Indonesia TCSS, Exchange Rate, Favourite Song/Music update

[DageDage]

The art of conning people in the name of religion is as old as human civilization itself, and there are certainly many religious con artists lurking in Jakarta as well.

Today, the West Jakarta Immigration Office announced that they arrested two fake Buddhist monks from China who have been going door to door to ask for donations.

The fake monks, identified as Hi Qiyan and Yua Xianhua, were arrested during a routine operation carried out by immigration officers on August 16 as they were asking for donations in West Jakarta.

The suspects claimed they were from the Tanjung Duren monastery, but the officers immediately went to check their claim out at the monastery themselves.

“According to the monastery’s elders, the monks are fake because the way they spoke and the way they dressed didn’t symbolize that they were actual monks,” said West Jakarta Immigration Office Head Abdulrahman, as quoted by Okezone today.

In addition, the monastery elders said Buddhist monks aren’t allowed to beg door to door for donations.

The immigration officers found 9,120 yen, 280 Hong Kong dollars, and Rp 240,000 on the fake monks at the time of the arrest. The two reportedly targeted ethnic Chinese citizens in West Jakarta. They were charged with 5 years in prison and a Rp 500 million fine.

[Naka_Timo]

Raisa Apalah arti menunggu

[DageDage]

Soekarno-Hatta Airport to implement random security checks on passengers from Singapore & Malaysia

While Indonesia may be known as having some of the toughest drug trafficking laws in the region, neighboring Singapore and Malaysia are not exactly known for their lax stance on narcotics either. Nevertheless, authorities in Indonesia apparently view passengers coming from the two countries as being particularly likely to smuggle drugs into our archipelago and as a result are planning to subject them to greatly increased scrutiny.

The head of Soekarno-Hatta Airport’s management, PT Angkasa Pura II, recently told the media that they will tighten security inspections on passengers arriving from Singapore and Malaysia due to frequent drug smuggling attempts.

"So we discussed with the Ministry of Transportation that there are many unwanted things entering Indonesia from the two countries closest to us, Singapore and Malaysia. Therefore, Pak Minister [of Transportation Ignasius Jonan] will approve random checks for passengers from the two countries," said Budi Karya Sumadi, president of PT Angkasa Pura II, last Friday as quoted by Merdeka.

Budi said that the airport was just waiting for the decree from the Ministry of Transportation to allow them to tighten their security procedures. Transport Minister Ignasius had already expressed his support for the proposal the previous day.

In addition to allowing for random checks, the proposal would also allow airport authorities to deploy plainclothes officers to target suspicious passengers for further screening.

Commenting on media reports about the increased scrutiny on Malaysian passengers, Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said he had not been informed about the security changes but said that Malaysia’s Immigration and Customs Departments already ensured that no illegal items were smuggled out of their country.

Despite the renewed threat of executions for drug traffickers, Indonesian authorities claim that cases of drugs being smuggled into the country have steeply risen over the last year.

[iicycold]

Originally Posted by DageDage

Nevertheless, authorities in Indonesia apparently view passengers coming from the two countries as being particularly likely to smuggle drugs into our archipelago and as a result are planning to subject them to greatly increased scrutiny.

No wonder i see sm ppl havin custom issue traveling to indo recently.

i tht most of the surrounding country's drugs came frm Indo? They were the major player 4 manufacturing plastic drugs.

[brassicbrassic]

In piano...

[Nulgath]

BATAM (The Straits Times/ANN) - Since the arrests of the Batam militants on August 5, the Indonesian authorities have stepped up security.

Police in Batam, Indonesia have assured Singaporeans and tourists that it is safe to travel to the holiday island.

Since the arrests of the Batam militants on Aug 5, the authorities have stepped up security.

The presence of security forces may not be prominent so as not to alarm the people, but intelligence personnel in plainclothes have been deployed to guard strategic locations and stay alert, Riau Islands police chief Brigadier-General Sam Budigusdian told The Sunday Times.

"Uniformed personnel may deter potential criminals from coming, but too much of that only causes fear," he said. "And the aim of terrorists is to spread fear," he said.

Batam district police chief Senior Commissioner Helmy Santika also said that Singaporeans, who form the bulk of tourists to Batam, have been on the alert since the arrests.

"People who want to work cannot do so, those who want to go there for business cannot do that. When day-to-day life activities are affected and cause losses to the economy and everybody, that can't be good," he said.

Batam resident Siti, 45, who travels regularly to Singapore to buy used clothes and goods to resell in Batam, told The Sunday Times that a few of her friends were turned away by Singapore immigration in the past week.

"The Singapore immigration officers did not tell them why but simply rejected their entry.

"So my friends tell me not to travel to Singapore now as security is very tight. We blame the rocket gang for affecting our livelihood," she said of the Katibah GR cell that was behind the foiled terror plan.

Police officers have been holding conferences and visiting neighbourhoods to explain radicalism and extremism to residents and encourage them to report any suspicious activities they see.

Police are also working with religious leaders to help spread the word that violence is not tolerated.

"We work with community leaders to identify people coming here, not only from other countries but also Indonesians living farther away, to make sure they report their arrival to neighbourhood leaders," said Helmy.

He added that besides the six official harbours, there are nearly 200 traditional ports around Batam, a majority of which lack security features such as surveillance cameras.

Being so close to countries in the region, criminals - from traffickers to pirates to extremists - have taken advantage of this weakness for their criminal activities, he added.

Brig-Gen Sam Budigusdian said he had met the Singapore authorities, who he said had thanked the Riau Islands police and the Indonesian government for their efforts to maintain security on the island.

"We agreed that Singapore and Indonesia, particularly in the Riau Islands, have very good relations in terms of economy and culture," he said. "We can guarantee that Batam is safe."

Batam community leader Najmi, 40, said the anti-terror raids lasted only a few hours.

"Of course, everyone was shocked by the raids, but police have handled it very well and the operation was over quickly," he said.

"We want everyone to know that we in Batam reject and condemn all radical activities."

[Nulgath]

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian authorities detained seven people in northern Sumatra island on Saturday on suspicion of attacking several Buddhist temples the previous night, officials said.

A spokeswoman for North Sumatra provincial police said the seven were part of a mob that damaged at least three temples and other property in the town of Tanjung Balai, near Indonesia's fourth-biggest city Medan. No one was injured.

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority nation but has a sizable ethnic Chinese minority, many of whom are Buddhist. The country has a history of anti-Chinese violence, most recently in the late 1990s amid the political and economic crisis that brought down authoritarian ruler Suharto.

But police officials denied Friday's attack was aimed at the Chinese community.

"This was just a (dispute between) individuals," said North Sumatra Police Spokeswoman Rina Sari Ginting, adding the situation was now under control.

Indonesia, where the majority of the population practices a moderate form of Islam, sees sporadic attacks on religious minorities by Muslim hardliners but authorities are quick to crack down on any violent incidents.

Hundreds of security personnel were deployed late last year when a Muslim mob burned down a number of churches in conservative Aceh province, saying they didn't have the right building permits.

[Nulgath]

It appears that some people hate Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an Indonesian of minority Chinese descent, so much due to his race that his name is unfortunately being used as a racial slur.

Recently, a Facebook user by the name of Andrew BudiKusuma posted about a horrid experience riding the TransJakarta bus on Friday evening. According to him, he was attacked by three to four men for no reason other than the fact that he is Chinese Indonesian.

Andrew detailed in his post that he got on a TransJakarta bus from Kuningan Barat at 8:30pm on Friday. His would be attackers got on the bus from Semanggi at 9pm and immediately threw racial slurs at him, saying, “Ahok, you’re Ahok right?”

When the bus reached the JCC bus stop, the attackers allegedly shoved Andrew out of the bus and started beating him. Luckily, other passengers grabbed Andrew and pulled him back into the bus, leaving the attackers at the bus stop. In his post, Andrew uploaded a photo of the damaged lips he sustained from the beating, though he did not reveal if he received further injuries.

Andrew noted that the TransJakarta officer on the bus did not try to stop the beating either out of fear or because he was an accomplice of the attackers. The officer also allegedly wasn’t helpful when Andrew was trying to file a report and obtain the CCTV footage of the attack to be given to the authorities as evidence.

Thankfully, Andrew did obtain CCTV footage of the incident at the JCC bus stop, and he wrote in his post that he plans to report the incident to the Jakarta Metro Police tomorrow.

Andrew’s Facebook post has been gaining a lot of traction over the weekend and he seems to have gained the support of the nation’s equality-seeking citizens, as comments poured in expressing sympathy for Andrew and condemnation for the attack.

We hope Andrew finds justice and that the culprits are found and punished accordingly. While we may have come a long way from when Chinese Indonesian minorities became targets of discrimination and brutality in the 1998 riots (having a Chinese Indonesian governor of Jakarta is testament to that), minority race groups are sadly still being discriminated against in Indonesia, thereby putting irony in the fact that “Unity in Diversity” is one of the country’s founding principles.

[Nulgath]

Indonesia is considering a national ban on the production, consumption and distribution of alcohol. The news came as a surprise to international media, which led to some interesting headlines.

While Indonesia has legally banned alcohol in Papua and Surabaya, the country is now mulling over the possibility of nationally prohibiting drinks containing more than one percent alcohol.

The proposed law was introduced by two Islamic political parties, The United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). As stated in the draft, both parties wish to “protect citizens from the negative impacts of alcoholic beverages, to raise awareness of the dangers of the beverages, and to ensure order and peace in society, free from disturbances caused by consumers”.

But if approved, the ban might jeopardize the future of the country’s tourism industry. Speaking to The Jakarta Post last week, Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani expressed her concern for the proposed law:

“If the bill is passed, our business will be done. The tourists, who mostly come from Europe, drink alcohol all the time. It will be very inconvenient for them if they can’t find alcohol.”

The news of the bill has caused quite a stir among the international media.

UK media The Daily Mail, for instance, reported the news with the headline: Time to Rethink that Bali Getaway? Indonesia’s Radical proposal to ban ALCOHOL could ruin the popular holiday island for tourists.

Similarly, Malaysia’s Malaysia Sun came up with: Indonesia’s radical proposal to ban alcohol could ruin the popular tourist hotspot.

While some reports have come from Asia and Europe, most of the media reports have originated from Australia, a nation that has been known to be a devoted tourist to Bali.

Perth Now broke the news with a rather direct approach to readers with The party could be over in Bali as Indonesia considers banning alcohol. The same goes for The West Australian with What, no Bintang? Fears over Bali booze ban. And The Queensland Times also made use of Indonesia’s most well-known alcohol brand in its headline No Bintangs? Bali could be hit by national booze ban.

[DageDage]

Indonesia (Jakarta) Custom Officers Blackmail captured on Video

[Nulgath]

BATAM, Indonesia (The Jakarta Post/ANN) - The travel warning for Singapore may affect tourism in Riau Islands.

Travel warnings issued by several countries for Singapore over the spread of the Zika virus could have a negative impact on tourism in Riau Islands as most foreign tourists enter the province through the city-state, officials said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday the United States joined South Korea, Australia and Taiwan by issuing travel warnings for citizens visiting Singapore following the discovery of Zika infections, local media reported.

Most tourists visit Riau Island's famous destinations of Batam, Bintan and Karimun through Singapore, the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies’ Batam office head, Andika, said on Wednesday.

The impact of the travel warnings would be seen in the next 15 days, he said, adding that despite the warnings, people who had booked trips would be unlikely to cancel. However, those who were only thinking of going to Singapore might change their minds.

"We hope Singapore can soon handle Zika virus issues. The longer the problem, it will put us in a more difficult situation," Andika told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Riau Islands Tourism Agency head Guntur Sakti said around 99 per cent of Riau Islands’ annual 2 million foreign visitors entered via Singapore. Tourists from South Korea and Taiwan are among the top foreign visitors to the province after those from Singapore, Malaysia and India.

With the spread of Zika in Singapore, Guntur feared the province's target of 2.6 million foreign tourists this year might not be reached. Aside from the virus, the crackdown on a terrorist cell in Batam in July could also contribute to lower visitors numbers, Guntur added.

[Nulgath]

Jakarta - The Indonesian government has issued a travel advisory for Singapore on Wednesday (31/08) amid an outbreak of the Zika virus, which has already infected 82 people in the city-state.

Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the government issued the warning.

The minister advised Indonesians, especially women who are pregnant and those trying to get pregnant, to avoid traveling to Singapore.

"If [the visit] is urgent, what can we say? But if it can be postponed, it should. Pregnant women must carefully consider the risks before visiting Singapore, because their children could be born with microcephaly," Nila said.

Microcephaly is a rare birth defect where babies are born with significantly smaller heads than those of other children of the same age and sex. Brazil has reported more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly this year, as Zika continues to spread in the South American country.

In May, Singapore saw its first Zika virus case when a 48-year-old foreigner, who is a permanent resident in the city-state, was diagnosed with the disease after returning from Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Nila said the Indonesian government is deeply concerned about a possible Zika outbreak after the neighboring country saw the number of cases double to 82 in just one month.

"The government will also ask people who are arriving [in Indonesia] from Singapore to complete a health alert card. We have to protect our citizens, because this virus has become very mobile," the minister said. "I have instructed health offices, especially in Batam [Riau Islands province] to take blood samples from people [arriving from Singapore] who show signs of a fever. If they do not pass the health check, we will summon them."

On Tuesday, Singaporean authorities continued to inspect thousands of homes in seven parts of the city, including five foreign worker dormitories. According to unconfirmed reports, there is at least one Indonesian citizen among those infected.

"Until today, we have not received any reports about Indonesians in Singapore who are infected with the virus," Nila said.

Zika cases have been reported in at least 45 countries, prompting the World Health Organization to issue a global public health emergency.

"People need to be aware that this disease is spread by mosquitoes, in the same way the Aedes aegypti, mosquito spreads dengue fever. People need to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes," the health minister said.

Stepping Up Health Security

The government is expected to take several steps to prevent the virus from spreading to the archipelago. Health scanners have been installed at some seaports and airports that are the main entry points for people arriving from Singapore. Health officials and immigration officers are now cooperating to check all passengers to prevent Zika from entering the country.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she has been coordinating with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and the Health Ministry to step up health security at Indonesian ports of entry.

"I have received an initial report from our ambassador in Singapore. Since then, I have made some arrangements with the health minister and the justice minister," Retno said. "All ports of entry will be equipped with health detectors for passengers coming from Singapore."

Australia, Taiwan and South Korea have also issued travel advisories for Singapore over to the Zika virus.

The outbreak and the warnings come as a potential blow to tourism in one of the world's busiest travel hubs, which is already struggling to recover from a slump amid tepid global growth.

[AsuraWrath]

exchange rate for 02.09.2016 morning in Btm :

[iicycold]

Originally Posted by DageDage

Indonesia (Jakarta) Custom Officers Blackmail captured on Video

This is 1 funny corrupted traffic polisi in indo. U shld see tis video in abt 5 mins.



$20 settle the problem 4 no helmet,no license while riding motorbike. Still get free beer frm polisi after payin.

Absolutely priceless!

[sailsingapore]

Here to SUPPORT my dear fren TS Bro NAKA !!