Bambang Hendarso promised to organize the internal reformation in Indonesia Police Department

Chief of Indonesia Police Department (Kapolri) General Bambang Hendarso Danuri, promised (30/9) that he will organize the internal reformation in his institution as his main priority agenda.

To supports the internal reformation, Bambang promised will arrange the clean recruitment in order that the police officers who passed in Police Academy or Police School will be free from corruption and collusion. He also said that he will continue the programs that have been scheduled by his former, General Sutanto.

Bambang said that there will be some crimes he focused on such as drugs, illegal logging,and terrorism. “We even to more hard works. We will punish the police officers and state official who neglect the crimes in the society. This is a commitment.” said Bambang.

The shortest priority now is to prepare Indonesia Police in order to face and secure National Election 2009.

Sholat Id on the pond of Lapindo Muds

Hundreds of victims of Lapindo mud, Sidoarjo, East Java, held Sholat Id on Wednesday (1/10) morning on the mound (causeway) in Ketapang, Tanggulangin. As the twice Lebaran before, they held Sholat Id with the apprehensive condition. For some people, this ceremony is so special as there are some troops guarded this event. Most of the people were crying of their unnecessary destiny and remember to those who passed away because the muds.

However, they are still concentrate to listen to the discourse speeched by khatib Imam Hambali. He pointed that the victims should not give up to struggle their rights for compensation.

Snippers held along the East Java traffic lines

During the Operation Ketupat 2008, East Java Regional Police Department (Polda Jatim) has prepared snippers along the traffic lines that estimated disturbed by crimes. The main priority traffic liners will be held of snippers are boundary of East Java – Central Java in Tuban, the road of Tuban – Babat, and the road of Tuban – Gresik. For eastern area, snippers will be held along the road of Pasuruan – Probolinggo. The Chief of Operational Bureau of Polda Jatim, Kombes Pol A Madjid Tawil said (29/9) there will be 500 policemen involved in Operation Ketupat 2008 came from Gegana Brimob (Anti-Bombing Division), Densus 88 Anti-Terror and also regular Samapta troops.

The snippers will be held to ensure that the distribution of foods, oil, and other important stuff will not robber along the traffic lines. He also affirmed that snippers have a right to shooting down the robbers and pillager who want to hijack the trucks. Some of the robbers and pillagers known as a cold-blood that will not doubt to hurt or kill the victims.

The snippers also assignment to secure the travelers (pemudik-Indonesian) in those main traffic lines from crimes as mostly they bring much money, jewelry and other luxury stuffs as their success symbols struggling in the city.

The security of the city that has been left by their residents is also part of the snippers assignment during this operation. Most city now in deserted condition where more than half of their resident have traveled into the rural area near the city. Therefore snippers will be pointed in supermarkets, big stores, real estates, expatriate-residences, hotels, main roads, inner city roads. Beside carrying the complete weapons, the snippers also completed by the night visions stuffs. They will arranged by 24 hours shifts. For some people, the snippers for this Opearation Ketupat 2008 is likely elite-troops that will be delivered to the war zone rather that securing the traffic lines.

A baby died during queuing in Gilimanuk Port, Bali

The peak of Lebaran Mudik that hapenned since Sunday (28/9) has caused stacked of vehicles in the important and main traffic lines, including in Gilimanuk Seaport, Bali.

The stacking of vehicles that queuing up to enter the port has caused victims.  A 3 months-aged baby reported die in her mother’s carrying while involve in the 8 hours hot-sunny queuing in Gilimanuk Port, Bali. The baby was predicted dehydration and stress in the middle of queuing. She and his parents were going to go back to their village in East Java by motorcycle before Idul Fitri festive.

Smuggling of thousands fireworks in Ambon

Two days before Idul Fitri festive, the police apparatus in Ambon has failed the smuggling of 6 packages fireworks. Thousands of fireworks have been confiscated from the sailboat Bukit Siguntang. The very dangerous fireworks disguised in some pockets with other stuffs and estimated amounting 70 million rupiahs.

The chief of Maluku Police Department, Brigadier General (Pol) Mudji Waluyo has warning and ask to the society for not to fire the fireworks during Ramadhan in order to keep the safe and condusive situation in Maluku.

He mentioned that everyone who sell and or use the fireworks will be arrested under the law especially if there will be victims, one can be arrested 1 until 8 years jailed.

The Zakat

The workload of the committee of religious obligatory (zakat) in some mosques in Indonesia in couple of days to the Idul Fitri festive has been significant seen. This is relevant to the Islamic lesson that the muslim must secrete the “zakat fitrah” to complete their fasting in the form of money or foods such as rice.

Some people take the distribution of their obligatory (zakat) to the committee of obligatory. However, some of them who rarely more financially-proper prefer to distribute their obligatory by themselves direct to the poor.

There can be thousands people come to the obligatory distribution, so that there surely incidents among them. This condition often causing some victims of injury and dead as what happened in Pasuruan, East Java where almost 21 people dead during distribution.

Based on Badan Amil Zakat Nasional (National Obligatory Board) –Baznas – the potency of the obligatory (zakat) in Indonesia during 2008 can reach 16,3 billion rupiah. But in fact the realization is only 500 million rupiah annual.

RI bracing for exodus of Idul Fitri travelers

September 13, 2008

Absorbed from ANTARA News

Jakarta, (ANTARA News) – Virtually all big cities in Indonesia are currently bracing themselves for an exodus of an estimated 15.8 million people who are to spend the annual Idul Fitri post-fasting month holidays in their home towns or villages later this month.

In the runup to the D-Day of the Idul Fitri season which according to the official calendar this year falls on October 1, the government is preparing and repairing various modes of transportation to serve the home-going people.

In Indonesia, where most of its 228 million population are Muslims, the end of the Ramadhan fasting month , locally called `Lebaran`, is an important event where most urban workers and their families would return to their home towns or villages to have reunions with relatives and old friends.

This year the number of home-bound travelers is expected to increase by 6.14.

Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said the number of this year`s Idul Fitri home-going travelers would reach 15.8 million, or an increase of 6.14 percent compared with last year`s.

“Of the number, 9.9 million will travel using land transportation, 1 million by sea and 1.9 million by air,” the minister told the press last week.

In order to facilitate transportation means for travelers, the government has prepared transportation seats which reached 35.67 million. This seems to have exceeded the estimated demands for seats at only 15.8 million. “So, the availability of seats will be guaranteed,” the minister said.

Besides transportation facilities, the government is also determined to provide security for people during the Lebaran exodus.

Security apparatuses, police officers and military personnel are all ready to safeguard transportation during the Lebaran festivities.

“Security preparations in 8 main provinces are also being made,” Minister Jusman Syafii added.

Head of Police Headquarters for Operational Affairs, Brig Gen Edhi Susilo said police in the efforts to secure the Lebaran festivities would launch an operation code-named “Operasi Ketupat 2008″ which would be reinforced with about 43,700 personnel.

As the number of two-wheel vehicle travelers is expected to reach 2.5 million, police have made anticipatory preparations to escort them.

Other preparations are being made by the government in the runup to the Lebaran festivities are facilities for land, air and sea (inland waterways) transportation services.

At least 67 ferries will be operated to cater passengers who will leave Java island to Sumatra, Madura and Bali.

PT Indonesia Ferry said it would operate 25 ferries of the ro-ro (roll-on-roll-off) type to serve Idul Fitri passengers who would cross the Sunda Strait from Java to Sumatra.

“During the peak season, all of the ships will be operated,” PT Indonesia Ferry President Director Bambang Soerjanto said last week.

He said that the state-owned company was making preparations in all lines of the ferry service. “Our target is to provide services far better than the one we provided last year,” he added.

Like in Merak port, preparations are also made for passengers who will use ferry services from East Java to Bali through the Ketapang-Gilimanuk ports.

A total of 24 ferry ships are now standby with good conditions, except two which are now still under repair in a dockyard in East Java. They will ply the Bali strait to serve passengers.

“The repair of the ship will be finished 10 days before Lebaran,” Didik Budiastono of the Seaworthiness Affairs of the Ketapang Port said on Thursday. He said the two ferries were actually on a routine docking in Surabaya, provincial capital of East Java.

Other Idul Fitri travelers in Java who will celebrate the festivities in Madura island will also be served by at least 18 ferries. The 18 ships are prepared by the Inland Waterway Transportation Service (ASDP) of Ujung Kamal, Bangkalan (Madura).

Soetarjo of the ASDP said of the 19 ships, 12 were regular ones and 6 others were non regular which were especially prepared for the Lebaran event.

In the meantime, for passengers who intend to travel by air, the Transportation Ministry is making efforts to increase seat capacity by concluding increase frequency flight approvals (FA) with airlines.

“We are preparing at least 35 FAs in the face of home-going Idul Fitri exodus,” Air Transportation Director General Tri Sunoko said on Thursday.

The effort would at least add flight seats of flag carrier Garuda Indonesia which were reported to have almost been fully booked. PT Garuda Indonesia said tickets for regular flight were now almost fully booked for this year`s Idul Fitry holidays.

According to Tri Sunoko, the 35 additional FAs are new flight routes created to serve passengers. They are proposed by Sriwijaya Air (14 routes), Mandala Air (4 routes), Batavia Air (6 routes), Garuda and Lion Air (11 routes).

The government predicted that about 1.8 million of 15.8 Idul Fitri travelers will use air transportation service this year. This is an increase by 9 percent compared with that a year earlier at 1.7 million.

Other transportation means which are mostly used by travelers is train. State-owned train company PT INKA is also making preparations.

Especially for Lebaran transportation this year, the government through the Transportation Ministry has ordered at least 25 economy-class coaches and 20 executive class ones from PT INKA.

“All coaches for executive-, business-, economy-class and community trains have been completed by PT INKA and they are now ready for use,” the company`s president director, Roos Diatmoko, said.

Overall, the number of coaches ordered for this year`s Lebaran holidays reached 86. They have been constructed in a marathon way since June 2008 by about 800 workers.

“So, we are ready to operate during the Lebaran festivities,” Roos Diatmoko said.(*)

My Friend the Fanatic: Travels With an Indonesian Islamist

Far Eastern Economic Review September 5, 2008
Reviewed by Robert W. Hefner

In April 2003, Sadanand Dhume quit his job with the FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW and The Wall Street Journal Asia to turn full-time to writing a book about the growing influence of militant Islam in Indonesia. Over the next 16 months, and again in February 2007, Mr. Dhume traveled across Indonesia to meet with celebrity preachers, Islamist teachers, jihadi fighters and a host of other denizens of the conservative wing of Indonesia’s vast Muslim community.

During some of his travels, Mr. Dhume was accompanied by Herry Nurdi, then the 27-year-old editor of Indonesia’s most influential hard-line Islamist journal, Sabili. Mr. Nurdi’s contacts provided the Indian-born and United States-resident Mr. Dhume with access to circles otherwise unlikely to have extended a welcome. Earlier, Mr. Dhume’s reporting at the review had established his reputation as a sharp-eyed observer of Indonesian culture and politics, and a consistent critic of all things Islamist.

As signaled in the book’s title, Mr. Dhume uses the evolution of his relationship with the tough-talking Mr. Nurdi to provide a light-hearted point of entry to a community and issues unfamiliar to most Western readers. Mr. Dhume has an eye for nuances of personality, bearing and vocal expression, and he uses his literary gift to introduce readers to the diverse personalities he encounters. Whether it is factory girls in Batam or radical Islamist veterans of Ambon’s sectarian wars, Mr. Dhume provides a sense of contemporary Indonesia through evocative and sometimes touching portraits and settings.
Drawn in through these close-ups, readers are then effortlessly guided through Indonesia’s broader political, religious and historical landscape, touching on everything from the coming of Islam to Indonesia centuries ago to the pervasiveness of anti-Semitism in hard-line Islamist circles today.

Rather than hiding his views of religion, Mr. Dhume juxtaposes them with those of his Islamist interlocutors, not least of all Mr. Nurdi. Western-educated and the son of an Indian diplomat posted to Indonesia in 1980, Mr. Dhume makes clear early on that he is a nonbeliever, albeit one who arrived at his lack of faith in a “largely unexamined” manner. For most of the book, Mr. Dhume’s often humorous juxtaposition of his own cool disbelief to the ardor of the people he meets enhances rather than distracts from the broader story Mr. Dhume has to tell.

At a few points, however, the author’s views narrow rather than open up the reader’s portal on the world of Indonesian Islam. In a book notable for sensitive portraits of Indonesian women, the author speaks dismissively of the way in which Muslim women’s wearing of the headscarf (jilbab) provides a “cheaply earned moral smugness.” There are tens of millions of Indonesian women who choose to wear headscarves, and they are anything but uniform in their politics and personalities. Or similarly, when describing an Islamic boarding school in East Kalimantan, he writes of “minds… wiped clean of imagination and individuality, and left only with an unquestioning obedience to faith and faith alone.” One knows what Mr. Dhume hopes to get at with this characterization, but it is too sweeping to ring true.

These slips of the pen aside, Mr. Dhume captures well the darker current running through radical Islamist politics in Indonesia today. He observes that “the deepening of democracy had gone hand in hand with a darkening of intolerance,” which has “continued to batter heterodox Muslims, non-Muslims and women, and to undermine such bedrock democratic values as freedom of speech and freedom of conscience.” Sadly, all this is true. Mr. Dhume salutes the economic and educational achievements of the Suharto’s New Order government (1966-98), but correctly emphasizes the New Order was “never truly secular” and that the Islamist turn taken by the regime in its last 10 years set the stage for the sectarian violence of the early post-Suharto period.

In the book’s final pages, Mr. Dhume stands back and offers a sobering assessment of the future of Indonesia and Islamism. “The more I saw of the Islamist movement the more its totalitarian cast became obvious.” Although a number of Western observers have suggested that the moderately Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) may be a force for liberalization akin to Turkey’s AK party, Mr. Dhume sees the party as “intrinsically discriminatory towards women, secular Muslims, and non-Muslims,” and thus potentially “as dangerous as the [terrorist] Jemaah Islamiyah.” I personally find this conclusion unduly dire. For foreign governments and businesses alike, a first step toward helping Indonesia through its unfinished transition is to recognize the great diversity in the Muslim camp, including the PKS, and to realize that some of its broadest streams are struggling to devise a sustainable synthesis of democratic and Islamic ideals. Unfortunately for my position, however, for the moment actions like the violent campaign against the Ahmadiyah sect confirm Mr. Dhume’s claim that thus far Indonesia has proved more successful at consolidating a system of competitive national elections than it has protecting human rights.

Readers of this book will inevitably compare it to that of another writer of Indian descent, V.S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief. The latter work provided an account of the author’s five month journey in 1995 through the non-Arab Muslim nations of Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Malaysia. Mr. Naipaul’s literary fame guaranteed his book a broad and eager readership. My Friend the Fanatic is the first book of a younger author, and it appears at a time when the Western public’s fascination with Muslim culture and politics may be dimming. It will be unfortunate if that means this book is less widely read than Mr. Naipaul’s. Mr. Dhume has a much subtler sense of the ironies of Islamism, globalization and Western capitalism than his predecessor. At once funny, sad and unpretentiously intellectual, this fine book tells us much about Indonesia and about Islamism, one of the most important political phenomena of our age.

Robert Hefner is director of the Program on Islam and Civil Society at the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, Boston University.

Idul Fitri to start Wednesday: Government of Indonesia

the Jakarta Post , Jakarta/Yogyakarta – Mon, 09/29/2008

What is a rare occurrence, most Indonesian Muslims will celebrate Idul Fitri on the same day this year, although several minority Islamic groups have marked the day earlier.

The government announced Monday that the festival would begin Wednesday, as the teams deployed to nine areas across the country did not sight hilal (the new moon), which signifies the end of Ramadan and the start of the month of Syawal.

“Syawal will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008,” Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni said after presiding over a meeting to determine the date for Idul Fitri at his office Monday evening.

The meeting was attended by Information and Communications Minister Muhammad Nur and representatives from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the country’s two largest Muslim organizations.

The official Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and other Muslim organizations were also represented in the forum.

Senior Religious Affairs Ministry official Muhtar Ilyas said that because none of the observers in 25 provinces across Indonesia had observed hilal on Monday, Idul Fitri must start the day after Tuesday.

Idul Fitri falls at the beginning of the month of Syawal, ending the Ramadan fasting month. Years are counted from Hijra, when Prophet Muhammad migrated to Medina from the city of Mecca in AD 622. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar with 12 lunar months in a year of about 354 days.

Muhammadiyah had already decided that Idul Fitri would be celebrated this Wednesday.

For years, Indonesian Muslims were divided over when to celebrate Idul Fitri, as the NU and Muhammadiyah used different methods to determine the start of a new month on the Islamic calendar.

The NU uses hisab (astronomical calculations) and rukyatul hilal (crescent moon sightings) to determine the beginning of Syawal, whereas Muhammadiyah depends only on hisab.

“(Based on our calculations), Syawal 1 will fall at sunset of Tuesday, Sept. 30. Therefore the Idul Fitri prayer will be conducted on Wednesday, Oct. 1,” local Muhammadiyah leader Oman Fathurohman told a press conference in Yogyakarta on Monday.

However, some Islamic congregations celebrated Idul Fitri in advance. About 200 members of the Naqsabandiyah sect in Pasar Barau in Padang, West Sumatra, celebrated Idul Fitri on Monday.

“Our calculations tell us that Idul Fitri falls today. We also started the fasting month earlier, on Aug. 29,” group spokesman Syahbadar said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Followers of the An Nadzir group in Gowa, South Sulawesi, also celebrated Idul Fitri on Monday, and members of the Muhdhor sect in Tulungagung, East Java, celebrated the festival on Sunday.

The Hibut Tahrir Indonesia said it would decide Monday night whether to perform the Idul Fitri prayers on Tuesday or Wednesday.