INDIA SEES INDONESIA AS A UNIQUE DEMOCRATIC ROLE MODEL

Indian ambassador to Indonesia Biren Nanda stated that Indonesia is a unique role model in managing democratic institutions.

"Indonesia is unique and diverse, this country consists of various ethnic groups, religions, and cultures, that is why, Indonesia is a role model for countries in managing diversity," the Ambassador stated at "A Slice of India" event at Paramadina University, Jakarta, Tuesday.

On the occasion, Biren Nanda, who has previously served as a diplomat in Tokyo, also praised Indonesia for playing an important role to support many international events promoting democracy and human rights.

"Historically, Indonesia has been an initiator and supporter of international bodies such as African-Asian and Non-Aligned Movements, and also ASEAN," Nanda said.

In such actions, Nanda said Indonesia made efforts to manage democracy, protect human rights, and develop social justice, which are exemplary for other countries.

Meanwhile, the President of Paramadina University, Anies Baswedan in his remarks on the opening of the event viewed Indian culture as inspiring and have some similarities with Indonesian culture.

"This similarity in culture such as the sounds and meanings of words, characters and stories in puppetry can be used to know each others` culture and foster friendship," said Baswedan.

In line with Baswedan, the Ambassador underlined the importance of developing people-to-people relations.

"Culture can promote diplomacy that can bridges our understanding," said the ambassador for Indonesian government since June 10, 2008.

"A Slice of India" in Paramadina University initiated by Paramadina University and Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center (JNICC) of the Indian Embassy.

The activity performed various Indian cultures such as classic dances of Kathak and Bharat Natyam, it also performed Tabla with Sitar music show. There was also a discussion about instruments of cultural diplomacy in Indian and Indonesian relationship.

The activity was aimed to increasingly improve the insight and knowledge to young Indonesians about India.

NEW ENVOY TO PROMOTE RI-DENMARK INTER-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION

         Newly appointed Indonesian ambassador to Denmark  Bomer Pasaribu said one of the first things he would try to accomplish in his new post was to promote cooperation between Indonesian and Danish universities.

        "During the first year of my assignment I would like to bring about cooperative links  between at least two Indonesian  and two Danish universities," said the former manpower and transmigration minister here Wednesday,
    He said he would try to sponsor the establishment of cooperation between two yet to be selected Indonesian universities with the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University.

        "I still have to conduct an intensive search for two Indonesian universities which I can  promote for the cooperation with the Danish institutions," Bomer said.

        Bomer said the cooperation could consist of exchange of  professors and scholarships.

        Besides promoting cooperation in the field of education, Bomer said  he would also  implement other programs during his first year  as ambassador.

        Under the other programs he would encourage and facilitate nine central government agencies and six regional government agencies plus legislative and business institutions to cooperate with  counterparts in Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark and Lithuania.

        "I intend also to promote cooperation between the Ministry of Transportation in Denmark and the Ministry of Transportation in Indonesia," Bomer said.

        In addition, Bomer wanted to promote Indonesian tourism by holding fairs and art performances in Scandinavian countries.

        "I would like to support the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in staging  exhibitions there."
    He was also planning to encourage the establishment of  sister- ties  between Indonesian and Danish cities.

        "Regardless of all of the obstacles that I may meet, I want everything to be implemented immediately. I am a type of person who likes to do things quickly. I don`t want to waste any single minute," said Bomer.

          He said  he would be missing Indonesian seafood the most once he assumes his new duties on January 19, 2012.

        Professor Bomer Pasaribu was sworn in as Indonesian ambassador to Denmark  by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last December 24 together with 25 other persons appointed as ambassadors to foreign countries.

    

JAKARTA PREDICTED TO EXPERIENCE FLOODING IN JANUARY-MARCH PERIOD

         Anybody planning to visit Jakarta in  January-March this year should be prepared to have to cope with flooding if a climatological prediction announced on Thursday is correct.

         Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya, citing a report from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency BMKG), said  Jakarta had the potential of being hit by floods due to intense rainfall across Java island.

        "According to a BMKG report, floods will occur in the January- February period across Jakarta,"  the minister said.

        The floods would be caused by heavy  rainfall and strong winds that would occur across  Java island.

        In  January, rainfall was expected to reach levels of 300 mm -500 mm, in February 300mm -400 mm and in March 200mm -300 mm.

        The BMKG report speficically mentioned the areas in Jakarta that would be affected by the floods.

        In Central Jakarta it would be Cempaka Putih, Gambir, Kemayoran, Menteng , Sawah Besar, Senenand Tanah Abang.

        In West Jakarta, Cengkareng , Grogol, Petamburan , Kali Deres, , Kebon Jeruk and Taman Sari
.    In South Jakarta, Cilandak,  Kebayoran Baru,  Mampang Prapatan,  Pancoran, Pasar Minggu,  Pesanggrahan, and Tebet.

         In East Jakarta, Cakung, Cipayung, Ciracas, Jatinegara,  Kramat Jati, Makasar, and Pulo Gadung.

         In North Jakarta, Cilincing, Kelapa Gading, Koja , Pademangan, , Penjaringan  and Tanjung Priok.

         Meanwhile, other areas in Java Island likely to see flooding  due to the high rainfall are : Banten, Yogyakarta, West Java, and East Java.

        However, the Minister called on the public to stay calm as the floods would  not as big  as those in 2002.

        "We have to stay calm but alert. The floods will be as wide spread as those in 2002 and 2006 but the water level will be lower," he said without giving  specific figures.

HUMAN RESOURCES' QUALITY RI'S STRONGEST ASSET : FOREIGN INVESTOR

        Indonesia's strongest asset in its working relations with foreign investors is the quality of its human resources, a foreign businessman said.

        "In my opinion, its  human resources are Indonesia's strongest point  in attracting foreign capital to work and do business in this country. People here are great and valuable,"  Gerard Guillouet, vice president of Accor Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore said here Thursday.

         Speaking at a ceremony marking the takeover  of Nikko Hotel Jakarta's management by Accor Group, Guillouet who has worked with Accor since 1992 in Indonesia said  Accor had always been satisfied by the work performance of Indonesian employees.

        "Up till now, we have around 25 Indonesian general managers, and we do not ever want to replace them with expatriates  because to me they are quite professional," he said.

        According to Guillouet,  Indonesia could be the only country in the world where the group had local general managers
   "They have good skill, are professional and honest, and the most amazing thing is the people's smile. It is a genuine smile. Your get a different smile in other countries," he said.

        Indonesians'  genuine hospitality was somehow being smartly used by Accor to persuade foreigners to come to Indonesia.

        "We see Indonesians are very friendly and we turn it into a service. However, it is not always the most efficient service but it is given with heart,"
   But Guillouet also admitted there were some  weaknesses with  Indonesian human resources who work especially in Accord hotels.

        "Indonesians do not like to work under pressure. They can not be pressured. If we do that, Indonesians are likely to lose their confidence,"
   Besides, as an investor who had been  working in Indonesia for a long time,  Guillouet said he would advise the Indonesian government to improve the infrastructure, and  create more environmentally-friendly public transport facilities.

    "The government has to solve these problems quickly. Or else, the tourism industry in this country may lose its long term prospects," said  Guillouet.   

RI TO BECOME GLOBAL HALAL CENTER, IS IT POSSIBLE?

        Azizah (45), owner of a low-budget food stall, starts her day as usual. Together with her seven helpers, she gets into the routine work of preparing her merchandise: chopping vegetables or meat that go into various dishes, frying noodles or fish, pouring carrot and potato soup into bowls and putting them all on display on the shelves of a shop window of sorts.

        As the day wears on, people come to the stall locally known as 'warung tegal', choose from the food on offer, sit down to have breakfast on lunch and go again. Everything proceeds normally and, in fact, Azisah rarely hears a complaint from her customers, but supposing one of her customers all of sudden wants to know whether all her food was halal, Azizah would most probably have answered: "honestly, I don't know or am not sure."

What is halal?

   In predominantly Muslim Indonesia, the religious obligation of Muslims to only consume halal food  is an  issue of vital importance. Indonesian Muslims must constantly make sure the food and drinks they consume is halal.

        What is halal? For those who do not yet know, the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) says halal is an Arabic word  meaning lawful or permitted.

        The opposite of halal is haram meaning unlawful or prohibited. Halal and haram are universal terms that apply to all aspects of life.

        However, in this article, these terms are only used in relation to food products, meat products, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and food content materials.

        All food is considered halal except: swine or pork and its by-products, animals that are improperly slaughtered or dead before slaughtering, alcoholic drinks, carnivorous animals, birds of prey and certain other animals, and foods contaminated with any of the above products.

     
Global halal standards

   The Indonesian Ulema Council's Food, Drug and Cosmetics Research Institute (LPPOM MUI) recently held an international workshop on halal products.

        The workshop themed "Indonesia's Role in Strengthening Global Halal" was attended by delegates from many countries around the globe including the United States, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Poland, Italy, Spain, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Turkey, and Taiwan.

        The countries were all  members of the World Halal Food Council which consists of 24 halal certification bodies.

        At  the meeting it  was agreed that Indonesia had the potential of becoming the world's halal center as the country met the needed criteria such as a large Muslim population and a government  supportive of the idea.

        The workshop's participants also approved a proposal to recognize the contents of a book titled "Requirements of Halal Certification"  published by LPPOM MUI as global halal certification standards.

        But Indonesian Deputy Agriculture Minister  Bayu Krishnamukti said on the occasion that in Indonesia consuming only halal food was not solely linked to a religious rule but also to economic considerations.

        "When we talk about halal in Indonesia, we talk about balance. Indonesian people want their food and drinks to be safe to be consumed but at the same time, we also need  to encourage the growth of business and industry in  support of the national economy,"  Krisnamukti said at the international workshop which took place in in Jakarta last January 16.

        The Indonesian economy  has long been running on the strength of  small businesses the majority of which is not aware of the definitions of halal and haram as outlined in the LPPOM MUI book.

        But the government and LPPOM MUI are expected to  be tactful enough and not ban small  businesses merely because of their ignorance of official  halal and haram rules.

 
Small business people's ignorance

   Efforts to secure the health and faith of Muslims are doubtlessly something positive. But it seems LPPOM MUI has overlooked  small businesses in its efforts to disseminate  information on how to process halal food and also on the official list of  halal ingredients.

        People running small businesses such as Azizah barely know about the definition of halal food although  LPPOM MUI already published an Indonesian Halal Directory in 2011.

        "To my knowledge, halal is all food that does not  contain pork. And that is all, I am not aware that certain ways of processing  food can also  make food not halal," said Azizah.

        Azizah hopes the government can give her and small business people like her and those working for her  more knowledge about  halal certification matters.

Law of Giving and Taking

Lately, I believe relationship among people can only happen based on solid mutual interests.

You have something on you, others see it, others want it, then they will come closer to get you. On the other hand, if you have nothing to offer, then you are doomed.

Experiences taught me so much about this universe rule. Especially one happened yesterday night.

Again and again such proof revealed itself right in front of my eyes.

Nothing's called friendship or love. All is about give and take benefits on the name of mutual interests.

No need to discuss about friendship or any other complex relationship. Let us just talk about love. In love relationship, obviously people perform what I so called give and take benefits.

When you see a guy, you will take in some credits such as, he's nice, good looking, caring, and funny. Those are credits you need for you. Then, that guy also see same on you.

On society, each person will be labeled with benefits tags above his or her head.

Once you see that description match what you need, then you will make your move to approach the target and start to barter benefits.

Sigh... that's life.

fragile

I have right to express what I feel, just like any other people. I think, it's fine to break down, it's ok to cry. It's ok to be angry. At the end of the day, I'm just a human being with all ups and downs. I don't have to hold my problems everyday.

Np: Five for Fighting-SUPERMAN

self affirmation

 I once read (somewhere randomly):

"Affirmations are positive statements that describe a desired situation, and which are repeated many times, in order to impress the subconscious mind and trigger it into positive action."

After reading that, one question arose from my stubborn head, why would people keep on promising to improve themselves with such positive statements while they always fall short? 

Maybe the answer is because we, as human being, need hopes in order to continue living.

The point in doing self affirmation is to give hope for ourselves so that we can keep on believing someday in the future we can live in better life.

Let's face it, what make us survive this life when we already know that life's bitch? HOPE! We are hoping that things will change. We pray for good things will happen. 

Though in the post process after that affirming, most of us will fall short from our commitment.  But it doesn't matter. What matter is we try to make it happen.

So, after all those blah blah words, here goes my resolutions as my self affirmation (within a year):

1. I will explore my spiritual life. So that I will understand more about me (the only God mystery I hardly understand.)

2. I will loose weight. There will be no foods after 6pm.

3. I will grow my hairs.

4. I will write more. I will improve my quality.

5. I will look for and finally get scholarship in economics, or history, or social studies.

and the list will keep on going..

 

IN BEING ALICE: when the door open both ways

For those who ever walked with me into doors with the PULL/PUSH signs must know my bad habit. It is IGNORANCE! Yeah, I've never take much attention to those signs and my friends complaint me most of the time.

Ok, here is my pleading sentences: who cares?

I meant, first of all, tell me who's to say what BAD HABIT is?

Before we jump into that matter, let's discuss about the word BAD itself. What is bad? Who can defines something is bad or something is good? To what standard bad or not bad is?

Since we were kids, we've been told some things are bad some things are good,we need to do this we don't do that. And what for? To please others!

Back to the doors sign, the more I think, the more I realize that I will not change my habit. Why? Because, I don't need to please others by submitting to such rules. Yeah, except there's someone's on the other side of the door, well I will maybe follow what the sign tell me :D

The point is, what we read on the door sign is not always what we're meant to do. Sometimes, the door still can be opened both ways, no matter what the sign is.

It's all about how you feel about the concept of comfortableness, hehe.. Oh, yeah, in other words, I AM SO STUBBORN :p

Metaphorical talking

I know, for some people who are now reading this writing, I'm being cryptically but what i was trying to say is to understand this metaphor in the bigger scope. I meant, let us see life as DOORS.

Yeah, living my life, I've been always thinking myself as Alice in the Wonderland. Life is such big mystery to me. There are many doors ahead of me. All I need to do is to choose which doors should I get into. And it is not all about what's behind the door which is important, it is all about how I find my way to open it.

This Alice has fat thighs, yeah very looks alike me :D

You know, in the story of Alice, she needs to shrink in or up in order to adjust herself to get in doors, right? And it is same, no matter you pull or push the door, all you do is in order to fit in.

And once Alice enters those doors, she finds many different adventure.

My point is, life is all about the process of learning. You gotta find out how to open your chances. And while you working on it, no one can tell you are wrong as long as you believe in what you do.

Once the doors open, you have FUN! If you see good things behind the doors, then that's a bonus for you, but if it is not, then it is only a chance for you to have some more fun. Or even worse, when the doors are locked, it will give you opportunities to find better door :D

Peace OUT!!!

happy new year wish a happy life

Wow! it's been sooooo longtime since my last writing.. and again, this time, I need to make a confession..

Hell yeah, to me, this blog is more like a redemption in this new age of technology filled with any kind of social media-internet-based savvy, I used to write my diary back then in the 90s but as that way didn't appeal anymore, so I have to consent to this new mode.

All is done to keep me SANE!

Ok, just so you know.

So,  this is a new year, AGAIN! And what have I reached this year? I still don't know. Yeah, that's the beauty! The joy of living is in its mystery. I do believe that. Life, to me will have no meaning when I already know what happens next.

Hmpff, it do sound cynical, well  I am not the nicest person on earth. No need reminders on that fact. And that's the reason why I write this time.

I do something, no, I do things wrong back in 2011 and many years before that.

But I think, the worst is in the last of this year. I think, I've hurt many of my friends and for that, I do regret and sorry. I want to be prejudice free this year and beyond. I pray this year I can be so much better and so too with my relationship with others.