Indonesia Green » Media Spotlight Indonesia

Amrozi Bites The Dust

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:19:42 +0000

Amrozi goes to hell

Domestic politics or rather crafty fishing by police intelligence ?

The execution of the three Bali bombers has been perpetually postponed in a fashion rather similar to the trial of Soeharto. It’s a sensitive issue. The many millions of Indonesians who live in remote villages, far from television, many of whom are illiterate may have a different spin on the Amrozi case compared to someone who has Googled the topic on the net and stumbled upon this blog.

A lot of political and media information that reaches far flung communities often does so via the mosque during Friday mid-day prayers (Sholat Jumat) or in ever increasingly popular ‘road shows’ by the likes of Nuril Mustofa , who tour the country delivering fire-brand public sermons. These guys have billboards showing young clean faced bearded Imams ( Islamic equivalent to preachers) dressed in full Arabic garb – the boards the size of which put Malboro to shame. They had a ‘show’ in our neighborhood a few months ago. Spanduks (promotional banners) lined the length of jl. Warung Buncit. By seven o’clock in the evening, bang on peak hour, around 2000 people had amassed and were laying prayer mats across two lanes of the main road. Traffic was forced to jump the busway barrier in order to pass. There was a massive jam. It took me an extra hour to complete my otherwise 30 min journey home. I’d be real surprised if there were any formal requests made to local police or department of roads, as are the requirements for any public meetings that take place in Jakarta, for this particular ‘meet’. These firebrand political religious groups display a real sense of arrogance in their quest to ‘morally reform’ South East Asia. Mustofa is actually promoted by Bakries’ phone company. He has impressive representation around many parts of the Jabotek area. I wonder if there are any bigger fish in the international arena that also support such groups as these ?

In a country with such a massive population (in excess of 200 million) it is easy to make an impression on the poor who have little education and less resources to aid them in decision making. Should an outsider offer free education , albeit rather heavily enriched with a hard-line religious flavour, he will be readily received with open thankful arms.

America really wants to take heed of this kind of phenomena. The Bush administration’s ‘crusade’ to stamp out terrorism and religious fanaticism was a foolish mistake. Well it was mainly a cover up to gain footing in competitive oil producing nations actually, but the media hype and anti-Islamic spin that has resulted has had far reaching xenophobic consequences.

While the West is busy over turning rocks and checking under beds for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, silent minorities are investing in Islamic boarding schools and publishing houses distilling their own brand of anti-West philosophy. And this is certainly a smarter more effective approach reaching entire communities in a seemingly non-violent way. Would it not be far more effective for Western governments to make a concentrated effort and monitored investment in the improvement of the nation wide sub-standard public education system over here ? I’m not suggesting Bible class in every school, but empowering the next generations with effective learning and decision making skills that are sadly lacking in present day schools. Show the kids how to think for themselves and they are less likely to be misguided by all the fanatic retort. A fate that befell those three poor fools from Semudra. Pawns in a scheme to generate a religious political divide.

Amrozi was an idiot. Could it really have been so easy to brainwash these men into strapping bombs to themselves in the name of God ? Show me where it says that is how to act as a good Muslim in the Al’Quaran ? When the only access to education is the likes of a warped fanatic such as Basir preaching how to get to heaven and get some revenge on the way, it is very possible. Take away education and you take away the ability to make logical conclusions. A lot of people act on impulsive emotion because they simply don’t have anything else to act upon. The laughing Amrozi can not begin to even comprehend the extend of the atrocities he committed. His brain was never taught to. He and his family cry out ‘injustice’ at the notion of his impending execution in much the same manner a child would cry out ‘It’s not fair !’ when half his chocolate is broken off to give to one of his siblings. It’s a non-thought-out emotional reflex action.

Now here’s the real clincher. The Semudra brothers were three little nobodies plucked from a tiny village by a calculating , communally vocal and highly convincing higher authority. They reacted quickly. They reacted emotionally. The only teaching they had taught them to follow, not to think. So what of the few hundred thousand illiterate villagers whose only understanding of this incidence is what they hear from word of mouth ? How are they likely to react ? No wonder the government is being highly cautious about how they handle meting out justice .

My mother in law is a devote Muslim. She has not been to Mecca yet. We are a bit concerned that the heat might be too much for her. However all her neighbors call her ‘Ibu Haj.’- a title reserved for those who have gained purification while on pilgrimage to Mecca. When discussing the evening news, she retorts ‘Why don’t they just get a shotgun and get it over with ! They are a disgrace to my religion !’

Well if you ask me Mum, rather than take their lives as they took others, perhaps it would be more fitting to take from them their idea of religious identity. For what they did was not only cold blooded senseless murder, but also slander on the righteous followers of Islam. Strip them of their robes , shave their beards and heads, take away their books and mats. Make them understand that what they have done is not perceived by anyone with an education as a religious act but only as an act of senseless terrorism . This would strike a more effective blow to the real instigators of the bombing and in doing so would hopefully bring a more humane sense of justice to lose who have lost their loved ones.

Lapindo Mud Catastrophe

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:10:19 +0000

Last week I went to accompany David to do some filming and documentation of the life cycles of Bamboo Andong in Malang. Dr.Subagiono is super keen to get involved in our project and had offered to show us around some of the bamboo forests and community nurseries in Malang.

It was the end of the long dry season , so not much going on in terms of the latter.

We flew into Surabaya ; Indonesia’s second biggest , pretty much tree-less city, and took the toll road up to Malang. A very pleasant drive albeit the long traffic jam alongside some kind of retaining wall. I noticed a huge plume of smoke billowing from above a lake in the distance. Subagiono informed me it was the notorious ‘Lapindo disaster’. We stopped to get a better look.

We climbed to the top of the four meter high embankment and were greeted by a handful of ‘make-shift’ guides, victims of the mudflow, who were offering tours, DVDs and factual accounts of the disaster. The ‘mud lake’ stretched out for miles. A fair bit of work had gone into holding it back before it consumed the railway linking Surabaya to Malang. It has already absorbed one major highway and 16 villages along it’s route. I was told the lake covers some 300 hectares and it certainly looks about that big. Nearby from where we were standing was the tops of a couple of brick houses and a couple of bubbling pools. (Take a look at my short video embed.)

Reports state that the disaster occurred when Lapindo Brantas ; a private company belonging to Bakrie, the current minister of public welfare (there’s irony for you !) , was drilling for gas. The Banjar-Panji 1 borehole disrupted a limestone shelf which was under pressure and gas and mud began to spurt out…and then spurt some more…and more and more… This occurred on May 28 2006. Two years later efforts to plug the hole have failed and the mud continues to flow.

There’s a lot of debate about Lapindo. The company of course says it was a natural disaster linked to an earthquake that happened two days before in the center of Java. Subagiono, who has lived in Malang all his life says that the volcano constantly blows fine black sand into the air. I noticed this on the roofs of many cars in the rural areas and wondered just how refreshing the fresh air in Malang actually was.
So maybe mother nature did have something to do with it. A team of Geo’s from the UK sent in to study the disaster don’t think so. There’s a good read about the whole fiasco over on WIKI

At the end of the day it’s the displaced villagers who lost out the most. There are some pretty poor people in this part of Java. They are even the brunt of a lot of TV serial humor ; Orang Jawo. They are a humble bunch that seem content to get by day by day on next to nothing. Indonesia is in the’ ring of fire’ , volcanoes and earthquakes all over the place so the people of Porong will probably plod on deservingly of whatever assistance the government and Mr Bakrie may or may not decide to give them.

Review Asia – The Green Issue

admin — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 05:07:43 +0000

Review-Asia is one of the many ‘Glossies’ to be found in the newsagent magazine rack these days. Their 15^th issue is their Green Issue. A pretty good read. Thought I might write a letter to the editor. Here’s the first draft ;

While the cover of Review Asia’s ‘Green Issue’ rings a well needed alarm, your feature article illustrates that at least there is some awareness of the urgency of the problem and that governments and organizations in Asia are starting to take steps in the right direction. It is now a question of will it be ‘too little, too late’ ?

I have been living in Indonesia for the past twenty years , hopelessly witnessing it’s environmental demise as populations over take ecosystems and communities eagerly exchange a rural existence for a technologically enhanced modern one with all the trappings plastic bags and detergent bottles can afford. These communities simply desire the disposable glitzy lifestyles that we of the west have enjoyed and indeed flaunted, in blissful ignorance of the environment, for the last century.

The problem with the arrival of plastic bags and bottles in Indonesia, was that they suddenly appeared without any instructions on how to recycle or dispose of them properly. It was a case of “Wow ! Cool ! Coca-cola in a light weight plastic bottle ! When I’m done I simply throw it away !” Australia , with a population less than one tenth of Indonesia, is already struggling with it’s waste management. Would it not have been a better option for everybody, to say at the onset ; “Well plastic coke bottles are great but there are a lot less problems with waste by sticking to the glass ones you use and recycle now. Plus it does taste better doesn’t it ?” Maybe it’s a little arrogant to say “ Learn from our mistakes.” We’ve had our joyride with the planet and discovered a few set backs, so sorry but no more MTV for anyone.

People may well react in a manner “The product is here, so I’m going to use it to my benefit and let the guy who made it work out the solution to the pollution.”

Awareness is one thing, attitude is another. As Gaertner observes in India “We have the best environmental laws and regulations in place but very lax implementation.”

This rings true in Indonesia as well. The government here also has a ‘Blue Skies’ program for reducing vehicle emissions and yet filth spewing un-maintained private sector buses are a common eye-sore. There is random emission testing and even hefty fines, but ultimately a compromise is met at street level between both underpaid driver and policeman and the consequence to the environment is literally breath taking.

It is not enough to expect governments of these nations let alone their humble people to take responsibility for their actions. The issue is global. It’s time the international community as a whole took a broader view of the problem facing the planet, stepped up to the plate and really enforced the kind of protocols such as the Kyoto agreement. For everyone. No exception.

We are all in this together.

Indonesia and Brazil to co operate on bio-fuels and education

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:07:57 +0000

This is an encouraging article from the Jakarta Post.

Encouraging because of the inclusion of education. Both governments look like they are willing and at least trying to take positive steps to solve global environmental problems .

With education there can be a sensible transfer of knowledge. In this case Brazil has developed technology for bio-fuel and can teach Indonesia how to use it properly and effectively. A step in the right direction.

A big problem in Indonesia these days is the structure of the legal system and it’s inability to uphold certain laws. especially those concerning the environment, protection of forests ect.

When Bio-Fuel became the ‘buzz’ word for idle entrepreneurs in Indonesia about 5 years ago, there was a rush on buying up land for plantations. It was a double-whammy-danger disaster because rich conglomerates with a lot of money power were able to assert themselves as ‘environmental do – gooders’ “We are helping to replace petrol and other green house nasties” . Their actions though are purely motivated by greed. There is a total disregard for the environment – possibly due to lack of education and understanding of what ‘environment’ actually even means.

I’m not much of a fan of politics and I don’t want to risk sounding like a xenophobe making allegations without having facts to back them up. I do see a lot of ‘interesting’ things though so I aim to use this blog the same way as one might jot down in a journal what they see. I’ll leave the facts up to the fact finders.

Such as this inspiring blogger ;

Click on the pic to go to the link.

Celsias looks like an interesting group. Can they make an impact on developing nations and their governments though. I joined today to find out. I’ll keep me posted.