4) When will we treat Indonesia seriously?
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https://en.tempo.co/read/1894775/president-jokowi-praises-papuas-bright-human-capital
1) President Jokowi Praises Papua's Bright Human Capital
Translator Dewi Elvia Muthiariny
Editor Laila Afifa
23 July 2024 15:33 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi believed that Papua has a wealth of talented and intelligent young people. During his visit to Sentani, Jayapura, on Tuesday, July 23, for the National Children's Day peak celebration held at Istora Papua Bangkit, Jayapura, he witnessed the intellectual potential of Papuan children.
He highlighted the example of several Papuan children who excelled in mathematics using a Gasing (Easy, Fun, Engaging) method. “This shows a strong foundation in human capital. We just need to nurture these abilities to help them truly flourish,” the President said after reviewing the second round of the National Immunization Week (PIN) for Polio at Posyandu Rajawali III, Graha Nendali Housing, Jayapura, Papua, on Tuesday.
The 40th National Children's Day celebration was themed "From Papua to Indonesia: Children's Voices Building the Nation". The event encompassed various activities, including children presenting their aspirations to the president, scholarship awards, and demonstrations of Papuan children's learning methods.
Additionally, a marching parade, marching bands, and a colossal dance performance involving 2,000 Papuan children aiming to break a record with the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI) were held.
Although Jokowi did not deliver a formal speech at the event, he offered valuable advice to all Indonesian children. “For the future, we must cultivate our intelligence, knowledge, insight, and character. And study, study, study.”
The event was attended by approximately 8,000 participants, including 6,000 elementary school students or younger. President Jokowi actively engaged with the children by giving them quizzes during the event held at Istora Papua Bangkit. First Lady Iriana accompanied the president, and the live broadcast also showed the presence of Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.
DANIEL A. FAJRI
Pes Yanengga, Jayapura – Leaders of the Papuan Baptist Church and the Tolikara Student Association have slammed a statement by the Cenderawasih XVII regional military commander (Pangdam) on the fatal shooting of three civilians by the 753 AVT Infantry Battalion Task Force in Pepera Village, Mulia district, Puncak Jaya regency on Tuesday July 16.
Papua Baptist Church leader and lecturer at the Papua Baptist College of Theology, Reverand Stevanus Yan Wenda, stated that the 753 AVT Battalion must be immediately held to account for the shooting.
He also demanded that the Cenderawasih XVII commander immediately clarify a statement carried by several media outlets and that he prosecute the perpetrators of the shooting in court.
"We, from the church, need to convey that the brutal actions carried out by by rogue TNI[Indonesian military] members must be accounted for. The statement by the Cenderawasih XVII Pangdam carried by various media must be clarified immediately", said Wenda in Jayapura city, Papua, on Saturday July 20.
Wenda explained that the three victims of the shooting were Morib, the head of the Porbalo Village in Dokome district, Dominus Enumbi, a resident of Karubate Village in Mulia, and Tonda Wanimbo, a resident of Temu Village in Ilamburawi district, Puncak Jaya.
"As a Baptist church figure, I deeply regret the TNI's actions. The TNI should protect the community, not shoot the village head who is carrying out his state duties", he said.
Tolikara Student Association Chairperson Misoi Wanimbo meanwhile also condemned the statement by the Cenderawasih XVII commander Lieutenant Colonel Candra Kurniawan who said that the victims were members of the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM).
According to Wanimbo, the three victims were civilians, and Kurniawan's statement is a public deceit.
"The three people who were victims were civilians, not from an OPM group. We ask the TNI commander and Cenderawasih XVII commander to immediately take firm action against their members who carried out this shooting", said Wanimbo.
Wanimbo also demanded that the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) immediately form an investigation team to investigate the facts on the ground and assist local media. He asserted that the state must stop sending non-organic troops to Papua and withdraw all existing troops.
"The President of the Republic of Indonesia and the Papuan Regional Police must immediately order the TNI commander to pursue legal proceedings against the TNI perpetrators of the shooting of these three civilians", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Tokoh Gereja Dan Pimpinan Mahasiswa Tolikara Kecam Pernyataan Pangdam XVII Cenderawasih".]
On the occasion, the President and First Lady Iriana, along with some ministers, including Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, visited a local integrated health post (posyandu) to check the stunting prevention efforts carried out there.
The head of state highlighted that efforts to tackle stunting in the country began a decade back, and now, it has yielded some results.
"Initially, the prevalence of stunting was at 37 percent, and now, it has dropped drastically to 21 percent," he remarked.
However, Jokowi pointed out that efforts to reduce the prevalence of stunting from 21 percent to the national target of 14 percent are rather slow, so the cooperation of all parties, including the people, is needed.
"The target in reducing the stunting rate from 21 percent to 14 percent is not as fast as before because stunting is not only related to food (availability) but more about the nutrition," he remarked.
He explained that stunting is closely related to the provision of nutritious food, the existence of sanitation facilities, a proper living environment, and clean water.
"To prevent stunting, the cooperation of all parties, including (members of) the community, who need to apply clean lifestyle, is deemed necessary," he stated.
He stressed that living a healthy lifestyle, such as consuming nutritious food, having clean sanitation facilities and living environment, and access to clean water, can prevent stunting as early as possible.
"We know that the (stunting rate) decline, which was previously significant, is now slower, but we are striving to reach even below 14 percent," he stated.
Meanwhile, First Lady Iriana called on parents to increase the intake of nutritious food in their children to prevent stunting.
Related news: Need to address stunting causes besides nutrition: govt
Related news: Indonesia to prioritze locally grown crops for free meals program
Translator: Yudhi E, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Guarantee: This report is free of US political toxins. The contents are purely local.
The title question deserves a cynic’s response: Only when the country next door becomes a military dictatorship and mates with China. Then we might wake up.
Indonesia is seventy times bigger than Bali where most Australians get their experience of beach-and-Bintangs, probably imagining the other 37 provinces are much the same. They’re not.
If the political scientists’ ‘arc of instability’ ever spanned the region, Indonesia isn’t there now.
The world’s fourth largest nation with an impressive 5.3 per cent growth rate, has become an aid donor and is dashing towards superpower status. It’s not within coo-ee of struggling Pacific Island states crying for aid and getting attention in spades by playing footsie with the PRC.
Here’s proof we’re not serious: A decade ago the then Coalition Government paraded its New Colombo Plan – a “signature initiative” whatever that means.
The idea was to “lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific …by supporting Australian undergraduates to undertake study, language training and internships in the region.” Applause all round.
The name has a history: In 1951 a multi-state meeting in the Sri Lankan capital set up the show to help “developing countries”. We offered scholarships for Southeast Asians to study in Australia. More claps.
Some of Indonesia’s future leaders got to know Down Under and build lasting mateships. That generation has largely passed. The CP is now involved in drug use reduction, gender affairs and climate change.
The NCP reverses the original intent and looks fine till the data is analysed. Students can go to any one of the 40 countries in the scheme. So far 12,000 Aussies have visited Indonesia across three decades, mostly for short courses.
But how to find a uni, a visa and help when all turns turtle? Students can go it alone, but it’s easier using ACICIS, the Australian Consortium for In-Country Studies. It was an idea of now-retired Professor David Hill of Perth’s Murdoch University.
This year the agency celebrates its 30th birthday and reports some achievements.
More than 4,000 alumni are working in key areas of government, here and overseas. In 2012 the now largely forgotten Australia in the Asian Century White Paper described the consortium as a “successful model for in-country learning”.
Last year Hill was given an Indonesian award for “promoting collaboration … and the Indonesian language.”
Despite the persistence of Hill and others, Canberra prefers to focus on the Pacific, particularly islands where Beijing has been poking around for niches to embed.
We wear our monolingualism with pride. That’s gross; the Jakarta Post has told its readers what sort of neighbours they’re lumbered with by reporting: “Australian students participating in Indonesian-language programs has hit a historic low …this trend could have an adverse effect on the broader bilateral ties.”
Ten Indonesian unis are involved with ACICIS. Students keen to better understand our regional mates – as all governments urge but rarely facilitate – have access to 25 courses. They span from law to farming – plus the essentials – language and culture.
Every student backpacker is a de-facto diplomat showing through their involvement and enthusiasm that Aussies aren’t all Kuta hoons – or in the posse of America’s Deputy Sheriff, as John Howard once reportedly positioned his nation.
But here’s the issue: The ACICIS report reveals that last year it “assisted 436 Australian and international students to undertake study in Indonesia.”
Good on ya – except that Indonesian Government figures show the Republic has more than 4,000 “institutes of higher learning”. Though only 184 are public they cater for 3.38 million students.
Many private unis are small and run by religious organisations and corporates. Quality is mixed and offerings are limited. They have around 4.5 million enrollees.
The top campus is the public Universitas Indonesia. Internationally it ranks badly at 206, even lower on some assessment sites.
Overseas study enthusiasts prefer China; Indonesia is seventh on the choice scale, just ahead of South Korea – although in second place (after Japan) in the Indo-Pacific.
A Lowy Institute report claimed “Indonesia’s education system has been a high-volume, low-quality enterprise that has fallen well short of the country’s ambitions for an ‘internationally competitive’ system.”
That was written in 2018. There’s been some movement though little evidence of major reform in the past six years. Jakarta also has to stir the possum if it wants its unis to draw foreigners.
As Indonesia has eleven citizens for every Aussie we need at least 4,500 students exploring the archipelago every year, not for quickies but long term. Even then we’d only be a spit on the surface.
However the number sent through ACICIS is roughly the same as in 2018.
Juggling figures like this is a clumsy exercise taking no account of dropouts, course changes, policy shifts, definitions and other factors like Covid – but it hammers the nail that we’re just not dinkum about the nation next door.
Next year a semester in Indonesia is likely to cost a student in fees, fares, insurance and living costs up to $16,000, though this can be offset by NCP support.
Adaptive frugals can get by on less (and learn more) if they live like locals.
ACICIS gets 2.53 per cent of the NCP’s mobility funding (mainly short courses) and is paying scholarships for long-term students. There are 120 competitive NCP scholarships for top students nominated by their campus.
That’s for any one of 40 countries.
ACICIS director Liam Prince said “the key blockages are in the lack of clear, curriculum-embedded pathways to a semester in the Indo-Pacific by the Australian universities.
“Through size, proximity and geopolitical significance, Australia must have a constructive, mutually beneficial relationship.
“Australia’s side is in trying to see the world from an Indonesian perspective; it’s one of the necessary conditions for fulfilling the potential of the bilateral relationship.”
Former PM Paul Keating said: “We find our security in Asia, we find it by being useful in the Asian community, we find it by building coalitions and this is an imperative.”
It’s an idea still to be bought by the electorate. Otherwise it would demand the federal government gets earnest about urging unis to prioritise Asian skills.
Not everyone wants to do a PhD in Old Javanese but at all levels the curious and talented will want a taste of the New Indonesia. They need encouragement – for all our sakes now and in the years ahead.
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