Global Voices » Carolina Rumuat

Indonesia: Lady Gaga's Concert Permit Denied

Carolina Rumuat — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:33:01 +0000

After being pressured by conservative politicians and hardline groups, which branded Lady Gaga as a devil worshiper, the Indonesian police announced that it won't issue a permit to the highly anticipated Lady Gaga concert in Jakarta, leaving over 50,000 fans disappointed.

@HeyPotterhead: Lady Gaga's concert better not be cancelled. I did NOT fell in line for 8 hours for nothing! Stupid FPI #IndonesiaSavesGaga #BTWBallGBK

FPI or the Islamic Defenders Front is an influential religious group which often campaigns against ‘anti-Islamic' activities and ideas. In this particular case, Lady Gaga was accused of corrupting the morality of young Indonesians.

One of the promotional merchandise items of the Lady Gaga concert. From the twitpic page of @youngdancers

Lady Gaga fans, who were called ‘little monsters', have criticized the government's decision:

@ginaignasia: Apa hak nya. Gue yang nabung&cari calo susah2, nyekal2 seenaknya. #IndonesiaSavesGaga #GagaIsAmazing #monsterpower #BurnFPIdown

@ginaignasia: What right do they have. I'm the one who have been saving up; looking hard for scalpers, then you suddenly ban the concert.

@akibaryou: Save Mother Monster! Save the freedom of expression! The cancellation is proof of how our country has lost its priority.#IndonesiaSavesGaga!

@Ray_owl: FPI is embarrassing Indonesia internationally! #IndonesiaSavesGaga RT @lanaaisya: FPI is being a hypocrite. #saveladygaga

@NickyYuventius: Yang bikin gue bingung adalah polisi yg beralasan gaga itu porno. APA KABAR KONSER DANGDUT? PREEEET!

@NickyYuventius: What I found odd was the police giving an excuse saying that Gaga (act) is pornographic. What about dangdut concerts?

Dangdut, an Indian influenced folk music, is very popular in Indonesia. The dance moves of Dangdut performers are oftentimes sexy and erotic.

Meanwhile, the Christian Indonesian Church Council (PGI) supported the concert arguing that it's a part of the country's freedom of expression.

Not all politicians found Lady Gaga's performance racy. Lawmaker Ahmad Basarah, who is a Muslim, told newspaper The Jakarta Globe that the national police should be fair when it comes to protecting the nation's values, whether it's against liberal-capitalistic ideas or Middle Eastern ideologies.

Here are more reactions on Twitter:

@danielvk: Religious mafia manipulates democracy & freedom to rob the freedom of others. Don't tolerate intolerance! #saynotohate #indonesiasavesgaga

@DanielZiv: It's not a matter of #IndonesiaSavesGaga, it's more like whether Gaga can save Indonesia.And really, Indonesia needs to save itself from this extremist nonsense, Gaga or no Gaga.

Fuel Price Protests in Several Indonesian Cities

Carolina Rumuat — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:28:45 +0000

Several Indonesian cities were rocked by protests against petrol price hikes in the past few weeks. According to local media reports [id], violence marred some of the protests which resulted in injuries.

Initially, the Indonesian government was planning to raise the petrol price on April 1. There was no official statement about the adjusted petrol price. Currently the subsidized petrol known locally as Premium is sold at IDR 4,500 (USD 0.50) per liter. Without the state subsidy, Premium could cost around IDR 8,400 (USD 0.92) per liter.

Protesters near Parliament Building. Photo from Flickr page of Djembar Lembasono used under CC License

Gianrigo Marletta, a Jakarta-based video journalist posted the following video on YouTube.

The protests last month and the active military presence [id] in the cities to secure the protests somehow refreshed memories of the nation's past experience with fuel riots. Back in 1998, the country descended into chaos following the government's plan to increase the fuel price. Chinese-Indonesian shop houses were torched by furious mobs, somewomen were raped, student protesters were kidnapped and gunned down, and in the end, Indonesia's longest running president Suharto was forced to resign.

On his timeline, Twitter user @cuapolitik said that it's about time to increase the fuel price. He reasons:

3. Jk BBM tak naik, subsidi untuk solar premium th 2012 ini bs melonjak dari Rp123,6 T menjadi Rp191,1 T. #BBM
4. Pdhl, subsidi itu akan lbh brmanfaat kl dipake utk infrastruktur atau tuk peningkatan pendidikan n ksehatan. Lbh terasa utk rakyat. #BBM
5. Msyrakat yg krang mampu akan menikmati manfaat jk BBM subsidi naik. Sebab, msyrkat kurang mampu bukan konsumen BBM yang terbesar. #BBM
6. Harga jual bbm subsidi yg terlalu rendah dibanding di LN mendorong penyelundupan penyelewengan. Yg untung ya para penyelundup. #BBM
7. Krn subsidi, harga jual bbm subsidi di dlm negeri jauh lebih murah daripada harga barang yang serupa di negara2 tetangga. #BBM
8. Itu sebabnya, para penyelundup justru menikmati perbedaan harga ini, hingga merugikan keuangan negara dan kita semua #BBM
11. Slama ini org2 bilang pmrntah hanya ambil kbjakan menaikkan #BBM subsidi. Salah. Ada kbjakan lain utk atasi defisit. #BBM
17. Kbjakan subsidi ini adlh kbjakan dr masa lampau. Dl bs subsidi, krn kt eksportir. Tp skrg kt importir, n sdh keluar dr OPEC #BBM
18. Slain itu, dl knsumsi BBM kt rendah, jauh brbeda dgn skrg. Karenanya kbjakan subsidi hrs diubah perlahan. #BBM

If we don't raise fuel (prices), the subsidy for the diesel fuel and premium in 2012 will jump from IDR 123.6T to IDR 191.1T.
In fact, it would be better to allocate the subsidy (budget) for infrastructure, education, and health (improvements). The people would benefit more from them.
The least fortunate people will benefit more from the fuel price hike, because they're not the biggest fuel consumers.
The price of subsidized fuel is way too low compared to prices abroad, this triggers smuggling and misuse. Smugglers are the ones who benefit more from this.
Since they're being subsidized, the fuel prices in this country are far cheaper compared to the similar items in neighboring countries.
Therefore, smugglers are enjoying the price differences, they hurt our economy and all of us.
All these times people said that the government created a policy to raise fuel prices. That's wrong, it's a policy to control deficit.
The fuel subsidy is a policy from a by-gone era. At that time, we can have subsidy because we're an (oil) exporting country. Now we're an (oil) importing country, and we're no longer an OPEC member.
Furtheremore, back then our fuel consumptions were low, way different to what we are experiencing today. Hence, the subsidy policy has to change gradually.

Blogger Sony Haryo Prabowo wrote a post on his blog, saying that demonstrators in Makassar, Sulawesi, have wrongly targeted fuel resellers:

sekian banyak SPBU di Indonesia, Pertamina hanya memiliki 74 di antaranya (sumber: Pertamina Retail). Ribuan lainnya dimiliki oleh dealer (swasta). Dengan demikian, perbuatan para pendemo yang merusak SPBU telah membuat hilangnya lahan mencari nafkah bagi seorang wiraswasta, bahkan mereka juga menghilangkan lapangan kerja andai SPBU tersebut benar-benar berhenti beroperasi.

From numerous petrol stations in Indonesia (baring its name), Pertamina owns only 74 among them (source: Pertamina Retail). Thousands others are owned and managed by private owners. Therefore what the protesters have done by destroying petrol stations are forcing business owners to lose their daily bread, and terminate jobs for the employees if the stations stop to operate altogether.

Sony concluded:

Demo yang mereka lakukan juga menutup jalan, merusak kendaraan pribadi, bahkan kendaraan pengangkut minuman ringan ternama yang mungkin seringkali mereka minum. Saya ingin mengajak para pembaca berdiskusi dan merenung. Dalam demokrasi, demonstrasi memang boleh dilakukan, bahkan harus. Namun, harus selalu diingat bahwa demonstrasi harus dilakukan dengan dasar yang benar dan dengan akal sehat. Demonstrasi yang terjadi di Makasar ini membuktikan ada sebagian mahasiswa di Indonesia ini tidak menggunakan akal sehat dalam berpikir. Mereka hanya ingin melampiaskan apa yang mereka inginkantanpa berpikir apa kerugian yang mereka sebabkan. Bahkan lucunya lagi mereka melakukan demo seakan-akan tahu masalah yang mereka hadapi.

The protesters also blocked the streets, trashed private cars, even hijacked a known softdrink truck. I invite my readers to discuss and reflect. In democracy, demonstration may take place. However, we should start the protest with good base and reasoning. The protest in Makassar proves that some of the students in Indonesia don't use common sense. They only do what they want to do without reflecting on the loss they could cause. More ridiculously, they seemed to protest without understanding the real issue.

Twitter users have maximized the microblogging site to report clashes between the police and students in Jakarta. They also debated if the price increase is appropriate.

@ikovoz: Issue korban meninggal di bentrok salemba itu hoax. skg di RSCM 3 org mahasiswa dan 1 satpam yg msh dirawat

@ikovoz: The rumor about one died during the Salemba clash was a hoax. Now 3 students and 1 security guard are being treated in RSCM (Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital).

@LBH_Jakarta: Polisi melakukan sweaping ke LBH,47 ditangkap paksa.6 ditangkap di samping LBH.Total 52 org dibawa paksa ke Polda.

@LBH_Jakarta: Police was doing a security sweeping at the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), 47 students arrested by force. 6 arrested near LBH. Total of 52 students taken to the district police.

@komar_hidayat: Terlepas harga BBM naik atau tdk, apakah ada tanda2 nasib rakyat akan membaik?Terbuka lapangan kerja baru?

@komar_hidayat: Aside from the rising petrol price, is there any sign that says the people's life is improving? New jobs are available?

@BankDunia: 40% penerima manfaat langsung subsidi #BBM bagi rumahtangga adalah 10% rumahtangga terkaya

@BankDunia: 40% of those who benefit from the subsidy scheme are households, 10% of them are the well off households

Should Indonesia Ban Hard-Line Islamic Groups?

Carolina Rumuat — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 16:30:09 +0000

The Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI), a hard-line Islamic group in Indonesia, was recently in the news after Dayak tribespeople in Central Kalimantan chased away the group's delegates who flew in from Jakarta to inaugurate the establishment of its local chapter.

Shortly thereafter, the Central Kalimantan administration informed the Indonesian president, Parliament's chairman, ministers, and the chief of National Police of its opposition to FPI presence in the province and asserted that FPI's methods aren't aligned with the Dayak's (indigenous Kalimantan ethnic group's) way of life.

The FPI is accused in the past of using intimidation and brutal acts to attack religious minorities as well as raiding bars and pubs operating during the fasting month.

Digital art by blogger Hasyim Soska which reads "I support Without FPI movement. It's time for Indonesia to speak up."

The Dayaks have inspired other Indonesians to speak up their minds about FPI. There are even proposals to disband the FPI and other similar groups. Hashtags such as #IndonesiaTanpaFPI (Indonesia without FPI), #indonesiaamantanpafpi (Indonesia's safe without FPI) and #bubarkanfpi (disband FPI) were flooded by comments from Indonesian netizens.

@goodXgars: Sesungguhnya surga itu diperuntukkan bagi orang baik dan beriman, bukan bagi yg paling lantang meneriakkan nama Tuhan. #bubarkanFPI

@goodXgars: Truly, heaven is reserved for the good and faithful, not those who yell God's name out loud. #bubarkanFPI

@IwanKamah: Ikut #IndonesiaTanpaFPI, pasti org itu tak suka kekerasan krn track record FPI buruk. #IndonesiaTanpa JIL pasti org kolot tak suka debat..

@IwanKamah: Joining #IndonesiaTanpaFPI means that the person hates violence because FPI has bad track record. (Those who join) #IndonesiaTanpa JIL must be an old fashioned person who dislike being argued..

@absolutia: semoga kampanya hari ini tdk ada aksi2 “dadakan” rampas poster, gebuk protester, seperti yg dilakukan antek FPI2 saat #IndonesiaTanpaFPI :)

@absolutia: Hopefully there won't be any surprise incidents such as poster grabbing or protestor being hit like what the FPI sympathizers did during the IndonesiaTanpaFPI (protest).

@rarawilis: Liat demonya FPI, gak mutu, blgnya demo damai, tp kok nolak demokrasi?#IndonesiatanpaFPI

@rarawilis: Observing FPI's protest, lame, claiming it's a peaceful protest against democracy.

Radio personality and blogger Panji Pragiwaksono wrote about the demand for FPI to be disbanded. Panji lists some arguments against the disbandment of the FPI:

1) Karena pembubaran FPI hanya akan membuat mereka muncul kembali dgn nama yg baru
2) Karena negara membebaskan siapapun untuk berkumpul dan berserikat. Menghalangi itu, hanya akan berdampak buruk kpd diri kita sendiri
3) Kalau FPI melakukan kegiatan2 yg melanggar hukum, ya pelakunya yg ditindak. Sama aja seperti misalnya POLRI ada yg melanggar hukum, ya pelakunya yg ditindak. Bukan POLRInya yg dibubarkan

1. By disbanding them, FPI will only resurface under a new name.
2. The state allows gatherings and form a union. Disallowing them to do that will only bring bad impact among ourselves.
3. If FPI did things that violate the laws, then punish the culprit. Just like when a police officer violates a law, then we will have take action against the person, not disband the national police.

On his talk show, Panji invited FPI official Habib Selon who claimed that FPI acts as a shield for the people, and only “attack” immoral places when the police refuse to do anything to improve those places. Responding to Panji's question on why FPI was founded by army generals (one of them is General Wiranto who will run for the 2014 presidency) Selon said:

“Jendral jendral itu adalah pendukung Islam. Boleh boleh saja mereka mendukung Islam. Semua orang Islam pasti mendukung FPI”

Saya memotong dan berkata “Tidak semua lho Bib. Saya aja tidak mendukung FPI..”
Dia menyahut “Mereka yang ga stuju FPI, bukan org Islam!”
I got that on air. On tape.

“Those generals are supporters of Islam. It's okay that they support Islam. All Muslims surely support FPI.”

I interrupted and said “Well, not all. I don't support FPI.” He responded, “Those who disagree with FPI, are not Muslims!”

I got that on air. On tape.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) told the Jakarta Post that Indonesians should ask how organizations like FPI got the permit to speak in behalf of Islam.

An anonymous blogger known as Jakarta Commuter said that Indonesia still needs FPI. He elaborates:

Jujur, saya lebih memilih FPI untuk tetap ada. Mereka yang berani kontrol bung.. Tapi anarkis harus dibuang jauh-jauh. Tindak pelaku, bukan organisasinya.

FPI juga jangan membela anggota-nya yang memang salah dan memanfaatkan atribut organisasi untuk melakukan tindakan anarki maupun premanisme.

Gerakan anti FPI hanya merupakan tunggakan liberalis yang pro terhadap kebobrokan moral. Mengatakan kebebasan sebagai hak asasi, tapi menjatuhkan martabat budaya timur. Sok kebarat-baratan, tapi tidak mengetahui apa yang harus dibela.

To be honest, I prefer FPI to stay. They're brave enough to control (situations). But anarchy needs to be put away. Punish the culprit, not the organization. FPI should not defend its gulity members who are guilty (of violating the laws) and use the organization's symbols to condone anarchism or thuggery. The anti FPI movement is no more than steed for the liberals who are pro with moral dilapidation. Claiming freedom is human rights but indignify the Eastern values. Pretending to be westernized, but having no idea of what (or who) to fend.

On his blog post, Panji points out the poor confide in groups like FPI which provide what they need like health assistance, micro lendings, education — assistance that the government has failed to deliver.

Pemerintah lalai dalam membantu mereka, masyarakat kelas menengah dgn starbucks di tangan kanan dan iphone di tangan kiri tidak peduli kepada masyarakat sekitar.

The government fails to help them (the poor), while the middle upper class with Starbucks on their right hands and iPhone on their left ones don't care about the people around them.

He added:

[…] Di satu sisi apa yang mereka lakukan adalah baik.

Di sisi lain, mereka memanfaatkan rakyat yg mereka beli untuk jadi basis massa yang kelak mereka manfaatkan untuk kepentingan kepentingan pribadi

Ketidak pedulian kelas menengah kepada sekitarnya, telah berbalik dalam wujud yang lebih membuat resah.

[…] On one side, what they did was good.

On the other side, they use the people's trust that they bought and turn it into their mass support which one day they could use for their personal interest.

The upper middle class' ignorance has turned into anxiety.

In conclusion, Panji said that disbanding FPI is not a solution:

Solusi yang benar, adalah dengan mulai peduli kepada sesama rakyat Indonesia yg membutuhkan

The right solution is to start caring our fellow Indonesians who are in need.

Digital art by blogger Hasyim Soska.

Indonesia: Activist Dies After Self-Immolation in Front of Palace

Carolina Rumuat — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:30:55 +0000

Sondang Hutagalung, a human rights activist and law school student, died after suffering from first degree burn injury after setting himself on fire in front of the state palace in Jakarta, Indonesia

Sondang Hutagalung at a protest commemorating the death of rights activist Munir Said Thalib. Photo by Dina Savaluna, used with permission.

Moch Najib Yuliantoro wrote [id] on his blog:

Ia lakukan itu dengan sadar, terencana, dengan satu tekad: perubahan. Tetapi apa setelah Sondang tak ada? Mereka yang berkuasa tetap bertahta sebagai pengusa. Secara kolektif, setelah 10 hari kepergiannya, kita pun tak bergerak. Perubahan yang diimpikan Sondang tak kunjung datang.

He did it consciously, planned, with one determination: change. But what happened after Sondang is gone? Those with power continue to rule on their thrones. Collectively, 10 days after his passing, we stay where we are.

Najib fears that Sondang's dream of a better Indonesia may fell on deaf ears:

Kesadaran kolektif sebagai “Indonesia” sudah hangus terbakar menjadi abu. Jika dengan bakar diri yang dikehendaki Sondang adalah perubahan drastis, seperti di Tunisia, misalnya, tampaknya ia salah cara. Bangsa ini tak seperti Tunisia. Bangsa ini sudah “mati”. Tak lagi berhasrat untuk melakukan “revolusi”.

(Our) Collective consciousness as “Indonesia” was incinerated into ashes. If by self immolation, Sondang is wrong to think that drastic changes like in Tunisia will happen. This nation is different from Tunisia. This nation is “dead”. We no longer has the wish for revolution.

Sella Wahyu said [id] on her blog:

[…] peristiwa ini menimbulkan reaksi beragam dari masyarakat. Kebanyakan menyayangkan aksi ini mengingat Sondang masih muda dan masih panjang jalan hidupnya, sebagian menganggap Sondang adalah seorang yang “berani mati tapi tak berani hidup” dan sebagian lagi menganggap Sondang adalah seorang martir demokrasi.

Kita terperosok untuk menghujat dan menghina Sondang sehingga alpa bahwa ada masalah yang sangat pelik di negeri ini yang mungkin menjadi dasar dan alasan dia memilih bakar diri sebagai ekspressi pribadinya.

This incident has triggered different reactions from the people. Most of them regret it, considering how young Sondang is and that he had a long life path ahead of him, some considered Sondang as someone who “dared to die but didn't dare to live” and some considered him as a martyr of democracy.

We're trapped in the puddle of insults for Sondang, we failed to see that the crucial problems of this country were the reasons why he set himself on fire, as a way to speak up his mind.

Arman Dhani Bustomi wrote a blog post tribute [id] for Sondang with an opening that says, “the revolution devours its own children”:

Kukira Sondang menyadari bahwa dalam sebuah perjuangan akan selalu ada tumbal. Ia juga menyadari, bahwa hanya sedikit perbedaan antara menjadi idealis atau melakukan kebodohan. Bahwa perihal kurban itu adalah permasalahan sudut pandang. Tak ada satupun manusia di bawah kolong langit yang berhak memberikan nilai atau kuasa hukum dalam sebuah perjuangan. Perjuangan adalah perkara keyakinan diri.

[…]

Kukira Sondang saat itu mengingat mama. Mengingat bagaimana dengan mesra dan patuh ia memeluknya di gereja. Mendengar kidung puji. Doa tuhan bapa kami dengan khusyuk. Mengingat betapa natal dan keriuhan bersama keluarga adalah kenangan yang sangat indah. Dan perlahan merapal doa-doa minta maaf. Kalut ia bertanya. “apakah aku akan diampuni bapa?”

[…]

Kukira Sondang terbakar amarah. Tapi ia tak sendirian. Karena aku kini juga terbakar amarah. Atas kebodohanku. Kelemahanku. Dan ketakpedulianku pada masalah bangsa ini.

I think Sondang realized that there'll be sacrifice on every struggle. He also realized that there's a fine line between being an idealist and making a stupidity. That a sacrifice is only a matter of point of view. That no one under the sky has the right to judge or authorize a struggle. A struggle is a matter of self belief.

[…]

I think Sondang remembered his mother at that time. Remembered how loving and obedient he held her at the church. Listening to the hymns of worship. The solemn Lord's Prayer. Remembered how Christmas and his family's glee, the wonderful memory. And he slowly recite prayers, asking for forgiveness . In his darkest hour he asked, “Father, will I be forgiven?”

[…]

I think Sondang was angered. But he wasn't alone. I, too, now am angered. By my stupidity. My weakness. My ignorance towards the problems of this country.

A local newspaper in North Sumatra, Harian Orbit, quoted Sondang's fellow human rights activists saying that Sondang has sent some 1,400 letters regarding human rights violations to President Susilo Bambang, but none of them has actually reached the president due to the state palace protocols.

Sondang's alma mater, Bung Karno University, gave him an Honoris Causa title and renamed the Faculty of Law's courtroom, Sondang Hutagalung room.

Regarding Sondang's honorary title, blogger Yusuf Harfi asked [id], “how come a self immolator received an honorary degree?”

He continues:

Saya sendiri tidak memandang Sondang ialah pahlawan perubahan ataupun patriot pembaharuan seperti yang banyak orang amini.

[…]

Ya, saya juga sama dengan Sondang, saya juga prihatin kepada kondisi Indonesia saat ini. Tapi, hal ini bukan berarti kita sebagai warga negara untuk menempuh aksi nekat seperti bakar diri. Agama apapun pasti mengajarkan untuk terus berusaha, gigih, pantang menyerah, dan tidak putus asa.

I personally don't see Sondang as a hero of change or a patriot of revival like many people thought he is.

[…]

Yes, I also share Sondang's concerns, I'm also concerned about Indonesia's current condition. But, this doesn't mean that as citizens we should do a reckless act like self immolation. Any religion taught us to continue trying, determined, adamant, and never put up hope.

A day after Sondang's self immolation incident, the head of the central Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Amidhan, said [id] that self immolation is “haram” (forbidden by Islam), and considered self immolators people in despair and depressed.

Special thanks for Dina Savaluna for the photo.

Indonesia: Yogyakarta Royal Wedding

Carolina Rumuat — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:42:31 +0000

The Yogyakarta princess, Gusti Raden Ajeng (GRAj) Nurastuti Wijareni a.k.a Jeng Reni, tied the knot Tuesday October 18, 2011, and everybody was invited to witness the ceremony via the Internet.

Jeng Reni, the youngest daughter of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, married Achmad Ubaidillah, known affectionately as Yuda, and for the first time ever, a royal wedding was reported in realtime through Twitter.

Prior to the wedding, Ubai was knighted and given the name Kanjeng Pangeran Haryo Yudanegara. As for Reni, her new royal title will be Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Bendara.

Javanese royal names can differ depending on the person's current status, whether the person is a man, woman, young adult, or adult, proximity to the Sultan, and so forth.

The wedding updates can be accessed through Twiticker, Tumblr, Twitter via #kratonwedding and #kirab, as well as the official Twitter account @kratonwedding.

Ubai, a Javanese descent born in Jakarta, met Jeng Reni through a mutual a friend. The lovestruck Ubai didn't know at first that the girl he fell in love with was a Javanese princess of one of the oldest royal houses in the archipelago. The couple dated for four years.

Waves of wishes, greetings, and comments were pouring at #kratonwedding and #kirab (author's note: means carnival in Javanese).

@arieslukman: This is how people in Yogyakarta loves their Sultan an Family! #kratonwedding http://instagr.am/p/Qkslv/

@kikoadh: #KratonWedding !!!! Malioboro is so crowded and everyone's sweating. But it was fun

@helloikun: Turut berbahagia untuk pernikahan GKR Bendara & KPH Yudanegara semoga menjadi keluarga sakinah dan bahagia #kratonwedding

@helloikun: Happy for the marriage of GKR Bendara & KPH Yudanegara. I wish the two of you a serene and happy family.

@ferrymbaldan: Luar biasa….lautan manusia yg hadiri kirab dr Kraton ke Kepatihan….DIY: Memang Istimewa dan Harus Tetap Istimewa #kratonwedding

@ferrymbaldan: Amazing… A sea of people attending the carnival from the Kraton (author's note: Royal Palace) to the Kesatriyan (the Knights' Ward). Special Region of Yogyakara is truly special and it should remain that way.

Some Twitter users, like Dayu, were disappointed that major TV networks didn't care enough to cover one of the major events of the year:

@DayuWijanto: Kenapa hanya di BChannel? Kemana TV2 keren dan beken lainnya? Ini urusan warisan budaya bangsa lho.. *tetep ga trima*

@DayuWijanto: Why only on BChannel? Where are other cool and popular TV stations? This is a matter of the country's cultural heritage. Unacceptable.

Javanese weddings are known for their elaborate processions which could begin days before the nuptial, and last up to seven days. A strict dress code is applied to guests and those who are allowed to enter the ceremony hall.

The Royal Guards. Photo by irwan_f3

The photographers in traditional Javanese attire. Photo published by @kratonwedding on Twitpic.

Yogyakartans await Prince Yuda outside of the Knights' Ward. Photo published by Bakpia Pia Djogdja on Lockerz.

Her Serene Highness GKR Hemas and the relatives arrived at the Knights Ward. Photo by Kraton Wedding on Tumblr.

Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, the couple and President Yudhoyono. Photo by @kratonwedding on Twitpic.

Bedhaya Sangaskara dancers. Photo by @kratonwedding

Greeting the Yogyakartans from the open carriage. Photo by @kratonwedding published on Twitpic.

The Indonesian state recognizes Yogyakarta as a Special Region in the archipelago with Sultan Hamengkubuono X acting as its governor.

The Yogya Sultan is highly revered by his subjects. Back in 2009, he was nominated as a presidential candidate by Golongan Karya (Golkar) party.

Indonesia: Suicide Bomb Blast at Protestant Church

Carolina Rumuat — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:46:42 +0000

Another suicide bomb blast occurred on Sunday (September 25) in Solo, Central Java in Indonesia. The bombing happened in Kepunton Protestant Church, right after the morning Sunday service when the congregation was departing.

As of this writing, 20 people were reported injured and two were killed in the bombing. The bomber was among the casualties.

President Susilo Bambang said [id] that they found the similarity between the Solo bombing and the one that blew up in Cirebon six months ago, and according to the preliminary investigation of the police, the blast was intended to harm as many churchgoers as possible.

Twitter users in Solo and elsewhere are extending their condolences and expressing their disappointment over this tragic event. Here are some reactions from twitter users using the hashtags #prayforsolo and #pray4solo:

@radixhidayat: Ini bukan soal agamamu dan agamaku. Ini soal Indonesiamu dan Indonesiaku. #prayForSolo

@radixhidayat: This is not about your religion and mine. This is about your Indonesia and mine.

@papanjari: ini akibat dr masyarakat yg kurang mdapat pendidikan yg layak..mudah dipengaruhi org tdk bertanggung jawab.. #prayforsolo #prayforindonesia

@papanjari: This happened because the people didn't get a decent education, they become easily influenced by irresponsible persons.

@BiancaAllysa: Masi ngebom?astagfirullah islam tidak pernah mengajarkan umatnya untuk mencelakai sesama mahluk hidup

@BiancaAllysa: Bombing still? Astaghfirullah (author's note: means God have mercy), Islam never taught its followers to harm others.

@RyuDeka: Tuhan, sesungguhnya kami lelah dengan segala tindak kebencian yang mengatasnamakan-Mu..#prayforSolo

@RyuDeka: God, frankly we're tired with all of those acts of hatred done in Your name.

@tarsih_ekp: Utk temen di media harap jeli, jangan bawa masalah #bomsolo ke ranah minoritas /pun mayoritas #pray4solo

@tarsih_ekp: To our media friends, please be meticulous and don't immediately link the bombing with majority/minority group.

And here are reactions from the hashtag #bomsolo:

@ferouz_afr: Selama gerakan ormas2 agama yg radikal yg jelas2 ada tdk d tindak dan d biarkan teror2 bom akn selalu ada krn d situ lah bibit2 nya #bomsolo

@ferouz_afr: As long as the movements of radical religious mass organizations go unpunished and being left off, the bombing terrors will always exist, because they are the seeds.

@gstff:#BomSolo Kepada para agen intelijen yg jadi makelar pengaburan persoalan: kalian semua penghianat bangsa.

@gstff: To all intelligence agents who act as the broker of the blurring of issues: you are all traitors to this country.

@inyourdeathbed: stupid suicide bomber, you have accomplished NOTHING but remind us that our current government administration is a TOTAL FAILURE. #BomSolo

@blangk_on: Ada pihak2 tertentu di republik ini yg tetap melihara monster pembunuh dg ideologi agama. Kapan pun bs mrk gunakan #bomSolo

@blangk_on: There are certain parties in this Republic who nurture monsterous murderers under religious ideology, to be used at their disposal.

@AlexKomang2000: Di mana kita mencari perlindungan keselamatan di negara ini?#bomsolo

@AlexKomang2000: Where can we find a safety protection in this country?

Solo (also known as Surakarta) is known to be the stronghold of Abu Bakar Bashir, the former emir of Southeast Asian Al Qaeda Network called Jemaah Islamiyah and a spiritual guru at Ngruki Al Mukmin.

Some of Ngruki's former students have been linked to various bombings in Indonesia. However the school has never been banned by the Indonesian government. Meanwhile, mainstream media also noted the rise of religious freedom violations in 2010.

Indonesia: Minister Revives Plan to Control Social Media

Carolina Rumuat — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:50:25 +0000

Tifatul Sembiring, Indonesia's controversial IT and Communications Minister, said that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook must be strictly controlled since they can be used to destabilize the government. He added that countries like Tunisia and Libya suffered from uprisings because their governments failed to control social media.

Indonesia has one of the biggest and most active Twitter and Facebook communities in the world.

Tifatul Sembiring. Image by Flickr user Ikhlasul Amal (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Outspoken blogger, known as Treespotter, reacted via Twitter.

@treespotter: Dear Pak @tifsembiring, pergolakan dari Tunisia sampai Malaysia karena Pejabat gagal mengelola Negara - bukan gagal mengelola Twitter.

@treespotter: Dear Mr. @tifsembiring, the uprisings from Tunisia to Malaysia were triggered by officials who failed managing the state - not managing Twitter.

@Tifsembiring: @treespotter nangkapnya agak keliru trees, jadi sy bilang socmed bisa mempengaruhi politik, ekonomi bahkan struktur sosial. Kita hrs amati

You got it wrong trees, I said socmed could influence politics, economy, even social structure. We have to observe.

@treespotter @tifsembiring saya setuju betul bahwa Pemerintah penting mengamati, belajar sama sama, sebagai aset Indonesia. Bukan ancaman kekuasaan.

@treespotter @tifsembiring I agreed that government should be well observing, to learn together, as Indonesia's asset, not as threat to the power.

After being criticized in the media, Tifatul made a statement through his favorite communication outlet, Twitter, and complained that reporters have misquoted him again. Later on he also wrote a short clarification on his Facebook page, saying that his statement about social media control in front of public elementary school teachers was about emphasizing on adult supervision on children's internet browsing experience, language use decency and anti-pornography browsing.

Blogger Ross1948 who blogs at Rossrightangle said:

[…]
but outlandish though his pronouncements sometimes are, he’s not a moron. He IS recognising that an active and unfettered internet, bloggers galore, would be a thorn in the flesh of a shariah-freak state. And rest assured, readers, a shariah-freak state is exactly what Tifatul and the PKS would like to see in Indonesia.
Naturally, his urge to shackle social media, which includes blogs like ours, at once provoked both oppostion and even ridicule. Detik.com quotes Tjipta Lesmana, a political communication expert, as describing Tifatul’s words as “It’s nonsense to think that social media can be controlled. This may be Tifatul’s personal view or the President’s. If the latter, SBY should not be afraid. If he is, there’s something wrong in the government.’

Tifatul Sembiring is the former chairman of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), an Islamist party often criticized for its highly conservative agenda. In the past, PKS staged rallies supporting the establishment of Palestine state and protesting against the United States of America and its allies.

He is also known to champion the highly controversial Cyberlaw Bill that prosecuted Prita Mulyasari, a homemaker who was slapped with defamation charges for writing and publishing a complaint email against an international hospital chain.

Indonesia: Blog Reactions to Bin Laden's Death

Carolina Rumuat — Sat, 14 May 2011 23:54:35 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage The Death of Osama Bin Laden.

The news about the death of the “king of terror” Osama Bin Laden traveled fast around the globe like wild fire. But Bin Laden's death wasn't received with much fanfare in Indonesia, a Muslim majority country. Government officials reminded the public that his death was a victory for the United States (US), not Indonesia.

Indonesia's hardline Muslims are considerably small in numbers but very vocal, and they're not afraid to show respect to their fallen hero.

However, the responses from the Indonesian public differ. Jenny S. Bev, an Indonesia-born, California based columnist, wrote this on her blog:

Barack Obama believed that justice have been served. It may be so to a certain level. At least now we have a closure for all 9/11 victims as the person responsible for their deaths had been forced to taste his own medicine. This moment, however, is the beginning of a new chapter: the new normalcy in a world without Osama bin Laden.

Ms. Bev expects terror splinter groups to strike back so it's highly important for the US to renew its foreign policy. She further said:

[…] it is good timing for the United States to make adjustments in their foreign policies that would reduce feelings of insecurity and helplessness in other countries, while at the same time increasing alertness for any possible friction.

The temporary euphoria of Osama’s death should be taken as a somber reminder that there are alternatives to going into war with other countries. A strong intelligent team can be more efficient and effective than spending trillions of dollars and ten years of hunting down one person for the price of thousands of civilians’ deaths.

Blogger Isro Machfudin posted a poem which he found profoundly moving, written ten years ago at the wake of 9/11, by Anis Matta, the current chairman of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), an Islamist political party. Here are parts of the poem:

Osama…
Kamulah yang mengunci mulut bangsa-bangsa adidaya,
Supaya mereka terdiam
Maka mereka hanya bisa mengamuk.
[…]
Kamulah yang merampas rasa aman
Dari jiwa bangsa-bangsa tirani
Maka mereka tak pernah bisa tidur nyenyak.
[…]
Osama oh Osama… Osama oh Osama…
Mari kita senandungkan lagu keabadian
Bersama nurani anak-anak manusia
Yang merindukan taman surga.

Osama, you're the one who sealed the mouths of the superpower nations,
so they were silenced.
[…]
That's why they went beserk
You're the one who seized the security from the tyrant nations, so they couldn't fast asleep.
[…]
Osama, oh, Osama, let's sing the eternal song with the conscience of the human children who are missing the garden of heaven.

Banner "Osama the mujahid" at the Islamic Defender's Front headquarters in Jakarta. Photo appeared on entbluextv.com

Many Indonesians were relieved to learn the death of the modern jihad icon. Blogger Katedra Rajawen, said:

Terlepas Osama dianggap sebagai penjahat atau pahlawan, saya hanya ingin mengatakan, bahwa sesungguhnya tindakan membunuh adalah sebuah perbuatan frustrasi
karena ketidakmampuan untuk mengasihi orang lain.

Whether Osama is a criminal or a hero, I just want to say that killing is an act of frustration of personal inability to love others.

Blogger NRG07 said:

I have never understood the minds of people who kill by the name of religion, and Osama bin Laden certainly was a poster boy for this ideology. If his death would mean anything to Indonesia, first of all, it would be a signal that as long as anyone is there spreading terror, there would also be people against it.

He believes that despite Bin Laden's death, the world shouldn't put its guard down yet, since the ‘war on terror' is far from over.

I wouldn’t be relieved that Osama bin Laden has died, if the spread of radicalism, hatred and intolerance is still there.

The blogger was referring to the government's inability to prevent religion-related violence in the country.

This post is part of our special coverage The Death of Osama Bin Laden.

Indonesia: Attack on religious minorities

Carolina Rumuat — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:10:29 +0000

The Ahmadiyah followers in Indonesia have been experiencing a series of prosecutions in the country. In 2008, the government issued a decree recognizing their existence but disallowed the group from spreading their teachings. Since then, the members have been attacked in public places by thugs and religious fanatics. However, the culprits of the previous incidents were never arrested by the police.

The latest incident took place about eight days ago, when a mob of more than 1,500 people attacked an Ahmadi congregation in Cikeusik Sub District. While the elderlies, women and children were able to flee the congregation house, the Ahmadi men were attacked by a mob screaming “God is great”. The mob used stones and machetes. Three of of the Ahmadis died, while few others were badly injured, reports said that the victims' bodies were later on hanged on trees.

A group of Human Rights NGOs including Kontras managed to obtain a lengthy video recording of the incident. Some parts of the video were uploaded on Youtube. The NGOs also claimed that the police didn't perform their duty by allowing the attack to continue despite their presence in the area

The Banten Chief police was stripped off his rank following the incident.

(WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGERY IN THE VIDEO BELOW)

Check also a video of the attack uploaded on EngageMedia (WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGERY)

Marjuki Alie on his Politikana blog post said that the Ahmadi murderers are not the ones to blame.

[…]hukum di Indonesia payah, mudah dibeli, mudah juga ditekan-tekan oleh kelompok-kelompok kepentingan.
[…]Kok pembunuh tidak bersalah, dimana logikanya? Mereka yang mengeroyok dan membunuh rame-rame itu pikirannya sudah sesat. Sesat gimana? Ya sesat karena mereka itu telah diajarkan bahwa yang mereka lalukan itu adalah benar. Mereka itu telah diajarkan bahwa yang mereka lakukan itu mulia, atas nama agama untuk membela agama.

Indonesian laws are weak, easy to be bought, easy to be pressurized by parties who are protecting their interests. […] How come the murderers are innocent, where's the logic in that? Those who gang up against the victims and those who committed murder have lost their minds. How did they lose their minds? They were taught that what they're doing is righteous. They were taught that what they do is for religious sake and to defend that religion is noble.

Enraged Twitter users share their opinions:

harimauterbang: My goodness. So the KKK moved to Banten! Hanging people from trees! Ugh! !#ahmadiyah murders

TiaraMarieta : walaupun #ahmadiyah adalah ajaran yang menyimpang.namun tak selayaknya diperlakukan semena-mena.

Even if Ahmadiyyah is a deviant teaching, they're not supposed to be treated unjustly.

syukronamin: Org2 yg membunuh warga #Ahmadiyah itu tdk sadar, bhw dasar negara kita bukan Islam, tapi Pancasila.
[…]Knp Ormas2 se-aliran #FPI hanya ‘protes' ketika Teroris dihukum mati? Ketika ada warga #Ahmadiyah dibunuh mrk diam?

The Ahmadi murderers didn't realize that our country is not a Muslim country but based on Pancasila.
Why organizations such as FPI (author's note: Islamic Defenders Front, a Muslim hardline organization, secretly nicknamed “the cloaked thugs”, known for bashing bars and massage parlors) only protested when terrorists received death penalty? But went silent, when there's an Ahmadi being murdered?

gitaputrid: Negara ini #Bohong menjamin kerukunan umat beragama,sebagaimana bohong melakukan pembrantasan korupsi

The state lies about guaranteeing the harmony of the interfaith believers, as it lies about corruption eradication

Temanggung riot

A couple of days after the Cikeusik incident, a riot occured on Temanggung, Central Java. Under the Anti Blasphemy law, Antonius Richmond Bawengan received 5 year for desecrating Islam and Christianity. Later that day, a mob of 1,000 men arrived from other cities and began to destroy Churches and a Christian school in Temanggung.

Colson, wrote a post on Pelopor website, saying:

It looks like the President and the government lack the courage to confront them head-on. On the contrary they are making concessions to appease the hard-liners. The Indonesian bishops rightly said: the state fails to protect minorities.

Indonesia threatens to close down Blackberry

Carolina Rumuat — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:41:10 +0000

Through his twitter account, Indonesia's Minister of Communication and Information Tifatul Sembiring accused Blackberry Research In Motion (RIM) of being unresponsive to the demand of the government to filter pornographic content via its browser. He added that if RIM doesn't comply with the demand by January 21, the government will block Blackberry's browser.

Tifatul is a member of an Islamic political party which is known to be a strict follower and enforcer of Shariah laws.

Responding to his latest anti-porn tweet, many twitter users in Indonesia started to use the #bbsyariah hashtag. Here are some twitter reactions:

dreamofDaru: #BBSyariah klo ditimeline ada yg ngetweet ‘Babi,Anjing' henpon harus dicuci pake tanah 7x. #tif

If someone curses saying the word ‘pig' or ‘dog', the phone has to be sanctified 7 times with dirt.

imanbr: Flirting di BB kepada bukan muhrim. muncul emoticon cambuk, rajam #BBSyariah

Flirting on BB with those who are not their mahram (spouse) will automatically generate flog or stone emoticons.

fanabis: #bbsyariah nama bb berubah jd ALblackberryah :

BB will change its name into ALBlackberryah

WicakTP04: Pak @tifsembiring silahkan lihat hashtag #BBSyariah. Gara2 kebijakan Anda, skrg Islam jadi dipermainkan.

Mr. Tif Sembiring, please read #BBSyariah. Thanks to your regulations, Islam is now being ridiculed.

After harvesting protests from the Indonesian tech savvy community, Tifatul then said that porn filtering push was not the main issue with RIM. He then came up with other demands and opinions while piggy backing on nationalism and homeland security issues to gain support.

And it somehow worked. He gained some support from legislators, local politicians, and some of the people who were initially skeptical about his initial demand. According to IT consultant Daniel Tumiwa , some of Tifatul's demands are already complied by RIM. Here (id) are several of the demands and Daniel's twitter arguments summarized by Baban Sarbana:

TS: Kita minta RIM agar buka perwakilan di Indonesia, karena pelanggan RIM di Indonesia untuk Blackberry sdh lbh dari 2 juta. #RIM
DT: #RIM sdh buka kantor Okt 10. BKKPM hadir. Dibuka olh Menteri Keuangan Kanada. Bpk Tidak hadir?
TS: Kita Minta RIM agar membuka service center di Indonesia untuk melayani & mudahkan pelanggan mereka yg juga WNI. #RIM
DT: RIM sudah punya belasan Srvc Center dan akan punya lebih dr 30 di thn ‘11. Done.
TS: Kita minta RIM agar merekrut dan menyerap tenaga kerja Indonesia secara layak dan proporsional. #RIM
DT: Done. Setahu sy Expat hanya 2. Sisa staff WNI. Done.
TS: Kita minta RIM agar sebanyak mungkin menggunakan konten lokal Indonesia, khususnya mengenai software. #RIM

T: RIM should open a representative office in Indonesia to cater more than 2 million Blackberry users
D: RIM innaugurated its Indonesian representative in October 2010, attended by Canadian Finance Minister and The Coordinating Board for Investment (BKPM). Weren't you there?
T: RIM should open service center in Indonesia.
D: RIM has dozens of service centers, will reach 30 in 2011. Done.
T: RIM should hire local workers.
D: Done. There are only 2 expat managers while the rest are Indonesian citizens.
T: RIM should use local content and softwares.
D: RIM is not a content provider, but handset maker and service provider.

Blogger Rob Baiton who blogs at The RAB Experience, found Tifatul's crusade “bizarre”:

So desperate is TitS (author's note: blogger's nickname for Tifatul Sembiring) to beat down RIM he has gone outside his mandate to try and portray this spat as one that has a nationalist pride angle to it. In fact, TitS has decided that, in his opinion, RIM is a marauding infidel invader that has only come to Indonesia to rape and pillage her of her resources and wealth, and pay no taxes into the bargain.

Taxes are generally the domain of the Minister For Finance, and perhaps the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, but generally taxes are not the primary concern of ministers in other fields. In light of the TitS charge, it is worth asking whether RIM pays its dues. The reality is, if RIM has not been paying its financial obligations then why has it taken a spat over porn filters to make this publicly known?

Thumbnail from the Flickr page of basibanget used under CC License Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Football revival in Indonesia

Carolina Rumuat — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:47:58 +0000

The Indonesian National Team was defeated in the second game of the championship match against Malaysia's football team, the Tiger of Malaya. Despite the 2-1 result in favor of Indonesia, the Malaysian team won through accumulated goals.

The ASEAN Football Federation Cup final between Indonesia and Malaysia has been the year end's most anticipated event.

Previously on Boxing Day, at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia won the first leg match 3-0 against Indonesia.

Since the start of the AFF Cup, the Indonesian team has managed to pull together nationalism, media attention, and controversies.

The match at GBK Stadium Jakarta. Photo by Plixi user Citra.

Indonesian supporters. Photo by Plixi user Hasanuddin Ali.

Live viewing at one of Jakarta's shopping malls. Photo by Ranie Primza.

Most offices and public gatherings, such as reunions and gallery openings also held live viewing of the game. Photo by Prast Lampard.

A day before the match, striker Bambang Pamungkas wrote a blog post:

“Football is an unpredictable thing.. Some results will make you shock, but that’s the thing that makes it passionate, the mystery in it”

He reflected about the national team's defeat on Boxing Day:

Di tengah optimisme akan kebangkitan persepakbolaan kita yg begitu melambung tinggi, kekalahan telak tersebut bak sebuah petir di siang bolong.

[…]

Keceriaan dan teriakan kemenangan itu tidak terdengar lagi, yg samar-samar terdengar hanyalah suara hembusan napas panjang dan decakan penyesalan yg keluar para pemain yg masih nampak setengah tidak percaya..

[…]

Sesaat sebelum memimpin doa penutup, saya meminta waktu kepada Riedl untuk berbicara di depan semua pemain. Dengan setengah berteriak saya berkata “Rekan-rekan kekalahan ini harus berhenti di ruangan ini. Kita tidak memerlukan pembahasan yg lebih panjang mengenai apa yg terjadi malam ini, tidak ada saling menyalahkan tentang apa yg terjadi di lapangan tadi. Kita menang bersama-sama dan sudah seharusnya kita juga kalah bersama-sama”.

In the midst of optimism of our football revival, the defeat was a shock.
[…]
The cheer and victory yell weren't heard anymore, what was heard were the vague sigh of disbelief coming from the players..
[…]
A moment before the closing prayer, I asked coach Riedl to speak in front of my teammates. “Friends, the defeat will stop in this room. We don't have to assess what just happened, or blame each other for what happened in the field. We've won together, and if it's meant to be, we lose together.”

For the first time in the Indonesian football history, and thanks to the social media such as Twitter, the football fans can freely cheer for the National team, speak out their minds about the future of Indonesian football, and even connect with some of the athletes.

@bepe20 : Ternyata 6 kemenangan dan hanya sekali kalah, belum mampu membawa pulang trophy itu saudara-saudara.. Tetap Semangat…!!!

Six wins and 1 loss, however we still couldn't take home the trophy, ladies and gentlemen. Keep up your spirit!

@IrfanBachdim10: We beat them twice!! Its not enough to win the cup. But we are the BEST of the whole tournament! And our supporters are the best!!

@IrfanBachdim10 : Im so proud of the Indonesian supporters! You are all great! Really the best supporters of the world!! Im proud of you all and to be a Indo!

@okto_maniani : Dukungan yg luar biasa dr para suporter merupakan kehormatan bagi kami.tim kita yg terbaik,suporter kita yg terbaik.

Amazing support from the supporters was a great honor for us. Our team is the best, our supporters are the best.

The controversies

However, the AFF Cup 2010 was also marred with controversies. Starting from the laser pointers used to distract the goal keeper during a couple of matches, ticket distribution chaos, and the public demand for the controversial PSSI (Indonesian Football Association)'s president Nurdin Halid to resign.

Indonesian football fans blamed Halid [id] for the rampant corruption in the PSSI body which caused, among others, lack of improvement of football facilities in the country, fans' injuries during football matches due to weak security, and rigged matches caused by corrupt referees.

During the Indonesia vs. Malaysia final match, die hard supporters flew a banner saying “Nurdin Turun” (means step down Nurdin!).

Supporters' banner and yell demanding Halid to step down. Video via eihcrats.

The movement demanding the replacement of Halid resonates on Twitter and Facebook.

Photos from Citra, Hasanuddin Ali, Ranie Primza, Prast Lampard.

Indonesia: Local government closes church defying court order

Carolina Rumuat — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 19:13:07 +0000

A Christian protestant church, GKI Taman Yasmin in the regency of Bogor, Indonesia was forced to cease activities by Bogor's regency on Sunday night. The police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) surrounded the church, disbanded a church meeting, then sealed the building by the city's order.

The Public Order Agency's main purpose is to help the police and local government maintain public order. However, given the rather militaristic and sudden action, some fear the church closing is actually inspired by a broader Islamist campaign against Christians and church groups in the Muslim majority nation. Last week, two church leaders were stabbed in Bekasi Regency, on the eastern border of the capital city, Jakarta.

Local mainstream media have so far showed little interest. Twitter once again became a great reporting tool for those directly involved.

On early Sunday morning (September 19), Bona Sigalingging, one of the church's member, posted a string of tweets:

Polisi makin banyak, denpom akan dikerahkan. Alasannya keamanan. Kalo alasannya keamanan, kenapa kami yg diusir? Kami yg punya IMB lengkap!

Update 1:Jemaat msh dilokasi Gereja.Polisi makin byk,ultimatum jemaat pulang.Jemaat btahan ddpn pagar.Mbl polisi mulai pepet jemaat.

Update2:Pukul1.03jemaat GKI bnyanyi dan bdoa dbwh ancaman polisi utk bubar.Jemaat tetap btahan.
Update3:Pukul 1.07.Anggota Detasemen Polisi Militer mulai tlihat dilokasi.Kehadirannya mengintimidasi jemaat.Jemaat bertahan.Nyanyi dan doa.
Update4:02.47wib.Jemaat GKI msh btahan ddpn gerbang gereja,mencegah dtutupnya areal trotoar dan areal dpn gerbang oleh mobil2 polisi.
Update5:Pencegahan dtutupny trotoar oleh polisi hrs dlakukan agar ttap ada ruang bagi jemaat utk ibadah hari minggu sekalipun di trotoar lg.
Update6:Jemaat tampak tidur beralaskan tikar,dgn keyakinan penuh utk mptahankan iman dan hak beribadah yg dijamin konstitusi.
Update 7: 03.51 wib. Polisi:gerbang gereja digembok lagi adalah krn ada ancaman keamanan hari minggu ini bila jemaat ibadah didalam gereja
06.54 wib:mobil anti huru hara datang!Tp tetap saja Tuan-Tuan,kami ibadah 8 wib, mski hanya di trotoar ini http://plixi.com/p/45892275
Entah mengapa Anda kirim mobil anti huu hara ini.Kami hanya ingin ibadah,menyapa Tuhan yg disp o/ milyaran orang di dunia dlm beragam nama!

More police arrived, military police detachment (Denpom) will soon arrive. Security reasons (they said). If it's security, why are we the ones who are driven out? We have the proper building permit.

Update1: Congregation are still on location. More police arrived, they told us to go home. Congregation stayed outside, between the fence and the police cars.

Update 2: 1:03 AM, the congregation sings and prays under the police threat to disperse. The congregation stayed put.

Update 3: 1:07 AM, members of the military police detachment (Denpom) are seen on the location. Their presence is to intimidate us. The congregation stayed put, singing and praying.

Update 4: 2:47 AM. The Presbyterian church congregation is still outside the church's gate, trying to stop the police cars that blocked the sidewalks and front gate areas.

Update 5: Congregation trying to stop the police blocking the sidewalks where they planned to perform their Sunday service.

Update 6: Congregation sleeps on top of straw mats, still with confidence to defend their faith and right to worship which is protected by constitution.

Why did they send the anti-riot vehicle? All we want is to worship, greeting the same God that is greeted by billions of people in the world, whatever their religions are.

GKI Taman Yasmin begun their Sunday service singing the national anthem. Photo uploaded on Plixi by @bonasays.

The church building permit was first revoked by the Bogor Administrative government on February 14, 2008, two years after the issuance of their permit. The administrative government cited public disturbance as an excuse to close down the place of worship. However, the court of justice overturned the Bogor administration's decision, and the church was reopened August 27 only to be re-closed a few days after.

Last Friday, at an inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Indonesia Joint Commission in Washington DC, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, told Indonesian Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, that she has been impressed by the Indonesian Government’s protection of individuals exercising different religions.

Clinton brought up the importance of religious tolerance as very important for the Indonesians and the Indonesian democracy. In response, Natalegawa said:

“Indonesia is, obviously, a very diverse country. We celebrate our diversity, as a matter of fact. And therefore, when we promote our democracy, nowadays, it is very much in full recognition of the need to ensure that people of all faiths continue to enjoy the freedom to exercise their faiths.”

However, some people fear that President Bambang Yudhoyono's administration is not delivering on this promise. As said by an interfaith activist and Jakarta resident, Trisno Susanto on a public Facebook profile:

“Malam ini, GKI Taman Yasmin di Bogor digembok lagi. Beberapa orang yang mencoba berdialog malah dikepung satpol PP atas perintah Bupati. Sungguh absurd, karena PTUN sudah memenangkan gugatan sehingga IMB GKI Yasmin sah. Negara ini bukan lagi tunduk pada preman, tapi sudah menjadi preman sendiri!”

Tonight, the Indonesian Presbyterian Church in Taman Yasmin Bogor is again sealed. Some of the people who tried to hold talks were surrounded by the Public Order Agency ordered by the city's regent. This is so absurd, the court appeased Taman Yasmin's building permit appeal. This country is not only submitting to thuggery, it became the thug themselves.

Indonesia: Online rage over attack on church leaders

Carolina Rumuat — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:41:52 +0000

Reverend Luspida Simanjuntak and Sintua (church elder in Batak language) Asia Lumban Toruan from the Ciketing Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Church in Indonesia were stabbed on Sunday morning. Reverend Simanjuntak was hit on her left temple. Sintua Toruan, on the other hand, had to undergo an operation to close a 3cm long incision on his liver, a result from the stabbing. Latest report said that the surgeon managed to stop the bleeding and Sintua Toruan condition is already stabilizing.

The HKBP Ciketing church was once banned by the authorities for not having the proper permit. The ban was revoked after the church complied with some of the demands of the state. However, it was ordered closed again a couple of days after being reopened when the local government declared that the church is unwanted by the local community. Founded in 1990, the Ciketing HKBP Church has 1,500 members.

The Jakarta Cathedral viewed from Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Flickr photo by TeeJe used under Creative Commons

A group of hardliners calling themselves Mustika Jaya Sub-district Moslem Forum (FUI), has attacked the church several times in the past.

At Pemuda Indonesia (Indonesian Youth), blogger Don Sisco said that the right to worship of the church has been castrated anew by the law enforcers. He also reacted to the commitment of the Indonesian president that the attacks on places of worship will be stopped.

Presiden Yudhoyono menegaskan tak ada ruang bagi para pelaku tindak kekerasan di Indonesia. Tindak kekerasan atas dasar dan alasan apa pun, lanjutnya, tidak dapat ditoleransi. Pelaku pun mesti dipastikan mendapat sanksi sesuai peraturan dan perundang-undangan berlaku. Presiden memerintahkan, polisi mampu memastikan kejadian serupa tak terulang.

Melihat sikap SBY ini, kita ingin rasanya tertawa terbahak-bahak dan merasa sangat iba, Mengapa begitu bodoh Presiden kita. Apakah pelajaran Sekolah Dasar saja Presiden kita tidak tamat ? Karena pada SD pernah diajarkan lebih baik mencegah dari pada mengobati, Sedia payung sebelum hujan. Akan tetapi Presiden kita yang satu ini Sakit dulu baru diobati, kehujanan dulu baru beli payung.

President Yudhoyono said that there's no room for the culprit of violence in Indonesia. He said that violence under any circumstances will not be tolerated and culprits will be prosecuted and punished according to the law. The president also ordered the national police to ensure that the incident will never happen again.

Hearing his statements made us laugh, and we felt sorry for him. How silly our president is. Has he forgotten that “prevention is better than cure, or “prepare your umbrella before it rains”? What our president is doing is “curing the ill” and “putting up the umbrella once we're soaking wet”.

Don Sisco also expressed his concern about President Yudhoyono's slow reaction.

Ataukah hal ini memang keingingan SBY ? agar dia seolah-olah menjadi pahlawan kebebasan beragama . Paling tidak metode ini masuk kategori Politik Pencitraan

Does SBY (Author's note: President Yudhoyono's popular nickname) wanted this to happen? So he can emerge as the hero of religious freedom? Or is he using this method to rebrand his politics?

On Being Me on Mine, a blogger known only by his nickname, Kupretist, said that the incident happened because the community isn't accustomed with pluralism. He wondered why some of the Indonesia's Muslim majority should prevent the minorities to worship.

Menurut pemerintah penyerangan tersebut adalah kriminal murni dan bukan konflik agama, akan tetapi bagaimana jika terjadinya penyerangan tersebut adalah dikarenakan motif atau tendensi agama.

[…] Sebagai umat Islam seharusnya mengerti tentang prinsip-prinsip pluralisme dan toleransi yang dicanangkan dalam al-Qur'an bahwa “Laa ikraha fi al-diin.” yakni tidak ada paksaan dalam beragama.

The government ruled the attack as criminality and not as an interfaith feud; but what if the attack was based on interfaith (feud)?

[…] As Muslims, we should understand that the Holy Koran cited the principles of pluralism and tolerance “Laa ikraha fi al-diin”, which means that we can't force faith (to someone).

Other believers should be free to worship, he added:

Mungkin saya takkan terburu-buru mengatakan bahwa oknum yang menusuk pendeta itu adalah orang Islam, akan tetapi saya hanya mengomentari kenapa kita orang Islam begitu susahnya menerima perbedaan di tengah masyarakat, begitu sulitnya berinteraksi dengan orang non-muslim. Apakah hanya karena secara prosedur tidak mendapatkan izin dari masyarakat yang mayoritas beragama Islam lantas kita harus menggempur segolongan umat yang minoritas tersebut.

I don't want to rush into conclusion and say that the reverend's stabber was a Muslim, however I just wonder why we Muslims find it so difficult to accept the differences in our community; why is it so difficult to interact with the non-Muslims? Why should we prevent the minority believers (to worship) just because their place of worship lacks a building permit?

The blogger said that he agrees with Reverend Luspida Simanjuntak who said that “there's no justice for the minorities”. He also said that the government may be running after the crime suspects but it is ignoring the root of the problem:

Sekarang ketika terjadi penusukan itu apa bisa diselesaikan hanya dengan mencari pelaku penusukan dan mengatakan bahwa hal tersebut adalah kriminal murni, sementara akar persoalan tidak bisa diselesaikan, di mana sebagai mayoritas umat beragama di Indonesia, umat Muslim seharusnya lebih bisa menerima perbedaan di tengah masyarakat dan berinteraksi dengan umat agama lain dengan sikap toleran dan tenggang rasa. Mereka umat non-muslim meskipun sedikit jumlahnya juga membutuhkan tempat ibadah dan kebebasan untuk menjalankan ibadah mereka sebagaimana umat Islam bebas menjalankan ibadahnya.

Can the problem be resolved by hunting down the culprit and claim that the incident was nothing but criminality, while the roots of the problem are being left out? The Indonesian majority believers, the Muslims, should accept the differences among the people and interact more with others from different religions with tolerance and sensitivity (towards others). The non-Muslims also need places of worships and freedom to carry out their religious duties, just like how us, the Muslims, are free to perform ours.

The role of mainstream media

Facebookers Fitri Bintang Timur and Suluh Legowo discussed the incident and how the mainstream media reported it:

Suluh Legowo: gw sendiri ga yakin itu ‘tindak kekerasan terhadap kebebasan beragama'…kalo misalnya yang ditusuk ustadz, paling kalimat pertama itu ilang…i guess sensationalist journalism always prevails since they can just give a corrective statement later on if it turns out wrong…

bukannya gw ‘mengamini' tindakan kekerasan begitu, cuma pemberitaan yang seperti itu ‘kan cuma mancing emosi orang aja demi popularitas sebuah artikel…
oke lah diberitain, cuma jangan pake embel2 ‘kebebasan beragama' kalo tindakan perorangan gitu…pelakunya juga ga dikenal, apalagi alasan perbuatannya apa…

don't ASSUME things…
ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and not ME…

I'm not sure that it was an act of “violence against religious freedom”.. For example, if the victim was a cleric, the first word (of the title) will surely disappear. I guess sensationalist journalism always prevails since they can just give a corrective statement later on if it turns out wrong…
Not that I okayed the attack, it's just such report would only enrage people for the sake of the article's popularity.
It's okay to report this of course, but don't put ”religious freedom” when it's obviously an act of a person. We don't know who did it, and for what reason.
don't ASSUME things…
ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and not ME…

Fitri Bintang Timur emang sih buat bikin statement butuh penyidikan lebih lanjut. […] orang yang secara tidak sensitif melihat tidak akan menyadari ini adalah upaya peningkatan intensitas konflik seperti yg dilakukan di poso circa 1998-9. dan ini menarik karena kemarin SBY baru komentar keras ttg pembakaran Al Quran pada pastor Jones, jadi many eyes melihat tindakan pak Beye mau ngapain.

It's true that before making any statement, one need to investigate thoroughly. […] The least sensitive people won't be aware that this could be a way to intensify conflict, like the one that happened in Poso circa 1998-99. And it's particularly interesting because recently SBY condemned pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn the Al Quran, so all eyes are on him (the president).

Suluh Legowo also highlighted the importance of adhering to journalism ethics and standards. He further elaborates:

there's no point massa memahami ada usaha peningkatan konflik kalo sembari dipicu emosinya…
masalahnya di sini adalah kompas itu termasuk 'sumber terpercaya' di indo…ga perlu lah pake kalimat pembuka model tabloid lampu merah begitu…masih banyak penduduk yang masih blom bisa mikir beyond what's being told and taking things for granted…

There's no point of educating the public about conflict's provocation by triggering the public's agitation.
Kompas is the most reliable source in Indonesia, they should reject tabloid-like headlines. There are still plenty of people who are unable to think beyond what they're being told and (those) taking things for granted.

Meanwhile, referring to the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a group of hardliners accused of taking part in the incident in lieu of their past attacks against the congregation, Suluh said:

fpi ormas islam?
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA…
mereka mah orman…organisasi preman…memiliki cara baru memahami islam yaitu dengan menggunakan DENGKUL…

FPI, a Muslim civil organization?
They're more of a thug organization, forcing their way to understand Islam, by using their knee. (Author's note: “think with a knee” is a popular Indonesian saying which means “brainless idea, thought or plan”).

Blank Profile Pictures

Blackberry and Facebook users blank out their profile pictures to protest interfaith incidents, past and recent, that tarnish Indonesia's reputation as a plural and tolerant country.

Jonathan Jodie: True Story from Kompas.com, verified! Sebagai tanda duka atas kekerasan terhadap kebebasan beragama, mari hitamkan foto contact kita. Pendeta Ditusuk di HKBP Ciketing Bekasi http://m.kompas.com/news/read/data/2010.09.12.1126458

Show our concern on the attack of religious freedom by blanking out our profile picture. Ciketing Bekasi HKBP Church reverend was stabbed.

Indonesian twitterers also expressed their opinions about the recent incident:

bigbon12 : Perlukah para muslim yg trgabung dlm anti-kristen sampai mencelakai seorang Pendeta?Obama bisa mempertahankan sebuah masjid di NYC,tapi SBY gak bisa mencegah robohnya gereja !

Should anti-Christian Muslims harm a reverend? Obama would defend a Mosque in NYC, but President SBY wouldn't prevent a Church from collapsing.

bloody243 RT @La_181: Kok tega yah Nusuk2 pendeta pas lagi ibadah.. :( sebener'nya masyarakat indonesia punya moral nggak sih..?? Sedih banget..

How could anyone stabbed a reverend during Sunday service. Do Indonesians still have a conscience? This is so sad.

taraarisa : Iba ngeliat pendeta #hkbp bekasi yg dipukulin org2. Mau ke gereja aja susah ya, ampe hrs dipukulin dulu

I feel sorry for the HKBP reverend who got beaten up by unknowns. How come it's so difficult to worship in a Church that they have to be beaten first?

Alissa Wahid, daughter of the late former President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), who is known for his pluralistic visions for the country, gave a twitter update about the situation of the victims:

@alissawahid : Dear @dhyudanie .. Sy barusan telp ibu Pendeta Luspida #hkbp dan konfirmasi bhw anggota Majlis Gereja bp.Sihombing semakin baik keadaannya

I just received a call from Reverend Luspida #hkbp who confirmed that Mr. Sihombing is recovering.

largest mosque in Southeast Asia

Indonesia: “What's wrong, Mr. President?”

Carolina Rumuat — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:30:25 +0000

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The speech of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the eve of the country's Independence Day celebration disappointed many people, including netizens. Could this be a sign that the president, who secured a big mandate in the elections, is already losing the public support?

Lawmakers said[id] that the president's speech didn't mention some contemporary issues like sovereignty and consumer security.

For example, a fresh border spat between Indonesia and Malaysia took place last weekend when several Malaysian fishermen were arrested by Indonesian sea patrol for fishing on Indonesian waters. Polis Diraja Malaysia (Malaysian Royal Police) intercepted the fishermen’s arrest and in return captured three Indonesian officers. The incident is currently under investigation and the release of three officers is being negotiated.

The deadly explosions coming from faulty canister of subsidized liquefied gas (LPG) continue to fuel anti-government sentiments in the country. The number of casualties is still rising despite intensified efforts to minimize accidents.

Puan Maharani, granddaughter of Indonesian first president Sukarno and heiress to a prominent political clan, said that president SBY’s speech disregarded the people’s welfare in general.

Critics noted that the president's appeal to all Indonesians about the need of “living harmoniously in a pluralistic society” is contradicted by his silence to the recent attacks against Christian congregations outside of Jakarta, the country's capital. He is also mum about the attack in the Ahmadiyyah community in West Java by Islamic Defenders Front, an extremist group that advocates Sharia-based laws in the secular country.

Relly Jehato, who blogs at Kompasiana blog network said that the speech was normative and lacking in sincere problem-solving plans.

Sulit memang untuk menemukan perubahan yang benar-benar masif pada pemerintahan SBY. Mengapa? Keberhasilan seorang SBY sangat ditentukan oleh kualitas reformasi pada berbagai institusi dan kepentingan politik lain yang menyertai dan menopangnya. Mulai dari jajaran birokrasi, aparat penegak hukum, parleman, partai politik, dan masyarakat sipil.

It’s difficult to spot massive changes that SBY’s government has promised. Why? Because its success should be determined by quality reforms of institutions and other supporting factors — bureaucrats, law enforcers, parliament, political parties and the people.

He concluded:

Persoalannya, sejujmlah institusi tersebut masih berada dalam kondisi sekarat alias sarat masalah. Ini diperumit oleh sikap SBY yang kerap bimbang, ambigu, tidak tegas, lamban, dan cenderung kompromisti. Kita pun lantas bertanya: apakah pidato SBY kali ini masih omong doang, sama seperti penilaian banyak kalangan?…Kita tunggu dan lihat saja…

The problem is that most of the institutions mentioned above are beset by problems and the president’s indecisiveness and compromising nature complicate things (as part of the reform roadmap). Many wondered: was the speech an empty talk? (I guess) We should just wait and see..

Here are few comments from Indonesian Twittersphere:

@ekyamiruddin: SBY banyak dikritik orang. Dan tdk keliatan demokrat mendukungnya. Hmmm, what's wrong mr president ?

SBY criticized by many and Demokrat (author’s note: his political party) didn’t seem to defend their leader. what's wrong mr president ?

@SayRizal: Presiden SBY Pidato, Banyak pejabat yg tidur, BBan, Catur, dll, Contoh seorang pemimpin yang sudah tidak punya lagi wibawa #indonesia65

During his speech, many officials were either sleeping, updating their Blackberry, etc. An example of leader who’s losing his charisma.

@bhe_es: @fadjroel :sedih rasanya mendengar pidato kenegaraan presiden SBY,,hanya berisi pandangan dan tujuan semu yang menjadi khayalan …

It’s sad to hear that SBY’s speech was filled with vague visions, goals, and imaginations.

Indonesia: When women control their own investments

Carolina Rumuat — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:21:48 +0000

Flickr-photo "Scale" by deepchi1

Indonesia managed to weather the latest economic crisis and is now even a contender for the BRIC nations. What exactly was the secret of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation? More than half of Indonesia’s 230 million people are women.

The majority of Indonesian women still adhere to their principal societal roles of being a wife and becoming mother. Although the trend is changing, most of the time women are still not included in decision-making nor are they demanded to contribute to the family’s well being; working is an option but not compulsory - thus financial independence is not absolute.

In the villages, parents marry off their daughters in hopes of securing their future. This practice leads many women poorly educated and left with few options in life. Women are often classified as “unskilled laborers” - working in the factories or sent abroad to work as maids - but their contributions to the state’s coffers have been overlooked and their rights haven’t been properly acknowledged.

In the past years, Indonesian women have inspired one another and showed that they too can ace in areas mostly governed by their male counterparts. One of Indonesia’s inspirational women is the former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who is currently the Managing Director of the World Bank.

A 2008 report published by the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics said that there are 46-49 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Indonesia, and 60_80% of them are owned by women. Those MSMEs represent 97.1% of the country’s labor force.

Similar to women in Africa or South Asia, Indonesian women also face challenges, like taking a bank loan without male guarantor, or if they fail to demonstrate that they are creditworthy.

Fortunately women do stick together in this country, and a strong presence of camaraderie among women can be felt in rural or urban communities.

On his blog, Son Haji Ujaji [id], an activist based in Tangerang, West Java, highlights how women have the capacities to increase the family’s income:

Perempuan akan mengambil peran-peran penting dalam kapasitasnya sebagai makhluk sosial, terutama dalam rangka peningkatan kualitas pendapatan keluarga. Lembaga-lembaga local yang ada lebih tepat bila diperankan secara langsung oleh kaum perempuan, baik yang bergerak dalam bidang sosial maupun ekonomi. Sesungguhnya kultur perempuan yang ada pada sebagian masyarakat Indoensia adalah bersifat guyub (komunal). Kuatanya daya komunalitas ini tercermin dari masih eksisnya lembaga-lembaga yang bergerak dalam bidang kewanitaan, seperti PKK, Posyandu, bentuk-bentuk arisan warga dan sejenisnya.

[…]

PKK mempunyai prioritas program berupa Usaha Peningkatan Pendapatan Keluarga (UP2K). […] Potensi, daya, dan karakter perempuan yang tidak kalah penting dan bobotnya dengan laki-laki dapat menjadikan program UP2K-PKK sebuah program unggulan dalam tataran program social safety net (jaring pengaman social), sebagai salah satu upaya menolong masyarakat dari keterpurukan ekonomi dengan jalan memberdayakan dan membangun masyarakat menjadi individu atau keluarga yang mandiri.

Women are, by nature, highly sociable and they will take active roles in order to improve the household income. Local activities are better to be managed by women. Culturally, the Indonesian women have a strong understanding about the importance of community, this reflect in many communal programs such as PKK (author’s note: courses for housewives, including sewing, gardening, first aid, etc.), Posyandu (author’s note: community health center), and arisan (author’s note: private betting, strictly among friends and family) that still exist today.

[…]

PKK currently prioritizes Income Improvement Program (UP2K-PKK). […] The program, which highlights women’s potentials, their will power and characters, made itself a primary definition of social safety net, a way to help the people from poverty and empower them to be a strong and independent individuals as well as family unit.

Generating income online and offline

Koperasi (cooperatives), a business institution founded by a group of people, governed democratically and aimed for mutual benefits, is regarded as one of the cornerstones of Indonesian economy.

Over the years, the basic principles of Koperasi are pretty much ingrained in the people’s mind. Although Multi Level Marketing (MLM), doesn't have identical values as Koperasi in acknowledging the importance of community and network, it is also considered as a great way to generate alternative incomes. People don’t necessarily go to MLM meetings to buy; they come to network, to find new opportunities or business partners over gossip, tea and cakes.

After presentations and catalogues for MLM came blogs and Facebook. The ladies quickly found a new place to market their crafts, imported Korean sundresses, or even last season’s Jimmy Choo heels and other luxury goods at discounted prices. Generating extra income is becoming as easy as tagging pictures.

Does microcredit work in Indonesia?

Microcredit, in practice, is not always a silver bullet against poverty in Indonesia, on the other hand new jobs would be.

International micro-credit organizations like Kiva aim to empower impoverished women and their communities through lending; this, however is not a simple task.

A netter nicknamed salman_taufik made a comment on a post appeared on Stanford Social Innovation Review. He has an excellent insight about why micro-finance is not quite a success story in Indonesia:

I have similar finding in macro level for Indonesian cases. During last decade after crisis 1988 - 2009, poverty only slightly downed from 21% into 14.15% by 2009, despite controversy over this statistic. Meanwhile, the credit growth into micro entrepreneurs increase 7 times during 2000-2009, much more higher than overall banking industry which only twice for the same periods. Contrasting of both figures bring me into question the effectiveness of microfinance to alleviate poverty. Since some the credit flows into micro entrepreneurs are consumer loans, I suspect that the rapid growth just showed how success capitalism sell their consumer goods into the poor such motor cycle, cellular phone, home appliances, etc, and the poor sell their land and cut illegal tree to pay all those stuffs. Furthermore, even though micro finance give access for poor people to have capital or liquidity but they have to pay almost twice than corporation. I just think that there have been money slavery over the poor. So somehow I agree with you unless they don’t charge the money, let it as working capital to save their lives.

In a country where many still earn less than US$ 2 a day, foreign financial aid is often misunderstood by poor communities.

Anna Antoni, a Kiva fellow based in Bali explains:

The fear of the Kiva field partner where I serve was if borrowers know that their loan comes from abroad, they will think it is charity. They will not feel obliged to pay back their loan and it will cause long term problems even if the loss is not covered by the field partner. There is a damage industrialized countries have made through aid that goes far beyond support in crises, taking away something from a spirit of “I can do this- I can handle the challenges in my life!” which is so important in microfinance… but back to transparency.

[…]

The whole process showed again how big the influence of Kiva can be. For most developing countries it is a shift of paradigm not to receive funds that either don’t have to be repaid or be repaid under heavy conditions. Putting a lot of effort into raising the transparency for borrowers and thus showing respect to all people participating in the mission of Kiva is more than important. Besides fulfilling the value of microfinance to help people to help themselves, it is the basis for a new approach to development.

Indonesian female entrepreneurship is an interesting fact. Unfortunately the fact seems to have gone unnoticed by local netters as this author (me!) struggled to find blog posts that include testimonies or opinions about the unsung economic heroines. Have I missed some great stories published on the net? If so, please let me know. Your links, opinions, and insights are highly appreciated.

This post also appears on UNFPA's Conversations for a Better World where Carolina will be updating a live-blog about female entrepreneurship, courage and investments (worldwide) throughout the next week. Please share your projects, links and experiences there.