ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS OF

GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT

UNIVERSITAS GADJAH MADA

YOGYAKARTA

2019/2020

Cicilia Dwi Setyorini, S.Pd., M.Hum

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 GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITAS GADJAH MADA
ENGLISH CLASS

Time : August – December 2019

Day/Time : Tuesday/Wednesday, 07.00 – 08.40
Teacher : Cicilia Dwi Setyorini, S.Pd., M.Hum
Email : setyorinicicilia@yahoo.com
Telp No : 08179432598

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
English class is a two-credit course which is a part of general courses all students have to take. The
objectives of the course are that (1) students are able to work in groups of different culture and
background; (2) students are able to effectively communicate, and (3) students are able to understand
the lifetime learning by taking the class. To reach the goals, students will be exposed to activities both
written and spoken which encourage active learning in which everyone should be equally involved.
The course will equip students to learn more about how to express opinions, how to agree/disagree,
how to recite questions, how to paraphrase, how to write argumentative writing, and how to be
involved in group discussions, and other activities using the target language. Both written and spoken
assessments are used to measure students’ comprehension toward the program.

II. COURSE PROGRESS

(Adjustable to the actual progress of the course)
1. Introduction and overview of the course
2. How to survive in English
3. How to restate a question
4. How to paraphrase
5. How to write argumentative writing
6. How to recite
7. How to express opinions
8. How to agree/disagree
9. How to be involved in small group discussions

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III. TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
1. Written project 20%
2. Quizzes 25%
3. Mid-term test 25%
4. Final test 30%

IV. GRADING CRITERIA

SCORES PREDICATE
80,01 – 100,0 A
77,51 – 80,00 A-
75,01 – 77,50 A/B
72,51 – 75,00 B+
70,01 – 72,50 B
67,51 – 70,00 B-
65,01 – 67,50 B/C
62,51 – 65,00 C+
60,01 – 62,50 C
57,51 – 60,00 C-
55,01 – 57,50 C/D
52,51 – 55,00 D+
50,01 – 52,50 D
0,000 – 50,00 E

References:
Bayuni, E. (2019, July 17) Indonesia’s democracy alive, but needs more kick. TheJakartaPost.
Retrieved from https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/17/indonesias-democracy-
alive-but-needs-more-kick.html
Board, Editorial (2019, July 13) Living with drought. TheJakartaPost. Retrieved from
https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/13/living-with-drought.html
Board, Editorial (2019, July 19) The imbroglio in coal mining. TheJakartaPost. Retrieved from
https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/19/the-imbroglio-in-coal-mining.html
Bryant, Alice (2019, January 24). How to express your opinion in English. VOA Learning English.
Retrieved from https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/how-to-express-your-opinions-in-
english/4755937.html
Hill, Graham (2011, Oct 05). Less stuff, more happiness. TED. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_less_stuff_more_happiness?language=en

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Inforial. (2018, June 22) School Zoning System Benefits Students, Parents, and Schools.
TheJakartaPost. Retrieved from https://www.thejakartapost.com/adv/2018/06/22/school-
zoning-system-benefits-students-parents-and-schools.html
Kahfi, Kharishar (July 07, 2019) Indonesia has lost land equal to size of Jakarta in last 15 years.
TheJakartaPost. Retrieved from https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/07/indonesia-
has-lost-land-equal-to-size-of-jakarta-in-last-15-years.html
Lingga, Vincent (2019, July 22) Plastic waste: The blame is on us, convenience-minded consumers.
TheJakartaPost.Retrieved from https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/22/plastic-
waste-the-blame-is-on-us-convenience-minded-consumers.html
Nawara, R. (2019, July 03) Dua Garis Biru': An enjoyable, moving coming-of-age tale.
TheJakartaPost. Retrieved from https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/07/03/dua-garis-
biru-an-enjoyable-moving-coming-of-age-tale.html
Odi (2009, January) Research tool: focus group discussion.ODI. Retrieved from
https://www.odi.org/publications/5695-research-tools-focus-group-discussion
University of Maine at Farmington (2017) Paraphrasing tips | Plagiarism tutorials. Retrieved from
http://www2.umf.maine.edu
Whyte, Rob (2019). Teaching Argument Writing: Capture the idea. Retrieved from
https://www.eslwriting.org

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 RESTATING QUESTIONS

Pre-work: Answer the following questions:

1. What is your name?

2. Where are you from?
3. What is your hobby?
4. When were you born?
5. What is your favorite place to eat out?
6. Who is your idol?
7. Why are you here?
8. How is your college life?
9. What is your favorite food?
10. Who is your best friend?
11. What subject in your department is the most difficult?
12. How do you usually spend your weekend?
13. Why did you choose to study here?
14. How do you usually release stress?
15. What makes you happy in life?

Presentation:

Do not exactly repeat the question in your answer. Use restatement to give the idea that you really
comprehend the questions and that you have good English vocabulary mastery. In addition, it helps
you to practice high order of thinking in which the way you answer something goes beyond only
memorizing the questions.

Example: Who is your best friend?

I consider Mary as my very close friend. She is attractive, very easy going, and helpful. I’ve
never had a friend like her before.

SKILL PRACTICES:

1. Practice again to answer the questions in pre-work session with a partner. Use restatement in
your answer.

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 2. Create four questions about general information to ask your partner
3. Practice asking and answering the questions using restatement
4. Check and discuss how your friends restate the questions.

Summing – up:

Create an interview with another friend. Take turn asking and answering questions about study,
hobby, hometown, or other general information. Remember to restate the questions when answering
them.

LEARNING HOW TO PARAPHRASE

Paraphrasing tips according to University of Maine at Farmingto, 2017:

1. Translate the text using your own words. Avoid simply copy pasting from Google translate
or thesaurus.
2. Change the structure of the sentence. Put the beginning at the end and the end at the
beginning.
3. Indicate the source of information to give the idea to the readers that you are introducing
somebody’s idea
4. Use citation

Example:

According to President Jokowi, Indonesia must not delay the development of new and renewable
energy program and the program must be accelerated five times in 2025 so that development of new
and renewable energy can reach 23%

1. Translate using your own words

President Jokowi said that the development of new and renewable energy must not be
postponed and the program should be five times increased in 2025 to reach 23%
improvement.

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 2. Change the structure of the sentences. Move the beginning at the end and the end at the
beginning
In 2025, the development of new and renewable energy in Indonesia will reach 23% if the
program is soon conducted and increased by five times.

3. Indicate the source of information to give the idea to the readers that you are introducing
somebody’s idea/s.

President Jokowi stated that in 2025, the development of new and renewable energy
In Indonesia will reach 23% if the program is soon conducted and increased by five times.

4. Use citation
President Jokowi stated that in 2025, the development of new and renewable energy
In Indonesia will reach 23% if the program is soon conducted and increased by five times
(Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation, 2016)

SKILL PRACTICE:

Paraphrase the following sentences:

 “Previously, state schools applied an enrollment system that prioritized students’ national
exam results. This made it difficult for some students to enroll in schools in the vicinity of
their residential areas, draining their energy by long commutes to school every day.”(Inforial,
2018)
 “Teen pregnancy is a growing problem in Indonesia. Based on data obtained by the Health
Demographic Survey in 2017, an average of 500 teenage girls become pregnant every year
while many teen pregnancies could lead to bigger problems for these young women, such as
a lack of education and poverty.” (Nawara, 2019)

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 WRITING AN ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

Pre-work activity:

 Students practice giving opinion about LGBT

 Students support their argument with facts/evidence/reasons
 Students discuss their arguments in groups and practice agreeing and disagreeing their
friend’s opinion.

Presentation:

Whyte, Rob (2019) stated that there are four things you have to keep in mind to practice critical
thinking framework in an argumentative writing:

1. Question: What question you want to answer?

2. Claim: What is your opinion about the question? What do you think about it?
3. Evidence: Tell your reasons, facts, or evidence that support your opinion
4. Warrant: Tell why there is connection between the claim and evidence. Highlight that those
two are interrelated.

Use the pre-work activity to answer the four questions:

1. Question: Should LBGT be banned?

2. Claim: LGBT should not be allowed in Indonesia
3. Evidence: Religious and cultural values in the country prohibit us to have intimate
relationship with those of the same sex.
4. Warrant: religions and culture define what values we share.

LGBT should not be allowed in Indonesia. Religious and cultural values prohibit us to have intimate
relationship with those of the same sex. Religions and culture define what values we share and have.

Skill Practice:

Answer the following questions using the above critical framework

1. Is homework good for you?

2. Do you agree with the idea of school zoning system?
3. Do you agree if government has control over the use of social media?

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 4. Does education define our future?
5. Is it good to be a vegetarian?
6. Do youngsters have less respect to the elderly today?

WRITING A SUMMARY

Writing a summary means rewriting someone else’s idea using our own sentences by highlighting
the main points. It should be short and comprehensible.

Here are some strategies you can do to deal with summary writing:

 Read the title and subheadings of the writing to give you an overview of what the main text is
about.
 Read each paragraph and focus to get the main idea and main supporting details. Ignore
minor details such as dates, numbers, statistics, and others.
 Write an outline consisting information about the main ideas and main supporting details of
each paragraph.
 Paraphrase your outline. Use your own sentences and keep the original message. Avoid
including your personal judgment about the text.
 Write the whole paraphrased main ideas and details.
 Recheck your writing to see if there are any grammatical errors, wrong word choices,
incomplete sentences, and others that distract readers’ comprehension toward your
summary.

SKILL Practice:

Read the news entitled “Living in drought” and write a summary about it. Use the above strategies
to assist you have better summary writing.

Review:

Pair-checking: Work in pairs and exchange work. Read your friend’s summary and give feedback
about it.

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 EXPRESSING OPINIONS IN ENGLISH

Bryant, Alice (2019) stated that there are many ways to express our thoughts in English.

Common phrases:

 I think ...
 I believe ...
 I feel ...
 In my opinion ...
 I would say ...

In my opinion, the best time to read is early in the morning.

Add strength

 I really think ...

 I strongly believe ...
 I truly feel ...or
 In my honest opinion...

I really think that English should be taught in smaller classes to make it more effective.

Formal Phrases

 From my point of view ...

 From my perspective ...
 In my view ...
 It seems to me that ...

It seems to me that students nowadays have less empathy to others for they are busy with their own
world.

Asking for opinions

 What are your thoughts on...?

 How do you feel about...?
 What’s your opinion on...?
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What are your thoughts on giving too much homework to students?

Agreeing and disagreeing

Expressions to show agreement:

 So do I
 Me too
 Definitely
 I agree
 I couldn’t agree more

You can give reasons for your agreement.

Expressions to show disagreement:

Instead of saying I disagree or I don’t agree, you had better more polite expressions such as:

 I’m not sure I agree with you on ...

 I’m sorry but I don’t agree
 I’m afraid I disagree with you

Other common way to disagree politely is to appreciate their opinion before telling your own

 I see what you’re saying but ...

 You have a point there but ...
 I understand where you’re coming from but ...

PRACTICING ENGLISH GROUP DISCUSSION (EGD)

The idea of group discussion is to practice natural discussion among people of similar background
and experiences who gather to discuss a particular topic. The participants are free to agree and
disagree with each other. They, however, need to appreciate differences and keep respecting those
opposing their ideas. Everyone should support his/her opinion with the related knowledge and
experiences they have got.

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The aim of English group discussion is not only to practice communicating in the target language
but also to see how everyone in the group thinks and shares opinions about specific issues to get
more insight which influence to the future action they will take to deal with the issue. The discussion
requires a moderator who plays neutral and who can encourage every participant to equally involve
in the discussion. He/she should also be able to summarize the talking at the end of the discussion.

Here are some topics to discuss within small group discussions:

1. From the tourism sector, most people in the world know Bali as the famous tourist destination in
Indonesia. How can we promote other sites in other regions to be popular and attractive for both
local and foreign visitors to come?

2. Drug issue in Indonesia has been a serious problem. To what extend do you agree or disagree to
the idea of giving dead penalty for the drug dealer?

3. It is unfortunate to see the fact that younger generations nowadays seem to have less respect to
the elderly. They are busy thinking about themselves and start to lose their courtesy by simply
greeting or smiling to others. Do you think that the changes are a result of technology
advancement? What can we do to keep our generation for having good morality?

4. The issue of lgbt has been more common either in a national or international scope. How can
we prevent it from being larger? Should we give them rehabilitation? Or should we exclude them
from the society? Please share your thought about the matter.

5. What do you think of the idea to legalize prostitution? Will it give better or worse effect for
people in general?

6. Should corruptors, those in narcotics business, and others that relate to money laundry give back
all of their money and assists to the country?

7. Some regions in the country are predicted to face big earthquakes and other natural disasters.
What do you think government should do to minimize the risk or the damage of the disaster?

8. Government has started to apply school zoning system. What do you think about it? Will it bring
more benefits or drawbacks for the country?

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9. Despite the fact that government has prohibited people from smoking in public areas, many has
kept doing it in the non-smoking places. What is your thought to deal with the problem?

10. The problem dealing with plastic waste has threatened our environment. How can we encourage
people’s awareness to reduce or stop using plastic in order to preserve our mother earth?

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 Dua Garis Biru': An enjoyable, moving coming-of-age tale
Reyzando Nawara
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/07/03/dua-garis-biru-an-enjoyable-moving-
coming-of-age-tale.html
Teen pregnancy is a growing problem in Indonesia. Based on data obtained by the Health
Demographic Survey in 2017, an average of 500 teenage girls become pregnant every year. Teen
pregnancies could lead to bigger problems for these young women, such as a lack of education and
poverty.
Most people tend to blame the supposed delinquent behavior of teenagers as the main cause, instead
of advocating for basic sex education in schools.
Gina S. Noer's directorial feature debut Dua Garis Biru (Two Blue Stripes) addresses the lack of sex
education in an honest and non-judgmental manner. The story revolves around Bima and Dara, two
high school lovebirds. Dara becomes pregnant, leaving Bima – whose family lives in poverty on a
riverbank in Jakarta – with no choice but to take responsibility.
If Dua Garis Biru was a lesser movie, it would be much easier to paint one of them as a typical
troubled teenager who doesn’t have a moral compass and focuses the narrative as a mainstream love
story that tests Dara and Bima's relationship, but Gina’s well-observed script offers something more
than that. She provides a character-driven narrative by building subtle, humane and nonetheless
funny moments to drive the story as a self-maturing journey.
This is not a movie that neither judges nor justify Dara and Bima's action but instead grounds the
aftermath of this life-altering event in the emotions and psychology of the characters, including the
parents.
When you're a minor and still have parents, your problem is also their problem and that's what Bima
and Dara's parents are facing here. They have to shoulder the consequences of the mistake their
children have made. They share the guilt and shame that Bima and Dara are feeling.
Dua Garis Biru provides this perspective to show us that this problem of teen pregnancy will not
only affect the couple but also their family. At one point toward the end of the movie, there is a
tender, heartfelt interaction between Bima and his mom, played brilliantly by Cut Mini, that offers
an insight on what could've happened or avoided had they talked about the sex and its consequences.
People always say that regret will come later, and that is what the parents are feeling. They regret that
they didn’t talk enough to their children before. So, when it happened, there's a sense of guilt building
inside of them, causing them to blame themselves for what their children have done. They can't
forgive themselves because they think that it's their fault.
Gina highlights this journey of forgiveness and acceptance in an emotionally cohesive way by slowly
letting them learn that the only person they have to forgive is themselves.

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People can't undo their mistakes no matter how hard they try. When we make mistakes, we learn
from it and move on. There's no guarantee that we'll stop repeating the same mistakes, but what
matters is here is that we learn not to repeat it.
Dara, Bima and their parents can't undo what they've done, and they have to live with the
consequences their entire lives, but they've gained a lot more from these mistakes. They morph into
the more responsible, adult people because of the silver lining that this event has cost them. There's
a hopefulness that Dua Garis Biru radiates to the audience, and I think that's what we need to take
from this movie, besides the obvious message of how important it is to have proper sex education in
a family.
Through a smart script and fluid direction, Dua Garis Biru is a good drama that has an important
value for audiences. But what really permeates every element in the movie is the performances from
the cast, especially Zara, whose growth throughout the movie feels very empowering.
She lends a vulnerability and tenderness without eschewing the youth of her character. It's now
apparent that her performance in Keluarga Cemara is not a fluke. She's meant to be a great actress,
and Dua Garis Biru proves that even more.
There's also an unbroken 3-5-minute-long take that takes place at a school clinic where all of the
main characters showcase a fascinating display of emotional range, combining grief, guilt, shame,
disappointment and rage in a heart-wrenching way. This scene alone proves that Gina will be a
director to watch in years to come.
Dua Garis Biru may have some flaws toward the end, but overall, this movie offers something very
refreshing and meaningful to the coming-of-age subgenre in Indonesian cinema. It is not perfect, but
nevertheless, still a solid debut. (dev/kes)

School zoning system benefits students, parents and schools

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/adv/2018/06/22/school-zoning-system-benefits-students-
parents-and-schools.html

Two years ago when Abdul Muhi was a 16-year-old junior high school student, he rode a bicycle for
30 minutes to get to school every day because his school was located far from where he lived in
Cilodong district in Depok, West Java.
“I felt exhausted by the time I reached school. One day, I had to take an exam. I was almost late and
because I was sweating profusely from all the cycling, my exam sheets were soaking wet,” Abdul said.
Things changed a year ago when he was enrolled in SMA 8 Depok state high school, which is located
near his house in Cilodong, which has implemented the school zoning enrollment system for the
2017-2018 academic year.

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“Now, to go to school I can take a 10-minute angkot [minivan] ride, spending only Rp 4,000 on daily
round trips,” he told a group of journalists who visited the high school to observe the Education and
Culture Ministry’s school zoning enrollment system early this month.
Previously, state schools applied an enrollment system that prioritized students’ national exam
results. This made it difficult for some students to enroll in schools in the vicinity of their residential
areas, draining their energy by long commutes to school every day.
Furthermore, using exam results as the sole criteria for student enrollment created a tendency among
parents to choose popular schools that were well-known for their high educational quality that helped
students get high grades in national exams, which in turn had high exam score cut-off points as
requirements, making it hard for students to be accepted.
Launched in 2016, the school zoning enrollment system is a ministry effort to make state schools
prioritize students who live in their vicinities in order to solve the aforementioned problems and
boost the overall quality of education.
The new system also seeks to create an educational ecosystem where students, parents and their
neighborhoods provide a conducive environment for students to pursue knowledge in an optimum
state of mind. Thus, parents will also feel the benefits of the new system.
“Because his school is located near where we live, we don’t have to spend too much money to cover
his daily commute,” Sujana, Abdul’s father, said. “Furthermore, it is also easier for us parents to
monitor his activities.”
With the new system, schools have also started to form tight cooperation with their surrounding
communities to help foster students’ educational progress.
According to SMA 8 Depok principal Nurlaely, the new system’s implementation helps teachers to
get to know parents better, while making it easier for the school to conduct activities at night without
neighbors objecting to the noise these activities create, since the activities are also participated in by
neighborhood children.
Non-discriminative school enrollment
To refine the policy’s implementation, the ministry recently issued Ministerial Decree No. 14/2018,
which seeks to boost the overall quality of the country's education through non-discriminative and
transparent school enrollment methods for elementary and junior high school students.
“Through the new ministerial decree, the ministry has simplified the old regulation by revising a
number of terms detailing the implementation of the school enrollment zoning system, starting from
its requirements, selection, school zone classification and distribution of students,” Education and
Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said late May.
According to Elementary and Secondary Education Director General Hamid Muhammad, the new
ministerial decree was formulated based on feedback from education agencies across the country
concerning obstacles they faced in implementing the new system in the field.

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Nurlaely said that with the new system, a school set quotas to be fulfilled in five different student
categories as criteria for enrollment.
The categories are: local residence, with a 10 percent quota; students from underprivileged families,
with a 20 percent quota; teachers’ children and children with special needs, with a 5 percent quota;
children with high non-academic achievements, with a 20 percent quota; and children with high
academic achievements, with a 45 percent quota.
For all five categories, the proximity of a student’s residence to a school is a highly important criterion
for enrollment. Each school also uses GoogleMap technology to verify and locate students’ exact
address to make sure that those living near the school are prioritized for enrollment.

Plastic waste: The blame is on us, convenience-minded consumers

By: Vincent Lingga
Source:https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/22/plastic-waste-the-blame-is-on-us-
convenience-minded-consumers.html
Indonesia’s problem of plastic waste pollution is not the result of the occasional rogue foreign
shipment. It is caused mainly by each one of us, the hundreds of millions of convenience-minded
consumers who have become so used to buying cosmetics, household detergents, water, eggs in
boxes and packaged food in single-use packaging.
When buying such products we don’t give a thought to what will happen to the plastic after we discard
it. Unless sorted and collected such packaging will end up in a landfill where it will degrade only after
450 years, experts say, or, worse, find its way to the sea.
Recently, a few Asian governments intercepted imported shipments of allegedly hazardous waste
comprising household garbage, municipal waste, hospital waste and electronic scrap. Indonesia itself
has shipped five containers of plastic wastes back from Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java,
to the exporters in the countries of origin, mostly Western industrialized nations.
Some of this waste had been misleadingly declared recyclable plastic scrap and there is a likely
connection between the sudden increase of such shipments and the notification given by China to
the World Trade Organization in July 2017 that it would no longer import various kinds of recyclable
scrap. Since the early 1990’s China eagerly consumed 60 percent of the world’s recyclable scrap to
fuel its manufacturing boom and this sudden decision left scrap exporters scrambling to look for
new markets.
According to research by the United Kingdom-based Financial Times, the countries that
immediately stepped in to fill the gap left by China were, in order of size, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Turkey and Indonesia.

17
Politicians have found it fashionable to describe Asia as having become the “dumping ground” for
the waste of Western countries. However, every shipment of recyclable plastic involves a buyer and
seller.
No reputable recycling company wants to import scrap that has been contaminated and no foreign
government wants the embarrassment of being forced to take back its own garbage.
However, in international trade there will always be rogue elements all too ready to make a quick
profit through fraudulent declarations. Until recently the export of plastic scrap was not even covered
by the Basel Convention, so such exporters could not be prosecuted by their own governments.
The main reason that China gave to the WTO for its decision to stop importing scrap was because
many shipments had been mixed with “dirty waste” that could not be used as raw material and
contaminated the environment.
Fortunately this problem was recently addressed by the Basel Action Network and in May 2019 the
Basel Convention was amended to include mixed and contaminated plastic scrap as “hazardous
waste”. Indonesia also signed the amendment that will come into force in January 2021.
Unfortunately the isolated cases of waste imports have resulted in an unfair backlash against the
import of plastic and other scrap needed as raw material for the legitimate local recycling industry.
The call for a total ban on transboundary plastic scrap is a throwaway phrase that does not
acknowledge this important local industry.
In Indonesia a well-established reputable recycling industry employs thousands of people. The
Industry Ministry estimates Indonesia needs 600,000 tons of imported scrap a year and can
potentially enjoy a healthy trade surplus by exporting back recycled plastic pellets, flakes, plastic
chips and geotextiles for road construction.
Reputable foreign investors have entered this sector such as the recent bottle-to-bottle recycling plant
in East Java. At least one of Indonesia’s largest producers of bottled water can now claim to use
bottles made out of 100 percent recycled local plastic.
However, the local recycling industry presently has no choice but to continue to import plastic scrap
because it is simply not able to utilize the plastic waste produced by Indonesian consumers, owing
to the absence of efficient municipal waste collection, sorting and cleaning systems.
Unless there is a demand from the consumer for biodegradable containers, or for a reuse model in
which all bottled liquids have to be sold together with refills, the amount of single use packaging will
not decrease in the short-term. Indonesia should instead immediately implement less challenging
strategies.
We cannot expect consumers to sort their household waste or desist from throwing it into the river
for love of the environment. Even Singapore, a model of urban cleanliness, has yet to convince
residents to sort their household waste. However, if householders are paid to sort their waste as in
the commendable Indonesian bank sampah (app-based garbage collection bank) scheme, already
comprising over 7,000 banks, then they will do so.

18
Similarly, we cannot expect municipalities to find the funds for recycling facilities. However, such
funds would be readily available if there was a regulation on a national program of extended producer
responsibility (EPR) in which the producer who delivers a product in a single-use container must
take responsibility for its end of life, and make a small contribution to an ecofund for recycling
infrastructure. Such a program could also be extended to the less visible but more serious problem
of electric and electronic waste.
The EPR regulation could be part of a wider effort under Law No. 18/2008 on waste management
to cut Indonesia’s waste output; it would oblige producers and retailers to redesign their product
packaging to have a higher proportion of recyclable material. It will also require that they take greater
responsibility for the waste management of their products.

Living with drought

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/13/living-with-drought.html
By: Editorial Board

There is nothing new about the long droughts the country is now enduring. This nation has umpteen
times proved its resilience in withstanding climate phenomena, that can have disastrous impacts on
human beings and their environment. But inaction, assuming that it will eventually pass, is a mistake
that will not only exacerbate the damage but also leave us unprotected when the disaster recurs in
the future.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that the dry season
may be drier and more intense this year than last year as a result of the El Nino phenomenon. The
agency has classified West Java, Central Java, most parts of East Java, Yogyakarta, Bali and Nusa
Tenggara as the regions most vulnerable to extreme drought, or more than 60 days without rain.
Jakarta, Banten, Sumatra, Kalimantan and South Sulawesi are the second-most prone regions.
Although the dry season will only culminate in August, its impacts have already been felt in many
areas. A number of regional governments have reported scarcity of clean water, declining supply of
irrigation water and potential crop failure. Most recently, health authorities in Pacitan, East Java,
reported an outbreak of Hepatitis A that infected more than 1,000 people as a result, albeit an
indirect one, of drought.
The extraordinary event in Pacitan should teach other regions a lesson on how climate can contribute
to the spread of a virus. Those people were infected after consuming water believed to have been
contaminated with the virus; the river that used to supply their drinking water had run dry.
As the BMKG has forecast that the rainy season will only arrive in October or November, the worst
has not come yet. Food security will be at risk if more rice-producing regions experience crop failure,
and an energy crisis will be imminent if hydropower plants are in short supply of water. The chain
effect of drought will continue in the form of inflation as a result of declining rice production.

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Read also: Drought affects 103,000 ha of rice fields in 100 regencies/cities
Another cause for concern if the dry season persists are land and forest fires, which in the past have
hurt our ties with close neighbors and placed Indonesia on top of the world’s list of carbon emitters.
The forest fire risk has been far reduced thanks to the moratorium on new palm oil plantations, but
danger still lurks as slash and burn practices continue.
Fully aware of the long drought and all its repercussions, the government has prepared a contingency
plan. The Agriculture Ministry, for example, has proposed varieties of food plants that require less
water, and the Forestry and Environment Ministry has ordered rangers to step up patrols to prevent
forest fires.
While the success of the top-down efforts depends much on field operators, disaster mitigation
always requires changes in people’s habits and mindset to perfectly work. Water efficiency and
rainwater catchment, for instance, should become an endless national movement, apart from
environmental protection.
We may survive the dry season, but our failure to preserve water will someday kill us.

Indonesia’s democracy alive, but needs more kick

By: Endy M. Bayuni
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/17/indonesias-democracy-alive-but-
needs-more-kick.html
Saturday’s symbolic reconciliation between incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and
Prabowo Subianto, respectively the winner and loser of the 2019 presidential race, has effectively
sealed the most fiercely contested election the nation has seen.
It is also a testament that Indonesia’s functioning democracy and the presidential and legislative
elections reflect, in some measure, the people’s will in who should represent and lead them for the
next five years.
This says a lot for the world’s fourth most populous nation, especially at a time when democracy is
in retreat almost everywhere, including in some established liberal democracies.
Indonesia’s democracy is not perfect, far from it, but it is wrong to describe it as stagnating or
retreating — the theme of this year’s conference on Indonesia at an Australian university.
There has never been any shortage of naysayers over the last 20 years predicting the collapse of
Indonesia’s democracy, but in making it the theme of the conference, the university has essentially
condemned the country as a failing state on the verge of returning to a dictatorship. And the
conference will no doubt attract like-minded scholars, both Indonesians and non-Indonesians, to
further reinforce this belief.
They couldn’t be more wrong. Indonesia’s democracy is very much alive but yes, it needs a lot more
kick.

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There has been some regression in areas like human rights and guaranteeing basic freedoms, but
please cut us some slack.
Indonesia’s march to democracy that began in 1998 has never been one of steady progression, but
rather a case of two steps forward and one step backward.
There have been some setbacks in recent years for sure, but this year’s election has proven that the
majority of Indonesians still believe in democracy and all the values that come in the package.
Holding the fifth free and fair general election since it ushered democracy in 1998 is quite an
achievement for a country the size of Indonesia.
Billed as the biggest one-day election in the world, the 2019 presidential and legislative elections saw
190 million registered voters, over 800,000 polling stations run by more than 7 million volunteers,
and a voter turnout of more than 80 percent.
Tragically, this year’s election was also marked by the deaths of more than 600 polling station
workers — most of who died of exhaustion. The figure is unusually high, but had nothing to do with
the election violence. Eight people were killed in the May 21-22 election riots in Jakarta after the
electoral commission announced the results, but we have to credit the police with quickly restoring
order and keeping the toll low.
Contrary to what many Indonesianists here and abroad claim, Islam was never a major factor in the
election.
Neither of the presidential candidates used religion in their campaigns, and most political parties
avoided the issue completely. The few Islamist parties that used Islam fared poorly at the polls,
indicating that most Indonesian voters are not interested in religion.
Identity politics certainly played a role, and candidates and parties gained votes here and there by
playing up Islam. But now that the election is over, we can expect less use of identity politics. One
or two groups will likely continue to play it up, but it has little consequence to a nation now eager to
move on to start addressing the real bread-and-butter issues.
Indonesia is not the only democracy struggling with the rise of identity politics, but it has done better
than most — at least, going by the election results.
Indonesia was singled out for criticism because of the Islamic factor, since many continue to believe
or to want to believe that Islam and democracy are incompatible.
For the last 20 years, Indonesia has proven that Islam and democracy are compatible, and the 2019
election has reaffirmed that Indonesia is the world’s largest democracy among Muslim-majority
nations.
Democracy is here to stay, even as the nation becomes more pious and conservative. But don’t take
my word for it: Read “Why religious tolerance won in Indonesia but lost in India — it turns out
pluralistic nationalism isn’t enough” in Foreign Affairs magazine’s July edition.

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Taking a myopic view of Indonesia and comparing it as it was five years ago, as many want to do,
you will certainly see many instances of regression.
But compared to where the nation was 20 years ago and to many other countries in the region and
in the world, including older and more established democracies, Indonesia is not doing too badly.
The 2019 election, with all its imperfections, has given democracy another five-year lease on life. All
the problems it faces, including its failure to protect basic rights, rising intolerance and many other
challenges you can think of, it will deal with and resolve through the democratic process.
Democracy is and will always be a work in progress in Indonesia; it is not a work in regress.

The imbroglio in coal mining

By: Editorial Board, The Jakarta Post
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/07/19/the-imbroglio-in-coal-mining.html

The government’s foot dragging in the enactment of new regulatory guidance for the extension of
coal mining contracts of work (COWs) of the first generation does not bode well, with President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s pledging last Sunday that he would remove all barriers and clobber anyone
who hindered investment.
The long-delay in the issuance of the new regulation has not only caused legal uncertainty but also
threatens six major mining firms in Kalimantan, which together account for almost 40 percent of
national coal production of more than 500 million tons a year.
The House of Representatives’ mining and energy commission last week lambasted the Energy and
Mineral Resources Ministry for allowing such regulatory uncertainty for such an important sector,
which fires about 40 percent of state electricity company PLN’s power generation capacity and has
been one of the country’s largest export commodities.
In fact, one major mining company, Tanito Harum, which held a 31,000-hectare concession, was
forced to close down in May because its COW, which was signed long before the enactment of the
2009 Mining Law, ended early this year, while the new regulatory rule on COW extension, already
more than one year in the drafting, has yet to be signed by the President.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan took the initiative to establish legal certainty
by approving a 20-year extension of Tanito Harum’s COW, based on the old regulation. But Jonan
was forced to humiliate himself by revoking the COW renewal in May after the Corruption
Eradication Commission protested and notified the President in a special note that the COW
extension breached the Mining Law.
It is right and mandatory for the government to amend Government Regulation No. 23/2010, which
has been used as regulatory guidance for COW extensions, because this rule does not fully comply
with the 2009 Mining Law. But allowing such a long delay in the enactment of the new rule has

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caused legal uncertainty because the COWs of six big companies, which together supply 70 percent
of PLN’s coal needs, will end within two years and another COW with an almost 120,000 ha
concession expires in 2025.
The new regulation should be welcomed because it will allow for tighter government control of the
coal industry as it will require the return to the government of all concessions once their COWs end.
Like in the oil sector, the new rule will also give state-owned enterprises (SOEs) the right of first
refusal for relinquished concessions. At present, SOEs account for less than 10 percent of national
coal output as the sector is dominated by private companies, which obtained their COWs long
before the enactment of the 2009 Mining Law. The new rule also sets the maximum size of renewed
concessions at 15,000 ha.
The question then is why the President has not signed the new regulation. Coal mining needs big
investment and the investors or mining firms need more than two years to decide on their future
business.

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