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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang RI seeks `concrete action' for ASEAN Community?

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/09/2010 11:14 AM

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has called on Southeast Asian nations to work harder to create an ASEAN Community in 2015 amid concern regarding China's rise and renewed initiatives from Japan and Australia for new regional architecture.

Marty said in his first annual foreign policy speech Friday that Indonesia was set to enhance its conciliatory role in a world that remains divided, despite the enormous challenges it now faces: from the financial crisis to the global pandemic and what he called the "unfinished business" of climate change.

But he also stressed that, "Indonesia's preoccupation with various global challenges in 2010 will not be at the expense of its commitment to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of its own region."

Marty said the concept of the ASEAN Community was forged to anticipate the recurring debate on the creation of East Asia or Asia Pacific communities, rekindled last year by Tokyo and Canberra respectively.

"For Indonesia, there cannot be an East Asian Community or an Asia Pacific without an ASEAN Community as its core constituent.

"Thus, the ASEAN Community, the various *ASEAN +' processes, the ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and East Asia Summit are to pave the way for the creation of an East Asian Community with ASEAN playing a central role," the minister said.

"The urgency of concrete action to create an ASEAN Community in 2015 cannot be underestimated."

The political and economic discrepancies in Southeast Asia have cast doubts the grouping can achieve its goal in time. Meanwhile, the mounting clout of China in the region has made the ten ASEAN countries apprehensive.

In a move that clearly showcases wariness of China, Indonesia has proposed the regional grouping postpone the full implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Marty, however, made clear that Indonesia would remain committed to the agreement it made with Asia's new powerhouse economy.

The year 2010 is predicted to be a tough year and therefore Indonesia will retain its focus on multilateral diplomacy, Marty said, urging the reform of the UN, especially its Security Council, to "better reflect the contemporary world".

"Indonesia will continue to be at the forefront in promoting the role of the UN in tackling the global crisis and at the same time calling for its reform."

With a tagline of "a thousand friends, zero enemies," Indonesia aims to strengthen the existing ties with countries around the world to a higher level, with renewed and focused efforts to promote economic diplomacy.

"The promotion of trade, investment and tourism is critical to ensure that foreign policy provides a tangible contribution to our development efforts. The foreign policy machinery will be galvanized for this purpose," Marty said.

Calling 2010 as the year for Indonesia to reap its "democratic dividend", he believed Indonesia's diplomacy was now at a crossroads, with a chance to take its international role to another level.

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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang Official: Fourth church attacked in Malaysia?

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur | Sat, 01/09/2010 3:33 PM

Officials say a fourth church has been hit by firebombs in Malaysia amid a growing dispute in the country over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

Bishop Philip Loke says two firebombs were believed to have been thrown at his Good Shepherd Lutheran Church early Saturday but missed the glass windows, hitting the building wall instead.

He says church members discovered two burned patches on the building wall at midday and found glass splinters on the ground. He said there was no damage to the church in the Petaling Jaya suburb.

The incident occurred a day after three other churches were attacked by firebombs.

Many Muslims are angry about a Dec. 31 court decision overturning a government ban on Roman Catholics using "Allah" for God.

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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang Hedge Fund Chief Warns China Bubble Will Burst?

James Chanos, the contrarian investor who predicted the collapse of Enron, insists that the economic boom in China is headed for a fall.

Chanos built his fortunes predicting the collapse of Enron and other high-flying companies whose stories were too good to be true, and now Chanos is working to bust the myth of the biggest conglomerate of all: China Inc.

Chanos is warning that China"s hyper-stimulated economy is headed for a crash, rather than the sustained boom that most economists predict.

He said that its surging real estate sector, buoyed by a flood of speculative capital, looks like “Dubai times 1,000 â€" or worse.”

He even suspects that Beijing is cooking its books, faking, among other things, its eye-popping growth rates of more than8 percent.

As America"s pre-eminent short-seller he bets big money that companies’ strategies will fail â€" Chanos"s narrative runs counter to the prevailing wisdom on China. Most economists and governments expect Chinese growth momentum to continue this year, buoyed by what remains of a $586 billion government stimulus program that began last year, meant to lift exports and domestic consumption.

Chanos, 51, whose hedge fund, Kynikos Associates, based in New York, has $6 billion under management, is not the only skeptic on China. But he is among the most prominent and vocal.

For all his record of prescience â€" in addition to predicting Enron"s demise, he also spotted the looming problems of Tyco International, the Boston Market restaurant chain and, more recently, home builders and some of the world"s biggest banks â€" his detractors say that he knows little or nothing about China or its economy and that his bearish calls should therefore be ignored.

He has already been spreading the view that the China miracle is blinding investors to the risk that the country is producing far too much. “The Chinese,” he warned in an interview in November with Politico.com, “are in danger of producing huge quantities of goods and products that they will be unable to sell.”

The New York Times

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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang Harvard receives $20.5m gift for new Asia studies center?

Benefactor Peter Sondakh and David T. Ellwood, Harvard Kennedy School dean, at the center"s signing ceremony. (Tony Rinaldo for The Boston Globe)

Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in the world and the largest Muslim-majority democracy. Yet even at Harvard University, Indonesia has remained among the less studied major Asian nations, overshadowed by China, Japan, and Vietnam.

That is about to change, thanks to a fortuitous connection between an Indonesian business magnate and the Asia expert who heads the Ash Center at Harvard"s Kennedy School of Government. A $20.5 million gift - described as one of the five largest in the school of government"s 74-year history - is funding a new Institute for Asia and a new Indonesia program.

The Kennedy School yesterday announced the gift from the Rajawali Foundation, the charitable arm of PT Rajawali Corp., one of Indonesia"s largest conglomerates. The company, founded in the early 1980s by owner and director Peter Sondakh, is a major player in cement, retailing, palm oil, hotels, and other industries.

Professor Anthony Saich, director of the renamed Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Kennedy School, said in an interview that the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and the new Indonesia Program within it would allow an array of education and research initiatives.

“This will give us an opportunity to both bring in a new tranche of master"s degree students, and also to bring in current Indonesian officials into some of our executive programs,’’ Saich said. “We will also be running a fellows program that will bring in some of their good young academics to study with us.’’

Saich said the idea for a new institute flowed from Sondakh"s request for a competitive analysis for Indonesia similar to one that Kennedy School researchers had produced for Vietnam. Saich said he told Sondakh that he was not comfortable producing an in-depth study of Indonesia because the Kennedy School lacked the expertise on Indonesia that it had built up on Vietnam and China, for example.

So Sondakh offered to help strengthen the school"s capacity to produce high-level research on Indonesia and to strengthen its academic ties through collaboration with institutions there. The gift includes $10.5 million as an endowment for the new Asia institute, being paid over five years, and another $10 million, also spread over five years, to fund Indonesia-related activities.

“I think that one of the big advantages of this gift is that Southeast Asia generally has been poorly studied and understood across Harvard, and we have barely one or two students here a year from Indonesia,’’ Saich said. “As a result we have few contacts compared to other important countries, and little ongoing research.’’

With a population of 230 million people and 17,000 islands, Indonesia is a vibrant multiparty democracy and also a bulwark of moderate Muslim governance in Asia, combating extremists who have carried out deadly terror bombings. So the country is important strategically, not only in the region but also for its potential to influence other Muslim nations.

James F. Smith writes about Boston"s global ties. His blog is atboston.com/worldlyboston. His e-mail is jsmith@globe.com

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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang Police warn of terrorism threat behind illegal immigrant issue?

Dicky Christanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/05/2010 9:39 PM

The National Police has found early indications that might link the current influx of foreign immigrants, who enter this country illegally, with terrorism, chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said Tuesday.

“We received early intelligence information that shows these immigrants might be followed by those who share a relationship with some terrorist organizations,” Ito said.

“As of now, I have to acknowledge we are still in the dark about the backgrounds of these immigrants, especially those from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka,” he said.

“We will immediately follow up the intelligence report by working with our counterparts from other agencies [such as the immigration office] to avoid potential terrorist attacks,” he said.

However, Ito refused to provide a detailed explanation when asked about the police"s strategy to detect terrorism behind the illegal immigration issue.

Currently, there are several groups of foreign refugees from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Sri Lanka who are in the country. These refugees have usually chosen to leave their home countries saying they believed they would not be able to live normal lives there.

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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang Burma leader Than Shwe gives election warning?

Than Shwe said his roadmap was "the sole process for transition"

Burma's military leader Than Shwe has urged people to make what he called the "correct choices" when elections are held at some point later this year.

General Than Shwe made his comments in a message to mark Independence Day.

He said his government's seven-stage roadmap was the only way for the country to achieve democracy.

A date for the elections has not been set, but they will be the first since 1990, when the military refused to recognise the opposition's victory.

According to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Rachel Harvey, the coming year could prove to be a watershed for Burma, but no-one is making any firm predictions on the outcome.

Growing divide

In his annual message read out by another military general at a ceremony in the remote new capital Nay Pyi Taw, Senior General Than Shwe said his seven-step "roadmap to democracy" was "the sole process for transition".

Than Shwe did not spell out exactly what he meant by "correct choices", but many in Burma will interpret his comments as an implicit warning, our correspondent says.

The underlying message appears to be that the military government's plan is the only game in town and it will be played according to the generals' rules.

The election will be the first in Burma since the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory in 1990.

It was a result the military leadership refused to recognise - and the NLD was never allowed to take power.

The NLD has not said whether it intends to contest this year's poll, but in its own Independence Day statement, the party appealed for what it called transparent and sincere dialogue towards national reconciliation.

It also referred to the growing divide between rich and poor in Burma, and said that the majority of people were suffering.

There have been unconfirmed reports in some areas of dissent in the lower ranks of the military over pay and conditions.

Some observers believe that deteriorating economic circumstances as much as political manoeuvring could ultimately decide Burma's future.

The US, which recently changed its policy to one of engagement with the military government, used the occasion of Burma's Independence Day to offer support for the country's independence.

But Washington also said it looked forward to the day when people could freely exercise their universal human rights.

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Gimana neh pendapatnya tentang FTA with ASEAN comes into force?

From Friday, most goods traded between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attracted zero or little tariff.

The average tariff on goods from ASEAN countries is cut to 0.1 percent from 9.8 percent. The six original ASEAN members - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - will slash the average tariffs on Chinese goods from 12.8 percent to 0.6 percent.

By 2015, 90 percent of goods are expected to flow without tariffs between China and the four new ASEAN members: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Border traders were happy with the launch of the FTA, the world's largest in terms of population, 1.9 billion, and third largest by GDP, trailing the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area.

Dozens of trucks, mostly carrying dragonfruit from Vietnam, were waiting to be unloaded Friday morning at the Tianyuan Fruit Trade Market, one of China's largest markets for fruit imports, at Pingxiang Customs point in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"The establishment of the free trade area is really good news," said Liu Yuzhen, who has been trading fruits for 16 years.

She sells more than 10 tons of apples, pears, oranges and other fruits to Southeast Asia everyday, and hopes her business will expand as the FTA will facilitate Customs clearance and reduce logistics costs.

Business leaders said the FTA would definitely liberalize trade.

"This will enable trade to flow more freely between China and ASEAN, it is a very good thing," said Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association.

He said the FTA would also create more opportunities for ASEAN countries to increase regional trade.

"Cambodia can produce more products and export more to China's market," he said.

Experts have predicted the removal of trade duties will prompt China-ASEAN trade to grow 40 to 50 percent.

Trade between China and ASEAN declined 16.7 percent year-on-year to hit $165.7 billion in the first 10 months last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

An ASEAN leader said the FTA is beneficial to all.

"We sincerely hope that all parties will act to ensure that the man on the street will benefit from these reductions in tariffs," ASEAN secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said on ASEAN's website on Thursday.

He added that the lower cost of inputs will allow the business community a wider choice of goods, and in the process, they will move toward becoming more globally competitive.

Beijing-based analysts said the FTA signals China's commitment to free trade although it has fallen victim to a rising number of protectionist measures taken by developed countries.

"China's efforts to establish the FTA is aimed at not only expanding overseas markets, but also promoting trade and investment liberalization, especially amid global trade protectionism," said Zhang Monan, an economist with the State Information Center.

The FTA - which follows similar trade links established between ASEAN and Japan and South Korea - "gives new vim" to world trade at a time when multinational trade talks are stalled, said Fan Ying, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University.

"The move shows China is willing to open its market although it is a victim of rising trade protection measures," she said. "The FTA will help economies recover from the financial crisis."

Deputy Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said last week that other countries launched more than 100 trade cases against China, affecting $12 billion of Chinese exports, last year. Both figures were double the figure from a year earlier.

With the FTA in place, Zhang expects economic integration between China and ASEAN to be strengthened.

She also said she hoped the Chinese currency, the yuan, can be more widely used in Southeast Asia.

Related readings:

• China-ASEAN FTA pact set to boost trade volume
• China-ASEAN free trade area starts operation
• ASEAN-China FTA makes Vietnam-China trade easier and better
• ASEAN chief warns FTA governments against protectionism

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