Monday 1 July 2013

Indonesia’s education from the eyes of Satya Widya Yudha.

Agung Rino P. and Jean Tania
 Jakarta, 27 June 2013

 Satya Widya Yudha (51) is a member of DPR (House of Representative) in Indonesia for his first term since 2009 until 2014. He is part of the energy resource commission. Mr. Satya has been working in the energy industry for over 23 years as he was working for BP (British Petroleum). His vast knowledge in this business has led him to become one of Indonesia’s leading experts in energy and education. He has two children; which are now pursuing their Bachelor degree in Michigan (United States) and Manchester (England) respectively. Both of them are majoring in Economics.

 Mr. Satya has been working in different positions for BP and being stationed at different countries such as China, Vietnam, and England. These travels and working situations have allowed him to absorb the different cultures for efficiency in education. During the interview, he said that Indonesia still lack the proper education system to compete with other Asian nations.

 “My kids underwent a significant transition when we came back to Indonesia, as they are used to the International environment. As a result, I enrolled my kids into JIS (Jakarta International School) because it offers the same environment and network for my kids future.” Said Mr. Satya regarding the standard for education in Indonesia.

 His background suggests that he could be a director for P.T. Pertamina, however he still chooses to help the nation. This is a noble act and thought, as in the public’s eye, the members of DPR are mostly considered as people who are corrupters. Some also believe that these people do not necessarily represent the public’s interest. It is interesting to see that Indonesia is undergoing constant changes as it is still developing economically, educationally, and infrastructural.

 Mr Satya surprisingly does not only hold knowledge about energy resources but also has a very good point in Indonesia’s education level. Since he completed his Masters in London, he saw the limitations of Indonesian Scholars ability to compete with foreign Scholars; which according to him is one of the barriers why Indonesia’s education hardly can be compete internationally with other Universities.

 “The problem with Indonesia is language and the will to act. We are capable of producing journal entries of international standard. It is proven by our nation’s achievements in the science Olympiad and also the mathematic Olympiad. When I was doing my Masters, I was able to access journals from top universities like Harvard, MIT, and Oxford. If I were to order a book from America, it will arrive in less than two weeks via my University library.” Mr. Satya sharing his experience as a post graduate student.

 Mr. Satya was very adamant that his experiences teach him to be aware with international standards for education. He explained that China have developed into one of the leading Asian country in the field of economy and education. They have a university called Tsinghua University that has already existed in less than 50 years but it managed to be on the Top 50 list of World Universities. Whereas Indonesia has quite numbers of Universities that have existed more than 100 years but still cannot manage to get into the Top 400 list of World Universities. This achievement is quite remarkable considering the state of development in the world presently.

 Recently, Mr. Satya received an award ‘The Right Man On The Right Place” along with Jokowi, Roy Suryo, and Yusril Irza Mahendra. However according to Mr. Satya, this is just a token of appreciation not an achievement. The real achievement for him is being able to contribute to other people. When you contribute, it means that you are giving your best effort in whatever field of expertise you have. For him, helping Indonesia grow as a nation will be the highlight of his achievement. He said that he joined DPR to make his wish a reality. In order for him to contribute to the nation, he must obtain a vast amount of experiences so that he can bring his knowledge and use it to improve Indonesia in his field of expertise.

 His plans for the future after the current term is over are to try for a second term of election or go back to the energy industry. With his experience in the industry, it will seem reasonable that he would not have any issues finding a job anywhere in the world. If he were about to be re-elected for the second term, then he wants to contribute further towards Indonesia’s development. Mr Satya also explained that he does not want his children to follow in his footsteps because he thinks that they have the ability to succeed in their own and contribute using their own experiences in bringing Indonesia to achieve an international standard of reputation. And he substantially highlighted of how Indonesia should strive to think for the future.

 His message was “Indonesians need to act and contribute on an international level and compete with the world. That is how we can grow as a nation and stamp our place in the world map.”

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Fuel Subsidy

Fuel subsidy: dual price from privately owned car and public vehicles
24 April 2013
Agung Rino Prasetyo

 President SBY and his cabinet held a meeting on April 14 to discuss about the fuel subsidy issue to reduce the number of traffic commuting through the streets of Indonesia, especially Jakarta. This meeting was held at the Presidential Palace in Cipanas. It has been a long term issue regarding the increasing number of vehicles that commutes daily in Jakarta, and the number keeps rising day by day. Regional leaders attended the meeting as the fuel subsidy has taken the majority of Indonesia’s budget annually.

 The issue discussed in the meeting is the dual price of octane-88 premium fuel for privately owned car and public transport and motorcycles. The price for public vehicles and motorcycle will remain at Rp 4,500 and for the privately owned cars it could increase to Rp 6,500 – Rp 7,000. If this change is implemented, the government could save up to Rp 21 trillion by the end of this year alone. This policy needs to be implemented as soon as possible according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, Jero Wacik. It can be agreed that this policy might just be able to reduce the traffic and save the government from excess expenses so that other resources can be improved.

 It is clear that the upper middle class are enjoying the benefits of subsidized fuel. Many of the family in this category have more than the number of vehicles that they really needed and therefore creating an unbalanced advantage between them and the poor. Motorcycles are also a big issue, not only for the safety reasons, but also for the total census of motorcycles that travels everyday. As we know, many of the working class citizens in Jakarta rely on their motorcycles because of poor public transportation.

 SBY has the power and authority to directly say that this policy needs to be implemented. However there would be risks involved with this decision. There will be political and social unrest triggered by this policy. The last time the fuel prices have increased, there were major demonstrations demanding the government to re-evaluate their decision to increase fuel prices. The most significant incident involving the rise of fuel prices came in 2005 and 2008. Back then, the inflation rate was not as bad as it is today. It is estimated that if this policy does come through than the inflation rate will increase again by 6.1 percent according to Bank Danamon chief economist, Anton H. Gunawan.

 As the inflation rate increases, it gets harder for the poor to stay stable in the economy. This jump will no doubt cost workers their job as companies will need to cut their spending. For the people that got laid off from work, it can lead to unemployment because if the economy is down, then the possibility of getting a job becomes smaller. It is important to note that while SBY is concerned about how the public will react if the dual fuel price policy is imposed, he should not neglect the importance of this decision. During his regime, he has tried to do his utmost to improve Indonesia. From the economical point of view, he is quite successful as Indonesia is now part of the international trade that has quite the power to import and export goods.

 This policy seemed quite outrageous after governor Jokowi proposed that Jakarta should use an odd and even plate number system. It would then follow the date of the calendar, allowing only the car that have the correct odd or even number to travel on that date. There is more important matter for SBY if he is concerned about his legacy in his regime. Economy Minister Hatta Rajasa has said that this fuel price increase will help the country to focus their budget on other aspects of the economy.

 There are many suggestions that by improving the public transport, more people would actually consider taking the bus. Trans Jakarta Busway is the best public transport in Indonesia. The train system is chaotic with the schedule not running on time, and the quality of the train itself is not satisfactory. Jakarta needs a good public transport system that will ensure safety and comfort to the citizen of Jakarta.

Sunday 20 September 2009

Happy Idul Fitri


Minal Aidin Walfaidzin..Mohon Maaf Lahir dan Batin

sorry for all the mistakes i have made, intentionally or nor...this is a happy day for all the Muslims in the world! we can now celebrate the victory after one month of fasting, happy Idul Fitri to everyone,

enjoy and take care

Profiling

The boy that took a leap
Agung Rino Prasetyo
Saturday, 19 September 2009

Putra Arjuna Bernstein (Aaron) is now 19 years old and he is an American who has lived his entire life in Indonesia. He has been overseas and also to America. He is joining the US NAVY next year. His first option was to go to Germany and continue his education there. This plan changed because of the benefits he can draw from the NAVY.

He attended Saint Fransiscus ASISI for five years of primary school. On the sixth grade he moved to Jakarta International School (JIS). He remained there until the end of Junior High, where he continued at Sekolah Global Jaya (SGJ). He graduated with an IB Diploma in the pocket.

Aaron has a very interesting personality. This is the main reason of why he is chosen to be on this profile. He is able to see beyond and analyse how certain things may benefit him. This is why he changed his view on continuing his education. Germany offers a lot in terms of academic and living standards. His American nationality however, offers more. Joining the NAVY may be unthinkable by people half the world away from America. Upon his decision on joining the NAVY, he consulted with few people from the US Armed Force.

The probability of being sent to war was eliminated after he was officially accepted in the NAVY. He is contracted to become Aviation Electronics. This job means that he will spent most of his time in an aircraft carrier and away from the battlefield.

During training time in the NAVY, college and university credits are still on the line. The NAVY provides classes for those who want to pursue a degree.

”Studying online or attending in class is a full option. One can study online from shore or sea in a state university. Teachers are also shipped aboard in most big ships and carriers for those who wants to still learn. The Navy also provides a Navy academy.”

Aaron feels much more comfortable with the new presidency era of Barrack Obama. He supported Obama and so this resulted in him being extra positive in joining the NAVY. He believes that the current government can change how America has been viewed by the world.

As Aaron prepares himself for a new journey, the months of training are coming closer. Early next year he will leave Indonesia and train with the US NAVY for six years. He expects the programme to be a challenge and that much experience can be drawn from it. He is proud to be a member of the United States NAVY.


.....enditem.....

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Opinion Piece

Has Indonesian music industry downslope?
Agung Rino Prasetyo
Wednesday, 2 September 2009

There are many discussions about Indonesia music not meeting the quality standard of that 10 years ago. The style of music has become mainstream towards pop. New bands are rising and taking control of the music charts with mediocre quality music and lyrics. The ‘old’ bands that were used to rule the charts are slowly fading. There are still a few left coming with new albums annualy.
Ipang, one of Indonesia’s best rock singer was interviewed by Rolling Stones Magazine Indonesia. The interview talked about why he has not released a new album for several years. Ipang stated that he wanted to challenge a new area and that is filling for film soundtracks.

Since the end of 2007, new bands are emerging from many record companies. They represent the mainstream pop music. The sales of music albums has decrased over the last decade, it has kept decreasing by a huge number. In 1997 it was selling 55 million copies, 2002 50 million copies, and by 2007 it was only selling 34 million copies.

The lack of respect for musicians has been a problem since the pop era. Many Indonesian youth are still tied up in the ‘Rock N Roll’ way of life. In many offices, people are listening to this mainstream music. The record companies promotes their bands in a very aggresive method. The media is playing an important role in this promotion, as radio, television, internet, and magazines carry the content of the music. Indonesians are surprised by the rise of mellow pop music, and it triggers the confusion of the new era.

New artists such as Afgan, has been thriving to success with the love lyrics and mellow rhythm. Many radio stations play hit songs over and over again every day. The number of people requesting for a particular popular song is also increasing. Radio air time should be limited for a song that has been in the chart for two weeks.

The radio companies are relying on commercials for revenue. Some radio stations are pulling away from the mainstream market. The changes need to be made soon or the industry will fall deeper. Indonesian music does not attract the interest of western countries, yet so many western bands are being idolized. Some singers are leaving their idealism to chase the market.

Many bands use the famous artist’s name in front of the bands (Andra and The Backbone, Steven and The coconut Trees, and Yovie and The Nuno). This view has been seen by many people as a way to sell. Not all of the recent bands use this format; there is Jagostu, with Erros from Sheila On 7 working as a side project.
The government should make broadcasting regulations that will increase the level of music quality. This will help young generation to be able to appreciate music. There should be a lesson on the history of music in school as well. The more people that understand music the better and starting from a young age is even better. There’s many comment about how the bands are progressing, and some of these comments are way out of line. The study of music will improve the quality of the industry itself.

Government regulations will not work because there’s a chance that the extra money might decrease. Indonesia has too many bureaucracies that need to be controlled. Education would seem to be incompetent because it would add more expenses. The current education ministry has got many programs running and is not doing very well. Minimum of nine years of study was implemented by the government from some time ago, but the result was not acceptable.

Wednesday 2 September 2009

feature article

Barcelona back to the top
Agung Rino Prasetyo
Wednesday, 15 July 2009

FC Barcelona was able to come back from the dead. They did not manage to win any trophies for two seasons. Frank Rijkaard was fired as manager after failing to give Barcelona trophies in 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Josep Guardiola was appointed as the new Barcelona manager for the 2008-09 season. At his debut season, he was able to present Barcelona a ‘treble’, winning the La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and the Copa Del Rey.

Barcelona’s success was helped by the three forwards, Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, and Samuel Eto’o. The trio scored more goals compared to any other forwards in the league. Lionel Messi finished as top scorer for Barcelona with 38 goals. He has also beaten rival Christiano Ronaldo in the Champions League Final with the score 2-0 for FC Barcelona.

Barcelona played an attacking possession style of football. Their average ball possession is 70%, which is very high for a team to be able to hold on for the ball in a match. Barcelona defeated arch rival, Real Madrid twice this season, with the first match taking place in the Nou Camp resulted 2-0 and the second match in the Bernabeu, thrashing Madrid 6-2. They are ranked the number one team in the world now after securing the treble and winning most of its game by a large margin. Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandes is nominated for FIFA Player of The Year Award.
The team has achieved what no other Spanish league team can. The 2008-09 season has been very successful for Barcelona. It looks as though the team will continue with the current players and try to challenge the new season with the same fire power.

.....end item.....

Assignment 1 correcting peer feature

Title??? Megawati and her jokes
Byline??
Date??? 21 July 2009

On Friday the 2nd of July, I attended a luncheon at the Intercontinental Hotel,intercon Jakarta hosted by the JFCC, the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club; an event where presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri was going to deliver a speechspeak. After a 30-minute wait and a quick 3-course meal, she took the stage. After reiterating her recurring theme of potential voter fraud at the polls, she stated her goals and visions for an Indonesia under her presidencyPrabowo’s, I mean her power. Her intention is to “revive” the ancient system of “gotong royong” and independence, e. then Ggoes on by saying that globalization is “incorrect” but will not close the doors to foreign investment. HoweverBut as she ended her speech, the fun really began.

Questions time. Really called Question and Answer time came later towards the end,on the days agenda, but because its Megawati, Question time would suffice. So as the questions flew across the hall and some futile attempts at answering them rolled across the carpet (due to the occasional interpreting slip up), a few stood out. When asked of her view on whether to ban smoking or not, her answer was that it would it be unfortunate for the clove farmers. She continued by saying that the problem was not in the cloves but the nicotine, a real shocking revelation, a true Megawati moment. Then when asked about her relationship with current Indonesian president and fellow candidate SusiloBambangYudhoyono , affectionately known as (SBY). Sshe said it was “Quite good”., Javanese for I have his F*&king guts.

Aryo Suharnoko-Michaelsen