Rilek1Corner

Category: Politik

  • Indonesia VP Blames Foreign Countries For Destroying Forests

    Indonesia VP Blames Foreign Countries For Destroying Forests

    Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla has blamed foreign countries for destroying Indonesia’s forests, and wants them to pay to help restore the damaged land.

    “What happens here is not only our problem. The foreign people also destroyed our forests,” said Kalla when officiating the Indonesia Forest Congress in Jakarta on Wednesday (Nov 30).

    Kalla said he has brought up this point at various international forums, and is angry with those who accused Indonesia for not managing its forest well.

    “During a big conference in Tokyo, someone said that Indonesia has forests, but they are damaged and should be restored,” said Kalla. “I became angry in front of thousands of people. I said, ‘this is a chair, this is a door, this is a window from my country. You take, and pay $5, and you bring it here, and sell for $100. Indonesian companies just get $5’.

    “There is Mitsubishi from Japan, Hyundai and others, they finished what we have. I told them, ‘you have to pay, if not we will cut down all the trees, and let the world feel the heat’. So, the world must also be responsible.”

    He added that Indonesia’s peatland restoration efforts should not be funded by the state, instead contributions should come from the international community.

    Indonesia set up the Peatland Restoration Agency after the massive forest fires last year. The agency’s goal is to restore some two million hectares of damaged peatland, and it needs at least US$1 billion in funding over five years.

    In 2010, Norway pledged US$1 billion for the Reducing Emissions and Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programme. But the funds have yet to be released because Indonesia has not put in place any REDD programmes.

    Norway’s climate and environment minister visited Indonesia earlier this year to see the progress for himself. Despite the lack of progress, Norway said the funding is still being made available for Indonesia.

    KALLA REMINDS MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE TO BE GRATEFUL FOR FRESH AIR

    Kalla also reminded Indonesia’s neighbours not to complain when there is haze in the region. He said: “Malaysia and Singapore get angry because of the forest fires. It’s so easy to say, but you think we also don’t feel it? We feel it even more. Secondly, if you get fresh air from Sumatra, Kalimantan, you don’t say thank you. So, if you get the haze, why should I apologise?

    “The world has to pay for all of this. Don’t always accuse Indonesia. I never want to be accused. Even if we are wrong, why do we still give out so many permits (for land)?”

    Forest fires in Indonesia has been an annual problem, resulting in haze that blankets and choke parts of the country and the region. The fires are caused by farmers and corporations using the slash-and-burn method, which is the easiest, and cheapest, to clear the land for plantation.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia

  • Thousands Gather For Protest Against Jakarta Governor

    Thousands Gather For Protest Against Jakarta Governor

    Thousands of white-clad Muslims streamed towards a central Jakarta park on Friday, gathering for a rally expected to draw more than 100,000 Indonesians demanding the arrest of the capital’s governor, a Christian accused of insulting the Koran.

    National news agency Antara said 22,000 police personnel would be deployed to avoid a repeat of the violence that flared at the end of a protest led by hardline Islamists last month when more than 100 people were injured in clashes with police.

    Muslim groups accuse Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – nicknamed “Ahok” – of insulting the Koran, though they have pledged that Friday’s demonstration will be peaceful.

    Protesters began moving from the hulking Istiqlal mosque towards the National Monument in the centre of the city at around 5am, after morning prayers.

     

    “We are expecting more than 100,000 participants,” Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said late on Thursday. “There is enough security so the public need not worry. We hope everything will proceed according to the agreement with the protesters.”

    Indonesia has the world’s biggest Muslim population but recognises six religions and is home to dozens of ethnic groups, some of which follow traditional beliefs.

    Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, is being investigated over comments he made about his opponents’ use of the Koran in political campaigning. He denies wrongdoing but has apologised for the remarks.

    Police on Thursday handed over their investigation dossier to prosecutors, who are expected to take the case of alleged blasphemy to court in coming weeks.

    Simmering religious and ethnic tension last month prompted President Joko Widodo to rally top military, political, and religious figures in a sign of unity amid fears of attempts to undermine the stability of his government.

    Police helicopters last week dropped leaflets over the capital warning residents of harsh penalties if the upcoming rally turned violent.

    Tens of thousands participated in military-led rallies in several cities this week calling for unity and celebrating Indonesia’s diversity.

    The Jakarta government has also put up billboards on major roads calling for national unity and displaying pictures of independence heroes who fought against colonial rule.

    The Australian foreign ministry and the US embassy in Jakarta issued security notices urging nationals to avoid the demonstration.

    Purnama is running for re-election in February against two Muslim candidates. The governor, who is popular with many for pushing through tough reforms to clean up the teeming city, has slipped into second place in the race, opinion polls showed this week.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia

  • Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Ghim Moh Hawker Centre; Treated To Local Delights

    Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Ghim Moh Hawker Centre; Treated To Local Delights

    Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was hosted to breakfast by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on Friday (Dec 2) at Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre, as the country is looking to upgrade its wet markets and build a hawker centre in Yangon.

    Clad in a traditional Myammar dress, Ms Suu Kyi was treated to local favourites – carrot cake, laksa, tau huay, putu mayam and chwee kueh – ahead of the wrapping up of her three-day visit to Singapore.

    She was accompanied by Myanmar’s Union Minister for Commerce U Than Myint and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin. Also present were the National Environment Agency’s CEO Ronnie Tay and Singapore Ambassador to Myammar Robert Chua.

    The stall owners at Ghim Moh market said they were informed of the visit two days earlier, and some of them came as early as 4am to prepare the dishes.

    Mdm Letchmi Veerapan, who has been serving putu mayam for the past 20 years, told Channel NewsAsia: “”This is my first time meeting Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, I’m really honoured and happy that she chose our dish to try. I came here at 4am to prepare the putu mayam for her. I’m really very honoured to do that.”

    The sentiment was echoed by 66-year-old Lee Sah Bah, stall owner of Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh. “I came early to prepare because she’s our VIP,” she said.

    The Myanmar State Counsellor is not the only one interested in Singapore’s hawker culture. Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein visited Singapore in July to study how Singapore manages its hawker centres, and went to Tiong Bahru Market and Ci Yuan Hawker Centre then.

    Over the last two days, the Nobel Laureate was hosted to dinner by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and called on Acting President J Y Pillay, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. Ms Suu Kyi also visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where an orchid hybrid was named in her honour.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia

  • Political Activist, Uncle Yap, Gives Up On Selfish Opposition Politics

    Political Activist, Uncle Yap, Gives Up On Selfish Opposition Politics

    A well-known political activist, he had been seen by the side of leaders of various opposition parties for almost two decades, from the 1980s to mid-2000s.

    During the 2006 General Election, there was even talk of Mr Yap Keng Ho, better known as “Uncle Yap”, contesting under the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) umbrella.

    But little has been heard of this colourful character — who had been in and out of jail many times for breaking the law while participating in some political activities — for the past five years.

    In a recent interview, Mr Yap, 55, told TODAY that he gradually stepped away from the local political scene because he grew disillusioned with some of the personalities in opposition parties and the “selfish politics” that were increasingly being played out.

    “What we are seeing now is politicking for personal interest and freedom, it is not for the good of the entire nation … I was expecting to see more valuable voices and ideas by reversing the fear (of the establishment) … But what came out was not what I appreciated.”

    Mr Yap said he first entered politics in the 1980s with a desire to “lift the lid of fear” that many opposition politicians had towards the governing People’s Action Party (PAP) and Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

    During the 2006 election, even though he did not contest as a candidate, Mr Yap took an active part in the hustings to express his support for SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and veteran opposition politician J B Jeyaretnam, whom he described as the late Mr Lee’s greatest adversaries.

    The late Jeyaretnam could not run as a candidate in the polls because he had been declared a bankrupt for failing to pay damages from defamation lawsuits brought by several PAP leaders.

    While he still keeps in touch with SDP members, Mr Yap spends most of his time now caring for his elderly mother and drives a Chrysler limousine taxi at night.

    Two months ago, he was highlighted in the newspapers as the cabbie who responded more than 20 times to cardiac arrest cases, among the highest number under SMRT’s AED-On-Wheels programme. Mr Yap, who was an instructor with the St John Ambulance Brigade in his school days, said he volunteered for the programme because he wanted to refresh the life-saving skills that he had learnt earlier.

    Mr Yap is also interested in raising awareness about the rapid depletion of natural resources.

    “The globe’s resources are not able to withstand our living and consumption habits … We need to convey the urgency (of this challenge), adjust values to correctly influence lifestyles,” he said.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Donald Low: Singaporeans Need To Get Facts Right On Singapore’s Role In China’s Economic Modernisation

    Donald Low: Singaporeans Need To Get Facts Right On Singapore’s Role In China’s Economic Modernisation

    The Singaporeans who think that the current kerfuffle with China shows that the Chinese government has forgotten that it was Singapore that inspired China’s economic modernization (beginning with Deng Xiaoping’s visit to Singapore in 1978) really need to get their heads (and their understanding of economic history) checked.

    First, the Chinese do not forget easily.

    Second, it is simply not true that Singapore’s development story was of great relevance for China. China’s development experience of the last thirty years has a lot more in common with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan’s experience: export-led industrialization through home-grown firms rather than MNCs, industrial policy aimed at developing indigenous capabilities rather than simply importing technologies from abroad, maintenance of tariff barriers (rather than the free trade that Singapore practised) for relatively long periods to benefit local companies, financial repression rather than a liberalized capital account, relatively weak rule of law, government-business relations that are quite cosy and corrupt, etc. All these practices are more reminiscent of China’s northeast Asian neighbors than of Singapore. So it’s simply not true that our development experience was an important role model for China; it’s delusional for us to think we are—then, or now.

    To the extent that the Chinese were interested in the Singapore experience at all, it has more to do with how the state maintained law and order, political stability and one party rule in an ostensibly democratic environment.

     

    Source: Donald Low

deneme bonusu