Indonesia Ministry of Transportation to Issue Air Operating Certificate to Mandala Airlines in February in Preparation for April Start-Up

Bisnis Indonesia reports that the Ministry of Transportation will issue a formal Air Operating Certificate (AOC) to Mandala Airlines in the second week of February 2012.

The head of communications for the Ministry, Bambang S. Ervan, confirmed that the AOC would be issued in conjunction with the arrival in Indonesia of aircraft to be operated by Mandala Airlines.

 Mandala Airlines, resurrected from near bankruptcy, is now owned by Saratoga Capital (51%), Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd (33%) and the remaining shares are held by creditors of the airline.

Ministry officials confirmed that the needed AOC would be issued to Mandala in February with formal operations by the airline expected to commence in April 2012. According to Ministry officials, the first aircraft of the Mandala fleet – an Airbus A320 – has already arrived in Indonesia.

Mandala was granted a reprieve by the government when its operating license was extended for four months on January 1, 2012, in order to allow the carrier to get its business affairs in order.

The investment manager of Saratoga Capital, Devin Wirawan, confirmed to the press that Mandala is preparing to meet national regulations that mandate a minimum of 10 aircraft be operated by every Indonesian air carrier, stipulating that the airline must own 5 of the subject aircraft.

Said Wirawan: “There are now two Airbus 320 aircraft that will arrive in Indonesia when the AOC is issued. If we brought the aircraft earlier than that we would incur parking fees.”

He said the routes flown by Mandala when it resumed operations would not vary substantially from the routes operated prior to its closure. Mandala formerly flew 16 domestic routes and four international routes.

The new plans for international flights by Mandala indicate that the reformed airline will concentrate it international flights on Singapore.

(balidiscovery.com)

Indonesia’s flag carrier had been assessing both the Bombardier CRJ1000 and Embraer 190 for its 18-aircraft sub-100 seat regional jet requirements since early 2011.

It decided on the CRJ a few weeks ago and an announcement is imminent, said an industry source familiar with the negotiation.

The decision is a major boost for Bombardier, which has been flagging behind its Brazilian rival in the regional jet market.

The Canadian company had a net order for only four of its CRJ-series of aircraft, while the backlog for the three months to 31 October 2011 fell to 52 aircraft from 61 at the end of June last year.

In addition, this is a blow to Embraer, which was hoping to secure a deal with Garuda after Indonesian carrier Sriwijaya placed a firm order for 20 E-190s in 2011.

Bombardier pushed its aircraft very strongly in Indonesia, flying down a CRJ700 to Jakarta in August last year for flight demonstrations. While the airframer has both the smaller CRJ700 and CRJ900 in its portfolio, Garuda’s preference is believed to be for the CRJ1000.

The aircraft will be based at four Garuda hubs, namely Balikpapan, Denpasar, Ujung Pandang and Makassar, to support the mainline carrier’s services, Garuda’s president director Emirsyah Satar told Flightglobal Pro last year.

“Regional jets will give us a lot of autonomy as there are fast-growing cities within Indonesia that require direct connections,” said Satar.

“If you want to fly from Balikpapan and Banjarmasin, it is tough to operate larger aircraft, but a regional jet would fit such low-density and high-yield routes,” Satar added.

Garuda hopes to have a fleet of 153 aircraft by 2015, almost double the 86 aircraft that it now operates, according to Flightglobal’s ACAS database.

Apart from the regional jets, these will include 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, 18-20 Airbus A330s and four dedicated freighters. The remainder will comprise Boeing 737-800s.

flightglobal.com

The airline is racing to meet a Feb. 15 deadline set by the Transportation Ministry to resume its operations, a deadline its 51 percent owner, private equity firm Saratoga Capital, is confident it will meet.

“We are ready now,” said Devin Wirawan, a manager at Saratoga.

Diding Sunardi, director of the air transportation directorate at the Transportation Ministry, said the ministry had completed the verification of Mandala’s fleet and it was in the final stage of issuing the airline operator’s certificate.

The AOC requires the operator to have personnel, assets and systems in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public. It also lists the type of aircraft to be flown and flight destinations.

“We are in the final stage now,’’ Diding said.

“We set February 15 as the deadline for the airline to fly. If they cannot meet that, its license will be revoked.”

Should the license be revoked, the airline would have to restart the process of getting the license, Diding said.

For its Jakarta operations, the airline appears set to initially fly out of Terminal 1 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport before moving to Terminal 3 in the middle of the year.

Salahuddin Raffi, director of operations at Angkasa Pura II, the airport operator, said the airline had notified it of its intentions.

“Mandala told us that it will be stationed at Terminal 3 in June or July. There have been delays,” Salahuddin said. “We welcome them, and we will not cause any difficulties.”

Angkasa Pura II operates 11 international airports, including Soekarno-Hatta.

Devin said Mandala had 10 Airbus A320 aircraft, five of which are owned by the airline.

“Two of the aircraft are ready in Singapore,’’ he said.

Mandala stopped its operations in January last year under the weight of Rp 2.4 trillion ($269 million) in debt, returning its aircraft to its lessors amid rising operational costs.

In a debt-restructuring deal reached in April, the airline converted its debt into 6.89 million shares, or 15 percent of Mandala’s total equity.

In September, a Saratoga representative said he was hopeful the airline would return to the skies within 90 days.

Investor Daily, with additional reporting from Francezka Nangoy

The Jakarta Globe

“Pengembangan KA Indonesia masa depan ada Argo Cahaya, Jakarta-Surabaya. Mengadopsi sistem Shinkansen Jepang. Studi awal sudah dilakukan,” ujar Bambang Susantono Wakil Menteri Perhubungan dalam acara Seminar Nasional Perkeretaapian di Balai Sidang Universitas Indonesia (UI), Depok, Jawa Barat, Rabu (25/1/2012).

Untuk hal investor, Bambang menyatakan sudah ada Jepang dan China yang menjajaki mengenai pembangunan kereta peluru ini. Anggarannya pun hingga mencapai ratusan triliun rupiah.

Ketika ditanya mengenai jalur kereta di sepanjang Pulau Jawa yang sering berhimpitan dengan rumah penduduk, Bambang mengatakan, kemungkinan untuk namun membuat jalur sendiri. Untuk itulah studi awal pembangunan kereta shinkansen ini meliputi kondisi sosial budaya masyarakat.

Shinkansen yang mempunyai jarak tempuh hingga 300km/jam, maka Argo Cahaya diharapkan bisa menempuh jarak Jakarta-Surabaya hanya dalam waktu 2,5 jam saja. Tapi tentu saja harga tiketnya cukup tinggi. Tiket termurah Shinkansen sekitar Rp 1,3 juta untuk jarak 380 km.

News Source: Detik

Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp (TMC) will add a further Rp 1.3 trillion (US$141 million) to its investment in Indonesia this year, in order to increase its production capacity to 230,000 vehicles by 2013. “TMC has already agreed to add 50,000 vehicles more to the annual production capacity in Indonesia,” PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) president director Johnny Darmawan said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

TMC president director Akio Toyoda had previously said in 2011 that the company would increase the production capacity of its manufacturing arm PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) from 110,000 vehicles to 180,000 vehicles per year, with an investment of around Rp 2.8 trillion. Johnny, who is also TMMIN vice president director, said that the investment was an additional investment because TMC saw the Indonesian market continuing to grow.

With the additional investment, the total TMMIN production capacity in 2013 vehicles could reach 230,000, while in 2012 it was expected to reach 180,000 vehicles. He added that TMMIN would also build a new factory in Karawang, West Java, to meet the entire car demand in Indonesia.

“We are still facing supply shortages, despite being assisted by Daihatsu,” he said, adding that there would be new models produced in Indonesia in the next few years.

PT Astra Daihatsu Motor produces the Avanza multi-purpose vehicle and the Rush sports-utility vehicle for Toyota. Johnny added that Toyota was also increasing its investment in Thailand making both countries huge production centers in the Asia Pacific region.

Meanwhile, TMMIN spokesman Irwan Priyantoko said there was still plenty of space in Toyota’s 100-hectare plot in Karawang. “So far we have only used 40 hectares, including for the new factory to increase production to 180,000 cars per year,” he said. “We have not decided yet whether we need new buildings for the additional 50,000 cars.” In addition to manufacturing plant, Toyota’s facilities in Karawang also include stockyards and a testing ground.

News Source: The Jakarta Post

Pagi ini saya mendapatkan kabar bahwa Batavia Air akan memulai penerbangan perdana Manado – Guazhou. Sebuah langkah berani, karena bagaimanapun langkah ini tentu saja ingin memanfaatkan market di Guagzhou yang terus meningkat, dan membawanya ke Manado. Sementara Manado sendiri bukanlah sebuah destinasi utama di dunia penerbangan di Indonesia, masih jauh di bawah Makassar sekalipun. Batavia tentu menyadari itu, dan itulah sebabnya, bagi saya ini adalah langkah berani dan patut diapresiasi.

Saya masih ingat ketika FireFly (maskapai Malaysia) terbang ke Banda Aceh dari Kuala Lumpur. Saya sempat bertemu dengan salah satu petinggi FireFly ketika di Banda Aceh, dan saya tanyakan kenapa berani terbang ke Aceh yang belum punya nilai ekonomis tinggi waktu itu. Beliau menjawab, “Kami harus berani memulai. Tanpa keberanian itu, industri penerbangan hanya berjalan di tempat”.

Jawaban yang bagus. Keberanian.

Tentu saja itu belum cukup. Maskapai harus membangun reputasi. Saya pernah naik Delta Airlines dari Atlanta, Georgia ke Tokyo. Beberapa penumpang becanda sambil menyampaikan kepada para pramugari bahwa beberapa fasilitas di Delta Airlines kurang begitu bagus kualitasnya. Dengan santai sang pramugari menjawab bahwa memang Delta tidak bisa dibandingkan dengan Singapore Airlines yang punya fasilitas nomor satu di setiap detailnya. Reputasi Singapore Airlines memang sehebat reputasi Singapura. Bersih, excellent, efisien, kelas satu! Reputasinya jauh menembus batas wilayah negaranya yang kecil.

Apakah maskapai-maskapai nasional bisa sehebat Singapore Airlines? Tentu saja bisa. Bahkan, Garuda Indonesia hanya setingkat dibawahnya (maju terus Garuda).

Ada satu hal lagi yang akan make difference.

Satu hari teman saya akan pergi ke Amsterdam. Dia mengetahui bahwa Garuda sudah terbang lagi ke Amsterdam, namun dia lebih memilih memakai Emirates dengan berbagai alasan (terutama prestis). Dia menganggap bahwa Emirates lebih ini dan itu dibanding Garuda Indonesia. Meski harga relatif sama. Tentu sah saja seperti itu, akan tetapi di saat maskapai nasional sedang bersungguh-sungguh membangun image dan reputasi, namun apabila tidak didukung oleh stakeholder utama di dalam negeri (penumpang Indonesia yang bangga menggunakan maskapai nasional), tentu akan sulit bagi mereka.

Fajar era Open Sky sudah mulai menyeruak, dengan menghadirkan maskapai-maskapai dari seluruh Asia Tenggara dengan kualitas yang hampir berimbang. Dan percaya atau tidak, Indonesia adalah pasar industri penerbangan yang paling menggiurkan. Kalau bukan kita yang menggunakan maskapai-maskapai nasional, rasanya berat mengharapkan orang luar bangga menggunakannya.

Dari sini jelas, kita harus bagaimana mulai sekarang, kan?

Tahun ini (2012), penjualan diyakini akan melampaui 1 juta unit, karena kelihatannya Indonesia cukup kuat menahan gempuran krisis ekonomi dunia yang dimulai di Eropa.

Bagi produsen otomotif dunia, semua hal di atas tidak lain dan tidak bukan adalah good news. Mazda mulai besar-besaran menarget pertumbuhan penjualan di Indonesia, karena mereka percaya pertumbuhan kelas menengah di Indonesia sangat kuat. Chrysler mantap membenamkan modal US$1.1 milyar untuk pabrik baru. Honda bahkan merevisi kembali target penjualan motor di Indonesia lebih tinggi. Bahkan General Motors sedang mempertimbangkan Indonesia sebagai hub di Asean.

Indikasi bagus, karena pertumbuhan ekonomi benar-benar terjadi. Akan tetapi dampaknya akan juga benar-benar makin terasa, terutama di kota-kota besar. Kemacetan di Jakarta akan makin tak terbayangkan, kecuali ada gerak cepat pemerintah mengatasinya. Tentu pemerintah harus mulai memikirkan bagaiman pemerataan pendapatan tidak hanya terjadi di Pulau Jawa, namun juga seluruh propinsi di Indonesia. Kalau tidak, menurut survey sebuah lembaga di Jepang, pada 2015, jalan-jalan di Indonesia akan mencapai overcapacity setinggi 20%.

Ekonomi di luar Jawa harus dibangun, investasi dikebut, infrastruktur dikembangkan secara masif, dan yang paling penting adalah HARUS dimulai dari sekarang!

–

Kadang libur itu penting. Pada hari tanpa kesibukan itulah persoalan yang rumit bisa dibicarakan secara mendasar, detail, dan habis-habisan. Misalnya, pada hari libur Sabtu lalu. Enam jam penuh bisa membicarakan rumitnya persoalan Merpati Nusantara Airline.

Tidak hanya direksi dan komisaris yang hadir, tapi juga seluruh manajer senior. Ruang rapat sampai tidak cukup sehingga pindah ke ruang tamu yang secara kilat dijadikan arena perdebatan.

Meski saya yang memimpin rapat, tidak ada hierarki di situ. Segala macam jabatan dan predikat saya minta ditanggalkan. Tidak ada menteri, tidak ada Dirut, tidak ada komisaris, dan tidak ada bawahan. Semua sejajar sebagai orang bebas. Duduknya pun tidak diatur dan tidak teratur.

Operator laptop dan proyektornya sampai duduk di lantai. Kebetulan saya juga hanya memakai kaus dan celana olahraga. Belum mandi pula. Baru selesai berolahraga bersama 30.000 karyawan dan keluarga Bank Rakyat Indonesia se-Jakarta memperingati ultah ke-116 mereka yang gegap gempita.

Pindah dari acara BRI ke acara Merpati pagi itu rasanya seperti pindah dari surga ke Marunda. Dari perusahaan yang labanya Rp 14 triliun ke perusahaan yang ruginya tidak habis-habisnya. Dari jalannya operasional saja Merpati sudah rugi besar.

Apalagi, kalau ditambah beban-beban utangnya. Tiap bulan pendapatannya hanya Rp 133 miliar. Pengeluarannya Rp 178 miliar. Pesawatnya tua-tua. Sekali dapat yang baru MA 60 pula.

Suasana kerja di Merpati pun sudah seperti perusahaan yang no hope! Maka, jelaslah bahwa persoalan Merpati tidak bisa diselesaikan dengan cara biasa.

Restrukturisasi perusahaan dengan cara modern sudah dicoba sejak dua tahun lalu. Belum ada hasilnya “bahkan tanda-tandanya sekali pun. Upaya restrukturisasi ini telah menghabiskan enersi luar biasa. Lebih-lebih menghabiskan waktu dan kesempatan.

Panjangnya proses pengadaan pesawat Tiongkok MA 60 membuat peluang lama hilang begitu saja. Rute-rute kosong yang semula akan diisi MA 60 telanjur dimasuki Wing dan Susi Air yang lebih kompetitif. MA 60 yang menurut para pilot merupakan pesawat yang bagus, lebih berat lagi bebannya setelah terjadi kecelakaan di Kaimana.

Peristiwa yang sebenarnya tidak ada hubungannya dengan kualitas pesawat itu ikut membuat Merpati ibarat petinju yang sudah sempoyongan tiba-tiba terkena pukulan berat.

Sebelum kecelakaan Kaimana, penumpang sebenarnya lebih senang naik MA 60. Pesawat ini sengaja didesain untuk negara tropis. AC-nya bisa berfungsi sejak penumpang masuk pesawat. Tidak seperti pesawat baling-baling lain yang panas udara kabinnya luar biasa dan baru berkurang setelah beberapa menit di udara.

Merpati memang sering kehilangan momentum. Bahkan, seperti sudah kehilangan momentum sejak dari lahirnya. Ketika kali pertama dipisahkan dari Garuda, pesawat-pesawatnya diambil, tapi utangnya ditinggalkan. Beban-beban lain juga menumpuk.

Semua itu enak sekali dijadikan kambing hitam oleh manajemen. Setiap manajemen yang gagal punya alasan pembenarannya. Kadang manajemen lebih sibuk mengumpulkan kambing hitam daripada bekerja keras dan melakukan efisiensi.

Benarkah tidak ada hope lagi di Merpati?

Itulah yang melalui forum pada hari libur Sabtu lalu ingin saya ketahui. Terutama sebelum saya membuat keputusan yang tragis: ditutup! Segala macam usaha sudah dilakukan.

Dua bulan lalu sebenarnya saya sudah menyederhanakan manajemen Merpati. Jabatan wakil Dirut saya hapus. Jumlah direktur saya kurangi. Ini agar manajemen lebih lincah. Juga terbebas dari beban psikologis karena wakil Dirutnya lebih senior dari sang Dirut.

Rupanya itu belum cukup. Saya harus masuk lebih ke dalam. Tiba-tiba saya ingin berdialog langsung. Dialog yang intensif dan tanpa batas. Dialog dengan jajaran yang lebih bawah.

Di masa lalu saya sering mendapat pengalaman ini: banyak ide bagus justru datang dari orang bawah yang langsung bekerja di lapangan. Bukan dari konseptor yang bekerja di belakang meja.

Memang ada rencana pemerintah dan DPR untuk membantu keuangan Merpati Rp 561 miliar. Tapi, akankah uang itu bermanfaat? Atau hanya akan terbang terhambur begitu saja ke udara? Seperti ratusan miliar uang-uang negara sebelumnya?

Tentu saya tidak ingin seperti itu. Harus ada jaminan ini: dengan suntikan tersebut Merpati bisa hidup dan berkembang. Tidak seperti suntikan-suntikan uang ratusan miliar rupiah di masa lalu. Ini juga harus menjadi uang terakhir dari negara untuk Merpati. Sudah terlalu besar negara terus menyuntik Merpati, dengan hasil yang masih begitu-begitu saja.

Karena itu, saya kemukakan terus terang di forum: daripada uang Rp 561 miliar tersebut terhambur ke udara begitu saja dan karyawan pada akhirnya kehilangan pekerjaan juga, lebih baik Merpati ditutup sekarang juga. Uang itu bisa dibelikan kebun kelapa sawit. Tiap karyawan mendapat pesangon 2 ha kebun sawit.

Orang Riau punya dalil: satu keluarga yang punya 2 ha kebun sawit, sudah bisa hidup sampai menyekolahkan anak ke ITB! Memiliki 2 ha kebun sawit lebih memberikan masa depan daripada terus menjadi karyawan Merpati.

Tentu ide ini membuat pertemuan heboh. Sekaligus peserta pertemuan tertantang untuk menolaknya. Mereka tidak rela kalau Merpati harus mati. Kebun sawit bukan bandingan untuk masa depan. Oke. Saya setuju. So what? Kalau dari operasionalnya saja sudah rugi, masih adakah alasan untuk mempertahankannya?

Maka, saya ajukan ide untuk melakukan pembahasan topik per topik. Ini untuk mengecek apakah benar masih ada harapan?

Topik pertama adalah: bagaimana membuat pendapatan Merpati lebih besar daripada pengeluarannya. Kalau tidak ada jalan yang konkret di topik ini, putusannya jelas: Merpati harus ditutup.

Asumsinya: bagaimana bisa memikul beban yang lain kalau dari operasionalnya saja sudah rugi besar. Berapa pun modal digerojokkan tidak akan ada artinya. Lebih baik untuk beli kebun sawit!

Meski logika sawit begitu jelas dan rasional, rupanya masih banyak yang takut mengubah jalan hidup. Ketika hal itu saya kemukakan, seseorang nyeletuk dari arah belakang. “Salah Pak Dahlan! Bukan kami takut menjadi petani sawit, tapi Merpati ini masih punya peluang besar,” katanya. “Asal semua orang di Merpati punya etos kerja yang hebat,” tambahnya.

Etos kerja ini begitu sering dia sebut sebagai penyebab utama kesulitan Merpati sekarang ini. Dia sangat percaya etos itulah kuncinya, sehingga sepanjang enam jam rapat itu dia selalu dipanggil dengan nama Pak Etos.

Pak Etos mungkin benar. Tapi, itu masih kurang konkret. Yang diperlukan adalah usul konkret dan realistis. Yang bisa membuat pendapatan lebih besar daripada pengeluaran. Yang bisa dilaksanakan dalam keadaan Merpati as is.

Pagi itu begitu sulit mencari ide yang membumi. Saya pun lantas teringat pada gurauan pedagang-pedagang sukses seperti ini: “Tuhan itu baik. Tapi, uanglah yang bisa membuat orang mengatakan Tuhan itu baik”.

Rupanya perlu rangsangan material untuk melahirkan ide-ide kreatif. Rupanya perlu dana untuk mendatangkan Tuhan. Maka, saya tawarkan di forum itu: peserta rapat yang mengusulkan ide terbaik akan saya beri hadiah satu mobil baru, Avanza, dari kantong saya pribadi.

Rapat pun menjadi heboh. Gelak tawa memenuhi ruangan. Ide belum muncul, tapi warna mobil sudah harus dibicarakan. Setuju: warna krem! Neraka sawit ternyata tidak menarik. Surga Avanzalah yang menggiurkan. Pantaslah kalau Jakarta macet!

Tuhan rupanya benar-benar datang. Inspirasi bermunculan. Hampir semua peserta rapat mengangkat tangan. Mereka berebut mendaftarkan ide. Angkat tangan lagi untuk ide kedua. Ide ketiga. Bahkan, ada yang sampai mendaftarkan lima ide.

Setelah terkumpul 53 ide, barulah diperdebatkan. Mana yang konkret dan mana yang terlalu umum. Mana yang menghasilkan rupiah, mana yang menghasilkan semangat. Mana yang membuat pendapatan lebih besar, mana yang membuat pengeluaran lebih kecil.

Ide-ide itu kemudian di-ranking. Dari yang terbaik sampai yang terkurang. Dari yang terbanyak menghasilkan rupiah sampai yang menghasilkan etos. Perdebatan amat seru karena masing-masing mempertahankan idenya. Terjadi diskusi yang luar biasa intensif, mengalahkan rapat kerja bagian pemasaran.

Dari ranking yang dibuat, memang sudah bisa diketahui siapa yang bakal dapat mobil. Tapi, ada yang protes. “Sebaiknya hadiah baru diberikan setelah ide itu jadi kenyataan,” teriaknya.

Rupanya, dia ingin membuktikan bahwa meski idenya kalah ranking, dalam pelaksanaannya kelak akan mengalahkan juara ranking itu. Setuju. Kita lihat dulu kenyataan di lapangan. Peluang bagi ide yang ranking-nya di bawah pun masih terbuka.

Tentu ide-ide itu masih dirahasiakan. Ini terutama karena masih akan dirumuskan dalam bentuk program kerja nyata di lapangan. Tapi, semua ide memang sangat menarik. Dari sinilah bisa diketahui bahwa Merpati seharusnya tidak akan rugi secara operasional. Kalau ini terlaksana, pemilik dana tidak akan ragu membantu. Alhamdulillah. Tuhan memberkati.

Topik berikutnya adalah MA 60. Bagaimana kinerjanya selama ini? Apakah bisa menghasilkan uang dan terutama bagaimana mengembalikan citra yang rusak akibat kecelakaan Kaimana?

Banyak juga ide gila yang muncul. Termasuk ide bahwa khusus untuk MA 60 sebaiknya dicarikan pilot bule. Seperti pesawatnya Susi Air. Orang kita lebih percaya kepada bule daripada bangsa sendiri. Ketidakpercayaan orang terhadap MA 60 bisa ditutup dengan pilot orang bule. Huh!

Saya benci dengan ide ini.

Tapi, demi Merpati saya menerimanya!

Maka, setelah enam jam berdebat, tepat pukul 16.00, rapat pun diakhiri dengan lega. Saya bisa segera pulang untuk mandi pagi! (*)

Dahlan Iskan
Menteri BUMN

Five foreign national football players, Victor Chukwuekenzie Igbonefo, Johnny Rudolf van Beu Kering, Tonnie Harry Cousel, Greg Nwokolo and Stefano Janite Lilipaly, were naturalized in October.

However, the PSSI could still not use Nwokolo and Igbonefo in Indonesia’s pre-World Cup qualification matches against Qatar and Iran due to not having received confirmation from their original countries that both players had never played in Nigeria.

“I am sure that we don’t need naturalization [programs] anymore. What should we do? Bribe [the committee] so we get the recommendations?” national team official Bernhard Limbong told reporters on Tuesday at the PSSI headquarters in Jakarta.
Therefore, the PSSI would give more chances to local football players, Limbong said.

“I want us to be proud of our local talents. As long as I am involved in national team, I will forbid naturalization [programs],” he said as quoted by kompas.com.

“I say that this country has good food prospects. The world population will continue to increase so that the need for standard food and energy will be big, and at the same time food and energy security will be facing a global challenge,” the President said when visiting a Livestock Research Center at the Livestock Training Center in Ciawi, Bogor, Monday afternoon.

The President added that not only the Indonesia`s population is increasing, the middle class is also growing, which means they will need good quality food, which cannot be realized without research and innovation.

The Head of State said if the economy is improving the budget for research and development would be raised.

“But this is not enough. I have asked for the establishment of cooperation between research and research institutions and private circles besides the government, producing ready for use research,” the President said in the company of Education Minister Muhammad Nuh and Agriculture Minister Suswono.

The Head of State who visited the research center in his Ramadhan Safari said that the government is relying on research and development to meet the needs for food nationally and regionally.

“We are dreaming that Indonesia will become a rice barn for food in the region, or for certain commodities. For certain commodities, we are already secured,” the President said.

In the meantime, a researcher at the livestock research center, Pius, said the research facilities at the complex are already quite old and need renewal and replacement. Pius also hoped for an increase in the functional allowances of the researchers.

Responding to the request, the Head of State said the number of research instruments at the livestock research center will be increased in stages in the next three years.

Another researcher, Bestina Murti, said to increase self-supporting in cows and water buffaloes in 2014 livestock even distribution needs to be organized well.

“I wish that the transportation of livestock from Jakarta to Surabaya by train would be resumed,” he said.

Responding to Bestina`s wish, President Yudhoyono said the government had decided on a policy on livestock development, the first by way of increased productivity, and the second, increased connectivity.

“For that purpose we already have a connectivity program in the next 15 years the agricultural sector would also become part, to prevent imported cows to become cheaper than those from Surabaya or East Nusa Tenggara,” he pointed out.

During the 30-minite visit, the President inspected livestock products like chicken eggs, goats, cows, milk and meat.

The President believed Indonesia will become an advanced country in the coming years after working hard, unity and participation from all sides.

The President was flanked by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and a number of cabinet ministers in the Ramadhan Safari to a number of regions in West and Central Java until August 26. Before visiting the cow research center, the Head of State visited a school and bag producing center in Ciawi.

News Source: ANTARA News

“We have installed cameras on one bus for a trial period, and will soon install them on on the rest of our fleet,” Transjakarta spokesman Muhammad Akbar said Tuesday as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

At present, Transjakarta plans to install cameras on more than 90 buses.

Eventually, each bus will be equipped with four cameras, he said, adding that the cameras would help to inform passengers waiting for buses about how crowded approaching buses are.

News Source: The Jakarta Post

Former Young Indonesian Businessmen Association (Hipmi) chairman Sandiaga S Uno said here on Sunday that the presence of SMEs across the country could make Indonesia the world`s fifth largest economy in the future.

“The Indonesian economy at present is ranked the 16th in the world and in 2050 Indonesia could be the world`s fifth largest economy, ” Sandiago said at a fast breaking function with the East Java branch of Hipmi on Sunday evening.

On the occasion he said that in the period January-July 2011 the national economy had grown by 6.5 percent with the gross domestic product (GDP) reaching US$700 billion.

He said it was a promising achievement for the national economy, and with such a figure Indonesia`s economic growth would be able to exceed that of the Netherlands.

According to him, the contribution to national economic growth was dominated by small and medium enterprises, and therefore all existing policies should support the SME`s economic condition.

Sandiago also called on members of Hipmi in East Java to become Indonesia`s economic cadres to improve the province`s economic growth in the next five years.

“Hipmi members in East Java should do something to improve the province`s economic growth, and spread the spirit of entrepreneurship in various universities,” he said.

News Source: ANTARA News

Garuda said Monday that the new recruits were graduates from the Bali International Flight Academy. Demand for new aviators is growing as the airline plans to double the size of its fleet, to 154 aircraft by 2015.

“Hopefully, as more cadets finish their education by the end of this year, the role of foreign pilots will decrease and all Garuda Indonesia airplanes will be flown by Indonesian pilots,” said Emirsyah Satar, the president director of Garuda.

The new aviators are scheduled to replace the 34 foreign pilots who will finish their one-year contracts by the end of this year. Garuda has 897 permanent pilots and 43 contract pilots.

Last month, around 650 local pilots under the Garuda Pilots Union (APG) launched a 24-hour strike over wage inequality between Indonesian and foreign pilots. According to the APG, foreign pilots earn $7,200 a month, including housing benefits, compared to $5,000 for Indonesians.

The strike caused some problems for the airline, with flights being delayed between two and eight hours and at least three cancellations.

The strike was called off after about 15 hours following a meeting between the union, Garuda management and State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar.

Mustafa, who was at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport for a surprise inspection, said the disputing parties had agreed to go back to the negotiating table. It was unclear whether the new recruitment scheme was part of the agreements.

“At the moment, Garuda Indonesia is educating around 200 cadets at various flight schools in Indonesia,” Emirsyah said.

To fulfill its 200 new pilots per year plan, Garuda is working with the BIFA and the Indonesian Aviation College (STPI).

The BIFA produced 100 pilots for Garuda in four batches starting in March last year. The first two batches had begun working for Garuda as first officers, while the third batch is undergoing more testing at the Garuda Indonesia Training Center before they operate commercial planes.

The BIFA said there were 75 students currently studying at the facility who would all eventually work for the airline.

“We at the BIFA are very proud to be a part of Garuda’s transformation program in realizing its vision to become an even more competitive airline,” BIFA chairman Robby Djohan said.

News Source: The Jakarta Globe

Kereta wisata ini, lanjut Sugeng, memiliki 3 jenis: Bali, Nusantara, dan Toraja. Perbedaan kereta tersebut hanya pada ukiran yang mencirikan daerah tersebut dan sewa perorangan dan grup.

Kereta wisata ini memiliki kapasitas maksimal 22 orang dengan fasilitas sekelas hotel berbintang, seperti VVIP room, AC, minibar, ruang audio/video untuk karaoke, serta toilet yang dilengkapi jacuzzi. Kereta ini biasanya diberangkatkan dari stasiun Gambir, tapi dapat pula sesuai pesanan pemesan ingin diberangkatkan dari kota manapun.

Kereta wisata ini sebenarnya hanya gerbong ekslusif yang akan digabung dengan kereta umum saat digunakan. Tapi pengamanan dalam gerbong kereta wisata ini lebih ketat. Selain para penumpang kereta wisata, tidak ada yang bisa masuk walaupun berada dalam 1 kereta. Tak hanya pengamanan, kereta wisata ini juga disertai dengan tour leader yang dapat memenuhi kebutuhan para penumpangnya.

Masalah kelancaran perjalanan, Bambang S, Direktur Operasional PT Kereta Api Pariwisata mengatakan, jalur kereta yang ditempuh kereta wisata ini benar-benar dipastikan aman tanpa gangguan.

“Jalur kereta wisata benar-benar telah dipastikan keamanannya. Kami tidak akan mengoperasikan kereta di jalur yang bermasalah,” ucap Bambang saat menanggapi pencurian besi rel kereta.

Sejauh ini telah banyak yang telah menggunakan jasa kereta wisata ini. Sugeng menambahkan, rata-rata pengguna kereta wisata ini adalah perusahaan negara dan swasta, serta keluarga besar yang ingin berlibur menggunakan kereta.

News Source: Kompas

Re-written and Posted On Good News From Indonesia by Muhammad Q Rusydan

Not only that, the government also plans to build a new rail network along the 150 kilometers. This is related to government efforts to improve connectivity between regions. “We want to balance infrastructure development more evenly across Indonesia,” the president said when delivering his state address associated Bill on State Budget 2012 and its Financial Note before the Plenary Session of Parliament on Tuesday (16/08/2011) at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta.

Also present at the session of the Vice President Boediono, ministers of United Indonesia Cabinet II, the head of state high institutions, members of Parliament, members of the DPD, and others.

Meanwhile, to overcome the blockage of infrastructure and improving inter-regional connectivity, the government will use the capital expenditure budget in the Draft Budget 2012 for the construction of new roads and increase road capacity along the 4005 km.

In addition, the government also did preservation which includes maintenance and repairs along the 36,319 kilometers of roads, building new bridges over 7682 meters, and maintain a 217,076-meter long bridge across the corners of the country. “In the field of housing, the allocation of our capital expenditure plan to support the construction of 175 flats and modest rental apartment dwelling units and their supporting infrastructure as much as 48 twin blocks. The budget, will also be utilized to finance the construction of cheap houses as many as 62,500 units. To support the robustness food, we will build nine reservoirs and rehabilitating the 24 reservoirs. We will also complete construction of 87 ponds and rehabilitate 62 ponds, “he said.

On occasion, the President said, the budget allocation of capital expenditure on the state budget reached Rp 168.1 trillion, an increase of Rp 27.2 trillion or 19.3 percent of the APBN-P 2011.

Increased capital expenditure budget is higher, continued the President, was directed to support development of infrastructure, including energy infrastructure, food security, and communications as part of our effort to support the development and improvement of connectivity between regions.

Reposted on Good News From Indonesia by Arroisi

Bagi yang tinggal di Jakarta, tentu bukan hal yang asing lagi bahwa makin hari Jakarta makin macet. Dan membayangkan kondisi kemacetan Jakarta 5 tahun lagi, memerlukan keberanian khusus yang tak banyak orang mau sekedar memikirkannya.

Tidak hanya rakyat biasa, para menteri, presiden, direktur2 perusahaan-perusahaan, pasien rumah sakit, anak sekolah..dijamin tidak bisa tenang menjalani macet  yang harus mereka hadapi setiap hari, kadang sampai berjam-jam.

Bayangkan. Tiap hari. (Image by Shanghai Daddy)

Rasanya, perlu dipikirkan betul betul memindahkan Ibukota Indonesia ke tempat lain yang benar benar baru. Mungkin tidak akan banyak mengurangi kemacetan di Jakarta, tapi paling tidak, pejabat negara dan orang orang yang perlu terus bergerak cepat takkan lagi takut terlambat, dan pusing sepanjang jalan. Brazil telah berhasil melaksanakannya. Indonesia bisa, kalau mau.

Kali ini, yuk jangan hanya berwacana, mari bertindak nyata, demi masa depan bangsa. Singkirkan ego kita, kedepankan kepentingan bersama.

Garuda Indonesia di angkasa (Image by Anggaparamita)

Pesawat-pesawat baru Garuda Indonesia juga sudah berdatangan, mulai dari Airbus A330 yang besar, hingga Boeing 737-800NextGeneration berukuran sedang. Garuda juga sudah mengangkasa kembali di Eropa, dan berencana menambah tujuan tujuan baru di Eropa dan Amerika, dan memperkuat posisi di Asia dan Australia.

Belum lama ini, Citilink, anak usaha Garuda Indonesia sebagai budget wing juga mulai dikembangkan. Citilink selama ini dikenal sebagai maskapai yang so-so, akan disodori pesawat pesawat baru Airbus A320 dan A320Neo sebanyak total 25 unit. Pesawat-pesawat tersebut akan membawa Citilink menerbangi rute domestik, dan regional, seperti Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, dan Australia.

Bersama sama dengan maskapai nasional yang lain, tentu kita berharap dapat menjadi pemain penting di Asia, yang selama ini “dikuasai” oleh Singapore Airlines, Air Asia, ataupun Cathay Pacific.

Terbanglah makin tinggi burung burung besi Indonesia.

The aircraft will be operated by Garuda’s low-cost unit Citilink, replacing its fleet of Boeing 737-300s and -400s.

The engine selection for the aircraft will be announced “in the near future”, said Airbus.

Garuda signed a preliminary agreement for the aircraft during the Paris air show in June 2011.

News Source: Flight Global

“The environmentally-friendly building certification system is one of our efforts to reduce green house gas emission which is predicted to reach 26 percent in 2020,” Gusti said.

He said increasing efficiency was the cheapest way to overcome greenhouse gas emission.

According to him, urban areas were considered to be very strategic in implementing environmental protection and management because the urban sectors used water resources, energy, materials, and land a lot.

The minister said one of the instruments of his ministry`s policies was environmentally-friendly buildings that applied “sustainable consumption and production” in the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The implementation of the environmentally-friendly building certification system was expected to have economic and social impacts, especially in the stimulation of demand and supply with a vast quantity and quality.

Therefore, he said, he had issued Ministerial Regulation No.8/2010 on the criteria and certification of environmentally-friendly buildings.

In the regulation, the criteria for environmentally-friendly buildings was that they should use local environmentally-friendly building materials with ecolabel certificate, and use conservation-related water resources.

Besides, such buildings should use raw materials that do not damage the ozone, and renewable alternative energy sources with low greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile, Green Building Council of Indonesia (GBCI) Chairman Naning Adiwoso said the certification of environmentally-friendly buildings had long term advantages with low cost.

He pointed out that a number of buildings which were already in the process of certification, including Public Works Ministry building, were able to save energy by up to 38 percent.

News Source: ANTARA News

National airline Garuda Indonesia plans to more than quadruple the amount of people that Citilink, its budget carrier, will fly in the next four years with new routes and aircraft, a top executive said on Wednesday.

Emirsyah Satar, president director of Garuda Indonesia, said the number of passengers expected to travel on Citilink would reach 8.3 million in 2015, from a forecast of 2 million this year. New overseas destinations will include Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia.

“We want to revive Citilink, which has been a part of Garuda for a long time. The potential in the low-cost carrier market is big,” Emirsyah said.

The higher passenger volume is also expected to boost Citilink’s revenue contribution to Garuda to 30 percent, from the current 5 percent, said Elisa Lumbantoruan, Garuda’s finance director.

Garuda may also spin the unit off next year, followed by a possible initial public offering in 2015, he said.

Citilink’s expansion includes the arrival of five new Airbus A320s this month and 25 more starting in 2014. Eventually the aircraft will be the only one flown by Citilink after it phases out its six Boeing aircraft, making aircraft maintenance easier, Emisyah said.

“We’re also in the process of hiring the cabin and cockpit crew so we’ll be ready when the aircraft arrive,” he said.

Citilink is also changing its logo, taking on a predominantly green motif to appeal to a younger generation of consumers, including backpackers, Elisa said.

To help with marketing, it has hired Con Korfiatis, former chief executive at Viva Macau Airlines and JetStar Asia, as an adviser to Garuda’s Citilink expansion.