Category Archives: social

The Elite’s economic system

Back at the dotcom era (do you still remember that?), I was tempted to try the stock market. Before that, I managed to escape from Indonesian’s 1998 economic crisis relatively unscathed, thanks to the habit of my father — he has routinely put some of his savings in foreign currency (and some other forms) since I was little.

He doesn’t know that there’s a term for that – risk spreading. To him, it’s just common-sense. I followed his way, and when the Rupiah crashed, some of my savings were in US$ dollars.

The gain was really crazy. I bought the dollars before it reached Rp 10.000, and I sell when it’s close to Rp 20.000. The gain covered my losses – and then some.
I don’t like it though, and felt uneasy.

I’m used to hard work, and earning my income. My colleagues in my first job (Takaful) probably still remember how our job was in its IT department; long hours, impossible tasks, razor-thin budget, sky-high goals.
And low pay. But, I earned it. And I was happy.

This money I got from my foreign currency savings was like magic money. Out of thin air **poof** loads of money.
I don’t really understand the economy system back then, but I got the suspicion that while I benefit in this way, others losses. I just didn’t know who exactly, confused at the intricacy of the world’s monetary system.

Back to my interest in stock system – dotcom era were the time of crazy, easy, massive profit from unknown stocks. Nearly any dotcom company can go IPO in a few months, and their stock’s value will multiply faster than rabbits in no time. This is really intriguing to a layman like me.

I almost (really close) to putting my money on the market, when I got thinking, shouldn’t I test the waters first ?
So I started looking for software or website, which will enable me to get a feeling of the system, gain knowledge, and hone the skills needed. Soon I signed up to a website where we were given virtual money and able to trade it in its stock exchange – with real time data from real stock exchanges.

Soon I realize that there’s something wrong : if you’re with the masses, you’re bound to become losers.

When I’m learning something new, I immediately try to get the feeling of it as a whole; not bothering with the details at first.
On this system, it quickly became pretty clear that it’s been designed to profit the few. Not us. I got dismayed, but I continue my (then practice, now) experiments.

My conclusions after some time :

[ 1 ] You need information (loads of it) to make informed (thus, profitable) decisions
[ 2 ] This is not doable for most people. You need to specialize in this, else you’ll end up overloaded with information, and made the wrong decision instead.
[ 3 ] However, many are doing it anyway. They ended up losing, while the experts are profiting.
[ 4 ] Most disturbing however the non-experts who are rich enough to hire experts to work for them. They can rack obscene amount of profit, at the expense of the people.
[ 5 ] Then there are those who have access to the elite circles. This in turn gives access to various obscure knowledge of the system. They exploit it, and kept each other safe.

Quoted from Wikileaks :

One can only guess at how many insiders profited under JP Morgan’s “insider trading program,” leaving small investors holding the bag.

This economy system, one basing itself heavily on virtual items & predictions, is not a good one for the small people; like me.

So I drew myself from pursuing the stock market, and continued working as usual.

Then the dotcom bubble imploded. Too many people were left way poorer, holding in their hand worthless junk, used to be prized at millions. Many became unemployed, and scrambling to find a job, anything at all.
I was only able to watch them sadly. Some of my friends loses their entire savings.

It was deja vu when I read the news today – The fall of the investment house giant – Bear stearns.
It’s just the effect of the worsening economy. Bear was still healthy just a year ago. But now, when JP Morgan acquired it, it’s stock was only valued at one-hundreth of what it was last year. Yet The Feds still have to put US$ 30 billion guarantee for the deal to go through.

Quoting Dean Baker :

There is something a bit obscene about billions of taxpayer dollars going to the country’s richest people, when average workers can’t afford health care for their kids.

This bubble economy is going down again.

The crazy interest system – I was shocked when I find out several years ago that loan rates ARE variable / it can (and according to Murphy’s law: it will) change; that’s like gambling my car/house/etc on a lousy bet, for easy pickings to others.

Sharia economy is coming to rescue here – even non-Muslim financial institutions are adopting it as fast as they could.
Here’s one tip : get rich quick – become a sharia economy specialist. Also, an IT specialist with knowledge of sharia economy would become the target of many big institutions – it’s harder to find than a Dodo bird. Several days ago a friend just called me and offered me a job at Dubai, which I politely denied (since I’m still having too much fun with this linux/open source stuff here). And so on.

Back to the topic – there are more problems which may not be too visible at first. Among them are the US dollars. Since world economy is pretty much intertwined with US dollars (because US gov’t are promoting it heavily for international transactions); if the US$ is going down, many are going down with it. And the US$ is going down.

First we got the crazy crusade done by Bush to enrich him & his cronies. It’s already costing the US economy at least US$ 1 trillion – a more exact number would be twice or thrice of that. This is the money which can be used to empower real economies, instead it’s being used to blast innocent people to smithereens.

Then we have that interest-ing problem : sub-prime mortgage trouble. We’re talking about US$ 8 trillions market here. When it’s in pain, others is bound to feel it as well, one way or another.
Even the big institutions at the other side of the world have begun to feel the pain – Europe’s interbank lending is in the same trouble spot as it was back at 9/11.

Quoted :

“Banks and institutions are just scrambling for cash, any cash they can get their hands on,” said a money market trader at a European bank.

Third, US economy fell into an even worse shape by the Bush’ policies of heavy borrowing to cover their spending spree. Bush administration has now been confirmed to have borrowed more than ALL previous US president combined.

No idea how he will pay them. He’s going to leave the office soon anyway.
This democracy-thing works really well indeed for him – he can fool so many other with ease, and immunity from being held responsible for those actions.

Brace for impact.
According to Ron Paul, at the end of this, we may even see USA fell as a superpower, and others taking its place.

So back to us again, the little people. What’s the solution ? How can we save ourselves from a few crazy elites ?

[ 1 ] Press our government to focus on real economy. Not the virtual ones.

[ 2 ] Sharia economy system works, and it’s friendlier to small people like us in the bigger picture too. Support it.

If you don’t like the name, then change it. I don’t care. But do please adhere to the its basic, sanity-based system.

[ 3 ] Us, myself : stop losing in the virtual economy, and start to get real.
Be a trader, but trade real things. And so on.

Here’s hoping that we’ll start going on the right direction. And when the world crashed, we’ll be able to stay afloat.

Before I close this posting, this is the time where I’ll salute my friends & my mentors who have struggled very, very hard to get the sharia economy system up & running here back then in Indonesia.
People didn’t believe them at first. Even other muslims were actually ridiculing them.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you…

But they stood fast at the opposition. They clenched their fists, kept their mouth shut, and deliver results. Even when Asia was engulfed in financial crisis.

Then you won

Now even non-Muslim financial institutions are racing to the sharia system. It’s the most sensible one, the one most beneficial to all.
Not just to a few.

It was a privilege & a honour knowing these people. I was most lucky to be able to learn a lot about life from them. May Allah swt reward your hard work in abundance, amin.

Kapolda Jabar: Polisi yang korup sama saja dengan melacurkan diri

My man 🙂 ™ Denzel Washinton @ American gangster

Mudah-mudahan Kapolda Jabar yang baru ini bisa sukses. Mari kita dukung !

Beberapa kutipan :

Kalau ingin kaya jangan jadi polisi, tetapi pengusaha

yang paling berkesan selama ini karena bisa menjebloskan menteri, mantan menteri, dan direktur BUMN, yang memakan uang rakyat. Ada kepuasan batin.

Kalau aparatnya korupsi, tamatlah republik ini.

Kita tidak perlu malu dan takut nama kita jatuh kalau bersih-bersih dari korupsi di dalam. … Kalau perlu, tulis gede-gede itu di koran.

Mengusut kasus korupsi itu jauh lebih mudah ketimbang mengusut kasus pencurian jemuran (!)

Artikel selengkapnya :

Kapolda Jabar Irjen Pol. Susno Duadji,
“Jangan Pernah setori Saya”

Pikiran Rakyat, Edisi 10 Februari 2008

RABU (30/1) lalu, Kapolda Jabar Irjen Pol. Drs. Susno Duadji, S.H., M.Sc., mengumpulkan seluruh perwira di Satuan Lalu Lintas mulai tingkat polres hingga polda. Para perwira Satlantas itu datang ke Mapolda Jabar sejak pagi karena diperintahkan demikian. Pertemuan itu baru dimulai pukul 16.00 WIB.
Dalam rapat itu, kapolda hanya berbicara tidak lebih dari 10 menit. Meski dilontarkan dengan santai, tetapi isi perintahnya “galak” dan “menyentak”. Saking “galaknya”, anggota Satlantas harus ditanya dua kali tentang kesiapan mereka menjalani perintah tersebut.

Isi perintah itu ialah tidak ada lagi pungli di Satlantas, baik di lapangan (tilang) maupun di kantor (pelayanan SIM, STNK, BPKB, dan lainnya). “Tidak perlu ada lagi setoran-setoran. Tidak perlu ingin kaya. Dari gaji sudah cukup. Kalau ingin kaya jangan jadi polisi, tetapi pengusaha. Ingat, kita ini pelayan masyarakat. Bukan sebaliknya, malah ingin dilayani,” tutur pria kelahiran Pagaralam, Sumatera Selatan itu.

Pada akhir acara, seluruh perwira Satlantas yang hadir, mulai dari pangkat AKP hingga Kombespol, diminta menandatangani pakta kesepakatan bersama. Isi kesepakatan itu pada intinya ialah meningkatkan pelayanan kepada masyarakat yang tepat waktu, tepat mutu, dan tepat biaya.
Susno memberi waktu tujuh hari bagi anggotanya untuk berbenah, menyiapkan, dan membersihkan diri dari pungli. “Kalau minggu depan masih ada yang nakal, saatnya main copot-copotan jabatan,” kata suami dari Ny. Herawati itu.

Pernyataan Susno itu menyiratkan, selama ini ada praktik pungli di lingkungan kepolisian. Hasil pungli, secara terorganisasi, mengalir ke pimpinan teratas. Genderang perang melawan pungli yang ditabuh Susno tidak lepas dari perjalanan hidupnya sejak lahir hingga menjabat Wakil Kepala PPATK (Pusat Pelaporan Analisis dan Transaksi Keuangan). PPATK adalah sebuah lembaga yang bekerja sama dengan KPK (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi) menggiring para koruptor ke jeruji besi.
Berikut petikan wawancara wartawan “PR” Satrya Graha dan Dedy Suhaeri dengan pria yang telah berkeliling ke-90 negara lebih untuk belajar menguak korupsi.

Apa yang membuat Anda begitu antusias memberantas pungli atau korupsi?

Saya anak ke-2 dari 8 bersaudara. Ayah saya, Pak Duadji, bekerja sebagai seorang supir. Ibu saya, Siti Amah pedagang kecil-kecilan. Terbayang ‘kan betapa sulitnya membiayai 8 anak dengan penghasilan yang pas-pasan. Oleh karena itu, saat lulus SMA saya memilih ke Akpol karena gratis.

Nah, waktu sekolah, kira-kira SMP, saya punya banyak teman. Beberapa di antaranya dari kalangan orang kaya, seperti anak pejabat. Sepertinya, enak sekali mereka ya, bisa beli ini-itu dari uang rakyat. Sejak itulah, terpatri di benak saya, ada yang tidak benar di negara ini dengan kemakmuran yang dimiliki oleh para pejabat. Maka, saya sangat bersyukur bisa berperan memberantas korupsi saat mengabdi di PPATK. Itulah tugas saya yang paling berkesan selama ini karena bisa menjebloskan menteri, mantan menteri, dan direktur BUMN, yang memakan uang rakyat. Ada kepuasan batin.

Pengalaman di PPATK itukah yang membuat Anda menabuh genderang perang melawan pungli saat masuk ke Polda Jabar?

Seperti itulah. Akan tetapi, harusnya diubah, bukan pungli. Kalau pungli, terkesan perbuatan itu ketercelaannya kecil. Yang benar adalah korupsi. Pungli adalah korupsi. Mengapa korupsi yang saya usung? Karena sejak zaman Majapahit dulu, korupsi itu salah. Apalagi, jika aparat hukum yang korup. Bagaimana kita, sebagai aparat hukum, bisa memberantas korupsi kalau kitanya sendiri korupsi.

Oleh karena itu, sebagai tahap awal, saya “bersihkan” dulu di dalam, baru membersihkan yang di luar. Bagaimana saya mau menangkap bupati, direktur, dan lain-lain kalau di dalamnya belum bersih dari korupsi. Kalau aparatnya korupsi, tamatlah republik ini.

Tahap awalnya biasa saja. Umumkan, lalu periksa ke atasan tertingginya, yaitu saya, selanjutnya keluarga saya. Setelah itu pejabat-pejabat di Polda. Baru kemudian ke kapolwil, kapolres, dan seterusnya.

Kenapa harus dimulai dari saya. Karena saya pimpinan tertinggi di Polda Jabar ini. Ingat, memberantas korupsi bukan dimulai dari polisi yang bertugas di jalan raya. Kalau di pemerintah, bukan dari tukang ketik, atau petugas kecamatan yang melayani pembuatan akte kelahiran. Akan tetapi, dimulai dari pimpinan tertinggi di kantor itu.

Artinya, saya sebagai pimpinan jangan korupsi. Bentuknya macam-macam, seperti mendapat setoran dari bawahan, setoran dari pengusaha-pengusaha, mengambil jatah bensin bawahan, atau mengambil anggaran anggota saya. Oleh karena itu, saya tidak akan minta duit dari dirlantas, direskrim, atau kapolwil. Tidak juga mengambil anggaran mereka, atau uang bensin mereka.

Jadi, kalau di provinsi, misalnya, ada korupsi, yang salah bukan karyawannya, tetapi gubernurnya. Memberantasnya bagaimana? Mudah saja. Tinggal copot saja orang tertinggi di instansi itu.

Untuk program “bersih-bersih” itu, kira-kira Anda punya target sampai kapan?

Secepatnya. Ya, dua-tiga bulan. Kalau tidak segera, bagaimana kita menunjukkan kinerja kepada rakyat. Kita tidak perlu malu dan takut nama kita jatuh kalau bersih-bersih dari korupsi di dalam. Kita tidak akan jatuh merek dengan menangkap seorang kolonel polisi atau polisi berbintang yang korupsi. Kalau perlu, tulis gede-gede itu di koran.

Dan, anggota saya yang ketahuan korupsi, akan saya pecat. Jika memang saya harus kehabisan anggota saya di Polda Jabar karena semuanya saya pecat gara-gara korupsi, kenapa tidak. Apa yang harus ditakutkan.

Saya yakin, rakyat pasti senang kalau polisi bebas dari korupsi. Polisi itu bukan milik saya, tetapi milik rakyat. Saya justru merasa lebih tidak terhormat kalau memimpin kesatuan yang anggotanya banyak korupsi.

Berbicara soal penanganan kasus korupsi. Betulkah mengusut kasus korupsi bagaikan mengurai benang kusut. Pasalnya, para penyidik tipikor Polda Jabar mengaku kesulitan mengungkap kasus korupsi dengan alasan perlu kajian yang mendalam atas bukti-bukti sehingga memakan waktu lama?

Hahaha…. (Susno tertawa lepas). Mengusut kasus korupsi itu jauh lebih mudah ketimbang mengusut kasus pencurian jemuran. Mengungkap kasus pencurian jemuran perlu polisi yang pintar karena banyak kemungkinan pelakunya, seperti orang yang iseng, orang yang lewat, dan beberapa kemungkinan lainnya.

Kalau kasus korupsi, tidak perlu polisi yang pintar-pintar amat. Misal, uang anggaran sebuah dinas ada yang tidak sesuai. Tinggal dicari ke mana uangnya lari. Orang-orang yang terlibat juga mudah ditebak. Korupsi itu paling melibatkan bosnya, bagian keuangan, kepala projek, dan rekanan. Itu saja. Jadi, kata siapa sulit? Sulit dari mananya. Tidak ada yang sulit dalam memberantas korupsi. Kuncinya hanya satu, kemauan yang kuat. Harus diakui, itu (memberantas korupsi) memang susah karena korupsi itu nikmat. Apalagi, saat memegang sebuah jabatan.

Contohnya saja posisi kapolda. Siapa sih yang tidak mau jadi kapolda. Ibaratnya, tinggal batuk, apa yang kita inginkan langsung datang. Pertanyaannya, mau atau tidak terjerumus di dalamnya (korupsi). Kalau saya, jelas tidak. Itu hanya kenikmatan duniawi sesaat saja. Untuk apa sih duit banyak-banyak hingga tidak habis tujuh turunan. Gaji saya saja sekarang sudah besar. Mobil dikasih. Bensin gratis. Ada uang tunjangan ini-itu. Sudah lebih dari cukup. Anak-anak saya juga sudah kerja semua. Bahkan, gajinya lebih besar dari saya.

Lalu, langkah apa yang akan Anda buat agar Polda Jabar giat mengungkap kasus korupsi?

Seperti saya katakan tadi, bersih-bersih dulu di dalam. Jika sudah bersih di dalam, baru membersihkan di luar. Dan kasus korupsi akan menjadi salah satu target kami. Kami akan genjot pengungkapan kasus korupsi biar Jabar bergetar.

Untuk itu, kami akan berkoordinasi dengan PPATK untuk mengusut kasus-kasus korupsi di Jabar yang melibatkan pejabat publik. PPATK pasti mau membantu asalkan anggota saya bersih dan bisa dipercaya. Kita juga bisa diberi kasus-kasus. Kalau tidak bersih dan tetap “bermain” bagaimana bisa dipercaya. Kalau orang sudah percaya sama kita, maka banyak kasus yang masuk.

Akan tetapi, bukan karena basic saya di korupsi sehingga korupsi digenjot. Kasus lainnya juga dikerjakan. Dan, untuk itu harus tertib administrasi, salah satunya dengan membuat sistem pelaporan perkara berbasis IT yang terintegrasi dari polsek hingga ke polda. Untuk apa? Agar kita tahu setiap ada perkara yang masuk.

Jadi, alangkah bodohnya seorang kapolda jika tidak mengetahui jumlah perkara di jajarannya. Kalau jumlahnya saja tidak tahu, bagaimana tahu isi perkaranya. Dalam sistem pelaporan perkara tersebut, nantinya ada klasifikasi perkara. Perkara mana yang porsinya polda, polwil, polres, dan polsek. Untuk polda, misalnya kasus teror dan korupsi. Soal lapor boleh di mana saja.

Kita juga harus mempertanggungjawabkan hal itu ke pelapor dengan mengirim surat kepada pelapor bahwa kasusnya ditangani oleh penyidik ini, ini, dan ini. Kemajuannya dilaporkan secara berkala. Ini akan menjadi standar penilaian untuk penyidik. Dan kapolda mengetahui semua ini karena sistemnya ada sehingga tidak pabaliut. Saya paling tidak suka yang pabaliut-pabaliut. Mungkin, bagi sebagian orang, pabaliut itu enak karena sesuatu yang tidak tertib administrasi itu paling enak untuk diselewengkan. Benar tidak?

Langkah Anda memberantas pungli dan korupsi di tubuh Polda Jabar kemungkinan akan memberi efek pada pengungkapan kasus dengan alasan anggaran yang minim. Menurut Anda?

Kalau kita pandang minim, pasti minim terus. Kapan cukupnya. Kalau anggaran sudah habis, jangan dipaksakan memeras orang untuk menyidik. Mencari klien yang kehilangan barang di sini, memeras di tempat lain. Siapa yang suruh? Bilang saja sama rakyat, anggaran kita sudah habis untuk menyidik. Kita tidak perlu sok pahlawan.

Perilaku memeras atau menerima setoran itu zaman jahiliah. Tidak perlu ada lagi anggota setor ke kasat lantas atau kasat serse, lalu kasat serse setor ke kapolres, dan kapolres setor ke kapolwil untuk melayani kapolda. Jangan pernah setori saya. Lingkaran setan itu saya putus agar tidak ada lagi sistem setoran.

Bukan zamannya lagi seorang kapolsek, kapolres atau kapolwil bangga karena mampu membangun kantornya dengan megah. Dari mana duitnya kalau bukan dari setoran orang-orang yang takut ditangkap, seperti pengusaha judi, dan penyelundupan. Tidak mungkin dari gaji, wong gajinya hanya Rp 5-6 juta.

Menurut saya, anggota yang melakukan itu hanya satu alasannya, ingin kaya. Kalau ingin kaya, jangan jadi polisi, tetapi jadilah pengusaha.

Sikap Anda tersebut kemungkinan memunculkan pro dan kontra di lingkungan kepolisian?

Lho, kenapa harus jadi pro dan kontra. Peraturannya sudah jelas mana yang boleh dilakukan dan mana yang tidak boleh. Korupsi jelas-jelas dilarang dan ancamannya bisa dipecat. Jadi, tidak perlu diperdebatkan. Titik.

Bagi saya, siapa yang menjadi pemimpin harus mau mengorbankan kenikmatan dan kepuasan semu. Nikmat dengan pelayanan, dengan sanjungan, serta nikmat dengan pujian palsu. Malu dong bintang dua jalan petantang-petenteng, tetapi anak buah yang dipimpinnya korupsi dan memberikan pelayanan tidak sesuai dengan standar. Malu juga dong kita lewat seenaknya pakai nguing-nguing (pengawalan), sementara rakyat macet. Itu juga korupsi.

Polisi yang korup sama saja dengan melacurkan diri. Jadi, kalau saya korup dengan menerima setoran-setoran tidak jelas, apa bedanya saya dengan pelacur. ***

Asia Blog Network launched

Finally Budi Putra has revealed another project of his, Asia Blog Network. Since he quit his full time job as a journalist, people thought he “just” blog, since that’s his current title anyway – professional blogger.

Well, now you know that’s not really the case 🙂 professional blogger doesn’t mean a limitation to just “blog and slap some adsense adverts on my blog. then lay back on my couch wait for the money to pour in“. I can’t blame these kind of opinions at all, especially with the previous “failure” of professional bloggers such as Kottke. In reality, professional blogging nowadays can be so much more than that, the great thing about it is that you’re only limited by your creativity. Trust me when I say that Budi still has many more up his sleeve.

Budi has been working hard behind the scene on various creative projects related to blog. Asia Blogging Network is just one of it, and it’s quite spectacular in my opinion. Of course I’m highly biased 🙂 since I’m one of its co-founder. But I do like and agree with his visions, and admire his creativity; and that’s why I agreed to assist him on this project. I especially most interested to empower the citizens’ voice — you, me, all of us. Blog is one of such platform which enable us to do just this. And all of the founders are passionate about it. I’m so lucky to be able to find such group of people.

Here’s looking forward to the success of Asia Blogging Network.

Indonesia never got any share of profit from ExxonMobil’s operation in Natuna

After 12 years of operation in Natuna, it was revealed by Alvin Lie, a member of the parliament, last week that Indonesia never got any share of the profit from ExxonMobil, the company which got the contract to manage the natural gas resources in Natuna. It’s among the most interesting, with an estimate of 46 trillion feet cubic of natural gas when surveyed on 1973.

This has been confirmed by Kardaya Warnika, Head of Oil and Gas Management (BP Migas). He said that from 1980 to 1994, Indonesia still got a percentage of profit share from ExxonMobil’s (then Esso) Natuna operation. But on 1994, Pertamina and Esso changed the contract, entitling Esso to 100% of the revenue from the operation. Indonesian central government only got the tax payment from them.

Oil expert Kurtubi said that this is very strange, considering that normal profit-sharing agreement usually divides profit in 60% – 40% scheme — the government getting 60% of the profit, and the contractor entitled to 40% of it. And this is after paying the tax.

ExxonMobil’s speaker, Deva Rahman, refused the allegation. He said that the Natuna situation is different. With over 70% CO2 content, it require high cost and technology for its operation. He said that the agreement has been understood and mutually agreed between the parties involved.

Speaker for Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM, Jaringan Advokasi Tambang), Andre S. Wijaya, said that this is not the only case. He said that ExxonMobil also works on a scheme that put Indonesian government and people in a losing position in their Aceh operation.

Source: Radio Nederland

Indonesian Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a novel project. An effort to build an encyclopedia, which content is contributed by anyone willing to do so. The content then will be examined by anyone as well, and anyone may have their say regarding whether a specific content is appropriate or not. A form of the true democracy indeed.

When I first experienced the Internet back on 1996, I thought, wouldn’t it be great, if this (the Internet) can be used to pool our collective knowledge ? With Wikipedia (among others), the idea became a reality.

Even better – Indonesian Wikipedia has shown up for some time now. It’s the same Wikipedia too, built by Indonesian people, for Indonesian, in Indonesian language.
The amount of its contents has reached about 1000 MB (this is just the texts, not yet including pictures). This is quite an accomplishment and we should salute all of the contributotors of the project.

However, there’s one problem – the server (Indonesian Wikipedia) is located abroad. Due to limited external bandwidth, most of the time, access to this encyclopedia can be painfully slow.
Also there has been ideas to compile an offline version of it, which then can be distributed to schools and anyone who may need it. This would be rather troublesome with the current situation.

Thanks to Groups.or.id efforts, we can now enjoy Indonesian Wikipedia at blisteringly fast speed. This mirror will be updated roughly every week.

Note that the mirror is read-only. Which means if you wish to contribute to Wikipedia, then you’ll need to go to its main server.

Information is now not only free, but also can be obtained speedily. Thanks to everyone involved.

Link:
[Mirror of Indonesian Wikipedia ]

Inside Indonesia’s War on Terror

I was alerted by a friend of mine about a special documentary made by SBS titled “Inside Indonesia’s War on Terror”. He said that this documentary has exposed the terror-network which involves USA government, Indonesian Police & Army, Interpol, and so on.

Unfortunately, SBS has pulled down the show’s transcript from its website. “The transcript is currently unavailable”, that’s all to it there.

However, copies of it has spread all over the Internet. A copy of it can be read here: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20051014&articleId=1085

Indonesia is no stranger to this kind of set ups. Many of us still remember the “Komando Jihad” (translation: Jihad Commando) – it was created by General Ali Moertopo.

Today is truly the time of “fitnah” / lies.
I hope God will continue to help us to expose these, and brings peace soon to our world. Amen.

Below is a copy of the show’s transcript for your convenience.

Continue reading Inside Indonesia’s War on Terror

Mind your own business, Uncle Sam

US gov’t and its allies (especially Australia & Singapore gov’t) would love to see Indonesia to crumble apart to small nations. That would mean less one potential threat, and a lot of weak nations to bully for its natural resources.

We have had numerous revolts here, which have enjoyed external assistance. Indonesian army and police have caught many weapons and goods shipment to these rebels.

While we rejoiced at the moment for the peace treaty on Aceh, US gov’t continue its work. Now it demanded that Papua to be given independence.

I saw in Republika newspaper today (last page), that Lynn Pascoe said that Papuan people has not enjoyed good service from Indonesian gov’t.

Excuse me, Sir ! Please stop acting so righteous, Mr I-am-so-Perfect.
Mind your own people first. Stop making your own children’s suffering.

And more importantly, stop acting oh-so-good for YOUR own benefit.
(no problem if it’s really sincere, but history told us that’s not the case)

Forest fire in Indonesia

Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia was protested several times during the forest fire, which caused thick smoke to engulf Singapore, Malaysia, and even as far as Thailand. The smoke has dropped visibility in main Malaysian cities, and caused respiratory problems for Malaysian citizens.

However, it turned out that the offenders are Malaysian-owned companies in Indonesia.
They burned the forest to clear the land. And in the process, caused serious problems for thousands of people.

I sure hope these criminals got the full 15 years sentence. They richly deserved it.

Problems with Tsunami Aid for Aceh

While your average John/Jane Doe donates generously and with no strings attached whatsoever – the big institutions are giving their donations reluctantly, and many came with so many strings attached, even a spider can be trapped in it.

I’ll document them in this post for your information :

  • Published as aid – but in reality, just another loan : USA was especially stingy about its aid to the tsunami victims, and only after being whipped by [ Mr. Egeland ] did they start increasing their “aid”. However, then it turned out that aid from them and several other countries are, in fact, loans. While Japan and other countries donated US$ 500 million straight away and with no strings attached.
    Another loan is actually harmful, since Indonesia is already very deep in debt, most of its budget is allocated for debt / interest payment – not for its own people.
  • Published as aid – but in reality, still unrealised / just a pledge: Another trick is to boast about one’s aid to the tsunami victim, while haven’t actually giving it out. If we looked into the Bam earthquake disaster in Iran, where US$ 1 billion was pledged but only a miniscule US$ 17.5 millions was realised, I think the victims would be better to forget about it now.
  • Published as aid – in reality; hidden conversion and/or kidnapping : Wahington Post already published that 300 orphans were taken from Aceh by WorldHelp, to be raised as Christians. This is SO wrong because (a) This is kidnapping, since Indonesian government has already forbid taking Acehnese children to outside Aceh, and (b) I don’t care about people preaching their religion to others, but when you have NO CHOICE (ie: you became a victim, taken away, then WILL be raised as Christians) then this is plain disgusting and an insult to their dead parents (which wouldn’t want to see their kids raised as non-Muslim).

If you have any more info about other disgusting acts at the time of this crisis, please let me know by commenting in this post. Help stop dishonest institutions/people from taking credit for what really is a crime, or something that they didn’t do.

Thank you.

The Real US Gov’t

US gov’t likes to be seen as the generous and caring Uncle Sam. However, they true self was revealed momentarily, when the tsunami disaster hit Asia a few days ago.

When nations are donating vast amount of aid and money, US gov’t donated less than even Sweden.

Only after Jan Egeland, Norwegian UN undersecretary, criticised them severely, then US gov’t suddenly increased their donation and moved their troops into the disaster area.

Now US troops are among the most efficient helper in the area, but that won’t happen without the smack from Egeland. For that, Mr Jan Egeland, please accept my thanks on behalf of Aceh people and other victims – and we sincerely hope that Mr Bush’s wrath on your statement won’t cost you anything too dearly 🙁

The sky is falling !!

Just saw a news on BBC saying that UK economy is falling, blah blah… however, the main reason shocked me – the falling of house prices.

IMF and other “economy experts” are saying that because house price is falling rather significantly (for the first time in several years’ time, if I may add), the economy suffers.
With little people already having serious problem securing a home for their families, I’m seriously wondering whose economy is falling here !!

If increasing house price = good economy according to the “experts” — then I’ll say that if those experts undergoes lobotomy, it’ll be actually better for everyone concerned.

🙁 some seriously f*cked up thinking is going on here. I sincerely hope that I won’t be the only one noticing this.

US gov’t screwed Iraqis again – poor farmers forced to enrich US food cartels

USA gov’t has done it again – they’ve screwed the people of another country (Iraq) so hard, and now they’ve put a law that will enable them to continue doing so for decades in the future:
Iraqis forced to buy GM seeds

And people are wondering why the rest of the world hates America.
Americans seriously need to get together and do something to stop their gov’t from keep on terrorizing the rest of the world like this.

The article is posted below as well for your convenience.
(I hope the source doesn’t mind)


Iraqis forced to buy GM seed

Saturday, 30 October 2004
by Focus on the Global South and GRAIN
http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=6

When former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad after the so-called “transfer of sovereignty” in June 2004, he left behind the 100 orders he enacted as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq. Among them is Order 81 on “Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety.” [1] This order amends Iraq’s original patent law of 1970 and unless and until it is revised or repealed by a new Iraqi government, it now has the status and force of a binding law. [2] With important implications for farmers and the future of agriculture in Iraq, this order is yet another important component in the United States’ attempts to radically transform Iraq’s economy.
Continue reading US gov’t screwed Iraqis again – poor farmers forced to enrich US food cartels

A gov’t doing the right thing

When Peru decided to pass a law ensuring the freedom from IT lock-in, Microsoft responded by spreading a FUD campaign to force them to reconsider the bill. In reply, a Peru congressman wrote this letter to Microsoft:
Peruvian opensource nightmare for Microsoft

I must say that piece of law is quite englightened, and a good example to follow for other governments. They’re not extreme on things, not even sided blindly to open-source. Instead, the law ensure freedom from IT lock-in, and that’s all.
So actually if Microsoft can fulfill that requirements, then they’d be free to join in as well.

Shame on Microsoft again.

100,000 homeless families in UK

United Kingdom, 4th richest country in the world, now confirmed to have 100,000 families without a home:
BBC – Homeless families total 100,000

The government is legally obliged to provide housing to its people by a law that has been in effect since 2002. So really, heads should start to roll.

The government tried to side-step the issue by saying things like most of the families are not on the street, that they’re already in shelters / hostels / cheap accommodation.
That’s not the issue as some of you may have spotted already – housing is a basic human need, even more so in places with extreme climates like UK. Therefore it should be considered a right to own a house, not a privilege.

However, as I’ve noted before, the basics of the system are already flawed. I feel so sorry to the people who is in this mess, and wish them the best.