Indo Tambangraya to invest $200m in 2009

PT Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITM), the Indonesian subsidiary of Thailand's biggest coal producer Banpu Pcl., plans to raise its capital expenditure in Indonesia by more than double next year compared to a year earlier, to increase its production capacity.

Somyot Ruchirawat, ITM's president director, said the company would spend US$200 million next year, up from $71.5 million forecast for 2008.

"The funding is from our internal budget. We would not use any loans," Ruchirawat said.

The budget will mainly be used to expand the company's mining capacity in Tandung Mayang, Kutai Kartanegara Regency in East Kalimantan, which is operated by PT Kitadin, one of ITM's subsidiaries.

"We are going to invest in equipment to increase freight capacity. This project alone will cost us about $60 million," Ruchirawat said.

He was quick to add that these figures and the size of the project could still change, if adjustments were needed due to the current financial situation.

"Because of the economic situation, we are reviewing some projects and acquisition plans to see whether what we are going to invest will satisfy our shareholders or not."

The company however will move forward with projects such as the expansion of its coal port facility in Bontang, East Kalimantan to increase handling capacity to 18.5 million tons from the current capacity of 12.5 million tons.

ITM is the fourth largest coal producer in Indonesia.

As of September this year, the company produced 13.2 million tons of coal, up from 12.9 million tons in the same period last year.

It has reduced its 2008 coal sales target to 18.1 million tons from an initial target of 19.5 tons, because of heavy rain in Kalimantan which has made mining more difficult.

The company hopes to produce 20.5 million tons of coal next year. It exports 90 percent of its production.

As the domestic obligation for coal producers will be enforced next year, ITM will increase its sales to domestic buyers, Ruchirawat said. -- Alfian

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Shoe producers take a beating as demand slows

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 11/22/2008 9:37 PM | Business

The East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Saturday that shoe factories in the province were already suffering from the impact of the global economic slow down.

Chairman Erlangga Satriagung said that demand for products from the U.S. and Europe had already decreased by 40 percent compared to the same period last year.

“Moreover, prices of imported raw materials have also risen, due to stronger dollar,” Erlangga said as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that the shoe industry in East Java employed some 35,000 workers and that their livelihood were threatened if the government failed to come up with measures to curb pressure from the sloping demand.

So far, he argued, the government and the central bank had yet to come out with meaningful measures to cushion the burden carried by employers.

“Nobody is happy to close his own business and fire all his workers, unless he is force to do so,” he said. (and)

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Demand for RI workers remains high in Singapore

Apriadi Gunawan , The Jakarta Post , Singapore | Mon, 11/24/2008 11:36 AM | Potpourri


JP/SuherdjokoJP/Suherdjoko

Ade Makage can't wait for every Sunday to roll around, as it is the day where she can meet fellow Indonesian migrant workers at Pasir Ris area in Singapore.

On Sundays, Ade, a female migrant worker (Tenaga Kerja Wanita, or TKW) from Mandao, gets to meet with her friends from an Indonesian fellowship club and enjoy leisure activities together.

One of the routine activities that members of the group enjoy is praying together at one of the biggest churches in Pasir Ris. Afterwards, the TKW stroll along the beach together while sharing stories.

The TKW, who are mostly maids, tell each share the ups and downs of working away from home.

Ade said she planned to stop working as a maid because she wanted to look for a new working experience.

"It's possible that in the near future I will quit working as a maid because I know of an opening in another place as a waitress," Ade told her friends on one of their recent Sunday walks.

Ade said she was excited about the new work opportunity because the salary was higher: While working as a maid she was paid S$240 (Rp 1.9 million) per month. Meanwhile, the new position offered a salary of S$6 (Rp 47,000) per hour.

Suharti, a TKW from Solo, told her friends she was pleased to be working as a maid in Singapore because she received a bigger salary than that which she previously earned in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The mother of three said she could send money home every three months to cover her children's school fees.

"Working here (in Singapore) I can collect money for my children's education back home in our village," said Suharti, who previously worked as a maid in both Malaysia and Indonesia.

"It's enough when compared with the salary I received when I worked in Malaysia and Indonesia, and I couldn't save anything," she said.

Suharti said her current salary as a maid in Singapore was S$340 (Rp 2.7 million) per month. She added that she had not thought about returning to Indonesia just yet, because she wanted to continue working in Singapore to support her family.

Sundays are enjoyed by the members of other Indonesian fellowship clubs in Singapore.

Botol Panjaitan, one of the many Indonesian migrant workers employed by the industrial sector in Singapore, said there were many clubs for Indonesian people who worked in Singapore.

The 32-year-old said the Indonesian fellowship club in Singapore that had the largest number of members was IndoSing.

"IndoSing membership has now reached more than 1,000 people. The IndoSing members gather every Sunday and often communicate via chatting on the Internet," Panjaitan said.

Panjaitan, who has been working in Singapore for less than one year, said he had seen that the activities carried out by clubs for Indonesians who work in Singapore was positive, especially in improving relationships.

"The friendship of Indonesian workers in Singapore is so strong because they often communicate through the Internet and gather together in various places," said Panjaitan.

Singapore's senior minister of state for foreign affairs, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, said the number of Indonesians working in Singapore had reached around 60,000. Most worked as maids, with the number of Indonesian citizens working as professionals in the country was still low.

"Singapore still needs workers from Indonesia. We hope that these will be professional people; this is important so they are able to compete with workers from other countries and Singapore citizens," Rasheed told The Jakarta Post recently.

Rasheed added that apart from being professional it was hoped that Indonesian workers would develop knowledge of the customs and daily lives of Singaporeans.

When asked about the number of Indonesian workers needed by Singapore, Rasheed said the quantity was unlimited because there were still many sectors, such as the industry sector, that needed professional workers.

Rasheed said that to protect foreign workers in Singapore, including those from Indonesia, his role was to ensure the application of the laws that guaranteed worker safety.

"In recent months we have found some cases of violence towards foreign workers here, but all cases have been processed according to the legislation.

"We never tolerate situations where Singaporean citizens act roughly toward foreign workers," Rasheed said.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Nusa Penida: A sanctuary for the endangered Bali Starling

Trisha Sertori , Contributor , Ubud | Thu, 11/20/2008 10:43 AM | Surfing Bali

Bali Starling breeder and veterinarian Bayu Wirayudha of the Friends of the National Parks Foundation has turned around the extinction of the bird species, with 45 juveniles born in the wild from released, captive-bred parents. (JP/J. B. Djwan)

On a small island off Bali's coast, Nusa Penida, a little white bird with a vivid blue mask is successfully breeding in the wild.

Over the past six months, 45 of the 65 Bali Starlings bred and released by the Begawan Giri and Friends of the National Parks Foundations since 2006 have hatched offspring.

While not native to Nusa Penida, the Bali Starling has been released on the island in an effort to ensure its survival in the wild.

Back on Bali, where the Bali Starling is the province's emblem, the bird has become critically endangered through poaching and loss of habitat.

Bali Starling breeder and veterinarian, Bayu Wirayudha of Friends of the National Parks Foundation, said the reason for the difference in the birds' survival is simple; on Nusa Penida, traditional laws on the protection of birds and animals are still in place.

"But in West Bali, where the Bali Starling has been bred in captivity and released into the West Bali National Park for decades ... there is not this traditional land-based law," said Bayu.

Shifting breeding of the Bali Starling to Nusa Penida has drawn the ire of some organizations, Bayu said, however the recent bird count of 45 birds born in the wild on the island tells Bayu his experiment in creating new colonies in safe zones is working.

Creating new colonies for endangered birds is often a successful method of preventing extinction of a species. The United States Fish and Wildlife service is currently working with scientists to relocate the endangered short-tailed albatross from its volcanic Torishima Island breeding grounds in Japan to the Bonin Islands -- at a cost of US$5.67 million, writes the Environment News Service website.

The 45 Bali Starlings bred and hatched on Nusa Penida have brought wild populations of the Bali Starling back from the abyss of extinction.

For almost a century, the Bali Starling has been at threat of extinction. Bird counts from 1912 show a contraction in habitat range and by 1966 the bird was declared endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). In 1978, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) placed the Bali Starling on its critical list.

The Indonesian Government and bird protection organizations around the world saw, as early as the 1980's, that immediate action was needed to prevent the bird from being lost in the wild. Captive breeding programs were successfully established in Bali, however birds released into the wild were quickly poached and populations of the bird continued to plummet.

Unlike most starling species, the Bali Starling with its white feathers and vivid blue mask is a highly attractive bird. Its beauty spelt its downfall, with poachers collecting both wild and captive-bred released birds for sale; and at Rp 5 million to Rp 10 million per bird, poaching in Bali's national parks was a lucrative business.

"The only reason for their extinction is illegal poaching. All starling breeds are very adaptable and can live by the sea, in mountain zones, urban regions and grasslands," said Bayu.

"The Bali Starling is simply too beautiful and everyone wants one as a caged bird -- it's about prestige," said Bayu of the bird that is found in greater numbers in aviaries in England or America than in the wild on its home territory.

Bayu began breeding the Bali Starling in captivity at the Bali Bird Park in 1992.

"We were the first people to officially breed the Bali Starling. The bird had been declared endangered in 1966 by IUCN and on the CITES critical list by '78," said Bayu, adding if populations were numbered below 20, they were classified as extinct.

There were grave fears that the Bali Starling, with constantly falling numbers, could reach a crisis point in wild breeding viability.

"Until a recent release in the West Bali National Park, there were believed to be less than 10 birds in the wild. However, in 2005, I could only count five birds and of those only one was not closed-banded.

"Closed-banded birds have all been bred in captivity. That suggests of those five birds only one had bred naturally in the wild ...," said Bayu.

He added that bird counts in the Bali Barat National Park showed populations would grow with captive bred releases, then plummet sharply, suggesting a high level of poacher activity.

"Its easy work for the poachers when there are a lot of birds; we see the population grow and then overnight it collapses. Poachers can collect a lot of birds in a couple of days and make a lot of money."

And it is the poacher problem that has been the cause of population failures on Bali, Bayu said. Addressing that issue at the grassroots level is why Nusa Penida island was seen as a safe haven for released birds.

"We started the Nusa Penida program in April 2004. We located nine villages that still had traditional laws protecting birds, so we were not bringing in a totally new idea.

"We then met with 16 other villages to discuss bird protection person to person," said Bayu, adding that by June 2006, all villages on Nusa Penida had written bird protection into their traditional laws.

"Each village has its own bird protection law and punishments. One village even purchased all the caged birds in their village and released them ... their regulation states there is no reason to have caged birds, Bayu said.

Despite high levels of poverty on Nusa Penida, to date not one bird has been poached, says Bayu of a conservation project that depends on the support of local people for its success.

"In rural regions, people still have great respect for traditional laws. When birds are released from captive breeding we hold a ceremony in the temple and the birds are blessed. So the Bali Starling on Nusa Penida is protected by government law, local law and also by God, from the temple blessing."

Convincing people from impoverished villages that they had a role to play in protecting wildlife called for genuine support for those villages, said Bayu. But with sponsorship from Bank Danamon, American Express, Pertamina and Karya Tangan Indah, agro farming of white teak, mahogany and sandalwood trees for farmers as well as reforestation is now underway across the island.

"Nusa Penida had positive press for their protection of the Bali Starling and that made them really proud. Before that Nusa Penida was seen as a poor and dry area.

"If the bird release is the main course in this, the side menu must somehow help locals ... this is the idea behind the agro forestry and reforestation program, to improve the environment and economy," said Bayu of the grassroots approach to conservation and wildlife protection that is benefiting all.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Young leopard fighting fit, ready to return to the wild

Theresia Sufa , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 11/20/2008 10:36 AM | City

LOOKING FOR FREEDOM: An injured two-year-old leopard, Aceng, looks out of his cage at the Gadog animal center in Bogor. He is waiting to be released back to Karang Mountain in Pandeglang, Bogor, where he was found injured by a trap two months ago. (JP/Theresia Sufa)

Vets are considering releasing a two-year-old leopard caught in an animal trap in August back into its natural habitat in the protected forest area on Karang Mountain in Bogor.

The leopard's rear leg was caught in the trap placed by locals to ensnare deer and wild boar in late August.

Residents of Saninten village, Pandeglang, Bogor, released the animal from the contraption and named the animal Aceng.

Upon learning of the incident, two NGOs, the Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia (ASTI) and International Animal Rescue, tracked down the animal, captured it and nursed it back to health at Gadog animal rescue center.

"After two months, its condition has improved. We wanted to release it on Nov. 10, but we postponed it because we have not received any response from the West Java Center for Natural Resource Conservation (BKSDA)," said deputy head of ASTI Bogor Andy Sean Kindangen.

"The BKSDA said before that they would let us release it as long as the villagers were fine with it. So we asked the villagers repeatedly about it and apparently they are looking forward to Aceng's return," he added.

Andy said it was crucial to release the animal immediately, so that it would not become domesticated and forget its survival instincts.

"We are happy if Aceng acts wildly and aggressively. It shows that it is in good condition. If it just stays quiet and lazy, we will be worried ... We are racing against time to release him while he remains in good condition," he said.

Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta, has said it will accept the creature should it not adapt back to the wild.

Of the 76 animals being held at the center, only 50 are expected to be released back into the wild.

The future of the center, which has been threatened by financial woes, was given a boost recently when the center signed a cooperation agreement with the ASTI, which was formed by animal lovers Andy and Annette Elizabeth Pipe.

The center welcomes animal lovers to adopt the animals in a three-month contract in which the parent would cover the animal's food costs.

The cheapest animal to adopt is a snake that eats Rp 150,000 (US$13) worth of amphibians and reptiles per month.

Fans of the more cuddly animal varieties may opt to foster the center's honey bear at a cost of Rp 800,000 per month.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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