WEDNESDAY APRIL 26, 2017 | TWENTY-FOUR PAGES VOL. 35 NO.
002
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TERRORISM
Indonesian militants can
‘easily’ enter PH p3
KPK goes
all in on
BLBI case
Safrin La Batu
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
In early 2014, then Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK)
chairman Abraham Samad initi-
ated a probe into alleged irregulari-
ties surrounding the disbursement
of Bank Indonesia liquidity sup-
port (BLBI). Later that year, Abra-
ham indicated that the KPK would
summon former president Mega-
wati Soekarnoputri for the case.
Abraham was removed from
his post in February 2015, follow-
ing a standoff between the KPK
and police, following the former’s
decision to name Megawati’s for-
mer aide Insp. Gen. Budi Gu-
nawan as a graft suspect. The case
went nowhere after Abraham’s
dismissal.
On Tuesday, the new leadership
of the KPK pressed ahead with the
probe by naming former chairman
of the Indonesian Bank Restruc-
turing Agency (IBRA) Syafrud-
din Arsyad Temenggung a sus-
pect in the BLBI case. Syafruddin
was chairman of the IBRA under
Megawati’s administration.
Syafruddin is the first official
to be named a suspect in the case
after three years of investigation
looking into past documents and
questioning a number of former
ministers in Megawati’s adminis-
tration.
Syafruddin, who was appoint-
ed IBRA chairman in 2002, is-
sued a letter for Sjamsul Nursa-
lim, the owner of Bank Dagang
Nasional Indonesia (BDNI), free-
ing him from the obligation to pay
Rp 3.7 trillion in debt owed to the
government, which disbursed the
fund under the Bank Indonesia
Liquidity Scheme (BLBI).
Syafruddin’s decision was
based on a presidential decision
issued by Megawati in December
2002, regulating the “release and
discharge” letters, freeing recipi-
ents of the funds from the obliga-
tion to fully pay the debts.
Sjamsul’s BDNI received Rp 28
trillion of the BLBI fund and was
obligated to return Rp 4.8 trillion,
but Syafruddin decided that the
bank should only pay Rp 1.1 trillion.
“The KPK has found two pieces
of evidence and therefore moves
to name Syafruddin a suspect in
the case,” KPK deputy chairman
Basaria Panjaitan told reporters.
During the 1997-1998 Asian fi-
nancial crisis, the government,
through the central bank, provid-
ed liquidity support of Rp 144.5
trillion to assist 48 commercial
banks in coping with massive
runs during the monetary crisis,
but 95 percent of the money was
eventually embezzled.
The Attorney General’s Office
(AGO) has launched a probe into
Sjamsul for allegedly misusing
the fund but decided to drop the
case in 2008.
In 2014, the KPK decided to
probe the issuance of a release
and discharge letter for Sjamsul
and found indications that the de-
cision could have been the result
of collusion between Sjamsul and
Syafruddin.
There are a total of 21 debtors,
including Sjamsul, who received
the release and discharge recom-
mendation from the IBRA.
According to data from Indo-
nesia Corruption Watch (ICW),
the 21 debtors include Hendra
Liem of Budi International Bank,
the Ning King of Dana Hutama
Bank, Sudwikatmono of Bank
Subentra and Bank Surya, Ibra-
him Risjad of the Bank Risjad Sa-
lim International, Soedono Sa-
lim of Bank Central Asia (BCA),
Siti Hardijanti Rukmana of Yakin
Makmur Bank, Hashim Djojo-
hadikusumo of Papan Sejahtera
bank and Nirwan Bakrie of Nusa
Nasional bank.
Sjamsul, who is also known
as the owner of tire giant Gajah
Tunggal and coal miner Bukit
Baiduri Energi, is currently in
KPK names former IBRA
suspect in BLBI case
Syafruddin accused of
collusion with owner of
bank
Singapore and the KPK has urged
Sjamsul to return to the country
for a possible questioning.
When asked if KPK investiga-
tors would summon Megawati for
questioning, Basaria declined to
give a comment.
“The policy was not part of a
corruption scandal because cor-
ruption happens only when those
who issue the policy, or those
close to them, benefit,” Basaria
said.
On Friday, the KPK questioned
Kwik Kian Gie, who was the fi-
nance minister between 1999 and
2000.
KPK spokesman Febri Dian-
syah said the KPK questioned
several individuals as part of its
effort to expand its investigation
into the BLBI case, which was im-
portant to the public.
Indonesian Institute of Sci-
ences (LIPI) political analyst Siti
Zuhro said the decision to name
a suspect in the BLBI case could
be politically motivated as it was
an old case, just like the electron-
ic identity (e-ID) case, which in-
volved officials and politicians
from the era of former president
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“Now the KPK has to prove
they are neutral and show that as
law enforcers they are non-parti-
san and independent,” she said.
Members of the House of Rep-
resentatives Commission III of
the Indonesian Democratic Par-
ty of Struggle (PDI-P) Trimedya
Pandjaitan said that the party
continued to believe in the inde-
pendence of the antigraft body.
“We respect the legal process
carried out by the KPK as long as
it is conducted for law enforce-
ment purposes,” he said.
“Release and discharge”
▼ May 2002: Then
chairman of
Indonesian Bank
Restructuring
Agency (IBRA)
Syafruddin Arsyad
Temenggung
proposes to
KKSK (Financial
Tempo/Zulkarnain
Syafruddin
System Stability Arsyad
Committee) to restructure debt owed by
businessman Sjamsul Nursalim worth
Rp 4.8 trillion.
▼ IBRA
recommends
Sjamsul only
needs to pay
Rp 1.1 trillion
of the debt.
JP
Sjamsul
Nursalim
▼December 2002:
Then president
Megawati
Soekarnoputri
issues a
presidential
decree (Inpres)
that regulates
JP/Indra Harsaputra
the ‘release and
Megawati
discharge’ letters,
Soekarnoputri
freeing recipients of
the funds from the obligation to fully pay
the debts.
▼ April 2004: Syafruddin gives the all
clear to Sjamsul, relieving him of the
obligation to pay his debt to IBRA.
Source: Various
TENNIS
All eyes on Stuttgart as Sharapova
poised for return p9
They will be missed: Two women walk past bouquets of flowers and signs delivered to Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama
and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat in the frontyard of City Hall in Jakarta on Tuesday. The flowers and signs were sent by both
individuals and groups in a show of appreciation for the Basuki-Djarot leadership.
BLASPHEMY TRIAL
Ahok cries foul, compares himself to ‘Nemo’ in hearing
Callistasia Anggun Wijaya
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
The hundreds of flower boquets
decorating City Hall sent by Basu-
ki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s sup-
porters in commiseration for his
election loss might not be enough
to cheer up the outgoing governor
as he was forced to sit through an-
other hearing of his blasphemy tri-
al on Tuesday morning.
The hearing got off to a rocky
start after a group of people held
up proceedings by chanting “Alla-
hu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” direct-
ly after presiding judge Dwiarso
Budi Santiarto asked Ahok to read
out his final defense statement.
Dwiarso rebuked the group
and ordered them to leave, before
telling all visitors to remain quiet,
saying that the judges would not
be influenced by such unwanted
disturbances.
The governor, who is a Chris-
tian of Chinese descent, then read
out his final defense statement
entitled “Keep Serving Despite
Being Slandered,” seeking to con-
vince the five-judge panel that he
RELIGION
Role of women seen as vital to
resisting Islamic extremism
Nurul Fitri Ramadhani
and Ati Nurbaiti
THE JAKARTA POST/CIREBON
The role of women in negotiat-
ing with and educating commu-
nities on peaceful Islamic teach-
ings has proven to have had some
effect in stemming the influence
of violent extremist groups and
healing affected communities,
speakers at an international sem-
inar said on Tuesday.
Several female clerics, scholars
and activists from Muslim-ma-
jority countries, including Nige-
ria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and In-
donesia, shared their experiences
in the one-day discussion on fe-
male ulema. The discussion was
part of the first congress of female
ulema, which officially opened in
the evening at the Kebon Jambu
Al-Islamy boarding school.
In Nigeria, a country that is
threatened by the Islamic militants
Boko Haram, female ulema have
started to get directly involved in
education in a bid to spread toler-
ant Islamic teachings, the scholar
Rafatu Abdulhamid said.
“Muslim women can play bet-
ter roles than men in teaching and
education. We can teach people
and children that Islam is not what
Boko Haram adopts, that Islam is
tolerant and upholds peace,” Ab-
dulhamid told The Jakarta Post
after the discussion at the Syekh
Nurjadi Islamic Institute.
AWARDS
Indonesian Photo
Journalists’ 2017 p24
did not deserve to serve two years
of probation as demanded by
prosecutors on April 20.
Ahok said he had not insulted
Islam nor shown animosity to-
ward Muslims by commenting
on Surah Al Maidah 51 during a
speech in Thousand Islands on
Sept. 27, 2016.
The governor said that rather
he had been the victim of defama-
tion after Buni Yani, who is now a
hate-speech suspect, caused pub-
lic uproar by uploading a video of
his speech with a provocative and
inaccurate transcription.
It was only after Buni upload-
ed the video, that protests against
him began, Ahok said.
Ahok then cited a piece of writ-
ing from senior poet and journalist
Goenawan Mohammad that also
presented the argument that he
had been a victim of defamation.
“Ahok didn’t insult Islam, but
the accusations have been con-
tinuously repeated. Just like Nazi
propaganda, if a lie is repeated
often enough, it will become the
truth,” Ahok said, citing Goe-
nawan’s piece.
Many of the female Muslim
scholars, ulema and activists, she
said, established educational pro-
grams for women and children
about moderate Islamic teach-
ings. Many also provided psycho-
logical support and trauma heal-
ing for female survivors of Islamic
radicalism, including former fol-
lowers of Boko Haram.
The counseling and education
programs are crucial to healing
communities that stigmatize girls
and women who have been abduct-
ed, raped and impregnated, she said.
“Can [the mothers] throw their
children into the dustbin?” Ab-
dulhamid asked rhetorically.
Abdulhamid said radical Is-
lamism, particularly in Nigeria,
was caused by ignorance and the
misuse of Islamic knowledge.
People are made to believe that
causing violence or killing is an
act of worship, she said.
“Women are abducted and mo-
lested arbitrarily. Many women
were forced to join the group in-
stead of becoming the next vic-
tim,” she said.
Afghanistan Ambassador to
Indonesia Roya Rahmani said
Muslim women could introduce
a narrative of “dynamic Mus-
lims.” She said Muslim women
should be recognized as good
negotiators because they could
embrace people more effectively
and tenderly than men.
From Pakistan, Bashra Qa-
Going on to read his defense
statement, Ahok said that slander
spread through mosques, social
media and daily conversations
had made people see his com-
ment as a clear-cut act of blasphe-
my before his trial even began.
Ahok added that the speech he
gave to Thousand Islands residents
that day was designed to encourage
them to join the administration’s
fish cultivation program in the
hope of improving their welfare.
He also told the judges that
his primary goal as governor was
simply to ensure his residents’
“brains, stomachs and wallets are
full.”
He then spoke about an experi-
ence watching Finding Nemo with
kindergarten students at City
Hall during which they asked him
why he always went against the
current.
Ahok retold a scene from the
movie in which Nemo and other
fish, who are trapped in a large
net, swim down against the fish-
ing boat’s net to overcome its up-
wards pull in order to free them-
selves.
deem shared her experiences
promoting respect for different
faiths and cultures in high schools
in Peshawar, where communities
often see teenage boys recruited
into becoming suicide bombers.
Through “a very subtle ap-
proach,” Qadeem and her fel-
low activists communicate with
mothers who have lost their sons
to extremism and who have even
“stitched suicide jackets” and
promoted martyrdom.
Through dialogue, in which the
mothers are eventually convinced
that such “martyrdom” is wrong
and not Islamic, the women could
become “agents of change,” Qa-
deem said, and stop seeking out
nephews and other teenage boys
to be suicide bombers.
Speakers said the challenge
was that even for women that
were highly knowledgeable about
Islam, too few were recognized as
being on par with male ulema.
In Aceh, for example, Indone-
sia’s only province authorized to
adopt sharia, the concept of fe-
male ulema still faces resistance,
said researcher Eka Srimulyani.
Malaysian activist Zainah An-
war said the journey toward an
Islam that upholds equality and
justice remains a long and chal-
lenging one.
“But for us, there is no choice.
We don’t want to emigrate. We
must stay and fight for the coun-
try we want to live in,” Anwar said.
JP/Seto Wardhana
He said he told the children
that he often swam against the
current to defend the truth and
do good for the residents.
“I’m just a little Nemo in Jakar-
ta who will keep helping the poor
and needy although I have been
slandered and scorned due to my
different faith and beliefs, I will
keep serving [the residents] with
love,” Ahok said.
Ahok’s lawyers then took the
baton from their client, citing a
Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH Jakarta)
statement that said Ahok had be-
come a victim of the Blasphemy
Law, which they claimed was in-
herently undemocratic.
The lawyers demanded that
the court clear Ahok of all the
charges, including Article 156 of
the Criminal Code (KUHP) on
showing animosity toward oth-
ers and Article 156a of the KUHP
on blasphemy. The lawyers also
urged the court to take measures
to restore Ahok’s name.
The trial, which has been ongo-
ing since Dec. 13, is slated to finish
on May 9.
RELATED STORY p4
Inside
ARCHIPELAGO | p5
Full-day schooling policy failing
in Gorontalo
SPORTS | p8
Problems fixed, all foreign players
to focus on League 1
WORLD | p10
RI-PH talks to fortify
new trade route
BUSINESS | p13
Govt seeks to boost CNG
use by motorists
BUSINESS | p15
Cargill to invest $500m
in Indonesia until 2020
2 | HEADLINES WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

Politics is personal in Jakarta gubernatorial election

I
t was a great comeback sto-
ry that people will continue
to talk about in the years to
come. It was also a Shakespear-
ian revenge story worthy of its
own stage play. For those on the
losing side, it resembles a Greek
tragedy from which it will take
compunction and soul-search-
ing before everyone involved is
able to pick up the pieces and
move on.
Only nine months after Presi-
dent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo dis-
missed him as the culture and
education minister, Anies Bas-
wedan is now the governor-elect
of Jakarta, a victory with politi-
cal significance that should not
be underestimated.
If Jokowi thought back then
that removing Anies from his
Cabinet could prevent him from
aiming for the ultimate prize,
running as a candidate in a future
presidential election, the deci-
sion turned out to have brought
him closer to the goal instead.
In fact, if Jokowi removed
Anies to prevent him from set-
ting a foundation for his presi-
dential ambition, Anies now has
an even stronger platform. If a
ministerial position is handed out
by the President to friends and
allies, a governorship is an elect-
ed position directly from voters.
Learning from Jokowi’s own ex-
perience, the position of Jakarta
governor could be the most effec-
tive springboard to launch a cam-
paign for the presidency.
With his win in the Jakarta gu-
bernatorial election last week,
and despite the pledge he made
with Gerindra Party patron
Prabowo Subianto that he would
finish his five-year term, Anies
has gained so much leverage that
he is now one of two politicians
in the country, apart from Prabo-
wo, who could challenge Jokowi
in the 2019 presidential race.
Much has been written about
how political parties in Jokowi’s
ruling coalition poorly served
incumbent Governor Basuki
“Ahok” Thahaja Purnama. Par-
COMMENTARY
M. Taufiqurrahman
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
ties, like the United Develop-
ment Party (PPP), failed to uti-
lize their networks to mobilize
their members to vote for Ahok.
The Indonesian Democratic Par-
ty of Struggle (PDI-P) has again
shown its tendency to be overly
confident. Others have pointed
out that the growth of conser-
vatism among voters benefitted
Anies, who simply rode the wave
of Islamism to City Hall.
However, all politics are per-
sonal. How does a candidate,
who does not come from a politi-
cal party, who once failed in his
bid to win the Democratic Par-
ty’s nomination as a presidential
candidate, whose major achieve-
ment prior to getting a ministeri-
al post was setting up a nonprofit
movement, turn himself into a
force to be reckoned with in na-
tional politics?
Much of that success is due to
Anies being politically cunning
and having excellent communi-
cation skills. Many have derided
his penchant for jumping from
one political party to another
as opportunistic, but there is a
method to his behavior and it has
something to do with his keen
sense of timing.
In 2010, aware of the fact that
he had not yet amassed political
capital, Anies decided to back a
nascent organization called Nas-
Dem, a political movement that
transformed into a political par-
ty. As soon as Anies learned that
the party had no mechanism to
nominate a presidential candi-
date, he participated in a con-
vention organized by the ruling
Democratic Party.
After sensing that then Presi-
dent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyo-
no’s party had no chance of win-
ning, Anies jumped ship and
joined then Jakarta governor
and PDI-P presidential candi-
date Jokowi, who as his popular-
ity grew, felt the need to appoint
a spokesperson. Jokowi returned
Anies’ favor by giving him a min-
isterial position.
Last year, learning that the
tide had turned against Ahok,
Anies volunteered to be a figure-
head in a movement to stop the
incumbent from being reelected.
This move forced him to join the
alliance of Gerindra and the Is-
lamist Prosperous Justice Party
(PKS), which he fought against
in the 2014 presidential election.
Such party-hopping would
certainly doom the career of
other politicians, but Anies
has thrived. With his carefully-
scripted messages, Anies man-
aged to give sensible reasoning
to many of his detours.
When criticized for affiliat-
ing with the corrupt Democratic
Party to join its presidential con-
vention, Anies sold his candi-
dacy as a push for the silent ma-
jority to get involved in cleaning
up dirty politics. In justifying his
move to join Jokowi in 2014, only
months after giving up on the
Democratic Party convention,
Anies branded himself as a “good
person” who had to lend a hand
to other good people.
“As a child of the republic, I
have to give back because it has
given so much to me. I am edu-
cated and prosperous,” Anies
said of his motive to join the Ja-
karta gubernatorial race last
year.
On the campaign trail, Anies
often criticized Jokowi for his
focus on work, small details and
for forgetting the power of words
to inspire people. Coming from a
politician gifted with rhetorical
flair, this is hardly a surprise. It
has served him well.

NATIVE CULTURE US PRESIDENCY

Papuan
students
learn local
language
Nethy Dharma Somba
THE JAKARTA POST/JAYAPURA
Research supports the idea that
young children learn better in
their native tongue. For Indone-
sia, where local languages amount
to about 2,500, according to data
from a 2010 publication by the
Central Statistics Agency (BPS),
using Indonesian as the language
of unity may not best support
learning for students.
For Papua, native languages
might be what the province needs
to boost education quality as well
as preserve local culture as data
from the Education Ministry in
2013 showed that Papua account-
ed for 36.31 percent of the nation’s
illiteracy, with 3.6 million people,
the highest in the country. There is
a project that aims to turn the situ-
ation around by teaching students
in their native languages.
Executed under the collabora-
tion of think tank Analytical and
Capacity Development Partner-
ship (ACDP) Indonesia, Papua
administration and Summer In-
stitute of Linguistics (SIL), the
two-year pilot project that was
launched in 2015 and concluded
recently used a specialized ap-
proach for children as young as
3 years of age in preschool up to
second grade. In the project, held
in 13 preschools and three lo-
cal elementary schools, students
studied in their native language
of Lanny Jaya, the Lani language.
Lani is among more than 300 lo-
cal languages in Papua.
The teachers used it in intro-
ducing letters to the students
to teach them how to read. The
methods were based on a sur-
vey conducted by the ACDP that
revealed the Lani language was
primarily used by local children.
From 184 first and second grade
students, 75 percent consider In-
donesian to be difficult while 88
percent say Lani is easy.
After learning in their mother
tongue, the students then will be-
gin to learn Indonesian in third
grade, Joost Pikkert from SIL,
who also chaired the pilot proj-
ect’s study, said.
“Indonesian is introduced grad-
ually to third graders, later to be
positioned as the official language
in the class,” he said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, ACDP Indone-
sia’s lead adviser for education
research and knowledge man-
agement David C. Harding said
students who were introduced to
subjects in their mother tongue
could advance more quickly in
developing their linguistic skills.
“We believe mother tongue
and multilingual education can
help the students’ achievements,
lower the dropout rate, increase
learning in all subjects and en-
courage students’ critical think-
ing while also preventing the
extinction of Papua’s local lan-
guages and cultures,” he said.
Protasius Lobya, the secretary
of the Papua Education Agency,
said the study researched with-
in the community to detect stu-
dents’ education needs. This ap-
proach is most fitting for students
in villages and remote areas of
Papua.
WEATHER FORECAST: APRIL 26, 2017
Sunny Banda Aceh
23 - 29 °C
Rainy
Medan
Cloudy
24 - 33 °C
Pekanbaru
Source:
Meteorology, Climatology
24 - 29 °C
And Geophysics Agency
Countdown
Several tourists and activists from the Bali Sea Turtle Society wait for a turtle to lay eggs at Kuta Beach in
Bali on Tuesday. The sea turtles normally lay eggs along Bali’s southern coast, from Kuta Beach to Berawa
Beach from March through August. Local activists managed to conserve 83 turtle nests and approximately
7,000 turtle eggs.
BI steps up fight against
illegal money changers
Grace D. Amianti
and Stefani Ribka
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
Attractive exchange rates and
a long list of currency options are
the main reasons why travelers
pick particular money changers
to sell or buy foreign bills.
However, with the increasingly
popular use of foreign currencies to
support extraordinary crimes such
as graft, drug distribution and ter-
rorism, Indonesian authorities now
want customers of money-exchange
outlets to keep an additional rule in
mind: “Carry out your transactions
in licensed outlets only.”
As a lucrative business that is
relatively easy to start, money
changers have mushroomed at
tourist spots and trade centers
across the archipelago. Such out-
lets even offer better exchange
rates than banks, making them
popular among travelers and cus-
tomers seeking quick services.
Bank Indonesia (BI) and the
National Police, however, have
claimed that there has been an
upward trend in money launder-
ing activities involving unauthor-
ized money changers.
Drug kingpin Pony Tjandra,
who was sentenced to 20 years in
prison in February, for example,
was known to have exchanged
Rp 3.6 trillion (US$270 million)
in cash into various foreign cur-
rencies at eight money changers
in North Sumatra, Riau Islands
and Jakarta throughout 2015.
None of the money changers were
aware of the origin of the money.
With support from the Finan-
cial Transaction Reports and
Analysis Centre (PPATK) and
the National Narcotics Agency
Batam Semarang
25 - 32 °C 25 - 33 °C
Jakarta Yogyakarta
26 - 32 °C 23 - 32 °C
Bandung Surabaya
20 - 30 °C 26 - 33 °C
Unlicensed money-
changers facing forced
closure
Rp 3.6 trillion in drug
money laundered through
money changer outlets
(BNN), the central bank instruct-
ed unauthorized non-bank mon-
ey changers to apply for an opera-
tional license during a transition
period between Oct. 6 last year
and April 7 this year.
To apply for such a license, a
money changer outlet must be
registered as a legal business en-
tity with a minimum capital of
Rp 250 million for those locat-
ed in Jakarta, Bandung, Batam
and Denpasar. Outside those lo-
cations, a money changer is re-
quired to have a minimum capital
of Rp 100 million.
As the transition period ends,
the central bank and law enforc-
ers have now started to crack
down on illegal money changers
that fail to comply with the regu-
lations.
Those who have met the as-
signed conditions have expressed
support for the government’s ef-
forts to reshape the market.
“It will protect us from being
accessories to crime,” Hardi Dar-
mawan, the owner of PT Valas Asia
Perkasa in Pasar Baru, Central Ja-
karta, told The Jakarta Post recently.
The 59-year-old man started
his money-changing business in
1985 as an extension to his jew-
elry shop. After several years op-
erating without a proper license,
Hadi finally obtained one in 1992.
Apart from curbing the spread
of extraordinary crimes, the new
Denpasar
26 - 34 °C
Samarinda
24 - 29 °C
Palangkaraya
24 - 32 °C
JP/Zul Trio Anggono
rules are also aimed at protecting
the rights of customers in a coun-
try known as a center for counter-
feit money. BI reported that local
authorities confiscated 320,000
pieces of counterfeit money
throughout last year.
Despite efforts to promote li-
censed money-changers, custom-
ers often choose outlets merely
because of their proximity, said
Nuke Leli, a branch manager at
registered money changer PT Bi-
navalasindo Dollar Asia in Mela-
wai, a popular shopping district in
South Jakarta.
“Most of our customers do not
ask whether we are legal or not,”
she said.
Money-changers have become
a profitable alternative business
for small-scale entrepreneurs and
the number of such companies has
increased over the past few years
to 1,069 head offices and more
than 800 branches, BI data shows.
BI data also reveals that total
transactions at money changers
nationwide increased to Rp 257.4
trillion last year from Rp 146.2
trillion recorded in 2012.
Meanwhile, the National Po-
lice have identified almost 200
money-changer outlets operating
without a proper license. These
businesses have been put under
supervision. Around a dozen have
applied for licenses, while 95 oth-
ers have been labeled “illegal” and
are facing forced closure.
“These 95 outlets disguise their
operations with other businesses
such as travel agencies, jewelry
and souvenir shops, car rental
agencies and massage parlors,”
said National Police director for
special and economic crimes Brig.
Gen. Agung Setya. (yon/mrc)
Makassar Ternate
21 - 31 °C 24 - 30 °C
Manado Ambon
23 - 32 °C 25 - 32 °C
Gorontalo Jayapura
24 - 34 °C 24 - 31 °C
Trump touts
executive orders he
once lambasted
Jonathan Lemire But that hastily drawn ban was
And Jill Colvin rejected by the courts. A second
ASSOCIATED PRESS/WASHINGTON replacement order also remains
in judicial limbo.
United State President Don- Presidents frequently turn
ald Trump will mark the end of to executive orders when they
his first 100 days in office with a struggle to advance their agendas
flurry of executive orders, looking through Congresses controlled by
to fulfill campaign promises and the opposition party. In Trump’s
rack up victories ahead of that case, he’s struggled even though
milestone by turning to a presi- both houses of Congress are in
dential tool he once derided. But the hands of Republicans; his
Trump’s frequent use of the exec- health care bill never even came
utive order points to his struggles for a vote in the House of Repre-
getting legislation though a Con- sentatives after it drew sharp crit-
gress controlled by his own party icism from moderate and conser-
and few of the orders themselves vative Republicans alike.
appear to deliver the sweeping And in the Senate, Republicans
changes the president has prom- need to win over some Democratic
ised. lawmakers to get the 60 votes need-
White House aides said that ed for passage of a contested bill.
Trump will have signed 32 exec- But the Senate is generally more in-
utive orders by Friday, the most clined to cut bipartisan deals than
of any president in their first 100 the House because senators have
days since World War II. That’s a statewide constituencies.
far cry from Trump’s heated cam- “This president has found that
paign rhetoric, in which he railed legislating is hard work,” said
against his predecessor’s use of ex- Mark Rozell, dean of George Ma-
ecutive action late in his tenure as son University’s Schar School of
President Barack Obama sought Policy and Government. “Execu-
to maneuver around a Republi- tive orders are the easiest, sim-
can Congress. Trump argued that plest way to showcase action by
he, the consummate deal maker,
wouldn’t need to rely on the tool.
“The country wasn’t based on
executive orders,” said Trump
the president to begin to fulfill
some of the pledges made in the
campaign.
Executive orders show action.
at a town hall in South Carolina
in February 2016. “Right now,
Obama goes around signing ex-
ecutive orders. He can’t even get
along with the Democrats, and he
But oftentimes they are often
symbolic and only have a margin-
al impact on policy.”
A review of Trump’s execu-
tive orders reveals that a num-
goes around signing all these ex- ber of them represent necessary
ecutive orders. It’s a basic disas- first steps at unraveling Obama-
ter. You can’t do it.” era environmental safeguards
But after taking office, Trump and financial service regulations.
has learned to love the executive In some cases, there is no other
order. This week, he will sign one way around those administra-
on rural issues, another on veter- tive hoops and some of the or-
ans and several on energy. ders have bringing about major
The White House has defended changes. Among them: his late
the use of executive orders as nec- March order that directed federal
essary to accomplish the speedy agencies to rescind any existing
solutions it says the American regulations that “unduly burden
people elected Trump to enact. the development of domestic en-
At first, the president’s West Wing ergy resources,” a move that rolls
advisers fashioned an onslaught back environmental protections
of executive action to set the tone that was denounced by Demo-
for this term, with the center- crats and environmentalists and
piece of that first-week blitz being cheered by Republicans who ad-
Trump’s travel ban. vocate energy independence.
THIS ODD WORLD
Police stop boy, 12, from driving across Oz
SYDNEY: Outback police have arrested a 12-year-old boy who was almost
a third of his way toward driving solo across Australia.
The unlicensed boy had driven more than 1,300 kilometers from his
home in Kendall on the east coast when he was stopped by traffic police
on Saturday on the Barrier Highway near the remote mining town of
Broken Hill.
He was pulled over because a bumper bar was dragging on the road,
New South Wales police said in a statement Sunday.
Officials said he was driving to the west coast city of Perth, more than
4,100 kilometers from Kendall.
The boy may have avoided suspicion from others during his journey be-
cause he appears older than his age. Police Detective Inspector Kim Fehon
said the boy was about 183 centimeters tall.
On Saturday, he stopped to get fuel at a gas station in the town of Cobar
and left without paying, station manager Vamshi Reddy said.— AP
Ten pounds of pot wrongly sent to pastor
YEADON, PHILADELPHIA: Police are trying to determine who shipped
10 pounds of marijuana from California to a pastor in the Philadelphia
suburbs.
Yeadon police tell WTXF-TV the drugs arrived Thursday, in bundles
stuffed into a plastic bucket inside a cardboard box that was delivered by
United Parcel Service.
The package was sent from Sacramento.
However, the woman who received it is a church pastor who has told
authorities it wasn’t meant for her. Police believe someone else might
have been instructed to watch for the package, but failed to pick it up.
Police Chief Donald Molineux says the pastor is “very upset and trauma-
tized” and afraid someone might come to her home looking for the drugs.
Police are hoping surveillance video from a drop-off location will iden-
tify who shipped the package. — AP
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 NATIONAL | 3
Thumbs up for you NATIONAL SCENE
Police probe shooting incident in Timika
JAKARTA: The National Police have said they are investigating an
incident in which police officers fired rubber bullets at PT Freeport
Indonesia workers during a rally in Timika, Papua, last week.
“We have sent a team to look into whether the officers followed the
proper procedures, particularly those regarding the use of firearms,”
National Police spokesperson Boy Rafli Amar told reporters on Tuesday.
Six Freeport workers — Andri Santoso, Sakarias, Puguh Prihandono, Wi-
bowo, Faisal and Zainal Abidin — reportedly suffered injuries from the shots.
They claim that they were shot by the police while staging a rally in front
of the Timika District Court. The protesters were demanding the release of a
fellow worker, Sudira, who is currently standing trial for embezzlement.
Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Victor Dean Mackbon was also
injured by a rubber bullet during the incident and is currently receiving
treatment at the Mimika Hospital.
The internal affairs division (Propam) is currently looking into the
incident, Boy said. — JP

Jokowi uses vlog to reach out to youth

JAKARTA: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo continues to use social media
to communicate with the public in the digital era, inviting members of
the younger generations to participate in the country’s development.
“Social media is an effective tool to communicate with the people.
Now I am using video blogs [vlogs] to talk with young Indonesians in
a question and answer format,” Jokowi said on the sidelines of a work-
ing visit to Purwakarta, West Java, on Tuesday.
Jokowi said that for democracy, which requires giving people room
to participate in the country’s development, communication was key,
adding that he made the vlog spontaneously after meeting people on
JP/Dhoni Setiawan the ground while carrying out his duties.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly (left) gestures during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing securi- In addition to vlogging, Jokowi is also active on Facebook and
ty and foreign affairs at the House complex in Jakarta on Tuesday. The government and lawmakers are discussing the ratification of a maritime YouTube. As president, Jokowi has also used Twitter for over a year and
agreement on an exclusive economic zone with the Philippines. now has around 5.57 million followers. @jokowi. — JP

Indonesian militants can ‘easily’ enter PH

Haeril Halim
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
The discovery of an Indonesian
passport by local authorities dur-
ing a recent terrorism crackdown
in the southern Philippines has
raised concerns about intensify-
ing coordination between Indone-
sian militants and the Abu Sayy-
af group, the leading pro-Islamic
State (IS) group in the region.
With resources to guard border
areas limited, militants can easily
enter Abu Sayyaf’s territory in the
Philippines.
Directorate General of Immi-
gration spokesperson Agung Sam-
purno told The Jakarta Post on
Tuesday that for years Indonesian
militants and foreign fighters from
the Philippines have traveled back
Southern PH becomes
training ground for
regional militants
An Indonesian passport
found during recent raid
on terrorists in PH
and forth between the two coun-
tries using traditional sea routes
due to a lack of personnel guard-
ing waters in northern Sulawesi,
which borders the Philippines.
The immigration office has two
border check points — one in Mi-
angas and another on Marore Is-
land in North Sulawesi — that
are used by local people in the re-
gion as entry points to Balut and
Tibanban islands in the southern
Philippines.
However, Agung said, the check-
points could not effectively pre-
vent Indonesian militants entering
the Philippines as locals can visit
their relatives in Mindanau, in the
southern Philippines, with only a
border pass and not a passport.
Historically, Mindanau was
part of the Tidore Sultanate in
the Maluku Islands located in the
eastern part of Indonesia. “They
[foreign fighters] used the two
hubs to enter Indonesia and it is
already public knowledge that
they went to Poso [in Central Su-
lawesi to join the East Indonesia
Mujahidin terrorist group]. They
also smuggle weapons via these
hubs,” Agung told The Jakarta
Post on Tuesday.
Agung said the Directorate
General of Immigration had dis-
patched a team to Davao to iden-
tify the Indonesian passport
found by military officers during
a military campaign to bombard
Abu Sayyaf and Maute terror-
ist groups in Piagapo town in the
southern Philippines that report-
edly killed 30 terrorists on Satur-
day morning.
Philippine authorities told Re-
uters they believe Indonesian and
Malaysian militants might have
been with the groups.
“It is difficult to access the area
because it is heavily guarded by
the military. We will coordinate
with local police and military of-
ficials to identify the owner of the
passport,” Agung said.
National Terrorism Agency
(BNPT) prevention division head
Hamidin said the southern Philip-
pines had been used by IS to gath-
er militants from Southeast Asian
countries, including Indonesia, to
carry out terrorist training.
“Aside from Indonesia, there
are fighters from Malaysia, Ban-
gladesh and other countries in
Southeast Asia attending train-
ing in the southern Philippines,”
Hamidin told the Post.
The designation of the south-
ern Philippines as an IS strong-
hold in Southeast Asia came af-
ter the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group
pledged allegiance to IS.
Hamidin added that it was dif-
ficult to track the exact number
of Indonesian jihadists attending
training in the southern Philip-
pines because they cross the bor-
der illegally.
The official said the free visa
policy among ASEAN country
members had provided a way for
fighters in the region to freely en-
ter the Philippines without any
disruption. “All activities of IS-re-
lated groups in Southeast Asia are
centered in the southern Philip-
pines,” Hamidin said.
Earlier, the National Police said
local terrorist groups in Indone-
sia were planning to build a mili-
tary camp in Halmahera, North
Maluku, due to its close proximity
to the southern Philippines.
Experts said local militants
chose Halmahera because it was
a remote area reachable only by
boat and was easier for them to ac-
cess small islands in the southern
Philippines where they would car-
ry out military training with other
foreign fighters in the region.

POLITICS

Ruthless Golkar
ready to dump Setya
Margareth S. Aritonang
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
“Golkar has no single share-
holder.” This is the popular slogan
that has become a meme among
members of the country’s oldest
surviving political party, which
means that no single group can
control the party.
The only thing that lasts is the
party’s common interest.
The credo seems once more
to ring true as factions inside the
party have come together to oust
chairman Setya Novanto, who has
been implicated in the corruption
case involving the e-ID procure-
ment project, the plundering of
which is estimated to have caused
Rp 2.3 trillion (US$173.1 million)
in state losses.
This time, the competing fac-
tions in Golkar have cited the
need to protect the party’s elect-
ability ahead of the 2019 legis-
lative election from the damage
that could be caused if charges are
brought against Setya in the case.
Months of back-door discus-
sions on the possible dismissal
of Setya, who was once much ap-
plauded for having seen off the
“dictatorial” leadership of Aburi-
zal Bakrie, finally became public
after the Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK) banned him
from traveling overseas earlier
this month.
The travel ban has provided the
opportunity for his rivals to make
their move. Yorrys Raweyai, head
of Golkar’s political, legal and se-
curity affairs division, said the par-
ty was preparing Setya’s successor
should he be named a suspect by
the KPK in the e-ID case. “We’re
gradually consolidating power to
prepare ourselves,” Yorrys said.
“It’s better to make prepara-
tions now than wait until it [Setya
being named a suspect] actually
happens,” he added.
Yorrys, who has frequently
played the role as an initiator of
leadership change, has turned up
the volume of heretofore silent
back-room talks to replace Setya
by his many rivals.
Yorrys’ recent announcement
seems also to have started the
race between competing factions
while at the same time sharpen-
ing internal rifts.
The factions are mulling a plan
to replace Setya by holding an ex-
traordinary congress or appoint-
ing an acting chairman while he
deals with the case.
Golkar currently has three
leading factions competing for
the leadership position.
One faction regards itself as
the “palace faction”, claiming to
have secured close ties to Presi-
dent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. This
group consists of politicians that
control the Golkar faction at the
House of Representatives, in-
cluding senior members such as
chairman Kahar Muzakir, secre-
tary Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmi-
ta, and also Yorrys himself.
The palace faction, which has
endorsed Setya’s dismissal, is in-
volved in a head-to-head bat-
tle with the “Setya faction”, also
known as the “third floor faction”
referring to Setya’s office on the
third floor of the House’s speaker-
ship compound.
Besides Setya, this group con-
sists of his diehard supporters
such as party treasurer Robert
Kardinal. Golkar secretary gener-
al Idrus Marham may also be part
of the Setya coalition, although he
has usually known as an associate
of Aburizal.
Aburizal, meanwhile has pre-
served his own faction in Golkar
comprising several key party fig-
ures including executive chair-
man Nurdin Khalid and former
rival to Setya, Aziz Syamsuddin.
The Jakarta Post has learned
from party elites that the palace
faction sees Industry Minister
Airlangga Hartarto, Agus Gumi-
wang Kartasasmita, head of the
Agency for the Placement and
Protection of Indonesian Migrant
Workers Abroad (BNP2TKI),
Nusron Wahid and chairman of
House Commission III oversee-
ing law and human rights, Bam-
bang Soesatyo as potential candi-
dates for the leadership race.
The Aburizal-led faction,
meanwhile, is set to nominate the
business tycoon loyalists Aziz,
Idrus or Nurdin. Idrus, however,
dismissed the plan to oust Setya,
referring it as mere rumor.
“In regard to his [Setya’s] legal
problems related to the e-ID case,
we will fully trust the KPK to han-
dle it. In the meantime, we as a
party will remain united in sup-
porting him,” he said.
4 | CITY WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

GREATER JAKARTA
Rizieq, Firza no-shows for questioning
JAKARTA: Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab and his
reported girlfriend Firza Husein failed to show up at Jakarta Police
headquarters on Tuesday for questioning concerning an alleged sexting
scandal.
Rizieq and Firza, who is also a coordinator for the former president
Soeharto affiliated Solidaritas Sahabat Cendana Foundation, were sum-
moned by police to answer questions regarding an allegedly steamy
WhatsApp conversation between the two.
They have been charged with the 2008 Electronic Information and
Transactions (ITE) Law for allegedly exchanging information containing
pornographic material.
An intimate WhatsApp exchange containing nude photos between
a man and a woman believed to be Rizieq and Firza was uploaded
earlier this year to the website baladacintarizieq.com by unknown
people. The site has since been blocked.
“Habib [Rizieq] is unable to attend questioning because he has
another important appointment,” said Sugito Atmo Pawiro from FPI’s
legal team on Monday. — JP

Jakarta to build more SLBNs

JAKARTA: The Jakarta Education Agency is looking to build more state
schools for students with disabilities (SLBNs) in East and West Jakarta
to reach the target of providing one in every district in Jakarta. JP/Seto Wardhana
“We plan to add more SLBNs in 2018, as the schools do not cur- Illegal parking: Visitors to the Kalijodo child-friendly public space in Tambora, West Jakarta, park their motorcycles during the Isra Miraj
rently exist in many places,” Jakarta Education Agency deputy head (Prophet Muhammad Ascension) long weekend holiday on Monday.
Bowo Irianto said on Tuesday.
Currently, there are only eight SLBNs in the city.
Bowo said the administration was looking for land as well as teachers
for the state schools. “There is one site in East Jakarta and another one in
West Jakarta that are ready,” he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com. — JP

Agency cracks down on illegal parking

City Hall decorated with
JAKARTA: The West Jakarta Transportation Agency cracked down on
illegal parking on Jl. Krendang Utara and Jl. KH Moh Mansyur in Kren-
dang, Tambora, West Jakarta, on Tuesday.
“There were 29 vehicles. We deflated the tires of 21 vehicles,
wreaths thanking Ahok
towed two cars and ticketed the other six cars,” the agency’s group
commander for Tambora district, Sigit Edi Cahyono, said as quoted by Agnes Anya
beritajakarta.com on Tuesday. THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
The towed vehicles were immediately transported to the agency’s
office in Rawa Buaya, Cengkareng, he said. On any given day, Jakarta’s City
The agency deployed 20 joint officers with the military and the Hall, despite its colonial architec-
police to crack down on the illegal parking. — JP ture and water fountains, is a fair-
ly unassuming sight.
But on Tuesday, City Hall took
Semanggi elevated roads to be tested on a more lively appearance, with
hundreds of wreaths adorning its
JAKARTA: Semanggi’s elevated roads in South Jakarta are set to be fin- front yard in expressions of grat-
ished in July. A road test of construction progress has already reached itude for the service of Jakarta
75 percent. Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja
On Tuesday, officials were to install the final components of the Purnama and Deputy Governor
roads, said the city’s Bina Marga road agency head, Yusmada Faisal. Djarot Saiful Hidayat.
The overall construction will finish in August but by July, the crucial “Pak Basuki and Pak Djarot,
parts will be set. there seems to be no sadness [in
Hence, officials will test the road in July, Yusmada said. — JP your face] but [you] have con-
tinued to smile and give thanks.
Down the drain Thank you,” read a note on a
wreath sent from Elisabeth, En-
dah, Entin and Erlina.
“Thank you for everything. You
are the best governor we have
ever had,” read a note on another
wreath.
Some even admitted to being
Jakartans express gratitude
of Ahok, Djarot, with
wreaths
Others express
disappointment over
Ahok, Djarot’s election loss
left heart broken by Ahok and
Djarot’s loss in the Jakarta gu-
bernatorial election, sending a
wreath decorated with pictures of
broken hearts.
“[From] Us who are broken
hearted because [Ahok and Djar-
ot] left us while we are still deeply
in love,” read a note on the wreath.
Ahok and Djarot conceded de-
feat in the gubernatorial election
last Wednesday to their oppo-
nents Anies Baswedan and Sandi-
aga Uno.
Since then, many of their sup-
porters have expressed their dis-
appointment in the results in ad-
dition to gratitude for the work of
Governor’s administration.
Last Wednesday, a message went
viral on social media, calling on
those wanting to thank Ahok and
Djarot to send wreaths to City Hall.
By Tuesday, dozens of wreaths
arrived at City Hall, occupying nu-
merous spots at the entrance and
near the building’s main pond.
“I think tomorrow [Wednes-
day] this area will be packed with
flowers,” a security officer at the
City Hall, Saparjono, told The Ja-
karta Post.
By 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, many
wreaths were still arriving at City
Hall via car and motorcycle delivery.
Hilman Wijaya, a resident of
Karet, Central Jakarta, said he
had also ordered a wreath to be
sent to City Hall on Wednesday.
“The reason is the same as oth-
er people. It is to show my grati-
tude for their work,” Hilman said.
“I’ve lived in Jakarta my whole life
and I have really felt the change
under their administration.”
He was especially appreciative
of their work to mitigate floods
in the capital, even though the
project was controversial as it in-
volved evictions.
“It has been 3 years since I last
experienced floods,” Hilman add-
ed.
The wreaths not only gave col-
or to City Hall, but also profited
many florists in the capital.
Online florist Aneka Bunga,
for example, received 15 orders
of wreaths to be delivered to City
Hall.
“Orders have been made since
Monday. We also received more
orders today to be sent tomor-
row,” said the florist’s staffer,
Irsyadi, adding that a wreath was
priced at Rp 500,000 (US$37.65).
Beside sending wreaths, many
people expressed their gratitude
on social media, particularly In-
stagram, using the hashtag #teri-
makasihahokdjarot (#thankyoua-
hokdjarot).

LAND DISPUTE

Evictions imminent for Soekarno-Hatta airport railway

The Jakarta Post
JAKARTA
Dozens of Manggarai residents
in South Jakarta, who have lived
in the area since the 1950s, are
facing imminent eviction as they
A worker from the Central Jakarta water management subagency only have until Tuesday midnight
descends to clear a clogged sewer in the Jl. MH Thamrin area in to relocate themselves before
Central Jakarta on Tuesday. state-owned railway operator PT
Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) de-
molishes their houses.
On Tuesday, PT KAI issued a
third and final warning letter to
the residents, ordering them to
vacate their houses by midnight
Tuesday at the latest.
“We previously disseminated
the information about the demo-
lition. The important thing is that
we have done the necessary ac-
tions [of disseminating the infor-
mation and issuing warning let-
ters],” Suprapto told The Jakarta
protests against the planned de-
molition on Tuesday.
An advocate of the residents
said that they would keep object-
ing to the demolition plan as they
claimed rights to the land.
However, they admitted that
they did not have any certificates
or house deeds to support their
claims, with some residents only
possessing house purchase agree-
ments that were signed by the
houses despite the warnings from
PT KAI as they only wanted to
live in peace without the threat of
demolition looming over them.
Previously, PT KAI issued two
warning letters, the first for resi-
dents to vacate their houses by
April 9 and the second by April
25. The second one was given last
Friday, a day before the Isra Miraj
(Prophet Muhammad’s Ascen-
sion Day) long weekend.
373/13(56(52 The railway operator plans Post on Tuesday. head of the neighborhood unit. In their attempt to fight PT KAI,
,19,7$7,2172%,' to demolish the houses to make Therefore, Suprapto said, the “These families have lived in the residents and their lawyers
)25/8:8.*$6(1*,1(32:(53/$170: way for the construction of a line operator would demolish the the area since the 1950s. They filed a report with the Indonesian
 $VSDUWRIWKH0:$FFHOHUDWLRQ3URJUDPDQGLQRUGHUWRLQFUHDVHHOHFWULFSRZHUVXSSO\WR to Soekarno-Hatta International houses regardless of whether the should be the ones who have Ombudsman on April 7, demand-
LQGXVWU\ EXVLQHVVHV DQG KRXVHKROGV LQ  6XODZHVL 7HQJDK 3URYLQFH  37 3/1 3HUVHUR Airport from Manggarai Station, residents had emptied them out rights to own the land,” said ing an investigation into PT KAI
KHUHLQDIWHUUHIHUWRDV3/1PXVWHQKDQFHLWVJHQHUDWLRQFDSDFLW\7RDFKLHYHWKLVREMHFWLYH3/1
KHUHE\LQYLWHV%LGGHUVIRUWKHGHVLJQH[HFXWLRQDQGFRPSOHWLRQRIWKH*DV(QJLQH3RZHU3ODQW part of an airport train project or not. Nurharis Wijaya of the Indonesia over allegations of maladministra-
3URMHFWZKLFKFRQVLVWRI(3&DQG¿YH\HDUV2SHUDWLRQDQG0DLQWHQDQFH2 0 that is scheduled to start operat- He added that the operator Legal Aid and Human Rights As- tion in the demolition plan.

 373/13HUVHURLQYLWHVVHDOHGELGVIRUDQ,QWHUQDWLRQDO&RPSHWLWLYH%LGGLQJWKDWLPSOHPHQWLQJ ing in July 2017. would ensure that the construc- sociation (PBHI), who has been A representative from the
2QH6WDJH7ZR(QYHORSHVELGGLQJSURFHVVIRU/XZXN*DV(QJLQH3RZHU3ODQW3URMHFWZLWKQHW Despite ongoing protests from tion work was on track to meet assisting residents in the dispute. Ombudsman visited the area on
FDSDFLW\RXWSXWPLQLPXP0:GDQPD[LPXPIRU0:SHUFHQWDWVLWHFRQGLWLRQ7KH
SODQWRSHUDWHGZLWKQDWXUDOJDVVLQJOHIXHO the residents against the planned its deadline of July 2017 despite The residents also objected to Tuesday to get more information
 7KHVFRSHRIZRUNVVKDOOEHRQDIXOO(3&/XPSVXPEDVLVH[FHSWIRUSLOLQJZRUNVZLOOEHRQWKHXQLW
demolition, PT KAI spokesper- the protests, as “the project was the amount of compensation of- about PT KAI’s demolition plan.
SULFHEDVLV7KHVFRSHFRPSULVHVGHVLJQPDQXIDFWXUHLQVSHFWLRQDQGWHVWLQJDWPDQXIDFWXUH
V son Suprapto said that the rail- divided into several sections that fered by train operator PT KAI “We came here to seek more
IDFLOLW\SDFNLQJVKLSPHQWLQVXUDQFHFXVWRPVFOHDUDQFHGHOLYHU\WRVLWHXQORDGLQJVWRULQJDQG way operator would proceed with were done partially, so the other for their property, as the compa- information to decide whether
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ZDUUDQW\LQVSHFWLRQSULRUWR¿QDODFFHSWDQFHRIDFRPSOHWHSODQWDQGVKDOOSURYLGHD¿YH\HDUV its plan to demolish 11 houses. He work wasn’t really affected.” ny said it would pay Rp 250,000 PT KAI has done any maladmin-
WHUPRIVHUYLFHIRURSHUDWLRQDQGPDLQWHQDQFHVWDUWLQJIURP7DNLQJ2YHU'DWH'HWDLORIVFRSHRI said the company had issued sev- Faced with imminent eviction, (US$18.82) per house. istration involving the residents,”
ZRUNLVVWDWHGRQ%LG'RFXPHQW
eral warnings to the residents to dozens of Manggarai residents Nurharis added that the res- said Cut Silvana Desia Dewi of the
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relocate. in South Jakarta continued their idents would remain in their Indonesian Ombudsman. (kuk)
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 %LGGHUVVKDOOFRPSO\ZLWKWKHIROORZLQJUHTXLUHPHQWV PARKING WOES

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VHUYLFHVZRUNZLWKLQWKH
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 VHUYLFHVZRUNZLWKLQWKH
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Winda A. Charmila functional, but are blocked by the administration to operate the with the police and the military,
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA other cars and motorbikes parked parking meters because he had e- planned to crack down on illegal
:LWKLQWKHODVWWHQ\HDUVKDVEHHQVXFFHVVIXOO\FRPSOHWHGIRURQH\HDUDVIROORZV
there and not a single official money, which can be used to pay parking on Tuesday.
 RQH(3&&RQWUDFW RQH *DV 3RZHU 3ODQW IRU  0: RU (3&&RQWUDFWIRU7KHUPDO3RZHU
 RQH*DV3RZHU3ODQWIRU0: ODUJHURURQH6WHDP3RZHU3ODQWIRU 3ODQW IRU  0: RU ODUJHU The Jakarta administration in- parking attendant was seen guid- the parking fees. The unofficial parking atten-
RUODUJHURURQH6WHDP3RZHU 0:RUODUJHU stalled the city’s first electronic ing visitors to use them. “I also hope there are official dants may be recruited by the
3ODQWIRU0:RUODUJHU
parking meters in 2015, with the Instead, illegal parking atten- parking attendants paid by the agency as legal parking atten-
 7KH3URSRVHGRI0DLQ(TXLSPHQWVKDOOIXO¿OOWKHIROORZLQJUHTXLUHPHQWV hope of eradicating rampant ille- dants wandered around the area administration,” he said while dants, Sigit added.
D 7KH*DV(QJLQH*HQHUDWRU*(*VKDOOEH2(0DQGRULJLQDOO\PDQXIDFWXUHGLQDQ2(&'
&RXQWU\ DQG PXVW GHPRQVWUDWH WKDW LW KDV DW OHDVW  RQH UHIHUHQFH XQLW LQ VXFFHVVIXO
gal parking. ensuring visitors got parking spots. visiting RPTRA by car from Cipa- Furthermore, the parking me-
RSHUDWLRQ That year, the Jakarta Trans- Visitors to the park were un- yung, East Jakarta. ters will be replaced by parking
E 7KH*DV(QJLQH0DQXIDFWXUHUVFDQVXSSRUWELGXSWRWZRELGGHUVLQRQHSDFNDJH,QWKH portation Agency installed 111 aware of the existence of the The illegal parking attendants gates at the entrance of the park.
HYHQW*DV(QJLQH0DQXIDFWXUHULVSDUWRI-RLQW9HQWXUH-RLQW2SHUDWLRQ&RQVRUWLXPWKHQ*DV
(QJLQH0DQXIDFWXUHULVQRWDOORZHGWRVXSSRUWRWKHU-RLQW9HQWXUH-RLQW2SHUDWLRQ&RQVRUWLXP parking meters along Jl. Sa- parking meters. charge Rp 2,000 (15 US cents) for According to the agency, the
DVVXSSOLHUVVXEFRQWUDFWRUV bang in Central Jakarta, Jl. Ke- Yono, 40, visited RPTRA Ka- motorcycles and Rp 5,000 for cars. number of illegal parking atten-
F 7KH*DV(QJLQH*HQHUDWRU*(*VKDOOEHVXLWDEOHIRUIXHOQDWXUDOJDV
G 7UDQVIRUPHUVKDOOEHORFDOO\PDQXIDFWXUHG lapa Gading in North Jakarta and lijodo with his wife and daugh- Jakarta Transportation Agen- dants in the area can reach up to 20
H 0HHWDOORWKHUUHTXLUHPHQWVVHWIRUWKLQWKH%LG'RFXPHQW Jl. Falatehan in West Jakarta. ter on Monday, after travelling cy deputy head Sigit Wijatmoko people, depending on whether it is
 %LGGHUV VKDOO VXEPLW %LG 3URSRVDO ZLWK  RQH 2(0 2ULJLQDO (TXLSPHQW 0DQXIDFWXUHU *DV In 2016, the agency placed an by motorcycle from his home in said the parking meters did not a weekday, weekend or holiday.
(QJLQH*HQHUDWRU
additional 202 parking meters Cengkareng, West Jakarta. function because the agency did Unfortunately, the agency can-
 3/1VKDOO¿QDQFHWKHSURMHFWXVLQJ3/12ZQ%XGJHW around the city. “When I arrived, I was direct- not expect many visitors to come not do anything to stop them as it
 %LGGHUVVKDOOIXO¿OO¿QDQFLDOUHTXLUHPHQWDVVHWIRUWKLQWKH%LG'RFXPHQW%LGGHUVVKDOOVXEPLWZLWK But as the number of parking ed to an empty parking spot by with their own vehicles. does not have the rights to do so,
WKHLUDSSOLFDWLRQDUHFHQWYDOLGGRFXPHQW meters increases, many are left a parking attendant, not to the “We can see the [parking space] Sigit said.
 %LGGHUVPD\UHJLVWHUDQGFROOHFWWKHELGGRFXPHQWIURP$SULOWK ±-XQHWK DIWHU unused due to a lack of public parking meters,” he said, adding is large, but there are only two en- “If we come to monitor the
SD\PHQWRIDQRQUHIXQGDEOHIHHLQWKHDPRXQWRI5SWHQPLOOLRQ5XSLDKDWWKH awareness as well as the ongoing that he was not given a parking trance gates with only five park- area, they [the illegal parking at-
DGGUHVVEHORZ
presence of unofficial parking at- ticket either. ing meters. It is not enough,” Sigit tendants] will not ask for pay-
373/13HUVHUR+HDG2I¿FH tendants. While Yono was initially un- said on Monday. ment from visitors,” he said.
FR3URFXUHPHQW2I¿FHU
IRU/XZXN*DV(QJLQH3RZHU3ODQW0: One example are the five re- aware of the parking meters, he Furthermore, the agency lacks Inaugurated on Feb.22, RPTRA
WK
0DLQ%XLOGLQJ)ORRU-DODQ7UXQRMR\R%ORN0,.HED\RUDQ%DUX cently-installed electronic park- said the Jakarta administration the personnel to guide the park’s Kalijodo was built using the cor-
-DNDUWD
3KRQH)D[ ing meters at the child-friendly should make sure people use the visitors and to operate the ma- porate social responsibility funds
public space, RPTRA Kalijodo, in machines because he wanted the chines, he added. of property developer Sinarmas
 7KH3URSRVDOVKDOOEHVXEPLWWHGLQRQHRULJLQDORQHFRS\DQGRQHHOHFWURQLFFRS\E\
KDQGQRWODWHUWKDQ30ORFDOWLPHRQ-XQHQG WRWKHDERYHDGGUHVVLQWKHVHDOHG Tambora, West Jakarta. revenue from the parking fees to As a result, the park’s parking Land and cost Rp 3.6 billion. Its
HQYHORSHVZLWKFOHDUO\PDUNHGDVPHQWLRQHGDV3URMHFWRISRLQWDERYH Based on The Jakarta Post ob- go to the administration. space was overrun by unofficial facilities include a skate park,
-DNDUWD$SULO
6WUDWHJLF3URFXUHPHQW'LYLVLRQ
servations on Monday, these elec- Other visitors voiced a similar parking attendants. BMX arena, outdoor gym and toi-
tronic parking meters are fully opinion. Hendri, 33, also wanted Therefore, the agency, together lets for persons with disabilities.
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
Full-day
schooling
policy failing
in Gorontalo
Syamsul Huda M. Suhari
THE JAKARTA POST/GORONTALO
Living in a geographically
challenged province, students
in Gorontalo find education not
only an intellectual exercise,
but frequently a life-threatening
experience.
The Indonesian Ombudsman’s
representative in Gorontalo has
found that a lack of facilities and
infrastructure in most parts of the
province have hampered the im-
plementation of education pro-
grams, including the nationwide
trial of full-day schooling.
In Tibawa district, Gorontalo
regency, the ombudsman found
an elementary school student who
had to cross rivers 32 times, going
up and down hills to get to school.
“He has to wake up at 3 o’clock
in the morning, so he won’t be
late,” the assistant to the ombuds-
man’s Gorontalo representative,
Wahiyudin Mamonto, told The
Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
In Batudaa, another district in
the regency, a student was killed
after being hit by a car as he went
to join Friday prayers at a nearby
village mosque because his school
did not provide worship facilities,
despite obliging its students to
take part in prayers three times a
day at the mosque.
Many schools in both districts
did not provide sufficient facili-
ties or give special training for
teachers.
Some schools in Gorontalo city
were even found to be charging
parents illegal levies to provide
support facilities.
“I don’t need to mention the
name of the school but some par-
ents had to buy water dispensers
to be placed in their children’s
classrooms,” said Wahiyudin.
He believed the full-day school
system, which has been piloted in
several schools since the beginning
of this year, would not succeed, giv-
en the constraints in the province.
After the inauguration of Edu-
cation and Culture Minister Mu-
hadjir Effendy last year, the gov-
ernment announced a plan to
implement the full-day program
that requires students at all levels
ENVIRONMENT
Actions sought to
protect mangroves
Desy Nurhayati
THE JAKARTA POST/DENPASAR
Participants of the Interna-
tional Conference on Sustainable
Mangrove Ecosystems are urging
all stakeholders to improve their
work to ensure the sustainable
management of mangrove eco-
systems worldwide.
Concluding the four-day con-
ference with the Bali Declaration
last week, the 200 participants
from 24 countries called on stake-
holders to work more closely with
coastal communities to ensure
the conservation, restoration and
protection of mangroves.
Evidence and case studies pre-
sented at this conference dem-
onstrated conclusively that with
adequate investment sustainable
mangrove management can play
a significant role in implementing
Articles 5 and 7 of the Paris Agree-
ment on the conservation and en-
hancement of carbon sinks, in
enabling adaptation to climate
change and in achieving the Unit-
ed Nation’s Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals.
The conference also revealed
the importance of involving local
communities in the restoration
and rehabilitation of mangroves
worldwide and in sustainable
mangrove management.
“Mangrove ecosystems pro-
vide many goods and environ-
mental services essential for the
livelihoods of coastal peoples, the
sustainability of fisheries and bio-
diversity conservation, and they
store among the highest densities
of carbon of any ecosystem glob-
ally,” said Hilman Nugroho, the
director general for watershed
and forest protection at the Envi-
ronment and Forestry Ministry.
However, he said mangrove
ecosystems are under threat
worldwide, with up to 50 percent
of the world’s mangroves having
been lost in the last 40 years. At
One student has to cross
rivers, climb hills to get to
school
Not enough facilities,
teacher training to
support full-day program
to stay longer at school, as an ef-
fort to curb child delinquency.
Muhadjir said under the plan,
the school-hour extension would
partly be used for character-
building activities. Furthermore,
it also purported to guarantee
students’ safety until their par-
ents finished work.
He went on to say that the plan
did not mean students would
spend their entire school day in
normal classes, but they would be
involved in extracurricular activi-
ties to develop their characters
and potential.
More than 500 schools at el-
ementary, junior high and high
school levels began to implement
the program earlier this year.
Gorontalo Education, Youth
and Sports Agency head Weni Li-
puto said he had also received sim-
ilar complaints from residents.
He said in the province only
schools in Gorontalo regency,
Gorontalo city, North Gorontalo
and Bone Bolango had piloted the
program.
Weni said his agency would re-
view the system further during
the new 2017-2018 academic year,
which will start in July.
“We will revoke the [full-day]
system at senior high and senior
vocational high schools and re-
turn them back to the regular sys-
tems,” said Weni, suggesting re-
gency and city education agencies
should follow the policy for the
schools in their areas.
With regard to the Ombuds-
man’s findings, Muhadjir said that
he had not learned of these prob-
lems surrounding the full-day
school program. “I would prefer
the schools’ names and addresses
to be cited explicitly,” he told the
Post on Tuesday.
He also said that he would ask
the ministry’s inspectorate gen-
eral to follow up the reports. (mrc)
least one-quarter of the surviving
mangroves have been moderate-
ly to severely degraded, Hilman
added.
The first point of the key mea-
sures was to prioritize the con-
servation and sustainable use of
mangrove ecosystems in national
policies, laws and regulations at
all levels of government, and to
strengthen law enforcement to re-
duce the continuing loss and deg-
radation of mangrove ecosystems.
The conference also recom-
mended the clarification of land
tenure and user rights for com-
munities with concern for cultur-
al sensitivity and promoting the
effective involvement and em-
powerment of local communities,
especially women.
The last point in the confer-
ence recommendation was to
generate knowledge about the
rates, patterns, causes, and con-
sequences of change in mangrove
ecosystems from the local to the
global scale.
The conference also presented
some best practices in the man-
agement of mangrove ecosystems
in some countries worldwide, in-
cluding Indonesia. In Bintuni Bay
in West Papua, PT Bintuni Utama
Murni Wood Industries (BUM-
WI) has set a good example of sus-
tainable mangrove forest man-
agement certified by the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC).
The mangrove forest in Bintu-
ni Bay is one of the largest of its
kind in the world, covering ap-
proximately 260,000 hectares. It
is an important natural resource
for communities and provides
significant environmental bene-
fits to surrounding areas.
Since 1988, the firm has been
enhancing the benefits of the
mangrove forests for local people
and stakeholders within the area.
Currently, the company manages
82,120 hectares of forest for wood
chip production.
ARCHIPELAGO | 5
ANNOUNCEMENT OF
SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
FOR THE 2016 FINANCIAL YEAR PT TELKOM INDONESIA (PERSERO) Tbk
Time
Place
: 14.15 up to17.58 Western Indonesia Time
: Ballroom - Hotel Pullman, Jl. M.H Thamrin No. 59 Jakarta 10310
(No.Tel 83/PR000/COP-I5000000/2017)
The Board of Directors of PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, (hereinafter referred as the “Company”), hereby announces that the Company has convened the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (hereinafter referred as the “Meeting”) on:
Day/Date : Friday, April 21, 2017
*with note the Meeting was suspended at 16.20 Western Indonesia Time and re-opened at 16.53 Western Indonesia Time
The Meeting was attended by members of the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Directors of the Company, namely:
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS:
% Mrs. HENDRI SAPARINI – President Commissioner;
% Mr. DOLFIE OTHNIEL FREDRIC PALIT - Commissioner;
% Mr. PONTAS TAMBUNAN – Commissioner;
% Mr. MARGIYONO DARSASUMARJA – Independent Commissioner;
% Mr. RINALDI FIRMANSYAH - Independent Commissioner;
% Mrs. PAMIYATI PAMELA JOHANNA WALUYO - Independent Commissioner.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
% Mr. ALEX J. SINAGA – President Director;
% Mr. HARRY M. ZEN – Director;
% Mr. HERDY ROSADI HARMAN - Director;
% Mr. ABDUS SOMAD ARIEF - Director;
% Mr. DIAN RACHMAWAN – Director
and the holder/representative of Series A Dwiwarna Share and holder/ representative of Series B Share collectively representing 80.056.663.565 shares or constituted 80,815% of the total number of shares having legal voting rights which have been issued by the Company up to the date of the
Meeting (excluding the buy back shares), in the total amount of 99.062.216.600 shares; by taking into account the Company's Shareholders Register as per March 29, 2017 up to 16.15 Western Indonesia Time.
Mechanism to adopt resolution in the Meeting was conducted by deliberation to reach a consensus. But in the event that the deliberation to reach a consensus cannot be reached then the resolution was conducted by voting.
Whereas the Meeting has resolved the following resolutions as set forth in Deed of Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, dated April 21, 2017 number 256, made by Notary Ashoya Ratam SH, M.Kn, which
is summary is as follows:
First Agenda Approval of the Company’s Annual Report for the Financial Year 2016, including the Board of Commissioners’ Supervisory Report
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions 2 shareholders who ask questions related to combined First Agenda
Agree Disagree Abstain
The Result of Decision Making
79,894,268,065 Shares or 99.797% 2,112,300 Shares or 0.003% 160,283,200 Shares or 0.200%
Resolution “The meeting with the majority vote 80,054,551,265 (99.997%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to:
To approve the Annual Report of the Company including the Board of Commissioners’ Supervision Duty Report for the Financial Year 2016, namely regarding the condition and operation and supervisory of the Company as
substantially have been presented in the Meeting by the Board of Directors and the Board of Commissioners.”
Second Agenda Ratification of the Company’s Financial Statements and Partnership and Community Development Program’s (Program Kemitraan dan Bina Lingkungan) Annual Report for the 2016 Financial Year and Acquittal
and Discharge of all members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Commissioners.
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions There is no Shareholder ask question related to Second Agenda
The Result of Decision Making
Agree Disagree Abstain
79,725,967,865 Shares or 99.587% 170,725,400 Shares or 0.213% 159,970,300 Shares or 0.200%
Resolution ”The meeting with the majority vote 79,885,938,165 (99.786%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to:
To ratify:
a. The Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the Financial Year 2016 which has been audited by the Public Accountant Firm Purwantono, Sungkoro & Surja (a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited)
according to its report number RPC 3036/PSS/2017 dated March 2, 2017 stated with opinion “the accompanying consolidated financia l statements report present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial
position of Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk and its subsidiaries ended as of December 31, 2016 and the financial performance and conso lidated casf flow for the year ended on such date
b.
in accordance with Indonesian Financial Accounting Standards”;
Partnership and Community Development Annual Report for the Financial Year 2016 which compiled pursuant to Minister of State Owned Enterprise’ s Regulation which is a comprehensive accounting basis in addition
to Indonesian Financial Accounting Principle that generally accepted in Indonesia and have been audited by the Public Accountant Firm Purwantono, Sungkoro & Surja (a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited)
according to its report RPC-2925/PSS/2017 dated January 25, 2017 stated with opinion “the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, financial position of Center for the Management of
Partnership and Community Development Program of Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk dated December 31, 2016 and financial performance and cash flow for the year ended on such
date in accordance with the Non Publicly Accountable Entities Financial Accounting Standards.
- Then, by the approval of the Company’s Annual Report for the Financial Year 2016 including Supervisory Task of the Board of Commissioner Report and the ratification of Financial Statement for the Financial Year 2016
and Annual Report on Partnership and Community Development Program for the Financial Year 2016, the Meeting hereby grant a full acquittal and discharge (volledig acquit et decharge) to members of the Board of
Directors and the Board of Commissioners who serves in the Financial Year 2016 consecutively for the managerial and supervisory actions of the Company as long as those actions are not criminal act and those actions are
reflected in the Company’s Annual Report, Financial Statements (Consolidated) for Financial Year 2016 and Annual Report of P artnership and Community Development for the Financial Year 2016.”
Third Agenda Appropriation of the Company’s Net Income for the 2016 Financial Year
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions 1 shareholder who ask questions related to Third Agenda
The Result of Decision Making
Agree
79,822,139,834 Shares or 99.707%
Disagree
112,922,096 Shares or 0.141%
Abstain
121,601,635 Shares or 0.152%
Resolution ”The meeting with the majority vote 79,943,741,469 (99.859%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to:
1. To Approve and determine the appropriation of the Company’s net profit for the Financial Year ended on the December 31, 2016 in the amount of Rp19,352,026,828,926,- (nineteen trillion three hundred fifty two billion
twenty six million eight hundred twenty eigh thousand and nine hundred and twenty six Rupiah) which will be allocated to:
a. Dividend amounting to 60% of the net profit or in the amount of Rp11,611,211,188,567.60 (eleven trillion six hundred eleven billion two hundred eleven million one hundred eighty eight thousand five hundred
sixty seven point six zero Rupiah) including amount of Interim Dividend which had been distributed to shareholders on the December 27, 2016 based on the Board of Directors Meeting which had been approved
by the Board of Commissioners on the December 6, 2016 in amount Rp1,919,726,695,491.40 (one trillion nine hundred ninety billion seven hundred twenty six million six hundred ninety five thousand and four
hundred ninety one point four zero Rupiah), therefore the amount of cash dividend will be distributed to shareholders in amou nt of Rp9,691,484,493,076.18 (nine trillion six hundred ninety one billion four
hundred eighty four million four hundred ninety three thousand seventy six point one eight Rupiah) and added special dividen d of 10% or amount of Rp1,935,200,213,724.32 (one trillion nine hundred thirty five
billion two hundred million two hundred thirteen thousand seven hundred twenty four point three two Rupiah) distributed as ca sh dividend, therefore dividend (either cash dividend and special dividend) to
shareholders per shares of Rp117.3675 (one hundred and seventeen point three six seven five Rupiah) and specifically dividen for Government/Republic of Indonesia will be paid in accordance with prevailling
laws, with notes:
State of Rp6,056,439,231,453.30 (six trillion fifty six billion four hundred thirty nine million two hundred thirty one thousand four hundred fifty three point three zero Rupiah);
Public of Rp5,570,245,475,347.20 (five trillion five hundred seventy billion two hundred forty five million four hundred seventy five thousand three hund red forty seven point two zero Rupiah)
b. 30% of Net Profit of the Company or amount of Rp5,805,615,426,634.10 (five trillion eight hundred five billion six hundred fifteen million four hundred twenty six thousand six hundred thirty four point one zero
Rupiah) determined as Retairned Earning;
2. To Approve the distribution of Cash Dividend and Special Dividend for the Financial Year 2016 will be conducted with the following conditions:
a. those who are entitled to receive Cash Dividend and Special Dividend are shareholders whose names are recorded in the Company’s Shareholders on May 5, 2017 up to 16:15 Western Indonesia Standard Time;
3.
b. Cash Dividend and Special Dividend shall be paid all at once on May 26, 2017.
To the Board of Directors granted the authorization to regulate further the procedure of dividend distribution and to announce the same with due observance of the prevailing law s and regulations in the stock exchange
where the Company’s share are listed.”
Fourth Agenda Determination of Tantieme for Year 2016, Salary and Honorarium including Facility and other Allowances for members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Commissioner for Year 2017
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions 1 shareholder who ask questions related to Fourth Agenda
The Result of Decision Making
Agree Disagree Abstain
75,533,515,425 Shares or 94.350% 4,310,195,883 Shares or 5.384% 212,952,257 Shares or 0.266%
Resolution ”The meeting with the majority vote 75,746,467,682 (94.616%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to approve:
1. To grant authority and authorize to series A Dwiwarna shareholder to determine the amount of tantieme for financial year 2016 and to determine honorarium allowance, facility and other incentive to members of the
Board of Commissioners for financial year 2017.
2. To grant authority and authorize to the Board of Commissioners by first obtaining written approval of series A Dwiwarna Shareholders to determine the amount of tantieme for financial year 2016 and to determine
salary, allowance, facility and other incentive to members of the Board of Directors for financial year 2017.”
Fifth Agenda Appointment of Public Accountant Firm to audit the Company’s Financial Statements for the 2017 Financial Year, including Audit of Internal Control on Financial Reporting and appointment of a Public
Accountant Firm to audit the Financial Statement of the Partnership and Community Development Program for the 2017 Financial Year
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions There is no Shareholder ask question related to Fifth Agenda
The Result of Decision Making
Agree Disagree Abstain
Resolution
74,678,068,775 Shares or 93.282% 4,680,417,219 Shares or 5.846%
”The meeting with the majority vote 75,376,246,346 (94.154%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to approve:
698,177,571 Shares or 0.872%
1. Reappointment of Public Accounting Firm Purwantono, Sungkoro & Surja (a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited) to condu ct an integrated audit of the Company for the Financial Year 2017 which include the
audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company, and the audit of the Internal Control Audit on Financial Reporting for the Financial Year 2017 and to audit the Financial Statements of Partnership and
2.
Community Development Program for the Financial Year 2017.
Reappointment of Public Accounting Firm Purwantono, Sungkoro & Surja (a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited) to audit the appropriation of funds for the Partnership and Community Development Program
3.
for the Financial Year 2017.
To grant authority to the Boards of Commissioners to:
a. to appoint an alternate Public Accounting Firm and determine the terms and conditions of its appointment; in the event the appointed Public Accounting Firm can not perform or continue its duty for any reason
including the reason of prevailling law and the agreement on the amount for audit fee is unattainable.
b.Determine the amount of audit fee and other terms and conditions of appointment of the relevant Public Accounting Firm.”
Sixth Agenda Ratification of Minister of State Owned Enterprise’s Regulation number PER-03/MBU/12/2016 about Changes in PER-09/MBU/07/2015 regarding State Owned Enterprise’s Partnership Program and Community
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions
Development Program
There is no Shareholder ask question related to Sixth Agenda
The Result of Decision Making
Agree
79,943,772,530 Shares or 99.859%
Disagree
18,069,600 Shares or 0.023%
Abstain
94,821,435 Shares or 0.118%
Resolution ”The meeting with the majority vote 80,038,593,965 (99.977%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to:
To approve the ratification of Minister of State Owned Enterprise’s Regulation number PER-03/MBU/12/2016 regarding amendment of Minister of State Owned Enterprise’s Regulation number PER-09/MBU/07/2015 regarding
State Owned Enterprise’s Partnership Program and Community Development Program.”
Seventh Agenda
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions
Changes in Company’s Article of Association
There is no Shareholder ask question related to Seventh Agenda
The Result of Decision Making First Part
Agree
79,026,929,519 Shares or 98.714%
Disagree
984,936,545 Shares or 1.230%
Abstain
44,797,500 Shares or 0.056%
The Result of Decision Making Second Part
Agree Disagree Abstain
79,026,929,520 Shares or 98.714% 984,936,545 Shares or 1.230% 44,797,500 Shares or 0.056%
Resolution ”In the First Part:
The meeting with the majority vote 79,071,727,019 (98.770%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to approve amandment of the Articles of Association related with the right of serie A Shareholder:
In the Second Part:
The meeting with the majority vote 79,071,727,020 (98.770%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to approve amandment of the Articles of Association which is not related with the right of serie A Shareholder:
Therefore in the seventh Agenda of the Meeting resolved:
1. To approve amendment and/or adjustment standarization of the Articles of Association of public State Owned Enterprise related with the change of right share of series A Dwiwarna by recompile all of the Articles of
Association, in accordance with Letter Minster of State Owned Enterprise as proxy of shareholder seri A Dwiwarna.
2. To grant authority to shareholder seri A Dwiwarna to amend and revise to the provisions of the Articles of Association of the Company as referred to in the event of any amendment and / or revision to the provisions
issued by the competent authority including the institutions relating to the public company and / or shareholder series A Dwiwarna as necessary in the framework of submission of reporting and / or approval of amendment
of the Articles of Association to the authorized institution.
3. To grant authority to the Board of Directors of the Company with rights of substitution to restate amendment and/or adjusment of the Articles of Association of the Company into a notarial deed and further submit
application approval and/or notify amendment of Articles of Association of the Company to the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia and/or authorized institution pursuant to the prevailing
laws and regulations.”
Eighth Agenda Changes in Composition of the Board of the Company.
Number of Shareholders who Ask Questions There is no Shareholder ask question related to Eighth Agenda
Agree Disagree Abstain
The Result of Decision Making
55,232,789,460 Shares or 68.992% 23,002,264,748 Shares or 28.733 % 1,821,609,357 Shares or 2.275%
Resolution ”The meeting with the majority vote 57,054,398,817 (71.267%) of the total votes issued in the Meeting resolved to:
1. Confirmation Honorably dismissal from their offices the following names:
a. Mister MUHAMMAD AWALUDDIN as Director as of September 9th 2016;
b. Mister INDRA UTOYO as Director as of March 15th 2017;
c. Mister HONESTI BASYIR as Director as of April 20th 2017;
with appreciation for contribution of dedication and thoughts during their term as the member of the Board of Directors of the Company.
2. Honorably dismissal mister HADIYANTO and Mister PONTAS TAMBUNAN respectively as Commissioner with appreciation for contribution of dedicaation and thoughts during their term as member of the Board of
Commissioner of the Company.
3. Changing of the nomenclature of the Board of Directors as follow:
a. President Director to become President Director
b. Director to become Finance Director
c. Director to become Consumers Service Director
d. Director to become Human Capital Management Director
e. Director to become Network & IT Solution Director
f. Director to become Digital & Strategic Portfolio Director
g. Director to become Wholesale & International Service Director
h. Director to become Enterprise & Business Service Director
4. Diverting assignment of:
a. Mister HARRY M ZEN formerly as Director to become Finance Director.
b. Mister DIAN RACHMAWAN formerly as Director to become Enterprise & Business Service Director
c. Mister HERDY ROSADI HARMAN formerly as Director to become Human Capital Management Director
d. Mister ABDUS SOMAD ARIEF formerly as Director to become Wholesale & International Service Director
5. To appoint the following names:
a. Mister HADIYANTO as Commissioner;
b. Miss DEVY W SURADJI as Commissioner;
c. Mister CAHYANA AHMADJAYADI as Independent Commissioner;
d. Mister MAS’UD KHAMID as Consumers Service Director;
e. Mister ZULHELFI ABIDIN as Network & IT Solution Director;
f. Mister DAVID BANGUN as Digital & Strategic Portfolio Director;
with the term of office effective as of the close of the Meeting and ended at the closing of the fitfth Annual General Meeting of Shareholders without prejudice to the rights of General Meeting of Shareholders to
dismiss at anytime.
6. For the members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Commissioners who are appointed as reffered in number 5 above who still serve in other positions that are prohibited under the prevailing regulation to hold
multiple offices with the position as member of the Board of Commissioner and the Board of Directors of State Owned Enterprises, then the concerned must resign from his position.
7. By the dismissal, assignment and appointment as stated in number 1 and 2, 4 and 5 above mentionded, then composition of the member of the Board of the Company are becomes as follows:
a. Board of Directors
% Mister ALEX J. SINAGA as President Director
% Mister HARRY M. ZEN as Finance Director
% Mister MAS’UD KHAMID as Consumers Service Director
% Mister HERDY ROSADI HARMAN as Human Capital Management Director
% Mister ZULHELFI ABIDIN as Network & IT Solution Director
% Mister DAVID BANGUN as Digital & Strategic Portfolio Director
% Mister ABDUS SOMAD ARIEF as Wholesale & International Service Director
% Mister DIAN RACHMAWAN as Enterprise & Business Service Director
b. Board of Commissioners
% Mistress HENDRI SAPARINI as President Commissioner
% Mister DOLFIE OTHNIEL FREDRIC PALIT as Independent Commissioner
% Mister HADIYANTO as Commissioner
% Miss DEVY W. SURADJI as Commissioner
% Mister RINALDI FIRMANSYAH as Commissioner
% Mister MARGIYONO DARSA SUMARJA as Independent Commissioner
% Mistress PAMIYATI PAMELA JOHANNA W. as Independent Commissioner
8.
% Mister CAHYANA AHMADJAYADI as Independent Commissioner
To authorize with the right of substitution to the Board of Directors to state resolution adopted in the Meeting into notarial deed and to appear before Notary or authorized official and to make any adjustments or
corrections which are necessary when required by the competent authority for the purposes of implementation of the resolutions of the Meeting.”
Schedules and Procedure for The Distribution of 2016 Financial Year Dividend
In accordance to the resolution of the AGMS Telkom dated April 21, 2017, payment of cash dividend for the 2016 financial year is 60% of the net profit or in the amount of Rp11,611,211,188,567.60, and an additional special cash dividend of 10% of the net profit or in the amount of
Rp1,935,200,213,724.32, makes total dividend per share Rp136.7465 and after deducted by the interim dividends which has been paid on 27 December 2016, the remaining dividend to be distributed i s Rp117.3675 per share. The calculation does not include the shares bought back by the
Company as of the Meeting date.
Schedules for The Distribution of 2016 Financial Year Dividend:
Recording Date = May 5, 2017
Regular and Negotiation Market
Cum Dividend = May 2, 2017
Ex Dividend = May 3, 2017
Cash Market
Cum Dividend = May 5, 2017
Ex Dividend = May 8, 2017
Payment Date = May 26, 2017
Payment Procedures of Dividend:
1. The dividends will be paid to the shareholders of the Company whose names are registered in the Shareholders Register of the Company on May 5, 2017 (recording date) and/or in the sub securities account in PT Kustodian Sentral Efek Indonesia (”KSEI”) at the closing of the I ndonesia
Stock Exchange trading session on May 5, 2017.
2. For American Depositary Shares (“ADS”) holders, the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) regulations shall prevail and payment of cash dividend will be made through Custodian Bank which wa s appointed by the Bank of New York-Mellon (“BNY-Mellon”), for the amount of shares
registered at the Register List of ADS holders at the Company’s Registrar and KSEI referring to Recording Date on May 5, 2017.
3. For shareholders whose shares are registered at Collective Deposits in KSEI, cash dividend will be paid through the KSEI and will be distributed to Securities Companies’ or Custodian Banks’ accounts on May 26, 2017. Payment receipt will be delivered to Securities Companies and
Custodian Banks in which shareholders open their accounts.
4. For shareholders whose shares are not registered at Collective Deposits in KSEI, then:
a. Cash dividend will be paid in cash at the nearest branch of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero), Tbk (”BNI”), in all places in Indonesia. Shareholders are obligated to bring along the valid original Identity Card and if it is authorized to another person, the copy of the valid
original Identity Card of both persons should be attached to the power of attorney.
b. The cash dividend will only be transferred by the Company to the shareholders’ bank account if:
i. The amount of cash dividend received is not less than Rp500,000; and
ii. The complete transfer request must be delivered at the latest on May 5, 2017 at 16.00 Western Indonesia Time to the Company’s Registrar, PT Datindo Entrycom, Jl Hayam Wuruk No.28 2nd Floor, Jakarta 10120.
5. Tax shall be imposed in accordance with the applicable Indonesian tax regulations. The amount of tax shall be deducted from the amount of cash dividend for 2016 financial year received by each shareholders.
6. Shareholders considered as Domestic Tax Payer in the form of entity that does not have a tax register number (Nomor Pokok Wajib Pajak/”NPWP”), should register their tax register number to KSEI or the Company’s Registrar PT Datindo Entrycom, Jl Hayam Wuruk No.28 2nd Floor,
Jakarta 10120 at the latest May 5, 2017 at 16.00 Western Indonesia Time. If as of the said date KSEI or the Company’s Registrar has not received the NPWP, the cash dividend will be subject to withholding tax rate of 100% higher tothe normal rate.
7. For the shareholders considered as the off-shore Tax Payer which will use the Tax Treaty under the Agreement on the Prevention of the Imposition of Dual Taxes (P3B), it has to comply with article 26 of Law No.36 of 2008 regarding The Fourth Amendment to the Law No.7 of 1983 on
Income Tax and must submit the DGT-1 or DGT-2 form which has been legalized by Indonesian Tax Service Office for Public Company to KSEI or the Company ’s Registrar at the latest May 17, 2017 at 16.00 Western Indonesia Time. If as the said date, KSEI or the Company’s
Registrar has not received the form, the 2016 financial year cash dividend will be subject to article 26 withholding tax law at the rate of 20%.
8. Shareholders whose shares are registered at Collective Deposits in KSEI, may collect the dividend tax deduction slip at Securities Companies and/or Custodian Banks at which they open their accounts, and for shareholders whose shares are not registered with KSEI, the dividend tax
deduction slip are available at the Company’s Registrar starting May 17, 2017.
Announcement of this Summary of Minutes of Meeting is to comply with the provision under Article 34 paragraphs (1), (2) and (6) of Financial Service Authority Regulation No. 32/POJK.04/2014 regarding The Plan and Implementation of A General Meeting of Shareholders for an Issuer or a
Public Company
Bandung, April 26, 2017
PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk
Board of Directors
6 | OPINION WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

When Jokowi goes vlogging

o politicians popularity matters, which is why Palm oil practices and
T many of them seek out social media plat-
forms to enlarge their support base and reach
out to a larger audience when it comes to
introducing policies or receiving feedback. ecosystem sustainability
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is a world leader
whose penchant for social media use has earned him

A
national and international fame. The latest report from s regards the historic
Burson Marsteller on “World Leaders on Instagram” track, palm oil is not
ranks Jokowi in fourth place after Indian Prime Minister deemed an indige-
Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump and Pope nous commodity. Palm
oil is the newcomer’s commod-
Francis. ity, brought to Indonesia by the
Jokowi seems to know his strengths very well and how Dutch in 1848 with seeds plant-
he can maximize them via social media. ed in the Bogor Botanical Gar-
Known for his simplicity, he has uploaded video blogs, den and as decorative vegetation
or vlogs, about activities that common people do, such as along the thoroughfare in Deli,
getting a hair-cut at a barbershop, welcoming his newborn North Sumatra.
goats or taking on his youngest son in an armwrestling Commercialization of palm oil
commenced in 1911 in Deli and
duel. The vlogs remind people of Jokowi’s popular cam- Aceh. Currently it has grown to
paign tagline “Jokowi is us”, a tagline that helped him win be the leading commodity in In-
the presidency. donesia as the third largest con-
One of the vlogs that went viral was his lunch with the tributor to the country’s revenues
visiting King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz al- from the non-oil and gas and la-
Saud, also known as “the guardian of Islam’s holy shrines”, bor intensive sectors.
on March 1. However, Indonesia has been
enraged by the European Parlia-
To some, Jokowi was thought to have breached nor- ment’s resolution on palm oil en-
mally tight state protocols by turning a formal function titled “EU to introduce minimum
into an informal, if not family-esque, affair. sustainability criteria for palm oil
Social media plays a key role in winning public sympa- and products containing palm oil
thy, as happened in the case of a housewife whose court that enter the EU market”.
battle with the management of a hospital triggered a public Some experts claimed in their
research-based responses that
movement in support of her several years ago. Nobody can deforestation in Indonesia is
now win elections without making full use of social media, not caused by palm oil. Unfortu-
which has changed the way people communicate, either. nately, the research is confusing.
Of the many platforms on offer, vlogs seem to have won On the other hand, the environ-
Jokowi over, as it serves as an effective medium to deliver ment and forestry minister was
his message to an audience that ranges from school chil- enraged by the European Parlia-
dren to elders. ment’s statement. This led to the
hullabaloo concerning palm oil in
Jokowi, who does not possess the oratory skills of Indonesia.
founding president Sukarno, acknowledges that he inten- Responding to the resolution,
tionally chooses vlogs to make it easier for him to commu- the annoyed minister said that
nicate with the younger generation. the resolution was a humiliation
Some of Jokowi’s ministers have emulated him amid and a disgrace to Indonesia’s sov-
reports of a third Cabinet reshuffle that many believe is ereignty. The protests were then
looming following the Jakarta election. Whether the trick conveyed by the Foreign Minis-
try, which stated that the resolu-
will work only Jokowi knows, but it goes without saying tion was discriminatory against
that the ministers need public support in order to remain palm oil.
in their posts. Such a tumult is not the first.
Given their practical way of thinking, and because Some green and social organiza-
time won’t permit, it is unlikely that politicians, including tions have already passed judg-
Jokowi, will someday start blogging to express their views ment on the destruction of forest,
peat land and community land
about various matters facing the country. confiscated by large oil palm plan-
Despite many advantages, social media outlets have tations for expansion.
their owns flaws, especially in the event of political Oil palm cultivation is even
contestation. The recent race for Jakarta governor saw happening in forest areas that ac-
cyber armies of both tickets attack and counterattack one cording to the Forestry Ministry
another with tons of false news, if not hate speech, further are reserved exclusively for for-
exacerbating a social divide that may take quite a long estry and oil palms are not forest
vegetation at all.
time to close.
Bustar Maitar
JAKARTA
In 2016, the Indonesian Om-
budsman recorded 450 agrarian
conflicts on 1,265,027 hectares of
land. Plantations caused the high-
est numbers of cases with 163 con-
flicts on 601,680 hectares and oil
palm plantations were the worst
offenders. Forest Watch Indonesia
(FWI) recorded that from 2009 to
2013 there were at least 516,000
hectares of deforested land used
as oil palm plantation concessions,
22 percent of the total deforesta-
tion rate in concession areas.
This figure excludes the “land
bank” for oil palm plantations in
forested areas, particularly in Ma-
luku and Papua.
It should be conceded that the
lack of transparency of informa-
tion on concessions is still a hur-
dle despite the fact that the Su-
preme Court had granted FWI’s
call for the government to open
the data up. In addition to data,
the perspective of deforestation
issues should be improved in such
a way that it reaches the core is-
sue that draws global criticisms.
The FWI reported that up to
2016, there were 11.6 million hect-
ares of oil palm plantations in In-
donesia. However, of the figure,
only 13 percent, more or less than
1.5 million hectares, has got ISPO
(Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil)
certification. An ISPO is a man-
datory certification as stipulat-
ed by the Agriculture Minister’s
Regulation No. 19/Permentan/
OT.140/3/2011. The deadline for
certification was Dec. 31, 2014. In
fact, of 2,302 palm oil companies,
only 225 are certified so far.
Considering this fact, it might
be said that most palm oil com-
panies in Indonesia have over-
looked or even “humiliated” the
ISPO, which is to some extent
the mandatory policy of the In-
donesian government. The lon-
ger it takes to fully implement the
ISPO, the more degraded will be
the credibility of the government
and private sector’s commitment
to run legal operations. Also, the
government’s pledge to bolster
ISPO standards following the dis-
solution of the IPOP (Indonesian
Palm Oil Pledge) has never been
honored.
Regardless of the clamor over
palm oil here, the question is how
to stop deforestation together, to
give respect to local community
rights and to improve the work-
ing conditions on oil palm planta-
tions. The attempt to close down
the access to the European palm
oil market is not a prudent mea-
sure amid the emerging initia-
tives of the private sector to apply
their zero-deforestation policies.
However, regarding the above
fact, the government should se-
riously resolve the issue for the
sake of sustainable palm oil.
This initiative goes along with
the statement made by Presi-
dent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last
year when he pledged to impose
a moratorium of oil palm plant-
ing. The President had sent a
clear message that a moratorium
was to be carried out to improve
palm oil governance. Unfortu-
nately, the President’s goodwill
has yet to live up to the moment.
Therefore, Indonesia’s response
to the European Union’s critiques
should have been done elegantly
while proving that Indonesia has
strongly committed to end defor-
estation, resolve social conflict
and improve the working envi-
ronments on oil palm plantations.
Meanwhile, the NGOs aggres-
sively urged the government to
show the real evidence of their ef-
forts to save the remaining forests
in Indonesia by halting permit is-
suance for natural forest clearance
and total protection of peat land.
Forest and peat land clearance
have triggered forest fires for
years from Sabang in Aceh to Me-
rauke in Papua with negative im-
pacts on the global climate. Agrar-
ian conflict resolution should
become the top agenda item.
These efforts should be measur-
able and transparent.
If everything was persistent-
ly pursued, Indonesia would not
have to worry about the EU’s
palm oil resolution. Corporate
initiatives for halting deforesta-
tion have run only a few months
following the forest moratori-
um announced by then presi-
dent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
six years ago. Dozens of palm oil
companies with large concession
areas have thus far exercised ze-
ro-deforestation policies.
Considering the policies of
many companies here, the Indo-
nesian government should have
confidence to cope with the EU’s
palm oil resolution or pressure
from the green NGOs and con-
sumer organizations. This confi-
dence is materialized through a
positive endorsement of the com-
mitments implemented by those
companies. Indonesian palm oil
is believed to get into the Euro-
pean market. As the largest palm
oil producer in the world, Indone-
sia supplies more than 26 million
tons of palm oil-based products
to global markets. Moreover, the
EU is one of the largest importers,
taking 15 percent of the Indone-
sian exports.
Palm oil users and buyer coun-
tries should have joint commit-
ments and responsibilities to al-
ways support the Indonesian
government’s bid to develop sus-
tainability principles through the
protection of the remaining for-
ests and improvement of social
conditions. Recognition should
go to the industries with sustain-
able commitments. In contrast,
the ignorant or status quo indus-
tries must not get any excuses
from the government. Hence, the
above query could only be an-
swered by living the question.
The writer is the chairman of
EcoNusantara, a leading advisory
think-tank organization for sustain-
able environment and development.
The views expressed are his own.

OTHER OPINION
Avoid rushing on Russia’s election role
Forgetting pluralism in heat of polls Leonid Bershidsky the officials seem to identify  the a matter as important as a cam- more balanced stand  from the
BLOOMBERG VIEW RISS as the architect of what paign of interference in the US point of view of the American es-

I
n conceding defeat in an ugly election, Jakarta governor Ba- many consider one of the most election. And  there was nothing tablishment.

I
suki ‘‘Ahok’’ Tjahaja Purnama urged his followers to “forget n January, the US intelli-
all the things that happened during the campaign”. Politi- gence community accused
cians blatantly used religion as a political tool and a blasphemy the Kremlin of aiding Donald
trial still hangs over Basuki. Trump’s presidential campaign
Basuki was being responsible when he called for calm last and refused to reveal the evidence
week and pledged to work closely during the interim with that led to the claim — citing, un-
the presumed victor, Anies Baswedan, a former minister and derstandably, the need to protect
Muslim scholar. But the battle for the governorship, seen as a sources and methods.
proxy for the 2019 presidential election, revealed how religion In the coming months, the nu-
can be exploited to great effect. That’s a trend that none should merous investigations into the
gloss over and forget. affair could  shed more light —
Such an outcome portends ill, all the more because Indone- they might even produce smok-
sia officially supports pluralism. ing guns, resignations and indict-
The concern of moderate Indonesians and external observ- ments. But details are spilling out,
ers is for the fate of secularism, upon which rests the reformist and they are not bolstering the
agenda of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. At a crucial point of intelligence community’s con-
the nation’s development, voters can ill afford to march back- clusion. Indeed, the most recent
wards into the future by heeding Islamists and reactionaries. revelation suggests they don’t
The fear for the world’s most populous Muslim-majority understand who has influence in
nation is that governance will suffer if meritocracy is waylaid Moscow.
by increasingly assertive religious extremists and politicians On Wednesday evening,
riding on their coat-tails. Reuters published an  exclu-
— THE STRAITS TIMES, SINGAPORE sive  based on interviews with
“three current and four former
US officials.” These unnamed
Misjudgment biggest risk to peninsula sources described “two confiden-
tial documents” from a Moscow
successful influence campaigns
in history. But that seriously over-
estimates the power wielded by
a group that was out of favor fol-
lowing some serious missteps.
RISS is not your run-of-the-
mill think tank. Until 2009, it was
part of the SVR, Russia’s foreign
intelligence service. Since that
year, it’s been a nominally inde-
pendent structure whose direc-
tors have been named by Presi-
dent Vladimir V. Putin himself.
At the time of the US election,
RISS was run by Leonid Reshet-
nikov, a superannuated general
who had served as head of the
SVR’s analytical center and Bal-
kans specialist.
Reshetnikov is a Russian na-
tionalist, close to the milieu that
provided the volunteers who
helped set off, and initially run,
the pro-Russian rebellion in east-
ern Ukraine.  Ultimately, he was
blamed for failing to predict the
Ukrainian revolution of 2014.  ov, was devoted to the ease of fal-
confidential about Reshetnikov’s
recommendation to “intensify
its messaging about voter fraud”
that needed to be uncovered by
US intelligence.  On November
8 — less than a week after Putin
removed  him as head of RISS —
he said something similar to the
nationalist website Tsargrad TV:
Clinton has all the levers. The
financial levers and those of the
intelligence services. So we have
to guess whether [Trump] will
win as he should or there will be
falsification. Most likely, there
will be desperate falsification.
They will drag the grandma in.
The general added that the US
electoral system had always been
rigged to make sure “Trumps
don’t get through.”
The lines were perfectly syn-
chronized with Kremlin propa-
ganda: On October 30, much of
state TV’s main news show, Vesti
Nedeli, hosted by Dmitry Kisely-
That wasn’t a popular view at
the time even in the US, and Rus-
sian state propaganda was jubi-
lant about Trump’s victory and
full of praise for his  warm  ap-
proach to  Putin.  Why would
the RISS design a plan to elect
Trump only to warn against him
afterwards?
If indeed US intelligence is bas-
ing its understanding of Russia’s
role in last year’s election on RISS
documents, it should reconsider.
Under Reshetnikov, the institute
became allied with far right forces
in Moscow who have little influ-
ence over Kremlin policy.
Putin might agree with them
on some points, and he might use
them unofficially to advance cer-
tain political goals, but they are
far from the only voice he hears.
Indeed, after their miscalcula-
tions in Ukraine,  Putin seemed
to distance himself from them. 
RISS is now run by a man cut
from a different cloth — Mikhail

I
f the risks surrounding the Korean Peninsula were per- think tank, the Russian Institute Though Reshetnikov kept his sifying US election results.  Fradkov, the former prime min-
ceived to be dangerously high, it was because of the fear for Strategic Studies (RISS), as job, a number of other analysts Was the Kremlin directing the ister and SVR chief who is more
that anything could happen at any time in the tense stand- “providing the framework and ra- were fired. One of them,  Alexan- propaganda on Reshetnikov’s ad- worldly and whose background
off that had developed between Washington and Pyongyang. tionale for what US intelligence der Sytin, poured out his griev- vice — or  was Reshetnikov fol- is in foreign trade rather than
But now that the Donald Trump administration has dem- agencies have concluded was an ances in a 2015  article. “Sig- lowing the Kremlin? I suspect it’s the military. Putin has kept him
onstrated impressive patience for diplomacy despite its an- intensive effort by Russia to in- nals started coming in from the the latter, especially considering in important jobs throughout his
nouncement of the end to an “era of strategic patience”and it terfere with the Nov. 8 election.”  Kremlin that it wasn’t prepared the RISS’s chilly assessment of rule, and Fradkov may actually
is seeking closer engagement with peace-minded China on the The first document, circulated to get into a full-scale war with Trump after he was elected. turn RISS into more of a Kremlin
matter, the risks would appear to have abated considerably. in June, proposed a major propa- Ukraine,” Sytin wrote. “The cul- On Nov. 21, the institute’s Igor brain trust.
However, the situation is still inflammable. ganda campaign in the US to pro- pability  of the institute’s experts Pshenichnikov penned a  col- But last year’s “confidential
Judging from their recent words and deeds, policymakers mote a more Russia-friendly can- in adopting or supporting deci- umn for the state-owned RIA No- documents” from the institute can
in Pyongyang have seriously misread the UN sanctions, which didate than Barack Obama. sions that led Russia into a seri- vosti agency predicting Trump only be a footnote to the as yet un-
are aimed at its nuclear/missile provocations, not its system The second one, from Octo- ous economic and international would probably act like a “nor- told story of what the Kremlin ac-
or leadership. They have unfairly misrepresented Beijing’s ber, warned that Hillary Clinton crisis became obvious.”  mal” Republican president, one tually did and didn’t do in the US.
role in the process, disregarding its preoccupation with peace, was about to win the election and The Kremlin installed a con- that would presumably clash with
humanitarian concerns and non-interference in the DPRK’s called for replacing  pro-Trump summate political profession- Russia as others have:
domestic affairs. propaganda with suggestions of al, Vladislav  Surkov, as eastern It’s impossible to rule out that, The writer is a Bloomberg View
There have already been enough shows of force and confron- voter fraud to undermine the US Ukraine’s ultimate overseer. once he comes into his own at columnist. He was the founding
tation, it is time for Pyongyang and Washington to take a step electoral system’s legitimacy. Reshetnikov’s track record the White House, Trump will editor of the Russian business daily
back from their previous rhetoric and instead heed the voices Describing the documents as alone makes it unlikely that the make  two or three ritual bows Vedomosti and founded the opinion
of reason calling for peaceful denuclearization of the peninsula. “central to the Obama adminis- Kremlin would listen to RISS — to his backers from the Ameri- website Slon.ru. The views expressed
— CHINA DAILY, BEIJING tration’s conclusion” in January, or, at any rate, to RISS alone — in can heartland and then take  a are his own.

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WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
Who is Marine Le Pen?
Christine Ockrent
PROJECT SYNDICATE/PARIS
I
vividly remember French
presidential candidate
Marine Le Pen’s first ap-
pearance on television. It
was just before the 2002 presi-
dential campaign, and I had to
moderate a debate on French
public television.
For political balance, we need-
ed a representative of the far-
right National Front (FN), then
led by Le Pen’s father, Jean-Ma-
rie Le Pen. Bruno Gollnisch, the
manager of Jean-Marie’s cam-
paign and his heir apparent,
turned us down, offering to send
Marine instead.
It was obviously a trick played
not just on a media viewed as hos-
tile, but also on Le Pen herself —
a rival whom Gollnisch resented
for having been, in his view, un-
duly promoted by her father in
the FN apparatus. Le Pen was a
largely unknown 33-year-old law-
yer with little practice, though
she had an obvious instinct for
the punch line. In the end, Goll-
nisch’s plan may have backfired:
a few days after Le Pen’s appear-
ance, the headline in a weekly
magazine read, “What is new with
the FN? Marine!”
On April 21, 2002 — a date that
still resonates in French political
memory — the 73-year-old Jean-
Marie received 17 percent of the
vote in the first round of the pres-
idential election, thus knocking
the former socialist prime minis-
ter, Lionel Jospin, out of the sec-
ond-round runoff.
But citizens of all persuasions
then rallied against Le Pen in a
so-called “Republican front,” giv-
ing the conservative candidate
Jacque Chirac a massive 82 per-
cent of the vote.
Fifteen years later, Marine
Le Pen has outshone her father,
Duterte’s duty: Unite ASEAN and push for early COC
Veeramalla Anjaiah
JAKARTA
A
fter a five decade long jour-
ney, unity and solidarity
remain a challenge for the
dynamic 10-member Associa-
tion of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). A key reason for this
is the South China Sea (SCS) co-
nundrum, which has become the
single biggest threat to ASEAN
unity, peace and stability.
ASEAN formed a communi-
ty under three pillars: ASEAN
Political-Security Community
(APSC), the ASEAN Econom-
ic Community (AEC) and the
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Commu-
nity (ASCC). But a community
without unity and little solidarity
among its members is useless.
Outside powers can easily ex-
ploit any holes in ASEAN to di-
vide its members on key issues
such as the SCS, maritime securi-
ty and freedom of navigation.
This week, ASEAN leaders
have a golden opportunity to lay
a historic foundation for political
unity when they meet in Manila
for the 30th ASEAN Summit.
The current ASEAN chair, the
Philippines, and its popular leader
New product development in era of connectivity
I
n today’s competitive envi-
ronment, the companies that
succeed will be those that de-
velop products that satisfy cus-
tomer needs better than the prod-
ucts of their competitors.
Therefore, it is necessary that
companies conduct thorough re-
search on such needs, and gener-
ate ideas and solutions that can
best satisfy them.
The more innovative the new
product development projects,
the greater the need to integrate
marketing and R&D functions
within the company.
However, although the need for
integration has been widely rec-
ognized, the levels of integration
of R&D and marketing in practice
vary across companies and in-
dustries. It is undeniable that un-
til now there are companies that
closely hold the principle that an
innovative product will succeed
in finding its place in the market.
The late Apple co-founder Steve
Job once said; “It isn’t the con-
sumer’s job to know what they
want.” That was Apple’s job.
Decades ago, the secret of sev-
eral Japanese corporations’ suc-
cess was their skill in sequencing
the improvement of functional
competence.
In the 1950s and early 1960s,
many of them made heavy in-
vestments in both money and
talent in manufacturing, and to-
gether with the advantage in la-
convincing 21.3 percent of
French voters to choose her
to succeed François Hollande
at the Elysée Palace. But,
to win the second round,
she will need to defeat
Emmanuel Macron,
the 39-year-old cen-
trist who finished ahead
of her in the first round,
with 24 percent of the vote.
That will be no easier
for her than it was for her fa-
ther. With both the Republican
François Fillon and the Social-
ist Benoît Hamon quickly en-
dorsing Macron after the first
round — Hamon called Le Pen
an “enemy of the Republic” —
another “Republican front,”
albeit a much smaller one,
could well be emerging.
But Le Pen is tough, and
a great believer in her own
destiny. Already, her efforts
to revamp the FN’s image
have transformed it from a
fringe movement into a ma-
jor political force. Although
she abandoned a push to
rebrand the FN “Bleu Ma-
rine,” owing to the original
brand’s enduring appeal
to its older voters, that ap-
proach reflects the person-
ality cult that she has fostered,
characterized by the suppression
of dissent and even of her own
niece, Marion Maréchal Le Pen, a
rising political star.
Le Pen’s success reflects a kind
of ideological laundering, which
she has conducted with her clos-
est adviser, Florian Philippot, a
polished, media-savvy énarque,
who swears he decided to join Le
Pen for her talent, not her ide-
ology. Indeed, the pair has coat-
ed the FN with several layers of
fresh paint — all blue, white and
red, of course.
Early on, Le Pen would cam-
paign like her father: using her
President Rodrigo Duterte, have a
moral obligation to cement ASEAN
unity, promote solidarity and push
forward the much needed Code of
Conduct (COC) in the SCS.
President Duterte has select-
ed the theme “Partnering for
Change, Engaging the World” for
the Philippines’ ASEAN chair-
manship. The title reflects his
2016 election campaign slogan,
“Change is Coming.”
Duterte must bring change to
ASEAN, while maintaining the
grouping’s central role in region-
al affairs. Though the new presi-
dent is new to ASEAN politics,
the Philippines have twice hosted
ASEAN Summits in 1987 in Ma-
nila and in 2007 in Cebu.
So far, Duterte looks to be mov-
ing in the right direction. Since
taking office in June 2016, Du-
terte has visited all nine coun-
tries and met with their leaders,
including China’s close ally Cam-
bodian Prime Minister Hun Sen,
with the mission of hearing their
views on ASEAN’s future.
“We will pursue initiatives and
enhance cooperation with global
partners to ensure that ASEAN
citizens live in peace, stability, se-
curity and growth, all the while
Hermawan Kartajaya
and Ardhi Ridwansyah
JAKARTA
bor costs they enjoyed at that
time, it constituted their princi-
pal source of strength.
Kenichi Ohmae, in The Mind of
The Strategist, gave a classic ex-
ample of this. It was the case of
watch and pocket calculator man-
ufacturer Casio against its com-
petitors. Most of its competitors
were organized around the tradi-
tional functions of engineering,
manufacturing and distribution
and had gone in heavily for verti-
cal integration.
Casio, in contrast, remained
basically an engineering and as-
sembly company with very lit-
tle investment in production fa-
cilities and sales channels. Its
strength was flexibility.
Recognizing its competi-
tors’ inability to introduce new
products rapidly, Casio adopt-
ed a strategy of accelerating and
shortening product life cycles. No
sooner had its 2mm-thick, card-
size calculator been introduced
to the market than Casio started
heavy frame and heavy frown to
intimidate opponents, forcing her
smoker’s voice to make her point,
never playing the “woman card.”
But she eventually found out she
could play another part. Thinner,
better dressed, and more soft-
spoken, she developed a kind of
charisma that enabled her to ap-
peal to a wider variety of sup-
porters, from unemployed young
people to the disenchanted mid-
dle class, from policemen wary of
losing control to second- or third-
generation immigrants who
wanted to close France’s doors to
maintaining ASEAN’s centrality,
unity and solidarity for all time.
The Philippines is ready and will-
ing to steer and guide the asso-
ciation,” Duterte said in his ac-
ceptance speech of the ASEAN
chairmanship in September 2016.
Given the fast changing geo-
political landscape and power
balance of the region, especially
given the rise of China, it is imper-
ative for ASEAN to engage major
global powers to maintain region-
al peace and security. But ASEAN
must be in the driving seat.
Therefore it is crucial to forge
internal unity while engaging with
global powers outside of ASEAN.
ASEAN leaders must jointly
make a strong point that all dis-
putes in the SCS must be solved
peacefully based on international
law, especially the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS).
Individually, Indonesia, the de
facto leader of ASEAN, has called
for a rules-based mechanism to
solve maritime disputes, with Viet-
nam, the second biggest claimant in
the SCS, concurring and calling on
all claimants to show self-restraint.
The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei,
the United States, Japan, Australia,
rapidly bringing down the price,
thus discouraging its competitors
from following with similar prod-
ucts. Within a few months, Casio
introduced another model, which
emitted musical notes upon
touching the numerical keys.
Casio’s internal strength was
its ability to integrate design and
development into marketing re-
search so that customers’ voices
were analyzed and quickly con-
verted into tangible products.
Because Casio had this func-
tion well developed, it could af-
ford to make its new products
obsolete quickly. Its competitors,
on the other hand, suffered verti-
cal rigidity, preventing them from
achieving shorter product devel-
opment processes.
Casio’s classic case teaches us
that a product-centric compa-
ny should have the flexibility to
make functional improvements
and innovation. But it also reveals
the importance of connectivity in
capturing customers’ desires fast-
er than competitors.
Remember that this was a 35-
year old story, took place in an in-
dustrial era when wireless tech-
nology was still an inventor’s
dream. Today, connectivity is
everywhere.
There are many digital and mo-
bile tools that can connect us with
customers at any time and any
place. The technology is different,
but the main challenge remains
Please send your articles to opinion@thejakartapost.com.
foreigners.
The process of “de-demoniz-
ing” the FN required Le Pen to
drop not just the putrid rhetoric
bequeathed by her father, but also
her father himself. In the summer
of 2015, Marine expelled Jean-
Marie from the party he found-
ed in 1972. The old man sued her
in court, only to surrender a few
months later.
Of course, even as Le Pen has
dropped the anti-Semitic blurbs,
vocal nostalgia for Vichy France,
proud reminiscences of the Al-
gerian war and even her own fa-
India and European Union have all
repeated the same tune.
Unfortunately, China claims
more than 80 percent of the 3.5
million square kilometres SCS
maritime area, based on its contro-
versial nine-dashed line, and is re-
luctant to follow international law,
including UNCLOS, to solve its dis-
putes with Vietnam, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei Darus-
salam and even Indonesia.
Beijing claims that it has “indis-
putable sovereignty” over most of
the SCS area. It used force against
Vietnam to occupy disputed Para-
cel Islands in 1974 and has recent-
ly built several artificial islands in
the SCS, where it has installed ra-
dars and advanced weaponry. Bei-
jing’s activities in the SCS pose a
major threat to the marine envi-
ronment and peace and security
in ASEAN region.
In a landmark ruling in July
2016, the Hague-based interna-
tional tribunal, the Permanent
Court of Arbitration (PCA), re-
jected outright the historical le-
gitimacy of China’s nine-dash
line because China is a signato-
ry to the UNCLOS and therefore
must respect international mari-
time rules and regulations. It said
the same: How to connect and
discover customers’ hidden needs
and convert them into product
innovations. And take a bold note
that we should do that faster than
competitors or we will just be-
come a me-too player.
Research finds that new prod-
ucts account for a staggering 28
percent of company sales, on av-
erage. That is, more than one-
fourth of the revenue of corpo-
rations is coming from products
they did not sell three short years
ago. As might be expected, profits
follow closely, with 28.3 percent
of company profits derived from
new products three years old or
newer (Cooper, 2001).
New product development also
influences customers’ percep-
tions of a company’s and product’s
brands. Consumers in Southeast
Asia show a strong affinity for
brands that invest in new product
development and are among the
most likely globally to trial new
product offerings.
Nielsen (2015) discovered that
close to three quarters of South-
east Asian consumers (73 per-
cent) say they purchased a new
product during their last grocery-
shopping trip — 16 percentage
points higher than the global av-
erage of 57 percent.
A further 73 percent like it
when manufacturers offer new
product options (compared with
62 percent globally).
OPINION
ther, she has continued to fuel the
populist bonfire. She has railed
against immigration, Islam, glo-
balization, multiculturalism,
NATO, the elites, the “system,”
the markets, the media and, above
all, the European Union — the
monster supposedly responsible
for all of France’s ills.
Never mind that all 23 FN
members of the European Parlia-
ment are paid with EU money, or
that Le Pen herself is under a ju-
dicial investigation for misappro-
priating her MEPs’ subsidies. For
many French, status anxiety, eco-
clearly that China’s claims on SCS
had no legal basis.
But China rejected the Hague
ruling.
President Duterte must in-
clude the PCA ruling in the agen-
da at the ASEAN Summit in Ma-
nila as well as at the 31st ASEAN
Summit and Related Meetings in
Clark, also in the Philippines, lat-
er this year.
After all it was the Philippines
which sought international ar-
bitration over Pamatag shoal
(Scarborough Shoal) in the West
Philippine Sea (the name in the
Philippines for the South China
Sea) after it was occupied by Chi-
na in 2012.
The major responsibility of
Duterte as ASEAN chair is to
oversee the early conclusion of
the much awaited COC, which
will hopefully bring peace and
stability to the region. For China,
signing the COC will be an oppor-
tunity to earn considerable inter-
national respect while helping to
reduce tension in the region.
There will be no winners, ac-
cording to Vietnamese President
Tran Dai Quang, in any armed
conflict over disputes in the SCS,
only losers. Therefore ASEAN
Unfortunately, new product
development is also one of the
riskiest endeavors of a modern
corporation. Certainly the risks
are high: many companies have
seen large amounts of money
spent on new product disasters,
either experienced it first-hand
or witnessed industry examples.
And it is getting riskier today.
Customers are more informed
and demanding than ever be-
fore. Fueled by an unprecedent-
ed choice of products and servic-
es, customer expectations create
serious challenges for business
leaders in a marketplace rife with
competition.
At the same time, products and
services continue to become in-
creasingly similar — and less dif-
ferentiated — making it more dif-
ficult to develop and extract real
value from a brand. As a result,
ASEAN companies today face
a formidable task. Firms must
find ways to not only launch new
products or services that create
meaningful differentiation in the
minds of their customers, but also
to capture and sustain the value
they have created for their differ-
ent target segments.
Such dynamics require com-
panies to employ new innovative
models if they want to create the
necessary conditions for their
success. Winston Churchill once
said; “Success is walking from
failure to failure with no loss of
| 7
nomic anger, and fear of terror-
ism are far more salient.
Le Pen has also worked hard to
build up her international status.
In January, she waited in vain in
New York, hoping to be embraced
by Donald Trump — a man who,
she said, had copied some of her
own political formula to win the
United States presidency. In
Moscow, she met with Russian
President Vladimir Putin — not
to ask for money, party officials
were quick to point out, but to
discuss the state of the world.
Leading in opinion polls week
after week, Le Pen and her new
FN seemed to have things fig-
ured out. But, two weeks ago,
the varnish began to crack. Her
meetings became more elec-
tric, her discourse more brutal.
Channeling her Holocaust-de-
nying father, she claimed that
France was not re-
sponsible for deport-
ing Jews to Nazi con-
centration camps.
Was it a Freudian slip,
campaign fatigue, or
a deliberate attempt
to reassure old FN
troopers that the chief
had not gone astray?
Whatever the case,
some 7.6 million vot-
ers have now ac-
knowledged Le Pen as the right
person to lead France (a total
probably boosted by a terrorist at-
tack on the Champs Elysées three
days before the vote). And while
her combination of rebranding
and rabble-rousing probably will
not be enough to win her the pres-
idency, she has already succeeded
in transforming the face and the
psyche of France for a long time
to come.
The writer is former chief operat-
ing officer of France 24 and RFI.
desperately needs to institute
conflict prevention measures
such as the COC.
Furthermore, a united ASEAN
is not a threat to China’s interests
in the SCS. A peaceful and stable
ASEAN region has emerged with
China as the group’s biggest trad-
ing partner and main source of
tourists and investment.
Finally, as the largest coun-
try in ASEAN, Indonesia has a
significant responsibility to work
with Duterte and other ASEAN
leaders to ensure ASEAN uni-
ty and solidarity. Indonesian
President Joko “Jokowi” Wido-
do wants the SCS issue resolved
peacefully in compliance with
international rules.
Jokowi will hold a bilateral
meeting with Duterte on April 28
to discuss both ASEAN matters as
well as bilateral issues in Manila.
For sure both Jokowi and Du-
terte, and all ASEAN leaders, will
be keen to ensure the region cel-
ebrates the grouping’s 50th anni-
versary, which falls this August, as
a united ASEAN family.
The author is a staff writer at
The Jakarta Post.
enthusiasm.” But, today it seems
that the cost of failure is getting
more and more expensive.
But acting extra cautious, too,
comes at a price. If an ASEAN
company is quite considerate
about playing safe and avoids
risks too often, it will slow down
the process of new product devel-
opment and innovation.
As a result, when the final
product is launched, customers’
needs will have changed or com-
petitors — either from Asia or
other regions — will have already
come up with solutions that cus-
tomers need.
The lowering of political and
geographical barriers — in view
of political changes and develop-
ment of technology — mean that
companies can no longer take it
easy when running a business.
Thus, in addition to being able
to offer new products that have a
meaningful and sustainable dif-
ferentiation, ASEAN companies
should also be able to accelerate
the new product development
process, all the way from idea
generation, concept development
and market testing to new prod-
uct launch.
Hermawan Kartajaya is founder
and executive chairman of
MarkPlus, Inc. Ardhi Ridwansyah
is a director of EMBA SBM-ITB/
MarkPlus Institute.
8 | SPORTS WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

Problems fixed, all foreign

PUTTING IT BRIEFLY
players to focus on League 1
Dicky Christanto
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
The deputy chief of the Soccer
Association of Indonesia (PSSI),
Djoko Driyono, said the permit
problems currently prevent-
ing foreign players from working
and staying in the country have
Reuters/Alberto Lingria been resolved and therefore these
Duel: AS Roma’s Mohamed Salah scores a goal that is disallowed players are now able to focus on
against Pescara during their Serie A soccer match at Adriatico- the ongoing competition.
Giovanni Cornacchia Stadium in Pescara, Italy, on Monday. “We highly appreciated the
Roma won 4-1. breakthrough that has been wisely
EPL
Allardyce feels
unbeatable,
Slimani to skip
match
rectly of its concerns instead of an- saying that BOPI was left with-
nouncing them publicly. He said out any option but to report to the
the sole reason why the players authorities. He said there would Reuters
lacked permits was a technicality have been consequences if BOPI LONDON
and the club was working on it. had decided not to make the re-
“Those players just arrived two port. Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier
weeks ago and it will take quite some “We have been very flexible League title aspirations face a se-
time for the relevant offices to issue right from the start. We have pro- vere test on Wednesday against a
the required permits,” he said. vided recommendations so the Crystal Palace side which man-
Commenting on this, BOPI league could kick off. However, ager Sam Allardyce says currently
secretary-general Heru Nugroho problems regarding permits are feel unbeatable.
shrugged off allegations beyond our call. Therefore, While second-placed Totten-
e d Si s s o
regarding bad motives, am ko we finally made the re- ham, four points behind Chelsea
oh port,” he said. with six games left, is the form

M
suggested by the Manpower Min- team in the league with seven
Four-goal Roma sends Pescara to Serie B istry and the Directorate General consecutive wins, Palace has won
of Immigration so that our foreign b lo Pin o P ita Kunih six of its last eight to surge clear of
Pa ash ir

Kompas/Kristianto Purnomo
MILAN: AS Roma’s Mohamed Salah scored twice in a 4-1 win at players could continue playing in n u m the bottom three, including beat-

ers

o
Ya
the ongoing league,” Djoko told ing leader Chelsea, Arsenal and

e ll
a
Pescara on Monday which kept alive its faint hopes of catching Serie A

ut
Ju

leader Juventus and condemned its opponent to relegation. The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Second-placed Roma is eight points behind Juve with five matches He said the government had
to play including a meeting between the pair at the Stadio Olimpico. suggested these foreign playerss
Bottom side Pescara is down after one season in the top flight as should at least have work permitss
the defeat left it 15 points adrift of 17th-placed Empoli, the team im- to be able to continue playing. Hee
mediately above the drop zone, but with a worse head-to-head record. added that their work permitss
Roma moved four points clear of third-placed Napoli in the race for Italy’s would be processed by the im--
second automatic slot in next season’s Champions League group stage. migration office so it could issuee
The only sour note for Roma was that Edin Dzeko, Serie A’s joint lead- their stay permits.
ing scorer with 25 goals, reacted angrily to being substituted in the sec- He said there are 75 foreign
ond half and refused to shake coach Luciano Spalletti’s hand. — Reuters players currently playing in thee
Go-Jek Traveloka League 1 and 37
of them have already been grant--
o
Courtesy of aremafc.com
Re Liverpool.
Palace’s 2-1 victory at An-
field on Sunday, sealed with two
goals by former Liverpool strik-
er Christian Benteke, means the
Eagles have 38 points in 12th place
and look all but safe.
Whatever the result of Chelsea’s
home game against Southampton
n on Tuesday, Tottenham will need
three points at Selhurst Park to
7 maintain its push for a first Eng-
lish league title since 1961.

Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya

Griezmann confirms move from MU ed stay permits, while another 35 5 But Palace has been trans-
have received their work permits.. formed by Allardyce, who lost his
BENGALURU: Manchester United has shown “concrete interest” in signing Two others are still in the processs job as England manager this sea-
Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, who has an exit clause of £85 of getting both permits and onee son after making inappropriate
million (US$108.79 million), the Frenchman’s agent Eric Olhats has said. player’s permits were cancelled d comments in a newspaper sting but
United, which is fifth in the Premier League, has scored the least because of contract termination. returned with a bang after Palace
Coach Jafri Sastra of Mitra Ku-- Michael Essien Carlton Cole sacked Alan Pardew in December.
number of goals among the top six sides and are aiming to strengthen its
attack with Griezmann, who has scored 25 goals for Atletico this season. kar FC said the two foreign players List of foreign workers with permits in It has managed 19 points in its
“We’re at the stage of gathering information from clubs who have a who currently play with the club last eight games compared to the
are no longer having any problems. Liga 1 soccer league as of April 23, 2017: 19 they managed in its previous 25.
concrete interest,” Olhats told French television program Téléfoot.
“There is an unavoidable €100 million [about £85 million] clause so Mitra Kukar’s two foreign play- No. Club Name Nationality “It’s our spirit, our mental re-
that restricts the number of candidates. You have United, [Manchester] ers are Jorge Gotor Blas of Spain 1 Madura United Redouane Zerzouri Morocco silience and our belief now that
and Mohamed Sissoko of Mali. 2 Madura United Peter Ozase Odemwingie England means even when we go a goal or
City, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid. United were the first to come 3 Madura United Joaquim Ferreira Da Silva Filho Brazil
and see us and the most concrete in their wishes.” Irfan Suryadiredja of Persib two goals down we don’t think
Bandung likewise praised the so- 4 Bhayangkara Simon Alexander Mc Menemy Scotland we’re going to get beaten, he told
United’s attacking options are limited with top goalscorer Zlatan 5 Persipura Jaya Adison Alves De Oliveira Spain
Ibrahimovic ruled out for the season after sustaining a serious knee lution, saying the club’s two for- the Evening Standard.
6 Persipura Jayapura Lydio De Souza Rangel Neto Brazil
injury in their Europa League tie against Anderlecht. Injured midfielder eign players have already received 7 Persiba Balikpapan Masahito Noto Japan
“Because of that mental resil-
Juan Mata is the next highest scorer this season for the club with six both their work and stay permits. 8 Persiba Balikpapan Anmar Al Mubaraki Netherlands ience we are fighting back now
strikes while 19-year-old striker Marcus Rashford has five. — Reuters “In the last meeting the govern- 9 Persiba Balikpapan Timo Scheunuman Germany and getting results, and the more
ment suggested we send the permit 10 Persela Lamongan Kosuke Yamazaki Japan results we get the more confi-
proposal online. The same meeting 11 Persela Lamongan Marcio Nascimento Rozario Brazil dence we build and the results
Derby is ‘game of the season’, says Herrera also cut down on the bureaucracy. 12 Persela Lamongan Jose Manuela Barbosa Alves Portugal we’ve had recently nobody would
Right now, two of our players are 13 Barito Putera Mathias Jesus Cordoba Argentina have expected.”
BENGALURU: Manchester United’s match against Manchester City in the officially legal to play,” he said. 14 Barito Putera Aaron Michael Evans Australia “They’d have expected one
Premier League on Thursday is “the game of the season” and will play a Beforehand, Persib’s two mar- 15 Barito Putera Thiago Dos Santos Cunha Brazil shock, maybe, but we’ve done
16 Barito Putera Jacksen F. Tiago Brazil
decisive role in both teams’ chances of finishing in the top four, midfielder quee players, Ghanaian Michael 17 Barito Putera Vitor Goulart Da Silveira Tinoco Brazil
three shocks in as many weeks.
Ander Herrera has said. United, which is fifth in the table, trails fourth-placed Essien, who used to play with big 18 Barito Putera F.Americo Martins Goncalves Brazil It’s Chelsea away, Arsenal at home
City by a point and Herrera believes whichever team win the derby will be clubs like Chelsea, AC Milan and 19 Persib Bandung Carlton Michael George Cole England and now Liverpool away. We had
in pole position to book a spot for next season’s Champions League. Real Madrid, and Carlton Cole, 20 Persib Bandung Michael Essien Ghana the hardest run-in and still have
“It’s going to be the game of the season,” Herrera told the club’s who used to play with Essien in 21 Psm Makassar Reinaldo Elias Da Costa Australia got a very difficult run-in with
website, manutd.com. “I don’t know the ‘winner takes all’ expression Chelsea during the 2009 to 2010 22 Psm Makassar Steven Renaud Anthony Paulle France Tottenham coming up, Manches-
but it’s going to be a massive game. session and also with West Ham 23 Psm Makassar Marc Antony Netherlands ter City and Manchester United
“If one of us wins it, we are not going to lose a lot of games or United, were prohibited from 24 Persija Jakarta Rohit Chand Nepal away and Hull City and Burnley.
make mistakes after that. It will be key. playing following an announce- 25 Persija Jakarta Bruno Da Silva Lopes Brazil “But we’re nearly there, we’ve
26 Persija Jakarta A.Stefano Cugura Rodigues Brazil
“We are in a very good moment, on a very good run... and we have ment by the Association of In- got 38 points with an outstanding
Source: PT Liga Indonesia Baru

27 Perseru Serui Silvio Escobar Benitez Paraguay

to show it on Thursday.” donesian Professional Athletes 28 Perseru Serui Omar Zein Eddine Lebanon run from the players.”
United can also qualify for the Champions League by winning the Eu- (BOPI) that they were among the 29 Arema Fc Juan Pablo Pino Puello Colombia Tottenham will be smarting
ropa League. It plays Spanish side Celta Vigo in the semifinals next month. foreign players without permits. 30 Bali United Ilvano Dominique Comvalius Netherlands from its 4-2 FA Cup semifinal de-
“We also have the Europa League, which is a competition that makes Persib’s club manager, Umuh 31 Pusamania Borneo Yamashita Kunihiro Japan feat by Chelsea on Saturday.
me very excited [...] Hopefully we can fight for that title as well, but I know Muchtar, protested against the an- 32 Pusamania Borneo Helder Lobato Ribeiro Brazil “We have a massive game on
Celta Vigo are very good. They are a very difficult team,” Herrera said. nouncement and questioned BO- 33 Pusamania Borneo Shane Edward Smeltz New Zealand Wednesday,” Tottenham defend-
United lost the league fixture at Old Trafford against City earlier in PI’s motives. He also said that BOPI 34 Mitra Kukar Jorge Gotor Blas Spain er Eric Dier told the club’s web-
the season. — Reuters could have informed the club di- 35 Mitra Kukar Mohamed Sissoko France site. “We have to get [the Cup de-
feat] out of our heads and carry on
— I’m sure we will.”
SCOREBOARD Meanwhile, Leicester City cap-
PROMOTION LA LIGA tain Wes Morgan and striker Is-
Basketball lam Slimani will miss Wednes-
NBA
Results from the NBA Play-offs 1st Round
The only way is up as Real’s title credentials day’s Premier League trip to
Arsenal due to injury, manager
games on Monday (home team in CAPS)
1 2 3 4 T Newcastle fans salute Benitez Craig Shakespeare has said.
ATLANTA
Washington
28 31 18 34 111
35 15 27 24 101
(The best-of-seven series is level at 2-2)
TORONTO 31 26 33 28 118
Neil Robinson
REUTERS/LONDON
castle as the
north-east’s
to be tested at Riazor Last week Morgan returned
from a month-long spell on the
sidelines with a back injury dur-
ing the second leg of a Champions
Milwaukee 20 28 25 20 93 top team. Joseph Cassinelli Pepe and Ra- League quarterfinal against Atlet-
(Toronto lead the best-of-seven series by 3-2)
Golden State 45 27 34 22 128
Rafael Benitez has known “From the REUTERS/MADRID phael Varane ico Madrid, but he failed to com-
PORTLAND 22 26 32 23 103 much grander stages than the final day of out injured. plete 90 minutes due to a cramp.
(Golden State win the best-of-seven series English Championship but the last season, Real Madrid’s La Liga title cre- D e p o r Slimani suffered a groin in-
by 4-0) Spaaniard has probably not heard when we beat dentials will be put to the test striker Flo- jury, while midfielder Nampalys
Soccer noise like that at St. James’ Park To t t e n h a m on Wednesday as a tough week rian Andone Mendy was ruled out for the rest
on promotion night after mas- 5-1, I wanted continues with a tricky trip to will be look- of the season after undergoing an-
La Liga terminding Newcastle United’s AP to show my Deportivo La Coruna. ing to capital- kle surgery.
Results and standings from the La Liga return to the Premier League on Rafael Benitez loyalty and This season the Galician side’s ize on Ramos’s “Unfortunately Wes Morgan
matches on Monday
Eibar 0 Athletic Club 1
Monday. rebuild the Riazor stadium has proven an Reuters/Sergio Perez absence. won’t make it [for Wednesday’s
P W D L F A Pts Few English grounds rock like team,” said a delighted Benitez. unhappy hunting ground for top Zinedine Zidane “It’s a relief game with Arsenal],” Shake-
1 Barcelona 33 23 6 4 94 32 75 United’s ground when things are “I am really pleased for the team, clubs. he’s not play- speare told a news conference on
2 Real Madrid 32 23 6 3 84 36 75 going well and, for once, the fans the fans, for everyone.” Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and ing. He’s the best centre-back in Monday. “The first impression
3 Atletico M 33 20 8 5 60 24 68
4 Sevilla 33 19 8 6 58 39 65
had much to sing about. Any doubts that the man who Valencia have all been held to the world,” he said. “It would’ve was it was cramp but I think he
5 Villarreal 33 16 9 8 48 27 57 Benitez’s delight was clear as steered Liverpool to Champions draws there, while Barcelona suc- been better if they had beaten just overstretched his hamstring.
6 Athletic Club 33 17 5 11 46 37 56 he strolled confidently to the mid- League success in 2005 would cumbed to a shock 2-1 defeat last Barca, but that doesn’t matter “We’re hoping the caution on
7 R. Sociedad 33 17 4 12 49 45 55 dle of the pitch, applauding the cope with the rough and tumble month as the battle by Pepe Mel’s to us. They’re a great side and it Wednesday will mean we can look
8 Eibar 33 14 8 11 52 45 50 supporters and punching the air of the Championship have been side to avoid the drop gathered doesn’t matter who lines up for to Saturday [against West Brom].”
9 Espanyol 33 13 10 10 44 43 49
10 Celta Vigo 32 13 5 14 48 52 44 after watching the 4-1 demolition disproved this season. pace. them. They’ve got enormous Leicester, currently 15th in the
11 Alaves 33 11 11 11 32 40 44 of Preston North End. Crucial to the former Real After losing a dramatic “Clas- strength. But we beat Barcelona league, has picked up five victo-
12 Valencia 33 11 7 15 47 56 40 The cheers have not always Madrid and Inter Milan manag- ico” 3-2 to Barca on Sunday with and why can’t we do the same to ries in its last seven league games
13 Las Palmas 33 10 9 14 52 58 39 rung out this season as Newcastle er’s success was convincing Ash- the last kick of the game — a result Madrid?” to move six points clear of the
14 Real Betis 33 10 7 16 36 51 37
15 Malaga 33 9 9 15 38 49 36 wobbled when in sight of the ti- ley that what goes down seldom that sees the Catalans move ahead Barca, meanwhile,
anwhile, hosts bot-
bot relegation zone.
16 Dep. Coruna 33 7 10 16 35 51 31 tle but, despite two defeats and a comes back up quickly — Norwich at the top of the table because of tom of the table ble Osasuna and will Shakespeare, however, is not
17 Leganes 33 6 9 18 27 51 27 draw in three games before Mon- City and Aston Villa, which was their superior head-to-head re- be ready to pounce should Ma- sure about the points
18 S. Gijon 33 5 8 20 36 66 23 day, belief was never allowed to also relegated, is eighth and 12th in cord — Madrid know it cannot af- drid drop points nts in what has been tally needed to sur-
19 Granada CF 33 4 8 21 27 70 20
20 Osasuna 33 3 9 21 34 75 18 ebb from the fans who know how the standings respectively. ford defeat as it bids to lift its first a topsy-turvy campaign. vive the drop and
Note: 18-20: Relegation to back their team. The need for new recruits was La Liga title for five years. “This is a season that weighs has urged his side
Given the turmoil of the obvious and over the summer Coach Zinedine Zidane in- like five. So many things have to keep fighting
Serie A past few years, when the Toon Benitez was handed £55 million sisted that, while they might cur- happened, both th good and not so for results in
Results and standings from the Serie A
matches on Monday Army supporters were often pounds (US$70.33 million) to rently sit second, the fact that good, things I’ve already forgot- the final six
Pescara 1 AS Roma 4 in open conflict with the club’s spend on 12 new players, most of Madrid has played one game ten,” coach Luis uis Enrique said. games of
P W D L F A Pts owner Mike Ashley and many whom have proved shrewd sign- fewer means it still controls its “We’re top of the table now but the cam-
1 Juventus 33 27 2 4 68 20 83 of Benitez’s predecessors, the ings. own destiny. Madrid have a game in hand. It paign.
2 AS Roma 33 24 3 6 74 28 75
3 Napoli 33 21 8 4 77 35 71
57-year-old Spaniard deserves The attack has been spear- “Nothing changes, we still have will be tight and nd go right down to
4 Lazio 33 19 7 7 60 38 64 great credit for keeping everyone headed by Dwight Gayle, who has things in our own hands and we the wire.”
5 Atalanta 33 19 6 8 56 37 63 onside. scored 22 goals but missed Mon- are only thinking about Wednes- Neymar will ill serve the final
6 AC Milan 33 17 7 9 50 37 58 Since finishing fifth in the Pre- day’s game through injury. day’s game,” Zidane said. game of his three-match
ree-match suspen-
7 Inter Milan 33 17 5 11 63 42 56
8 Fiorentina 33 15 10 8 55 45 55
mier League in 2012 under Alan Just behind him, Matt Ritchie “[The Clasico] was not about sion against Osasuna, which
9 Torino 33 12 12 9 63 54 48 Pardew, a downward spiral saw knew exactly what was required deciding who wins La Liga. A win, could be relegatedgated if it loses
10 Sampdoria 33 12 9 12 41 41 45 Newcastle twice narrowly avoid having previously been promoted loss or draw means that nothing and results in other games go
11 Udinese 33 12 7 14 43 44 43 relegation before dropping into with Bournemouth, while Ciaran changes. We are disappointed as against them.
12 Cagliari 33 11 5 17 46 64 38
13 Chievo 33 11 5 17 36 52 38
the second tier last season after Clarke has shored up a perenni- overall we did not deserve to lose, Elsewhere, Sevilla hosts
14 Sassuolo 33 10 6 17 42 52 36 bitter rival Sunderland won at ally leaky defence. but football is like that. We do not Europa League gue semifinal-
Reuters / Paul Childs

15 Bologna 33 9 8 16 31 49 35 Everton. Benitez also scored wins off the have too much time to wallow and ist Celta on Thursday as
16 Genoa 33 7 9 17 32 57 30 After flirting with relegation pitch, mounting a charm offen- have to get over it.” it aims to consolidate
onsolidate a
17 Empoli 33 7 8 18 22 51 29
18 Crotone 33 6 6 21 28 53 24
themselves for the past few years, sive with the supporters and the Real will be without captain place in the top four,
19 Palermo 33 3 7 23 27 73 16 basement side Sunderland now local press, who had felt shut out Sergio Ramos for the trip after while King’s Cup final-
R20 Pescara 33 2 8 23 32 74 14 look doomed to the drop along by an increasingly inward-look- he was sent off against Barcelona ist Alaves hosts ts Eibar
Note: 18-20: Relegation with second-bottom Middles- ing club frustrated by years of un- and have Nacho as their only rec- in a Basque Country
ountry Sam Allardyce
brough, which would leave New- der-achievement. ognized senior centre-back, with derby.
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
ALL EYES ON
STUTTGART AS
SHARAPOVA
POISED FOR
RETURN
Martyn Herman
REUTERS/LONDON
Not much fazes Roberta Vin-
ci after 16 years on Tour but
the maelstrom swirling around
her opening match in Stuttgart
against Maria Sharapova will test
even the Italian’s vast experience.
Her 946th singles might or-
dinarily have been one to chalk
off and forget about but stand-
ing over the other side of the net
on Wednesday will be the former
world number one on her return
from a 15-month doping ban.
Whatever else is happening on
any other tennis court in the world
will become irrelevant as Russian
multi-millionaire Sharapova, who
turned 30 last week, resumes a
career that made her the world’s
richest sportswoman.
Debate still rages about
Sharapova’s crime and punish-
ment.
While some say the five-time
grand slam champion, initially
banned for two years after test-
ing positive for Meldonium at the
NBA
Warriors beats the Trail Blazers
Anne M. Peterson
ASSOCIATED PRESS/PORTLAND,
OREGON
Long after the Trail Blaz-
ers had left their court, many of
Golden State’s players celebrat-
ed on the floor at the Moda Cen-
ter to the delight of a rather large
contingent of yellow-clad fans
who chanted “War-ri-ors! War-
ri-ors!”
The first-round sweep was
sweet, even in Portland’s house.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points
as Golden State beat the Blazers
128-103 on Monday night to ad-
vance to the conference semifi-
nals. The Warriors will face the
winner of the series between the
Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles
ELECTION
Australian Olympic chief says campaign is malicious
Associated Press
SYDNEY
An increasingly bitter Olym-
pic election in Australia has in-
tensified with IOC Vice President
John Coates describing the cam-
paign as malicious and designed
to damage him personally.
Coates is facing his first chal-
lenge as president of the Austra-
lian Olympic Committee (AOC)
in 27 years, with 1996 Olympic
field hockey gold medalist Danni
Roche running against him in a
May 6 ballot.
AOC executive board mem-
bers have called a special meeting
via teleconference Wednesday
evening after allegations an AOC
staffer had intimidated at least
one former executive and that a
complaint made by former chief
executive Fiona de Jong had not
2016 Australian n Open, has done
an do
one
her time some mee fellow players
playyers
are angry the red carpet is being
rolled out.
With no ranking after such a
long period without swinging her
racket in anger, Sharapova could
have been forced to work her way
back from the lower rungs of the
tennis ladder.
Instead, with tournament
chiefs and sponsors well aware
of her ticket-selling appeal she
has been handed wildcards into
the claycourt events in Stuttgart,
Madrid and Rome. It is not an
arrangement Vinci approves of.
“My personal opinion is [I do] not
agree about wild cards [...] about
Rome, about other tournaments,”
she said in a press conference at
the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart.
“She is a great player — I have
nothing against her. She made her
mistakes for sure. She can return
to play, but without wild cards. I
know [Sharapova] is important
for the WTA, for tennis, for ev-
erything. She is a great person,
a great champion. My personal
Clippers, which is tied at 2.
Golden State was energized
despite playing for the second
straight game without coach
Steve Kerr, who has been expe-
riencing a flare-up of symptoms
stemming from back surgery a
couple of years ago. Assistant
Mike Brown has served as head
coach in Kerr’s absence.
But the Warriors saw the re-
turn of forward Kevin Durant,
who hadn’t played since Game 1
because of a strained left calf. He
started and the Warriors built a
72-48 lead by the end of the open-
ing half.
Golden State pushed the mar-
gin to 33 points in the second half.
Curry swished a 31-foot 3-point-
er that made it 104-77 late in the
AP/Eugene Hoshiko
John Coates
been properly addressed.
Roche, who is campaigning on
a platform of change and has of-
fered to work without pay as AOC
president, has not been hostile in
the campaign but insists the com-
plaints surfacing in the domes-
tic media need to be formally ad-
dressed.
Coates wrote to AOC execu-
tives and national sports groups
opinion is this.”
Former world number one
Caroline Wozniacki and Agniesz-
ka Radwanska have also cried
foul, believing a player returning
from a doping ban should have to
do it the hard way.
Sharapova, whose defense was
that she had not realized Meldo-
nium had been added to a list of
banned substances at the start
of 2016, insisted the substance is
as common as aspirin in Russia
where it is known as Mildronate.
The Court of Arbitration for
Sport (CAS) agreed that Sharapo-
va was not an intentional doper
shortened her ban from two years
to 15 months.
While admitting her mistake,
Sharapova has hardly been full of
contrition and has criticised the
International Tennis Federation
(ITF) for failing to notify her that
Meldonium, a medication she
said she had used for a number of
years to treat health issues, had
indeed been flagged up by WADA
Three-point shot: Golden State Warriors
guard Stephen Curry (left) shoots a three-
point basket over Portland Trail Blazers
forward Al-Farouq Aminu during the first half
of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round
playoff series in Portland, the US, on Monday.
third quarter and the Blazers
couldn’t catch up.
Durant finished with 10 points
in just under 21 minutes. All of
Golden State’s starters were in
double figures.
“That was unbelievable. Our
guys were locked in on both ends
of the floor. I wish I could say this
one thing or that one thing was re-
ally good but everything we tried
to do, we tried to do it on a high
level,” Brown said. “It was fun to
watch. Fun to be a part of.”
Damian Lillard scored 34
points for the Blazers, who were
making their fourth straight ap-
pearance in the playoffs. The
crowd at the Moda Center gave
Lillard a standing ovation when
he came out with 6:12 to play.
to defend his running of the orga-
nization and Sydney’s Daily Tele-
graph published the two-page let-
ter on Tuesday.
“There is clearly a coordinat-
ed and sadly vindictive campaign
to damage me personally, and to
tarnish all that has been achieved
at the AOC,” Coates said in com-
ments published by the newspa-
per. “This campaign is as disap-
pointing as it is unfounded.”
Coates said the pre-vote ex-
ecutive meeting was not a crisis
meeting but more for a “sensible
discussion.”
Regarding De Jong’s com-
plaint, Coates said due process
“has been followed with urgency.”
Coates, a 66-year-old lawyer
who leads the IOC’s Coordination
Commission for the Tokyo 2020
Games and has been president of
the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Maria
Sharapova
Reuters/Toby Melville
as ‘performance enhancing’.
Only last week Sharapova’s
agent Max Eisenbud stoked the
fires by saying the likes of Wozni-
acki and Radwanska were “jour-
neyman” players hoping to ben-
efit from Sharapova’s exclusion.
Sharapova’s prospective sec-
ond-round clash in Stuttgart
against Poland’s Radwanska
could be an awkward encounter.
A decision is expected soon on
whether the French Tennis Fed-
eration (FFT) will fast-track the
2012 and 2014 Roland Garros
champion into the French Open
draw. Her only other route is to
win the Stuttgart title so that she
can boost her ranking to enter
French Open qualifying.
What adds intrigue to Sharapo-
va’s return is that it comes at a
time with the WTA Tour reeling
from the news that world number
one and 23-time major champi-
on Serena Williams will not play
again this year after announcing
she is pregnant.
AP/Craig Mitchelldyer
The Warriors jumped out to
a 14-0 lead at the start. Durant’s
dunk extended the lead to 22-3
and the rout was on. JaVale Mc-
Gee made a highlight-reel alley-
oop dunk in route to a 45-22 lead
after the opening quarter.
“We knew if we threw the first
punch, we knew that it would
overwhelm them a bit, especially
being up 3-0,” Durant said.
It was the most points ever in
a quarter for Goldenn State in a
playoff game and matched
tched the
NBA record for most ost first-
quarter points in a playoff
game.
“We’re very confi nfident
about who we are andnd how
we’re going to be success-
uccess-
ful,” Curry said.
Reuters/Jason Reed
since 2011, was electedted as
AOC president in 1990
and has not faced anyy chal-
lenges since.
He was influential al in helping
Australia bid for and nd stage the
Sydney 2000 Olympics, pics, an event
that earned global praise.
raise.
The 46-year-old Roche’s nomi-
nation has been endorsed
orsed by Aus-
tralia’s field hockeyy federation
and backed by a numbermber of other
Olympic sports.
Roche is a board member of the
government-run Australian
tralian Sports
Commission — which ch has had a
strained relationship with the AOC
after the country’s lower-than-ex-
wer-than-ex-
pected performance at the 2016
Games in Rio de Janeiro
aneiro —
but says her decision n to run
against Coates was purely
urely be-
cause she believed it was time
for a change of leadership.
ship.
SPORTS | 9
PUTTING
PUTT IT BRIEFLY
Jonatan to skip Wuhan championships
JAKARTA: Jonatan Christie, initially a favorite for Indonesia to score a
win in the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Wuhan, China, this
week, has decided to skip the event due to an illness.
“I will not go to the BAC because I’m sick. I’ve been feeling unwell
for a few days, and the doctor won’t allow me to compete,” the
19-year-old men’s singles player said in a statement.
Jonatan, ranked 26th globally, withdrawing was another blow for
Indonesia as three of its favorite shuttlers pairs previously announced
their nonattendance in Wuhan due to injuries.
The three pairs are men’s doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (back injury), mixed doubles duo Tontowi
Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir (knee injury) as well as women’s doubles
pair Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani and Anggia Shitta Awanda (right leg
hamstring injury).
The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) head of development
Susy Susanti said Jonatan was diagnosed with a viral infection.
“[Jonatan] is not fit. The doctor has suggested that he take some
rest. [His withdrawal] is certainly affecting our team’s strength in Wu-
han, especially with the absence of the three pairs,” said Susy.
Without Jonatan, Indonesia has Tommy Sugiarto, Anthony Sinisuka
Ginting and Ihsan Maulana Mustofa in men’s singles. — JP
Courtesy of PBSI
Jonatan Christie
Bekele not wearing ‘Breaking2 shoes’
LONDON: The running shoes that Kenenisa Bekele blamed for his
struggles in Sunday’s London Marathon were not the revolutionary
new model designed for use in the Breaking2 attempt on a sub-two
hour marathon, manufacturers Nike said on Tuesday.
Track superstar Bekele was on world record pace and looking strong
at halfway during Sunday’s race but then dropped back dramatically
before staging a superb recovery to finish second behind Kenya’s
Daniel Wanjiru.
He later said that his problems had been caused by blistering from
new shoes and that he had to change his running style to enable him
to pick up his pace.
It was thought at the time that triple Olympic champion Bekele was
wearing Nike’s new Zoom Vaporfly Elite shoes, which will be worn by
Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese in their attempt to
run a sub-two-hour marathon in Italy next month.
However, Nike said on Tuesday that Bekele was wearing their Zoom
Vaporfly 4% shoes and that the Vaporfly Elite were being used only by
the three Breaking2 athletes.
“As he has done in previous marathons, Bekele ran in the Zoom Va-
porfly 4 percent, in which he set an Ethiopian record and the second-
fastest time in history on a record-eligible course in Berlin,” a spokes-
man said on Tuesday.
“We are working closely with Bekele to understand what hap-
pened.” — Reuters
TENNIS
Serena fires back at Nastase
for ‘racist’ comments
Reuters are you beset with gloom? You
NORTH CAROLINA may shoot me with your words
[...] you may try to kill me with
Serena Williams on Monday your hatefulness, but still like air
called the alleged comments about I will rise.”
her unborn child made by former It would not be the first time
world number one Ilie Nastase Williams has been stung by rac-
“racist” and applauded the Inter- ism as player.
national Tennis Federation for The world number one boycot-
launching a probe into the remarks. ted the Indian Wells tournament
Former tennis bad boy Nas- for 14 years after she and sister Ve-
tase, who won two grand slam ti- nus and her family claimed they
tles in the 1970s, was quoted by were victims of racial taunts while
Romanian and some British me- Serena played in the 2001 final.
dia as saying in response to Wil- Nastase, 70, has been provision-
liam’s pregnancy announcement: ally banned from all International
“Let’s see what color it has. Choc- Tennis Federation (ITF) events
olate with milk?” following his verbal abuse of Brit-
“It
It disappoints me to know ish players last weeken
weekend in his role
we live in a society where as Romanian Fed Cup captain.
people like Ilie Nastase Williams thanked tthe ITF and
can make such racist com- said they would have ha her full
ments toward myself and support as they inve investigated the
unborn child, and sex- matter.
ist comments against my “[The investigation
investigation] is ongoing.
peers,” the women’s world At this point, one of theth principles
number one wrote on her that is important is th that we want a
Instagram account. rigorous process that is fair,” ITF
“I am not afraid unlike you. President David Hagg Haggerty said on
You see, I am no coward. Does Monday.
my sassiness upset you? Why “We will
aalso hear
N a s t a s e ’s
side of the
argument.
Serena It will be a
Williams thorough
thor pro-
cess conducted
c in
an efficient man-
ner. I dod not think
you will be hearing
any final decisions
d in
the next two weeks.”
w
British captain Anne Keo-
thavong, who said sh she was made
to feel “uncomfortable”
“uncomfortab by com-
ments made by Nastase
Nasta at the of-
ficial pre-match dinner,
dinn said the
abuse during play had been unac-
ceptable.
“We expected a patriotic
pat crowd
for the Romanian team te but we
don’t expect abusive language to
be used [...] what he saids directed
to both Johanna [Konta]
[Kon and my-
self is [...] language that
th is not ap-
propriate for anyone to speak to
any other human,” she said.
Konta was reduced to tears at
one stage.
10 | WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

WORLD MALARIA DAY

AROUND THE REGION Loaded
VN, Cambodia unveil cross-border bridge Laos still
VIETNAM: The Long Binh-Chrey Thom Bridge connecting the southern
province of An Giang in Vietnam and Cambodia’s Kandal Province,
striving to
which is believed to be the shortest route connecting Cambodia’s
capital of Phnom Penh with Vietnam’s border, has recently been inau- become
gurated.
The inauguration, which took place in Kandal on Monday, was at-
tended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Cam-
malaria-free
bodian counterpart Hun Sen, along with tens of thousands of residents
along the shared border. Vientiane Times/ANN
The two leaders agreed that the bridge was not only significant in VIENTIANE
terms of economy, but also politics, culture, society, security and de-
fense, and described it as a symbol of solidarity, friendship and sound Laos aims to eradicate malar-
cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia. ia by 2030 but it may not achieve
The construction of the Long Binh–Chrey Thom Bridge commenced this target if people do not follow
in January 2014. The Vietnamese Government provided a credit pack- preventive measures like sleep-
age worth US$8.76 million to help the Cambodian government build ing under insecticide-treated
the bridge. nets.
The inauguration of the bridge also marks the two countries’ efforts “The best way to prevent ma-
to complete the land border demarcation and marker planting. — Viet laria infection is to avoid mos-
Nam News/ANN quito bites, sleeping under in-
secticide-treated nets and taking
medicine for malaria, under a
Thousands servers infected in SE Asia physician’s advice, by tourists
and those who find it necessary
SINGAPORE: An anti-cybercrime operation by Interpol and investi- to visit malaria risk zones,” said
gators from seven Southeast Asian nations revealed nearly 9,000 Health Minister Bounkong Sy-
malware-laden servers and hundreds of compromised websites in the havong.
ASEAN region, Interpol said recently. He was speaking at a press con-
Various types of malware, such as that targeting financial institu- ference to mark World Malaria
tions, spreading ransomware, launching Distributed Denial of Service Day, annually observed on April
(DDoS) attacks and distributing spam were among the threats posed AP/Heng Sinith 25.
by the infected servers, the operation showed. A farmer carries a plastic container loaded with fish caught at her farm in Koh Thom province southeast of These practices have enabled
“This operation helped participants identify and address various Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday. the incidences of malaria to be re-
types of cybercrime which had not previously been tackled in their duced in Laos year-on-year while
countries,” said Francis Chan, head of the Hong Kong Police Force’s cy- keeping the malaria incidences in
bercrime unit and chairman of Interpol’s Eurasian cybercrime working the country under control now.
group, on Monday. In 2015, there were 36,056 cas-
Experts from seven private firms also participated in the operation
run out of the Singapore-based Interpol Global Complex for Innovation
(IGCI), with China providing some cyber intelligence, the international
police body said on its website.
The effort follows a breach this year at Singapore’s Ministry of
RI-PH talks to fortify es of malaria infection, resulting
in two deaths.
While in 2016, the number of
malaria infections was 16,528

new trade route

people and one death, a reduc-
Defense, when personal details of 850 national servicemen and staff tion of 54 percent as compared to
were stolen in what the defense ministry described as a “targeted and 2015.
carefully planned” attack. — Reuters However, drug resistant cas-
es had increased by 10 percent in
Thai approves to buy China submarines Tama Salim Jokowi to raise issues of tion in the field of agriculture. 2013 and 14 percent in 2015, espe-
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA connectivity, maritime The Davao-General Santos- cially in Champassak, Xekong and
THAILAND: Thailand’s cabinet has approved the first of three planned security Bitung route for roll-on/roll-off Attapeu provinces.
submarine purchases from China worth US$393 million. President Joko “Jokowi” (Ro-Ro) vessels will be officiated Even though the number of
The plan to buy the three Chinese-built submarines worth 36 billion Widodo is expected to try and for- Jokowi to launch Davao- by Jokowi and Duterte in Davao malaria cases has decreased offi-
baht (US$1.05 billion) was confirmed in July, signaling warming ties tify maritime security coopera- General Santos-Bitung City on April 30 as part of a series cials suggest that preventive mea-
with the regional superpower since relations with the United States tion with the Philippines during of meetings and events under the sures still must be continued.
bilateral talks this week, ahead
sea route as part of BIMP- banner of the 30th ASEAN Sum- World Malaria Day aims to re-
cooled after a May 2014 military coup. The first submarine purchase EAGA priority projects
was approved last week. of the launch of a lucrative trade mit in Manila this year. mind all countries about the need
“The cabinet approved one submarine purchase on April 18,” Thailand route that aims to boost connec- The route connects a number for a continued investment and a
government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told Reuters on Monday, tivity along the borders of the of priority infrastructure projects sustained political commitment
adding that a budget of 13.5 billion baht ($393 million) has been ear- neighboring countries. whether bilaterally or regionally,” under the Brunei-Indonesia-Ma- for malaria prevention and con-
marked for the Yuan Class S26T submarine over a six-year period. Jokowi will embark on a state Foreign Ministry spokesperson laysia-Philippines East ASEAN trol. The global theme for 2017
The media were not told about the purchase following a cabinet meet- visit to the Philippines on April Arrmanatha Nasir said during a Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) ini- World Malaria Day is “End Ma-
ing last week because it was a matter of national security, he added. 28 and will meet with Philippine weekly press briefing on Tuesday. tiative — a cooperation frame- laria for Good”, which captures
Public criticism and questions have arisen as to whether Thailand President Rodrigo Duterte in Ma- Other than Jokowi’s usual fo- work that aims to close the devel- the common vision of a malaria
really needs new submarines. “In the current situation, where the nila for bilateral talks on subjects cus on deepening economic co- opment gap among nations in the free world.
government cannot successfully solve economic problems, buying ex- ranging from connectivity and operation, there will also be an region’s east. This year, the WHO has placed
pensive submarines is completely unnecessary,” Watchara Petchthong, border delineation issues to mari- emphasis on maritime security It is also one of the priorities a special focus on prevention
a politician with the Democrat Party, told Reuters. time security. between the two countries, Ar- within the ASEAN Ro-Ro Net- which has played an important
Maritime security is a hot issue in Southeast Asia, given competing “The main focus [of the visit] is rmanatha said. However, he did work initiative, which aims to im- role in reducing malaria cases
claims over the South China Sea, but Thailand is not a claimant in that to increase connectivity between not elaborate any further on his prove connectivity in sea chan- and deaths, primarily through
dispute. — Reuters the two nations in order to spur statement. nels among Southeast Asian the scale up of insecticide-treated
economic growth and prosperity, Both countries have had to deal nations by halving shipping times nets and indoor spraying with in-
with a string of kidnappings for in the new trade corridor. secticides.
ransom of late, with many of the At present, it takes three to five Globally, malaria kills more
crimes taking place in the Sulu weeks to ship goods from Bitung than 400,000 people annually,
Sea on the northwestern side of to Davao, as traders are forced to although this number has been
Mindanao Island. make a stopover in Manila before falling by about 29 percent from
There is currently a trilateral shipping to Indonesian port cities 2010 to 2015. New malaria cases
maritime security cooperation like Makassar, Surabaya or Jakarta. fell by 21 percent but it still ac-
framework between Indonesia, Meanwhile, the new Ro-Ro counted for 212 million new cases
the Philippines and Malaysia, but route is expected to expedite in 2015. According to the World
it is nowhere near as solid as the shipment to around 36 hours ex- Malaria Report in 2016, one child
existing Malacca Straits coordi- cluding port stay, the ministry’s dies from malaria every two min-
nated patrols agreement between director for Asia-Pacific and Af- utes.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore rican intraregional cooperation, The Global Technical Strategy
and Thailand. Benyamin Carnadi, said. for Malaria 2016-2030 provides a
In the bilateral meeting, Jokowi Border talks and cooperation framework for all countries work-
and Duterte will witness the sign- to thwart transnational organized ing to eliminate malaria, at every
ing of two agreements, one of which crime such as drug trafficking point along the elimination con-
is a Joint Declaration on the estab- and terrorism will also be among tinuum. The global target is to re-
lishment of sea connectivity be- the issues that both leaders will duce 90 percent of new cases and
tween the port cities Davao and raise during their meeting, Ar- 90 percent of malaria deaths by
General Santos in the Philippines rmanatha added. The ministry is 2030.
and Bitung in North Sulawesi. currently waiting for the House of In Champassak, communi-
“The launch of the new ship- Representatives to finalize the rati- ty events targeted to the mobile
ping route will increase trade fication of a 2014 border agreement migrant populations working on
between the two nations,” the with the Philippines to settle the plantations and posters and bro-
spokesman said, adding that an- issue of overlapping exclusive eco- chures will be distributed to en-
other memorandum of under- nomic zones in the Mindanao and courage health seeking behaviors
standing would focus on coopera- Sulawesi seas. in the province.

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

DR Luigi Carlo Gastel New app allows user to ‘walk a

24 July 1940 – 23 April 2017
mile’ in Rohingya refugee shoes
The Boards and Members of the Italian Business Association in
Indonesia - IBAI mourns the loss of its President. His love for Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR
Indonesia and his endeavor to build bridges between our two
countries will continue in the works of the organization. A ping on Kathijah’s phone.
The Rohingya girl picks up the
message, it is from her brother
Ceremony and funeral of will be on Wednesday, 26 April 2017 at 24:45 Ishak in Myanmar.
“Kat, r u safe?” he writes. “It
in the San Francesco di Paola Church (Via Manzoni – Milano, Italy). was a raid, they found us. Had to
Will lay to rest at Cemetery of Castellaro De Giorgi in the Province of run,” he said, before sending a
video message of him running in
Pavia, Italy a jungle that was abruptly cut off.
It was a conversation between
Kathijah, a fictional character,
Condolences message address: and her brother in Myanmar on
a new smartphone app that gives
Famiglia Gastel, Via Bigli, 19 – Milano, cap.20121, Italy users a glimpse into the daily
struggles of Rohingya refugees
who flee political persecution
Sending lowers address: back home.
The “Finding Home” app ef-
Famiglia Gastel fectively takes over one’s phone
Azienda Agricola Cortegrande 7, Via Cascina Cortegrande - by recreating the mobile operat-
ing system of Kathijah’s handset,
Catellaro De Giorgi Pavia cap 27100, Italy prompting users to answer phone
calls, text messages or scroll
through her photo gallery.
Advertising agency in Kuala
Lumpur, Grey Malaysia, which
built the app in partnership with
the UN refugee agency UNHCR,
said the “revolutionary” app aims
to increase public empathy to-
ward the plight of refugees.
“We wanted to find a way
of getting people to really em-
pathize what these people go
through, to feel it as if they were
going through it,” Graham Drew,
Grey Malaysia executive creative
director, told the Thomson Re-
uters Foundation.
The app focuses not just on her
life back home, but also on how
the 16-year-old Kathijah is trying
to build a new life in Malaysia.
One conversation involves her
talking to a friend about how she
is taking classes in English and
Malay.
There are some 150,000 refu-
gees in Malaysia, about a third
of whom are Rohingya Muslims
who have fled violence and apart-
heid-like conditions in western
Rakhine state in Buddhist-major-
ity Myanmar.
Many are children who expe-
rience struggles similar to Kathi-
jah’s.
“The refugee story is of-
ten a deeply personal one, and
difficult for people to under-
stand,” UNHCR Malaysia repre-
sentative Richard Towle said in
a statement on the launch of the
app on Tuesday.
“We hope that this application
will allow a viewer to walk a mile
in a refugee’s shoes in order to un-
derstand what they go through
every day in order to find safety.”
The interactive conversations
featured in the app were con-
structed based on interviews with
refugees, according to Grey.
The plight of the Rohingya hit
international headlines again in
recent months after Myanmar
security forces were accused of
carrying out mass killings and
gang rapes during their campaign
against Rohingya insurgents. It
sparked international criticism
but a senior Myanmar govern-
ment official denied there was
any ethnic cleansing against Ro-
hingya Muslims.
The app “Finding Home” is
available now free for download
from the Google PlayStore and
coming very soon to the Apple
App Store.
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 WORLD | 11
Against Chinese claims AROUND THE WORLD
RI team sent to handle overstayers in S. Arabia
SAUDI ARABIA: Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi has sent a team
of government officials to help Indonesians applying for a Saudi
amnesty for people who are overstaying visas in the Arab kingdom,
a ministry official has said.
The team consists of officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Law
and Human Rights Ministry and the Agency for the Placement and
Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI).
It has been tasked with expediting services for overstayers partak-
ing in the amnesty and must also engage in shuttle diplomacy with
relevant Saudi authorities to iron out any kinks in the process.
“The Foreign Minister asked us to ensure that negative experienc-
es from the 2013 program are not repeated,” said Lalu Muhammad
Iqbal, the foreign ministry’s director for the protection of Indonesian
nationals and entities abroad, on Tuesday in a statement.
The government of Saudi Arabia implemented a 90-day amnesty
starting March 29 for hundreds of thousands of undocumented for-
eign workers and immigration offenders in the country.
It provides waivers for participants who would otherwise be liable
to fines, detention or blacklisting. Those who are eligible must be
able to present travel documents in lieu of passports (SPLP) from the
Indonesian missions in Riyadh and Jeddah.
According to government figures, an estimated 25,000 to 30,000
Indonesian overstayers are taking part in the program. As of Monday,
4,785 Indonesian overstayers registered for amnesty. — JP

Spain nabs nine suspects in Brussels attacks

SPAIN: Police in northeastern Spain arrested nine suspected members
AP/Tsering Topgyal of a jihadi group Tuesday in raids that might help resolve recent deadly
A small group of protesters from India’s northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state shout slogans against China as they are detained by police near attacks in Belgium and France.
the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, India, after they protested against news reports of China announcing Chinese names for six districts in Police said the arrested were one Spaniard and eight Moroccans
Arunachal Pradesh, on Tuesday. China claims about 90,000 square kilometers in Arunachal Pradesh, but India rejects that claim. living in Catalonia between 30 and 40 years old.
A regional police spokeswoman said at least four of the detained
are suspected of being linked to people arrested following the 2016
Brussels airport and subway attacks that killed 32 people and wound-

RI urged to welcome
ed 300 others. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping
with police regulations.
Regional police spokesman Josep Lluis Trapero told TV3 regional
television that four of the detained were clearly members the Islamic
State group. He said the arrests could help solve investigations into

China’s OBOR initiative attacks in France and Belgium. — AP

Taliban roadside bombing kills nine

Liza Yosephine
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
Ahead of the inaugural summit
on China’s “One Belt, One Road”
(OBOR) initiative set to take
place in Beijing on May 14 and 15,
observers have urged Indonesia
to finally speak up with a policy
statement to welcome the ambi-
tious infrastructure project.
Announced by Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping in 2013, the proj-
ect aims to establish connectivity
and cooperation between China
and 65 countries with extensive
networks that would stretch from
central China through Asia to Af-
rica and Europe.
Foreign Policy Community of
Indonesia (FPCI) founder Dino
Patti Djalal said the “pure econom-
ic and infrastructure benefits to the
region” would be advantageous to
Indonesia, explaining that the con-
nections would also complement
Indonesia’s own Global Maritime
Axis vision set out by President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
The government is to soon de-
cide on a port for a connectivity
point in Indonesia for the OBOR
Government should soon
decide on Indonesian port
for OBOR network
China’s behavior in South
China Sea should not stop
cooperation with China
networks, Dino said, which
would bring more shipments
into its waters.
“To be an axis, we need the nec-
essary balance. If we become a
hub but no-one actually stops in
Indonesia, then we would not be
an axis. So, I think [OBOR] is rel-
evant to our efforts to become one
of the axes in the Asia-Pacific,”
Dino told reporters on the side-
lines of a discussion about rela-
tions between Indonesia and Chi-
na in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He stressed that there was a
direct link between infrastruc-
ture and economic development
for spurring growth, especially
since the initiative had already
secured funding, even though it
needs more.
Jokowi and Philippine Presi-
dent Rodrigo Duterte are set to
be among the 28 leaders to attend
the summit, according to a list
announced by Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi.
The world’s largest archipe-
lagic nation has so far been silent
on an official stance regarding
the global project, observers have
noted, adding that Jokowi must
take the opportunity of the sum-
mit to announce a clear “yes” to
joining the initiative.
China has earmarked more
than US$200 billion in resourc-
es, including $100 billion in the
Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB) and the $50 billion
Silk Road Infrastructure Fund,
to finance infrastructure, nota-
bly road and rail links and power
grids along the corridors covered
by the OBOR initiative.
Despite the economic potential,
however, Indonesia would likely be
cautious about undue political in-
fluence as the project has been seen
as one of Beijing’s ways of increas-
ing is sphere of influence, including
in the disputed South China Sea,
where the East Asian giant claims
most of the waters encompassed by
a so-called nine-dash line.
Speaking about the political
implications of any cooperation,
Dino said a bilateral framework
should include an agreement out-
lining clear guidelines over “eco-
nomic cooperation without polit-
ical conditions.”
As a non-claimant state in the
disputed waters, Indonesia has
stressed the importance of abid-
ing by the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) to maintain peace and
stability in the region.
Centre for Strategic and Inter-
national Studies (CSIS) executive
director Philips J. Vermonte said
that concerns over China’s behav-
ior in the South China Sea should
not stop the pursuit of establish-
ing cooperation with China, not-
ing the importance of beneficial
issues outside the realm.
“We should not expect the
South China Sea problem to end
very soon because there are so
many other territorial disputes
around the globe that have not
been resolved for decades, but it
is possible to have functional co-
operation with the country,” Phil-
ips said.
PAKISTAN: A roadside bombing targeted a minivan in Pakistan’s north-
western tribal region on Tuesday, killing nine people, a local official
and the military said. The attack was claimed by a breakaway Taliban
faction.
The blast ripped through the van travelling through a minority Shiite
region of the Kurram tribal area, which borders Afghanistan, said Arif
Khan, a tribal administration official in the town of Parachinar. The area
has long been the scene of sectarian violence.
A woman and two children were among the nine killed while 13
people were wounded in the explosion. With few adequate medi-
cal facilities in the area, a Pakistani army helicopter evacuated the
wounded to a nearby military hospital. The breakaway Taliban faction
of Jamat-ul-Ahrar said it was behind the attack on the Shiites. — AP
Somalia executes four al Shabaab fighters
SOMALIA: A military court in Somalia has executed four men it said
were fighters belonging to al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab who were
behind a 2016 attack that killed 80 people, a military officer said on
Tuesday.
The four men were executed in Baidoa, which lies about 245 kilo-
meters northwest of Mogadishu, on Monday.
“Yesterday, four militants who had been behind blasts were
executed. More men accused of being al Shabaab members will be
executed today or tomorrow,” Major Nur Aden, a military officer in
Baidoa, told Reuters.
The four were found guilty of being responsible for twin blasts in
Baidoa in February 2016, resulting in the deaths.
Al Shabaab often carries out such attacks in the capital and else-
where in its bid to topple Somalia’s government and to drive out
African Union peacekeeping troops. — Reuters

SECURITY

N. Korea stages artillery drill as US submarine docks in South

Park Ju-min
REUTERS/SEOUL
North Korea conducted a big
live-fire exercise on Tuesday to
mark the foundation of its mili-
tary as a United States submarine
docked in South Korea in a show of
force amid growing concern over
the North’s nuclear and missile
programs.
The port call by the USS Michi-
gan came as a US aircraft carrier
strike group steamed toward Ko-
rean waters and as top envoys for
North Korea policy from South
Korea, Japan and the United
States met in Tokyo.
Fears have risen in recent
weeks that North Korea would
conduct another nuclear test or
long-range missile launch in de-
fiance of UN sanctions, perhaps
on the Tuesday anniversary of the
founding of its military.
But instead of a nuclear test or
big missile launch, North Korea
deployed a large number of long-
range artillery units in the region
of Wonsan on its east coast for a
live-fire drill, South Korea’s mili-
tary said. North Korea has an air
base in Wonsan and missiles have
also been tested there.
“North Korea is conducting a
large-scale firing drill in Wonsan
areas this afternoon,” the South’s
Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said
in a statement.
The South Korean military was
monitoring the situation and “firm-
ly maintaining readiness,” it said.
The South’s Yonhap News
Agency said earlier the exercise
was possibly supervised by North
Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea’s state media was
defiant in a commentary marking
the 85th anniversary of the founda-
tion of the Korean People’s Army,
saying its military was prepared “to
bring to closure the history of US
scheming and nuclear blackmail.”
“There is no limit to the strike
power of the People’s Army armed
with our style of cutting-edge mil-
itary equipment including vari-
ous precision and miniaturised
nuclear weapons and submarine-
launched ballistic missiles,” the
official Rodong Sinmun newspa-
per said in a front-page editorial.
North Korea’s growing nuclear
and missile threat is perhaps the
most serious security challenge
confronting US President Donald
Trump.
Trump has vowed to prevent
North Korea from being able to
hit the United States with a nucle-
ar missile and has said all options
are on the table, including a mili-
tary strike.
He sent the USS Carl Vinson
aircraft carrier strike group for
exercises in waters off the Korean
peninsula as a warning to North
Korea and a show of solidarity
with US allies.
South Korea’s navy said it was
conducting a live-fire exercise
with US destroyers on Tuesday in
waters west of the Korean penin-
sula and would soon join the car-
rier strike group approaching the
region.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secre-
tary Yoshide Suga told media that
China’s envoy for Korean affairs,
Wu Dawei, would hold talks with
Japanese Foreign Ministry offi-
cials. A ministry source said Wu
was likely to meet his Japanese
counterpart, Kenji Kanasugi, on
Wednesday.
Kanasugi said after talks with
his US and South Korean coun-
terparts that they all agreed Chi-
na should take a concrete role to
resolve the crisis and it could use
an oil embargo as a tool to press
the North.
WORLD
ASEAN Summit focuses on regional issues
Tama Salim
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
Southeast Asian leaders are
seeking a united front in discuss-
ing a number of strategic region-
al issues in the ASEAN Summit
to be held in the Philippines this
week.
The South China Sea debacle,
escalating tensions on the Korean
Peninsula and the protection of
migrant workers’ rights in the re-
gion will all feature prominently
in the discussions, said the Foreign
Ministry’s director general for
ASEAN affairs, Jose AM Tavares.
“There will definitely be a num-
ber of issues related to regional
peace and security, including the
South China Sea dispute, Korean
Peninsula tensions, transnation-
al crimes in the region and clear-
er cooperation with our dialogue
partners,” he said on Tuesday.
PRESIDENCY
French urged to reject Le Pen
Bate Felix and John Irish
REUTERS/PARIS
France’s outgoing president,
Francois Hollande, on Monday
urged people to back centrist
Emmanuel Macron in a vote to
choose his successor next month
and reject far-right leader Ma-
rine Le Pen, whose place in the
run-off represented a “risk” for
France.
Macron and Le Pen, leader of the
National Front (FN), go head-to-
head on May 7 after taking the top
two places in Sunday’s first round.
Opinion polls indicate that the
business-friendly Macron, who
has never held elected office, will
take at least 61 percent of the vote
against Le Pen after two defeat-
ed rivals pledged to back him to
thwart her Eurosceptic, anti-im-
migrant platform.
Hollande, a Socialist nearing
the end of five years of unpopu-
lar rule, threw his weight behind
his former economy minister in a
televised address, saying Le Pen’s
policies were divisive and stigma-
tized sections of the population.
Light, camera, action
Charge d’Affairés ad interim from the Delegation of the European
Union to Indonesia Charles-Michel Geurts (right) talks with the direc-
tor of the 2017 Europe on Screen Festival, Orlow Seunke, at the Pullman
Hotel Jakarta on Tuesday. The festival will be held from May 5 to 14 in
Jakarta, Bandung, Denpasar, Medan, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.
He said during a press brief-
ing that President Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo would attend the April 29
Summit to provide suggestions
on how ASEAN might respond to
the challenges facing the region.
“[Jokowi’s presence] is very
important and has a strategic val-
ue attached to it, considering the
uncertainty of current geopoliti-
cal and geo-economic dynamics,”
he said.
ASEAN leaders convene bian-
nually for two plenary sessions
and leaders’ retreats, the latter
functioning as a private forum for
them to freely exchange opinions
on regional and international is-
sues.
ASEAN commemorates its
50th anniversary this year, having
managed to maintain what For-
eign Minister Retno LP Marsudi
calls an “ecosystem of peace and
stability,” even despite constant
“The presence of the far right
in the second round is a risk for
the country,” he said. “What is at
stake is France’s make-up, its uni-
ty, its membership of Europe and
its place in the world.”
Global markets reacted with
relief to Sunday’s vote, which
broke the dominance of estab-
lished parties of the center-left
and center-right but still left the
most market-friendly and inter-
nationally minded of the remain-
ing contenders in pole position to
become France’s next leader.
The euro touched five-month
peaks while Europe’s STOXX 600
index rose 2 percent.
Surveys pointing to a clear Ma-
cron victory soothed investors
who have been unnerved by Le
Pen’s pledges to ditch the euro,
print money and possibly quit the
European Union. Many had feared
another anti-establishment shock
to follow Britain’s “Brexit” vote
and Donald Trump’s election as
United States president.
Le Pen said late on Monday she
was taking “a leave of absence”
from leading the FN to focus on
JP/Donny Fernando
SCS, Korean Peninsula
tensions will be on
ASEAN Summit agenda
Jokowi to visit Hong
Kong to speak on workers
protection, bilateral
cooperation
security challenges like the South
China Sea debate.
China claims almost the entire-
ty of the body of water through
which about US$5 trillion in sea-
borne goods pass every year. It
has attempted to strengthen its
foothold there by constructing
island outposts, much to the dis-
tress of claimants Brunei, Malay-
sia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
ASEAN and China are current-
ly in advanced negotiations over a
framework for a code of conduct
(COC), a document of provisions
campaigning, in a move that ap-
peared to be a mere formality that
changes nothing in her campaign
platform.
She told France 2 television: “I
will feel more free and above all,
above party politics, which I think
is important.”
Le Pen has said for months she is
not, strictly speaking, an FN candi-
date but a candidate backed by the
FN. She has long distanced herself
from her maverick father Jean-Ma-
rie, the former FN leader, and in the
election campaign has put neither
her party’s name nor its trademark
flame logo on her posters.
Opening the battle for second-
round votes, Le Pen highlighted
the continuing threat of Islamist
militancy, which has claimed
more than 230 lives in France
since 2015, saying the 39-year-
old Macron was “to say the least,
weak” on the issue.
She also said she wanted to talk
to sovereigntist Nicolas Dupont-
Aignan, who won nearly five per-
cent of the first-round vote and
has not said which side he would
take in the next.
UNITED STATES
Govt shutdown, health bill rescue at stake in Congress
Alan Fram and
Andrew Taylor
ASSOCIATED PRESS/WASHINGTON
Bipartisan bargainers are mak-
ing progress toward a budget deal
to prevent a partial federal shut-
down this weekend, a major hur-
dle overcome when United States
President Donald Trump signaled
he would put off his demand that
the measure include money to
build his border wall with Mexico.
Republicans are also vetting
proposed changes to their belea-
guered health care bill that they
hope will attract enough votes to
finally push it through the House.
Both efforts come with Con-
gress back from a two-week break
just days before Trump’s 100th day
in office, an unofficial measuring
stick of a new president’s effective-
ness. With little to show in legisla-
tive victories so far, the Trump ad-
ministration would love to claim
achievements on Capitol Hill by
that day — this Saturday.
to prevent conflict in the disputed
waters.
Beijing has promised to con-
clude talks by midyear and will
host the 10-nation ASEAN in a
meeting in Guiyang in May.
Indonesia is a non-claimant in
the dispute, but has a direct interest
in maintaining peace and security
in the region, including by pushing
for an early conclusion of the COC.
On the Korean Peninsula issue,
Jose objected to the use of mili-
tary power, which looks increas-
ingly possible as North Korea
continues conducting tests for its
nuclear program. “We don’t see
anything good coming out of mili-
tary action,” he said.
The summit is expected to pro-
duce a number of outcomes, in-
cluding a declaration on the role
of the civil service as a catalyst
for achieving the ASEAN Com-
munity vision and a possible dec-
Feminist supporters
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (left to right), Ivanka Trump, daughter of and adviser to
United States President Donald Trump and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde jokingly raise their
hands affirming their belief that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a feminist during a panel at the W20
Summit in Berlin on Tuesday.
The same day, federal agen-
cies would have to close unless
lawmakers pass a US$1 trillion
spending bill financing them or
legislation keeping them open
temporarily while talks contin-
ue. Republicans hope to avoid the
ignominy of a government shut-
down while their party controls
Congress and the White House.
White House spokesman Sean
Spicer said Monday that admin-
istration negotiators including
Trump’s budget chief, Mick Mul-
vaney, “feel very confident” that a
shutdown will not occur.
Democrats, whose votes are
needed to pass the budget mea-
sure, had a less charitable version
of negotiations. In a conference
call with reporters aimed at crit-
icizing Trump’s first 100 days as
ineffective, party leaders said the
biggest shutdown threat was from
Trump’s demand that the spend-
ing bill include funds for the bar-
ricade along the Mexican border.
That threat appeared to be eas-
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
laration on the promotion and
protection of migrant workers’
rights.
Jokowi is also expected to be
vocal about the bloc’s propensity
of being overwhelmed by its own
activities, Jose added, saying the
President sought to underline the
importance of implementing pre-
vious outcomes.
According to him, ASEAN has
a monthly budget of $20 million,
but hosts more than 1,000 meet-
ings each year under various
mechanisms.
After attending the ASEAN
Summit, Jokowi will head to
Davao City with Philippine Pres-
ident Rodrigo Duterte on April
30 to witness the launch of the
Davao-General Santos-Bitung
sea linkage route.
The President will then travel
to Hong Kong for a working visit
to meet with outgoing chief ex-
ing Monday evening when Trump
told reporters from conservative
media that he would be willing to
return to the funding issue in Sep-
tember. Two people in the room
described his comments to The
Associated Press.
Those comments represent-
ed a retreat from just last week,
when Mulvaney said getting
money for Trump’s wall in the
budget bill was one of the admin-
istration’s “priorities.”
Nonetheless, Trump tweeted
Tuesday, “Don’t let the fake me-
dia tell you that I have changed
my position on the WALL. It will
get built and help stop drugs, hu-
man trafficking etc.”
House Minority Leader Nan-
cy Pelosi, D-Calif., approved of
Trump’s apparent shift. “The pres-
ident’s comments this evening are
welcome news given the biparti-
san opposition to the wall, and the
obstacle it has been to the continu-
ing bipartisan negotiations in the
appropriations committees,” she
| 12
ecutive Leung Chun-ying and his
newly elected successor, Carrie
Lam.
In Hong Kong, Jokowi will
seek to increase connectivity, as
well as cooperation in tourism
and the creative industries, while
also raising the issue of Indone-
sian migrant workers protection,
ministry spokesman Arrmanatha
Nasir said.
According to government data,
there are currently 172,000 In-
donesian migrant workers regis-
tered in Hong Kong.
On May 1, Jokowi is expected
to meet with Hong Kong busi-
ness players in an effort to attract
more infrastructure investments
to the archipelago, as well as to
push forward negotiations on the
Hong Kong-ASEAN free trade
agreement.
READ ALSO P10
AP/Markus Schreiber
said in a statement late Monday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y., said, “It’s good
for the country that President
Trump is taking the wall off the
table in these negotiations.” Both
Democratic leaders had criticized
Trump earlier Monday.
Trump had told supporters
Mexico would pay for the wall, but
with Mexico refusing to foot the bill
he now wants Congress to make a
down payment. The wall’s cost es-
timates range past $20 billion. Re-
publicans are seeking an initial $1.4
billion in the spending bill.
The other major budget stum-
bling block involved a Democratic
demand for money for insurance
companies that help low-income
people afford health policies un-
der president Barack Obama’s
health law, or that Trump aban-
don a threat to use the payments
as a bargaining chip. Supporters
of the health law warn its mar-
ketplaces could collapse if those
funds are taken away.
BUSINESS WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 | 13
RAIL TRANSPORTATION TRADE DOCUMENTARY
LRT project at risk over funding Export surge keeps Thai ‘Jaji’ A chronicle of solidarity
issue p14 growth target in reach p16 p 22

Govt seeks to boost

CNG use by motorists
Fedina S. Sundaryani
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
The government expects
to persuade vehicle owners to
switch to gas as a fuel by establish-
ing hundreds of new compressed
natural gas (CNG) stations across
the country.
The Energy and Mineral Re-
sources Ministry has recently
issued Ministerial Decree No.
25/2017 on the acceleration of gas
fuel for transportation, which is
the basis for the ministry’s plan to
construct an additional 221 CNG
stations and mandates the instal-
lation of CNG dispensers at 150
conventional filling stations in
Java by 2020.
At the moment, there are only
Reuters/Beawiharta 68 CNG stations, 46 of which were
Assembly line: Workers are seen building a Mitsubishi Pajero at the Mitsubishi car factory in Bekasi, constructed using state funds.
West Java, on Tuesday. Mitsubishi opened on Tuesday its second car factory in Bekasi built with an The ministry’s oil and gas direc-
investment of Rp 7.5 trillion (US$564.9 billion) and with a production capacity of up to 240,000 units tor general IGN Wiratmaja Puja
cars each year. said the government hoped the
increased availability of CNG fuel
would convince motorists to move
AUTOMOTIVE away from conventional fuels, al-
most half of which is imported due
Gas use by vehicles rose
by 5.26% in 2016
Ministry’s plan only
includes Pertamina’s
stations
ter in Java and Bali, and Premium
costs Rp 6,450 per liter.
Indonesia is far behind oth-
er countries when it comes to
CNG consumption. For example,
around 4 million vehicles were re-
corded as using CNG in Iran last
year, with 2,350 CNG stations in
operation.
Neighboring Thailand current-
ly has 470 CNG stations serving
around 462,000 vehicles across
the country.
The Indonesian government’s
efforts to convert consumers
started in 2012, but to little avail
so far.
Data from Pertamina show
that gas use by vehicles only in-
creased by 5.26 percent to 4 mil-
lion standard cubic feet per day
(mmscfd) in 2016 from the previ-
provide 8,900 free converter kits
in its attempt to entice more ve-
hicle-owners to move away from
gasoline.
It will distribute the converter
kits to both government vehicles
and the public.
The Association of Fuel Sta-
tion Owners (Hiswana Migas) has
applauded the ministry’s initia-
tive to increase the availability of
CNG fuel, but secretary general
Syarif Hidayat said fuel station
owners might still be cautious be-
cause the investment required for
CNG station construction and gas
dispenser installation was huge.
The association estimates that
an additional gas dispenser costs
around Rp 13 billion to Rp 15
billion.
“A solution for this must be
considered if the Energy and
Mineral Resources Ministry con-
tinues to insist that each gas sta-
tion must have one dispenser,” he
told The Jakarta Post.
Better synergy was required
among the Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry, the Trans-

With new plant, Mitsubishi to skyrocketing demand.

“We want to boost the con-
sumption of CNG on a massive
scale from the supply side. Fur-
ous year.
Although the new ministerial
decree makes it compulsory for
all conventional gas stations to
portation Ministry and the In-
dustry Ministry to successfully
persuade motorists to use CNG,
Syarif said, including by making it

aims to grab 10% share
Winny Tang
THE JAKARTA POST/
BEKASI, WEST JAVA
As it opened a new local facto-
ry worth Rp 7.5 trillion (US$564.9
million) on Tuesday, Japan auto-
maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp
has high hopes of gaining a bigger
share in Indonesia’s competitive
automobile market.
Located in Bekasi, Mitsubishi’s
second factory will initially pro-
duce 160,000 vehicles each year,
which can later be increased to
240,000 vehicles.
Mitsubishi’s chief operating of-
ficer Trevor Mann said his firm
sought to grab a 10 percent share
in Indonesia’s four-wheeler mar-
ket before 2019, up from 6 percent
at present.
As an early step to meet that
goal, it aimed to jack up its sales
by nearly 40 percent this year,
particularly on the back of a new
model of low multi-purpose vehi-
cles (MPV), which it was prepar-
ing, he added.
The model is set for launch
during the upcoming Gaikindo
Indonesia International Auto
Show (GIIAS) in August.
“I think it [XM concept cross-
over MPV] will bring something
fresh,” Mann said, adding that the
new car would mark a significant
attempt for the company to pen-
etrate the domestic passenger car
market.
The firm expects to sell 80,000
vehicles one year after the fresh
model is made at the Bekasi plant.
Mitsubishi previously relied
on its first plant located in Pulo
Gadung in East Jakarta, which is
able to annually produce 160,000
units, including sports utility ve-
hicle (SUV) Outlander Sport and
commercial vehicles.
Mitsubishi considers Indo-
nesia, which has more than 260
million people, a very important
market.
Once the 10 percent goal is
achieved, the country will surpass
Thailand, where Mitsubishi now
holds an 8 percent share.
Apart from the new low MPV,
the company will also assemble
two other types of cars, namely its
flagship Pajero Sport and pickup
Colt L300.
Mitsubishi’s operation in Indo-
nesia will also get a boost from its
acquisition with the Nissan-Re-
nault alliance.
Nissan bought the controlling
stake in Mitsubishi for US$2.3
billion late last year after the lat-
ter admitted to cheating in fuel
consumption, which made its
shares crash.
Carlos Ghosn, chairman of
both Nissan and Mitsubishi, said
the alliance would bring a posi-
tive impact to the firm’s operation
in Indonesia.
Under the alliance, it was high-
ly possible that both companies
would cross-manufacture vehi-
cles, enabling Nissan cars to be
made in Mitsubishi factories and
vice versa, added Ghosn, who also
leads Renault.
Despite the strong likelihood of
thermore, the price [of CNG] re-
mains much lower than conven-
tional fuels even though its octane
install CNG dispensers, the Ener-
gy and Mineral Resources Minis-
try has only included 150 gas sta-
compulsory for automotive man-
ufacturers to produce CNG-pow-
ered public transportation.
rating is higher than [subsidized tions owned by Pertamina within ReforMiner Institute research-
cross-manufacturing, Mann said gasoline] Premium and equal to its road map. er Pri Agung Rakhmanto added
it would take about two or three that of Pertamax,” he said during The government is upbeat that fuel station owners might
years before the plan could mate- a press conference on Tuesday. that private firms will want to need additional incentives in the
rialize. CNG is touted as having an join in the CNG business, espe- program as the current CNG pric-
“It’s going to take some time equivalent octane rating (RON) cially since the decree stipulates es were economically unfeasible.
because you can’t take a vehicle to state-owned oil and gas firm that the transport of CNG for fuel “While [the prices] might be
and just put a badge on it. You Pertamina’s Pertamax, which has will be exempted from additional low for the public, they are too
have to get a specific Nissan de- an RON of 90, and lower carbon costs, such as toll fees. low for companies, especially
sign for the vehicle. But, obvi- emissions than other fossil fuels. In addition to establishing a compared to Premium which is
ously you can keep the platform,” The price is set at Rp 3,100 (23 roadmap to increase the availabil- only around Rp 7,000 [sic]. There
Mann told reporters after the fac- US cents) per liter. Meanwhile, ity of CNG, the ministry has allo- is still some space for additional
tory opening ceremony. Pertamax costs Rp 8,050 per li- cated more than Rp 178 billion to incentives,” he said.
As competition was more
fierce amid a slow down in lo-
cal automobile sales, Mitsubishi
saw a 13.2 percent drop in sales
last year to 67,176 vehicles from
2015.
That was against the upward
trend seen by the automobile in-
dustry as a whole, which posted
a modest 4.7 percent increase in
sales to 1.06 million vehicles year-
on-year.
The company projects to de-
liver 91,000 vehicles, comprising
passenger cars and commercial
vehicles, during the 2017 fiscal
year that will end on March 31
next year.
President Joko “Jokowi” Wido-
do, who officially inaugurated the
operation of the plant, highlight-
ed the importance of a Mitsubishi
factory for Indonesia, citing 3,000
new jobs and technology transfer
that would help improve compet-
itiveness of the local industry.
“Do not hesitate to let in In-
donesian people to develop new
innovation because Indonesia’s
human resources are basically
smart,” Jokowi said.

FOSSIL FUEL

RI bets on $200b investment

to boost energy output
Yoga Rusmana and
Fitri Wulandari
BLOOMBERG
Indonesia plans to overhaul
its energy policy to attract invest-
ment of as much as $200 billion
over the next decade as the former
OPEC member seeks to reverse a
decline in its crude oil production.
The amendments to the energy
policy, once approved by Presi-
dent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, will
allow explorers various financial
incentives including tax-free im-
port of drilling equipment and
technology and easier cost-re-
covery, Energy and Mineral Re-
sources Minister Ignasius Jonan
said in an interview in Jakarta on
April 22.
The nation is offering 14 unex-
plored oil and gas blocks, mostly
offshore fields, to investors and
expect both foreign and domestic
companies to actively participate,
he said.
Southeast Asia’s biggest econo-
my is seeking to lift production of
oil and gas as a supply deficit wid-
ens, deepening the nation’s reliance
on imports. Indonesia suspended
its membership of the Organiza-
tion of Petroleum Exporting Coun-
tries (OPEC) in November after
just one year of rejoining the group
as it struggled to stem a decline in
crude and gas production caused by
aging fields and a lack of investment
in exploration for years.
While the development of a
much-delayed Masela gas project
may cost as much as US$16 bil-
lion, the East Natuna block with
an estimated reserves of 48 tril-
lion cubic feet of gas may require
investment of $30 billion to $40
billion, Jonan said. More than a
dozen oil, gas and coal-bed meth-
ane fields being offered for devel-
opment next month may need ex-
plorers to pump in $20 billion to
$30 billion, he said.
Pertamina, the state-owned oil
behemoth, is spending billions of
dollars to boost output at its oil
and gas fields and expanding re-
fining capacities in partnership
with Russia’s Rosneft OAO and
Saudi Arabian Oil Co.
Indonesia’s crude output is
seen topping 1 million barrels per
day by 2019 from about 800,000
barrels now through a revamp of
explorations of existing fields and
the so-called enhanced oil recov-
ery program, Jonan said.
“When people talk about oil
and gas, from a business perspec-
tive, people tend to focus on up-
stream, production, exploration
and so on, but for the government
it’s all of these,” Jonan said.
“If we focus on the upstream,
the question is how many re-
serves, how many oil and gas
fields that have not been explored,
that’s the issue.”
Indonesia may need to import
half of its annual fuel needs even
after increasing its refining ca-
pacity by 500,000 barrels a day
in the next seven years, accord-
ing to BMI Research. The nation’s
processing capacity may grow 2
percent by 2025 while consump-
tion surges 31 percent in the same
period, according to BMI.
“For the next ten years we will
continue to import,” Jonan said.
“The president has said if we
continue the import, it should
be more of crude oil and not fuel.
That’s why the president keeps
pushing Pertamina to build refin-
ery locally.”
Indonesia currently produces
about 800,000 barrels of crude oil
a day and imports about 500,000
barrels of crude and about
800,000 barrels of refined prod-
ucts, Jonan said.
14 | BUSINESS WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

Banknote rates Bright trade outlook ENTERTAINMENT

Banknote rates Selling Rp Buying Rp
US dollar 1 13,362.00 13,230.00 HOOQ
Australian dollar 1 10,101.67 9,996.59
Swiss franc
Euro
1
1
13,408.93
14,507.12
13,273.80
14,362.49
introduces
British pound
Hong Kong dollar 1
1 17,079.31
1,717.41
16,909.26
1,700.23
new service
Japanese yen
Korean won
100
1
12,138.44
11.80
12,017.44
11.68
in Indonesia
Malaysian ringgit 1 3,047.90 3,014.35
Philippine peso 1 268.72 265.98 Dylan Amirio
Singaporean dollar 1 9,587.43 9,490.67 THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
Thai baht 1 388.54 384.48
Singaporean startup HOOQ
Source: BI has launched a new transaction-
al video on demand (TVOD) ser-
World benchmarks vice in a further push to establish
Daily Change a strong presence in the Indone-
Country Index Points % sian market.
Indonesia (JCI) 5,680.80 16.32 0.29 With the new service, subscrib-
ers can watch certain new Holly-
S. Korea (Kospi) 2,196.85 23.11 1.06
wood and Asian films within three
Thailand (SET Index) 1,558.48 -6.18 -0.39 months of their theater release.
Malaysia (FTSE BM) 1,765.80 9.75 0.56 HOOQ chief executive offi-
Singapore (FTSE ST) 3,163.93 19.90 0.63 cer Peter Bithos said in order to
Japan (Nikkei 225) 19,079.33 203.45 1.08 provide the service, the startup
Hong Kong (Hang Seng) 24,455.94 316.46 1.31
teamed up with prominent stu-
dios, such as BBC Worldwide,
China (SSE Comp.) 3,134.57 5.04 0.16
Endamol Shine and Paramount
Philippines (PSE Index) 7,700.46 111.58 1.47 Pictures, to access content direct-
India (S&P Sensex) 29,951.99 296.15 1.00 ly from the source.
USA (DJIA) 20,763.89 216.13 1.05 “Securing new partners is a tes-
UK (FTSE) 7,276.18 11.50 0.16
tament to the fact that HOOQ has
the right formula to deliver qual-
Australia (All Ordinaries) 5,900.72 N/A N/A
ity entertainment to Asian home,
Source: IDX bringing movies to your home
quicker than ever before,” Bithos
said recently.
ECONOMY IN BRIEF Customers of HOOQ’s sub-
scription VOD (SVOD) plan are
Trade Ministry issues permit for Freeport Antara/Adya also entitled to one TVOD-exclu-
Indonesian Ambassador to Russia M. Wahid Supriyadi (second left) along with former trade minister Rach- sive film a month as part of their
JAKARTA: The Trade Ministry has issued a permit allowing PT Freeport mat Gobel (second right), Indonesian trade attache Heryono Hadi Presetyo (left) and representative from overall subscription.
Indonesia to export copper concentrate, as the mining giant continues the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Helga Komontoy visit a permanent pavillion for In- The startup has been operating
to settle its differences with the government on matters relating to the donesian food products in Food City in Moscow, Russia, on Monday. The pavillion is set to sell Indonesian in Indonesia, its largest prospec-
conversion of a contract of work (CoW) signed in 1991 into a special fruit and vegetables, the sales of which in the country have followed an upward trend. tive market with over 132 million
mining license (IUPK). internet users, for one year.
The export permit will be effective up to Feb. 16, 2018. “The letter It claims to have received a
[permit] for export has been issued. The company can now collect its boost from its partnership with In-
license,” said the Trade Ministry’s overseas trade director general Oke donesia’s biggest mobile network
Nurwan on Tuesday.
Oke said Freeport proposed the export extension on April 21. The
ministry is allowing the company to export 1.13 million tons of con-
centrate for a year. The permit was issued after the Energy and Mineral
LRT project at risk operator PT Telkomsel, sealed six
months ago, garnering an addi-
tional 2 million subscribers.
Prior to the collaboration,

over funding issue

Resources Ministry issued an IUPK on Feb. 10. Representatives of both HOOQ had only managed to gain
Freeport and the government are currently in the process of negotiat- 1 million customers within its
ing certain aspects of the IUPK, including the development of a smelter first six months of operation.
and the sustainability of the company’s business in the country. The partnership also allowed
Meanwhile, Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama said the the startup to found a VOD ser-
miner would gradually increase its output, after production ceased due Farida Susanty tions],” Transportation Minister Govt wants interest vice with Telkomsel’s parent
to the government’s ban on its exports when Freeport rejected the THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA Budi Karya Sumadi said recently. rates lower than market company, PT Telkom Indonesia’s
conversion of its CoW into an IUPK. — Tempo.co Meanwhile, the Transporta- average IndiHome home entertainment
The government has main- tion Ministry’s director general service, in March.
tained its stance to seek financ- for railway transportation, Pra- Low rates seen It considers its cooperation
Govt won’t need to repeat spending cuts ing at low interest rates for the setyo Boeditjahjono, admitted in- unattractive by private with IndiHome to be another step
development of a light rail transit vestors did not consider railway in the right direction as the com-
WASHINGTON: Indonesia will not need to repeat last year’s major spend- (LRT) system in Greater Jakar- infrastructure to be an attractive
lenders pany seeks to benefit from rising
ing cuts as the government’s revenue projections look “on track” amid ta despite putting the marquee destination for their money be- internet penetration in the Indo-
strengthening growth, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told Reuters. project at risk of failure. cause it required long-term in- Rp 5.6 trillion into KAI to partial- nesian market.
Indrawati said in an interview on Monday that the government Construction of the LRT proj- vestments. ly cover the remaining Rp 9 tril- On another note, Telkom In-
would reallocate some spending within the budget to more “produc- ect, expected to be operational by Prasetyo claimed that China lion required. donesia plans to lift the block on
tive” areas that could support growth, such as land acquisition for May 2019, is currently underway and South Korea had shown in- The presidential regulation to United States streaming service
infrastructure projects. with labor working on multiple terest in financing the project, al- back up the new financing scheme Netflix from its network in May.
The former World Bank managing director also insisted that Indone- shifts 24 hours a day. though the government was still is also underway, as the current In response to these plans,
sia’s international banking environment was not becoming more dif- A 2016 presidential regula- reluctant to accept the Chinese presidential regulation stipulates HOOQ’s Indonesia country man-
ficult, despite a recent row over a negative JP Morgan research report. tion stipulated that a third of offer of a 3 percent interest rate that the financing for the project ager Guntur S. Siboro said the
One of Indrawati’s first acts when she returned to Jakarta as finance the total funding for the Rp 27 in United States dollars. must be channeled through the move would not pose a major
minister in July 2016 was to slash state spending by US$10.2 billion to trillion (US$2.02 billion) proj- The construction of the LRT state budget. threat for HOOQ as its service
hold Indonesia’s deficit within a 3 percent legal limit. ect, a national strategic project in Greater Jakarta, Southeast Insufficient funding will put has already amassed an adequate
She said revenue projections appear “on track” as the World Bank of the President Joko “Jokowi” Asia’s biggest metropolitan area, the LRT project at risk of being amount of subscribers to compete
projects Indonesia’s economic growth at 5.2 percent this year, com- Widodo administration, would meanwhile, has been divided into halted, especially during a glob- in the video streaming industry.
pared to the government’s official 5.1 percent forecast used for budget come from the state budget, two phases. The first phase will al economic slowdown that has “The removal of the Netflix
planning and 5.0 percent last year. — Reuters while the rest would be from run between Bogor in West Java forced the government to tight- block by Telkom is not a concern
bank loans. and Jakarta along a 42.1-kilome- en spending and banks to be ex- for us. We are competitors and we
RI, Singapore partner to develop startups The government previously
insisted on seeking loans from
ter track. Meanwhile, the second
phase will be another 41.5 km of
tra prudent when it comes to dis-
bursing loans.
have our own strategies to survive.
For one thing, our most significant
JAKARTA: Local co-working space EV Hive is collaborating with Singa- state-owned banks, such as Bank track. Separately, China Construc- asset, our vast local movie selec-
pore’s working space BASH to provide places for startups from both Mandiri and Bank Negara Indo- Major state lenders Bank tion Bank Indonesia corporate tion, will serve us well,” he said.
countries to develop and thrive. nesia (BNI), with interest rates as Mandiri, BNI, BRI and state in- secretary Andreas Basuki said Netflix made a surprise entry
“Regional companies based in Singapore can use EV Hive as a low as 7 percent. frastructure financing firm PT that the current discussed inter- into the Indonesian market back
launch pad to the Indonesia market. Indonesia companies can use Although it has recently con- Sarana Multi Infrastruktur have est rate was not very attractive for in January 2016, catching the In-
BASH as a stepping stone to access the regional stage,” said Willson sidered increasing its interest previously been involved in dis- the bank. donesian government off-guard
Cuaca, managing partner of Singapore-based venture capital firm East rate cap to 8.25 percent, the level cussions to provide financing. “Infrastructure is the sector we concerning content regulations
Ventures, during the launch of the collaborative project on Tuesday. is still much lower than the 9.75 SMI and the three banks will focus on, but the rate is not so at- and censorship issues.
East Ventures manages EV Hive. Startups at the later stage (series to 10.5 percent interest rates cur- be responsible for providing tractive. It is too low. Maybe if it’s Telkom was the only internet
B and above) of development can leverage support from EDBI, the rently being offered on corporate loans worth Rp 18.5 trillion — around 10 percent we can consid- provider to block the service, with
global investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board. loans by the biggest four banks — equal to about two-thirds of the er it,” he said over the phone. Netflix available for use via other
East Ventures, BASH management or SGInnovate, a development Mandiri, BNI, Bank Rakyat In- total Rp 27.5 trillion needed — to Publicly listed lender OCBC internet providers, albeit with a
body wholly owned by the Singapore government, will work on more donesia (BRI) and Bank Central state railway operator PT Kereta NISP president director Parwati reduced catalogue compared to
programs to expand talent, markets and knowledge-sharing for the Asia (BCA). Api Indonesia (KAI) for the proj- Surjaudaja said that the bank did its overseas outlets.
customers of both co-working spaces. “With the 7 percent inter- ect. not have the expertise to finance Aside from Indonesia, HOOQ
EV Hive currently manages two co-working spaces in South Jakarta est rate, it’s not easy to find [fi- The government is planning projects like the LRT. currently operates in other Asian
and one in the Breeze mall in Banten. It plans to reach seven offices by nancing]. Thus, we can also seek to seek approval from the House “But we are open to the pos- markets, including the Philip-
the end of the year. — JP [financing] from national and of Representatives to inject ad- sibility of doing so in the future,” pines, Thailand, India and its
foreign private [financial institu- ditional state capital (PMN) of she said. home market in Singapore.

ANALYSIS

Paving the way for a sweet business: Sugar industry 2017 outlook
Araminta Setyawati
JAKARTA
The Industry Ministry has es-
timated that national demand for
sugar will reach 5.7 million tons
this year, including 2.8 million
tons of sugar for household con-
sumption and 2.9 million tons of
industrial sugar.
Industrial sugar demand has
continued to increase in line with
the positive growth of the food
and beverage sector every year.
The Indonesian Food and Bever-
age Entrepreneurs Association
(GAPMMI) has estimated that
the industry will grow by 8 per-
cent in 2017.
Trade Minister Enggartiasto
Lukita has stated that domestic
sugar production is predicted to
amount to only about 2.2 million
tons this year. This figure is much
lower than the output of major
sugar-producing nations.
Based on data from the United
States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), Brazil, as of November
2016, stood as the world’s larg-
est producer of sugar, with a total
output of 37 million tons per year.
Coming second was India with a
total production of 24 million tons
per year, followed by China and
Thailand with 9.5 million tons and
9.2 million tons, respectively.
Since demand for sugar is al-
ways increasing, the supply of the
commodity must be guaranteed.
The current national sugar pro-
duction is still far below annual
local demand. Without sufficient
supply, the gap must be filled
through imports.
The Trade Ministry plans to
import 1.3 million tons of sugar
for household consumption and
refined sugar to meet industry
needs of 3.5 million tons this year.
The government estimates total
national sugar demand for the
first half of 2017 to reach 1.5 mil-
lion tons. Meanwhile, on the sup-
ply side, the national sugar indus-
try is only able to provide 700,000
tons of sugar.
The policy to open the tap of
sugar imports also serves as a
measure to anticipate the fluctua-
tion of sugar prices in the market.
The price of sugar can rise sharply
if there is a supply shortage in the
market. The government only al-
lows the importation of raw sugar,
which can be processed by the na-
tional sugar industry.
Last year, Indonesia sourced
some 75 percent of its imported
sugar from Thailand and Brazil.
National sugar production is so
far only enough to meet house-
hold needs, leaving most of the
sugar for industrial needs mainly
sourced from imports.
Low sugar production is largely
a result of low capacity at national
sugar mills, which averages only
2,000 tons of cane per day (TCD).
This figure is very low compared
to Thailand’s average capacity of
at least 10,000 TCD. The neigh-
boring country is even aiming
to increase its output to 50,000
TCD, despite having a smaller
plantation area than Indonesia.
The low national sugar produc-
tion is also influenced by the lev-
el of sugar content in sugarcane
(rendemen). The level of sugar
content in Indonesia’s sugarcane
stands at the range of 6 percent to
7.5 percent as a result of weather
anomalies since 2015.
The government expects state-
owned sugar production facili-
ties to produce 1.6 million tons in
2017, a 33 percent increase from
1.2 million tons recorded last year.
The State-Owned Enterprises
(SOE) Ministry explained that the
increase of SOE sugar production
in 2017 will be achieved through a
rearrangement program of sugar
production facilities owned by PT
Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN)
and PT Rajawali Nusantara Indo-
nesia (RNI) in Java in the 2016-
2020 period.
The contribution of SOE sugar
factories to meet the national de-
mand is still very small, so it has to
be improved. Therefore, the gov-
ernment is trying to develop new
facilities while ensuring the avail-
ability of sugarcane supply. If these
two things can be implemented
in a structured and sustainable
way, it is expected that the perfor-
mance of the national sugar indus-
try will significantly improve.
Measures to increase sugar pro-
duction should be taken on the on-
farm side (sugarcane plantations)
and off-farm (sugar factories) con-
currently. The rearrangement of
the SOE sugar factories will be
conducted in three phases: the in-
crease of production capacity, ca-
pacity and productivity optimiza-
tion and the closure of sugar mills
whose production output is below
2,000 TCD.
The state of the SOE sugar fac-
tories is currently quite depress-
ing because they are below eco-
nomic scale. Of the 45 state-owned
sugar mills, only a quarter have a
production capacity of over 4,000
TCD. Nearly 80 percent of sug-
ar factories in Java have been in
operation for a century or more,
making them very uncompetitive.
Indonesia currently has 62 sug-
ar production plants with a pro-
duction capacity of 213,000 TCD.
The level of productivity of sugar
in Indonesia currently stands at
only 5.2 tons of sugar per hectare.
Assuming a yield rate of 7.5 per-
cent, the country can produce 2.55
million tons of sugar per year.
The remaining obstacles to the
industry are the slow addition of
sugarcane plantation areas and
plant output capacity growth.
The Environment and Forest-
ry Ministry explained the addi-
tional land for sugarcane in Java
will come from areas of produc-
tion forest, both owned by state-
owned forestry firm Perum Per-
hutani and the ministry’s Forest
Management Unit.
The use of production forest
for sugarcane plantations is reg-
ulated in the Environment and
Forestry Ministerial Regulation
No. 81/2016 on the use of forest
areas to support food security.
We believe if the sugar mill re-
vitalization program and the ex-
pansion of the plantation area
goes well, then sugar productiv-
ity will increase and the national
demand can be met by local pro-
duction.
The writer is an industry analyst
at Bank Mandiri
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
Cargill to invest $500m
in Indonesia until 2020
Stefani Ribka and
Linda Yulisman
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
United States commodities
giant Cargill Inc. plans to invest
more than US$500 million un-
til 2020 to expand its business in
Indonesia as it gears to tap into
enormous opportunities pre-
sented by its huge market.
The investment, which is part
of $1 billion investment for five
years disbursed since 2015, will
be funneled into enlarging pro-
duction capacities of its facilities
as well as carrying out mergers
and acquisitions of local firms,
according to Cargill chairman
and chief executive officer David
W. MacLennan.
MacLennan expressed his
positive feelings about Cargill’s
business run by its local unit,
PT Cargill Indonesia, but high-
lighted the great unexplored po-
tential available in the world’s
fourth-most populous nation.
“It’s [Cargill’s local operation]
a good business for us, but given
the size of the country, its young
population and its growing econ-
omy, we should be bigger here,”
MacLennan told The Jakarta
Post during an exclusive inter-
view recently.
The next phase of investment
could be realized as soon as this
year, he added.
Cargill’s investment goes
into expanding facility,
mergers, acquisitions
It focuses to have bigger
presence in RI
Despite the former’s small
share of revenue, its 19,000 peo-
ple represent 12.6 percent of
the latter’s total workforce of
150,000 people spread over 70
countries.
Of the overall $1 billion invest-
ment, nearly half has been spent
on various projects in the past
two years. The biggest chunk
of $60 million was taken by the
construction of a new sweetener
plant in Cikande, Serang regen-
cy, West Java, in 2015. The sec-
ond-biggest pledge of $57 mil-
lion was dedicated to building
palm mills and a kernel-crushing
plant in West Kalimantan and
South Sumatra.
Other expenditure has includ-
ed a $30 million investment to
develop a livestock feed plant in
Pasuruan, East Java, in 2015 and
a $6 million investment to set up
a joint venture, namely PT Caha-
ya Gunung Goods, with So Good
Food, a subsidiary of Singapore-
listed poultry giant Japfa Ltd., in
2016. Last month, the new firm
started producing fully cooked
chicken products and supplying
BUSINESS | 15
Visionary talk
unit and starch and sweeteners size of its oil palm plantations to
unit. In addition to these busi- over 100,000 hectares within five
ness lines, the agriculture giant years, from 79,000 ha at present.
is also involved in cocoa process- “Business can’t stand still.
ing, grain and oilseed importa- Nothing can stand still and you
tion, and poultry processing. have to grow. So to say that we’ll
MacLennan further said that still be 80,000 hectares in five
Cargill did not set any sector as years, I don’t think so. We’ll have
its investment priority, but would to be bigger,” he said.
seek expansion into business According to Indonesian law,
lines related to what it already a firm is required to be publicly
runs in Indonesia, such as a corn listed if it wants to manage more
mill that willl be supportive of its than 100,000 ha.
starch and sweetener business. Consequently, Cargill will JP/Donny Fernandoe
“The intention in the short need to acquire a local publicly Private lender CIMB Niaga compliance, corporate secretary and legal
term is to sell [our products] do- listed firm or to float its shares in director Fransiska Oei (left) together with president commissioner
mestically, keeping food where it the stock market. Nazir Razak (second left), president director Tigor Siahaan (second
is made. A lot of what we’re doing The firm needed to assess both right) and strategy and finance director Wan Razly Abdullah converse
is making value-added products options and take into account during a press conference on the bank’s inclusion into BUKU IV, the
in Indonesia like the chicken various factors, particularly eco- highest category of banks with core capital exceeding
products,” he said. nomic feasibility, and had no Rp 30 trillion (US$2.26 billion) in Jakarta, on Tuesday. An extraordi-
MacLennan added that Car- preference as of now, MacLen- nary meeting of the bank’s shareholders has approved a buyback of its
gill was also keen to increase the nan said. shares totaling a maximum 2 percent of its paid capital.
ANNOUNCEMENT SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
PT BANK CIMB NIAGA Tbk
PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (“Company”) hereby announces to the Shareholders that the Company has convened the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (“AGMS”) and Extraordinary
General Meeting of Shareholders (“EGMS”) (hereinafter referred as “Meeting”) on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 AGMS at 2.18 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. and EGMS at 3.35 p.m. to 3.50 p.m.
(West Indonesia Time) located at The Financial Hall, Graha CIMB Niaga 2nd Floor, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 58, Jakarta Selatan 12190.
In relation to the Meeting, the Board of Directors of the Company conducted the following disclosures:

Its Indonesian subsidiary con-
tributes only 1.16 percent to Car-
gill’s global revenue, which as of
the third quarter of the 2016 fis-
cal year to end in May, amounted
to $107.14 billion.
Q1 PERFORMANCE
Bank Mandiri posts positive
them to fast food restaurants, in-
cluding McDonalds.
Most of the Cargill revenue
from Indonesia is generated by
its palm oil business, followed
by its poultry unit, animal feed
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2. Announcement of the Company’s plan to convene Meeting on March 10th, 2017 in the newspapers of Bisnis Indonesia and The Jakarta Post as well as uploaded on the Company’s
website: www.cimbniaga.com (”Company’s website”) on the same date;
3. Invitation to attend the Meeting on March 27th, 2017 in the newspapers of Bisnis Indonesia and The Jakarta Post as well as uploaded on the Company’s website on the same date;
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website on March 27th, 2017.
Meeting was chaired by Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak as the President Commissioner of the Company, in accordance with the Article 12 paragraph 12.3 of the Articles of Associations of the Company
and Circular Resolutions of the Board of Commissioners.
Member of Board of Commissioners, member of Board of Directors, member of Audit Committee, and member of Sharia Supervisory Board who attended the Meeting:
Board of Commissioners Board of Directors Audit Committee Sharia Supervisory Board
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2. Glenn Muhammad Surya Yusuf, Vice President Commissioner
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2. Wan Razly Abdullah, Director
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2. Jeffrey Kairupan, Member
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Member

4. Pri Notowidigdo, Commissioner (Independent) 4. Megawati Sutanto, Director (Independent Party)

result, not out of the woods yet
Prima Wirayani
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
State-owned lender Bank
Mandiri expects to see a positive
business trend for the rest of the
year after recording a slight im-
provement in the first quarter.
Its directors were all smiles dur-
ing a press conference in Jakarta
on Tuesday as they announced the
first-quarter’s results, which show
V FRQVROLGDWHG )LQDQFLDO 6WDWHPHQWV IRU ¿QDQFLDO \HDU  ZKLFK ZDV DXGLWHG E\ WKH 3XEOLF$FFRXQWDQW )LUP
developments in the second half
of this year closely.
Mandiri stands a chance to cut
its loan-loss provision by 30 to 40
percent to between Rp 23 trillion
to Rp 24 trillion in 2017 if the bad
debt ratio can be maintained be-
low 3.5 percent.
Data from the bank reveals that
higher loan disbursement helped
the growth of its net interest in-
come by 3.9 percent yoy, while non-
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6. Jeffrey Kairupan, Commissioner (Independent)
 9HUD+DQGDMDQL'LUHFWRU
6. John Simon, Director
 <DS7MD\6RHQ0HPEHU
(Independent Party)
7. David Richard Thomas, Commissioner 7. Lani Darmawan, Director
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9. Hedy Lapian, Director
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The Company has: (i) appointed Ashoya Ratam, SH, MKn. as Public Notary and PT Sirca Datapro Perdana as the Share Administration Bureau to calculate the quorum and voting tabulation;
and (ii) provided an opportunity to the Shareholders to raise question and/or opinion for each Meeting agenda, there were 2 (two) Shareholders who raised questions in the AGMS which is
1 (one) Shareholder who raised question in the second agenda and 1 (one) Shareholder who raised question in the fourth agenda of AGMS, also 1 (one) Shareholder who raised question
in the EGMS.
In accordance with Company’s Shareholders Registry as of March 24th, 2017, the number of eligible shares is 25.131.606.843 shares. The number of shares with voting rights to attend or
represented in the AGMS is 23.802.538.103 shares or ± 94,71% of the total shares issued by the Company, while the number of shares with voting rights to attend or represented in the
EGMS is 23.855.188.228 shares or ± 94,92% of the total shares issued by the Company. Therefore, it is compliance with the required AGMS quorum (ie. more than ½ of the total shares
issued and paid up by the Shareholders with valid voting rights) and with the required EGMS quorum (ie. more than 2/3 of the total shares issued and paid up by the Shareholders with valid
voting rights). Thereto, the Meeting is legitimate to held and to take the following resolutions:
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS (“AGMS”)
First Agenda
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signs of recovery.
The bank increased its out-
standing loans by 14.2 percent
year-on-year to Rp 656.2 trillion
(US$49.35 billion) in the January
to March period, higher than the
11 percent to 13 percent target set
for 2017.
The first quarter’s rate was also
higher compared with the 7.9 per-
cent annual rate booked in the first
quarter of 2016 and the overall 11.2
percent rate throughout last year.
Its net non-performing loan
(NPL) ratio stood at 1.3 percent,
while the gross NPL ratio hov-
ered at 3.9 percent. Even though
not yet out of the woods, Bank
Mandiri president director Kar-
lending and services businesses
played a role in boosting its non-in-
terest income by 25.1 percent.
In the end, its net profit surged
6.9 percent annually to Rp 4.08
trillion by the end of March. The
result overturned previous re-
sults, with a 25.7 percent annual
profit drop in the first quarter of
2016 and 32.1 percent slump yoy
throughout last year.
Going forward, Mandiri plans
to stay focused on its corporate
banking segment, the lender’s
core business, and on strengthen-
ing its consumer banking sector
as a new core business in order to
improve this year’s performance,
Siddik said.
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3. Acquit and discharge (“volledig acquit et décharge”) the members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Commissioners including the Sharia Supervisory Board of the Company for
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31 December 2016.
Total Majority Votes and Agree Votes: 23.802.534.125 shares or 99,999%
The results of calculation voting card Agree Against Abstain/No Votes1)
23.799.927.057 shares or 99,989% 3.978 shares or 0,001% 2.607.068 shares or 0,010%
Second Agenda
7RDSSURYHWKHDSSURSULDWLRQRI1HW3UR¿WRIWKH&RPSDQ\IRU¿QDQFLDO\HDULQWKHWRWDODPRXQWRIRp2,081,687,000,000 with the following descriptions;
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with the minimum required amount of statutory reserve fund in accordance with Article 70 of Law Number 40 Year 2007 concerning Limited Liability Company.
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Total Majority Votes and Agree Votes: 23.799.477.818 shares or 99,987%
The results of calculation voting card Agree Against Abstain/No Votes1)
23.799.000.943 shares or 99,985% 3.060.285 shares or 0,013% 476.875 shares or 0,002%
Third Agenda
1. To approve the appointment of Angelique Dewi Daryanto, SE.,CPA, as public accountant and Public Accountant Firm “Tanudiredja, Wibisana, Rintis & Rekan´DPHPEHU¿UPRI
tika “Tiko” Wirjoatmodjo ex-
pressed his optimism that the
worst was already over.
“NPL growth has already
reached its peak. We hope it will
head in a downward direction in
the coming quarters,” Tiko said.
“We have entered the ‘perfor-
mance improvement track’ in the
first quarter. We hope our finan-
cial performance can return to
normal.”
Mandiri hopes to see its NPL
hover between 3.5 percent and 4
percent by the end of the year if
its loan disbursement grows as
The bank acknowledges that
sufficient liquidity is the key to
realizing its lending target. It will
enter the stock market to gener-
ate funds to finance its operations,
especially as customer funding is
expected to dry up from Idul Fitri
in June until year-end.
Mandiri was only able to gen-
erate Rp 731.1 trillion in total cus-
tomers’ funds in the first quarter,
an increase of 11.6 percent yoy.
“We will enter the [stock] mar-
ket through rupiah [denominated]
bonds and [by withdrawing] US
dollar bilateral loans,” Tiko said.
3ULFHZDWHUKRXVH&RRSHUV*OREDOLQ,QGRQHVLDDVD3XEOLF$FFRXQWLQJ)LUPWKDWOLVWHGLQWKH)LQDQFLDO6HUYLFHV$XWKRULW\RURWKHUSXEOLFDFFRXQWDQWIURPVDPHDFFRXQWLQJ¿UPLQWKH
DEVHQFHRIWKHUHVSHFWLYHSHUVRQWRFRQGXFWDXGLWRIWKH&RPSDQ\¶V¿QDQFLDOVWDWHPHQWIRU¿QDQFLDO\HDU
 'HOHJDWLRQRIWKH$*06WRWKH%RDUGRI&RPPLVVLRQHUVWRDSSRLQWDQRWKHU3XEOLF$FFRXQWLQJ)LUPLIWKHUHLVDQREMHFWLRQIURPWKH2-.WRWKHDSSRLQWPHQWRI3XEOLF$FFRXQWLQJ)LUP
Tanudiredja, Wibisana, Rintis & RekanRUWKH3XEOLF$FFRXQWDQW)LUPWRUHVWUXFWXUHWKHSDUWQHUVKLSWREHFRPHGLIIHUHQW3XEOLF$FFRXQWLQJ)LUP
 7RDSSURYHGHWHUPLQHWKH3XEOLF$FFRXQWDQW)LUP¶VKRQRUDULXPIRUWKH¿QDQFLDO\HDUDVIROORZV
a. Annual audit fee of the Company is Rp7,220,000,000;
b. Audit fee for subsidiary (PT CIMB Niaga Auto Finance) is Rp1,080,000,000;
4. Delegation of authority to the Board of Directors of the Company to carry out the things that are necessary in connection with the appointment of a Public Accountant including but not
limited to the implementation process of the AGMS and the signing of the letter of appointment to the Public Accountant and Public Accountant Firm.
Total Majority Votes and Agree Votes: 23.603.335.290 shares or 99,163%
The results of calculation voting card Agree Against Abstain/No Votes1)
23.602.194.276 shares or 99,158% 199.202.813 shares or 0,837% 1.141.014 shares or 0,005%
Fourth Agenda
1. To approve and determine the amount of remuneration or honorarium and/or other allowances for the Board of Commissioners and the Sharia Supervisory Board of the Company for
¿QDQFLDO\HDU
a. for all members of the Board of Commissioners maximum Rp19,300,000,000 (gross) per year;
b. for all members of the Sharia Supervisory Board maximum Rp1,800,000,000 (gross) per year;
c. to delegate the authority to the President Commissioners to determine the amount of remuneration or honorarium and other allowances for each members of the Board of
&RPPLVVLRQHUVDQGWKH6KDULD6XSHUYLVRU\%RDUGRIWKH&RPSDQ\IRU¿QDQFLDO\HDU
projected, Bank Mandiri manage-
ment risk and compliance direc-
tor Ahmad Siddik Badruddin said.
“If loan [disbursement] grows
even higher, the NPL will stay be-
low 3.5 percent,” he said, adding
that management would watch
The lender still has a shelf of-
fering (PUB) II worth Rp 5 trillion
this year, as well as $1 billion of bi-
lateral loans from Chinese banks.
Any plan to enter the market will
most likely be realized in the sec-
ond half.
 7RDSSURYHWKHDPRXQWRIWKHWDQWLHPHERQXVLQFOXGLQJKROLGD\DOORZDQFHWRDOOPHPEHUVRIWKH%RDUGRI'LUHFWRUVIRU¿QDQFLDO\HDUPD[LPXP5SJURVVSHU\HDU
3. To approve the delegation of authority to the Board of Commissioners of the Company to determine the amount of remuneration or honorarium, bonus/tantieme and other allowances
IRUWKH%RDUGRI'LUHFWRUVDQGHDFK'LUHFWRURIWKH&RPSDQ\IRU¿QDQFLDO\HDUSURYLGHGWKDWWKH%RDUGRI&RPPLVVLRQHUVVKDOOFRQVLGHUWKHDGYLFHRSLQLRQJLYHQE\WKH1RPLQDWLRQ
and Remuneration Committee.
Total Majority Votes and Agree Votes: 23.786.974.204 shares or 99,934%
The results of calculation voting card Agree Against Abstain/No Votes1)
23.786.057.258 shares or 99,931% 15.563.899 shares or 0,065% 916.946 shares or 0,004%
Fifth Agenda
Others:
 $FFRUGLQJWR)LQDQFLDO6HUYLFHV$XWKRULW\5HJXODWLRQ1XPEHU32-.WKH$*06UHSRUWHGWKHDFFRXQWDELOLW\RIWKHXVHRIWKHSURFHHGVIURPWKH3XEOLF2IIHULQJRIWKH6KHOI
Registration Bond II Bank CIMB Niaga Stage I Year 2016 (“PUB II 2016´$VSHUWKHUHSRUWWKDWZDVVXEPLWWHGWRWKH2-.&DSLWDO0DUNHWDQG,';WKDWXQWLO'HFHPEHUDOOIXQGV
obtained from the PUB II 2016 amounted to Rp1,000,000,000,000 entirely have been used for loan expansion in accordance with the plan of funds usage as disclosed in the Prospectus
Secure clearance of PUB II 2016.
 7KH&RPSDQ\UHDI¿UPHGWKDWDOORIWKH%RDUGRI'LUHFWRUVRIWKH&RPSDQ\GRQRWKDYHDI¿OLDWLRQZLWKWKH&RQWUROOLQJ6KDUHKROGHUVRURWKHUPHPEHURIWKH%RDUGRI&RPPLVVLRQHUVDQG
other Directors, do not have concurrent position other than subsidiaries controlled, and not an insider person in the institution or supporting professionals of the Capital Markets whose
VHUYLFHVDUHXVHGE\WKH&RPSDQ\EXWLQRUGHUWRFRPSO\ZLWK,';UHJXODWLRQ1R,$FRQFHUQLQJ5HJLVWUDWLRQRI6KDUHVDQG(TXLW\,QDGGLWLRQRI6KDUHV,VVXHGE\WKH/LVWHG&RPSDQ\
LWLVLQIRUPHGWKDW'LUHFWRUZKRVHVHOHFWHGDQGDSSRLQWHGDV,QGHSHQGHQW'LUHFWRULV)UDQVLVND2HL&RPSOLDQFH'LUHFWRU

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS (“EGMS”)

1. To approve the share buyback from public shareholders and Khazanah Nasional Berhad in the maximum amount of 2% of the Paid Up Capital to be used as a shares based loyalty
SURJUDPWRWKHPDQDJHPHQWDQGHPSOR\HHV0(623ZLWKWKHDLPDPRQJRWKHUVDVDQHIIRUWWRLQFUHDVHSURGXFWLYLW\DQGSHUIRUPDQFHRIWKHPDQDJHPHQWDQGHPSOR\HHVDQGDOVR
to increase the sense of ownership towards the Company;
 7RDSSURYHWKHGHOHJDWLRQRIDXWKRULW\WRWKH%RDUGRI'LUHFWRUVWRH[HFXWHWKHVKDUHUHSXUFKDVHQRWODWHUWKDQPRQWKVIURPWKHDSSURYDORIWKH(*06VXEMHFWWRDSSURYDORIWKH
authorities, and at the price that is considered good by the Company, but not exceeding the maximum amount of Rp500,000,000,000 including broker dealer commissions and other
related costs;
3. In the event that the share repurchase could not be implemented, including caused by not obtaining approval from the authorities, then the decision of the share repurchase be canceled
without requiring the approval from GMS.
Total Majority Votes and Agree Votes: 23.855.184.256 shares or 99,999%
The results of calculation voting card Agree Against Abstain/No Votes1)
23.854.235.635 shares or 99,996% 3.978 shares or 0,001% 948.621 shares or 0,003%

Notes:
1) In accordance with Article 13 paragraph 13.4 Article of Association of the Company: Abstain or invalid votes is considered not exist and is not counted in determining the number of votes
JP/Dhoni Setiawan
casted at the Meeting, provided that shareholders who do not cast the vote oblige to comply and respect the resolution passed made in relevent agenda of the Meeting.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II president director
Jakarta, April 26th, 2017
Muhammad Awaluddin (right) along with corporate secretary Agus Board of Directors
Haryadi check the immigration autogate at Terminal 3 at Soekarno- PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk
Hatta International Airport in Banten on Monday. The terminal, with Address: Corporate Secretary, Graha CIMB Niaga 16th Floor, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 58 – Jakarta Selatan
an annual capacity of 25 million passengers, will serve international Telp. (021) 250 5252, fax. (021) 252 6749, e-mail: corporate.secretary@cimbniaga.co.id; website: www.cimbniaga.com
flights operated by national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia starting
on May 1.
16 | WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
End of dispute: A construction worker talks on the phone in front of a 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) billboard at the Tun Razak
Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1MDB and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, International Petroleum Investment
Company (IPIC), have reached an agreement over arbitration proceedings involving two US dollar bonds amounting to US$3.5 billion.
DISPUTE
1MDB, IPIC reach agreement over US dollar bonds
The Star
ANN/PETALING JAYA
1Malaysia Development Bhd.
(1MDB) and Abu Dhabi’s sover-
eign wealth fund, International
Petroleum Investment Compa-
ny (IPIC) have reached an agree-
ment over arbitration proceed-
ings involving two US dollar
bonds amounting to US$3.5 bil-
lion.
Under the agreement reached
at the London Court of Interna-
tional Arbitration, 1MDB said
among others it has agreed to
make certain payments to IPIC
and would assume responsibility
for all future interest and prin-
cipal payments for two bonds is-
sued by the 1MDB group of com-
panies due in 2022.
“These obligations will be met
by 1MDB, primarily via the mon-
etisation of 1MDB-owned invest-
ment fund units. 1MDB is pleased
to confirm that a first tranche
monetisation of approximately
$50 million has been received, in
cash,” it said in a statement.
1MDB and IPIC were locked in
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Thai banks see profits rise 8 percent
Somluck Srimalee
THE NATION/ANN/BANGKOK
Ten Thai banks have an-
nounced that their combined
net profit in the first quarter of
this year was 55.71 billion baht
(US$1.6 billion), up 8 percent
from the same period of last year,
thanks to increases on both inter-
est and non-interest income.
Most of their non-performing-
loan ratios in the quarter were
nearly the same as a year earlier.
Some saw their NPL rates increase
by a few percentage points but
did not exceed 5 percent, except
Krungthai Bank, which reported
NPLs worth 100.38 billion baht,
10.15 percent of total lending.
Asia Plus Securities forecasts
that the banking sector’s overall
net profits will grow by more than
7 percent this year.
Siam Commercial Bank, Ka-
sikornbank and KTB reported the
highest net profits among the 10
banks.
SCB president and chief execu-
tive officer Arthid Nanthawitha-
ya said in a press release that the
TRANSPORTATION
Ezyhaul – Uber-style trucking site run by 3 pals
BK Sidhu
THE STAR/ANN/KUALA LUMPUR
Three friends from three coun-
tries have come together to create
a “Uber-like technology platform’’
that can match the needs of ship-
pers with transportation compa-
nies in Malaysia and Singapore.
Funded by wealthy private in-
vestors from the United States,
Australia and Singapore, the three
co-founders of Ezyhaul Sdn. Bhd.
— chief executive officer Ray-
mond Gillon from the Nether-
lands, CSO Nicky Lum from Ma-
laysia and chief operating officer
Mudasar Mohamed from India —
have plans to set up a similar plat-
form in Indonesia later this year.
a tussle that spilled over to repay-
ments on two sets of bonds issued
by the Malaysian state fund that
led to a default in April 2016. IPIC
was seeking $6.5 billion from
1MDB and the Malaysian govern-
ment for failure to perform their
debt obligations as the dispute
moved into arbitration at the
London Court of International
Arbitration, Bloomberg reported.
1MDB said that the settlement
and monetisation of the invest-
ment fund units represented the
resolution of a significant chal-
lenge, and formed a major part of
its rationalisation plan in the final
stages of being concluded.
Meanwhile, IPIC in a state-
ment to the London Stock Ex-
change stated that under the
terms of the settlement, it would
receive $602.725 million by July
31, and a further $602.7 million
by Dec 31.
“Separately, 1MDB and MoF
Inc, undertake to IPIC to assume
responsibility for all future inter-
est and principal payments under
the two bonds issued by 1MDB
that are guaranteed by 1MDB and
bank was satisfied with the quar-
terly financial results. This year
its transformation project will be
a key element in strengthening
the bank and paving the way for
it to become the most admired
bank, the release said.
“We are focusing on develop-
ing staff capabilities so they can
adapt to changes and respond to
new business models and client
needs in the future,” he said.
SCB and its subsidiaries an-
nounced a net profit of 11.91 billion
baht for the first quarter of this
year (based on unreviewed con-
solidated financial statements),
an increase of 13 percent from the
same period last year. The increase
was a result of higher net interest
income and higher net fee and ser-
vice income, as well as a decline in
net insurance claims.
KBank ranked second in net
profit with 10.17 billion baht in the
first quarter, up 5.45 percent over
the same period last year.
KBank president Predee Da-
ochai said the bank’s quarterly
operating results showed strong
growth because net interest in-
Last year, they raised seed capi-
tal of S$1.2 million (US$862,500)
to set up the company and with
expansion on the cards, they plan
to raise about the same amount
later this year.
Together they hold about 75
percent stake in the company
while their investors hold the
balance. The co-founders have
around 20 years of experience
each with deep knowledge of the
haulage industry in this region.
The three saw opportunities in
a “lucrative market” for a logis-
tics platform linking shippers and
transportation companies while
working for UTi Worldwide Inc.,
a Danish haulage company.
Whether they will issue new
IPIC,” IPIC said.
The Abu Dhabi fund also said
that the bonds are a $1.75 bil-
lion fixed rate 5.75 percent notes
issued by 1MDB Energy (Lan-
gat) Ltd and a $1.75 billion fixed
rate 5.99 percent notes issued by
1MDB Energy Ltd. Both bonds
are due in 2022.
“The parties have provided
suitable undertakings and indem-
nities in respect of the perfor-
mance of obligations under the
settlement. The parties have also
agreed to enter into good faith
discussions in relation to pay-
ments made by the 1MDB group
to certain entities,” IPIC stated.
The arbitration came about
due to a dispute between 1MDB
and IPIC on the two US dollar
bonds that were issued in 2012.
The bonds were raised by 1MDB
when it acquired two power
plants and were guaranteed by
IPIC.
Subsequently, 1MDB ran into
financial constraints and em-
barked on a restructuring ex-
ercise led by its president, Arul
Kanda.
come increased by 888 million
baht, or 4 percent. Its net inter-
est margin was 3.41 percent, al-
though non-interest income de-
creased by 2.03 billion baht or
11.59 percent, mostly on decreas-
es in net income from insurance
premiums and revenue from cap-
ital-market products.
KBank has set aside allowances
for impairment loss on loans in
line with economic circumstanc-
es. Its cost-to-income ratio was
39.4 percent in the quarter.
Noriaki Goto, president
and CEO of Bank of Ayudhya
(Krungsri), believes the momen-
tum of economic growth contin-
ued in the first quarter, and the
bank expects it to gain further
traction in the latter part of the
year, supported by an accelera-
tion in government spending, ro-
bust growth in the tourism sector,
and improved exports.
Driven by improving agricul-
tural prices and lower household
leverages, an expansion in con-
sumption is also expected. Ac-
cording to this outlook, the bank
maintains its forecast of 3.3-per-
shares or sell existing stakes has
yet to be finalised but Gillon said:
“Several parties are knocking on
our doors to be part of this new
venture.’’
Ezyhaul offers free-to-use ser-
vice for shippers to connect with
transportation companies and
make bookings for domestic and
cross-border transportation ser-
vices. It also includes a real-time
tracking system for their dis-
patches, and access to electron-
ic documentation and e-PODs
(proof of delivery).
For funding purposes, Ezyhaul
has a Singapore registration but has
full-fledged operations in Malaysia
and a technical team in Taiwan.
Gillon said it was common for
Reuters/Olivia Harris
The Malaysian fund an-
nounced in October 2015 that
IPIC agreed to assume obliga-
tions on the two US dollar bonds
and also agreed to make a $1 bil-
lion cash payment to 1MDB.
In exchange, 1MDB is to trans-
fer assets, which includes US
dollar-denominated cash depos-
its and its US dollar funds under
management upon mutual agree-
ment with IPIC.
However, in June 2016, IPIC
announced that 1MDB had failed
to perform its contractual obliga-
tions and fled for arbitration.
Meanwhile, in a separate state-
ment, the Prime Minister’s press
secretary, Datuk Seri Tengku Sar-
iffuddin, said the government was
pleased that IPIC and 1MDB have
resolved their differences in an
amicable manner.
“We also note the monetisation
of all 1MDB-owned investment
fund units. These significant
events represent the continued
positive progress made by 1MDB
which is nearing the comple-
tion of its rationalisation pro-
gramme,” he added.
cent growth in gross domestic
product, which will contribute to
broad-based loan growth in the
range of 6-8 percent for 2017.
Asia Plus Securities execu-
tive vice president Usanee Li-
urut said that although the finan-
cial results of the banking sector
in the first quarter showed only
slight growth, they demonstrated
good signs for the second half of
this year, especially the top three
banks.
She said KBank looked like
growing its net profit by at least
7 percent this year even though
its first-quarter profit growth was
only 5.4 percent.
She believes that Bangkok
Bank’s net profit will grow by
7.8 percent this year despite flat
growth in the first quarter year
on year. This forecast is based on
expected new-loan growth of 4.9
percent.
She also forecast that SCB’s
net profit would grow by 7 per-
cent this year based on new-loan
growth of 5 per cent. Its net prof-
it grew by 13 percent in the first
quarter year on year.
lorries to ply the roads with half
loads and their return trips were
often empty but if they register
with Ezyhaul, the transportation
companies would have better
load utilisation.
“It is difficult for small compa-
nies to get return loads, so we de-
cided to develop the platform so
that there is better utilisation of
their assets and at the same time,
provide shippers with a one-stop
centre to transport their goods.
“We cater for anyone who has
something to transport by roads
in Malaysia and Singapore. We
also plan to venture into Thailand
at some point,” he added.
After six months in operation,
Ezyhaul has several hundred
Export surge
keeps Thai
growth target
in reach
The Nation
ANN/BANGKOK
A surge in exports last month
pushed up the value of first-quar-
ter shipments by 4.9 percent to
US$56.46 billion from the year
before for the best performance
in four years, fuelled by multi-
year highs in trade volumes with
China and India.
The figures from the Ministry
of Commerce show a 9.2 percent
year-on-year (yoy) jump to $20.89
billion in exports for March. That
prompted Pimchanok Vonkor-
pon, the director-general at the
ministry’s Trade Policy and Strat-
egy Office, to express confidence
for this year's target of 5 percent
export growth to be met.
Pimchanok cited as encourag-
ing a rise in crude oil prices that
could boost prices of key agricul-
tural products and crude-relat-
ed products, as well as a recovery
in the global economy and trade
flows.
Global crude prices are pro-
jected to rise gradually within a
range of $50 to $60 per barrel.
The baht is forecast to trade be-
tween 35.5 and 37.5 to the US dol-
lar. The International Monetary
Fund forecasts the global econo-
my will grow 3.5 percent this year.
Last year, it expanded 3.1 percent.
However, global risks to Thai-
land’s export growth warrant
monitoring, Pimchanok said.
These include the possibility of
United States trade barriers and
tensions between North Korea
and the US over the former’s nu-
clear programme.
For March, the bulk of the
surge in value of exports came
from capital goods and raw mate-
rials, reflecting a return to confi-
dence and an expected increase in
investment in the country.
As a result, Thailand enjoyed a
trade surplus of $1.62 billion for
that month. For the first quarter,
imports increased 14.8 percent to
$52.4 billion, leaving a trade sur-
plus of $4.05 billion for the period.
Handle with care
A Cambodian farmer sprays pesticide on his rice fields in Koh Thom
province, southeast Phnom Penh on Tuesday. Cambodia exported
560,000 tons of rice last year, most of them went to China, France,
Germany and Malaysia.
trucks registered with it and over
150 registered clients, a number
of whom are small-medium en-
terprise shippers.
Gillon said the company’s cli-
ents include DB Schenker Lo-
gistics, DHL Forwarding, DAM-
CO Logistics, Lazada, Hellmann
Worldwide Logistics, Fashion Va-
let, Harrods, Ninja Van and F&N.
“We are a one-stop centre and
we take away your headaches. You
just need to make a booking and
tell us when and what you want
transport, we will quote and if
you agree, you book via our online
site,” he said.
Mudasar said the company
would be starting cross-border busi-
ness into Singapore on May 1. On av-
Q1 shipment rose by 4.9
percent yoy
Govt confident over 5
percent export growth
target
In March, exports of agricul-
tural products and agri-industry
shipments rose 12 percent from
the previous year. Exports of
crude-related products expand-
ed in line with the rise in global
crude prices. Exports of rubber
soared 95.4 percent in the month.
For the quarter, exports of agri-
cultural products and agri-indus-
try goods increased 10.6 percent.
In March, exports of manu-
facturing products expanded 8.7
percent year on year.
Exports of rubber products
surged 64.7 percent year on year
that month, while petroleum
products climbed 53.9 percent.
For the quarter, sales of manufac-
tured products inched up 3.5 per-
cent.
In March, exports to China
soared 47.6 percent, a five-year
high, led by rubber products, ma-
chinery and components. Sales
to South Asia including India
climbed 19.1 percent, led by chem-
ical products and vehicles. For the
quarter, exports to China surged
36.9 percent and that to South
Asia, 22.8 percent.
Sales to Japan, the European
Union (to 15 economies) and the
US rose 14.9 percent, 10.2 per-
cent and 7.1 percent in March, re-
spectively. Those to the so-called
CLMV countries — Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam —
jumped 18.1 percent. Shipments
to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong
Kong expanded 24.7 percent, 27.1
percent and 10 percent for the
month, respectively.
Border and cross-border trade
for March increased 19 percent to
120.41 billion baht ($3.5 billion)
from a year earlier. For the quar-
ter, the figure added 5.2 percent to
315.72 billion baht.
AP/Heng Sinith
erage, about 2,000 trucks cross over
between Singapore and Malaysia
and for a start, they are eyeing 100
cross-border transactions.
By the third quarter of this
year, they plan to set up a simi-
lar venture in Indonesia to cater
for that market. The road freight
market in South-East Asia is val-
ued at $27 billion and Mudasar
believes there are plenty of op-
portunities despite the hundreds
of trucking companies in opera-
tions across the region.
Competition exists but Gillon
said that “there are not many like
Ezyhaul” and believes they are
the early mover using technolo-
gy to match the needs of shippers
and corporations.
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
ECONOMIC RISKS
China's
hidden debt
stirs investor
angst
Bloomberg
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG
Rising defaults in China are
unearthing hidden debt at com-
panies across the country.
Small firms that cannot get
loans by themselves have been
winning banks over by getting
other companies to guarantee
their borrowings. The companies
making those pledges exclude
them from their balance sheets,
leaving creditors in the dark.
Borrowers often extend the
guarantees for each other, rais-
ing the risk that failures could
ricochet, at a time when increas-
ing borrowing costs have already
added to strains.
China’s banking regulator has
ordered checks of such cross-
guaranteed loans, Caixin report-
ed Friday. Scrutiny is mounting
after a corn oil producer in the
eastern province of Shandong
said last month it had guaranteed
debt of a neighboring aluminum
Long walk
AP/Ricardo Moraes
Workers walk in front of the P-51 oil rig of Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras in Angra dos Reis, Rio
de Janeiro, in August 2008. The company has expressed strong opposition to a government-led program to
increase the use of biofuels following its recent decision to completely withdraw from the sector.
INTERNATIONAL | 17
BUSINESS BRIEF
Novartis posts 15 percent drop in profit
GENEVA: Swiss pharmaceuticals group Novartis says net income fell 15
percent in the first quarter as it continued to adjust to generic competi-
tion for its Gleevec leukemia drug and stopped work on a hoped-for
treatment for heart failure.
The Basel-based company said net income dropped to US$1.7 bil-
lion, compared with $2.01 billion in the year-earlier period.
It cited a $200 million charge to discontinue RLX030, which failed to
pass tests in trials as a treatment for acute heart failure.
Net sales fell 1 percent to $11.54 billion, offset partially by 136
percent growth for the Cosentyx psoriasis treatment.
CEO Joseph Jimenez cited a “solid start” to 2017.
Novartis predicted sales would be “broadly in line” with 2016, but
core operating income could decline in the “low single digit” percent-
ages. — AP
Eurozone deficit down at lowest level
BRUSSELS: Following years of often strict budget austerity, the level
of government borrowing in the 19-country eurozone has fallen to its
lowest level since early 2008.
Official figures Tuesday show the deficit in the eurozone was at 1.4
percent of annual gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2016,
from 1.6 percent in the previous three-month period.
That is the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2008, when it was
also 1.4 percent. Later that year, the collapse of United States invest-
ment bank Lehman Brothers triggered the most acute phase of the
global financial crisis.
In the eurozone, the crisis exposed the underlying financial prob-
lems of certain countries, such as Greece, which led the eurozone defi-
cit figure to rise as high as 7 percent in the third quarter of 2010. — AP
Hasbro heads for loo and business booms
PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND: Business for Hasbro is in the toilet, which

Investors take a look

turns out to be a pretty good place.
product manufacturer which is The toymaker’s revenue surpassed that of its rival Mattel for the
now stuck in a cash crunch. first time in 17 years thanks in part to hot sales of a new board game
Just days before that, a local gov- called Toilet Trouble.
ernment financing vehicle in Chi- “I never thought I would actually get to talk about this on an earn-

after French vote

na’s southwest had to repay an auto
parts maker’s loans it had guaran-
teed after the latter defaulted.
“Disclosure of such guarantees
isn’t timely,” said Qiu Xinhong, a
Shenzhen-based money manager
at First State Cinda Fund Man-
agement Co. “Sometimes, it’s like
a buried mine and you don’t know
when the risks will explode.”
This debt minefield could be
big. The amount of loan guar-
antees at privately held firms in
China is equivalent to 11 percent
of their equity, and at LGFVs is 18
percent, according to Citic Secu-
rities Co. The load is even heavi-
er at weaker borrowers. About
44 percent of issuers rated low-
er than AA- have a ratio of more
than 30 percent, according to Ev-
erbright Securities Co.
The phenomenon is less com-
mon in the US because banks do
not require such guarantees to of-
fer loans, according Fitch Ratings.
“If companies in the same region
offer a huge amount of guarantees
for each other’s debt, it would form
a guarantee web and deepen inter-
connections among the compa-
nies,” said Gang Meng, director of
rating at Golden Credit Rating In-
ternational Co. in Beijing.
“If one company has to repay
debt for its guaranteed company,
risks would quickly ripple to oth-
er companies in the web, which
will result in a butterfly effect.”
Investors dumped corporate
bonds issued by borrowers in
Zouping County in Shandong af-
ter the corn oil producer, Xiwang
Group, said on March 29 that it
has 2.9 billion yuan (US$421.2
million) of outstanding guaran-
tees, the equivalent of 17 per-
cent of equity, for debts of Qixing
Group Co.
Two calls to Xiwang’s general
office were not answered.
Guarantors do not mark the
pledges on their balance sheets
and often disclose them only on
an annual basis. Such shadow
debts pose rising risks after cen-
tral bank tightening pushed up
onshore corporate bond yields to
two-year highs and defaults on lo-
cal notes surged to a record.
As China opens up the world’s
third-biggest bond market, the hid-
den debt also presents a challenge
for international investors grap-
pling with what bond legend Bill
Gross dubbed the “mystery meat of
emerging-market countries.”
Moody’s Investors Service re-
ceived more inquiries from global
investors about such guarantees
Jamie McGeever
REUTERS/LONDON
Pollsters picked the two candi-
dates to make it into next month's
French presidential election run-
off, going some way to restoring
their reputation in financial mar-
kets before other important votes
across Europe.
Centrist Emmanuel Macron
won Sunday's first round vote
with 23.91 percent. Far-right na-
tionalist and anti-euro candidate
Marine Le Pen came in second
with 21.42 percent, almost exactly
as polls predicted.
Markets lost faith in polls after
they failed to predict that Britain
would vote to leave the European
Union and that Donald Trump
would become US president.
But the French vote, which fol-
lowed accurate polling of the Dutch
election in March, will go some way
to restoring faith in them before the
second round of the French vote
and other major elections in Brit-
ain, Germany and Italy.
"Investors who lost confidence
in pollsters after they failed to
predict the outcomes of the US
elections and Brexit vote are
viewing them as credible sources
of information again," said Hus-
sein Sayed, chief market strate-
gist at FXTM.
Guided by the polls, the two
biggest political events in the
Western world last year wrong-
footed investors.
With that in mind, they took
no chances ahead of the French
vote, where the top four candi-
dates were all within about 5 per-
centage points of each other going
into polling day.
The cost of buying protection
against large swings in the eu-
ro's exchange rate via the options
market rose sharply last week,
with one-week implied volatility
posting its biggest weekly rise on
record.
But the polls were spot on so
few investors now question leads
of over 20 percentage points for
Macron over Le Pen in the French
runoff.
They also have more faith in
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
forecasts showing UK Prime Min-
ister Theresa May's ruling Con-
servative Party will command a
substantial lead over the oppo-
sition Labour Party ahead of the
snap June 8 election there.
Italy must also hold a general
election before May next year and
the populist Five Star movement
is neck and neck in polls with the
ruling Democratic Party.
"Markets won't forget what
happened with Brexit and Trump.
They are still casting a shadow
and will stick in peoples' minds,"
said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior
macro strategist at Rabobank.
"It's a case by case situation
and very dependent on how polls
are performed and how accepted
populist parties are. But markets
see less tail risk."
Any investors who followed the
polls and put money on the mar-
ket's favorite candidate Macron
making it to the second round
against Le Pen would have ben-
efited from a post-vote surge in
stocks, bonds and the euro.
French stocks surged more
than 4 percent on Monday, the
share price of big European banks
like BNP Paribas and Deutsche
Bank added 8 percent, and the
euro rose above US$1.09, its best
day in almost a year.
The spread between French
and German 10-year bond yields
shrank more than 20 basis points,
its biggest fall in years.
The measure of euro volatility
against the dollar over the com-
ing month, which captures the
May 7 runoff vote in France, fell to
around 8 percent from nearly 13
percent on Friday. That marked
the biggest fall in a single day
since the euro's inception over 17
years ago.
Other polls have also recently
been accurate.
The Dutch election last month,
in which Prime Minister Mark
Rutte saw off a challenge from
far-right rival Geert Wilders to
win re-election, was also forecast
as the vote drew closer.
And polling for the second
round of the French vote should
be more straightforward to pre-
First round vote exactly
as forecast
Helps restore trust in
polls lost after Brexit,
Trump
Investors look to 2nd
round, then UK, Germany,
Italy
dict as it is more "clean cut" than
the first round, according to Ox-
ford Economics. This is because
there are only two candidates and
clear differences between them.
"It would take a numerical
shock perhaps 5 to 10 times larger
than Brexit or Trump for Le Pen
to win," said Deutsche Bank mar-
ket strategist Jim Reid. "The pre-
first round polls have been rela-
tively accurate, so Macron should
rightly be red hot favorite now."
Similarly, Theresa May's na-
tionwide lead over her opponents
in Britain point to a thumping vic-
tory on June 8. Her Conservative
Party hit 50 percent in one recent
poll, and is projected to win a ma-
jority of 100 parliamentary seats
or more.
This means there is unlikely
New facility
to be a significant selloff in UK
stocks, bonds or sterling as the
election draws closer, analysts
say, and the cost of hedging should
remain relatively well contained.
Germany also holds its gen-
eral election in September, when
Chancellor Angela Merkel could
lose her 11-year grip on power.
Investors' fears over this shift
have been tempered, however, by
the fact that her main rival Mar-
tin Schulz is a staunch pro-Euro-
pean and the populist AfD party
has registered the biggest drop
in support of all the main parties
this year.
"The political agenda contin-
ues to dominate the headlines,
but investors should not allow it
to cloud their thinking on mar-
kets," Citi analysts wrote in a note
on Monday. "Political uncertainty
can create short-term spikes in
risk premia, but it does not struc-
turally re-price assets."
ings call but, you know, Toilet Trouble is off to a very good start,” CEO
Brian Goldner told analysts Monday after putting up very strong first-
quarter numbers.
Profit in the quarter jumped 41 percent on rising demand for both
mobile games and classics like Monopoly, which saw classic player
pieces like the wheelbarrow, thimble and boot replaced by a dinosaur,
a penguin and a rubber ducky.
The game Toilet Trouble follows another Hasbro game that became a
viral sensation. In the earlier release, called Pie Face, players can get hit
with a face full of whipped cream. In Toilet Trouble, players in the board
game take turns flushing a plastic toilet that spits water at their faces.
Hasbro reported net income of US$68.6 million, or 54 cents per
share, in the three months ending April 2. That is up from $48.8 mil-
lion, or 38 cents per share, a year ago. — AP
Iron ore slumping for years
SINGAPORE: Iron ore’s surprise early-year rally that neared US$100
a metric ton at its peak will probably represent the commodity’s
high-water mark for at least the next half decade, according to BMI
Research, which projects that prices will average lower each year
through to 2021.
The commodity will drop to $70 a ton this year, $55 in 2018, and
slump to $46 by 2021, according to the research arm of Fitch Group,
which cited rising supplies from Australia and Brazil and expectations
for a surplus. Major producers, backed by low costs, will boost output,
BMI said in a report.
Iron ore stormed higher in the opening weeks of 2017 on rising de-
mand for higher-quality ore as well as optimism from some mills and
analysts about the outlook for steel production in China in 2017.
After peaking in mid-February, prices tumbled into a bear market as
steel prices sagged and banks reiterated warnings about rising supply,
including from overseas miners such as Brazil’s Vale SA, as well as
producers in China, the biggest user. — Bloomberg
Reuters/Brittany Greeson
Flex-N-Gate owner and businessman Shahid Khan (left) greets
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan before a groundbreaking ceremony
for a Flex-N-Gate manufacturing facility in the I-94 Industrial
Park in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday. Urbana, Illinois-based
Flex-N-Gate will invest US$95 million in the plant, which will
employ 400 to 700 people and supply parts to Ford Motor Co.

Senate confirms Sonny Perdue as agriculture secretary

following the incident in Zouping,
according to Ivan Chung, head of
Greater China credit research.
China Chengxin International
Credit Rating Co. sometimes has
to resort to sources other than the
company in question to obtain
guarantee data.
“When we’ve done on-site due
diligence on some rated firms, it
was hard to get comprehensive
and reliable information about
their external guarantees,” said
Kong Lingqiang, Beijing-based
vice president at China Chengxin.
The central bank should allow
rating assessors access to the na-
tional financial credit system to
get the latest information about
companies’ pledges for loans,
Kong said.
China Bond Rating Co. said
guarantors should disclose guar-
antees in quarterly reports and
also release information about
the firms for which they provide
the biggest pledges.
“Cross guarantees for unrelat-
ed companies could lead to conta-
gion and even systemic risk,” said
Xia Le, Hong Kong-based econo-
mist at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Ar-
gentaria SA.
Mary Clare Jalonick
ASSOCIATED PRESS/WASHINGTON
The Senate on Monday con-
firmed former Georgia Governor
Sonny Perdue to be agriculture
secretary in United States Presi-
dent Donald Trump's administra-
tion as the farming industry looks
to Washington for help amid a
downturn in the market.
Perdue won confirmation on
a strong bipartisan vote of 87-11,
as several Democrats backed a
Trump nominee after razor-thin
outcomes for his choices earlier
this year. Perdue's cousin, Senator
David Perdue, R-Ga., voted "pres-
ent" but presided over the vote and
announced the final tally.
The son of a farmer from Bo-
naire, Georgia, Sonny Perdue will
be the first Southerner in the post
in more than two decades.
He has owned several agricul-
tural businesses, but is not related
to or affiliated with the food com-
pany Perdue or the poultry pro-
ducer Perdue Farms.
At his confirmation hearing
in March, Perdue assured ner-
vous farm-state senators that he
will advocate for rural Ameri-
ca, even as Trump has proposed
deep cuts to some farm programs.
He also promised to reach out
to Democrats.
Still, Perdue, 70, is getting a late
start on the job. Trump nominat-
ed him just two days before his
inauguration, and then the nom-
ination was delayed for weeks as
the administration prepared his
ethics paperwork.
Perdue eventually said he
would step down from several
companies bearing his name to
avoid conflicts of interest.
As agriculture secretary, he will
be in charge of around 100,000
employees and the nation's food
and farm programs, including ag-
ricultural subsidies, conservation
efforts, rural development pro-
grams, food safety and nutrition
programs, such as food stamps and
federally-subsidized school meal.
Perdue will take office as farm
prices have been down for sever-
al years in a row and some parts
of the industry, including cotton
and dairy farmers, say they need
the department and Congress to
rewrite agricultural policy to help
revive their business.
Kansas Senator Pat Roberts,
the chairman of the Senate Agri-
culture Committee, said Perdue
will help facilitate recovery in
small American towns.
"I know he will put the needs of
farmers, ranchers and others in
rural America first," Roberts said.
Perdue's main task over the
coming year will be working with
Congress and coordinating his
department's input on the next
five-year farm bill.
Current farm policy expires
next year, and lawmakers on the
House and Senate agriculture
committees will have to find a way
to push it through Congress amid
heightened partisan tensions and
concerns over spending.
At his hearing, he pledged to help
senators sustain popular crop in-
surance programs and fix problems
with government dairy programs.
Perdue may also find himself
in the uncomfortable position of
defending agriculture in an ad-
ministration that has so far given
the issue limited attention, de-
spite Trump's strong support in
rural areas.
Trump has proposed a 21 per-
cent cut in US Department of Ag-
riculture (USDA) programs and
has harshly criticized some inter-
national trade deals, saying they
have killed American jobs.
But farmers who produce more
than they can sell in the US have
heavily profited from some of
those deals, and are hoping his an-
ti-trade policies will include some
exceptions for agriculture.
At the hearing, Perdue said,
"Food is a noble thing to trade."
Perdue will also be part of the
administration's response to a
dispute with Canada's dairy in-
dustry, which has a new lower-
priced classification of milk prod-
uct that Trump says is harming
US producers in dairy states like
Wisconsin and New York.
Canada changed its policy on
pricing domestic milk to cover
more dairy ingredients, leading to
lower prices for Canadian prod-
ucts that compete with US milk.
Wisconsin Senator Tammy
Baldwin, a Democrat, voted for Per-
due and encouraged him to come to
Wisconsin to talk to affected farm-
ers. "I stand as a willing partner to
work with Secretary Perdue and
President Trump to address this
urgent issue," Baldwin said.
Senate Democratic Leader
Chuck Schumer of New York also
talked to Trump about the dairy
issue last week in a rare phone call
between the two men.
Trump has reached out to farm-
ers on regulation, saying the gov-
ernment has too many rules that
negatively affect farm country.
That issue is expected to come
up on Perdue's first day in of-
fice Tuesday, when the president
holds hold a round table discus-
sion with farmers.
18 | WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017
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29612990 Indonesia@SantaFeRelo.com
PET SHOP
Calico Petshop. Ampera Selatan – Jatiasih,
Bekasi. Cat Food. Dog Food. Accessories.
Promo of the day. (Dandy) Ph: 0813 1010
5055 PIN BB: 524775AF
F. J. PETSHOP. Ruko Pulo Gebang Permai
Blok D5 No. 14, Cakung – Jakarta Timur
13950. Call: 021 – 4601611. Visit us:
www.fjpetshop.com
Groovy - The Ultimate Partner for Pet Well-
ness Pet stores & grooming in Kemang,
Radio Dalam, BSD & Bintaro. Vetcare Clin-
ic. Pet Transport (international & domestic).
Boarding. Pet Taxi. www.groovy.co.id
Himme Hammie Petshop, Bukit Golf Medit-
erania, Rukan Eksklusif Blok G No. 62, Jakar-
ta Utara 14470. Contact: 08567808005 /
www.himepetshop.com
due to its status as the city’s prin-
cipal military defense structure
in the past.
Also not to be missed is the
Holy House of Mercy. Estab-
lished by the first Bishop of Ma-
cao in 1569, this institution was
modeled after one of the most
prominent and oldest charitable
organizations in Portugal.
For a reminder of the city’s
glorious culture, the Dom Pe-
dro V Theatre is the place to be.
Built in 1860 as the first West-
ern-style theatre in China, it’s a
highly significant cultural land-
mark and remains a venue
for important public events and
celebrations.
Classified Ads
Kingdom Pet Shop and Pet care. Jl. Wijaya I
No. 73, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan. Ph:
021 – 72798938, 91066500. Web:
www.kingdombreeder.com
For your pets, coming to Sakura 9 Petshop.
Some accessories and all about your pet
here. Grooming. Limited Boarding. Jl. Barito
II 27-C. Call: 021-7236933
SNOOPY PETS GREEN GARDEN. Jl. Panjang
Ruko Green Garden Blok A7 / 60, Kedoya
Utara, Jakarta Barat. Ph: 021 – 4561 6611 or
visit us at snoopy_pets@yahoo.com
SERVICES
ALDERA DRIVER Providing solutions is very
easy and full responsibility, Satisfaction and
comfort is our goal. DAILY – MONTHLY. Call:
021 – 4222 258
Bandung City Tour & Rent provide driver
service, daily or monthly to Bandung and its
surroundings. Call : 081 9100-920-90
www.bandung-citytour.com
CV IARA SURYA MANDIRI. Ready stock:
Baby Sitters, Nannies, housekeepers.
Call: 021-29440085, 081399164135,
081905096863. Jl. Sumurbor Raya No 101
Rt 006 Rw 012, Kel. Kalideres, Jakarta Barat
(samping Telkom).
JADCO, DRIVER SERVICE PROVIDER, DAILY
– MONTHLY / Facebook / Twitter / Google +:
Jadco regal / In LinkedIn: Jadco agung agung
priyono. Call: 085217125321, 08881969237,
Email: Jadcoa@yahoo.com
JASA SUPIR PRIBADI “SMB”. Do you need a
professional driver, Expatriates? We can
speak English. Please Call: 087881016263 /
jasasupirpribadi.com
CV KARYA BUNDA MANDIRI. You call us, we
send you! Male and female sitters and
housekeepers to all places in Indonesia. Call:
021 - 5417671
We has reliable Baby Sitter! LPK MUTIARA 1.
Most from Java. Educated worker. Honest.
Persevering. Call: Mrs. Darma 087878836227
/lpkmutiaradarma1.blogspot.com
LPK ERA PRIMA. The best educate and
deliver services nannies, nurses & nursing
elderly (Jabotabek & outside city). Call
08787-5958316
LPK MITRA KARYA, baby sitter and nanny
services. Jl. Raya Pendowo No.6 Limo,
Cinere, Depok, ready to help you contact now
Nita 0812 1823 9828
The Holy House of Mercy is neo-classical in the overall architectural
treatment, but also depicts traces of mannerist influence.
LPK MITRA UTAMA, our inter-sitter to your
home. Are you busy? Your child must be
maintained and cared for. Contact me, Ali
021-7888 4359 / 021-8075 4448 / 0857 1884
8857 or visit us lpkmitrautama.blogspot.com
LPK Nabila Family Care, labor agent Baby sit-
ter, Nanny, Housemaid. Distribution
JABODETABEK and outside Java
(all Indonesian). Info Call: 021 – 7070 9255 /
021 – 7056 5605
LPK TIARA CIPTA, Smart Care for Smart Kids.
Babysitter and governess, training and service
center. Call as now 021 7590 2862, 7075
1713, 9818 3357 or amy_s321@yahoo.com /
info@tiaraciptababysitter.com
Private Driver! Marsudi Suwarna Adi.
Whether you are in a vacation, tour, or
business trip. I will be happy to be your per-
sonal driver & guide. Please contact
me at +6285226126069 or send email to
suwarnaadi@gmail.com
PT. MOESTAR INDONESIA, Citra driver pro-
fessional service, driver needs to provide for
personal or company, the price we offer com-
petitive with management fee of 15%. Call:
0815 1467 1467 (24 hours)
PT PERKASA SATRIA NUSANTARA. We has
experienced drivers, control of the streets of
the capital and outside the city, a high work-
ing professional with friendly attitude, polite
and courteous.If you need us, please call:
Tedi Sofyan 021-89647947 / 085779641777
/ 081314641777
PT. SMS - SIM. Professional driver. Familiar
territory Jakarta and outside. Call: 021
87786477, EMAIL: sarana_sms@yahoo.com
or visit us at pt-sms.com
Best quality and quantity sitter. Don’t hesitate
to contact us,“Yayasan DWI ASIH”. Ph: (021)
- 9824 7515 or Jasman Tedjo Pamungkas
08129566433
TRANSLATIONS
ABSE TRANSLATION&INTERPRETING SER-
VICE Sworn, Non Sworn for 12 Lngs. Ph:021-
8352323,8281013 Email: bse@cbn.net.id
VACANCY
URGENTLY NEEDED Business Manager for
Elka International USA Qualifications:
Male/Female, Age 30-45 years, Able to
Operate Computer, Active English Prefer-
ably, Ready to work in USA (America).
Benefit: Started Salary 800 – 1.200
dollars, Accomodation & Residence During
Work in USA provided. Call immediately:
Mr. Zein (087884848575) Mr. Challik
(08223238666)
Island Spot
To place your ad in this section, contact
Opie or Mirah on 0361 265436
or email opie@thejakartapost.com
& mirah.adi@thejakartapost.com
Macao Government Tourism Office
 WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 | 19

WHERE TO GO
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
FOREIGN CULTURAL MUSIC PERFORMANCES
CENTERS
• Korean Cultural Center
Korean Language Courses
Korean Cultural Center, address:
Equity Tower 17th Fl. Jl.Jend.
Sudirman, SCBD, Lot 9, Jakarta.
Contact: 021-2903-5650/
id.korean-culture.org/
kelasbahasa@kccindonesia.org
• The Japan Foundation
Japan Language Courses, Library
Address: Summitmas I Lt. 2,
Jl. Jenderal Sudirman,
Kav. 61-62 Jakarta
Contact: 021-5201266/
jpf.go.jp/e/policy/ • ZARRO DE VEGA
official_accounts/pkj@jpf.or.id April 27 at 6 p.m.
Motion Blue Jakarta
• Russian Center of Science motionbluejakarta.com
and Culture
Russian Language Courses
Address: Jl. Diponegoro No. 12, ‘Panggil Saja Aku Kartini’ by Annisa Hertami
Menteng, RT.1/RW.4, Menteng
Contact: 021-31935290/ and Sri Krisna Encik (Script: Landung Simatupang)
idn.rs.gov.ru/indonezia@rs.gov.ru
April 29 at 3 p.m. ,Galeri Indonesia Kaya
www.indonesiakaya.com
TOUR GUIDE
Panggil Saja Aku Kartini (Just Call Me Kartini) Kartini asking questions about women today.
• Indonesian Heritage Society by Annisa Hertami and Sri Krisna Encik tells the Are women today freer to determine the course of
provides free tour at National story of national heroine Kartini in the modern their lives?
Museum in age, an age when women have more freedom and Or is this freedom not actually genuine?
English. are on a more equal footing with men. This theater performance can be seen at Galeri • Marshmello
Every Tuesday at Written by Landung Simatupang, its script has Indonesia Kaya on April 29 at 3 p.m. April 27
10:30 a.m. The Establishment,
Every Thursday Lot 6 SCBD, Jakarta
at 10:30 a.m. and • Jakarta Fashion Festival 2017 • Saturday Night Live:
ismaya.com Chris Mann
1:30 p.m. April 12-30
Every second and La Piazza Mall Kelapa Gading, May 20
fourth Saturday of the month at Jakarta Cascade Lounge, Hotel Mulia
10:30 a.m. jfff.info Senayan - Jakarta
CP: Indonesian Heritage Cp: 021 5747777 ext.4388/4488
Society Library 021-5725870/
heritagejkt.org

SEMINAR
• 3rd Annual Symposium for
Arbitrators and Mediators
(ASAM)
The Indonesian Academy for • Sole Fest 2017: The Biggest • Authenticity - Rolling Stone
Independent Arbitrators and • Spring Savings By Rococo Sneakers Market Music Series III
Mediators will be hosting the April 18 – May 8 May 5-7 April 28 at 7 p.m. – 11 p.m.
third Annual Symposium for Ar- Lotte Shopping Avenue, Jakarta Kuningan City Level 2,3 & 4, • Serena Brancale Q U A R T E T
Rolling Stone Cafe, Jakarta May 22 at 7:30 p.m.
bitrators and Mediators (ASAM) jadwalevent.web.id Jakarta rollingstone.co.id
on April 26 at the Grand Sahid kuningancity.com Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
Jaya in Central Jakarta. • INACRAFT 2017 – The 19th R.S.V.P by Saturday May 20
This event will be the country’s Jakarta International Handicraft Tel. 021 3927531/2, e-mail:
largest symposium on arbitra- Trade Fair 2017 CLASS eventi@itacultjkt.or.id
tion and mediation. It has the April 26-30
support of Indonesia’s Supreme Jakarta Convention Center
Court, Attorney General’s Office, (JCC), Jakarta THEATER PERFORMANCE
the government as well as vari- inacraft.co.id
ous domestic and international • Misi Nomor Satu
arbitration and mediation insti- by Putri Ayudya
• IL FUOCO DI GIOIA by dif- April 30 at 3 p.m.
tutions. For more information, ertimento Vocal Ensemble
please visit: http://medarbid.org/ Galeri Indonesia Kaya
April 29 at 7:30 p.m. – 09:30 p.m. www.indonesiakaya.com
en/event/upcomingevents. Erasmus Huis, Jakarta
goersapp.com
• Resonation Woman • Big Bad Wolf Book Sale
Empowerment Conference April 21 – May 2 FILM SCREENING
April 29 at 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. ICE BSD • Kelas Fotografi Jalanan
The Kasablanka Hall bigbadwolfbooks.com March 8 – May 6 at 2 p.m. • ‘Alla luce del sole’
www.resonation.id Serambi Salihara April 28 at 6:30 p.m.
• 2nd Halal FoodCourt salihara.org IIC Auditorium Jakarta
@Islamic Book Fair #16
EXHIBITION May 3-7 • Salawaku
JCC Senayan, Jakarta ARTS FESTIVAL A film by Pritagita Arianegara
jadwalevent.web.id April 28 at 7 p.m.
• Mixed Feelings 02 Kinosaurus, Kemang – Jakarta
• Saturday Night Live: kinosaurusjakarta.com
Illustration Exhibition Jay James
April 2 – May 6 April 29
That’s Life Coffee • Tabula Rasa
Cascade Lounge, Hotel Mulia A film by Adriyanto Dewo
thatslifecoffee.com Senayan - Jakarta
• Urban Sneaker Society (USS) April 28 at 9:30 p.m.
Cp: 021 5747777 ext.4388/4488 Kinosaurus, Kemang – Jakarta
April 28 - 30
West Mall, Grand Indonesia 5th kinosaurusjakarta.com
• A Tribute to Jagjit Singh by
floor, Jakarta Shekhar Ravjiani
urbansneakersociety.com May 6 at 7 p.m.
Ciputra Artpreneur Theatre,
• Islamic Book Fair #16 Jakarta
• IB MYP EXHIBITION May 3-7 Cp: 021 – 30015666 or email to
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 8 a.m. JCC Senayan, Jakarta indiaclubind@gmail.com
Wing C - GMIS Jakarta jadwalevent.web.id or indiaclub@cbn.net.id
Info: Ms. Yuni 0858 1331 1217 www.indiaclubjakarta.org
• Jakarta Food Festival 2017 • Color Me Purple - HFGM
• IB PYP EXHIBITION April 7 - May 7 Liga Medika 2017 PROMOTE YOUR EVENTS
Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 8 a.m. La Piazza Mall Kelapa Gading, April 29 For queries on placement of your events in The Jakarta Post’s WHERE TO GO section,
Wing C - GMIS Jakarta Jakarta Komunitas Salihara please send an email to wheretogo@thejakartapost.com / wtgjakarta@gmail.com or
Info: Ms. Yuni 0858 1331 1217 jfff.info Ligamedika.com call Endang at (021) 5300478 ext. 2034.

WHERE TO EAT IN JAKARTA

CAFES
Aphrodite Club Rasuna, Jl. Rasuna Said,
Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Anomali Coffee Jl. Senopati No. 35, South
Jakarta. Telp. 529-20102
Antipodean Hero Kemang Complex, Jl.
Kemang Selatan No. 1, South Jakarta. No
fuss super-fresh brekkies at this laid-back
Aussie-Kiwi Café.
BUNK Pullman Jakarta Central Park Podo-
moro City, Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav. 28
Telp. 021 29 20 00 88
Bloeming FX Sudirman, South Jakarta.
Telp. 2555 4182
Bakoel Koffie Jl. Cikini Raya No. 25, Central
Jakarta. Telp. 3193 6608
CJ’s Bar Hotel Mulia Senayan. Jl.Asia Afrika
Senayan, South Jakarta.Telp. 575 3275, 574
7777 ext. 4008, 4018 Bar and cocktail.
RESTAURANTS
ASIAN FUSION
Chatterbox Plaza Senayan and branches
city- wide. Singaporean and western dishes in
cozy setting. No MSG.
Mamacita The Wine Kitchen Senayan City,
LG Unit 52, South Jakarta. Telp. 7278 1477
INTERNATIONAL Telp. 5296 3888
CONTINENTAL
Cacaote Jl. Senopati Raya 80, Kebayoran Alto Restaurant & Bar
Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta
Loewy Bar & Restaurant Oakwood Premier
Baru, South Jakarta. Telp. 293 0612. Cozmo, Kuningan, South Jakarta. Telp.
Place to see and be seen, melt-in-your-mouth Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto Kav. 18 25542378
cakes and pastries Kuningan Barat, Jakarta 12710 The Lounge Le Grandeur Mangga Dua,
Opening time: Jl. Mangga Dua Raya, North Jakarta.
CHINESE Alto Bar (Daily) 5 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Alto Restaurant (Daily) 6 p.m. – 10.30 p.m. Telp. 612 8811
Ah Yat Abalone Mid Plaza 2, LG, Jl. SAKE+ Jl. Senopati 54, Kebayoran Baru,
Sudirman Central Jakarta. Telp. 570 7333 Tel: 021 2277 1888
South Jakarta. Telp. 7250002. Japanese bar
Chiao Tung Hotel Rekso Hayam Wuruk, Jl. & lounge.
Hayam Wuruk 2F West Jakarta. Telp. 624 8680
VIN+ Arcadia Plaza Senayan Arcadia
ITALIAN
AWkitchen Plaza Senayan Lantai 1 Unit 106-108, South Jakarta. Telp.
57901477
Level P4 Unit No. CP 409
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8 VIN+ PIM Street Gallery Pondok Indah
Mall 1st Fl Unit 106 South Jakarta. Telp.
Jakarta Pusat 10270
+6221 5790 6071 2952 9753
AWkitchen Plaza Indonesia VIN+ PIM soft opening specials: - Get a
Level 2, No. E0206 glass of sangria if you follow us on twitter
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30 and facebook. @vinplusid and VIN+ wine
Jakarta Pusat 10350 and beyond
+6221 2992 4325 Lunch promotion.
Buy 2 main courses and get 20 percent off
INDONESIAN Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta
Beautika Jl. Hang Lekir No. 1, South Jakarta. (food only)
Telp. 722 6683 High Tea Promotion: 1 Tapas + 1 Glass of wine
A spicy culinary journey to North Sulawesi
(Manado). No frills but you will definitely feel
WINE & DINE only Rp 100,000 (tax included).
VIN+ Central Park Central Park Mall at
hot under the collar from the chilli dosage.
Bacco Lotte Shopping Avenue, Main Lobby, Tribeca Park Ground Floor TG. 03 Jl. Let. S.
Bengawan Solo Hotel Sahid Jaya, Jl. Sudirman
No. 86, Central Jakarta. Telp. 570 4444 LG 38, Kuningan, South Jakarta. Parman Kav. 28, West Jakarta. Telp. 5698 5768
Bumbu Hotel Sheraton Bandara, West Decanter Wine Lounge Plaza Kuningan, VIN+ Kemang Jl. Kemang Raya No. 45B,
Jakarta. Telp. 559 7777 North Tower, Ground Floor, South Jakarta. South Jakarta Telp. 7179 2577
AWkitchen
20 | ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD PUZZLER SUDOKU

Instructions:
Fill the cells in such a way so that all rows, columns and every
3-by-3 subsquare contains every digit from 1 to 9, with no rep-
etition of each digit.

ROSE IS ROSE

THE BORN LOSER

CHESSQUIZ

GARFIELD

By Shelby Lyman
FERDNAND
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 TECHNOLOGY | 21
MY GADGET

AHSAN ANDRIAN
A PICKY Kathryn
Bigelow

GADGET FREAK KATHRYN BIGELOW

F
ilm editor Ahsan Andrian is very up to date when it
comes to technology and gadgets. Required to work with ON VR AFTER
HER FIRST TRY:
the latest technology, the 37-year-old feels the need to
always know about recent developments in the tech world via
the internet.

‘I LOVE IT’
With all his knowledge, Ahsan is very picky in deciding what
gadgets are the best for him. He also doesn’t always follow
trends, knowing that the latest products do not always have the
specifications that he needs.
“For me, a fast internet connection in a phone is a must.
Others can follow,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.
Ahsan criticizes people who always buy the latest gadget
without knowing their own needs.
“They buy an iPhone 7 for the sake of being trendy,” he said,
adding that in terms of technology specifications, the iPhone 7
doesn’t really offer new things compared to previous models.
The winner of Best Editor in the 2015 Indonesian Film
Awards for Filosofi Kopi (Coffee Philosophy) is busy editing
the sequel of the movie, Filosofi Kopi 2, which will be released
in the middle of this year. He divides his time between editing AP/Strategy PR/Kathryn Bigelow
and his role as an active member of
the Association of Indonesian
Film Editors. He also teaches As a filmmaker drawn to the most visceral forms of cinema, it was
a short course in creative me- probably inevitable that Kathryn Bigelow’s high-adrenaline curiosities
dia at the Sae InInstitute Indo-
Jakarta. Despite
nesia in Jaka would lead her to virtual reality.
his busy sschedule, he
still spends a lot of time Jake Coyle
and energy every
e time he ASSOCIATED PRESS/NEW YORK the same cinematic command Bigelow nalism. She often works in tandem with

T
needs to buy n new gadgets.
“I will collect as much in- he Oscar-winning director on
formation as p possible and Friday at the Tribeca Film Festi-
least five differ-
I will go to at lea val premiered her first VR experi-
ent stores to co compare pric- ence, The Protectors: Walk in the
es and sp specifications,” Rangers’ Shoes, an eight-minute, 360-de-
he said. gree plunge into the lives of the Garamba
Here are gadgets
Her National Park rangers in the Democratic
and apps that Republic of the Congo.
Ahsan mostly
Ahs Bigelow directed it with Imraan Ismail, a
uses:
us virtual-reality veteran, and the two used the
nascent, immersive medium to give a full
sense of the dangers the 200 ragtag rangers
face daily in guarding the Delaware-sized
Courtesy of Silmi Rosda park, including its hundreds of perishing
elephants, from the constant plundering of
poachers and gunmen.
“The most important thing was to put a
human face on this issue,” Bigelow said in
an interview alongside Ismail in the back
ZenFone 2 room of a Tribeca restaurant. “My hope
was that if the eyes of the world realized
The phone that I am us- and recognized the kind of sacrifice they’re
ing now is not broken yet making, then perhaps not only could they
and it still has the technol- be better equipped but it also might raise
ogy that I need. recruitment.”
National Geographic will release the film
May 1 on the VR app Within, and on You-
Tube and Facebook360 the following week.
It’s a co-production of the VR company
Here Be Dragons and the film production
company Annapurna Pictures — making it
a kind of fusion of both worlds.
Even in its brief eight minutes, view-
ers of The Protectors will readily recognize
brought to her Academy Award winner
The Hurt Locker and her most recent film,
the Osama bin Laden hunt thriller Zero
Dark Thirty.
The Protectors follows the rangers
through the tall grass, on the trail of poach-
ers and in an apparent fire-fight with at-
tackers. In one memorable shot, a helicop-
ter lands right on top of the viewer.
Bigelow’s virtual reality debut left her ex-
cited for its journalistic potential to inform
and foster empathy.
“I love it,” Bigelow said of the medium. “I
think it’s all about content, though. It’s not
tech first; it’s content first.
“It opens up corridors to awareness and
information about social geopolitical issues
that you would otherwise have very little
access to,” she added. “That’s the beauty of
journalism is to bring you to environments,
stories, profiles of people that you oth-
erwise have little or no access to. I think
what’s beautiful is the piece is that it’s very
objective. Here are these men and these are
their thoughts. It’s very intimate and yet
what they’re doing is so profound.”
A number of big-name filmmakers have
recently tried their hand at VR, including
Jon Favreau and Alejandro Inarritu, who’s
to debut a virtual reality work next month
at the Cannes Film Festival.
But Bigelow, 65, may be the most signifi-
cant of the bunch because of her interest in
getting as close as possible to her subjects
and in combining storytelling with jour-
journalist-screenwriter Mark Boal, includ-
ing on their upcoming feature film, Detroit,
about the 1967 riots.
Ismail, too, has a journalistic sensibility.
His award-winning The Displaced, a New
York Times VR film Ismail co-directed, fol-
lowed three children refugees from Syria,
Ukraine and Sudan.
With The Protectors, he said: “Hopeful-
ly we’re able to tell some of that story and
make this complex, abstract position some-
thing a little more granular that you can
grasp. And you can be like: ‘That guy, I feel
for him.”
So does Bigelow see great potential in
virtual reality?
“Hard to say,” she responds. “I think so,
if the desire to use it is content-driven and
you want to have it be an experiential, total-
ly immersive, empathetic understanding of
the subject, then, yes, 100 percent. Not that
film can’t do that. Film, of course, can do
that. But the beauty of this is there is a kind
of ‘x factor’ that it provides.”
“What’s exciting is how physical it is. The
sound is dictating your movement. It’s like,
‘Oh, the helicopter is landing on top of you
and then a guy is jumping out the back of it.’
It pulls you around,” said Bigelow. “It’s not
passive. I always think, though, [in movies],
there is engagement. The screen asks you
to lean in and you ask the screen to inter-
act and you kind of meet in the middle. But
what’s great here is there is no passive op-
portunity to experience this.”

iMac and

Photo courtesy of walkinginrangersshoes.com

MacBook 13 On the front line: A scene of
I use this brand be- The Protectors: Walk in the
cause the entire lo- Rangers’ Shoes. The Protec-
cal film industry uses tors will be released in 2017
it. Using an Apple by National Geographic.
computer and laptop
makes my work com-
patible with others.

Facebook
I use Facebook because
I believe it has become the
source of all information.
You are sure to get direct re-
sponses from others as al-
most everyone is using it.

— JP/IKA KRISMANTARI

Google Earth invites you to ‘get lost’ Travel the world: Kara
Koch, producer with
Sesame Workshop, demon-

exploring the planet

strates features on Google
Earth in New York, United
States. Google Earth is
getting a revival, with the
mapping service becoming
more of a tool for adventure
Anick Jesdanun ductions around the world; the Maps is about getting you to a des- and exploration.
ASSOCIATED PRESS/NEW YORK map shows where the Muppets tination, Earth is about immersing

G
oogle Earth is getting a re-
vival, as the 3D mapping
service reorients itself to
become more of a tool for adven-
ture and exploration.
A central feature in the new
Google Earth is Voyager. Google
has partnered with such groups as
the BBC and NASA to add video
clips, photos and text narratives
to three-dimensional representa-
tions of particular locations.
The Jane Goodall Institute,
for instance, lets you journey to
spots in Tanzania that inspired its
founding chimpanzee expert. You
can also get overlays of chimpan-
zee ranges and compare imagery
from 2005 and 2014 to see the ef-
fects of forest restoration efforts.
The producers of Sesame Street
show off Muppets from co-pro-
live and offer stories about the re-
gion and its culture.
Separately, a new “I’m Feeling
Lucky” feature takes you to a lo-
cation selected at random. Google
Earth is highlighting some 20,000
lesser-known destinations — the
kinds of places locals might fre-
quent or know about, such as the
Indonesian island of Bunaken,
part of a national marine park.
Google Earth used to be the
place to go to for satellite views
and 3D images stitched togeth-
er from aerial fly-bys. A software
download was required, limiting
its use. Google Maps has incor-
porated many of those features,
making Google Earth even less
necessary.
Tuesday’s update is about giv-
ing you a reason to use Google
Earth again. Google says that while
you there, or “getting lost.”
With the update, Google Earth
now works on Google’s Chrome
browsers for desktops. It still re-
quires an app for phones and tab-
lets because of the heavy graphics
involved; Google is rolling out up-
dates for Android, but there’s no
Google Earth app for iPhones or
iPads yet.
Some older features will still
require a software download on
desktops. That includes maps of
Mars and the moon through a
partnership with NASA.
Google also announced an up-
date to a virtual-reality version of
Google Earth. It now works with
Facebook’s Oculus Rift, not just
the HTC Vive. But it won’t work
with cheaper, phone-based VR
systems, such as Google’s Day-
dream and Samsung’s Gear VR.
AP/Anick Jesdanun
22 | FEATURES WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017

‘Jaji’
A chronicle
Home: Javanese-Suri-
of solidarity
namese people still mostly
More than 125 years ago, the first wave of
live in old houses given by Javanese slaves arrived in Suriname from the
then-Dutch companies to then Dutch East Indies.
their predecessors.

Hans David Tampubolon dear in their hearts until now was the spirit of soli- vanese roots.
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA darity among them inherited from their strong sense One of the highlights of these efforts by the

S
of belonging with one another when they crossed the young Javanese-Surinamese is how they use pop
ince their arrival, generations of Javanese oceans in fragile ships to get to Suriname. songs to learn and master the Javanese language
forced labor played a major role in Surina- “[We are] Jaji [shipmates]. Nek kapal klelep, ka- after decades of negligence.
me’s society. beh klelep [if the ship sinks, we all sink],” Boeniran Pop songs in Javanese have become hits among
Numerous Javanese descendants have said in thickly accented Javanese accent during the youth of the Javanese-Surinamese commu-
become prominent figures, such as politician Wil- his interview. nity and while they might not understand their
liam “Willy” Soemita, award-winning novelist Karin While the feeling of solidarity remains strong meaning at first, their attachment to the songs
Amatmoekrim and teen pop singer Sherefa. among the Javanese-Surinamese, one thing that makes them willing to spend time to look up new
To celebrate and remember the journey of the is very noticeable is the dying out of the Javanese Javanese words and to understand them.
Javanese migrants and their contributions to both language. Overall, Jaji is a must-see for all Javanese and
Suriname and the Netherlands, the Dutch cultural In the film, the third- and fourth-generation for those who are interested in learning the dy-
center Erasmus Huis in Jakarta recently screened a Javanese-Surinamese people say that it is harder namics of the Javanese-Surinamese community
documentary called Jaji. to find a Javanese-speaking Javanese-Surinam- in Suriname and the Netherlands. Unfortunate-
Jaji, which literally means “shipmate,” docu- ese person because their parents taught them ly, it seems that the Javanese in Indonesia need
ments what traditional Javanese values still remain that they should prioritize learning the Dutch lan- to wait for a little bit longer for Jaji to be featured Shipmates: Boeniran (left) and Ngadino
within contemporary Javanese-Surinamese society. guage in order for them to have better chances in here in the near future. are the last two remaining second-genera-
The documentary is the first big documentary education and eventually a better life when they “For now, it [Jaji] is not going to be featured in tion Javanese in Suriname.
project of filmmaker and photographer Jeffrey Sa- grow up. the upcoming Europe on Screen [EOS] festival [in
limin, a 35-year-old direct descendant of a Javanese Nowadays, as the film shows, young Javanese-Su- Jakarta]. Hopefully, we can screen it again some-
slave to Suriname. rinamese speak or understand very little Javanese. time in the future,” Jeffrey said.
“My father was born in Suriname and then he em- The situation gets even worse for the Javanese-
igrated to the Netherlands. I was also born in Suri- Surinamese people living in the Netherlands. Of- — PHOTOS COURTESY OF JEFFREY SALIMIN
name and I moved with my family when I was about ten racially profiled and discriminated against, Ja-
10 years old,” Jeffrey told The Jakarta Post. vanese immigrants living in the Netherlands and
Over the last 25 years, Jeffrey has been living growing up during the 1980s and 1990s had to fully
in the Netherlands but deep inside, he has always transform and embed themselves as Dutch.
missed Suriname, the land in which he was born, However, the sense of solidarity among Java-
and he has always felt a special connection and bond nese immigrant descendants turns out to be so Keeping tradition alive: Javanese
with his Javanese heritage. strong that despite all the setbacks, the documen- traditions like the jaran kepang
Hence, Jeffrey thought it would be proper for him tary also shows how many young Javanese-Suri- dance continue to be practiced in to-
to create a documentary to see whether today’s Java- namese try to do their best to rediscover their Ja- day's Javanese-Surinamese commu-
nese-Surinamese society in Suriname still holds on nity as the younger generation does
tight to its traditional Javanese values and culture. its best to reconnect with its roots.
In making the documentary, Jeffrey conducted
numerous interviews with Javanese-Surinamese
people from various backgrounds and generations
in both Suriname and the Netherlands.
He said he did no prior historical research before
conducting the interviews because he did not want
Jaji to become a historical movie.
“I just talked to people. This movie is mainly
about the way the Javanese-Surinamese live nowa-
days. So, I had to talk with people who were interest-
ing enough to film and follow,”
As the film progresses, it becomes more evident
that the younger the Javanese-Suriname are, the
more detached they are from their Javanese tradi-
tional roots.
For example, the first segment of the film features
an interview with Boeniran and Ngadino, the last
remaining second-generation slaves to Suriname.
Both Boeniran and Ngadino are nearly 90 years old
and they speak fluent Javanese.
Boeniran and Ngadino said during the interviews
that what the Javanese-Surinamese immigrants held

SEX, LIES AND PHYSICS

‘Genius’ drama is Einstein tell-all
Unparalleled brilliance: Geoffrey
Rush portrays Albert Einstein in
the National Geographic miniseries,
Genius, premiering April 25.

AP /National Geographic/Dusan Martincek

Lynn Elber rules, both scientific and domestic. ner, and Gigi Pritzker. Noah Pink and Ken coming up with theories that 99.9 percent
ASSOCIATED PRESS/LOS ANGELES The 10-part series, starring Oscar-win- Biller are the screenwriters. of the world had no idea what he was talk-

T
Following his own ning Geoffrey Rush (Shine) as the mature
rules: Geoffrey he unparalleled brilliance and physicist and Johnny Flynn (Lovesick) as
Rush stars as Albert puckish wit? Check. The trademark the budding one, also places Einstein firm-
Einstein and Emily wild mop of hair? Check. The mari- ly in a 20th-century world engulfed by po-
Watson portrays Elsa tal infidelity and free-wheeling sex? litical chaos and war.
Einstein in Genius. Yes, check again for Albert Einstein, who Genius, debuting Tuesday, is both en-
in National Geographic’s mini- tertaining and intelligent, as befits a dra-
series Genius comes across as a ma that’s based on Walter Isaacson’s ac-
full-blooded, hot- claimed 2007 biography, Einstein: His Life
blooded figure who and Universe, and is the Nat Geo channel’s
lived by his own first scripted series.
Also credit Ron Howard, who brought
another complex scientist to the screen
in A Beautiful Mind, the 2001 Academy
Award-winning film about troubled math-
ematician John Nash.
There are some Mind-type cinematic
flourishes in Genius, restrained special ef-
fects that provide a visual sense of Ein-
stein’s thinking and the universe as he sees
it and helpful for the science-challenged.
But the series opens with Rush’s Ein-
stein and a young woman in the throes of
passion (intercut, unnervingly, with an as-
sassination that foretells of the upheaval
ahead for him and the world).
It was a deliberate choice, said Howard,
who directed episode one and is among the
series’ executive producers that include
Brian Grazer, his longtime creative part-
AP /National Geographic/Dusan Martincek
“Not only did it [the scene] appeal to us
dramatically, but it also fulfilled the desire
to announce to audiences right away that
we weren’t approaching it in an entirely
straightforward, traditional and academic
way,” Howard said. “We were looking for
the drama in the story and willing to deal
with Einstein, warts and all.”
Genius hopscotches through time as it
follows Einstein flailing as an unconven-
tional student; a young lover and imperfect
husband and parent; a Jew clashing with
the German scientific establishment; and
as the conflicted father of the atomic age.
Rush said he was more familiar with as-
pects of Einstein’s world-changing theory
of relativity than with the man himself, a
distant figure often reduced to a beaming,
wild-haired figure with brains.
“We all know the look of Einstein — it
should be an emoji,” Rush said by phone
from Australia. As he delved further into
Einstein’s life, Rush was struck by his many
sides and the fame he achieved for work
unknowable by many.
“He experienced a level of global celebri-
ty equal to that of his contemporary, Char-
lie Chaplin,” Rush said. But while Chaplin’s
Little Tramp film character had an every-
man appeal, Einstein “managed that by
ing about.”
Not all were fans. Einstein was seen as
a threat by, among others, fellow German
scientists who derided his work as a sign of
foreign influence and “devoid” of reality in
the changing political order destined to be
ruled by Adolf Hitler.
There are parallels with today’s clash-
es over climate change and other science,
Howard said.
“This sort of tactic of trying to galvanize
support around a particular agenda by nar-
rowing your focus, as opposed to broaden-
ing it, by doubting innovation and trying to
rigidly hang on to accepted ideas. There’s
nothing new in that,” he said.
Howard wants viewers to appreciate the
courage it took the trailblazing Einstein to
pursue his ideas against fierce opposition
and, despite his own sometimes “less than
noble” personal behavior, become a voice
for shared humanity.
“There’s a kind of courage required for
Einstein to have given us everything he
gave us, in addition to the transformative
work in physics. The role that he ultimate-
ly took on as a philosopher and political
force,” Howard said, “that was not some-
thing he welcomed at all. It was thrust
upon him.”
WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 FEATURES | 23
Preventive measures:
A lump growing as the
first stage of breast
BILL OF HEALTH
cancer can only be
detected by self-ex-
amination or through DIET AND GUT BACTERIA LINKED
mammography TO BLOOD CLOTS
Re u
LONDON: Consuming too much ter
s
choline, a nutrient sold in over-
the-counter dietary supplements,
can boost the risk for blood clots,
researchers warn.
That’s because bacteria in the
intestines interact with choline to
produce a compound that encour-
ages platelets to clump together
and form clots.
Choline is found in a variety of
Courtesy of pixabay foods including meat, eggs and milk.
It’s what’s known as an essential

NEW HOPE FOR

nutrient, which means the body can’t
make enough choline on its own and
so it must be provided in food.
But “unless prescribed by
your doctor, avoid supplements
platelets, tiny particles involved in
clotting.
After taking the supplements
for up to two months, participants

BREAST CANCER
with choline,” said senior study
researcher Stanley L. Hazen of the
Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, in a state-
ment.
Hazen and colleagues had previ-
had more than 10-fold increases in
blood levels of TMAO. The tendency
of their platelets to clump together
and form clots was also significant-
ly increased, in direct proportion to

PATIENTS
ously shown that bacteria in the the increases in TMAO levels.
intestines interact with choline and Aspirin, which reduces the
other dietary nutrients to produce stickiness of platelets, reduced
a substance called TMAO, and they both the increases in TMAO and the
linked high levels of TMAO in the increases in platelet clotting as-
blood to an increased risk of cardio- sociated with choline, but it didn’t
New hope is available for breast vascular diseases. completely eliminate them, the
cancer fighters as new medicines and Also, in studies in animals, they researchers found.
linked higher levels of TMAO to a The findings are of particular
treatments are being found. higher risk for blood clots. concern in people at high cardio-
Their latest research, reported in vascular risk, whose increased risk
the American Heart Association’s of blood clots may not be overcome
journal Circulation, shows that cho- by low-dose aspirin. The research-
activating cancer cells after being de- ers recommend further study.
Winning sign: clared clean,” he added. line in food can affect blood clotting
The incidence of risk in humans, and in some cases, They also say it’s worth exploring
By targeting the cancer cell DNA, whether low-dose aspirin is ben-
breast cancer to- their side effects can be minimized. Re- that risk can be minimized by tak-
day is continuing ing low-dose aspirin. eficial in otherwise healthy people
search on this therapy in fact still shows with high TMAO in the blood —
to rise as people patients’ conditions decline, but this ef- In the current study, they gave
of ever younger oral choline supplements to 18 vol- although at this point, they can’t
fect is more lenient than that caused by explain why the aspirin seemed to
age groups are chemotherapy. The absence of a dras- unteers and then measured TMAO
affected. levels, along with the responses of bring down TMAO levels. — Reuters
tic decline enhances the strength of pa-
tients to undergo treatments. Accord-
ing to Bob, high costs and severe side
Reuters/Jim Bourg

effects harm patients’ health and lower

their spirit, which psychologically also
worsens their conditions.
CHILDHOOD DEATH MIGHT AFFECT
Bob revealed that the monitoring of SURVIVOR’S LIFESPAN
patients receiving therapy by this meth-
od had indicated their survival rate of
around 56.5 months. As the drugs di-
GLOBOCAN, a comprehensive
com global rectly aim at cancer cells and inhibit
cancer surveillance database, predicts their growth, this therapy can be more
Juliana Harsianti that in Indonesia 58,799 new breast effective. “Less severe side effects also
CONTRIBUTOR/JAKARTA cancer cases will appear in 2020, with augment the quality and spirit of life of

O
ver the last few years, cancer
has become one of the main
causes of mortality in many
countries. Breast cancer,
however, remains the biggest threat for
women as it occupies a fairly high po-
sition as a fatal disease for that gender.
In Indonesia, there were an estimated
48,989 cases of breast cancer in 2012
among which there were 19,750 fatali-
ties.
Cancer incidents keep rising today as
people in younger age groups are affect-
ed by breast cancer. Minimal symptoms
at the initial stage usually allow the dis-
ease to be discovered only when it is en-
tering its advanced phase. “There’s no
sensation of pain at the early stage of
this cancer,” said Bob Andinata, an on-
cologist at Dharmais Cancer Hospital,
Jakarta.
A lump growing at the first stage of
breast cancer can only be detected by
self-examination or through mammog-
raphy. Anomalous shapes and pain-
ful breasts are symptoms only found at
the third stage of breast cancer and be-
yond. “At this stage the cancer is usually
spreading to some parts of the body and
is difficult to handle,” explained Bob.
Unhealthy lifestyle and food con-
sumption tends to increase the risk of
contracting breast cancer, with young-
er patients being listed year after year.
Breast cancer cases have lately involved
people at the age of 30, although the
majority of patients are about 50. This
young age, however, allows a longer
time for treatment, as well as control
and care of convalescing patients.
mortality reaching 23,836. In 2030 the
figures are predicted to rise rapidly to
74,289 cases with 31,626 deaths, while
economic considerations will continue
to prevail in the process of cancer thera-
py, especially breast cancer.
Patients treated in the advanced
phase need several medications, which
are expensive. Based on studies con-
ducted by the George Institute for
Global Health in eight Southeast Asian
countries, cancer victims are bringing
economic disaster to their families. In
Indonesia, more than 70 percent of can-
cer patients have died as they couldn’t
afford to pay medical costs and the rest
faced financial trouble a year after being
diagnosed.
This situation has prompted research
on alternative treatments for breast
cancer at reasonable costs and also with
milder side effects. So far treatment has
relied on chemotherapy, which apart
from its fairly high cost, has side effects
some patients cannot stand. “Drugs at
affordable prices with less severe side
effects constitute a challenge to the
pharmaceutical industry,” said Bob.
New hope for breast cancer patients
seems to have emerged recently. A
new medicine named pertuzumad has
been approved by the Food and Drug
Monitoring Agency (BPOM) for breast
cancer, which is to be combined with
trastuzumab and chemotherapy. Per-
tuzumad and trastuzumad, targeting
cancer cells’ DNA, are for breast can-
cer patients reaching the HER2 (can-
cer protein) positive stage, an advanced
phase with more aggressive cancer cells.
“The drugs are also for patients with re-
patients in facing further treatments,”
Bob pointed out.
However, cancer survivor Puty Rah-
mania believes that medical treatment
is not enough.
“Adopting a healthy life style is a must
for breast cancer victims to increase
their life expectancy,” said the 39-year-
old, who currently is applying a low carb
and sugar diet.
Meanwhile, cancer fighter Almai-
da Gunawan hopes that the discovery
of medicines and therapy that can im-
prove life expectancy can lift the spirits
of other cancer fighters.
“Spirit is one of the keys for recov-
ery,” said Almaida, who was diagnosed
with cancer in June.
This system of therapy is indeed new
in Indonesia, despite its application in
many other countries. While it’s more
effective, the costs spent are also rea-
sonable so that people of various eco-
nomic groups can be served. Bob reit-
erated his warning that in spite of the
advancement in breast cancer therapy,
self-examination should be continued.
“The presence of any suspicious lump
can thus be promptly handled,” he said.
The widespread fear among women
to be examined after discovering breast
lumps themselves poses a challenge to
different circles. One of the actions that
can be taken is a campaign launched by
breast cancer victims to disseminate
the true story that by early detection
and therapy, the rate of recovery and life
expectancy reaches 100 percent.
— JP/IKA KRISMANTARI CONTRIBUTED
TO THE STORY
LONDON: Death of a sibling in child-
hood is associated with a greater
risk of early death in the surviving
brother or sister, researchers say.
“The public should be aware of
children’s vulnerability after experi-
encing sibling loss, especially in the
first year and for siblings of same sex
or close age,” Yongfu Yu from Aarhus
University Hospital in Denmark told
Reuters Health by email. “Tailored
social support may help to reduce the
level of grief and minimize poten-
tial adverse health effects on the
bereaved individuals.”
As many as 8 percent of Ameri-
cans experience the death of a
brother or sister in childhood. Loss
of a sibling in adulthood has been
linked with death of the surviving
sibling, but little is known about
the association of sibling death in
childhood with the subsequent risk of
death in the bereaved siblings.
Yu’s team studied data from Dan-
ish and Swedish national registries
on nearly 56,000 people who, when
they were older than 6 months but
younger than 18 years, had lost a
sibling. For these individuals, the risk
of dying over the next 37 years was
71 percent higher than it was for
Reuters
individuals who did not experience
the death of a sibling in childhood.
Children who experienced the
death of a sibling had an especially
increased risk of death from the
same cause as their deceased sibling,
including a much higher risk of
suicide, the research team reported
in JAMA Pediatrics.
The strongest associations be-
tween childhood sibling death and
subsequent risk of dying were in the
first year after the sibling had died,
and when the bereaved sibling was
the same sex as the sibling who
died.
The link was also stronger for
males than for females and when
the siblings were less than two years
apart in age.
“As this study was carried out in
Denmark and Sweden, the increased
mortality risk findings might be less
likely caused by the lack of material
or health care needs,” Yu speculated.
“More death events could reflect
genetic susceptibility, direct impacts
on bereaved children by psychologi-
cal stress [...] and indirect impacts
through parents’ and other family
members’ reactions such as behav-
ioral changes.” — Reuters

GUESS WHAT?
KD spends thousands of Infection forces
es Elton John Elon Musk steps outt in
dollars on skin treatment to cancel Mayy shows Australia with
w Amber er Heard
JAKARTA: It seems that pop diva Krisday- LAS VEGAS: Elton John has cancelled more
anti, often known by her moniker KD, will than a month of upcoming ing shows after con- NEW YORK: Billionaire
Billion Elon Musk is getting close
do anything
anythin to maintain her looks, including terial infection during
tracting an unusual bacterial with actress Ambe
Amber Heard.
spending thousands
t of dollars on beauty a South America tour that at left him in intensive The pair is shown
show in paparazzi photos zip-lining
treatments The 37-year-old said she paid
treatments. care for two nights. in Australia, where Heard is filming g Aquaman.
millio (US$15,064) for one skin treat-
Rp 200 million John is scrapping all upcoming April Both Musk and Heard posted pictures ictures to their
ment session using stem cell technology that and May dates of The Million Dollar Instagram accaccounts Monday showing Musk with
is believed to regenerate body cells. Piano at the Colosseum at Caesars lipstick oon his cheek leftt behind from a kiss.
She said sshe did not mind spending a lot of Palace in Las Vegas, as well Musk w wrote on his post st that he and
money as long lo as it was worth it. “I am get- as performance on May 6 in Heard were dining with th Aqua-
t
ting older, there are concerns about getting Bakersfield, California. man d director James Wan and
older and having wrinkles,” she said. The “Rocket Man” and d producer Rob Cowan on
produ
She ex explained the reason she under- “Daniel” singer says in a Australia’s Gold Coast.
Aust st.
went st stem cell therapy was because it statement that he became me Musk
M has been mar-
was no not only a beauty solution but also “violently ill” on a flightt to ried
rie three times, twice
wice
could improve her health. The high the United Kingdom from m to British actress Talulah
price, she added, was unavoidable as
pric Chile and “underwent Riley.
R He has five sons
the technology was imported. immediate treatment” at from
fr another previous
evious
TThe “Mencintaimu” (Loving you) a hospital, where he was as marriage.
m
singer said she also sometimes took
sin released on Saturday. Heard and Johnny
hnny
her husband, Raul Lemos, with her
he The 70-year-old Depp
D settled a divorce
ivorce
for face treatments. performer is expected last year. — APP
““My husband lives in Timor Leste. to make a full recovery
The weather is hot there. He needs and hopes to return to
facials to get rid of dead skin,” said
facia a stage in Twickenham,
Krisdayanti. — JP
Krisday England, on June 3. — AP P

JP/Berto Wedhatama AP AP
IMAGES WEDNESDAY April 26, 2017 | 24

Engulfed by fire: Selamatkan Merah

Putih (Save the National Flag)

INDONESIAN PHOTO by Jessica Helena Wusyang.

Journalists’
Awards
2017
T
he Indonesian Photojour-
nalists Association (PFI) In pain: Korban Aksi Damai 4 November
has honored the country’s (Victim of Nov. 4 Demonstration)
best journalistic photos of by Rifqi Riyanto.
2016 through its Indonesian Pho-
tojournalist Awards (APFI) 2017
program, with the 35 best works se-
lected out of 5,488 photos from 410
journalists and 127 citizen journal-
ism entries.
The thousands of pictures re-
ceived throughout last year were
assessed by the jury chaired by Os-
car Motuloh, with Adek Berry, Agus
Susanto, Beawiharta, Kemal Jufri,
Hariyanto, Rasdian A. Vadin and
Eddy Hasby as members, consid-
ering the photos’ concepts, subject
matter, quality and esthetics.
  “The photojournalism awards
have been granted by the PFI since
2009 to encourage photojournal-
ists to keep producing pictures that
can ‘speak,’ recording moments of
the life and metamorphosis of the
nation with honesty. We’ve also
awarded citizen journalism works in
the hope of promoting public inter- Bold move: Hadang Pemotor Nakal (Blocking Naughty Motorcyclists)
est to actively participate in report- by Dhoni Setiawan.
ing daily events through the camera
lens,” APFI 2017 executive chair-
man Agung Rajasa said. Hurry up: Mencari Tempat Berteduh
  This year’s APFI awards went (Finding Shelter)
to nine single and photo-story cat- by Bambang Ekoros Purnama.
egories, which were General News,
Daily Life, Environment and Na-
ture, Sports, Spot News, People in
News, Photo Essay, Art and Enter-
tainment and Citizen Journalism.
The APFI also added the category
of Best Multimedia works for photo
journalists who were capable of uti-
lizing the advancement of modern-
day technology.
 The Photo of the Year award went
to Jessica Helena Wuysang from the
Antara National News Agency with
her Selamatkan Merah Putih (Save
the National Flag), snapping two
residents saving the Red-and-White
against the background of the burn-
ing remnants of the Gafatar group’s
settlement in Kalimantan.
 Meanwhile, Bedu Saini from the
Serambi Indonesia daily newspaper
received The Life-Time Achieve-
ment award for his great contribu-
tion to documenting the early phas-
es of the earthquake and tsunami
that hit Aceh in 2004.

— JP

Muscle display: Binaraga Jebor (Roof Tile Factory Bodybuilder) Under the sky: Bingkai Kebhinekaan, Yahudi di Indonesia (Picture of Unity in Diversity, Jews in Indo-
by Edi Ismail. nesia) by Adhi Wicaksono.