Activists Slam Basuki for Tobacco Sponsorship Comments

Tobacco control activists slammed Jakarta’s deputy governor after he said tobacco industry sponsorships should be permitted since they benefit students and the general public alike.
“It was very unwise of him to make such a statement on World No Tobacco Day. The statement is contradictory to Jakarta’s recent adoption of tobacco control measures, which were initiated before [Jakarta Governor] Joko Widodo’s tenure,”Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of the chairman of the National Commission on Children Protection (Komnas Anak), told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.
“Jakarta is the barometer for other provinces in Indonesia. It is the international world’s gateway to Indonesia. If Jakarta is not free of cigarette smoke, we will be ostracized by the whole world,” he said.
On Friday, Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that Jakarta will still permit the tobacco industry to fund public activities.
“We have decided that if a tobacco company wants to donate money or become a sponsor, we will allow it. If they want to donate money to ‘Rain Water Harvest’ in schools, [they can],” he said.
“They will want to display their logos. We know it’s a risk.”
Basuki, however, insisted that displaying cigarette logos would not hamper efforts to curb smoking in the capital.
“It is indeed better that we cooperate with non-tobacco companies, but it doesn’t mean we are against tobacco. We are only controlling it, so sponsorships for student or school activities are normal. The companies make profit — that’s why they donate,” he said.
Basuki argued that Jakarta has been very active in promoting tobacco control programs by implementing smoke-free zones and banning indoor smoking rooms.
Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, the chief campaigner for the National Commission on Tobacco Control (Komnas PT), said Basuki’s statement revealed that he was not familiar with a recent regulation that imposed certain restrictions on cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorships.
“As the deputy governor, Basuki should have read the government regulation issued in January this year. Sponsorship is indeed allowed, but it cannot be published and the logos cannot be displayed,” he said.
Tubagus said that by allowing tobacco sponsorship, the government would put many people, especially children, at risk.
“Sponsorship, or corporate social responsibility, is basically a marketing trick used to target young customers. It doesn’t matter how generous they seem — as the manager of the town, Basuki should have known this,” he said.

Source : JakartaGlobe

Govt to Contestants: Wear Kebaya, Not Bikinis During Miss World

Denpasar. While it cannot technically prohibit Miss World contestants from donning bikinis during the event’s final in Bali, the Indonesian government has suggested that contestants wear kebaya or batik instead of skimpy swimsuits.
“We suggest that they not [wear bikinis],” Sapta Nirwanda, the deputy minister of tourism and creative economy, said on Friday. “But even if they do wear one, it should be in a closed room.”
Sapta said the government made a deal with the organizers of the Miss World competition to minimize bikini usage during the Bali event. If contestants must wear bikinis, Sapta said they should only be seen by the jury.
He suggested, however, that participants wear traditional Indonesian outfits instead.
Conservative Muslim groups have been criticizing the event as disrespectful to Indonesian values.
Abdusommad Bukhori, the chief of the East Java branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said recently that as a Muslim country, Indonesia should not have anything to do with the event.
Sapta demanded that the controversy over bikinis end immediately.
“Those who are protesting are only seeking attention,” Sapta said. “We have been staging Miss Indonesia, Putri Indonesia and other beauty pageants for a long time.”
He added that the Miss World event should be used to promote Indonesian tourism.
“It is being broadcast in 170 countries, which means Indonesia will be seen by 170 countries,” he said.

Source : JakartaGlobe

Indonesian leader gets religious 'statesman' award

Indonesia's president has accepted a statesmanship award from a U.S. interfaith foundation that says it hopes to encourage him to promote freedom of worship and tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Human rights groups and Indonesian religious organizations were appalled by Thursday's award, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has done too little to suppress a rising tide of violence against minority faiths.
Rabbi Arthur Schneier with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation implicitly noted the controversy, saying, "You fully understand that the work is not complete. This is just a step in the right direction."
Yudhoyono, who did not mention religious rights, accepted the award in the name of all of Indonesia, saying "statesmanship can be collective." He said he hoped for "a harmonious society founded in peace and prosperity."
The foundation has handed out its "world statesman" award for decades, without controversy, to leaders such as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Kissinger handed the award to Yudhoyono. President Barack Obama sent him a letter praising his award, as did East Timor's former president, Jose Ramos-Horta, who guided the country to independence from Indonesian rule in 1999.
But Usman Hamid, a noted activist with the Indonesian human rights group Kontras, questioned the foundation's credibility in giving the award to the Indonesian president, who he said "is still far from protecting minorities from intolerance."
Indonesia is a secular country. The majority of its 210 million Muslims are Sunni, and most practice a moderate form of the faith. But the country's religious affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali, called for the Ahmadiyah to be banned in 2011 and proposed last year that Shia Muslims convert to Sunni Islam.
A researcher with Human Rights Watch, Andreas Harsono, said Yudhoyono's administration has basically laid down the legal infrastructure that discriminates among religious minorities. "He makes them second-class citizens," Harsono said.
Human Rights Watch has reported a steady increase in brutal attacks over the past few years due to the Indonesian government's failure to confront harassment of Christians, Shia Muslims and the Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect. The group cited reports from the Jakarta-based nonprofit Setara Institute, which recorded 264 religious attacks last year, up from 244 the previous year and 216 in 2010.
A senior U.S. State Department official, Dan Baer, last week expressed concern over such attacks and ineffective Indonesian government responses, saying it threatens to tarnish the nation's reputation for religious tolerance. He also referred to a "disturbing trend" in forcible closures of churches — including 50 in 2012 alone — and of Ahmadiyah mosques.
Human Right Watch's Asia advocacy director, John Sifton, said the problem is Yudhoyono's "religious affairs minister and his home minister are pretty conservative Sunni Muslim politicians who were brought into the government as a political compromise."
Sifton added, "The problem is the attitude where a Sunni extremist group professes extremist interpretations and advocates persecution and hostility toward a religious minority. A lot of politicians don't have the spine or guts to stand up to them."
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Associated Press writers Margie Mason and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.

Source : JakartaPos

Traffic offender beats up policeman

A policeman stopped a motorcyclist for not wearing a helmet only to end up with a severe beating.
The beating started when Brig. Sunardi spotted a teenager identified as Jatra Resa Aditya riding a motorcycle without wearing a helmet in front of a pawnshop in Wonosari, Gunung Kidul, on Thursday.
Sunardi then stopped Jatra and told him to get off his motorcycle. Surprisingly, Jatra reacted by punching Sunardi four times in the face.
"When I asked for his vehicle documents, he suddenly hit me in the face," Sunardi said.
Nearby residents then flocked to stop the attack.
A relative of Jatra said that he suffered from a mental condition.
Jatra and Sunardi are now being questioned at the Gunungkidul Police precinct.

Source : JakartaPos

MRT construction to start in July

Mass rapid transit (MRT) project operator city-owned PT MRT Jakarta plans to start construction in July.
"[On Thursday] the board of directors will start negotiations with the project winners. Should the discussions go smoothly, we will sign the contract and start the construction in July as planned," Company president commissioner Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas said at City Hall on Wednesday evening.
In the first phase of construction, the contractors are expected to start the underground construction from Bundaran HI circle in Central Jakarta to Blok M in South Jakarta.
Erry said that the contract negotiations were expected to conclude within two weeks.
Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said that the city administration would soon issue a gubernatorial decree regarding the project's financing. "The issuance of such a decree won't take a long time."
The construction of the first MRT track, which is planned to connect Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, will be funded with a ¥125 billion (US$1.27 million) soft loan from JICA.

Source : JakartaPos

Commuter train progressive tariff rate delayed

State-owned train operator PT Kereta Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ) has decided to delay the implementation of the planned progressive tariff rate, which was initially scheduled to start on June 1.
KCJ President Director Tri Handoyo said as quoted by kompas.com that the decision to delay the progressive tariff rate was based on the fact that most consumers were still unaware about the policy.
"We will inform consumers about the new policy within one month.
Hopefully, we can apply the new rate in July," he said.
Based on the progressive tariff rate, consumers will pay Rp 3,000 for the first five stations and each station afterwards will cost Rp 1,000.

Source : JakartaPos

TOEFL® Paper-based Test to Be Phased Out

he TOEFL® PBT test, administered in a paper-based format, will be phased out starting in mid-2012. In some regions, the last TOEFL PBT test administration will be in May 2012. You can take the TOEFL PBT test until that time and submit your scores to institutions and agencies for two years after your test date.

When the TOEFL iBT® test was launched in 2005, ETS established a transition period to allow continued use of the paper-based test in countries where infrastructure issues limited our ability to offer the TOEFL iBT test. These issues included unreliable electrical service, Internet connectivity issues and other factors.

Currently, 96 percent of TOEFL test takers worldwide take the TOEFL iBT test and access continues to expand. Also, the TOEFL iBT test is desired by universities because it measures all four communication skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking. For these and other reasons, we feel it is time to end paper-based testing.

ETS remains committed to providing access for anyone who wants to take the TOEFL test. Please be assured that ETS is making every effort to ensure that individuals living in areas where the TOEFL PBT test is currently administered will be able to test.

Source : http://www.ets.org/toefl/important_update/pbt_ending