NEW MARITIME AFFAIRS MINISTER DECLARES WAR AGAINST ILLEGAL FISHING by Fardah

  Jakarta, Oct 31, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, has abundant marine resources with economic prospects touching Rp3,000 trillion (US$257 billion) per year.

         But, Indonesian waters (almost 70 percent of its national territory) are exposed to illegal fishing activities by foreign poachers. Between 2001 and 2003, 6,215 cases related to illegal fishing had been recorded.

          Poaching in Indonesian waters has been on the rise due to poor supervision and legal enforcement to curb illegal fishing by foreign fishermen and boats.

News Focus - AT 50, GOLKAR DETERMINED TO ACT AS CHECK AND BALANCING FORCE by Fardah

Jakarta, Oct 30, 2014  (Antara) - For the first time in its 50-year-long history, the Golkar Party has decided to remain away from executive power that it always held and instead act as a check and balance force in the House of Representatives (DPR).

         Addressing a gathering to mark the Golkar's Golden Jubilee on Oct. 28, 2014, its chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, said that a healthy democracy demanded a system of checks and balances, and Golkar (Working Group), as a loyal, honest and best friend of the executive, is ready to ensure that the country has a dynamic and accountable parliament.

INDONESIA'S FIRST WOMAN FOREIGN MINISTER PREPARED TO IMPLEMENT JOKOWI'S VISION by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 28, 2014 (Antara) -- The new Indonesian president, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, opened a new page in the nation's history by appointing career diplomat Retno LP Marsudi as the country's first ever female foreign affairs minister.

         "She (Retno Marsudi) is a career diplomat. Hard working, firm and a visionary, she is the first woman foreign minister in our history," President Jokowi said while introducing members of his Working Cabinet for the 2014-2019 period in Jakarta on Sunday (October 26).

         Marsudi, who succeeded former foreign affairs minister Marty Natalegawa, expressed her readiness to work in line with the vision of Jokowi, who told his ministers in the first cabinet meeting earlier that one of their tasks was to implement his vision.

JOKOWI'S PLEDGE TO REVIVE INDONESIA'S MARITIME SUPREMACY LAUDED by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 25, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia's new President, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, is expected to announce his cabinet that will include a minister to coordinate maritime affairs, a new portfolio to revive the glorious maritime past of the nation.

            Jokowi, throughout his election campaign, had spoken about reviving the country's past of finding riches at the sea and termed it as one of his ambitions.  
       During the times of the Sriwijaya Kingdom between the seventh and 13th century and centered in western Indonesia, the Kingdom was believed to have enjoyed maritime supremacy within the Southeast Asian region.

INDONESIA NEEDS A SOLID SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 22, 2014 (Antara) -- General elections in Indonesia this year have led to an entirely new political scenario in the country.

         This year, we have a PDIP-led executive power and an opposition-dominated legislature, while usually the political party that emerges victorious in the elections dominates both the executive and legislative segments.

         The executive power is headed by entrepreneur-turned politician Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who was supported by the Great Indonesia coalition (KIH). Led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the coalition also comprises the National Awakening Party (PKB), the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party.

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION REFLECTS INDONESIA'S IMAGE by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 20, 2014 (Antara) - October 20, 2014 is the day that has been waiting for by millions of Indonesians to witness the inauguration of its seventh president, entrepreneur-turned-politician Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

          A cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Jokowi, 53, was mayor of Central Java's town of Solo, from 2005 to 2012. He won the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2012. And after two years as Jakarta's governor, in July 2014 he decided to run for presidency.

          Jokowi is the second president elected in direct presidential election. He and his running mate M Jusuf Kalla won 53.15 percent of the total votes in the presidential election held on July 9, 2014, while their rivals, Prabowo Subianto and his partner Hatta Rajasa secured 46.85 percent.

INDONESIA MOVES TOWARDS MATURE DEMOCRACY by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 18, 2014 (Antara) - After all the noise and tension during the general election held earlier this year, the entire nation has come out as the winner, for the country is going to have a new President and opposition-dominated Parliament.

         Further, these opposing groups have pledged to work together for the public's welfare.

         No one was a "loser" in the general elections, as Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the political parties supporting him, The Great Indonesia Coalition (KIH),  are going to hold the executive power,  while his political rival, Prabowo Subianto and his supporters - The Red and White Coalition (KMP) - have dominated leadership in the Parliament, or the House of Representatives (DPR), as well as the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

INDONESIA HOPES FOR INCREASE IN QUOTA FOR HAJJ PILGRIMS by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 16, 2014 (Antara) -- A Muslim in Indonesia has to wait for up to 20 years for his turn to go to Mecca for Hajj due to the limited quota allotted to pilgrims from the country by Saudi Arabia.

         This is despite the fact that Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population of some 245 million.

         Earlier, when the ratio set by the Saudi government stood at one person per one thousand Muslims, Indonesia's quota for Hajj pilgrims was 211 thousand people, which was the largest among all countries.

         However, the quota was reduced to 168.8 thousand people in 2013 due to the expansion works being undertaken at Masjidil Haram in Mecca.

INDONESIA GEARS UP FOR INAUGURATION OF SEVENTH PRESIDENT by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 15, 2014  (Antara) - The newly elected speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Zulkifli Hasan has been busy visiting the country's leaders to extend invitations for the inauguration ceremony of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the seventh president.

        The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to be held at the parliament/MPR building, on October 20, 2014, and will be attended by outgoing president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former presidents, and the leaders of all political parties, among several others.

FIGHTS AGAINST ILLICIT DRUGS INTENSIFIED TO SAVE YOUTHS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 13, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia has to intensify fight against illicit drugs in order to save the nation's younger generation, who are prone to drug addiction traps.

         The National Anti-Narcotic Agency (BNN) recently revealed that of some 4.5 million drug addicts in Indonesia, around 75 percent is the younger generation, particularly students.

         "Most of drug addicts are students and other members of the  younger generation. They constitute 75 percent of the total number of drug addicts, which is 4.5 million people throughout Indonesia,"   AKBP Maria Sorlury of BNN said recently.

         She predicted that the number of drug addicts could increase to five million in 2015. At present, some 50 to 70 drug addicts died daily.

REDD+ EXPECTED TO PRESERVE FORESTS, EMPOWER LOCAL COMMUNITIES by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 11, 2014 (Antara) -- To address the challenge of climate change, Indonesia has been implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) program, with the cooperation of foreign donors, particularly Norway, for the last nine years.          
    REDD is an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation---estimated at up to 20 percent of the global total---by offering incentives. REDD+ is an extension of the program that includes the conservation and sustainable management of forests, as well as the enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries.

         The implementation of the REDD+ program is crucial to help realize President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment towards cutting down gas emissions, which was first announced at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, United States, in September 2009.

YUDHOYONO SET TO SHARE DEMOCRATIC LESSONS IN BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 9, 2014 (Antara) - The Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) VII taking place in Nusa Dua, October 10-11, 2014, will be the final one to be chaired by its initiator, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who will end his tenure on October 20, 2014.

         Yudhoyono, former army general, is Indonesia's first-ever president directly elected in democratic elections in September 2004. In 2009, he won re-election in the first round also by some 60 percent of the total vote.

          In 2008, he initiated the first Bali Democracy Forum as an annual, inclusive and open intergovernmental forum on the development of democracy in the Asia Pacific region.

NEW MPR SPEAKER VOWS TO PRIORITIZE NATIONAL INTERESTS ABOVE ALL by Fardah

 Jakarta, Oct 9, 2014 (Antara) - After a lengthy and exhaustive deliberation, 678 members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), one of Indonesia's highest institutions, have finally elected a speaker and four deputy speakers of MPR democratically.

          Zulkifli Hasan, the current forestry minister and politician from the National Mandate Party (PAN), was elected as the new MPR speaker following voting during a plenary meeting that lasted for almost 20 hours.

          The four new deputy speakers are Mahyuddin of the Golkar Party, E.E. Mangindaan of the Democratic Party (PD), Hidayat Nur Wahid of the  Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and Oesman Sapta Odang of the Regional Representative Council (DPD).  

BLUE ECONOMY CONCEPT BALANCES ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 8, 2014 (Antara) - Being the world's largest archipelago with over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is a maritime nation with a total population of around 250 million.

        The ocean and coastal areas have always been crucial sources of livelihood for millions of citizens and played significant roles in addressing climate change and preserving marine biodiversity.

        Given such crucial roles of oceans and coastal areas, the nation is forced to be able to balance economic growth and environmental preservation in managing maritime and coastal areas.

ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs, BUSINESSMEN CRITICIZE NEW PEATLAND REGULATION by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 6, 2014 (Antara) -- It is crucial that peatlands in Indonesia are protected as they cover some 22 million hectares of land in the country, equivalent to five percent of the global peatland cover.            
    Peat is partially decayed vegetation that accumulates over thousands of years, growing at a rate of about one millimeter per year. Peatlands, which cover about three percent of the planet, are a major depository of carbon as the areas store one-third of the world's soil carbon.    
    According to www.norway.or.id, peatlands in Indonesia store 132 gigatons of carbon dioxide, which is a considerable amount when compared to the 168 gigatons of carbon dioxide stored by the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon.

INDONESIA STRIVES TO BECOME ROLE MODEL OF NUCLEAR SECURITY CULTURE by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 6, 2014 (Antara) - Indonesia has always believed in the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy and has been strongly committed to pursuing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

          As a country with a huge population of some 250 million, the Indonesian government has utilized nuclear science and technology to breed food crops and hopes to have a nuclear power plant (PLTN) to produce energy.

         Indonesia expects to have an operational nuclear power plant by 2030, noted Secretary General of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) M. Teguh Pamuji.

RAFFLESIA, AMORPHOPHALLUS FLOWERS TO BE PROMOTED AS BOTANICAL TREASURES by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 4, 2014 (Antara) - Bengkulu, which is dubbed "The Land of Rafflesia", is set to host an international symposium on Rafflesia and Amorphophallus flowers, the world's rarest and largest flowers, in September 2015.

        "Bengkulu has been chosen as the host city because the Bengkulu forest is home to Rafflesia and Amorphophallus flowers," researcher of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Sofi Mursidawati said in Bengkulu on Oct 3, 2014.

         The symposium, to be organized jointly by LIPI and the Bengkulu administration, was originally planned to focus on Rafflesia, but later the organizing committee decided to also include Amorphophallus,  because much of the public cannot distinguish between Rafflesia and Amorphophallus flowers.

HAZE FROM WILDFIRES AFFECTS RESPIRATORY HEALTH OF KALIMANTAN'S RESIDENTS by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 4, 2014 (Antara) -- At least six provinces on the Sumatra and Kalimantan islands have been hit by forest, plantation and peatland fires, producing haze that has affected the respiratory health of local residents.

         For instance, people in South Kalimantan complained about the strong odor of the haze that impairs their breathing and vision.

         "When we wake up in the morning, we can smell the smoke inside our house. A thin haze enters the house when we open our doors and windows," Wita, a housewife in Banjarbaru, said on Thursday (Oct 2).

         She added that the smoky haze was taking a toll on the health of the public in Banjarbaru, and had also reduced visibility to just 50 or 100 meters.

BATIK EXPO, FASHION SHOW HIGHLIGHTS OF BATIK DAY by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 2, 2014 (Antara) - Many Indonesians proudly wore clothes made of Batik on October 2, designated as National Batik Day in the country since 2009.

        The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO's) included batik in its list of "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" items in 2009.   
    Indonesia's Batik along with the Tango of Argentina and Uruguay, the traditional Ainu dance of Japan, and France's Aubusson tapestries, were among the 76 elements included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on September 30, 2009.