Indonesia’s business boom

With a one-trillion-dollar economy growing at 6% a year, Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest market, and is becoming increasingly attractive to road warriors.

The nation’s overseas and domestic business travel market is in good health due to rising investment and a growing middle class. Business events and commercial interest are spilling out of the capital, Jakarta, and into other major Indonesian cities, with Batam, Bintan, Medan and the island of Bali drawing many executives. And following a regulation mandating that oil, gas and natural resources companies invest in the local area, the expanding energy and pharmaceutical sectors are funding business travel and business events throughout country.

“An oil company operating rigs or vessels in one area needs to book all its travel from local suppliers and not use agents based outside the country,” said Adam Knights, group sales director at ATPi, a travel management company.

In addition, the country will host various Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conferences this year, such as the CEO Summit, the Trade Finance and Treasury Reform meetings.

Indonesia’s economy is predicted to be larger than Germany’s in terms of projected GDP by 2050, according to consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. An additional 100,000 guest rooms will need to be built in the next decade just to cope with demand, translating to an estimated 700 to 800 hotels.

The government forecasts that the number of air passengers, both business and leisure, will increase by 12% this year, after growing by 15% to 72 million passengers in 2012. Flying is one of the easiest ways to get around this archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, where rail, ferries and roads are still fairly undeveloped.

If Soekarna-Hatta, Indonesia’s main airport in Jakarta, is anything to gauge by, the country is already overwhelmed by air traffic. The airport handles roughly 150,000 passengers a day – more than double its capacity – and is planning a $2 billion expansion to triple its capacity. The much smaller Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in the east of the city will open to commercial flights in September to help ease the strain.

This is just one of more than 20 projects aimed at building and upgrading Indonesian existing airports, many of which will be located in the east of the country, including East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, according to airline operator Angkasa Pura. This under-developed region has less infrastructure and tourism-focused facilities than the islands of Java and Sumatra to the west.

Singapore Airlines is boosting links to the country by launching a daily flight to Surabaya, the country’s second largest city, on 26 July. In addition, the airline is launching its ninth daily service to Jakarta and its fourth daily service to Denpasar, Bali, on the same day. Tiger Airlines is ramping up its services out of Singapore, launching flights to the cities of Yogyakarta starting in July and Bandung in August.

By Nick Easen

Source : http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20130611-indonesias-business-boom

Changing lives and perceptions in Ubud

Deep in the mountainous centre of Bali, among hanging banyan trees and lush rice paddies, is a small town thought to be the Indonesian island's spiritual and cultural heart. With a name that comes from the Balinese word Ubad, which means medicine, Ubud has long been known as a mystical place, rich in healing powers.

• Related article: Four days in Ubud

Legend has it that as far back as the 8th Century, royal families from across the island sent their ill to Ubud to be healed, and the tradition continues today – with people from all over the world arriving in hope of curing what ails them. In the intervening years, the region has also become a sought-after destination for spiritual tourists, as savvy yoga teachers brought students to find serenity in what was then a sleepy village.  

But following the release of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, and subsequent movie Eat Pray Love (one woman’s story of finding happiness and love in a year of travel ending in Ubud), a full-blown health and wellness mecca has sprouted up, offering services and experiences that go well beyond mastering crow pose.

From sound healing and primal screaming to colonic irrigation and liver flushes, if you have heard of it – or more likely never dreamed of it – Ubud has it.

Spirit
In Bali, there is a belief that gods and goddesses exist in the elements of nature, so for Balinese, the spirit world and the human world are constantly interacting. More than 90% of the population practices Balinese Hinduism (the rest of Indonesia is Muslim) and everywhere you look, women are making offerings of rice and brightly coloured flowers, blessing the things they interact with.

The people of Ubud are incredibly open, and foreigners are welcomed into the local religious world. If you have the opportunity to participate in some of the spiritual rituals, such as the elaborate cremations and traditional purification ceremonies, you absolutely should.

Bathing in the pools at the sacred water temple Tirtha Empul, for example, is an unparalleled experience. The temple, built in the 9th Century, has 13 ornate spouts, and each stream of cool fresh water represents a different type of purification, from fertility and love to protection from evil spirits. But you will need a guide in order to enter the temple.

In fact, throughout Bali, a knowledgeable guide will help you understand local rituals, put things into historical context and avoid faux pas. Dewa Nayoma offers everything from airport runs to full-day excursions and downhill biking tours. He knows practically everyone in Ubud and has a deep knowledge of Balinese history and culture.

Agung Pacung is another fantastic guide who can offer local insights you will not find in a book. Whether you want to go to the beach, explore the island or tour Ubud’s spiritual sights, Pacung will help plan your trip and provide an insider’s perspective.

HealingIt is common practice for Balinese to visit a healer – or Balian – before, or instead of, seeing a Western-style medical doctor. Each village has healers who use medicinal herbs and ancient teachings to treat their patients, and most Balian specialise in a specific type of healing; from organ and bone health to emotional well being and combating black magic.

Pak Man is a highly regarded healer who treats emotional, physical and spiritual problems in Kutuh Kaja village, less than a kilometre from the centre of Ubud.  He sees patients in his home, and his British wife Lucinda translates (call 62-13-38-935-369 for an appointment). Expect to leave with a shifted perspective on your problems and possibly a few sore muscles – no one said the path to enlightenment is painless.

Relaxation
Starting at the very affordable price of 70,000 rupiah per hour you could – and many do – have a massage every day of your trip. At Ubud’s beautiful Tjamphuan Hotel Spa, massages cost slightly more – 288,000 rupiah per hour – but the intricately carved stone structure is worth a visit in itself, with pools, waterfalls and outdoor massage rooms looking out onto the Camphuan River.

With more understated surroundings, Iman Spa in central Ubud offers utterly sublime massages in a simple, clean space. The spa is run by Nyoman Suparsa, who is thought to be one of the best massage therapists in the village.  He specialises in intuitive body work, which combines deep tissue massage, reflexology and acupressure. A one-hour massage costs 165,000 rupiah.

Source : http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20130125-changing-lives-and-perceptions-in-ubud

basic level of leadership training of ESA University of Muhammadiyah Prof.Dr.HAMKA

Jokowi Still Focused as Governor, Says Ahok

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has shrugged off claims that Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had been unfocused in executing his duties as the capital’s helmsman since his nomination as a presidential contender on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)’s ticket.

“Who says he has been unfocused? He just briefed me this morning to make sure on the one-roof service system and other programs,” Ahok said at the City Hall on Monday, April 21, 2014.

Ahok also said the governor did not mention anything on the possibility of his becoming Jokowi’s running mate as a vice presidential candidate. “So we are still focused. We did not talk about vice presidential issues or anything [related to the it],” he said.

He added the communication between him and the governor had been well-preserved, including when Ahok was ill recently. “Nothing was missed so far,” he said.

Ahok said he had also advised his boss not to resign from his post as a governor during the presidential campaign period and took a leave instead. 

ERWAN HERMAWAN

KPU Work with IT Team to Improve Security

 

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Election Commission (KPU) has made some changes in order to protect its system from virtual attack like the ones in 2004 and 2009, particularly by embracing internet security institutions. "This year's information system is more secure," said Partono Samino, an expert in KPU's IT Technical Team.
KPU has worked with the Indonesia Security Incident Response Team on Internet Infrastructure (ID-SIRTI), a team formed by the Ministry of Telecommunication an Informatics, Cellular Operator, Network Provider, and the police. In addition, KPU has applied manual recapitulation system. Instead of counting the vote using a tabulation application.
Back in 2004, KPU's official website was hacked by Dani Firmansyah, who claimed that he hacked the site just to find out how secure KPU's system is. Again, in 2009, KPU's website was hacked and cannot be accessed.
SATWIKA MOVEMENTI