Indonesia Calls On Asean Cooperation To Address Boat People Problem

Jakarta - Indonesia has called on Asean countries to work together to address the problem of boat people, which in the last two months has had Indonesia providing refuge for 391 boat people believed to be Rohingyas from Myanmar.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the boat people landed in groups on islands near Aceh and were given temporary refuge, while some received treatment at the hospitals.

In light of this, he urged their country or countries of origin to address the factors that made these people flee their country in boats to seek asylum in other countries.

"The measures should include putting an end to human rights abuses against minorities, while the boat people must not be physically harmed when on transit in another country or chased out to sea," he told a press conference, here, Friday.

He said the problem of boat people seeking asylum would indeed burden other countries in the Asean grouping.

Hassan said all the Asean countries were bound by the Asean Charter which became effective on Dec 15 last year, and the principles of the charter included upholding international law with respect to human rights, social justice and multilateral trade, besides emphasizing regional cooperation.

Other than urging all the Asean member states to find a solution to the Rohingya refugee problem, Hassan said the Indonesian government was also undertaking other diplomatic measures by increasing cooperation with international organisations like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and International Committee of the Red Cross.

"The Indonesian government is consistently looking at the problem as an international problem, and resolving it should involve the participation of the refugees‘ country of origin, the transit countries and receiving countries," he said.

He added that Indonesia was trying to get the ministerial meeting, known as the Bali Process, to be brought forward to discuss the issue of human trafficking. The meeting has been scheduled for June.

Hassan also announced that US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was scheduled to visit Indonesia from Feb 18 to 19 and meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss improving bilateral relations.

Clinton‘s first official visit to the region will also include Japan, South Korea and China.

Source: Bernama.com

Malay Language Classes Launched

Karachi - The Consulate General of Malaysia, in collaboration with the National Youth Council of Pakistan (NYCOP), launched “Basic Malay Language Classes” at the National Bank of Pakistan Staff College on Friday.

Speaking as chief guest on the occasion, Sindh Information Minister Shazia Mari said that the present government was keen to bring countries and nations together, and promote regional understanding.

“Pakistan thoroughly appreciates the way Malaysia has progressed and has met its economic goals over the past decades,” she said. “Pakistan will continue to understand the culture of Malaysia and expects the same from Malaysia as well since Pakistan also possess a rich culture and heritage that needs to be shared with other countries.”

Malaysian Consul General Muhammad Khalid Abdul Razak said that learning a foreign language was a key element of cross culture communication. He quoted a popular saying in Malaysia — “Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa” (Language is the soul or spirit of a nation) and “Hilang Bahasa Lenyaplah Bangsa” (Lose the language, lose the nation). “It is beneficial for students to become bilingual or multilingual and learning a foreign language can be a very rewarding experience,” he said.

NYCOP Central President Shuja Ullah Khan also spoke.

Source: TheNews.com.pk

Local Cartographers Finally Put Indonesia On The World Map

Jakarta, Indonesia - After more than 70 years of relying on Dutch cartographers, Indonesia on Thursday finally issued its first official national atlas based on its own research.

Published by the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping, or Bakosurtanal, and titled the National Atlas of Indonesia, or Atlas Nasional Indonesia, the atlas took about two years to compile and received input from several ministries and prominent state universities, said Rudolf W. Matindas, the agency`s head.

The atlas cost Rp 2 billion ($122,000) to produce.

“Yes, we took our time getting it out, hence the name `At Last,`?” Kusmayanto Kadiman, State Minister for Research and Technology, said.

Rudolf said that Indonesia had never published its own state map before. Instead, he said the nation had relied on maps made by the Dutch in 1938. He said the Dutch maps had never been revised. He said the maps currently in use were drawn from the Dutch maps with amendments make by foreign experts.

He said that the agency had planned to come out with a new atlas before but that changes had taken place so rapidly that the work had to be continually revised and updated.

Rudolf said that research included a study of Indonesian borders with neighboring countries, which he said had been delineated in compliance with international laws so that they would not give rise to border disputes.

“This is our first edition, the second and the third will follow in the near future, each with a different focus,” he said.

The atlas is a compilation of thematic maps, images, narration, and factual information relating to Indonesia and its natural resources.

The atlas is almost the size of a broadsheet newspaper and has 160 pages.

The agency will distribute the first 800 copies to government ministries, while a number will go to the private sector.

The 1:250,000-scale map is also available on CD, while a digital version will soon be available over the Internet, Kusmayanto said.

The first atlas has information on climate, geology, volcanoes, the coast, geomorphology, disaster-prone areas, land cover, wetlands and conservation.

The second edition, scheduled to come out in 2011, will focus on the nation`s resources. While the third, planned for 2013, will have information on history, ethnic groups, languages and culture.

Dorojatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said during the launch that knowledge of geography was essential when discussing geostrategies, geopolitics and geo-economics.

“A natural resources map is fine. But we need to also have maps on human resources and man-made resources,” he said.

Kusmayanto said that detailed maps, if accompanied with additional information, help a government to more fully exploit its country`s natural resources.

However, he said many Indonesians were poor map readers.

He said the agency should therefore work with the Ministry of National Education to introduce the map to educational institutions.

“They should introduce it to our students at schools,” he said.

“The current form is probably too hard for students, we will think of ways to make it more intelligible for them.”

Source: TheJakartaGlobe.com

Bali`s Ancient History At 10 Cents A Brick

Gianyar, Bali - A second stone sarcophagus was found Saturday just 7 meters from an earlier sarcophagus discovered less than three weeks ago at a Keramas brickmaking site.

This second sarcophagus has led some archeologists to suggest the site may once have been the burial ground of ancient chieftains. A human skull and leg bones were also discovered, and may form part of a chieftain`s burial retinue.

The small egg-shaped sarcophagus found Saturday by brickmaker Muksin Riadi may be the coffin of a child. The stone coffin is believed to be between 2,000 and 2,500 years old.

Ironically, the head of the Bali Archeology Agency, Wayan Suantika, says this latest find increases his agency`s belief that the Keramas site is of low archeological significance.

"The site at this stage is not considered of high significance. We have only uncovered two sarcophagi to date and there is little material, such as prehistoric pottery and ceramics, when compared to sites such as Gilimanuk. There we see meter-thick strata of pottery," Suantika says.

The two sarcophagi were unearthed by brickmakers within 20 days of each other.

Suantika adds there is at this stage little evidence of long-term habitation at the site, known in ancient times as Abang, according to local villagers.

"People may have settled here for only a short time and then moved on," Suantika says.

However, without funded research, how long the area was used by ancient peoples remains unknown.

The ground is littered with prehistoric pottery, 11th-century Song Dynasty ceramic shards and later shards from the Ming Dynasty.

Some archeologists suggest these shards represent more than 35 centuries of human activity.

The pottery and ceramics are unearthed daily by brickmakers at Keramas, broken by hoes used to carve out clay. Song Dynasty bowls sell today for between US$5,000 and $10,000. Bricks sell for 10 cents.

Hundreds of simple stone sarcophagi have been unearthed across Bali, and only a handful bear intricate carvings - it is the sheer volume of unadorned sarcophagi that render them of low significance.

That viewpoint and lack of funding may be to blame for the shattering of the earlier sarcophagus at the Keramas site, which, while slightly damaged on discovery, was all but destroyed during removal and transportation.

Transporters attempted to open the sarcophagus with an iron crowbar, causing the sarcophagus to shatter into several pieces. Due to the workers` lack of archeological knowledge, the site was not examined for bones or other artifacts that may have given a clue as to how the ancient ruler lived and died. A skull and leg bones were unearthed a few days later by a brickmaker and set aside in a bucket for safety.

Substantially more care was taken the second time around, with archeologists from a conservation team excavating the new sarcophagus site almost grain by grain to safely extract the intact coffin.

Ngurah, from the Bali Conservation Museum, explains that the earlier sarcophagus was removed by local people without training in handling priceless artifacts. He blames a shortage of funding for the way the earlier sarcophagus had been removed to the conservation museum.

"The first sarcophagus was removed by local people. Now we have taken over the site to safely remove this second sarcophagus," he says.

The Bali Antiquities Museum, headed by I Made Suantra, has more than 200 staff across Bali and the East Nusa Tenggara.

Udayana University archeologist Agung Rochtri disagrees with Suantika`s take on the significance of the Keramas site, pointing to the volume of pottery and ceramics potentially dating across more than 3500 years.

"I feel the pottery and ceramics are good evidence of long-term human habitation at this site. From the quantity and quality of pottery here, I believe this is a quality archeological site. There is a greater volume of pottery and ceramics at the Gilimanuk site; however, that site has fewer sarcophagi than here," Rochtri says.

"I certainly believe the site should be protected and research undertaken. From the placement of this graveyard on high ground I believe this was an important burial site. Heads of villages were buried on high ground so this gives us an indication of their role."

He adds it is most likely the sarcophagi were buried at the Keramas site.

Other archeologists have suggested the sarcophagi may have been washed to the site during landslides, further adding to the site`s low-significance status.

"Looking at the terrain here, I feel this is the original burial site," Rochtri says.

Discussing the discovery of the skull and bones, Rochtri is adamant.

"This is not right. Everything found on the site needs to be documented and protected," he says, stressing the urgent need for the Keramas site to be secured for archeological investigation.

However, Rochtri`s hands are tied through a lack of funding, as are those of the Bali Archeology Agency.

"Udayana University has no government funding for research. If funding comes up, it will be too late," he says.

Without research, no one will ever know how old these sarcophagi are, how large the ancient village was and for how many centuries people lived and worked in this area. This knowledge will instead be baked into bricks sold at 10 cents apiece.

Source: TheJakartaPost.com

Balinese Authors Get Rancage Literary Awards

Denpasar, Bali -Veteran Balinese literary figures Nyoman Tusthi Eddy and Nengah Tinggen have been presented with the 2009 Rancage Literary Awards for their great contributions in preserving and developing literary works written in the Balinese language.

Initiated by veteran writer Ajip Rosidi, the Rancage awards was first given to writers, poets and novelists who produced literary pieces in the Sundanese language. From l997, the awards were extended to include individuals who produced literary works in their mother languages, including Javanese and Balinese.

Nyoman Tusthi Eddy accepted the award for his extraordinary poetry anthology Somah (Husband and Wife).

In the Javanese language category, the awards went to Atas S. Danusubroto for his work Trah, and also to Sunarko Budiman.

The award for the Sundanese language category went to Etty R.S. with her work Serat Paninengan (The Letter of Memory).

"We have been giving the awards to prominent figures in the national literary scene, and I was so grateful that we have abundant media coverage," Rosidi said during the recent ceremony.

However, he expressed disappointed with the lack of attention from both central and regional governments in keeping local languages alive.

"Local literature is not regarded as promising business for many publishing companies," said Rosidi, chairman of the Rancage Foundation. For the Balinese literary world, the awards mean great appreciation of local wisdom.

Darma Putra, one of the jurors, said the development of Balinese literature was quite promising now in terms of quality and quantity.

"We are going through a slight improvement. In previous years, there were only a few books written in the Balinese language," he said, adding that in 2007, there were only four books published, increasing to nine in 2008.

Award winner Tusthi Eddy is a writer and a teacher living in Karang Asem regency in eastern Bali. In his prizewinning anthology Somah, Eddy picks up different themes outside the mainstream local ones of culture and nature. He writes about various topics, including shops, markets, telephones, movie stars, hospitals and other trivial things rarely exposed in mainstream Balinese literature.

"These subjects have become a strong magnet in his work. All of the topics are daily activities transforming the old and sophisticated Balinese literature into a more down-to-earth and easy-to read pieces," Darma Putra explained.

The other award winner, Nengah Tinggen, has been meticulously arranging a book on Balinese letters since l971. He has published around 40 titles on Balinese language and literature. Tinggen‘s works are now used at schools and universities. He lectures at the Teacher‘s College and at the Hindu Institute in Singaraja, northern Bali.

Both Tusthi and Tinggen are considered pioneers in the Balinese literary map. They have encouraged younger artists to follow their paths.

"It is encouraging to know that a lot of women writers from Bali have actively produced literary pieces with different perspectives," Darma Putra said. - JP/Luh De Suriyani

Source: TheJakartaPost.com

Learning About Indonesia Miles Away From Home

Sabah - Indonesian primary school students in Sabah, Malaysia, can now sing their national anthem, “Indonesia Raya,” before class.

“This is our way of introducing Indonesia as a beloved mother country to these children,” said Dadang Hermawan, principal of Kota Kinabalu Indonesian School, or SIKK, in Sabah on Borneo Island.

These students are the children of Indonesian migrant workers who moved to Malaysia to work on oil palm plantations and in households as domestic staff.

Around 80 percent of the students at SIKK were born in Sabah, and many have little knowledge of the land of their parents.

These children are more fortunate than others. Thousands of children of migrant workers, some from the Philippines, have no access to education, which is free for local Malaysian children and Indonesian children back home.

According to the Indonesian Consulate in Kota Kinabalu, there were 24,199 children of migrant workers in Sabah in 2006 and that number is expected to grow.

“It is not true that children of migrant workers cannot study at Malaysian schools,” said Imran Hanafi, the education attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. “They cannot study in public schools because of subsidy issues. Foreign children should study in international or private schools. The problem is that their parents are low-income earners and cannot afford those schools.”

Malaysian immigration regulations prohibit foreign workers from bringing their spouses and children to the country. They are also prohibited from marrying in Malaysia, according to Imran.
However, some employers of migrant workers turn a blind eye to workers who do bring their families with them.

“When employers allow workers to have their families by their sides, they show better job loyalty,” said Umbara Setiawan, a counselor at the Indonesian Consulate.

“Spouses and children can also work to increase family income. Children who do not go to school can work on the plantations, increasing income and making use of available time,” Umbara said.

White-collar expatriates, however, are allowed to marry and bring their families to Malaysia.

Syaheddrul Joddarim, the human resources manager of the Sabah Land Development Board, said: “We have male and female workers, and while we always prohibit them from marrying, we cannot prohibit love. Illegal marriages occur all the time on plantations, and people have children here,” he said.

Seeing other workers married with children in Malaysia encourages workers to start new families in Sabah, Syaheddrul said.

The Indonesian and Malaysian governments and Humana, a European-based nongovernmental organization, have provided informal schooling for the children of migrant workers for years.

In December 2008, the Indonesian government furthered that effort by establishing SIKK for Indonesian children, where 274 children are now schooled.

According to the consulate, there are 576 children who want to study at SIKK, but after evaluation and selection, only 274 were found eligible to enrol.

Children aged 11 or older who cannot read are ineligible for attending the school. “Unfortunately, we cannot accept them,” Dadang said.

Children of migrant workers are taught to read, write and count, although there are no class levels. The Malaysian government asks plantation owners to provide an informal school building for the children.

Indonesia has sent 109 teachers to work in Malaysia since 2007.

SIKK has six classrooms in the Alam Mesra shopping complex at Kota Kinabalu and has a capacity of 326 students. There are only three teachers currently and the principal, who also teaches. “In the near future, four additional teachers will come here from Indonesia,” Dadang said.

All SIKK students are provided with red and white uniforms and school books.

“They are very enthusiastic. They leave their homes at five in the morning to get here by six, even though class starts at seven,” Dadan g said.

Edijatmiko from Malang, East Java Province, is pleased that his children can attend the informal school in Kota Kinabalu.

Nabila, a grade one SIKK student, said: “My friends are happy with the red and white uniform, because it is the uniform of Indonesian schools.

“I also know the Indonesia Raya and Garuda Pancasila [nationalist] songs now.”

Source: TheJakartaGlobe.com

Bali Archeologists Discover Another Sarcophagus

Denpasar - The Bali Archeology Agency has discovered another sarcophagus when evacuating a stone coffin found in Subak Abang, Keramas village, Gianyar regency.

"The third sarchophagus found this year is located in the same location of the sarchophagus found on February 1, and predicted to be 2,500 to 3,000 years old," chief of the agency Wayan Suantika said here on Wednesday.

On January 12, a similar object was discovered seven km north of the site of the recent discovery. The latest find is the third sarcophagus in 2009, and the 13th since 1978.

The tens of sarcophagus found in Keramas were estimated to be 2,500 to 3,000 years old. Keramas was a village in Bali, Suantika said.

Source: Antara.co.id