to house its guests at the partially finished New Kuta Condotel, operated by Best Western. Once complete, the resort will include at least five luxury hotels.
Both the Westin and Raffles hotels have bought land here and will begin construction soon; tea giant PT Sosro has also invested and plans to branch out into the hotel sector with its first property in Pecatu.
Another developer, PT Panorama Development Utama (PMA), has almost finished work on a 21-villa complex called Hole 17, set in the middle of the golf course.
"Pecatu Indah Resort will be something unique on the island, nothing like Nusa Dua, which only has standalone hotels. We are going to provide a huge range of facilities in one single area, which makes it very attractive", Seril said.
BPG, owned by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, retains control of all 400 hectares of the land for the Pecatu Indah Resort. The firm is planning its own projects in the area including the Klapa, a four-story complex consisting of a restaurant, spa, beachfront disco and bars, currently under construction on a cliff overlooking the beach.
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Wednesday, 11 February, 2009 | 18:44 WIB
TEMPO Interactive, Mataram:Around 1.200 international tourists sailing on the cruise ship Rhapsody of The Seas will dock in Lombok next Tuesday. They will have a day visit to the handicraft center in Rungkang Jangkuk, Senggigi, and the Putri Mandalika site.
This will be their first stop in Indonesia before going on to the Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Semarang in Central Java. "This can raise the image of Lombok after the recent security issues and the economic crisis," said West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Culture and Tourism Office chief, Lalu Gita Ariyadi, meeting with NTB governor Muhammad Zainul Madjdi yesterday.
SUPRIYANTHO KHAFID
Thom Smyth, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Wed, 02/11/2009 12:11 PM
Tourism operators blame the global financial crisis, traffic congestion, a lack of information and infrastructure, and government inaction for a drop in visitor numbers and lost revenue at some key historic sites and tourist attractions in the city.
“On a weekday, we would have only about 60 people. On weekends it is up to 200, and the numbers of Western tourists are decreasing,” said Yogi, bar manager at tourist icon Café Batavia near Jakarta History Museum in West Jakarta.
“Most of our customers, about 60 percent, are tourists. From the beginning of 2008 until now, we feel we have missed out on a lot of tourists. Business has been harder.”
The Arts and Ceramics Museum and Maritime Museum, both also in West Jakarta, also reported a drop in foreign visitors, while the Jakarta History Museum revealed that despite a rise in overall visitors, it saw a drop in the proportion of foreign visitors.
Although Indonesia failed to reach its 2008 tourism target of seven million visitors (later revised down in October 2008), Culture and Tourism Ministry statistics show 6.4 million people visited Indonesia in 2008, with strong growth in passenger traffic through all major airports.
The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport reported an almost 28 percent increase in the year to October 2008 on previous annual visitor figures, with 1,197,500 recorded entries through the airport.
But tourism operators report these numbers are not resulting in increased revenue or tourism traffic for their businesses and attractions, which operators are attributing to a lack of tourism information for visiting travellers and an “ineffective” advertising campaign.
Bank Mandiri Museum director Firman Harris called on the city tourism agency to provide more information to travellers.
He said more information should be provided in English and other languages.
“In every public area there needs to be information, at every hotel. The agency should be more active in promoting Jakarta in public areas, online and through travel agents,” Firman said.
“The government could provide a program of events every month to travel agents so they can promote the events to their customers.”
Bar Manager Yogi agreed. “Kota is a tourist area, but there is no information center. Tourists don’t know where to go.
“Some guests have their own information, like the Lonely Planet guide, but nothing from the tourism agency.
When some guests ask where to go I give them magazines like Jakarta Java Kini or Timeout Jakarta because they have better information than anything from the agency.”
Official Culture and Tourism Ministry figures show that while the average time international visitors stay in Indonesia is falling, down to 8.5 days in 2008 from the 2007 figure of 9.1 days, they are spending more while they are in the country.
Figures show the average amount spent by tourists during their stay was US$1178 (Rp 14.02 million), accounting for some $7.6 billion in foreign exchange income, up from $970 (Rp11.6 million) each to a total of $5.4 billion in 2007.
Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said earlier that tourists would spend less this year because of the global financial crisis, but that visitor numbers should still grow to 6.5 million arrivals spending on average about $1,000 (Rp 11.9 million) each.
Austrian tourist David Markvicka, stopping over in Jakarta en route to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province to go diving, said he had enjoyed his time in Jakarta, but the lack of information on public transport and entertainment was frustrating.
“I just read in Lonely Planet about Jakarta, just basic tourist information, nothing from the government or administration. I think it would be good to hand out maps at the airport or on flights, especially about the transport system because I can’t really understand it,” Markvicka said.
Arie Budhiman, the head tourism agency, did not respond to calls for comment.
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Agnes Winarti, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Wed, 02/11/2009 11:20 AM
The city administration will start restoration work to four museum buildings and the Conservation Institute office by April this year, an official said Tuesday.
“The administration has approved the budget for the renovation of the five heritage buildings,” said Arie Budhiman, the head of the city tourism and cultural agency, Tuesday. “The buildings need urgent restoration.”
The city allocated Rp 5 billion (US$454,545) for the restoration of Joang 1945 Museum, Rp 5 billion for the Textile Museum, Rp 3 billion for the Puppet Museum, Rp 2.5 billion for the MH Thamrin Museum and Rp 5 billion for the Conservation Institute (Balai Konservasi) office.
“Hopefully, restoration can start April or early May, if the funds are disbursed this month,” Arie said.
The Joang 1945 Museum (the 1945 Struggle for Independence Museum) is located on Jl. Menteng Raya, the Textile Museum is on Jl. KS Tubun, Petamburan, Tanah Abang, the MH Thamrin Museum is on Jl. Kenari, Senen, all in Central Jakarta. Both the Puppet Museum and the Conservation Institute are located on Jl. Pintu Besar Utara in West Jakarta.
“Restoration of the five buildings is needed to maintain visitors’ safety and comfort,” Arie said.
He said restoration of heritage buildings like museums could be regarded as part of efforts to increase tourism.
The city administration has a total of nine museums under its authority — the Jakarta History Museum, Maritime Museum, Puppet Museum, Ceramic and Fine Arts Museum, Textile Museum, Joang 45 Museum, Prasasti Museum, Onrust Archaeology Park and Proclamator Park at the National Monument.
The administration received Rp 4.1 billion in revenue from people visiting the city’s museums last year, exceeding its target of Rp 3.6 billion.
This year, the agency aims to net Rp 3.9 billion from museum visitors.
Despite setting the target lower than the level of revenue reached last year, Arie said, “We are optimistic about getting a 5 percent increase in revenue this year.”
The agency has allocated Rp 60 billion this year toward promoting Jakarta to foreign tourists.
Marketing campaigns will be performed extensively in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
This year, the agency is hoping to welcome 20 million local and 1.7 million foreign tourists to Jakarta.
City secretary Muhayat said, as quoted by beritajakarta.com on Tuesday, tourism was a significant contributor to city revenue.
Last year, tourism contributed Rp 1.5 trillion, or 14.54 percent of Jakarta’s total revenue.
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The Jakarta Post | Wed, 02/11/2009 3:32 PM
Pastor Budi Purnomo plays saxophone during a mass that is attended by patients of Elisabeth Hospital at a chapel in the hospital compound in Semarang, Central Java. Around 50 patients attended the mass held to celebrate Catholic Church's World Day of the Sick, which falls on Feb. 11. JP/Suherdjoko
The Jakarta Post, Alex Kennedy, The Associated Press, Singapore | Wed, 02/11/2009 6:18 PM
BOOSTING TOURISM: People mingle under a poster showcasing Singapore's efforts to boost its tourism industry Wednesday in Singapore. Singapore's Tourism Board has reported plans to roll out a monetary initiative to stimulate its city-state's tourism sector during this time where Singapore's visitor arrivals is expected to fall as the global recession is affecting holiday plans. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Singapore expects tourism revenue to plunge as much as 19 percent this year as a global economic slowdown undermines spending on travel.
Tourist income will likely fall to between 12 billion Singapore dollars ($8 billion) and SG$12.5 billion this year from SG$14.8 billion last year, the Singapore Tourism Board said Wednesday. The board expects tourist arrivals to drop to between 9 million and 9.5 million in 2009 from 10.1 million in 2008.
The government plans to spend $90 million this year on marketing, training and lower fees for travel agents in a bid to attract visitors, more than the SG$30 million spent on advertising in 2003, when an outbreak of the SARS virus slowed tourist arrivals to 6.1 million.
"The year ahead will be difficult and challenging," said Aw Kah Peng, the board's chief executive. "But it's not a complete closure as in SARS. People are still traveling."
Singapore is counting on the tourism sector - highlighted by the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino resort - to create 12,000 new jobs this year. The resort, which is being built by casino operator Las Vegas Sands, was expected to open in the fourth quarter, but Aw declined to confirm the project was still on schedule.
"We're still working with them," Aw said. "Even as the fourth quarter gets nearer, I think it's premature to say how it will happen."
Arrivals fell 1.6 percent in 2008, and while tourist revenue rose to a record last year, it fell short of the government's goal of SG$15.5 billion.
Singapore's tourism industry is being hit hard along with the country's manufacturing and financial sectors. The government expects the economy to contract as much as 5 percent this year after gross domestic product shrank 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter.
The government has tried to ease the country's dependence on manufacturing, but non-oil exports still account for about two-thirds of GDP while tourism is just 6 percent.
About 17 percent of visitors to Singapore last year came from Indonesia, followed by China, Australia, India and Malaysia.
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