SBY gives police boost to fight drugs

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/31/2009 1:19 PM  

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited a factory used to manufacture illegal drugs Friday in a bid to encourage the fight against drug trafficking. 

Yudhoyono was accompanied by National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and several other senior police officers during the inspection at the factory, which had been sealed off a day earlier by police in Cengkareng, West Jakarta. 

The closure of the factory, used to produce significant quantities of crystal methamphetamine (shabu-shabu), was "good news" for police, who have been criticized in the past for their unsuccessful attempts to combat illegal drugs across the nation, the President said. 

"The police have basically done a great job in the field of transnational crimes, such as terrorism, but unfortunately this success has not really translated into operations involving drug crimes," he said just hours earlier when launching the National Police's "Quick Wins" bureaucratic reform program at their headquarters in South Jakarta. 

"Praise be to God. I hear the police have conducted a remarkable operation and discovered a center capable of producing large quantities of crystal methamphetamine," he said. 

After the event, Yudhoyono visited the factory to congratulate police on their brilliant work and encourage them to keep up the fight against narcotics. 

On Thursday, Jakarta police raided the factory and arrested the three people allegedly responsible for operating it. The factory occupied two upper floors of a three-story shop front, with the first floor used as an internet caf* to cover their illegal activities upstairs. 

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zulkarnain said his office was questioning the three suspects while hunting down their accomplices. 

The police also confiscated a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine and the raw ingredients used to produce it, he added. 

Yudhoyono told reporters after the inspection that around 75 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, worth a total of Rp 120 billion (US$11 million), was seized from the factory. 

"This was a very unlikely place for drugs to be produced. But it appears this place was used to manufacture illegal drugs, including and crystal methamphetamines," the President said.

Indonesia to Repatriate Burmese Migrants

By VOA News, 30 January 2009 

Indonesia says it will deport 193 Burmese minority Rohingya boat people because they are economic and not political migrants. 

The boat people are members of Burma's Muslim minority who claim they fled persecution in the mostly Buddhist country. 

A spokesman for Indonesia's foreign Ministry said Friday that investigators have determined the migrants left their country to seek a better life.  He said most of the Rohingyas came from Burma, but that several came from Bangladesh.  He did not say when they would be deported. 

The Burmese government on Friday claimed the boat people could not be from Burma because there is no recognized Rohingya minority in the country. Despite the denial, authorities said they would deal with the matter. 

The 193 boat people are believed to be survivors of a group of about 1,000 Burmese asylum-seekers who have been set adrift by the Thai military since December. 

Indonesian authorities rescued them off their coast in early January and are holding them in a camp in Aceh province. 

India is believed to hold some 400 survivors on a remote island. 

Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday appealed to the governments of Thailand, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Burma to abide by international laws on refugees and provide assistance for those in distress at sea. It called on Burma to stop the systematic persecution of the Rohingya minority, which it says is the root cause of the crisis. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Conjoined Twins in Stable Condition After Health Scare

The Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia, January 31, 2009

The conjoined twins born in an Acehnese hospital on Jan. 25 are in good health and do not need to undergo surgery, a hospital spokesman said on Friday. 

“The twins are in relatively stable condition,” said Sinar Ginting, a spokesman for the Adam Malik Hospital. “They are being treated at the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit.” 

The twins, who share one body despite having two heads, were born at the Cut Meutia Hospital in Langsa, Aceh Province through a caesarian operation last Sunday, the detik.com news Web site reported. 

Ginting said that the twins share one pair of arms and legs, but have two spines and two hearts. 

The babies, who were named Marwati 1 and Marwati 2, have one set of genitals. They were 48 centimeters long and weighed 4.6 kilograms at birth. 

Ginting said that a team of doctors at the Adam Malik Hospital have been closely monitoring the condition of the twins, particularly after their health weakened on Thursday and their skin began to take on a yellow color. 

“They are currently undergoing ultraviolet light exposure treatment,” he said. 

“We do not plan to perform surgery on them at the moment because they are too young,” Ginting said, adding that a set of conjoined twins should be at least 10 months old before doctors could attempt to separate them through surgery. 

The twins’ father, Sugiyono, 36, a plantation worker in the East Aceh district, took the baby to the hospital at the suggestion of doctors in Langsa. Their mother, Marwati, 30, is still in Langsa and is too weak to travel. 

A similar set of conjoined twins with two heads and one body was born at a hospital in Jakarta in August 2006, but died 15 days later.

Toddler dies after falling from first floor at mall

The Jakarta Post | Fri, 01/30/2009 2:43 PM  

BOGOR: A 4-year-old boy died after falling from the first floor of Jambu Dua Plaza shopping center in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday. 

Deputy security head at the shopping center, Tasno said the boy, Muhammad Zaky, plunged from the window of the first floor to the ground floor.

“He [Zaky] walked on the edge of the window then leaned up against the window glass. 

Apparently, the window was not locked,” said Tasno, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

“The boy [lost his balance and] fell to the canopy before hitting the floor,” he said.

Zaky’s father, Darwin, was not seen at the scene of the incident.

Zaky was rushed to nearby Salah Hospital, but he died on the way.

Djeffry Soeadi, a doctor at Salah Hospital, said Zaky suffered severe head injury. — JP

City told to serve the poor

Triwik Kurniasari ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  JAKARTA   |  Sat, 01/31/2009 9:46 AM   

City councilors are calling for the city administration to make it easier for poor families to receive affordable healthcare. 

“The administration should make poor people its first priority and it should improve the health system,” Achmad Nur Alam Bachtiar, member of the council’s Commission A that oversees city institutions, said Thursday. 

“We see that many low-income residents find it difficult to apply for relief letters (SKTM) or GAKIN IDs.” 

“Many public health services (Puskesmas) have not yet accommodated the poor. They should not be undermined by the administration’s bureaucracy,” he said during a plenary session which discussed the draft bylaw on the city’s health system. 

Councilors also suggested that the administration punish medical centers, including hospitals and public health centers, which have rejected poor patients even though those patients managed to show their low-income family cards (GAKIN). 

Hospitals and public health centers said earlier that they refused to treat poor residents amid repeated late payments on claims by the Health Agency. 

“The administration should punish health centers or officials who refuse to give medical treatment to the poor,” Hizbiyah Rochim, member of Commission E on social welfare, said.

Achmad said that poor residents deserved health services. 

The Constitution stipulated that the state has an obligation to look after poor citizens.  

“I think the administration must carry out a regular evaluation on its health service schemes [to keep improving them],” Achmad said. 

In 2005, the administration distributed GAKIN cards to residents eligible for low-cost or free health care and food. 

Low-income residents can also apply for SKTM, which would make them eligible for discounted or free medical care. 

SKTM holders pay only 50 percent of medical fees, while Gakin holders pay nothing. 

SKTM applicants must submit a notification letter from their neighborhood’s unit chief and from subdistrict officials, as well as a letter from their local community health care center explaining their financial status. 

The administration is now discussing the possibility of replacing Gakin with Jamkesda.

The idea of using Jamkesda was brought up in 2007 after many Gakin patients were rejected by hospitals. 

The Jamkesda scheme is expected to avoid such problems because payment claims would be administered by a private insurance company, which would be appointed by the city administration. 

Jamkesda was planned to be introduced in 2008, but due to the late discussion of the 2008 revised city budget, the implementation will have to wait until 2009 when the administration can allocate the funding to pick an insurance company.

Disaster response still fragile in RI: Humanitarian report

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/30/2009 8:41 AM  

Disaster reponse by the government and humanitarian workers is still below the United Nations’ minimum standard, a report said. 

The 2008 Indonesia Humanitarian Forum report said the poor responses happened amid a sharp decrease in the number of fatalities from disasters during 2008.

“We found that disaster response management in Indonesia does not yet fully comply with the minimum standards set by the UN, which is called the Sphere,” Hening Parland, the Indonesia Humanitarian Forum executive director, said Thursday.

The forum conducted a study — based on media analysis from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2008 — and found that the government and humanitarian institutions only applied some of the Sphere standards.

The Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response was first launched in 1997 by humanitarian NGOs, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent movement.

Sphere is based on two core beliefs: first, all possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising from a disaster; second, those affected by a disaster have a right to live with dignity and a right to assistance.

“The lowest scores [for the Indonesian government and aid workers] were on evaluation, competency and humanitarian workers’ responsibility. Many of the workers are not even covered under an insurance scheme,” Hening said.

“Many humanitarian workers are not aware of their vulnerability to the disasters while working in the field.”

Hening said the activists’ poor competency on disaster management would also hamper the sustainability of humanitarian programs.

The study showed that many of the disaster responses were still regarded simply as a “relief initiative” rather than as a comprehensive implementation of rights, as stipulated in Act 2007 on disaster management which mandated security and protection as basic human rights.

Indonesia is prone to natural disasters — ranging from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunami — due to its location on the “Ring of Fire” volcanic belt.

Poor environmental management in most of the country’s 33 provinces, coupled with the impact of climate change, has made Indonesia more prone to floods and landslides. 

Data from the Indonesian Humanitarian Forum showed there were 236 cases of disasters last year, with floods at 130 cases, followed by tropical storms (43 cases) and landslides (35 cases). 

The Health Ministry said that a total of 7,618 people were killed during 2006 in 162 natural disasters nationwide. It also said that the number of disasters increased to 205 recorded events in 2007, killing 766 people.

The number of disasters increased last year with 408 cases. However, the number of fatalities decreased to 321 people.

“The decline in the death rate is due to the presence and the application of early warning systems, including those for floods and landslides. However, coordination among government offices and agencies to deal with the disasters remains poor,” Hening said.

The forum also criticized the effectiveness of regulations issued by the government and regional administrations regarding natural disaster mitigation.

“We have found there are 57 regulations related to disaster mitigation management. The effectiveness of these rules remains unclear,” Hening said.

The Humanitarian Forum, which consists of eight NGOs, including Muhammadiyah Disaster Management and Wahana Visi Indonesia, also plans to educate 1,000 humanitarian workers this year to help carry out missions in the field.

 

The Sphere’s eight standards:

1. Public participation
   
2. Preliminary study
   
3. Response
   
4. Determining targets
   
5. Monitoring
   
6. Evaluation
   
7. Competency
   
8. Humanitarian workers’ responsibility, supervision management and support to staff.
   

Women still face discrimination: Minister

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/30/2009 8:04 AM  

Although Indonesia has since 1984 adopted the UN convention on the elimination of discrimination against women (CEDAW), many women in the country still face violence and discrimination, a high-level meeting on the convention concluded here Thursday.

 

Addressing the meeting, State Minister for Women’s Empowerment Meutia Hatta said the abuses had been allowed to go on because of laws that encouraged discrimination and violence against women.

“We still have 16 national laws that do not support women’s rights, on top of many regional bylaws that also allow for discrimination. No wonder we have problems of violence and discrimination,” she said.

Meutia added many women in certain areas still faced problems over dressing and attitude.

“Some of the problems are because the review of Marriage Law No. 1/1974 is still not implemented and because of the strong patriarchal system in Indonesia,” she said. 

In more remote areas, she went on, people ignored national laws and adopted customary laws that provided far more benefits to men than women.

In inheritance cases, Meutia said, women often wound up with little.

Another problem was that courts handed down light sentences for perpetrators of violence against women.

“In 2005, the National Commission on Violence against Women [Komnas Perempuan] found that these perpetrators received light sentences,” Meutia said.

More than 20,391 cases of violence against women across 29 provinces were recorded by Komnas Perempuan in 2005, up from only 14,020 cases in 2004.

Also in 2005 the commission reported 1,165 women had fallen victim to trafficking and violence, while more than 1,120 women had been raped.

In spite of the problems, Meutia highlighted some success in implementing the CEDAW.

Jean D’Cunha, regional program director for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for East and Southeast Asia, lauded Indonesia’s progress in eliminating discrimination against women, pointing to scores of amended laws to strengthen women’s place in society. 

“Indonesia should be proud of amendments in electoral laws and qanuns [bylaws] in Aceh,” she said.   

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Commentary: Yoga controversy — being healthy is more important

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/30/2009 8:00 AM  

There’s always enthusiasm when you do things for the first time. That included my first experience joining a yoga club three months ago. The reason for giving a nod to a friend’s persuasion to do yoga was because I realized I had to exercise.

Why yoga? Honestly, I’m too lazy to jog along the streets in my housing complex. Join a gym? 

A big no-no for me. Play soccer? I broke my left hand playing soccer when I was a second-grader. Martial arts? Leave that to my husband. Yoga became an alternative, because for sure it does not require me to do all those high-impact exercises à la Jane Fonda.

The first try was not easy at all. Some moves were already familiar for me but there were others that were difficult for a newbie. I tried hard to do all the movements as instructed by my yoga teacher. But after the end of the first session and a sip of bottled tea, I realized that my joints were aching. I could barely walk straight. It had been years since I had moved my body for physical exercise.

That night, I wrote in my Facebook profile, “I just had my first yoga class and… my body felt like a wreck.” A friend of mine responded, “I thought yoga should be invigorating.” Indeed… but it will invigorate later when your body is already used to the different poses that need agility and flexibility. For a 30-something person, whose annual exercise sessions can be counted on one hand, doing yoga was not as easy as I had previously thought.

For me and some other Muslim friends in the club, we do yoga for one purpose: our health. 

Because our work requires us to sit in front of the computer for nearly eight hours a day, sometimes more, our backbones definitely need some workout. We didn’t chant Hindu mantras during our practice sessions. There was a session where we were required to lie down, breathe in a certain way and feel the energy within our body. Most of the time, I fell asleep during this relaxation — even if only for a minute. 

When my enthusiasm with my new activity was high, the news from Kuala Lumpur came like a lightning strike in broad daylight. Late last year, ulema in the neighboring country said they would ban yoga because of the chanting of Hindu mantras that could corrupt Islamic values among Muslims in Malaysia.

Debates quickly popped up on Facebook, mailing lists and other interactive media. A Malaysian fellow journalist snubbed the idea, saying it was “an unnecessary thing to do” and that “Indonesians should not follow suit”.

The issue of the possible ban on yoga died down slightly after the New Year, covered by the celebration of Barack Obama’s inauguration as US president and the bleak forecast for the country’s economy.

Apparently, our ulema did not forget their agenda. Gathering in West Sumatra, they issued some edicts that deemed as haram (sinful): vote abstention, smoking in public places and for children and pregnant women, and doing yoga if there are “aspects that contain Hindu elements” — meaning chanting and meditation.

The issuance of the edicts immediately sparked criticism as they were deemed pointless. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) had said last year they would visit yoga clubs to see if participants actually performed Hindu mantras. I don’t know if they already did that. The ulema should see how stretching our muscles to obtain flexibility tests our balance — not only our body but also our mind — and gives us better posture after frequent exercises. They must learn how breathing properly helps our respiration process work better.

I have a question about that particular edict, though. How on earth can they measure if one’s Islamic values are already corrupted from doing yoga?

The ulema’s edict on smoking is even more hilarious. Why didn’t they ban smoking at all? Is it because the ulema are all smokers, that they are not ready to give up their habits? I personally think that smoking is more harmful to others — especially for passive smokers in their surroundings.

But another friend told me that there’s always a bright side — even in pointless edicts. “In villages and rural areas, ulema are prominent figures in our country. Maybe the edict on yoga has less impact. But imagine the impact for smokers and the golput (vote abstainers). I believe they will follow the edicts and hopefully we’ll see fewer smokers in public places and higher voter turnout.”

I was amazed by my friend’s thought. I hadn’t thought that far. I believe the edicts — especially the yoga part — will not curb people’s enthusiasm to practice yoga. I believe taking care of our health — that includes measures to prevent illness through exercising — will meet all religious values, which are to respect God’s blessings of our health.

BPOM Chair Holds Her Ground on Unpopular Food Import Rules

The Jakarta Globe, Dian Ariffahmi, January 29, 2009   

Despite ongoing complaints from consumers, importers, restaurant operators and hotels, the government agency in charge of import regulations said it would not ease tough new rules on labeling foods and beverages. 

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, or BPOM, said on Wednesday that complaints by businesses that the regulations, which have created scarcities of a number of products since they were introduced late last year, are not going to change the agency’s directives. 

Husniah Rubiana Thamrin, the BPOM chairwoman, said the rules are the rules — specifically regulation No. 56/2008 issued in December — and no exceptions would be made. 

“We told them — the importers — to strictly follow the import rules so there would be no more problems,” Husniah said. “We just want to protect our people from food products that contain dangerous or forbidden ingredients and protect them from being cheated by bad food producers.” 

The regulations, which call for strict labeling of imported food in Bahasa Indonesia and detailed sourcing information on ingredients, were issued in the wake of worries about the safety of foods imported from China, but some importers claim the rules are actually a back-door attempt to protect local producers from competition amid the downturn. 

The rules have caused shortages of many imported products, including cheese, wine and ethnic foodstuffs. A number of foreign businessmen have called the restrictions unfair. 

Last week, the chairman of the Overseas Korean Traders Association of Indonesia, Kim Woo Jae, said his members are finding it hard to get permits to import food products intended largely for the local Korean community. 

Kim called the requirements “a little bit unrealistic” after a meeting with Trade Minister Mari Pangestu. 

The labeling rules “waste time and money for producers and importers” and only raise prices for consumers, Kim said, claiming that the government has rejected applications from Korean importers without any explanation. 

Husniah rebuffed such arguments, saying that she was only trying to protect the people, and that importers who followed the rules would get one-day service on their import permits.

Lower Accidents Reported at Work Areas

Thursday, 29 January, 2009 | 19:28 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Manpower and Transmigration Department said that the number of accidents taking place at places of work is decreasing from year to year. According to Manpower and Transmigration minister Erman Soeparno, the number of cases went down by 55,82 percent from 2007 to 2008. 

In 2005, Erman said, there were 99.023 accidents, followed by 95.624 incidents in 2006 and down to 83.714 in 2008. Meanwhile, based on data as of November 2008, indicates there were 36.986 cases. "The government is committed to raise the awareness, participation and responsibility of all parties in areas of security and health at work places," Erman said yesterday. Enforcing regulations to prevent accidents at workplace, he said, was also running well. "Violators are not only fined, legal action may be taken against them." 

The Manpower and Transmigration Department has trained 900 people to provide training at companies. The local government, he said, also responded well to the effort. This year, around 1.500 trainers will be trained. "We hope to be able to train 2.000 people. This is close to the ideal number," Erman said. 

REH ATEMALEM SUSANTI | DIANING SARI

 

Early marriage a crime against humanity: Child Commission

The Jakarta Post,  Jakarta  | Wed, 01/28/2009 10:09 PM  

Early marriages -- marital unions between women under age 20 and their peers or older men -- should be considered a crime against humanity due to the risk it poses to their wellbeing, a National Commission for Child Protection officer proposed on Wednesday. 

"No matter how you look at it, there's nothing positive about it," Commission secretary-general Arist Merdeka Sirait said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. 

Sirait added the commission sought to convene ulema and scholars from other religions to educate the general population, particularly rural inhabitants, of the dangers it poses for young women. 

"Women who marry before age 20 are 58.5 percent more likely to contract cervical cancer," obstetrician and gynecologist Rudy Irwin stated, adding the odds of cervical cancer in women are also affected by promiscuous behavior. 

Each year around 500,000 Indonesian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, half of whom do not survive, Irwin said. 

"There are currently 2.2 million women suffering from cervical cancer," he said. 

The current legal marrying age in Indonesia is 16 for women and 19 for men. (amr)

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HIV/AIDS cases on the rise in South Sulawesi

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/28/2009 7:41 PM

The number of HIV/AIDS cases in South Sulawesi continues to increase from year to year, the South Sulawesi AIDS Commission (KPAD SulSel) said Wednesday.

"Up until the end of 2008, the number of those infected with HIV/AIDS was reportedly 2,370; however, we suspect it is more than that," KPAD data collector Raden Mulyati said.

She added that in 2007, a total of 1,884 people were reported to have contracted the deadly virus.

According to official hospital data, Mulyati said, up to 191 people had died of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses throughout 2008.

Makassar's Wahidin Sudirohusodo General Hospital reported that 40 inpatient had died of the disease last year; lower than the 2007 tally of 87 deaths. The total number of HIV/AIDS patients in Makassar up until late last year is 208.

The hospital's HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) team coordinator Mahmud told The Jakarta Post that 24 of the 208 patients were children aged 7 months to 3 years.

"There are three people enrolled in the mother-to-child transmission prevention program (PMTCT)," he said, adding that 11 of 47 people who volunteered in the VCT program had tested positive for the virus.

Intravenous drug use has so far been identified as the number one cause of infection.

"At least 60 percent of the total cases of HIV/AIDS infection is caused by risky drug use," Mahmud said. (amr)

11 inmates get sentence reductions on Chinese New Year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/26/2009 7:48 PM  

Eleven inmates practicing Confucianism were given sentence reductions of between 15 and 30 days on Monday, to coincide with the Chinese New Year of the Ox. 

Akbar Hadiprabowo, a spokesman at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said because the government official recognizes Confucianism as a belief, the government was required to give remissions to those who celebrate Chinese New Year. 

Akbar noted that six of the eleven inmates were from Bangka Belitung, two were from West Kalimantan and one each was from East Kalimantan, Aceh and Jakarta. 

Meanwhile, Director General of Penitentiaries Untung Sugiyono told Tempointeraktif.com that his party would not give special exit permits for inmates who wanted to celebrate the Chinese New Year outside their prison. 

Special exit permits are only be given for those with valid reasons, including the need for special health treatments for a diagnosed illnesses, he said.

World's highest drug levels entering India stream

The Jakarta Post, Margie Mason, The Associated Press ,Patancheru, Mon, 01/26/2009

  

When researchers analyzed vials of treated wastewater taken from a plant where about 90 Indian drug factories dump their residues, they were shocked. Enough of a single, powerful antibiotic was being spewed into one stream each day to treat every person in a city of 90,000. 

Water tested near Hyderabad

 contains some of the highest 

environmental drug levels known.

MAHESH KUMAR/AP

And it wasn't just ciprofloxacin being detected. The supposedly cleaned water was a floating medicine cabinet — a soup of 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments. Half of the drugs measured at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment, researchers say. 

Those Indian factories produce drugs for much of the world, including many Americans. The result: Some of India's poor are unwittingly consuming an array of chemicals that may be harmful, and could lead to the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria. 

"If you take a bath there, then you have all the antibiotics you need for treatment," said chemist Klaus Kuemmerer at the University of Freiburg Medical Center in Germany, an expert on drug resistance in the environment who did not participate in the research. "If you just swallow a few gasps of water, you're treated for everything. The question is for how long?" 

Last year, The Associated Press reported that trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals had been found in drinking water provided to at least 46 million Americans. But the wastewater downstream from the Indian plants contained 150 times the highest levels detected in the U.S. 

At first, Joakim Larsson, an environmental scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, questioned whether 100 pounds a day of ciprofloxacin could really be running into the stream. The researcher was so baffled by the unprecedented results he sent the samples to a second lab for independent analysis. 

When those reports came back with similarly record-high levels, Larsson knew he was looking at a potentially serious situation. After all, some villagers fish in the stream's tributaries, while others drink from wells nearby. Livestock also depend on these watering holes. 

Some locals long believed drugs were seeping into their drinking water, and new data from Larsson's study presented at a U.S. scientific conference in November confirmed their suspicions. Ciprofloxacin, the antibiotic, and the popular antihistamine cetirizine had the highest levels in the wells of six villages tested. Both drugs measured far below a human dose, but the results were still alarming.

Read the whole article ...

Ulema council bans smoking for pregnant women and children

The Jakarta Post  |  Sun, 01/25/2009

A special meeting of the Indonesian Ulema Council in Padangpanjang on Sunday concluded that smoking was haram or banned for Muslim pregnant women and children, and also haram for Muslim men to smoke in public places. 

“Smoking is haram for pregnant women and children, doing it in public places and also for members of the ulema council,” said meeting chairman H.M. Amin Suma as quoted by Antara state news agency. 

As of now, he said, smoking should be considered a sin for pregnant women and children. 

He also called on the government to issue a regulation to back the conclusion of the meeting. 

A member of a team of advisers to the ulema council, Nurhayati Hakim, said the council's decision was appropriate and in line with the teachings of the prophet. 

“At least the decision will create some form of boundary so that the people cannot smoke as they please,” she said. (and)

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Indonesian Health Workers Unable to Fill Overseas Quotas Due to Poor English Skills

The Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, January 23, 2009 

Despite a strong demand overseas for migrant health workers, Indonesian nurses and caregivers are unable to take advantage of the highly-paid jobs because they lack English skills, an official said on Friday. 

Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat, head of the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor, or BNP2TKI, said after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the agency and three health academies in Jakarta, that demand from the Asia Pacific, Middle East and United States for Indonesian health workers would continue to rise. 

“The demand for Indonesian nurses and other health care workers is skyrocketing but we cannot adequately respond to it because of a human resource shortage and language problems,” Jumhur said. 

In 2008, Japan offered a 1,000-person quota for Indonesian health workers but Jumhur said that the agency had only been able to send 208 workers. He also said that this year, there were requests from Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, United Sates, Canada, Kuwait and Jordan for Indonesian health workers. 

Jumhur said that from now until 2015, Japan would need 600,000 migrant health workers while Saudi Arabia required 30,000 health workers this year. 

“It’s such a great opportunity for us, but we’ve been hampered by the fact that many of our nurses and caregivers do not speak English or other languages,” he said. 

Jumhur referred to a nursing school in Cirebon, West Java Province, which required its students to learn Japanese. Of the 208 health workers sent to Japan in 2008, 44 of them came from the school. 

“If health academies and foundations provided English lessons, I guarantee that all our nurses and caregivers would be employed,” he said. 

Imam Dahlan, the Ministry of Health’s head of the empowerment center for overseas health workers, said that most Indonesian nurses were highly qualified medically. 

“We don’t really have a problem when it comes to medical skills; the only problem is a lack of language skills,” Imam said. 

In order to capitalize on the demand, this year the BNP2TKI expects to send abroad more skilled labor workers than in 2008, when only 36 percent of the 740,000 migrant workers were skilled. This year Jumhur said the agency expected to increase that figure to 40 percent. 

The BNP2TKI reported that through to 2015, there would be more than 2.85 million job opportunities for nurses in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

Sex Traders Use Violence, Kidnapping

The Jakarta Globe, Arientha Primanita, January 23, 2009 

Human traffickers are now getting brasher, no longer relying on mere trickery but resorting to kidnapping to secure their targets, National Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira, warned on Friday. 

“Violence is the new method,” Abubakar said. “The victims are kidnapped, drugged and then sold by the kidnappers to the people who had ordered them.” 

Abubakar said that regular methods employed so far by human traffickers involved enticing women in the rural regions to work in Jakarta or overseas and then forcing them into the sex industry. 

Abubakar said the new “style” was revealed after a junior high school student was kidnapped by five masked men as she waited for a ride to school in Lampung on the southern tip of Sumatra island. 

The girl, believed to be 15 years old, was forced into a car, given injections to render her unconscious and taken to Jakarta. 

On June 7, along with three women from West Java Province, the school girl was flown to Pontianak, in West Kalimantan by a woman identified as Eka. 

A man named Chong Kum Seng, better known as Kam Seng, picked the four victims at the airport and took them by bus to Entikong, a border town near the Malaysian state of Sarawak, where they were handed to another man, Nurdin. 

“On June 8, 2008, Nurdin took the four women to Tebedu, Malaysia, without passports,” Abubakar said, “In Tebedu, Nurdin gave the women to Helen, an agent in Malaysia who worked with Kam Seng.” 

Abubakar said Helen then brought the four women to Kuching, Malaysia, where they were forced to work as prostitutes. 

The high school victim was forced to work in a place called Cong Ling Pain in Kuching for two months before she managed to escape and made it to the Indonesian consulate there, Abubakar said. 

She was repatriated on Aug.21, to Entikong where she reported her case to the police. 

Abubakar said that on Sept. 10, the Entikong Police arrested Nurdin, and three months later captured Kam Seng as he was trying to leave for Jakarta. Nurdin is now on trial while Kam Seng is awaiting trial. 

He said the suspects faced up to 15 years in jail and fines of up to Rp 600 million ($53,400) for violating a laws on human trafficking and children protection. 

“Two other suspects Eka, an Indonesian, and Helen, a Malaysian, are now both on police wanted lists,” Abubakar said. 

Badrodin Haiti, the National Police’s director for security and transnational crime, told The Jakarta Globe that Kam Seng has admitted that he had sold 104 women to Helen. 

“Those numbers are hard to track down. Kam Seng said that the women were taken to plantation projects as commercial sex workers,” Badrodin said, adding that police have so far had difficulties in finding those women. 

Badrodin is currently in Malaysia, along with National Police Chief, Bambang Hendarso Danuri, and Chief Detective, Susno Duadji, to meet with their counterparts from Malaysian and Brunei Darrussalam to discuss cooperation in battling human trafficking and illegal logging.

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Malaysia bans foreign recruitment

Green light for US stem cell work

BBC World 

US regulators have cleared the way for the world's first study on human embryonic stem cell therapy.

The move comes three days after the inauguration of President Barack Obama who has been a strong supporter of embryonic stem cell research.

Since 2001 there have been limits on federal funding for stem cells.

Geron Corp, the biotech company behind the research, plans to initiate a clinical trial in patients paralysed due to spinal cord injury.

The BBC predicted last week that the White House would reverse the restrictions placed on stem cell research once President Obama took office.

The US Food and Drug Administration gave the go ahead for the research on Friday.     

Under President Bush, federal funding had been limited to around sixty stem cell lines created from embryos destroyed prior to August 2001.

Scientists had warned that only twenty eligible cell lines remain useful for research and many of these are problematic.

Researchers had told the BBC that the restrictions had slowed down their work.

Controversy

Interest in use of embryonic stem cells is due to their ability to turn into any of the body's two hundred cell types.

Using embryos donated through IVF treatment scientists have coaxed the stem cells inside into many types of tissue. One embryo can provide a limitless supply because the cell lines can be grown indefinitely.

But the use of human embryonic stem cells in research is controversial with come campaigners saying it is unethical.

Geron, a biotech company based in "silicon valley" south of San Francisco, has spent $170m on developing a stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury.

The research will use cells coaxed to become nerve cells which are injected into the spinal cord.

In animal trials of the treatment, paralysed rats regained some movement.

Company chief Dr Tom Okarma said: "What stem cells promise for a heart attack or spinal cord injury or diabetes is that you go to the hospital, you receive these cells and you go home with a repaired organ, that has been repaired by new heart cells or new new nerve cells or new islet cells that have been made from embryonic stem cells."

'Pivotal decision'

Professor Chris Mason, an expert in regenerative medicine at University College London, described the FSA decision as "historic" and a "pivotal milestone in the development of embryonic stem cell therapies.

He said: "The knowledge that will be gained in this first clinical trial deploying embryonic stem cell derived material will accelerated the development of all future stem cell therapies."

Professor Pete Coffey, director of the London Project to cure blindness, said: "It's great news for the field.

"This strengthens our recent call for regulators in the UK to help provide a clear process for researchers to take this forward.

"It's also exciting for me because it brings our own moves towards clinical trials with embryonic stem cells for age-related macular degeneration a step forward."

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, head the MRC National Institute for Medical Research, said it often takes 15 to 20 years to develop a therapy.

"It takes a long time and much work to derive processes that will efficiently and reproducibly give an appropriate cell type for grafting and many animal experiments to test efficacy and safety.

"An appropriate set of patients have to be identified for the first tests and clinicians willing to participate in trials.

"And the regulatory hurdle is, understandably, a huge one - in this case it required 21,000 pages of documents."

He added that for those patients desperate for treatment, and for their families, the news showed the research is moving in the right direction.

President Yudhoyono presents community empowerment funds to WPapua

Investment on the way: President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and West Papua Governor Abraham O. Atururi, greets well-wishers on Mansinam island in West Papua on Thursday. (JP)

Manokwari (ANTARA News) - During his first-ever working visit in West Papua, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to present Rp154.72 billion in financial aid under the National Self-reliant Community Empowerment Program (PNPM) to the province on Thursday. 

The assistance was to be handed to West Papua Governor Abraham Artururi when the president visits Mansinam island in Manokwari district. 

The president was expected to arrive at Manokwari`s Rendani airport from Sorong at 9:30 am local time and inspect a command post of the Earthquake Disaster Management Coordination Unit (Satkorlak) at the Manokwari district head`s office. 

From the Manokwari distirct head`s office, the president would be driven to Manokwari`s seaport to board a naval vessel that would take him and his entourage to Mansinam island where he would hand over the PNPM financial aid intended for nine districts and municipalities in West Papua. On the occasion, the president would also present aid in kind (basic necessary packages) to the local people of the island. 

In addition, the president would also witness the handing of People`s Business Credit (KUR) from three state banks to small enterprises in the district. 

On the occasion Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) would hand credits totaling Rp16.59 billion to 1,516 debtors, Bank Mandiri Rp11.22 billion, and Bank BNI Rp8.42 billion to 44 debtors. 

In Mansinam island, President Yudhoyono would also sign a plaque to mark the dedication of ten infrastructure projects in West Papua, among others the construction of Warmare-Prafi road, six bridges, and a road betweb Fak Fak and Kokas. 

Fifth Microbiology Symposium in Jakarta

Wednesday, 21 January, 2009 | 16:35 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The association of Indonesian microbiologists, together with several medical experts, will hold the fifth Indonesian Antimicrobials Resistance Watch Symposium on January 24-25 at the Novotel Hotel, Mangga Dua, Jakarta. 

This will discuss problems related to infection, its prevention and management, at both community and hospital levels. 

“The mortality rate due to infection has been continuously increasing in Indonesia,” said a microbiologist from the University of Indonesia, Professor Usman Chatib Warsa, during a press conference at the university's Microbiology Department, last Wednesday. 

The symposium will be opened by Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, who will also be a keynote speaker. 

HERU TRIYONO

Cooking Oil for the Poor

Wednesday, 21 January, 2009 | 14:10 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The government will collaborate with cooking oil producers to sell 1.000 tons of oil next month. According to trade minister Mari Elka Pangestu the collaboration is an effort to stabilize the price of this basic need. The target group for the Rp6.000-per liter oil will be the poor people. The price is cheaper than the market price which is Rp7.000 per liter. 

The sale is scheduled to be implemented in 14 provinces. “We have seven cooking oil producers who are willing to collaborate,” Mari said, adding that for the last two weeks, the government and the cooking oil producers have distributed 50.000 liters of their products through direct sales. 

BUNGA MANGGIASIH