Archive for May 14th, 2007
The customs and excise service has ordered the temporary halting of operations by more than 20 small-scale cigarette manufacturers in Malang, East Java, for allegedly violating excise regulations.
The closure of the companies will not only hurt their businesses but also their workers, who are estimated to number more than 15,000, the owner of one of the firms said.
“If these tobacco factories are closed, about 15,000 workers will lose their job,” said Ali Djafar, owner of the Adi Bungsu Tobacco Company, one of the 20 companies whose operations were halted, as quoted by the Detikfinance news portal Friday.
Ali said that he was baffled as to why his company had been shut by the authorities as no explanations had been forthcoming.
A copy of the closure order given to Ali states that the companies’ operations were being put on ice due to violations of the regulations. It did not specify what these were.
Ali said he suspected that the violation in question was connected with the use of the wrong type of excise stickers — an offense he claimed only merited a fine.
“Closing our operations means they are killing us,” he said.
Apart from Adi’s firm, other tobacco companies whose operations were halted included Djagung, BMW Tobacco Company, AKAs and Sangkar Mas.
Ali said he hoped the authorities would reconsider their decision as the livelihoods of a great many workers were closely intertwined with the clove cigarette firms.
Also on Friday, Ali went to the Malang city council to complain about the action of the customs service. A council member, Syaiful Rusdai, told reporters afterwards that he agreed the suspension of operations could lead to massive layoffs.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Cigarette Producers Union (GAPPRI) chairman Ismanu Soemiran told The Jakarta Post that he had still not been informed as to the reasons for the closure move by the authorities.
However, he said that he appreciated the government’s efforts to uphold the law.
“If the authorities did find violations, then this would benefit the industry as a whole as we are all suffering from illegal tobacco sales,” he said.
However, Ismanu pointed out that the likelihood was that the companies had misunderstood the regulations, given that they were only small-time players and the regulations were frequently amended.
“I would like to see the government adopting a more holistic approach, meaning that there should be more training and education. A violation can take place in the absence of intent,” he said.
May 14th, 2007
The National Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Team (BPLS) has announced plans to try a new — and expensive — method to stop the mud that has been gushing from a gas exploration well in East Java for the past year.
The BPLS hopes that by using the inverted pressure produced by the mud that is already above ground it will be able to plug the well.
It will start by constructing “double cover” dams that would contain the mud until it reaches a sufficient volume to serve as a counterweight to the mud coming from the well.
Chairman of the BPLS supervisory board and Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said the method would probably significantly reduce the volume of the mud flowing out of the gas well in Porong, Sidoarjo.
“We expect that at certain point in time the height of the outflowing mud will level with that of the amassing mud and that’s when the volume will be reduced significantly,” Djoko told reporters after presenting the plan to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday.
Also present in the meeting were members of the BPLS supervisory board, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, East Java Governor Imam Utomo and Coordinating Minister for the People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie.
The government is expected to hire Japanese engineering firm Katahira Engineering to carry out the project, which will cost the government an estimated Rp 600 billion (US$66 million).
The Japanese firm says it successfully carried out a similar project in the Philippines.
Djoko said that a feasibility study for project would kick off next week.
Djoko also quoted Yudhoyono as saying that geological experts needed to be consulted before the project went ahead.
Under the government regulation forming the BPLS, Lapindo is responsible for paying for efforts to stem the mudflow while the government will pay for all expenses relating to infrastructure.
A similar proposal was tabled by an engineer from the Surabaya-based November 10 Institute of Technology, Jaja Laksana.
The proposal, applying the Bernoulli theory, was presented to the now-defunct National Team for the Lapindo Mudflow, but was met with skepticism.
The national team attempted to plug the exploratory gas well by dropping high-density chained balls into the well in an attempt to curb the pressure from below.
The effort, which cost up to Rp 4 billion, yielded little result aside from a brief respite in March that could not be attributed to the dropping of the chained balls.
A professor from Kyoto University in Japan, James Mori, who oversees the university’s disaster prevention research institute, said during a seminar on the issue that there was no technology available to properly curb a mudflow.
More than 13,000 families have been displaced by the hot mud, which has been gushing since May 2006.
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
May 14th, 2007
The government will make eight of the 50 national parks in the country autonomous by 2009 in a bid to save Rp 32 billion (US$3.5 million) in state spending, said a forestry official in Malang, East Java.
The move means the parks will no longer receive operational funds of up to Rp 4 billion each year, said director of the forest conservation at the Directorate General of Nature Conservation and Forest Protection (PHKA), Banjar Yulianto Laban.
On the surface, the changes do not seem to favor the parks or their overall management and upkeep, however, Banjar said it was a positive move.
“Other than saving state funds, (this move means) the operators of (newly-autonomous) national parks will eventually be able (to manage their funds independently),” he said.
“They (will be able to grow) their (own) earnings and gain profits of up to three-fold.”
The eight national parks to undergo said management change include Komodo (East Nusa Tenggara), Bunaken (North Sulawesi), Bromo Tengger Semeru (East Java), Gede Pangrango (West Java), Mount Leuser (North Sumatra), West Bali (Bali), Meru Betiri (East Java) and Wasur (Papua).
Today, 60 percent of Rp 4 billion is used for security purposes for these national parks, while 40 percent is used to maintain infrastructure and facilities.
“If they manage their own finances, I estimate they will be able to increase profits three (fold) — and this will amount to around Rp 12 billion annually,” said Banjar.
In a bid to realize the plan and as part of the restructure process, 21 of the 50 national parks in the country will become model national parks.
Autonomous national park operators will maintain existing procedures, including public accountability, self-financing and sustainable forest management.
They will independently handle government non-tax revenue and every legitimate income stream so the parks can be managed in a sustainable, effective and efficient manner.
“I’m assured activities that could harm the ecosystem inside the national parks will not become practice.
“Because, under autonomous management, the only losing party will the be management teams when they eventually suffer declining profits,” said Banjar.
It’s essential park staff work together to ensure the parks are managed professionally, Banjar said.
Funds the government will accumulate as a result of these changes may later be used to upgrade park accessibility, he said.
A study conducted by Hendra Gunawan from the Nature Conservation and Forest Protection Research Center indicates only 32 percent of the 50 national parks in the country have vehicle access up to their offices or gateways.
Hendra said visitors were less eager to visit national parks due to limited access and the long journey required to each park.
“It’s a 10-hour round-trip from the provincial capital or nearest airport to get to most of the national parks in Indonesia,” he said.
“Those located outside Java can only be reached by air or water, proceeded by hours and hours overland.”
Banjar said it was a considerable disadvantage for foreign tourists eager to spend their time in tropical forests — of which Indonesia boasts the most worldwide.
“It would not cost a great deal should the government want to build facilities, including airports, near the Komodo National Park, which could accommodate flights directly from Australia or Jakarta,” he said.
“And tourists can fly directly to Sulawesi from there.
“At the moment visitors who wish to visit the Komodo National Park have to go through Bali and resume their journey by sea to the location.
Those who want to go to Sulawesi have to return to Surabaya or Jakarta first, which I think will be too taxing.”
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Malang
May 14th, 2007