INHALE FOR INDONESIA – IT’S YOUR NATIONAL DUTY
© Duncan Graham 2006
Today (31 May) is World Anti-Smoking Day – a time to ask: Will any Indonesian government ever Quit?
It seems unlikely whatever the health warnings, for the nation is absolutely, totally addicted to tobacco.
Not necessarily hooked on nicotine but its after effects: The sweet and deeply satisfying taste you get when inhaling large amounts of money.
Last year that came to a reported Rp 30 trillion (US $3.3 billion) which is no incentive to stub out.
Anti-smoking activists argue that if the Indonesian government boosted the tax take it could maintain revenues while discouraging smokers through higher prices. The cost of cigarettes by Western standards is laughably low. Most brands sell for less than one US dollar for a pack of 12. The price in Australia is seven times greater.
Of course a price rise would make addicts fume and they might express their wrath through monster street demos, something the government doesn’t want. Nor do commuters.
Curiously there aren’t likely to be any protests outside the huge tobacco factories in East Java even though they make a product that kills and cripples millions.
That’s because the companies employ tens of thousands who depend on their salaries to stay alive in a country with no social security net to catch the unemployed.
How many Indonesians die from their addiction? Certainly far more than those who perish through the use of narcotics. But don’t expect a Say No To Smokes banner campaign like the one targeting drugs.
(But isn’t nicotine a drug, Daddy? Yes, but it’s made and used by nice, decent, law-abiding and moral folk – so that’s OK.)
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report said 23 per cent of Indonesians over the age of 15 were smoking in 1995. That’s around 40 million people generating more smoke than Merapi.
That same authority claims half of long-term smokers will die from tobacco-related diseases. That’s 20 million unnecessary deaths, the majority gruesomely ghastly as anyone who’s sat by a relative or friend suffering from cancer will confirm. Most victims are men (few women smoke in Indonesia) and likely to be breadwinners, so the families also suffer.
Doctors claim tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death. Before they cough their last most sick smokers spend time in hospital. Logically any reduction in smoking would have a positive effect on health care with beneficial repercussion for those whose illness isn’t self-inflicted.
Faced with these internationally accepted facts you’d expect Indonesian health authorities to be lobbying hard to make the archipelago a smoke-free zone.
No doubt they are but they’re out-gunned by the big battalions and their awesome firepower. In this country these are reported to include not just the manufacturers but also the departments of industry and finance, manpower, industry, trade and agriculture.
They don’t want the government to sign the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – so it hasn’t. However it has been signed by 168 other countries.
Never mind the deaths, the heartbreak, and the loss of family income. Ignore the health facts. Just keep the jobs intact and the taxes flowing.
Stripped of emotion and considered economically Jakarta’s stand against the world’s medical authorities has some benefits.
Smokers keep thousands of hospitals, doctors, nurses and other health professionals employed. The funeral business depends heavily on smokers. So does the advertising industry.
This is one of the few countries left where advertising is legal. The Tourism Department should exploit this for all it’s worth:
Visit Indonesia and see marvellous multi-colored billboards and snappy TV commercials showing happy, fit, well-adjusted, good-looking young people climbing mountains, having fun and adventures, celebrating life – and guess why!
There’s an intellectual component to all this. You won’t see a picture of the product or anyone using it so you might wonder why they’re happy and hopeful? Answer: Because they’re going to meet their Maker sooner than the rest of us!
If Indonesia Quit the jobless would include heart surgeons and grave-diggers, ad agency creative directors and headstone carvers, tobacco farmers and roadside hawkers … Just imagine if they all packed the streets round the House of Representative’s complex and how we’d all get to work.
Big businesses like to talk about their corporate responsibilities. Get real! If the tobacco tzars believed that they’d close their cigarette businesses and open factories making ethical products.
Let’s clear the air for a moment. Too many people and too much money depend on tobacco, so nothing will change.
Many things in Indonesia are compulsory, but smoking is like the takeover of Papua - an act of free choice.
If you decide to ignore all the facts and warnings – well, that’s your decision. But please don’t blow your filthy fumes in the faces of those of us who don’t fancy heart attacks, impotency and cancer.
Just enjoy, ya!
(First published in The Jakarta Post, Wed 31 May 2006)
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FAITH IN INDONESIA
The shape of the world a generation from now will be influenced far more by how we communicate the values of our society to others than by military or diplomatic superiority. William Fulbright, 1964
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
STIEN MATAKUPAN
A RICE WAY TO LEARN ABOUT LIFE © Duncan Graham
It looked like a scene from the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
The pampered white-skinned elite toiling barefoot in the broiling sun and black mud of East Java’s rice paddies, swinging hoes. The conical coolie hats were no disguise; it was clear these air-con mall rabbits were right out of their natural environment.
But dig they did – and slash and thresh and plant. Some even tried to wrestle the cumbersome wooden plough dragged behind two frisky buffaloes to the great amusement of their brawny master who handled the primitive tool with dexterity.
“There’s a social awareness component in this exercise,” said science teacher Stien Matakupan from Ciputra, a private school in Surabaya. Lessons are taught in English and the school prepares students for the international Baccalaureate.
“These children come from rich families with maids and gardeners. They’ve probably never been with rice farmers before. This is a good way to broaden minds and develop high-order thinking skills.”
To their great credit the kids really did get dirt under their fingernails. And up their arms and legs and even in their hair. (Tip: Don’t scratch your head when planting rice.) They also cut their hands when wielding sickles, but made little fuss.
Here seemed to be an example of why the Chinese tend to succeed wherever they go – by adapting to the situation.
The feared snakes never slithered out of the stubble and no-one got washed down an irrigation channel so the exercise looked a success.
Stien is an extraordinary teacher whose path as an environmental educator was set by her parents. Most weekends the family, led by her academic father who’d studied in Europe, would get out of Jakarta and into the countryside for picnics. These experiences had a profound effect on their daughter.
In the late 1990s she met Suryo Prawiroatmodjo (see The Jakarta Post 19 April 2005) the founder of the Environmental Education Centre at Seloliman in East Java.
“He was an inspiration and I was determined to promote understanding and care of the land,” she said. “However I found few teachers interested.”
Since then she’s been to Australia, Sweden and Vietnam on scholarships and to boost her knowledge of teaching. She’s a member of Caretakers of the Environment International, a network of educators who share their experiences and teaching techniques across the world.
Ciputra’s high school coordinating principal Andrew Vivian said Stien was “very good at picking up overseas ideas and making them work in Indonesia.”
“She’s pioneered programs and applies a rigorous assessment to practical work,” he said. “She’s a great role model for her colleagues.”
Stien wants students to get out of the classroom and into the field – in this case Purwodadi, a rural village one hour’s drive south of Surabaya.
Ironically the enthusiasm she found among Australian teachers who run hands-on educational excursions has been dampened by the recent imposition of heavy safety and duty-of-care requirements.
Occasional accidents have led to court action and the payment of big damages. Now classes must be accompanied by teachers trained in first aid and life saving, while special insurance cover has escalated costs.
Such litigation has yet to become common in Indonesia so more flexibility is allowed.
This must have been a difficult event to coordinate.
I got permission late last year, so it’s taken six months. Of course some parents were anxious. We had to postpone the class for a few weeks because of heavy rain and fear of floods. The 36 students are all volunteers. They’re living under canvas.
What are you hoping to achieve?
The Indonesian national curriculum includes environmental education but doesn’t say how this can be taught, other than through reading texts. This is a pilot project so I hope other schools will see what we’re doing and follow suit.
We have teachers from the humanities, languages and maths here so we’ll all be applying this weekend’s experiences in other disciplines. For example costs and yields in primary production could be an economics exercise.
How did you find farmers willing to let students trample over their fields, inevitably causing damage? I saw retaining banks broken.
We cooperated with Pring Woeloeng, a conservation foundation which has a share farming arrangement with local farmers. (The coordinator, Siegfried Tedja said he was keen to offer similar services to other schools.)
Why didn’t you just let the students observe? Why is it necessary to get them to work?
People learn by doing. Competence can’t just be gained in the classroom. Teaching values is also important, to learn respect for different classes in society, to be able to mix in the community.
When we’re born we can’t chose our class. These children have been blessed by fortune – but who knows what will happen in the future?
What’s been the feedback?
More students have signed up for a future weekend in the paddy. They want the fieldwork to be longer.
As an outsider it concerns me that schools like yours are offering rich and varied educational experiences, while poor schools and many government schools don’t have these opportunities – or don’t make them.
I agree there’s a huge gap in our society and we must all do our best to close it. Later many of these students will become big businessmen. I hope that through this experience they’ll understand and appreciate the way other sections of our nation live and work.
(First published in The Jakarta Post, Monday 29 May 2006)
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It looked like a scene from the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
The pampered white-skinned elite toiling barefoot in the broiling sun and black mud of East Java’s rice paddies, swinging hoes. The conical coolie hats were no disguise; it was clear these air-con mall rabbits were right out of their natural environment.
But dig they did – and slash and thresh and plant. Some even tried to wrestle the cumbersome wooden plough dragged behind two frisky buffaloes to the great amusement of their brawny master who handled the primitive tool with dexterity.
“There’s a social awareness component in this exercise,” said science teacher Stien Matakupan from Ciputra, a private school in Surabaya. Lessons are taught in English and the school prepares students for the international Baccalaureate.
“These children come from rich families with maids and gardeners. They’ve probably never been with rice farmers before. This is a good way to broaden minds and develop high-order thinking skills.”
To their great credit the kids really did get dirt under their fingernails. And up their arms and legs and even in their hair. (Tip: Don’t scratch your head when planting rice.) They also cut their hands when wielding sickles, but made little fuss.
Here seemed to be an example of why the Chinese tend to succeed wherever they go – by adapting to the situation.
The feared snakes never slithered out of the stubble and no-one got washed down an irrigation channel so the exercise looked a success.
Stien is an extraordinary teacher whose path as an environmental educator was set by her parents. Most weekends the family, led by her academic father who’d studied in Europe, would get out of Jakarta and into the countryside for picnics. These experiences had a profound effect on their daughter.
In the late 1990s she met Suryo Prawiroatmodjo (see The Jakarta Post 19 April 2005) the founder of the Environmental Education Centre at Seloliman in East Java.
“He was an inspiration and I was determined to promote understanding and care of the land,” she said. “However I found few teachers interested.”
Since then she’s been to Australia, Sweden and Vietnam on scholarships and to boost her knowledge of teaching. She’s a member of Caretakers of the Environment International, a network of educators who share their experiences and teaching techniques across the world.
Ciputra’s high school coordinating principal Andrew Vivian said Stien was “very good at picking up overseas ideas and making them work in Indonesia.”
“She’s pioneered programs and applies a rigorous assessment to practical work,” he said. “She’s a great role model for her colleagues.”
Stien wants students to get out of the classroom and into the field – in this case Purwodadi, a rural village one hour’s drive south of Surabaya.
Ironically the enthusiasm she found among Australian teachers who run hands-on educational excursions has been dampened by the recent imposition of heavy safety and duty-of-care requirements.
Occasional accidents have led to court action and the payment of big damages. Now classes must be accompanied by teachers trained in first aid and life saving, while special insurance cover has escalated costs.
Such litigation has yet to become common in Indonesia so more flexibility is allowed.
This must have been a difficult event to coordinate.
I got permission late last year, so it’s taken six months. Of course some parents were anxious. We had to postpone the class for a few weeks because of heavy rain and fear of floods. The 36 students are all volunteers. They’re living under canvas.
What are you hoping to achieve?
The Indonesian national curriculum includes environmental education but doesn’t say how this can be taught, other than through reading texts. This is a pilot project so I hope other schools will see what we’re doing and follow suit.
We have teachers from the humanities, languages and maths here so we’ll all be applying this weekend’s experiences in other disciplines. For example costs and yields in primary production could be an economics exercise.
How did you find farmers willing to let students trample over their fields, inevitably causing damage? I saw retaining banks broken.
We cooperated with Pring Woeloeng, a conservation foundation which has a share farming arrangement with local farmers. (The coordinator, Siegfried Tedja said he was keen to offer similar services to other schools.)
Why didn’t you just let the students observe? Why is it necessary to get them to work?
People learn by doing. Competence can’t just be gained in the classroom. Teaching values is also important, to learn respect for different classes in society, to be able to mix in the community.
When we’re born we can’t chose our class. These children have been blessed by fortune – but who knows what will happen in the future?
What’s been the feedback?
More students have signed up for a future weekend in the paddy. They want the fieldwork to be longer.
As an outsider it concerns me that schools like yours are offering rich and varied educational experiences, while poor schools and many government schools don’t have these opportunities – or don’t make them.
I agree there’s a huge gap in our society and we must all do our best to close it. Later many of these students will become big businessmen. I hope that through this experience they’ll understand and appreciate the way other sections of our nation live and work.
(First published in The Jakarta Post, Monday 29 May 2006)
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PATCHOULI OIL
ESSENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR ESSENTIAL OILS © Duncan Graham 2006
Primary producers in Indonesia are in an economic position little different from their counterparts elsewhere in the developing world; they’re usually price takers, not price makers.
Frequently short of capital and desperate for cash flow they’re often forced to sell at the farm gate at the price set by the buyer.
Small farmers who can’t deliver consistent quantities of their produce at an acceptable quality are particularly vulnerable. Middlemen with cash bundle the commodity from several properties, process, package and resell in bulk.
If the farmers did their own value-adding their incomes could increase and become more stable.
That’s the thinking of Surabaya pharmacist Dr Hans Siwon who has been researching the economics of essential oil production in East Java.
His particular interest is patchouli, a plant cultivated by many farmers because it’s fast growing, easy to handle and can be harvested several times.
The leaves are dried and then steamed in a distillery to yield patchouli oil. The more sophisticated stills are made of stainless steel and pressurised. The light brown oil is widely used in the cosmetic industry and as a stabiliser in perfumes to hold their scent.
During the 1960s it became popular as the fragrance of choice for hippies.
It’s also employed in many household products. If the tissue on your desk or air-freshener in your car has a fragrance it’s probably based on patchouli oil. It’s also reported to be a component in low-tar tobaccos.
In the crude wood-fired stills found on most farms 100 kilograms of dried leaf will produce only two kilograms of oil, currently selling for around Rp 140,000 a kilo. The dregs from this process made up of hairs from the leaves and other debris also contain oil. This mix is normally thrown away.
Dr Siwon claims to have developed a simple process to retrieve the extra oil from the dregs and which could double the yield.
“Ideally this should be done in an industrial centrifuge (a high-speed spinning machine which separates solids from liquids),” he said. “However the capital cost and the maintenance and calibration skills required make this process unsuitable for farmers.
“My system applies basic filtration techniques using special paper and which can be employed with little training. There are other tricks which can improve yields – like drying the leaves in the shade, not direct sunlight and slowing down the distillation process.”
The metre-high bush is believed to have originated in India. It’s popular among small farmers because it doesn’t need pesticides and thrives without fertiliser. However it’s potassium hungry; yields can be boosted if ash from the still and processed leaves can be returned to the soil.
Dr Siwon has been conducting his research at Surabaya’s prestigious Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) for the past year with assistant Wiyono.
Dr Siwon has been working in Indonesia since 1984 at universities and as a consultant on the chemistry of natural products. His original assignment from the Dutch government was to investigate traditional medicines.
Dr Siwon said world demand for patchouli oil would continue because it was impossible to synthesise as the molecules were complex. However Indonesia was not the sole exporter and many other countries in the region produced the oil. If the price rose too high farmers would expand their plantings and create a glut.
“The current price is so low it’s turning growers away,” he said. “Ideally they should be getting about Rp 300,000 (US$ 33). (In the mid 1990s poor weather conditions in some countries pushed the world price to US$ 60 (Rp 540,000)
“However the return rises rapidly once the oil leaves the farm gate and it passes through the hands of middlemen. A phial of five millilitres retails for about US$3.50 (Rp 32,000) – that’s US$ 700 a kilogram (Rp 6.3 million).
“If the yield could be improved on the farm and some processing controlled by the growers their incomes would improve.
“There’s room for a partnership between farmers and businesspeople to improve the industry.”
(First published in The Jakarta Post Monday 29 May 2006)
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Primary producers in Indonesia are in an economic position little different from their counterparts elsewhere in the developing world; they’re usually price takers, not price makers.
Frequently short of capital and desperate for cash flow they’re often forced to sell at the farm gate at the price set by the buyer.
Small farmers who can’t deliver consistent quantities of their produce at an acceptable quality are particularly vulnerable. Middlemen with cash bundle the commodity from several properties, process, package and resell in bulk.
If the farmers did their own value-adding their incomes could increase and become more stable.
That’s the thinking of Surabaya pharmacist Dr Hans Siwon who has been researching the economics of essential oil production in East Java.
His particular interest is patchouli, a plant cultivated by many farmers because it’s fast growing, easy to handle and can be harvested several times.
The leaves are dried and then steamed in a distillery to yield patchouli oil. The more sophisticated stills are made of stainless steel and pressurised. The light brown oil is widely used in the cosmetic industry and as a stabiliser in perfumes to hold their scent.
During the 1960s it became popular as the fragrance of choice for hippies.
It’s also employed in many household products. If the tissue on your desk or air-freshener in your car has a fragrance it’s probably based on patchouli oil. It’s also reported to be a component in low-tar tobaccos.
In the crude wood-fired stills found on most farms 100 kilograms of dried leaf will produce only two kilograms of oil, currently selling for around Rp 140,000 a kilo. The dregs from this process made up of hairs from the leaves and other debris also contain oil. This mix is normally thrown away.
Dr Siwon claims to have developed a simple process to retrieve the extra oil from the dregs and which could double the yield.
“Ideally this should be done in an industrial centrifuge (a high-speed spinning machine which separates solids from liquids),” he said. “However the capital cost and the maintenance and calibration skills required make this process unsuitable for farmers.
“My system applies basic filtration techniques using special paper and which can be employed with little training. There are other tricks which can improve yields – like drying the leaves in the shade, not direct sunlight and slowing down the distillation process.”
The metre-high bush is believed to have originated in India. It’s popular among small farmers because it doesn’t need pesticides and thrives without fertiliser. However it’s potassium hungry; yields can be boosted if ash from the still and processed leaves can be returned to the soil.
Dr Siwon has been conducting his research at Surabaya’s prestigious Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) for the past year with assistant Wiyono.
Dr Siwon has been working in Indonesia since 1984 at universities and as a consultant on the chemistry of natural products. His original assignment from the Dutch government was to investigate traditional medicines.
Dr Siwon said world demand for patchouli oil would continue because it was impossible to synthesise as the molecules were complex. However Indonesia was not the sole exporter and many other countries in the region produced the oil. If the price rose too high farmers would expand their plantings and create a glut.
“The current price is so low it’s turning growers away,” he said. “Ideally they should be getting about Rp 300,000 (US$ 33). (In the mid 1990s poor weather conditions in some countries pushed the world price to US$ 60 (Rp 540,000)
“However the return rises rapidly once the oil leaves the farm gate and it passes through the hands of middlemen. A phial of five millilitres retails for about US$3.50 (Rp 32,000) – that’s US$ 700 a kilogram (Rp 6.3 million).
“If the yield could be improved on the farm and some processing controlled by the growers their incomes would improve.
“There’s room for a partnership between farmers and businesspeople to improve the industry.”
(First published in The Jakarta Post Monday 29 May 2006)
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
HANA ANANDA
LOVE – OR BOMBS AND TERROR © Duncan Graham 2006
It has to be one of the most remarkable religious sights in Surabaya. Maybe anywhere.
Every Wednesday afternoon around 4,000 poor people are bussed free from their kampung around the city to a suburban stadium in the East Java capital. Here they listen to thumping evangelical rock music, hear passionate Christian sermons and collect a bag of rice and other food on the way out. Sometimes they’re given powdered milk or a box of goodies from Australia.
Outside the kids sing and exercise in age groups led by young teachers. Mums get their babies’ health checked and the sick can seek a cure though healers laying on their hands. Some pray with vigor. Others seem indifferent.
From dress and behavior it’s clear not all participants are Christian. In fact they’re probably a minority.
This weekly two-hour event has been underway since 1999. It’s a huge logistic operation organised by the Pondok Kasih (House of Love) Foundation and the energy is Hana Ananda.
She’s a former Pentecostal Sunday School teacher who recovered from a crippling illness through prayer. Her epiphany came when she saw beggars ignored at church gates by departing parishioners smug with sanctimony having just heard a sermon on giving.
Her self-imposed task of reaching out to the poor and reconciling faiths has created a major industry with 80 staff. This is part bankrolled by her husband Harry, a rich importer of commercial kitchen and laundry equipment.
An overseas consultant involved with the foundation estimated the cost of giving to be at least US$ 500,000 (Rp 4,400 million) a year. The foundation’s annual report includes an auditor’s statement but no figures.
Other support comes from donations including an Australian Christian NGO called International Needs. So far 300 containers full of goods and clothing have been delivered from Australia and Japan, and from the US through the Samaritan’s Purse charity. These gifts have also been on-sent to other provinces, including Aceh and Nias.
Every Friday when Muslims are at prayer there’s a two-hour discussion in the Pondok Kasih office with pastors from 23 different Protestant churches. The aim is to sort out differences between denominations, share problems and work together. Intra-faith disputes can be as damaging as inter-faith friction.
On the office walls are photos of staff working with the handicapped, homosexuals, the poor, Muslim youth and senior clerics – and chatting with VIPs. Pondok Kasih isn’t just into hallelujahs; it runs practical projects, including water purification, health clinics, an old people’s home, an orphanage and rehabilitation centres.
Hana, 61, said she’s been dubbed the local Mother Theresa (a Catholic nun who worked in Indian slums) by some, but rejected the honor. She spoke to The Jakarta Post two days after some powerful preaching at the stadium:
Surely most of the people at the stadium were Muslims?
I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I only know they’re poor and in need. Of course some come because of the food but they also need love.
Aren’t you attempting to Christianise them?
If you’re writing about this you must be very careful. Religion is an extremely sensitive issue in Indonesia. This is a Muslim country. Better that you explore how we can all live together in love and peace. Expose the humanitarian issues.
Everyone knows what’s happening at the stadium – you can hear the noise streets away. As a journalist I should report what’s happening honestly …
Pray to God for guidance in what you write. Lives can be lost, churches closed over this issue. I could be killed if some people read the wrong things. I only want to help people live a better life. I want my country to be peaceful, united and prosperous.
I don’t want to convert people. Do you think you can buy a person’s religion with a packet of rice? If so you’re insulting them.
How do you manage to run these huge weekly events without trouble? (The indoor stadium is well secured with high walls and heavy steel gates. Scores of security guards monitor arrivals and marshals help the crowds. When The Jakarta Post visited there was no palpable tension and the participants – mainly women - seemed to be having a good time.)
It’s a miracle that it’s happening in Surabaya. It’s not happening elsewhere yet, but I pray it will. There were some problems in the beginning and threats to report me to the police but that didn’t happen.
We have very good relationships with the Muslim clerics. They see our integrity and defend me. We even pay for circumcision ceremonies for the poor.
I’m a triple minority – a woman, a Christian and Chinese – yet I can talk to Muslims at all levels, so others can do the same. I respect them and they respect me.
I’ve read the Koran. I say to clerics that because Islam means submission to God I can be classified as a Muslim because I submit to the one God whom we all worship.
It’s easy to get along with well-educated and liberal leaders at inter-faith forums. Isn’t the problem with the people in the village and kampung?
I don’t want to answer that question. I don’t discriminate. People have needs. I just love the people. We must have reconciliation. I only want to say positive things.
I’m not just dealing with top clerics. I’m also talking to village heads.
To avoid being accused of Christianisation why not get government agencies to distribute the foods and goods instead of including it with religion?
The donors give because they trust Pondok Kasih. I don’t think they’d trust the government.
I have to be held accountable when I die. I have to do these things, that’s my belief. When I die all this will continue – successors have been trained.
I love my country. We need to restore the image of Indonesia in the world as a country free of hate and suspicion. I believe that requires people to recognise Jesus and bend the knee. But you don’t need to be a Christian to love Jesus.
Why is there such an issue with religion in Indonesia? Is it because there’s no clear separation of faith and state?
Maybe. It’s also a problem of history. The Dutch came here with the Bible in one hand, a gun in the other. We were oppressed by white colonialists.
Christians today are also to blame for failing to develop a relationship with Muslims. Too many Christians are affluent and arrogant and exclude themselves from the community. There’s a big gap. We must soothe, not provoke – respect people’s dignity, treat them as human beings.
If we as Christians don’t go to Muslims with love they will come to us with bombs and terror.
(First published in The Jakarta Post 17 May 2006)
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It has to be one of the most remarkable religious sights in Surabaya. Maybe anywhere.
Every Wednesday afternoon around 4,000 poor people are bussed free from their kampung around the city to a suburban stadium in the East Java capital. Here they listen to thumping evangelical rock music, hear passionate Christian sermons and collect a bag of rice and other food on the way out. Sometimes they’re given powdered milk or a box of goodies from Australia.
Outside the kids sing and exercise in age groups led by young teachers. Mums get their babies’ health checked and the sick can seek a cure though healers laying on their hands. Some pray with vigor. Others seem indifferent.
From dress and behavior it’s clear not all participants are Christian. In fact they’re probably a minority.
This weekly two-hour event has been underway since 1999. It’s a huge logistic operation organised by the Pondok Kasih (House of Love) Foundation and the energy is Hana Ananda.
She’s a former Pentecostal Sunday School teacher who recovered from a crippling illness through prayer. Her epiphany came when she saw beggars ignored at church gates by departing parishioners smug with sanctimony having just heard a sermon on giving.
Her self-imposed task of reaching out to the poor and reconciling faiths has created a major industry with 80 staff. This is part bankrolled by her husband Harry, a rich importer of commercial kitchen and laundry equipment.
An overseas consultant involved with the foundation estimated the cost of giving to be at least US$ 500,000 (Rp 4,400 million) a year. The foundation’s annual report includes an auditor’s statement but no figures.
Other support comes from donations including an Australian Christian NGO called International Needs. So far 300 containers full of goods and clothing have been delivered from Australia and Japan, and from the US through the Samaritan’s Purse charity. These gifts have also been on-sent to other provinces, including Aceh and Nias.
Every Friday when Muslims are at prayer there’s a two-hour discussion in the Pondok Kasih office with pastors from 23 different Protestant churches. The aim is to sort out differences between denominations, share problems and work together. Intra-faith disputes can be as damaging as inter-faith friction.
On the office walls are photos of staff working with the handicapped, homosexuals, the poor, Muslim youth and senior clerics – and chatting with VIPs. Pondok Kasih isn’t just into hallelujahs; it runs practical projects, including water purification, health clinics, an old people’s home, an orphanage and rehabilitation centres.
Hana, 61, said she’s been dubbed the local Mother Theresa (a Catholic nun who worked in Indian slums) by some, but rejected the honor. She spoke to The Jakarta Post two days after some powerful preaching at the stadium:
Surely most of the people at the stadium were Muslims?
I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I only know they’re poor and in need. Of course some come because of the food but they also need love.
Aren’t you attempting to Christianise them?
If you’re writing about this you must be very careful. Religion is an extremely sensitive issue in Indonesia. This is a Muslim country. Better that you explore how we can all live together in love and peace. Expose the humanitarian issues.
Everyone knows what’s happening at the stadium – you can hear the noise streets away. As a journalist I should report what’s happening honestly …
Pray to God for guidance in what you write. Lives can be lost, churches closed over this issue. I could be killed if some people read the wrong things. I only want to help people live a better life. I want my country to be peaceful, united and prosperous.
I don’t want to convert people. Do you think you can buy a person’s religion with a packet of rice? If so you’re insulting them.
How do you manage to run these huge weekly events without trouble? (The indoor stadium is well secured with high walls and heavy steel gates. Scores of security guards monitor arrivals and marshals help the crowds. When The Jakarta Post visited there was no palpable tension and the participants – mainly women - seemed to be having a good time.)
It’s a miracle that it’s happening in Surabaya. It’s not happening elsewhere yet, but I pray it will. There were some problems in the beginning and threats to report me to the police but that didn’t happen.
We have very good relationships with the Muslim clerics. They see our integrity and defend me. We even pay for circumcision ceremonies for the poor.
I’m a triple minority – a woman, a Christian and Chinese – yet I can talk to Muslims at all levels, so others can do the same. I respect them and they respect me.
I’ve read the Koran. I say to clerics that because Islam means submission to God I can be classified as a Muslim because I submit to the one God whom we all worship.
It’s easy to get along with well-educated and liberal leaders at inter-faith forums. Isn’t the problem with the people in the village and kampung?
I don’t want to answer that question. I don’t discriminate. People have needs. I just love the people. We must have reconciliation. I only want to say positive things.
I’m not just dealing with top clerics. I’m also talking to village heads.
To avoid being accused of Christianisation why not get government agencies to distribute the foods and goods instead of including it with religion?
The donors give because they trust Pondok Kasih. I don’t think they’d trust the government.
I have to be held accountable when I die. I have to do these things, that’s my belief. When I die all this will continue – successors have been trained.
I love my country. We need to restore the image of Indonesia in the world as a country free of hate and suspicion. I believe that requires people to recognise Jesus and bend the knee. But you don’t need to be a Christian to love Jesus.
Why is there such an issue with religion in Indonesia? Is it because there’s no clear separation of faith and state?
Maybe. It’s also a problem of history. The Dutch came here with the Bible in one hand, a gun in the other. We were oppressed by white colonialists.
Christians today are also to blame for failing to develop a relationship with Muslims. Too many Christians are affluent and arrogant and exclude themselves from the community. There’s a big gap. We must soothe, not provoke – respect people’s dignity, treat them as human beings.
If we as Christians don’t go to Muslims with love they will come to us with bombs and terror.
(First published in The Jakarta Post 17 May 2006)
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Monday, May 15, 2006
WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S NEW TRADE MAN
SURFS UP FOR AUSSIE BUSINESS © Duncan Graham 2006
Having surfing as a major interest on your resume would probably not endear you to most bosses.
Surfers don’t have a great public image despite SurfAid International programs in isolated areas of the archipelago where boardmasters have helped local villagers start health programs.
For those with beach phobia, meeting a wave of surfies in Kuta is to encounter the blond and bronzed with but two thoughts: Where’s the next big break – and where’s the coldest beer?
Hardly the credentials for suit and tie deal making.
But Martin Newbery has made the transition without having to abandon his great love of the rolling ocean. Though over 50 he still rides the foaming curlers when he’s not promoting his State’s credentials as a valuable trade partner for East Java.
Newbery is the new regional director for Western Australia’s Trade Office in Indonesia. He replaces Trevor Boughton who is opening a fish-lure manufacturing business in Batam.
“I used to work in the human relations department with the Australian Department of Finance,” Newbery told a meeting of the Indonesia Australia Business Council in Surabaya.
“As a public servant I was rewarded with good holidays which I frequently spent in Indonesia searching for surf.
“One day in Bali with some friends I decided to go across to Java and see more of Indonesia. I arrived in Surabaya 32 years ago. It was really great.
“There’s been a lot of changes since then but the character is still here. So are the opportunities.”
Western Australia and East Java have a long-standing sister-state agreement. This includes an exchange program for people in government and private enterprise to boost their knowledge of cultures and create trade opportunities.
Next year the State’s premier agricultural event, the Perth Royal Show, will host a display of Indonesian goods and handicrafts.
Newbery spent two years formally studying Bahasa Indonesia back in Australia. He quit the Australian bureaucracy when a friend urged him to get into business in Indonesia. His first venture was airfreighting fresh fruit and other perishable produce out of Sydney and into Jakarta before the big supermarkets developed their own systems. His second was managing an Indonesian prawn fishing venture.
“We got seven 250-tonne prawn trawlers from Australia and crewed these with local deckhands and Australian trainers,” he told The Jakarta Post. “I had some misgivings at first because prawn boat skippers are rough and tough. There were plenty of prejudices.
“The Australians expected the Indonesians to be lazy, passing their time in prayer rituals. The Indonesians expected the Australians to get drunk and punch them. We had to get all this stuff out into the open.
“In fact it worked out well even though they had to spend up to two months at sea in cramped quarters. The Australians said the Indonesians were the best deckhands they’d met and the Indonesians liked the Australians because they treated them with respect and as equals.
“I’ve learned that Australians and Indonesians have almost the same sense of humor. There were no troubles and that’s something I’m very proud of – the business is still running and the ships are all crewed by Indonesians.”
Newbery is based in Jakarta on a three-year contract and plans to spend one week in every four in East Java. The WA government used to have a shop-front office in central Surabaya. This was trashed during the turmoil over the East Timor referendum late last century.
The office then moved to a higher security location away from the city centre but shifted to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta after the first Bali bomb. It’s now in a separate building in Kuningan.
“Relationships between our countries depend on many things, including politics,” Newbery said. “My focus is on business. I’m often asked if it’s a good time for Australians to go to Indonesia because of the spat over the Papua refugees getting visas.
“I say it’s the best time to be in Indonesia because your competitors are all going to Malaysia. There’s plenty of action here.”
Newbery said that although WA was a resource-rich state exporting bulk quantities of wheat, gold, nickel, iron and other minerals the government was looking ahead to a time when these commodities will be exhausted.
Diversifying into biotechnology, tourism and specialised services was a priority. Newbery has commissioned research into the fresh fruit market from Budi Daroe of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Farm produce from East Java to South East Asia is usually transhipped through Jakarta. That involves double handling and delays – a serious hazard for perishables. Newbery is exploring the idea of using Australian skills and equipment to process and pack fruit and vegetables in Surabaya and export direct by air.
Past agricultural success stories have included the import of high-yielding dairy cows into East Java and using new varieties of seed potatoes from WA.
The other major interest is the maritime industry. Newbery said WA was becoming a world leader in building and maintaining specialised equipment for the shipping and oil industry, particularly for deep-sea operations and navigation systems.
“I want Indonesian business people to let me know what we can do together,” he said. “Needs are often mutual. So are the benefits. I can help match inquiries. I’m very serious about this and our services are free.”
(Martin Newbery can be contacted on martin.newbery@doir.wa.gov.au The office manager is an Indonesian - Lydia Agam. Tel: (021) 5290 2860.)
">Link
Having surfing as a major interest on your resume would probably not endear you to most bosses.
Surfers don’t have a great public image despite SurfAid International programs in isolated areas of the archipelago where boardmasters have helped local villagers start health programs.
For those with beach phobia, meeting a wave of surfies in Kuta is to encounter the blond and bronzed with but two thoughts: Where’s the next big break – and where’s the coldest beer?
Hardly the credentials for suit and tie deal making.
But Martin Newbery has made the transition without having to abandon his great love of the rolling ocean. Though over 50 he still rides the foaming curlers when he’s not promoting his State’s credentials as a valuable trade partner for East Java.
Newbery is the new regional director for Western Australia’s Trade Office in Indonesia. He replaces Trevor Boughton who is opening a fish-lure manufacturing business in Batam.
“I used to work in the human relations department with the Australian Department of Finance,” Newbery told a meeting of the Indonesia Australia Business Council in Surabaya.
“As a public servant I was rewarded with good holidays which I frequently spent in Indonesia searching for surf.
“One day in Bali with some friends I decided to go across to Java and see more of Indonesia. I arrived in Surabaya 32 years ago. It was really great.
“There’s been a lot of changes since then but the character is still here. So are the opportunities.”
Western Australia and East Java have a long-standing sister-state agreement. This includes an exchange program for people in government and private enterprise to boost their knowledge of cultures and create trade opportunities.
Next year the State’s premier agricultural event, the Perth Royal Show, will host a display of Indonesian goods and handicrafts.
Newbery spent two years formally studying Bahasa Indonesia back in Australia. He quit the Australian bureaucracy when a friend urged him to get into business in Indonesia. His first venture was airfreighting fresh fruit and other perishable produce out of Sydney and into Jakarta before the big supermarkets developed their own systems. His second was managing an Indonesian prawn fishing venture.
“We got seven 250-tonne prawn trawlers from Australia and crewed these with local deckhands and Australian trainers,” he told The Jakarta Post. “I had some misgivings at first because prawn boat skippers are rough and tough. There were plenty of prejudices.
“The Australians expected the Indonesians to be lazy, passing their time in prayer rituals. The Indonesians expected the Australians to get drunk and punch them. We had to get all this stuff out into the open.
“In fact it worked out well even though they had to spend up to two months at sea in cramped quarters. The Australians said the Indonesians were the best deckhands they’d met and the Indonesians liked the Australians because they treated them with respect and as equals.
“I’ve learned that Australians and Indonesians have almost the same sense of humor. There were no troubles and that’s something I’m very proud of – the business is still running and the ships are all crewed by Indonesians.”
Newbery is based in Jakarta on a three-year contract and plans to spend one week in every four in East Java. The WA government used to have a shop-front office in central Surabaya. This was trashed during the turmoil over the East Timor referendum late last century.
The office then moved to a higher security location away from the city centre but shifted to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta after the first Bali bomb. It’s now in a separate building in Kuningan.
“Relationships between our countries depend on many things, including politics,” Newbery said. “My focus is on business. I’m often asked if it’s a good time for Australians to go to Indonesia because of the spat over the Papua refugees getting visas.
“I say it’s the best time to be in Indonesia because your competitors are all going to Malaysia. There’s plenty of action here.”
Newbery said that although WA was a resource-rich state exporting bulk quantities of wheat, gold, nickel, iron and other minerals the government was looking ahead to a time when these commodities will be exhausted.
Diversifying into biotechnology, tourism and specialised services was a priority. Newbery has commissioned research into the fresh fruit market from Budi Daroe of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Farm produce from East Java to South East Asia is usually transhipped through Jakarta. That involves double handling and delays – a serious hazard for perishables. Newbery is exploring the idea of using Australian skills and equipment to process and pack fruit and vegetables in Surabaya and export direct by air.
Past agricultural success stories have included the import of high-yielding dairy cows into East Java and using new varieties of seed potatoes from WA.
The other major interest is the maritime industry. Newbery said WA was becoming a world leader in building and maintaining specialised equipment for the shipping and oil industry, particularly for deep-sea operations and navigation systems.
“I want Indonesian business people to let me know what we can do together,” he said. “Needs are often mutual. So are the benefits. I can help match inquiries. I’m very serious about this and our services are free.”
(Martin Newbery can be contacted on martin.newbery@doir.wa.gov.au The office manager is an Indonesian - Lydia Agam. Tel: (021) 5290 2860.)
">Link
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