Textile museum gets Betawi artifacts

JAKARTA: The Textile Museum received Thursday nine Betawi artifacts believed to date back a century ago.

The collection of seven Betawi batik fabrics, a encim kebaya (traditional blouse) called Karancang Betawi and a crystal betel pot. Arie Budhiman, head of the city's tourism agency and culture, has officially launched the museum's collection in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

The collection has already been in possession of the Foundation Sirih Nanas. Emma Foundation chief Agus Bisri said artifacts were aged from 90 to 100 years. A batik fabrics made by Van Zuylen, a Dutch painter batik, "said Emma cited by beritajakarta.com.

With the arrival of the new collection, the museum now houses 1759 items. -JP

Survey shows Yudhoyono still ahead of the 2009 competition

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The latest survey on voter preference for possible presidential candidates has shown that incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would be likely to win an election held today.

Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) executive director Saiful Mujani said Yudhoyono was likely to win his nomination for reelection, although his popularity has sharply declined since the 2004 presidential election.

""If the presidential election was held this year, his chance to become the next Indonesian president would be bigger, particularly if he faced a head-to-head battle with Megawati (Soekarnoputri) or current Vice President Jusuf Kalla,"" Saiful told a media conference on National Leadership Prospects on Sunday.

He said a fight with Megawati would likely leave Yudhoyono the winner with around 55 percent of the vote and Megawati with just 35 percent, while a battle with Kalla would also return Yudhoyono to power with 66 percent and give Kalla only 15 percent of the vote.

""However, the public's electoral preference (for Yudhoyono) in the past year has been declining because of his failure to meet people's expectations to improve their welfare,"" Saiful said.

""This shows that he's not strong enough and the public have not seen any better candidates. From the public's point of view, Megawati, Sutiyoso, Jusuf Kalla and the other candidates are not able to compete with Yudhoyono,"" he added.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) announced recently its chairwoman, former president Megawati, will run again in the 2009 election.

Former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso has also announced his readiness to run for the presidency. He has recently visited some of prominent figures including Megawati and former president Abdurrahman ""Gus Dur"" Wahid, and Central Java's Mount Merapi guardian Mbah Maridjan.

The LSI survey, conducted from September until early October this year, evaluated the first three years of the Yudhoyono-Kalla government. The survey involved 1,300 eligible voters across the country with the levels of trust reaching 95 percent.

The survey checked the knowledge of the public about the 2009 presidential election, including the importance of a president in their daily life, people's electoral characteristics and the performance of the ruling government.

Golkar Party deputy secretary general Rully Chairul Azwar said the performance of the current state leadership was better when compared with the governments from 1998 to 2004.

""It's a tough task to become a leader in such a transitional period. But if we compare to the previous period, (the current government) is much better although some of the facts show that it's still far from what the public have been expecting,"" he said.

Rully criticized the survey results that still put Yudhoyono at the top of the list, saying that there was something wrong with the survey due to the absence of new faces for presidency.

""This is a big regeneration problem in Indonesia's state leadership. This is also a warning for us, especially political parties, because it means that there are not any good candidates yet,"" Rully said.

Jhony Allen, deputy chairman of the Democratic Party faction at the House of Representatives, said the survey indeed showed that many people would still vote for Yudhoyono on moral issues.

""The survey shows that most people choose their leaders over trust in them rather than their education background,"" he said.

""Honest leaders with good morals are definitely what this country needs.""(13)

Golkar, PDI-P learn lessons from W. Java poll

Abdul Khalik , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 04/15/2008 11:40 AM | Headlines

The country's two largest political parties, Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said Monday they learned an important lesson from Sunday's West Java gubernatorial election.

Senior officials from the two parties said they would review the vote, which appears to have been won by Ahmad Heryawan and running mate Dede Yusuf, representing the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and National Mandate Party (PAN), as they head into other regional elections and the 2009 general and presidential polls.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar said voters seemed to be sending a message that they were tired of business as usual by the same old politicians.

That, he said, hurt incumbent Governor Danny Setiawan and his running mate, former West Java military commander Iwan Sulandjana, who were nominated by Golkar and the Democratic Party.

"We acknowledge that if we nominate an incumbent, he better have a record of performing well, or most people will vote for fresh, young and energetic figures. West Java residents apparently want to see change," he told The Jakarta Post.

According to separate quick counts conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Kompas daily, the Center for Public Policy and Development Studies and the People's Voter Education Network, Jakarta councilor Ahmad and House of Representatives member Dede won some 40 percent of the vote in Sunday's gubernatorial election in the country's most densely populated province. After about 10 percent of the votes were counted Monday, Ahmad led the pack with 40.20 percent, followed by Agum with 33.94 percent.

PDI-P senior politician Sidarto Danusubroto said the apparent defeat of the party's gubernatorial candidate, Agum Gumelar, and his running mate, Nu'man Abdul Hakim, who were also supported by the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), had shocked party leaders.

He agreed that voters had sent a message that they wanted fresh faces and ideas.

"It is an invaluable lesson for us. We will immediately gather to analyze what happened," Sidarto said.

While praising the PKS for getting voters out, Rully and Sidarto dismissed suggestions the poll in West Java was a foreshadowing of national elections in 2009.

"I tell you, it's about figures, not about parties," Rully said, referring to Dede's popularity as an actor.

Another actor, Rano Karno, was recently elected as deputy regent of Tangerang.

Political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences agreed that in direct elections, the candidates themselves were more important than the parties behind them.

"I believe we should not jump to conclusions that the defeat resulted from poor party machinery. We will see candidates from Golkar and PDI-P continue to dominate elections for governors, regents and mayors," Ikrar said.

Of the 22 gubernatorial elections held across the country since the introduction of direct elections, only two were won by the incumbent.

Ikrar also said it was impossible to say the vote in West Java held any kind of clue to the 2009 national elections.

"Probably the most important lesson the big parties can learn from the West Java polls is that people want new faces who are clean of scandal," he said.

U.S., RI move closer to bird flu deal

Abdul Khalik and Desy Nurhayati , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 04/15/2008 11:40 AM | Headlines

TO YOUR HEALTH: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Levitt (right) shakes hands with Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari following a meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday. (JP/Berto Wedhatama)

---

The United States and Indonesia have moved closer to an agreement on a bird flu sample sharing scheme, paving the way for smoother global discussion to allow developing countries access to cheap medicines and vaccines.

After meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here Monday, visiting U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt said both countries were committed to resolving differences between them, including the contentious issue of bird flu sample sharing.

"We had a very frank discussion about our views on sample sharing. As indicated, we are making progress. I understand better the concerns that have been expressed, and the need for people in Indonesia to have access to medicines and vaccines," he told a press briefing.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie accompanied Leavitt in meeting with the President.

Siti has stirred Indonesia's relations with the United States with her book Saatnya Dunia Berubah, Tangan Tuhan di Balik Flu Burung (It's time for the world to change, divine hands behind bird flu). In it she suggest the United States and the World Health Organization have conspired to force developing countries like Indonesia into buying expensive bird flu vaccines.

In the controversial book, Siti also expresses suspicion that the United States is producing "biological weapons" from bird flu samples sent by Indonesia to the WHO at its Los Alamos laboratory.

While admitting to not having read the book, Leavitt said it was inaccurate.

"I can say with authority that particular assertion is not true. However, we want to work very closely and find mutual benefits among our people because we have many in common concerning a global pandemic," he said.

Although Indonesia should differentiate between the issue of sample sharing and that of access to medicines and vaccines, Leavitt said, he trusted Yudhoyono's commitment to mutual cooperation.

"Likewise, I have expressed how important I believe it is that there is free and transparent sharing of viruses. We have a team that is working to assure that we are dealing with both of those issues independently," he said.

Siti said that among six articles in the Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), a scheme of global sample sharing rules discussed at the recent World Health Assembly in Geneva, only the issue of benefits had not been agreed upon.

"We want concrete benefits because it is our right as we have to share our virus samples. We want to conclude the MTA before we resume sending the virus samples," she said.

The key point already agreed upon, Siti said, is to change the name of the bird flu virus network from the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN), which falls under U.S. jurisdiction, to the WHO Influenza Network (WIN), which is under the WHO's auspice.

WIN, which is regulated under international law, allows for tracking of virus samples so the world can know who uses the samples, she said.

"It is also agreed there will be an advisory mechanism. I have asked them to let Indonesia become a member of the council," she said.

During a seminar to establish a national surveillance of wild birds in the West Java town of Bogor on Monday, Heru Setijanto of the National Commission on Avian Influenza said only two out of the country's 33 provinces were free from bird flu.

(Theresia Sufa contributed to this story from Bogor)