Joyous atmosphere welcoming Chinese lunar new year in Indonesia

The celebration activities of the Chinese lunar new year has reached high tide when Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Watjik opened "Imlek exhibition" in central Jakarta on Thursday as the Chinese Spring Festival draws near.

Since the beginning of this month, colorful decorations have dominated streets, shopping centers and Chinese-Indonesians' houses in welcoming the Chinese New Year, locally called Imlek, in Jakarta and other mid and big cities in the country where joyfulness could be seen everywhere, reports said.

Hanging red lanterns, banners stating Gong Xi Fa Cai (Have a prosperity future), ang pau trees and other ornaments decorate most malls, star-rated hotels and restaurants as people gear up for the Chinese New Year.

The new year celebration period, which could be lasted for about one week in some areas, is a time for family and friends to wish each other the best in life. Children are remarkably happy as they look forward to receiving ang pao, red envelopes containing money. The envelopes are traditionally handed out to younger people by their parents, grandparents and relatives, and even close neighbors and friends.

In the "China Town" area in west of Jakarta, poor people flocked to Buddhist temples in the hope that worshipers will hand them some money, which can also be regarded as ang pao even though it does not come in a red envelope.

In recent years since the celebration of the Chinese New Year was allowed by the government in 2000, the festival is not only enjoyed by Chinese-Indonesians but also by other Indonesians of different backgrounds.

"I like watching the barongsay (lion dance). I even gave it an ang pao," said Icha, a native Indonesian as she enthusiastically talked about the performance.

The dance, usually performed by martial art masters, often highlights Chinese New Year celebrations. Lions symbolize good luck and it is believed that their fierceness scares off evil spirits. The vigorous show is accompanied by musicians playing a large drum, cymbals and gongs.

Just like Icha, many other people also welcome the holiday and become jovial during the festivity while some who have a keen business sense make the best of it to make money. They sell various accessories related to the holiday or traditional food that sells like hot cakes at this time.

Seasonal vendors in West Jakarta's Chinatown, or Glodok, for example, are among those to reap in vast sums of money. Like Andi, 32, who used to sell pirated video compact discs before deciding to sell paraphernalia for Imlek like firecrackers, small and large deng long (red lanterns) and, of course, red envelopes. He sells one lantern for 12,500 rupiah (about 1.3 US dollars) and a string of firecrackers for 35,000 rupiah.

His daily turnover can reach 2 million rupiah and he expects to enjoy a good profit from a total turnover of 18 million rupiah in this year's Imlek.

To mark Chinese New Year, the West Jakarta's agency of tourism and culture will organize a festival in the old town of Jakarta. There will be a procession carrying the Topekong, a statue of a Chinese god, and a performance of Chinese arts like barongsay and the dragon dance. Betawi (the old name of Jakarta) arts will also be on show.

The Jan. 29 parade will be officially launched by West Jakarta Mayor Fadjar Panjaitan.

Before 1999, Public celebrations for Chinese New Year in the country were not allowed due to a regulation issued by the New Order regime. In 1967, president Soeharto ruled that all activities related to Chinese culture and Confucianism, including New Year celebrations, were banned. After Soeharto resigned in 1998, Chinese-Indonesians, accounting for 5 percent of the population were once again allowed to openly celebrate their culture. The government declared Imlek an optional holiday in 2002 and made it a national holiday the following year.

Despite discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians still apparent in some fields, members of the Chinese community now have the liberty to culturally express themselves. They can now read Chinese newspapers, listen to Chinese songs on the radio and watch news broadcast in Chinese on Metro TV.

Source: Xinhua

Vice President Jumps On Anti-Playboy Bandwagon

Jakarta, 27 Jan. (AKI) - Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla has added his voice to a growing row over the publication in Indonesia of the famous American porno mag Playboy. "Here we are not in the US, even in Singapore they have opposed it" said Kalla, defining the launch, due in March, as "an error".

The imminent arrival in the majority Muslim nation of a magazine that made its name by its portraits of naked women, has triggered a row that shows no signs of diminishing. Yet as the moralising continues, local sex shops report a boom in business.Some one thousand members of the so-called Muslim Movement against Vice", chanting slogans, ceremoniously burned bundles of erotic magazines outside the Hotel Indonesia in the centre of Jakarta on Thursday.

It was just the latest in a series of protests since the announcement that Playboy was to be launched in Indonesia. And in recent days, though Playboy is the catalyst, the moral crusaders have widened their scope.

The promise by Ponti Carolus, the director of the local firm that has bought the rights of Playboy, to tone down the contents has not placated various Muslim leaders. Among these, some argue that the arrival of Playboy will lead to the moral decline of the country.

Such attention is unwelcome in Jakarta, where the pornographic industry is alive and well.

First time visitors are often surprised to note local tabloid publications such as Boss, Expose and Dugem, which show semi nude local beauties on their covers and publish articles dealing with domestic abuse, sexual violence and incest.

These magazines, which cost 2,000 rupiahs, (17 US cents) are certainly more accessible to large swathes of the population than Playboy which aims for a niche market that can afford to spend 30,000 rupiah per issue.

That surprise increases when the visitor explores Glodok, the Chinese quarter just to the north of the capital where 'hard core' porn DVDs are on sale for a mere 10,000 rupias (87 US cents) with offers like 'pay for five, get six'.

The moral repugnance of some Islamic groups for Playboy is not shared by many local Indonesian beauties who have in the past graced the covers of soft porn magazines.

The Playboy cyclone arrives in Indonesia as parliament is discussing possible amendments to the pornography law. Among the proposed modifications are deeming indecent - therefore illegal - kissing in public, wearing very revealing clothes, and even dancing the dangdut, the typical Indonesian dance which can be described as a cross between belly dancing and hip hop.

US hands over Indonesian banker to face jail

JAKARTA: An Indonesian banker sentenced to eight years in jail over a 136 million dollars graft case has been handed over to Jakarta by the United States, police said today.

Indonesian authorities had been looking for David Nusa Wijaya, a former director of a small bank that took a government bailout during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, since a court sentenced him in 2003.

Indonesia police chief General Sutanto told reporters Wijaya fled Indonesia in 2004 to live in Singapore but recently faced immigration problems in San Francisco.

Misuse of emergency funds involving the bank, PT Bank Umum Servitia, cost Indonesia 136 million dollars in losses, officials said.

''The first option was for him to go through a legal process in the U S while the second was voluntarily serving time in Indonesia.

He chose the latter,'' Sutanto said, adding Indonesian police had worked with Interpol and American investigators.

Penangkapan David Nusa Widjaya

Sekali-sekali bolehlah kita memberi salut kepada polisi yang berhasil meringkus David Nusa Widjaya, koruptor yang buron ke luar negeri. Inilah untuk pertama kalinya seorang buron kakap, terpidana kasus korupsi bantuan likuiditas Bank Indonesia yang merugikan negara lebih dari Rp 1,2 triliun, ditangkap. Diharapkan sejumlah nama pengemplang kredit Bank Indonesia yang sudah divonis bersalah tapi menjadi buron bisa segera ditangkap, setidak-tidaknya diketahui tempat persembunyiannya.

David divonis Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Barat satu tahun penjara pada 2001. Setelah dia sempat ditahan Kejaksaan Agung selama sebulan, hakim menangguhkan penahanannya. Pada Mei 2002, David diketahui lenyap dari Jakarta. Dia dinyatakan buron sebulan kemudian. Tim Pemburu Koruptor pimpinan Basrief Arief yang dibentuk pada Februari 2005, dibantu Biro Penyelidik Federal AS, harus melacaknya selama berbulan-bulan sebelum mencium jejak David di Amerika Serikat.

Gebrakan Tim Pemburu Koruptor ini seakan melempar sinyal kepada mereka yang masih jadi buron: ketimbang terus berlari-lari dengan rasa cemas di luar negeri, lebih baik menyerahkan diri. Seperti yang dikatakan Kepala Kepolisian RI Jenderal Sutanto, daripada hidup di luar negeri tidak tenang dan banyak masalah hukum, pulanglah dan menyerahlah. Tim Pemburu Koruptor juga sudah mencanangkan akan menangkap 13 koruptor kakap yang diketahui sekarang berada di luar negeri.

Usaha Tim Pemburu Koruptor perlu didukung dengan usaha diplomatik untuk memperluas kerja sama dengan negara yang diduga menjadi tempat bersembunyi para buron itu. Perjanjian ekstradisi dengan Singapura, misalnya, perlu dipercepat realisasinya. Selama ini sudah ada beberapa kali pembicaraan dengan pihak Singapura. Akan sangat membantu apabila perjanjian ekstradisi itu bisa segera dirampungkan. Dengan pemerintah yang lebih serius memberantas korupsi, tentu pihak Singapura lebih "bersemangat" menyelesaikan perjanjian ekstradisi itu.

Bantuan juga akan datang dari berbagai negara jika pemerintah Indonesia tetap konsisten dengan usaha pemberantasan korupsi ini. Selain dari pemerintah Amerika Serikat, bantuan yang sama diharapkan datang dari negara yang ditengarai menjadi "rumah" yang nyaman bagi para koruptor.

Yang tak kalah penting adalah membenahi aparat penegak hukum, terutama mereka yang punya kuasa menahan atau membebaskan para buron ini. Kita tentu belum lupa bagaimana Eddy Tansil diloloskan oleh para penjaga penjara dan lari entah ke mana sampai hari ini. Ada beberapa nama yang juga diloloskan dengan berbagai cara. Para penjaga serta pejabat yang bertanggung jawab semestinya juga diusut dan diperkarakan.

Akan sangat konyol bila Tim Pemburu Koruptor melanglang buana menangkapi mereka yang bersalah, tapi di sisi lain ada aparat yang makan suap dan diam-diam memberikan jalan agar mereka yang bersalah lari ke luar negeri. Mereka yang meloloskan itu juga harus dihukum berat.

Diterbitkan di Koran Tempo, 19 Januari 2006

Right Islam vs. Wrong Islam

Muslims and non-Muslims must unite to defeat the Wahhabi ideology.
BY ABDURRAHMAN WAHID

JAKARTA--News organizations report that Osama bin Laden has obtained a religious edict from a misguided Saudi cleric, justifying the use of nuclear weapons against America and the infliction of mass casualties. It requires great emotional strength to confront the potential ramifications of this fact. Yet can anyone doubt that those who joyfully incinerate the occupants of office buildings, commuter trains, hotels and nightclubs would leap at the chance to magnify their damage a thousandfold?

Imagine the impact of a single nuclear bomb detonated in New York, London, Paris, Sydney or L.A.! What about two or three? The entire edifice of modern civilization is built on economic and technological foundations that terrorists hope to collapse with nuclear attacks like so many fishing huts in the wake of a tsunami.

Just two small, well-placed bombs devastated Bali's tourist economy in 2002 and sent much of its population back to the rice fields and out to sea, to fill their empty bellies. What would be the effect of a global economic crisis in the wake of attacks far more devastating than those of Bali or 9/11?

It is time for people of good will from every faith and nation to recognize that a terrible danger threatens humanity. We cannot afford to continue "business as usual" in the face of this existential threat. Rather, we must set aside our international and partisan bickering, and join to confront the danger that lies before us.

An extreme and perverse ideology in the minds of fanatics is what directly threatens us (specifically, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology--a minority fundamentalist religious cult fueled by petrodollars). Yet underlying, enabling and exacerbating this threat of religious extremism is a global crisis of misunderstanding.

All too many Muslims fail to grasp Islam, which teaches one to be lenient towards others and to understand their value systems, knowing that these are tolerated by Islam as a religion. The essence of Islam is encapsulated in the words of the Quran, "For you, your religion; for me, my religion." That is the essence of tolerance. Religious fanatics--either purposely or out of ignorance--pervert Islam into a dogma of intolerance, hatred and bloodshed. They justify their brutality with slogans such as "Islam is above everything else." They seek to intimidate and subdue anyone who does not share their extremist views, regardless of nationality or religion. While a few are quick to shed blood themselves, countless millions of others sympathize with their violent actions, or join in the complicity of silence.

This crisis of misunderstanding--of Islam by Muslims themselves--is compounded by the failure of governments, people of other faiths, and the majority of well-intentioned Muslims to resist, isolate and discredit this dangerous ideology. The crisis thus afflicts Muslims and non-Muslims alike, with tragic consequences. Failure to understand the true nature of Islam permits the continued radicalization of Muslims world-wide, while blinding the rest of humanity to a solution which hides in plain sight.

The most effective way to overcome Islamist extremism is to explain what Islam truly is to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Without that explanation, people will tend to accept the unrefuted extremist view--further radicalizing Muslims, and turning the rest of the world against Islam itself.

Accomplishing this task will be neither quick nor easy. In recent decades, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology has made substantial inroads throughout the Muslim world. Islamic fundamentalism has become a well-financed, multifaceted global movement that operates like a juggernaut in much of the developing world, and even among immigrant Muslim communities in the West. To neutralize the virulent ideology that underlies fundamentalist terrorism and threatens the very foundations of modern civilization, we must identify its advocates, understand their goals and strategies, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and effectively counter their every move. What we are talking about is nothing less than a global struggle for the soul of Islam.

The Sunni (as opposed to Shiite) fundamentalists' goals generally include: claiming to restore the perfection of the early Islam practiced by Muhammad and his companions, who are known in Arabic as al-Salaf al-Salih, "the Righteous Ancestors"; establishing a utopian society based on these Salafi principles, by imposing their interpretation of Islamic law on all members of society; annihilating local variants of Islam in the name of authenticity and purity; transforming Islam from a personal faith into an authoritarian political system; establishing a pan-Islamic caliphate governed according to the strict tenets of Salafi Islam, and often conceived as stretching from Morocco to Indonesia and the Philippines; and, ultimately, bringing the entire world under the sway of their extremist ideology.

Fundamentalist strategy is often simple as well as brilliant. Extremists are quick to drape themselves in the mantle of Islam and declare their opponents kafir, or infidels, and thus smooth the way for slaughtering nonfundamentalist Muslims. Their theology rests upon a simplistic, literal and highly selective reading of the Quran and Sunnah (prophetic traditions), through which they seek to entrap the world-wide Muslim community in the confines of their narrow ideological grasp. Expansionist by nature, most fundamentalist groups constantly probe for weakness and an opportunity to strike, at any time or place, to further their authoritarian goals.

The armed ghazis (Islamic warriors) raiding from New York to Jakarta, Istanbul, Baghdad, London and Madrid are only the tip of the iceberg, forerunners of a vast and growing population that shares their radical views and ultimate objectives. The formidable strengths of this worldwide fundamentalist movement include:

1) An aggressive program with clear ideological and political goals; 2) immense funding from oil-rich Wahhabi sponsors; 3) the ability to distribute funds in impoverished areas to buy loyalty and power; 4) a claim to and aura of religious authenticity and Arab prestige; 5) an appeal to Islamic identity, pride and history; 6) an ability to blend into the much larger traditionalist masses and blur the distinction between moderate Islam and their brand of religious extremism; 7) full-time commitment by its agents/leadership; 8) networks of Islamic schools that propagate extremism; 9) the absence of organized opposition in the Islamic world; 10) a global network of fundamentalist imams who guide their flocks to extremism; 11) a well-oiled "machine" established to translate, publish and distribute Wahhabi/Salafi propaganda and disseminate its ideology throughout the world; 12) scholarships for locals to study in Saudi Arabia and return with degrees and indoctrination, to serve as future leaders; 13) the ability to cross national and cultural borders in the name of religion; 14) Internet communication; and 15) the reluctance of many national governments to supervise or control this entire process.

We must employ effective strategies to counter each of these fundamentalist strengths. This can be accomplished only by bringing the combined weight of the vast majority of peace-loving Muslims, and the non-Muslim world, to bear in a coordinated global campaign whose goal is to resolve the crisis of misunderstanding that threatens to engulf our entire world.

An effective counterstrategy must be based upon a realistic assessment of our own strengths and weaknesses in the face of religious extremism and terror. Disunity, of course, has proved fatal to countless human societies faced with a similar existential threat. A lack of seriousness in confronting the imminent danger is likewise often fatal. Those who seek to promote a peaceful and tolerant understanding of Islam must overcome the paralyzing effects of inertia, and harness a number of actual or potential strengths, which can play a key role in neutralizing fundamentalist ideology. These strengths not only are assets in the struggle with religious extremism, but in their mirror form they point to the weakness at the heart of fundamentalist ideology. They are:

1) Human dignity, which demands freedom of conscience and rejects the forced imposition of religious views; 2) the ability to mobilize immense resources to bring to bear on this problem, once it is identified and a global commitment is made to solve it; 3) the ability to leverage resources by supporting individuals and organizations that truly embrace a peaceful and tolerant Islam; 4) nearly 1,400 years of Islamic traditions and spirituality, which are inimical to fundamentalist ideology; 5) appeals to local and national--as well as Islamic--culture/traditions/pride; 6) the power of the feminine spirit, and the fact that half of humanity consists of women, who have an inherent stake in the outcome of this struggle; 7) traditional and Sufi leadership and masses, who are not yet radicalized (strong numeric advantage: 85% to 90% of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims); 8) the ability to harness networks of Islamic schools to propagate a peaceful and tolerant Islam; 9) the natural tendency of like-minded people to work together when alerted to a common danger; 10) the ability to form a global network of like-minded individuals, organizations and opinion leaders to promote moderate and progressive ideas throughout the Muslim world; 11) the existence of a counterideology, in the form of traditional, Sufi and modern Islamic teachings, and the ability to translate such works into key languages; 12) the benefits of modernity, for all its flaws, and the widespread appeal of popular culture; 13) the ability to cross national and cultural borders in the name of religion; 14) Internet communications, to disseminate progressive views--linking and inspiring like-minded individuals and organizations throughout the world; 15) the nation-state; and 16) the universal human desire for freedom, justice and a better life for oneself and loved ones.

Though potentially decisive, most of these advantages remain latent or diffuse, and require mobilization to be effective in confronting fundamentalist ideology. In addition, no effort to defeat religious extremism can succeed without ultimately cutting off the flow of petrodollars used to finance that extremism, from Leeds to Jakarta.

Only by recognizing the problem, putting an end to the bickering within and between nation-states, and adopting a coherent long-term plan (executed with international leadership and commitment) can we begin to apply the brakes to the rampant spread of extremist ideas and hope to resolve the world's crisis of misunderstanding before the global economy and modern civilization itself begin to crumble in the face of truly devastating attacks.

Muslims themselves can and must propagate an understanding of the "right" Islam, and thereby discredit extremist ideology. Yet to accomplish this task requires the understanding and support of like-minded individuals, organizations and governments throughout the world. Our goal must be to illuminate the hearts and minds of humanity, and offer a compelling alternate vision of Islam, one that banishes the fanatical ideology of hatred to the darkness from which it emerged.

Mr. Wahid, former president of Indonesia, is patron and senior advisor to the LibForAll Foundation (www.libforall.org), an Indonesian and U.S.-based nonprofit that works to reduce religious extremism and discredit the use of terrorism.

Hope fades for landslide victims in Indonesia, more than 210 feared dead

CIJERUK, Indonesia -- Search and rescue workers raced Friday to reach victims of landslides that buried several Indonesian villages beneath tons of mud and rocks, but hopes of finding survivors were fading. More than 210 people were missing or feared dead.

Relatives looked on anxiously as bodies were pulled from the rubble days after pounding rain on the main island of Java unleashed landslides in Cijeruk and Jember, divided by hundreds of kilometers of mountainous terrain.

So far 149 corpses have been found, many of them bloated or decayed, and rescuers said they may have to halt their search in the next 24 hours.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with thousands of people left homeless by the disaster in Jember, stopping to talk to grieving mothers and children, and promising government assistance in rebuilding schools, bridges and roads.

"Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who perished and for those who lost their loved ones," he said.

Many were resigned to the fact that few of the missing would be found alive.

Niti Turmadi, 40, said her sister Hisah was going to the market when the mud, trees and rocks plowed down the hill flanking Cijeruk just before daybreak Wednesday, sweeping away everything in its path.

"She has not returned," said Turmadi, waiting with dozens of other grieving relatives beneath a blue tent that was erected next to a small mosque, as the dead were delivered one by one.

"I am quite sure her body will be found, so I'll keep waiting," she said.

Heavy tropical downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous regions and near fertile flood plains close to rivers.

So far 108 bodies have been found in Jember and another 41 have been recovered in Cijeruk. Dozens of people remain unaccounted for. (AP)