All posts tagged: Indonesia

The pope urges Indonesia to live up to its promise of ‘harmony in diversity’

The pope urges Indonesia to live up to its promise of ‘harmony in diversity’

Published by skeptic

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Pope Francis urged Indonesia to live up to its promise of “harmony in diversity” and fight religious intolerance on Wednesday, as he set a rigorous pace for an 11-day, four-nation trip through tropical Southeast Asia and Oceania that will test his stamina and health. Despite the grueling itinerary, an energetic Francis joked and laughed his way through a packed first full day in Indonesia, meeting with outgoing President Joko Widodo and other Indonesian officials at the presidential palace and then greeting Catholic priests, nuns and seminarians at Jakarta’s main cathedral in the afternoon. Cannons boomed as Francis joined Widodo on the veranda of the palace along with President-elect Prabowo Subianto. A marching band, stiff-legged troops and children in traditional Indonesian dress welcomed the first pope to visit in 35 years. In his remarks to officials, Francis compared Indonesia’s human diversity to the archipelago’s 17,000 islands. He said each one contributes something specific to form “a magnificent mosaic, in which each tile is an irreplaceable element in creating a great original and …

Jokowi signals continuity in Indonesia’s 2025 budget, touts achievements in final State of the Nation speech

Jokowi signals continuity in Indonesia’s 2025 budget, touts achievements in final State of the Nation speech

Published by skeptic

ANOTHER APOLOGY Dressed in a black outfit of the Betawi people – a group native to Jakarta – for his State of the Nation address, Mr Widodo bade farewell and apologised to the people for the second time this month. While he had tried to give his best, he understood that his achievements could not please everyone, he said during a 20-minute speech at the People’s Consultative Assembly meeting, a yearly tradition before Independence Day celebrations on Aug 17. “I and (Vice President) Ma’ruf Amin apologise. I apologise to every heart that may be disappointed, for every hope that may not have been realised, for every dream that may not have been achieved,” said Mr Widodo. His previous apology, during a congregational prayer event on Aug 1, was labelled by critics as a ploy to gain sympathy. At last year’s State of the Nation address, Mr Widodo had emphasised continuity of policies ahead of the February general election while asserting he had no authority to determine who the presidential and vice-presidential candidates would be.  Ahead of …

Commentary: Indonesia’s Prabowo is setting out an agenda for government, but his financial inheritance will be far from rosy

Commentary: Indonesia’s Prabowo is setting out an agenda for government, but his financial inheritance will be far from rosy

Published by Sam

FINANCE MINISTRY UNDER PRESSURE Meanwhile, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani is coming under pressure to act as the Indonesian rupiah continues its slide. The currency has depreciated by 5 per cent against the US dollar in 2024 alone, fuelling import inflation which has now surged back past 3 per cent in a blow to consumers. Markets had been expecting a cut in interest rates, which are contractionary at 6.25 per cent, but there is now a consensus that there won’t be a change until this summer. At least a depreciating rupiah has helped Indonesian exports, which rose for the first time in 11 months in April, by 1.72 per cent from a year earlier to US$19.62 billion. In terms of non-oil and gas exports, China remains the top destination for Indonesian goods (US$4.28 billion), ahead of India (US$1.81 billion) and the United States (US$1.75 billion). Nonetheless, economists had expected a much more significant increase in exports. The Finance Ministry has also faced criticism for a series of incidents perceived as stymying commerce, following complaints of seemingly …

Singapore to Aceh: She cycled 1,630km for to visit her grandfather’s birthplace in Indonesia and beyond

Singapore to Aceh: She cycled 1,630km for to visit her grandfather’s birthplace in Indonesia and beyond

Published by Sam

My late paternal grandfather was born in Bagansiapiapi, on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Growing up, I’d hear all sorts of stories about his childhood before he moved to Singapore around World War II. The snippets I heard fascinated me so much that I read whatever I could find on the internet about the Chinese families who lived in Sumatra in the early 1900s. I also asked my extended family about what our family was like in Indonesia, and I discovered all sorts of things. My great-grandparents were originally from China and settled in Indonesia. They were fluent in both Bahasa Indonesia and the Hokkien dialect. Their main source of income came from the rubber plantation they owned, in addition to fishing. All these stories made me want to visit the area but I never acted on it until it hit me one day: What if I cycled solo from Singapore to Sumatra to visit my grandfather’s place of birth? The idea grew in my mind and I became excited every time I thought …

Sashya Subono Halse: Indonesian animator who helped bring Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes to life

Sashya Subono Halse: Indonesian animator who helped bring Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes to life

Published by Sam

Planning to catch Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes in cinemas this weekend? Don’t forget to pay close attention to how realistic the ape characters are.  Indonesian animator Sashya Subono Halse literally had a hand in that – as well as plenty of other movies and TV shows you’re probably very familiar with. The 36-year-old Subono is an animator at Weta FX, a digital visual effects and animation company based in Wellington, New Zealand.  In her four years with Weta FX, she has worked her animation magic on the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Hawkeye and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and Disney movies Avatar: The Way Of Water and Kingdom of the Planet Of The Apes.  Her expertise includes matchmoving, which involves making computer-generated elements appear as if they were recorded in the real world, and facial motion animation, which brings a character’s face to life by recording the movements and expressions of a human face and transferring them to a digital character. Subono told CNA Women that for as long as she can remember, she has …

Indonesia nickel reserves enough for further expansions, official says

Indonesia nickel reserves enough for further expansions, official says

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JAKARTA : Indonesia’s nickel reserves are sufficient to support processing industries for the coming decades, an investment ministry official said on Wednesday, amid calls of restricting construction of new smelters due to a global glut. Indonesia’s high-grade nickel reserves is estimated to last until 2035, while its low-grade nickel until at least 2069, Mohammad Faizal, director for downstream strategic investment at Investment Ministry, told an industry conference in Jakarta organised by consultancy Mysteel. Indonesia’s high-grade 1.7 per cent nickel ore is mainly used for the country’s nickel pig iron (NPI) production, a feedstock for stainless steel, while lower grade is used to make products for the electric vehicles batteries. Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore in 2020 to encourage domestic value-addition, which resulted in massive investment into the production of nickel pig iron (NPI) as well as into production of material for electric vehicles batteries. “These show potential for further expansions in both stainless steel and high-pressure leaching acid plant,” Faizal told participants, referring to the process of extracting material for batteries. The reserves would …

Need to monitor, manage FX volatility ‘carefully’ – Indonesia Finance Minister

Need to monitor, manage FX volatility ‘carefully’ – Indonesia Finance Minister

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LONDON : The volatility in foreign currency markets over the last month needs to be monitored and carefully managed Indonesia’s finance minister said on Tuesday. The gyrations in FX markets were linked to higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates that were sucking capital out of emerging markets like a “vacuum cleaner”, said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, speaking at an event at the Asia House think tank in London. “(The) FX volatility that we have seen in April needs to be managed and watched carefully,” she said. Indonesia’s rupiah recently hit its lowest level since the COVID-19-triggered global market selloff of early 2020. Its 5 per cent fall this year is also the worst start to a year since then and prompted the country’s central bank to deliver a surprise interest rate hike in April. Source link

Commentary: Are young voters poised to upend Japanese politics?

Commentary: Are young voters poised to upend Japanese politics?

Published by Sam

YOUTH APATHY Merely lowering the voting age is not sufficient. It is imperative to foster active support among young voters and instil a sense of voluntary political participation. Japan’s decision to lower the voting age was not inevitable, but a response to certain incentives – primarily tied to constitutional revision. The LDP’s conservative stance, coupled with scholarly observations of a conservative shift among young demographics, prompted the inclusion of a voting age reduction in a proposed national referendum law. Former prime minister Shinzo Abe recognised the potential influence a conservative youth vote could have on constitutional revision. The motives behind lowering the voting age were not solely focused on enhancing youth political awareness. Rather, this was a tactical manoeuvre to advance the LDP’s longstanding ambition of amending Japan’s pacifist constitution, particularly Article 9. Since implementing new voting-age regulations in 2015, Japan has witnessed five national elections. While youth apathy towards politics remains prevalent, younger generations tend to favour the LDP. According to an exit poll conducted by NHK for the 2021 House of Representatives election, …

Rescuers brave Indonesia volcano eruptions to save pets

Rescuers brave Indonesia volcano eruptions to save pets

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“THEIR LIVES MATTER” Authorities had told locals to evacuate outside a 7km exclusion zone around the crater, which was lowered to 5km on Sunday, with around 11,000 people earmarked for evacuation. As of Saturday, more than 5,000 people from Tagulandang had been evacuated, the national disaster mitigation agency said Sunday, while all of Ruang’s residents – more than 800 – had been taken for permanent relocation. Authorities had warned of potential flying rocks, lava flows and tsunamis due to debris sliding into the sea. But despite the risk, the volunteers were getting to work. One climbed over the fence of an abandoned house to rescue several dogs left behind by their owner, before handing them over to vet Hendrikus Hermawan. Hendrikus said the owner had asked the volunteers for help rescuing the dogs, which included a five-month-old puppy. Many of the rescued animals appeared hungry and stressed after their owners left them, he told AFP. “The first treatment we do here is give food and additional vitamins to relieve their stress,” he said, adding that …

£24bn city being built for 11m people whose homes will be underwater | World | News

£24bn city being built for 11m people whose homes will be underwater | World | News

Published by skeptic

A major plan to move millions of people out of their homes and over a thousand miles away to a huge island full of chilling jungle tribes is underway. Around 1.9 million living in the Indonesia capital Jakarta could be set to move to the new capital city by the end of 2024 to avoid their homes being lost to flooding. The ambitious plan would cost around £23.9 billion ($30bn) and could see families relocating 1,200 miles away to the Borneo region. The new city would be known as Nusantara, and would be based on a 1,000 square mile island. Although, only 216 square miles have been allocated for the current city footprint. The remaining land would be set aside to allow the city to expand in the future, reports The Sun. The idea to leave Jakarta came about after chilling predictions said around 95 percent of North Jakarta would be submerged underwater by 2050. Its population also continues to grow with 11 million people now calling it home. It prompted the Indonesian government to …