Govt to build disaster relief depots

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government plans to set up a nationwide network of depots for emergency relief supplies and form a new national agency tasked with managing natural disasters in the country.

The "disaster logistics depots" will be established in each provincial capital, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said. They will be stockpiled with enough food and medicine supplies to handle the occurrence of a natural disaster in each region.

The depots will also be supplied with equipment and transportation vehicles to ensure the quick and effective distribution of supplies to disaster victims during emergency relief efforts.

"This is part of our effort to improve disaster management in the country, by `regionalizing' it," Aburizal told reporters after a meeting Monday with Vice President Jusuf Kalla and National Coordination Agency chief Syamsul Maarif.

"The plan for the logistics depots is to overcome logistics and transportation problems in relief situations. These are areas which have hampered the quick mitigation of disasters in the past," Aburizal said.

The government expects the establishment of logistics depots to make future relief efforts more efficient and avoid the high costs associated with "sending out Hercules planes from Jakarta just to ship supplies of instant noodles," Aburizal said. Managed as a network, the depots could support each other, with those in the vicinity of a disaster-affected region serving as the nearest back-up facility.

However, he declined to mention how much the establishment of the network of logistics depots would cost, or when operations would commence.

The government has allocated Rp 2 trillion (US$219 million) for disaster mitigation purposes in this year's state budget, with several disaster-affected regions already proposing an additional Rp 2.7 trillion in funds. The government also plans to set up a nationwide early warning system throughout the country by 2008.

A string of disasters have hit the country in recent years. The Coordinating Ministry Office has cited floods as the most frequently occurring disaster, while earthquakes cause the most human casualties and fires cause the greatest material losses.

Aburizal said the depots will be managed locally in each region, but will remain under the auspices of the central government -- in this case, the new National Disaster Management Agency that will be formed.

"We are still working out who will manage the facilities. It may either be the local administration, or the local military," he said.

Aburizal also said the depots would be separate from the rice stockpile depots managed by the National Logistics Agency, although they may work in cooperation.

Aburizal said the government expects the new National Disaster Management Agency to be formed within 6 months, as required by a new law on disaster management that the House of Representatives passed in March. However, the government is still discussing how it will replace the existing National Coordination Board (Bakornas) and National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

Bad manners Busway is a test for all Jakartans

The Jakarta Post

Meet what might be Jakarta's new agent of behavioral change: the busway.

Since the introduction of the TransJakarta rapid bus in 2004, the capital has had no need for street signs calling for more urban discipline. People are now supposedly learning from experience.

Wait, first let's highlight the word supposedly. Today -- a little over two years after the busway's launch -- good behavior is still far from the norm.

Supposedly, people are required to learn several social manners when taking what is meant to be Jakarta's fastest means of transport.

You queue to buy the tickets. You queue in the shelters, letting others exit before you enter the bus. You don't bring food into the cabin and you give your seat away to elders, pregnant women and children.

Yes, those are all new manners for us Jakartans.

The guards in black and orange uniform are ready to make sure that you do just what you're supposed to.

But, on more than a handful of occasions, we still see people who suddenly appear to be deaf, who look at you with a poker face when you scold them for cutting into the long ticket queues.

"What?!" a woman said as she stared at us after pushing her way with her handbag into the small space between the ticket booth and my friend.

These occurrences, rare enough as they are, are what happens when times are good on the Busway.

But in the busway's newer corridors, peak hours tend to fill up the entirety of the buses' 15-hour daily operation, making everyone on board too cranky to show any manners at all.

Prior to taking a TransJakarta bus from Pulogadung to Harmoni Central Station, a dozen passengers waited for more than half an hour to get a tiny standing space inside the cabin.

After that irritating half hour spent watching packed buses pass by, it would be too much to expect passengers to let others exit before entering the bus.

Or would it?

Isn't it logical that we'd have more space to enter if we just waited a minute to let the others exit?

"But if you step back instead of pushing forward, you'll lose your space to the people next to you," a fellow passenger said.

"And if you enter a full bus, don't shift too far inside even if there's an empty space there. You'll have trouble getting off," was another trick they shared.

Once you're inside a packed bus, you feel no different from being inside a Metro Mini or a Kopaja, which is definitely why people still use the "survival of the fittest" tricks they learnt in the regular buses.

The guards no longer serve as etiquette police, but as kenek (driver's assistants) busy making sure that everyone can exit at their destination point.

"Pasar Baru! Pasar Baru!," shouted one guard as he tapped his wristwatch to the aluminum handle to grab more attention, a gesture similar to a kenek tapping on a Metro Mini window.

Those alerted that they were approaching their stop quickly shouted back at him "yes! Pasar Baru, wait, wait!"

Some had to really struggle their way out through tiny gaps in the crowd.

After some exited, they left free space deep at the back of the bus. Perhaps unsurprisingly, no one wanted to fill it, worried they would have to go through the same energy-consuming effort to reach the door.

Honestly, sometimes I find it hard to resist acting the same.

And there's practically no social pressure to behave better, as everyone would do much the same when the situation gets bad enough.

So do Jakartans really have a chance of having more discipline?

Looking into the technical details of why the discipline course being taught aboard the TransJakarta buses has failed can give us a more optimistic view.

No corridors have been yet been served with enough buses to adequately accommodate the number of passengers who use the busway.

There are only 96 out of 125 buses serving the Blok M-Kota route, 94 out of 126 for the Harmoni-Pulogadung and Harmoni-Kalideres routes and a mere 32 out of 112 for the other four corridors.

The TransJakarta operators complain the rest of the buses are still stuck at the customs office.

Just like those buses, passengers can also say that their social manners are still stuck -- perhaps somewhere inside the packed buses or back at the shelter they were waiting at for an excruciating half an hour.

But suppose there were enough buses available, could Jakartans can pass the Busway social manners test?

Well, could we?

-- Anissa S. Febrina

Tawang Jaya train surpasses maximum speed in Suradadi section

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): The National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) said Sunday the Tawang Jaya train, which jumped its track in Suradadi, Tegal, Central Java on Saturday, has surpassed the maximum speed at the section.

Metro TV station quoted an official at KNKT that the speed at the Suradadi cross section was limited to 10 kilometers per hour, but the Tawang Jaya train speed was 60 kms/h at that time.

Two passengers including a baby were killed in the accident, while tens were injured.

Bhakti Investama to raise $340 million

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Publicly-listed investment firm PT Bhakti Investama plans to raise US$340 million through new bond and share issuances, using the proceeds to strengthen its holdings in media and toll road businesses.

The move follows previous intentions the firm had to spread its wings into the airline industry.

Bhakti Investama, which has a majority share in media giant PT Global Mediacom (formerly known as PT Bimantara Citra), will sell $170 million in bonds, which will be convertible into stock, and another $170 million in shares, the company said in a statement.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm, will participate in the plan, having agreed on April 5 to lend $100 million to the company at 6 percent interest, Bhakti Investama's president Hary Djaja said.

Two other undisclosed investors have also agreed to provide similar loans totaling another $100 million.

The loans will be converted into bonds and later switched to shares when the stock price reaches Rp 1,650 (18 U.S. cents).

Bhakti's shares, which are traded as BHIT on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, were unchanged at Rp 1,140 during last week's market closing.

Hary Djaja said the company will use the proceeds from the planned issuances to boost its stakes in Global Mediacom -- which owns a network of newspaper, television and radio stations as well as telco firm Mobile-8 -- and toll-road operator PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada.

Bhakti Investama currently owns a 41 percent stake in Global Mediacom, whose BMTR shares rose slightly by 0.5 percent to Rp 4,975 last week, and a 9 percent stake in Citra Marga, whose CMNP shares slipped 2.5 percent to Rp 1,950.

Other plans for the proceeds may include Bhakti Investama venturing into the airline industry, with the company currently in talks to buy a stake in PT Adam Skyconnection Airlines, planning to improve the privately-owned carrier which has been plagued by two accidents this year alone.

Bhakti Investama already owns publicly-listed chartered-carrier PT Indonesia Air Transport, whose IATA shares slipped 0.6 percent to Rp 146 last week.

Adam Air may sell a stake of less than 50 percent to Bhakti Investama, the airline's president director Adam Suherman had said.

Bhakti Investama's planned bond and share sale is still pending approval through an extraordinary shareholders meeting, Hary Djaja said. The company is also slated to hold its annual shareholders meeting in June.

Yamaha eyes sporty motorcyle market

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Japan-based motorcycle producer PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia (YMKI) expects to capture at least 20 percent of the country's growing sporty motorcycle market, the company's senior executive says.

"The sporty motorcycle market is growing but competition is also quite fierce," the company's president director Yoshiteru Takahashi said Saturday during a test drive of the company's new sport motorcycle the Yamaha V-Ixion.

He said sporty motorcycles accounted for between 8 and 9 percent of the country's total motorcycle sales, which was projected to reach 5.2 million units this year.

He acknowledged that sporty motorcycles were less popular here than the more dominant bebek motorbike, as users were mostly commuters who ride their motorbikes to work.

However, he added, there is a portion of consumers who like sporty motorcycles, which are equipped with a larger engine and more sophisticated technology.

Yamaha Indonesia plans to market its 150cc Yamaha V-Ixion, which is equipped with a fuel injection system, in May this year. The new motorcycle will also be exported to Vietnam, India, Malaysia and Thailand.

"We set a target of selling 5,000 units per month in Indonesia," Yoshiteru said, adding that with the new release he was upbeat the company could grab a bigger share of the nation's motorcycle market this year.

V-Ixion, which is produced at YMKI's plant, is the latest in Yamaha's series of sporty motorcycles. Its previous sporty brands include the 135cc RX King and the 225cc Scorpio. Yamaha is competing with Honda's Tiger and MegaPro in this particular market.

Total motorcycle sales in the country reached 5.1 million in 2005, 90 percent of which were bebeks. In 2006, sales plunged to 4.6 million.

In the first three months of this year, national motorcycle sales reached 1.05 million, with Astra Honda Motor controlling 43 percent of the market, Yamaha 41 percent and Suzuki and other producers holding the remaining 16 percent.

However, in March alone, Yamaha sales amounted to 43 percent of the 375,000 motorcycles sold, for the first time ever exceeding sales of Hondas, which amounted to 41 percent.

Adam Air jetliner returns to departure airport

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (Antara): An Adam Air Boeing 737-200 jetliner had to return to its departure airport in Lampung on Sunday 10 minutes after taking off due to front wheel problem.

The troubled airplane with 125 passengers and eight crew members onboard took off from the Raden Inten II Airport, Branti, South Lampung at 10:15 a.m. but 10 minutes later it returned to the airport.

Training plane crashes, injuring two

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): A small airplane crashed in Ciputat district, Tangerang regency, Banten province, on the outskirts of Jakarta during a training flight Saturday, injuring two of the three aboard, report says.

Elshinta news radio reported that two of the injured people, now received medical treatments at state-owned Fatmawati hospital, South Jakarta.

Another person inside the ill-fated plane was now interrogated by the Pamulang police.

Death toll of train crash becomes two

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Passengers, who were killed in a passenger train incident in Central Java, become two after another passenger died later in the day.

MetroTV television reported Kasbari, who was trapped in a train car for four hours, was finally dead after a hospital failed to save his life. He was a resident of Pemalang regency in Central Java.

Another casualty is a baby, who was killed earlier. The accident also wounded tens of other passengers.

The accident occurred when the train jumped its tracks and skidded into a rice field Saturday in an area some 250 kilometers east of Jakarta. Workers were now still evacuating train cars.

Indonesia has been hit by a string of deadly transportation disasters in recent months, including plane crashes, ferry sinking's and train accidents that together have killed more than 500 people.

Report: Doomed Garuda jet flying at double normal landing speed

The Jakarta Post

CANBERRA (AP): A Garuda Airlines passenger jet was flying at 410 kilometers (255 miles) per hour, almost double the normal landing speed, when it crash-landed at an Indonesian airport last month, killing 21 people, a newspaper reported Saturday.

A preliminary accident report prepared by Indonesian authorities pointed to pilot error as the cause of the Boeing 737-400 overshooting the runway and skidding into a rice field on March 7 at Yogyakarta airport, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. A reporter for the newspaper was seriously injured in the crash.

Aviation experts confirmed that speed and flap warnings would have sounded in the cockpit and the pilot should have aborted the landing, according to the newspaper, which said it had a copy of the confidential report, prepared by Indonesia's Transport Safety Committee.

Chief investigator Tatang Kurniadi confirmed that the airliner was flying too fast when it landed, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio reported Saturday.

Australia's Nine Network reported this past week that Tatang said the pilot and co-pilot had been arguing moments before the crash.

The newspaper said the report found no evidence of the pilots arguing.

Cockpit data recordings showed no mechanical problems before the landing. The report said the weather was calm, contradicting the pilot's reported claim of a powerful down draft.

The report also found the airport runaway did not meet international safety standards. Its safety run-off was only a quarter the recommended length, the newspaper reported.

The crash killed 21 people, while 119 others were able to escape through the exits of the burning jet.

It was the fourth accident involving a commercial jetliner in Indonesia since 2005. Experts say poor maintenance, rule-bending and a shortage of properly trained pilots may contribute to the sprawling country's poor aviation safety record.

Crash investigator works 'within means'

The Jakarta Post

The key mission of the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) is to investigate the cause of air, sea and railway accidents across the country. The Jakarta Post's Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo spoke with KNKT chairman Tatang Kurniadi about the commission's role and the challenges it faces.

Question: How did the KNKT start out?

Answer: The commission began as an aviation accident investigator, which was placed under the Directorate General of Air Transportation. Some experts from the Air Force were recruited into the body, such as myself, and also several legal experts.

The commission was adopted by the Transportation Ministry, based on a 1999 presidential decree. It changed its name to the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) because it was the investigator for all modes of transportation accidents.

We also investigate both railway and automobile accidents. However, for most land accidents, the police usually take over the cases.

With sea accidents, we have the Nautical Court, which has the same function as the commission. To avoid the overlapping of functions, distinctive roles and laws for both bodies are needed.

Have operators complied with the findings and recommendations of the KNKT?

I am relatively new in this position. I was installed as KNKT chairman on March 5, so allow me to get back to that. Currently, we are handling the investigation of the recent Garuda Indonesia accident in Yogyakarta.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says the KNKT must report to them about any air accidents. We have to do this within a specified time, but they can give us more time if a case is really complex. We want to show that we can work fast.

Can other countries meddle with an investigation being carried out by the commission?

There are several ICAO-set conditions that countries abide by regarding air accidents. These cover the design of aircraft, the country in which aircraft manufacturers are based, the country of registration, operators of aircraft, the location of occurrences and details pertaining to victims.

In the context of the Garuda accident, the jetliner was designed by Boeing and the country of manufacture was the U.S. It is a little more complex though, as several parts of the aircraft came from other countries, so they also have the right to receive our report.

The registry, which is the country where the operator is based, is Indonesia, while the operator is Garuda Indonesia.

The origin of victims is covered so we can also allow victims' countries to receive our report. In the Garuda accident, several passengers were foreigners.

If those countries wish to help, such as by helping us investigate a crash, then they must get our permission first for access. They cannot investigate an accident on their own. They may only do this if accompanied by the KNKT.

Australia has offered its services in extracting information from the Garuda airliner's black box. The black box, which has become Indonesia's asset, is being read in Canberra with the participation of Indonesian staff.

Because there was a portion of the black box that Australia could not access, they then sent it to its manufacturer, Honeywell, in Seattle, in the U.S.

The black box is not the only device that can tell us the cause of the accident. It's only a tool to help us accurately describe what happened.

Some people noticed that the aircraft was diving rapidly from the air to the ground while landing. This scene could be viewed differently by different people. By decoding the black box, we know, among other things, the speed of the aircraft when it hit the runway.

The black box actually consists of two devices. Can you tell me more about their functions?

A black box is made up of two devices that are placed side by side in an aircraft. One is the flight data recorder (FDR) and the other is a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). They are not painted black anymore as they used to be in the 1950s. Now they are orange because the color orange is more visible than black after an accident.

An FDR records all parameters of an aircraft. It used to record only five or six parameters, such as velocity and speed. Now, up to 400 parameters can be recorded inside the modern box. It can record changes in wind speed and the movement of a plane's wings and flaps. The ICAO has ruled that the minimum number of recorded parameters be 88.

The CVR is used to record all sounds inside a cockpit, such as conversation between pilots or cabin crew, or perhaps the sound of a gunshot inside an aircraft.

Information from both the FDR and CVR consists of multiple diagrams and models after experts decode them. This data can only be deciphered by experts.

What happened to the black boxes of previous accidents?

Many people have asked from time to time for the KNKT to reveal its findings to the public. But it's pointless to publish our findings as each accident report can have more than 50 pages.

The data from the black box is then tabulated with other external investigative data to make findings more accurate.

The location of the black box from the Adam Air jetliner, which plummeted into the Majene Sea (South Sulawesi), has been detected. However, salvaging the devices could cost some US$3 million. The ICAO says it is the country -- it could be the Indonesian government or the company itself -- that should pay for the project, but this cost is just too high.

Moreover, after salvaging it, the box might not even be readable because of physical damage.

How about the condition of the KNKT?

The KNKT consists of people who are willing to help. For air accidents, we have only 29 investigators, for sea accidents about eight, for railway 14 and for land about four. People may think that we've been working slowly, but this is because we only have a few investigators.

And they are paid more like volunteers than professionals.

We currently have an aircraft expert from an airline company and a metallurgy expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology.

One of our members, who tried to crack the black box's data in the U.S., Prof. Mardjono, is actually an instructor at a university.

Speaking about our independence from the Transportation Ministry, the most important aspect to keep in mind is that our investigators are capable and willing to do the work. Our independent status means we receive enough funds to do the job independently.

New busway lanes to open in 2008

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: Three more busway corridors will operate in 2008, says the head of the transportation agency.

"The construction of corridors eight, nine and 10 will continue as planned and I hope they start operating in January 2008," the head of the city's transportation agency, Nurachman, said Wednesday at City Hall.

"We have prepared Rp 180 billion (US$19.7 million) for the project," he said, adding that there would be 60 stations along the three corridors.

Corridor eight will connect Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, to Harmoni, Central Jakarta, corridor nine will connect Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta and Pluit, North Jakarta, and corridor ten will link Cililitan, East Jakarta, and Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The City Council had previously rejected the construction of corridor eight due to the vehicle density in that area.

Head of the City Council Ade Surapriyatna said Governor Sutiyoso had asked the council to continue with the project this year because a delay would hamper the busway network.

"But with one condition, the transportation agency should find an alternative route during the construction period so the traffic will not be disrupted," he said.

Dam's state worries water operator

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

Bogor, the main supplier of raw water to Jakarta, Depok and Bekasi, may experience water shortages if the administration does not repair and rehabilitate Cisadane Dam.

The warning was issued by Bogor-owned water operator PD Tirta Pakuan following the evaluation of sedimentation problems in Cisadane River.

"Seventy-five percent of the raw water distributed by Tirta Pakuan is taken from the river. We fear water shortages if no action is taken to control the sedimentation and rehabilitate the dam," company director Syaban Maulana said Wednesday.

The other sources of raw water are springs in Kota Batu, Tangkil and Bantar Kambing subdistricts.

As of June 2006, PD Tirta Pakuan supplied piped water to 71,391 customers.

Syaban said that during the rainy season the river had silted up at different places.

"Although the water quality in Cisadane River is far better than Ciliwung River, the build up of sedimentation in the river will reduce water supply to Tirta Pakuan," he said.

He said the company had intensified efforts to re-green the Cisadane area.

"But we can't do it alone. We need to work with other related parties to protect upstream areas of the Cisadane," he said.

West Java Governor Danny Setiawan has ordered the Bogor administration to take action to protect upstream areas of the Cisadane and Ciliwung rivers.

Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto has also unveiled plans to build percolation pits in the area to prevent flooding.

The Cisadane and Ciliwung rivers are among the largest of the 13 rivers that run through Jakarta.

However, the two rivers are so polluted that the water from them is unfit even for agricultural purposes.

Jakarta, has long experienced water shortages in the dry season and floods in the rainy period.

Road-widening probe 'cut short'

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Environmentalists have spoken out against the police's decision to call off their investigation into the city's road-widening project along Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.

"It sets a bad precedent in upholding the Environmental Law in the capital," Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan said Wednesday.

The Jakarta Police on Tuesday sent Tigor a letter in his capacity as the plaintiff representing groups of environmentalists who have accused Governor Sutiyoso of failing to protect green areas in the city.

The letter, signed by Comr. Tomsi Tohir of the Special Crimes Directory's environment and resources division, said the road-widening project did not violate the Environmental Law since it had not been necessary to carry out an environmental impact analysis (Amdal) for it.

It said median strips were not part of designated green areas, while the level of pollution along the two streets had improved by 16.31 percent after the projects.

"The arguments show up inaccuracies in the police's investigation. The Environmental Law stipulates that an Amdal is a must for any project that affects an area that is more than four kilometers long," Tigor said.

The project affected 6.4 km of median strip, he said.

Members of Fakta, the Jakarta Caucus for the Environment and the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) reported Sutiyoso to police in October. Former minister for the environment Sonny Keraf is among the prominent figures in the group.

Under the Environmental Law, any party found guilty of damaging the environment, including polluting the air, could face a maximum punishment of 10 years' jail or a Rp 500 million fine.

The Jakarta administration said the project was aimed at easing traffic congestion since parts of the streets were being taken up by the busway lane.

The administration allocated Rp 30 billion for the project and removed hundreds of trees from the area.

Tubagus Haryo Karbiyanto of the caucus, who deals with transportation issues, said more private vehicle owners had been taking the streets since they were widened.

"It only benefits car owners. The projects have not reduced traffic congestion on the streets. This is why the administration needs to introduce electronic road pricing."

He said research by road construction company PT Pembangunan Jaya predicted that for every km of additional road, there would be 1,923 more cars and 3,000 motorcycles.

Caucus member Firdaus Cahyadi added that dropping the case could give the administration the license to cut down more trees along the streets to make way for its transportation projects.

"It would then be even more difficult for the administration to meet the target of 30 percent of open and green areas as required by the law on spatial planning," he said.

The administration is aiming to convert 13.94 percent or 9,544 hectares of city land into green spaces by 2010, up from 7,319 hectares or 10.7 percent in 2005.

Green spaces currently make up 5,911 hectares or 9 percent of city land.

Busway supplier gets five year on corruption

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Anti-Corruption Court Wednesday punished busway supplier Budi Santoso into five years for committing collusion when supplying buses for a busway project, MetroTV television reported.

Budi, together with former head of City Transportation Agency Rustam Effendi, were accused of marking-up price of 54 buses for the busway first corridor from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in Central Jakarta.

Prosecutors previously said the prices of buses were decided before the tender bid was opened. The price was based on a figure calculated by Budi, who is the president director of PT Armada Usaha Bersama.

Anti-corruption had previously punished Rustam to three year jail term.

The corruption case caused state loss worth Rp 10.6 billion (US$1.16 million).

RAAF donates Hercules parts to Indonesia

The Jakarta Post

The Indonesian Air Force received an early birthday present Wednesday from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in the form of Rp 2.8 billion (US$304,000) in spare parts for its C-130 Hercules transport aircraft fleet.

Celebrating its 61st anniversary next Monday, the Indonesian Air Force is in dire need of spare parts for its Hercules fleet, which in addition to military operations is often used in humanitarian missions.

The spare parts were handed over by the RAAF air commander for Australia, Vice Marshall John Quaife, to the director general of defense facilities at the Defense Ministry, Vice Marshall Slamet Prihatino.

Witnessing the presentation was Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer.

Quaife said Australia recognized Indonesia as an archipelagic country that was highly dependent on aircraft to reach and assist remote communities.

"I would find it hard to think of any humanitarian or community support operation that does not in some way rely on this aircraft and their crews for success," said Quaife.

He said the gift was a "small" indication of the further strengthening of relations between the respective nations' air forces.

"It is the small things, plus the larger things, such as the Rajawali Ausindo exercise last year, that highlight and strengthen the relationship that our air forces enjoy," he added.

The Rajawali Ausindo exercise was held in December 2006 and involved joint-activities on C-130 inter-operability at the RAAF's Richmond base.

A total of 170 items covering 27 different parts where donated for use in the maintenance of 12 Indonesian Hercules. Last year, eight Indonesian Hercules aircraft received similar spare parts from Australia.

Slamet said the spare parts would be extremely helpful in the Indonesian Air Force's efforts to upgrade and maintain its Hercules fleet.

"Australia offered more than what we get now, but we asked only for what we really need. There is no need to get any parts that cannot be used," he said.

"They offered more than what we received now, but we received only what we really need. There is no need to receive any parts if we can't use them," said Slamet.

Quaife said Australian and Indonesian C-130 aircraft had worked together during several humanitarian operations, such as in assisting the victims of the devastating 2004 tsunami.

"Such operations highlight the importance of airlift collaboration between neighbors," he said.

C-130s from both countries played a significant role in recovery operations following the tsunami, while Indonesian Air Force C-130s featured in relief operations following the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006.

"Having retired our C-130E aircraft, it makes sense for Australia to transfer the surplus spare parts to Indonesia to enhance regional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. We have a mutual interest in regional humanitarian and disaster relief," said Farmer.

He said the transfer of the spare parts demonstrates the strengthening defense relationship between the two countries.

The RAAF currently operates the C-130J Super Hercules and the C-130H models while Indonesia operates the older C-130B and C-130H models.

Spending on infrastructure set to rise by 34 percent next year

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will allocate more money for infrastructure development in next year's budget in an effort to ease the distribution bottlenecks that have seriously hampered the country's economic growth.

"The bottleneck problem will become worse in 2008 if nothing is done to deal with the infrastructure issue," Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono said Wednesday in Jakarta.

Boediono said that the government planned to increase spending on infrastructure by 34 percent to Rp 56 trillion (about US$6.2 billion) next year from Rp 41 trillion this year. The Public Works Ministry and Transportation Ministry would receive Rp 34.3 trillion and Rp 24.2 trillion, respectively.

The Rp 56 trillion would include Rp 7.03 trillion for the regions paid out of the Special Transfer Fund (DAK).

The coordinating minister stressed that while infrastructure spending would account for the biggest increase in budget spending, human development would also remain a top priority.

Human development, which includes education and health, would receive some Rp 83 trillion next year, an increase of about Rp 7.9 trillion over this year's figure. The human development allocation would therefore account for about 15 percent of total 2008 budget spending, which Boediono estimated would amount to Rp 554 trillion.

He said that the 6.8 percent growth penciled in for 2008 would be difficult to achieve if nothing was done to speed up the construction of infrastructure, such as new expressways and power plants.

"We have acute experience of these problems. We lack electricity, expressways, ports," he stressed.

He said that to achieve the 2008 growth target, the government would further relax its fiscal policy.

"We have decided to change our fiscal policy to support economic growth," he said, explaining that up until 2005, post-crisis fiscal policy had been primarily intended to achieve fiscal consolidation. "We have now entered a period where spending should serve as a stimulus for growth," he explained.

The country's tax to GDP ratio has slowly climbed from less than 10 percent in 1999 to 12 percent in 2006. The ratio is expected to rise to 13 percent this year. Meanwhile, with the latest debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the debt to GDP ratio has fallen to 42 percent from 60 percent in 2004 and 100 percent in 2000.

The government is predicting that year-on-year inflation will remain moderate at 6 to 6.5 percent next year, while Bank Indonesia (the central bank) is expected to further trim its key rate to 7.5 percent.

The oil price reference employed for the 2008 budget is

US$57 per barrel, while the country is expected to produce 1.034 billion barrels per day.

Foreign exchange reserves are forecast to grow to between $59.3 billion and $61.1 billion next year, from $51.6 billion at present, with the average rupiah-U.S. dollar exchange rate remaining at Rp 9,300 per dollar.

"It is actually possible to achieve 7 percent growth, as we did before the 1998 crisis, which in itself was a remarkable achievement. The difference now is that we have to do it in a different social and political environment -- a more democratic society," he said.

Radar an issue at Medan airport

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A government transportation safety team announced Wednesday that it had found a large number of flaws in the management of flight safety at Polonia International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra.

The National Team for the Evaluation of Transportation Safety and Security said it had discovered that the radar at the airport were old and that the person who operated them did not speak English, a key requirement.

Team member Tengku Burhanuddin said the airport's management had been told to immediately upgrade the radar.

"Out technology has advanced and we've asked that the radar be modernized. The request should immediately be followed up by the airport management in order to ensure flight safety," he told journalists.

The team, led by former Air Force chief of staff Chappy Hakim, last month urged the government to revamp the aviation industry and shut down airlines that ignored safety regulations following a series of deadly accidents.

The team also recommended the consolidation of air traffic control at the country's airports, which is currently under the shared management of state-owned airport operators PT Angkasa Pura I and II and the Transportation Ministry.

Tengku, who was accompanied by another team member, Jusman, said they were conducting inspections at Polonia to ensure transportation safety. The inspection covered the airport's radar, security and air traffic control services.

When asked whether Polonia airport met safety requirements, he said that the airport was in a difficult position.

It would cost a large amount of money to fix the safety flaws but the airport would close when the new airport at Kuala Namu in Deli Serdang regency, which is currently under construction, opens in 2009.

All the team's findings, he said, would be reported to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono within two weeks.

"But we're no longer issuing recommendations since the intention of our field trip (to Polonia) was actually to check whether (airport managements) have followed our previous recommendations to the President or not," said Tengku, who is the brother of the late North Sumatra governor T. Rizal Nurdin, who died in the Mandala plane crash near Polonia airport in September 2005.

Polonia International Airport head Frido Frinaldo said the airport's two radars were made in 1979 and 2002.

He said the management would pay attention to all suggestions made by the team.

But air traffic control staff at Polonia said only the 1979 radar was operational. The 2002 radar is not in use because it has not been tested.

"The system of the 1979 radar was made in France while the system for the 2002 radar was locally made by the Bandung Technology Institute. The French radar is practical but its condition is critical," a member of the air traffic control staff told The Jakarta Post.

The staff, who declined to be named, said the old radar had recently broken down for three days.

False dates found on sea safety equipment

BANTEN: Safety inspectors have seized hundreds of items of marine safety equipment aboard ferries crossing the Sunda Strait in Merak Port, Banten, due to their allegedly falsified expiry dates.

Port authority head Dalle Effendi said Tuesday the confiscated equipment had expired in 1998 but the expiry date on its packaging was 2010.

The safety equipment, including smoke flares, rockets and emergency food supplies, was stored in 25 lifeboats aboard a number of ferries.

Dalle, however, did not identify the ferries, saying only that the investigation was ongoing.

He said ferry crew members had tried to convince the safety inspectors the equipment had been checked and would not expire until 2010.

Besides keeping the ferries from leaving the port, the port authority also sent out a letter notifying sea safety equipment companies of the finding.

The port authority had previously acknowledged that more than half of the ferries sailing from Merak Port to Bakauheni on Sumatra island did not meet international safety standards.

According to Dalle, the central government was largely to blame for not putting a limit on the age of vessels. Therefore, he urged the Transportation Ministry to ban vessels over the age of 20 years from operating, for passengers' safety.

"Setting an age limit will help minimize accidents at sea," he said, adding that the age of ferries crossing the Sunda Strait ranged from 15 to 37 years.

Airport confiscates liquids, aerosols

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: Soekarno-Hatta International Airport security has confiscated a total of 30 bags of liquids, aerosols and gels from passengers since the implementation of stricter cabin baggage limits Saturday.

Airport security coordinator Agus Kuswoyo said Tuesday that the confiscations had been necessary because passengers were carrying more than the permitted 100 milliliters per item of liquids, aerosols and gels.

As of March 31, the airport implemented enhanced rules on cabin baggage. Creams, lotions, oils, perfumes, sprays, gels and the contents of pressurized containers must be carried in containers of 100 milliliter capacity or less. Liquids carried in containers larger than the maximum limit are not accepted, even if the container is only partly filled.

The containers also must be packed in one transparent re-sealable plastic bag of no more than one liter capacity per passenger.

Agus said security had been amassing eight sacks of confiscated items a day on average since Saturday.

Lorena Air defies turbulence, set for take off by end of May

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

By the end of May, a new full-service Indonesian airline, Lorena Air, is set to have taken to the skies, serving six routes between six major cities using three leased Boeing 737-400 aircraft.

President director Eka Sari Lorena Soerbakti said Tuesday that the airline would at first fly from Jakarta to Manado (North Sulawesi), Balikpapan (East Kalimantan), Padang (West Sumatra), Palembang (South Sumatra) and Denpasar (Bali).

"Then later this year, we intend to purchase three more aircraft of a similar type as we also plan to introduce a Medan-Surabaya service," Eka said during a visit to The Jakarta Post.

The carrier is 100 percent owned by the Lorena group -- best known as a luxury bus operator on the islands of Java, Madura, Bali and Sumatra.

With Lorena boasting years of experience in the transportation business, Eka says she believes the airline has what it takes to be successful, even at a time when the country's airline industry is reeling from a series of tragic accidents.

From the disappearance of a Boeing 737-400 operated by Adam Air off Sulawesi early in the year to a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-400 aircraft bursting into flames after overshooting the runway at Adisucipto airport in Yogyakarta in March, a huge question mark has been left hanging over airline safety in Indonesia.

However, despite the current lack of confidence in the local aviation industry, Eka said she believed Lorena could carve out a niche and establish a place for itself in the market as a full-service carrier.

"There were 39 million domestic air passengers last year, about 3 million more than the target. And the number will continue to rise.

"The demand is there. So, I think the arrival of Lorena is timely. With all these safety concerns, the market is actually waiting for a full-service, dependable airline," Eka said.

The new airline, Eka said, had signed an agreement with Futura International Airways, a leading global charter company based in Spain, for consultancy and advisory services, including for aircraft maintenance, and pilot and flight-crew training.

Lorena was currently seeking safety certification from both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), the European equivalent of the FAA.

National flag-carrier Garuda Nusantara is currently the only domestic carrier that has certification from the FAA.

"We expect to have flown around 1.5 million passengers by the end of the year," Eka said, adding that the company also planned to establish overseas routes, starting with Singapore, next year.

Etihad opens new RI office

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officially opened its new office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Located on Jalan Sudirman, South Jakarta, the new office will handle sales and all of the airline's other business in Indonesia, manager Geoff Rhodes told reporters following the official opening ceremony.

Since it first commenced operations here last year, Etihad has been flying from Jakarta to Abu Dhabi, UAE, six times a week, and has been carrying about 2,268 passengers per week, representing a 70 percent load factor. The airline plans to increase the number of its flights to Jakarta to eight per week starting Aug. 1, and to 12 per week by the end of the year.

"We actually have the right to fly eight times a week, but at the moment the market is still sluggish. We will increase the number of flights as the market improves," Rhodes said.

Last week, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad established a new route to Sydney, Australia. In July, it will start flying to two more new destinations -- Dublin in Ireland and Milan in Italy.

Wheel problem forces jetliner back to departure airport

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): A Batavia Air jetliner has to return to Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado, on Monday due to problem on its wheel just 20 minutes after taking off from the airport.

RCTI TV station reported that the Boeing 737-400 airplane was scheduled to leave for Jakarta but it had to cancel the schedule due to the incident.

Batavia Air refuses to clarify the incident according RCTI.

TGV breaks train speed record

CNN

PARIS, France (AP) -- France broke the world speed record on rails Tuesday with a souped-up fast train, a feat to showcase the technology it is trying to sell to overseas markets including China.

The new record is expected to gild France's image in the expanding market for high-speed technology as countries like China turn to bullet trains.

The black-and-chrome train with three double-decker cars sped along a new line linking Paris to eastern France, starting in the town of Preny. It broke the 1990 rail record, also held by a French train, of 515.3 kph (320.2 mph).

The specially designed train was outfitted to reach up to 540 kph (335.5 mph) -- about the speed of a short-distance freight propeller plane.

The TGV, short for "train a grande vitesse," as France's bullet trains are called, is made up of three double-decker cars between two engines. It has been equipped with larger wheels than the usual TGV to cover more ground with each rotation and a stronger, 25,000-horsepower engine, said Alain Cuccaroni, in charge of the technical aspects of testing.

Adjustments have also been made to the new track, which opens June 10, notably the banking on turns. Rails were also treated for perfect contact, Cuccaroni said.

The electrical tension in the overhead cable was beefed up, from 25,000 volts to 31,000. Tuesday was the first time that double-decker cars were being used at such a high speed, according to officials of Alstom, which makes TGVs and which crawled back a year ago from the edge of bankruptcy.

The double-decker cars were transformed into a laboratory for the event so that technicians from the state-run rail company SNCF and Alstom can gather data during the run.

Japan holds the absolute speed record for a train, with its magnetically levitated Maglev train that skims over a guideway on powerful magnetic fields without ever touching the track.

The Maglev set a record of 581 kph (361 mph) in 2003. The goal of the operation, called V150, is more than "simply breaking a record," Cuccaroni said.

Test data should help improve the security and comfort of passengers in the future, he said. France competes with neighboring Germany and with Japan for contracts.

Transport Minister Dominique Perben received a California delegation hours before Tuesday's record attempt. California is studying prospects for a high-speed line running from Sacramento in the north to San Diego, in the south, via San Francisco and Los Angeles. China, the biggest potential market, was to start building a high-speed line this year between Beijing and Shanghai to cut travel time from nine hours to five.

Indonesia Jan-Feb tourist arrivals up 13.59 pct yoy

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Foreign tourist arrivals in the first two months to February rose 13.59 pct year-on-year to 639,937 with arrivals at the resort island of Bali leading the increase, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed.

It showed that tourist arrivals via Bali's Ngurah Rai airport during the first two months, rose 47 pct year-on-year to 238,777.

The country's tourist industry has been hurt by a number of terror attacks in recent years.

AirAsia to fly to Banda Aceh

The Jakarta Post

BANDA ACEH, Aceh Province (The Star/ANN): AirAsia will start direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Banda Aceh by next month, said Malaysia's Tourism Minister Adnan Tengku Mansor.

He said discussions had been held with AirAsia and Firefly to consider direct flights from Aceh and Medan to various states in Malaysia.

"One of the problems faced by the airlines is the absence of a Customs, Immigration and Quarantine center," he said.

Speaking after opening the Plaza Medan Fair to promote the Visit Malaysia 2007 Roadshow, Adnansaid:"Indonesia is the third-largest contributor to tourist arrivals after Singapore and Thailand. A growth of 26.4% tourists from Indonesia has been recorded in 2006 compared with 2005.

"There is definitely a great potential seeing as there are approximately 45 million people in Sumatra."

Minister sets deadline for monorail project

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati gave three years for PT Jakarta Monorail to complete the transportation project in the capital, which will be financed by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB).

Her statement was made as a follow up to her decree issued on March 15, ruling that the government will cover the financial shortage if the number of passengers miss the minimal target of 160,000 per day.

Ministry's spokesman Syamsiar Said said Monday that under the decree, the government would pay US$11.25 million per year at the most within five years.

He said the ministry also required the Jakarta City Council to approve a regulation ruling that the city administration has to prepare a similar amount of money to cover the possible shortfall before the central government disburses its money.

The capacity of the monorail project is 270,000 passengers per day.

Initially, two lines of the monorail project were scheduled to operate early this year, but concession holder PT Jakarta Monorail found difficulty to find investors to finance the project.

DIB finally expressed its agreement to finance the project with a condition that the government has to cover possible financial shortage.

Analysts expressed pessimism that monorail would be able to meet its minimal target of passengers because the Rp7,500 ticket price per trip is too expensive for most of Jakartans.

East Java mud begins disrupting train services

The Jakarta Post

JEMBER, East Java (Antara): Mudflow from PT Lapindo Brantas gas field in Porong district, Sidoarjo regency has began disrupting train services from East Java capital of Surabaya to nearby town of Banyuwangi, an official says.

Spokesman of State railway operator PT KAI Eko Suminto said Sunday that the trains have to slow down their speed when they passed through railways in Porong, fearing that the dam separating the mud and the railway would collapse.

He also added that two trains could not pass through the area in the same time, causing all trains arrived at stations hours behind their schedules."Mutiara Timur train from Surabaya arrived two hours behind the schedule," Eko was quoted by Antara news agency as saying, adding that the train run some five kilometers per hour.

The mud have been flowing from the gas field since early last year, inundating more than 10,000 houses, dozens of factories, and hectares of agricultural fields.

All efforts, including dropping concrete balls to the mouth of the volcano mud, have been carried out. But it is not successful. Experts say that the mudflow may occur for decades.

Indonesia crash pilots 'argued'

BBC World

The pilots of an Indonesian passenger jet were arguing about the plane's speed moments before it crashed last month, a senior investigator has said.

Tatang Kurniadi told Australian television that the co-pilot wanted to turn around instead of landing.

The two pilots, who both survived, were flying together for the first time.

The Garuda Airlines Boeing 737-400 crashed as it landed at Yogyakarta airport on 7 March, killing 21 of the 140 people on board.

Survivors and witnesses said the plane came in to land at a high speed before it overshot the runway into a rice field and burst into flames.

Passengers and crew scrambled for safety through emergency exits as fire raced through the cabin, leaving the wreckage a gutted shell.

'Absent-mindedness'

The voice and flight data recorders are being analysed in Australia.

"There was also some argumentation between the co-pilot and the pilot and captain relating with the speed and flaps," Mr Kurniadi told the Nine Network.

He said the wing flaps, which help slow the plane down for landing, did not jam and it appeared it would have been possible to circle around for another attempt at landing.

He said he did not know why the pilot chose to continue with the landing.

"I worry that this accident came from the absent-mindedness of the cockpit," he said.

He said the pilot was very experienced with more than 15,000 flying hours. The co-pilot was a "young pilot with just about 2,000 flying hours".

The cockpit voice recorder was badly burnt in the crash but investigators said last month that they had been able to recover the last 30 minutes of the crew's conversation.

Mr Kurniadi said he expected the investigation to be completed in a month.

Bill ends government railway monopoly

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Under the spotlight of a massive rally in front of the State Palace, the House of Representatives approved Tuesday the rail transportation bill, allowing the private sector to take part in the rail industry.

All 10 factions at the House gave their support to the bill in a plenary session here in an effort to reform the much-criticized public transportation system in the country.

They said the rail industry had to become more competitive but continue to provide cheap transportation.

The bill stipulates the private sector, including multinational corporations, is allowed to take part, along with the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), in providing rail transportation and the manufacture of supporting facilities.

It requires the government to issue a regulation on the detailed participation of the private sector in the rail industry.

Putra Jaya Husein, spokesman for the National Mandate Party faction, said in the faction's political stand during the plenary session presided over by Deputy House Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, that despite the private sector's participation, the government remained the only authority in setting train fares to ensure a cheap service.

"PT KAI and private providers must make a profit to let them survive, but the government is required to give subsidies to ensure cheap rail transportation for the public," he said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) asked the government to issue regulations to govern the involvement of the private sector in public and special rail transportation.

"Private corporations should be encouraged to provide rail transportation for destinations with a high load factor and to invest in special rail transportation to create a healthy competition with PT KAI," said Rendi Affandi, spokesman for the PDI-P faction.

Special rail transportation systems carry cargo and raw materials in industrial zones in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) faction said the private sector should be allowed to operate in Greater Jakarta to help solve the chronic public transportation problem in the capital city.

"In fact, PT KAI has been found to be unable to serve the densely populated region with its residents, most of whom work in Jakarta," said Abdullah Azwar Anas of the PKB faction.

The bill carries a maximum 15-year jail sentence and a maximum fine of Rp 5 billion (US$548,967.9) for train operators found guilty of ignoring safety regulations and companies or individuals who damage rail facilities.

It also mandates the government to audit assets used by PT KA and the company's assets in the coming three years to make the company liquid.

As the legislators assembled to endorse the rail transportation bill, hundreds of active and retired PT KAI employees marched from Gambir railway station to the nearby State Palace, both in Central Jakarta, to demand the inclusion of their rights in the newly-endorsed railway law.

Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said after a meeting with leaders of the PT KAI workers union at the State Palace that former PT KAI employees would be paid the way the government paid regular civil servants.

Since PT KAI was converted from a state-owned company into a profit-seeking enterprise, more than 32,000 of its employees have seen their jobs downgraded. Of these, 27,000 are still working for the company, while 9,000 have retired.