CONJUNCTION
NAMA :
DEWI ANISA KESUMA/12213285
KELAS :
1EA19
1.Palm oil as an economic pillar of Indonesia
In his inauguration
speech as president of Indonesia for 2009 to 2014, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
expressed his determination to improve the economy, giving priority to
improving public welfare and reducing poverty. These goals will be done through
economic programs that will focus on: **Economic development based on
competitiveness of natural resources management and human resource improvement.
**The creation of inclusive, fair and equal economic growth. (Kompas, Oct. 21,
2009).
The oil palm plantation is one of the development pillars
in agriculture that is based on natural resources and the natural richness of
Indonesia. The palm oil industry in Indonesia currently involves seven million
hectares, with smallholder farmers accounting for 40 percent (almost three
million hectares). In 2008 crude palm oil (CPO) production reached 19.2 million
tons and generated US$12.4 billion in foreign exchange from exports, making CPO
the most valuable non-oil and gas export last year.
It is also important to note that 3.5 million households
(about 14 million people) of farmers and employees make a living from oil palms
(on farm). The number of those indirectly involved in the palm oil industry
(off farm) is even much bigger. Thanks to the development of local suppliers,
contractors (transportation, construction, etc.) and village market workers.
Those who are involved (directly and indirectly) in the
industry earn an adequate living. Just imagine, with the current CPO price
($700/ton), a smallholder partner or plasma farmer that owns a two-hectare farm
can still enjoy a net income of Rp 3 million to Rp 4 million monthly. They live
near the plantations in decent houses with satellite TV and at least one
motorcycle. Employees who work on plantations also enjoy a good life. They
receive a salary plus incentives each month, live in decent housing with health
insurance and medical treatment provided by the oil palm plantations company
for their family members.
The development of oil palm plantations also plays a key
role in rural development. As we know, the development of oil palm plantations
takes place in the hinterlands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua,
which are barely touched by the central government and receive scant attention
related to modern economic activities. With extraordinary multiplier effects,
oil palm plantations in turn will become new centers of economic activities in
rural areas. The development of road infrastructure provides access for
isolated areas, allowing fast and dynamic economic activities. The
establishment of oil palm plantations can often lead to the emergence of new
districts, regencies and even provinces.
Indonesia still has vast tracts of land for future
development of oil palm plantations. It is estimated that there are 18 million
hectares of land that are available and suitable for oil palm plantations. If
the government is serious in encouraging the development of oil palm plantations,
it is expected that by 2020 Indonesia will produce no less that 40 million tons
of CPO with 10 to 12 million hectares of plantations. This is feasible
considering that the greatest growth in oil palm plantations come from
smallholder farmers with an annual growth of 24 percent.
This could create new jobs for 1.3 million households,
meaning that Indonesia could reduce the number of poor people by 1.3 million
families, or at least 5.2 million people. Currently, about 30 million people
live under the poverty line.
At the same time, the government would receive revenue
from tax and foreign exchange from CPO exports. How amazing, an economic
program that could reduce poverty and improve people's welfare without
involving government spending, but instead bringing more money to state
coffers. What's more, the economic program is competitive because it relies on
the country's own natural richness and can be done by Indonesians without the
help of foreign support, be it in terms of capital or technology.
We can rely on palm oil, which could be the hope of
Indonesia in developing independently in the future for the sovereignty and
dignity of our beloved country.
Those are the tasks of the government for the support of
development acceleration, especially if it wants to realize the commitment to
reduce poverty and improve public welfare. It would be understandable if we
were to envy Malaysia. Palm oil has become a strategic sector in economic
development in Malaysia, supported by the needed infrastructure, including
ports and roads, with support of promotion to foreign markets and other
"aid" from the government. Hopefully, Indonesia's palm oil industry
will see a much brighter future.
The writer is the chairman of the Indonesia
Palm Oil Association (GAPKI).
ENGLISH : Regarding this, the government
needs to do three things: **Create conducive policies, both fiscal
and non-fiscal,
for a conducive investment climate in oil palm plantations.
INDONESIAN : Mengenai hal ini, pemerintah perlu melakukan
tiga hal: ** Buat kebijakan yang kondusif, baik fiskal dan non-fiskal, untuk
iklim investasi yang kondusif di perkebunan kelapa sawit.
2.RI, Japan agree to renegotiate economic partnership deals
Indonesia
and Japan have agreed to renegotiate their economic partnership agreements amid
growing concern that the deals had failed to benefit both parties equally.
The decision to renegotiate the partnership agreements was reached during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said in Nusa Dua, Bali on Tuesday.
Hatta said a joint economic cooperation team would first evaluate the implementation of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJ-EPA), which was signed five years ago in Tokyo, to boost investment and trade between the two countries. The results of the evaluation would become the basis for the renegotiations, he said.
The partnership agreement needed to be evaluated to ensure it’s relevance in the current turbulent economic environment.
Unlike Japan’s arrangements with other production bases in Southeast Asia, the deal with Indonesia not only touches on cooperation in investment but also on capacity building. Under the IJ-EPA, Indonesia agreed to cut tariffs by about 93 percent from the existing 11,163 tariff posts, and 58 percent will be eliminated immediately upon the implementation of the agreement.
A number of Indonesian economic analysts called for the review of the partnership arguing that it was more beneficial for Japanese companies. They said the capacity building and transfer of technology, as promised by Japan under the agreement, had not worked as expected.
Industry Minister MS Hidayat also shared the analysts’ concerns, saying the transfer of technology promised by Japan had failed to materialize as planned. “The fact that the growth rate exports to Japan lagged behind its imports also indicated that Indonesia received little benefit from the partnership agreement,” he said.
“All the cooperation agreements that failed to bring any benefit to us should be reviewed,” Hidayat said, adding that the IJ-EPA evaluation would be carried out this year.
Hatta said that during the bilateral meeting, the Indonesian government also explained the reasons behind the government’s plan to ban exports of unprocessed minerals: A decision Japan strongly opposed as it relied heavily on Indonesian nickel ore for its metal processing plants.
According to Hatta, Japanese officials understood the reasoning behind the export restriction policy, due to be implemented next year to strengthen Indonesia’s downstream mining industry.
“The Japanese have also expressed their willingness to take part in the construction of smelting plants,” he said.
Regarding Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s comments about the delay to the Japanese funded power plant in Batang, Central Java, Hatta said that the government would expedite a resolution to the problem.
PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia, a consortium of several Japanese conglomerates — J-Power Electric Power Development Co. Ltd., Itochu Corporation — and local company PT Adaro Energy, priced the project at US$4 billion. The power plant would use Ultra Super Critical Generation Technology to reduce pollution.
The project has been delayed due to local protests and land acquisition issues. The consortium expects the construction work to begin in October 2014, two years behind the initial schedule. Hatta said that the government would ensure further delays were avoided. With almost 85 percent of land already acquired, he was hopeful the project would no longer be stalled by acquisition issues.
During separete bilateral meetins with other members of the economic grouping, the Indonesian government also promised to ease obstacles in hampering foreign investment in the country.
A number of leaders joining the summit such as Russian President Vladimir Putin also discussed the delay in the Russian company’s railway project in East Kalimantan. State-owned Russian Railway won a tender to build a $2.4 billion project in the province, but the project was delayed.
The decision to renegotiate the partnership agreements was reached during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said in Nusa Dua, Bali on Tuesday.
Hatta said a joint economic cooperation team would first evaluate the implementation of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJ-EPA), which was signed five years ago in Tokyo, to boost investment and trade between the two countries. The results of the evaluation would become the basis for the renegotiations, he said.
The partnership agreement needed to be evaluated to ensure it’s relevance in the current turbulent economic environment.
Unlike Japan’s arrangements with other production bases in Southeast Asia, the deal with Indonesia not only touches on cooperation in investment but also on capacity building. Under the IJ-EPA, Indonesia agreed to cut tariffs by about 93 percent from the existing 11,163 tariff posts, and 58 percent will be eliminated immediately upon the implementation of the agreement.
A number of Indonesian economic analysts called for the review of the partnership arguing that it was more beneficial for Japanese companies. They said the capacity building and transfer of technology, as promised by Japan under the agreement, had not worked as expected.
Industry Minister MS Hidayat also shared the analysts’ concerns, saying the transfer of technology promised by Japan had failed to materialize as planned. “The fact that the growth rate exports to Japan lagged behind its imports also indicated that Indonesia received little benefit from the partnership agreement,” he said.
“All the cooperation agreements that failed to bring any benefit to us should be reviewed,” Hidayat said, adding that the IJ-EPA evaluation would be carried out this year.
Hatta said that during the bilateral meeting, the Indonesian government also explained the reasons behind the government’s plan to ban exports of unprocessed minerals: A decision Japan strongly opposed as it relied heavily on Indonesian nickel ore for its metal processing plants.
According to Hatta, Japanese officials understood the reasoning behind the export restriction policy, due to be implemented next year to strengthen Indonesia’s downstream mining industry.
“The Japanese have also expressed their willingness to take part in the construction of smelting plants,” he said.
Regarding Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s comments about the delay to the Japanese funded power plant in Batang, Central Java, Hatta said that the government would expedite a resolution to the problem.
PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia, a consortium of several Japanese conglomerates — J-Power Electric Power Development Co. Ltd., Itochu Corporation — and local company PT Adaro Energy, priced the project at US$4 billion. The power plant would use Ultra Super Critical Generation Technology to reduce pollution.
The project has been delayed due to local protests and land acquisition issues. The consortium expects the construction work to begin in October 2014, two years behind the initial schedule. Hatta said that the government would ensure further delays were avoided. With almost 85 percent of land already acquired, he was hopeful the project would no longer be stalled by acquisition issues.
During separete bilateral meetins with other members of the economic grouping, the Indonesian government also promised to ease obstacles in hampering foreign investment in the country.
A number of leaders joining the summit such as Russian President Vladimir Putin also discussed the delay in the Russian company’s railway project in East Kalimantan. State-owned Russian Railway won a tender to build a $2.4 billion project in the province, but the project was delayed.
ENGLISH : Unlike Japan’s arrangements with other
production bases in Southeast Asia, the deal with Indonesia not only touches
on cooperation in investment but also on
capacity building
INDONESIAN : Tidak
seperti pengaturan Jepang dengan basis produksi di Asia Tenggara, kesepakatan
dengan Indonesia tidak hanya menyentuh kerjasama di bidang investasi, tetapi
juga pada pengembangan kapasitas.
3.
Analysis: Economics in conflict with Mother
Nature
In many ways, 2012 was a watershed year. As if
by cosmic realignment, the world was suddenly awash with new discoveries of oil
and gas in the billions of barrels and trillions of cubic meters, all around
the globe. The old deadline of fossil fuels running out in decades, not
centuries, was buried without fanfare. That’s left many confused, others in
dismay. Cheap fossil fuel will make it increasingly difficult for alternative
energy to compete, to be commercially viable. On one side of the debate are the
climate sceptics, rubbing their hands in glee. On the other, the eco-friendly
folks who now know that their hard-to-win battle just got even tougher.
Caught in the middle is more than half the human race, some four billion people living in varying shades of misery. Many of them don’t really know about the debate, concerned more about their own survival today than the survival of their planet tomorrow. Some of them, like fishermen, herdsmen and subsistence farmers are coping with the impact of global warming on their everyday lives. They see the change in their world, they don’t know how to cope with it, nor do they have the inclination to join any debate. The other three billion can make the time, many are in fact actively engaged. These are the three billion best equipped to influence their leaders to make the necessary changes, for the future of planet Earth and the human species, collectively.
The trouble is that this is increasingly a no-win debate, considering that we live in a world dominated by capitalism. Even the few remaining communist nations have embraced capitalism. And we all know, regardless of our ideological stripes, that “exploitation”, “enterprise” and “return on investment” are the driving forces of our lllglobal marketplace. If you’re wondering, may I say that I’m equally a communism-sceptic as I am a capitalism-sceptic. If that sounds vague, neither here nor there, I will unabashedly say that I am a fan of most things Scandinavian. I like the way they look at life and the way they try to live it. I would live there, if it wasn’t so cold for so many months of the year. I am a happy Australian, the closest people I know to Scandinavians attitudinally. The weather is beyond compare. On the climate debate, I’m with the majority of Australians. I’m not a climate-sceptic nor will I support a ban on fossil fuels tomorrow. I willingly pay for many kinds of insurance: health, home, car. If I had a pet, it would be insured too. So I believe that we should err on the side of safety, when it comes to climate change. I think that we need to actively promote alternative energy development, while sequestering as much of the carbon from fossil fuels as we possibly can, while we phase them out gradually. Which side of the debate are you on? If you aren’t on any side, shouldn’t you be?
As one Australian prime minister put it, “it is the most important moral question of our time”. He rallied an entire generation with that clarion call. They helped him get elected. When he lost the courage of his conviction, he lost his popularity in the opinion polls. He then lost his job in a backroom drama at party headquarters. That’s how dramatic the environment debate can be, politically.
The evidence shows that it is not on the top of the list of election issues in Indonesia today. But when asked by Roy Morgan Research, voters have it ranked among their Top 5 concerns. While democracy is alive and well, the system actually works differently in the real world.
The nexus between big business and big politics is real, not imagined. Political parties need money to get elected. The scandals reported by the media are making it blindingly clear where it’s coming from. Not for nothing is “corruption” issue No.1 among the voting public. Big business, like big oil and big banking, is more interested in developing today’s energy sources than bank-rolling tomorrow’s alternatives. As a friend and fund manager in Hong Kong put it, “alternative energy is now dead”. He’s probably right. He knows where to put his clients’ money to get the best returns.
I don’t have any money to invest in the fund my friend manages. All I have is words. I believe we need to put some serious money, and equally serious effort, behind developing and commercialising every source of alternative energy. Not for the best returns in the short term but in the long run. As I said before, I buy insurance for myself. I’m willing to pay for insuring the planet as well. I won’t be around when the North Pole disappears, but that’s not why we buy life insurance, do we? I believe that we need to keep the discussion alive. We need to listen to the overwhelming evidence that the overwhelming number of climate scientists are pleading with us to respect. But much of their appeals have been falling on deaf ears. As an experiment, we have created the “Environment Consciousness Index”, featuring the same four questions we ask respondents in three neighbouring countries: Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. As the chart reveals, neighbours with varying degrees of environment-consciousness, have been tuning on and off, over time. The levels are high in all three countries. Despite the “cooling off” in Australia in recent years, consciousness is on the rise again. New Zealand is up too. So is Indonesia. In fact, these three different cultures are all at the same point today. Almost. There’s hope, yet.
The opinions expressed are my own. The conclusions are influenced by on-going studies conducted by Roy Morgan Research in Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand
Caught in the middle is more than half the human race, some four billion people living in varying shades of misery. Many of them don’t really know about the debate, concerned more about their own survival today than the survival of their planet tomorrow. Some of them, like fishermen, herdsmen and subsistence farmers are coping with the impact of global warming on their everyday lives. They see the change in their world, they don’t know how to cope with it, nor do they have the inclination to join any debate. The other three billion can make the time, many are in fact actively engaged. These are the three billion best equipped to influence their leaders to make the necessary changes, for the future of planet Earth and the human species, collectively.
The trouble is that this is increasingly a no-win debate, considering that we live in a world dominated by capitalism. Even the few remaining communist nations have embraced capitalism. And we all know, regardless of our ideological stripes, that “exploitation”, “enterprise” and “return on investment” are the driving forces of our lllglobal marketplace. If you’re wondering, may I say that I’m equally a communism-sceptic as I am a capitalism-sceptic. If that sounds vague, neither here nor there, I will unabashedly say that I am a fan of most things Scandinavian. I like the way they look at life and the way they try to live it. I would live there, if it wasn’t so cold for so many months of the year. I am a happy Australian, the closest people I know to Scandinavians attitudinally. The weather is beyond compare. On the climate debate, I’m with the majority of Australians. I’m not a climate-sceptic nor will I support a ban on fossil fuels tomorrow. I willingly pay for many kinds of insurance: health, home, car. If I had a pet, it would be insured too. So I believe that we should err on the side of safety, when it comes to climate change. I think that we need to actively promote alternative energy development, while sequestering as much of the carbon from fossil fuels as we possibly can, while we phase them out gradually. Which side of the debate are you on? If you aren’t on any side, shouldn’t you be?
As one Australian prime minister put it, “it is the most important moral question of our time”. He rallied an entire generation with that clarion call. They helped him get elected. When he lost the courage of his conviction, he lost his popularity in the opinion polls. He then lost his job in a backroom drama at party headquarters. That’s how dramatic the environment debate can be, politically.
The evidence shows that it is not on the top of the list of election issues in Indonesia today. But when asked by Roy Morgan Research, voters have it ranked among their Top 5 concerns. While democracy is alive and well, the system actually works differently in the real world.
The nexus between big business and big politics is real, not imagined. Political parties need money to get elected. The scandals reported by the media are making it blindingly clear where it’s coming from. Not for nothing is “corruption” issue No.1 among the voting public. Big business, like big oil and big banking, is more interested in developing today’s energy sources than bank-rolling tomorrow’s alternatives. As a friend and fund manager in Hong Kong put it, “alternative energy is now dead”. He’s probably right. He knows where to put his clients’ money to get the best returns.
I don’t have any money to invest in the fund my friend manages. All I have is words. I believe we need to put some serious money, and equally serious effort, behind developing and commercialising every source of alternative energy. Not for the best returns in the short term but in the long run. As I said before, I buy insurance for myself. I’m willing to pay for insuring the planet as well. I won’t be around when the North Pole disappears, but that’s not why we buy life insurance, do we? I believe that we need to keep the discussion alive. We need to listen to the overwhelming evidence that the overwhelming number of climate scientists are pleading with us to respect. But much of their appeals have been falling on deaf ears. As an experiment, we have created the “Environment Consciousness Index”, featuring the same four questions we ask respondents in three neighbouring countries: Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. As the chart reveals, neighbours with varying degrees of environment-consciousness, have been tuning on and off, over time. The levels are high in all three countries. Despite the “cooling off” in Australia in recent years, consciousness is on the rise again. New Zealand is up too. So is Indonesia. In fact, these three different cultures are all at the same point today. Almost. There’s hope, yet.
The opinions expressed are my own. The conclusions are influenced by on-going studies conducted by Roy Morgan Research in Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand
ENGLISH :
If that sounds vague,
neither here nor there,
I will unabashedly say that I am a fan of most things Scandinavian.
INDONESIAN : Jika itu terdengar samar-samar, tidak penting,
saya akan malu-malu mengatakan bahwa saya penggemar kebanyakan hal Skandinavia.
4.Soekarwo,
Saifullah pledge to boost economic sector
East Java Governor
Soekarwo and Deputy Governor Saifullah Yusuf have committed to strengthening
the province’s economy in the next five years as they started their second term
of office on Wednesday.
Soekarwo said he aimed to provide more loans that would be channeled through either cooperatives or targeted at communities, such as farmers, fishermen and small and medium businesses (UKM).
He committed to turning East Java into a province dominating 50 percent of the domestic food product market by 2017.
“We currently have around 31 percent [of the domestic market] and we are aiming to achieve more,” Soekarwo said in his speech during the inauguration ceremony at Grahadi Building in Surabaya on Wednesday.
The provincial administration, he went on, would also fix and build more roads to smooth transportation.
“In the next five years, we also pledge to reduce the unemployment rate in East Java by establishing more vocational schools. We aim to turn our people into skilled workers who are well protected once they decide to work abroad,” said Soekarwo.
According to Jamhadi, a member of the expert team at the Surabaya branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Soekarwo and Saifullah had done well in their first term as there were 19.7 million workers in the province. Of that number, around 53 percent are elementary school graduates.
Jamhadi said there was an increase in people’s per capita income from Rp 1.006 trillion (US$84 million) when the pair began their first term of office in 2009 to Rp 1.147 trillion by the end of their first term in office.
The 15-percent hike, Jamhadi went on, had also increased people’s purchasing power to 8 percent.
In terms of exports and imports, the province tended to be stagnant, but this could be covered by the surplus in inter-island trade, which reached around Rp 270 trillion.
In last year’s election, the Soekarwo-Syaifullah ticket secured 47.25 percent of the vote in the election, followed by the Khofifah Indar Parawansa-Herman Sumawiredja ticket, which secured 37.62 percent of the vote.
However, Soekarwo and Saifullah do not appear to have a strategy to to resolve religious issues involving Shia followers in Sampang, Madura.
“We will take a cultural approach. The progress might be little, but it can solve the problem,” Soekarwo added.
There are at least 184 displaced Sampang Shiites living in Puspa Agro low-cost apartment in Jemundo district, Sidoarjo regency, after being evicted in August 2012 when hundreds of people damaged their settlement.
Two people were killed, while 10 homes were razed during the incident.
Soekarwo said he aimed to provide more loans that would be channeled through either cooperatives or targeted at communities, such as farmers, fishermen and small and medium businesses (UKM).
He committed to turning East Java into a province dominating 50 percent of the domestic food product market by 2017.
“We currently have around 31 percent [of the domestic market] and we are aiming to achieve more,” Soekarwo said in his speech during the inauguration ceremony at Grahadi Building in Surabaya on Wednesday.
The provincial administration, he went on, would also fix and build more roads to smooth transportation.
“In the next five years, we also pledge to reduce the unemployment rate in East Java by establishing more vocational schools. We aim to turn our people into skilled workers who are well protected once they decide to work abroad,” said Soekarwo.
According to Jamhadi, a member of the expert team at the Surabaya branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Soekarwo and Saifullah had done well in their first term as there were 19.7 million workers in the province. Of that number, around 53 percent are elementary school graduates.
Jamhadi said there was an increase in people’s per capita income from Rp 1.006 trillion (US$84 million) when the pair began their first term of office in 2009 to Rp 1.147 trillion by the end of their first term in office.
The 15-percent hike, Jamhadi went on, had also increased people’s purchasing power to 8 percent.
In terms of exports and imports, the province tended to be stagnant, but this could be covered by the surplus in inter-island trade, which reached around Rp 270 trillion.
In last year’s election, the Soekarwo-Syaifullah ticket secured 47.25 percent of the vote in the election, followed by the Khofifah Indar Parawansa-Herman Sumawiredja ticket, which secured 37.62 percent of the vote.
However, Soekarwo and Saifullah do not appear to have a strategy to to resolve religious issues involving Shia followers in Sampang, Madura.
“We will take a cultural approach. The progress might be little, but it can solve the problem,” Soekarwo added.
There are at least 184 displaced Sampang Shiites living in Puspa Agro low-cost apartment in Jemundo district, Sidoarjo regency, after being evicted in August 2012 when hundreds of people damaged their settlement.
Two people were killed, while 10 homes were razed during the incident.
ENGLISH : Soekarwo said he aimed to provide more
loans that would be channeled through either cooperatives or
targeted at communities, such as farmers, fishermen and small and medium
businesses (UKM).
INDONESIAN : Soekarwo
mengatakan ia bertujuan untuk memberikan lebih banyak pinjaman yang akan
disalurkan melalui koperasi baik atau ditargetkan pada masyarakat, seperti
petani, nelayan, dan usaha kecil dan menengah (UKM).
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