יום רביעי, 31 במרץ 2010

Indonesia can treat Palestinians better

I am sure most Indonesians are not aware of the fact Indonesia is blocking Palestinian individuals from visiting Indonesia as tourists. I am not talking about the Palestinians who are living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but those who are living in the area where Jews established their own state in 1948.
These Palestinians are Israeli citizens. They have been punished twice by many sides. Israel suspects them as collaborators with their Palestinian brothers and sisters in the Occupied Territories, so they are discriminated against by most Israeli Jews as potential traitors. On the other hand, the Muslim world is preventing these miserable Palestinians from entering their countries, because they are “Israelis”. It could be a very funny situation, if it were not so sad.
Indonesia today prevents any Israeli from entering Indonesia as an individual tourist, no matter if he is a Jewish settler or discriminated-against Palestinian who lives in the land of his ancestors. This policy has been in place for the last five decades!
Indonesia can help this ignored Palestinian population. Currently, there are more than 1 million of them; they account for more than 20 percent of the Israeli population.
Indonesia can promote justice and peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians by giving tourist visas to any Israeli who – while applying for a visa – denounces terrorism and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This way, Indonesians can meet justice-and-peace-loving Israeli Jews and Palestinians, and can hear about the situation over there directly from them.

(The article was published in www.thejakartapost.com)

יום שבת, 13 במרץ 2010

גאולה אינה האפשרות היחידה...

למרות הביוגרפיה שלי, ואולי בגללה, - אני מאמין שאין כל קשר בין כתבי הקודש לבין כוח עליון כלשהוא. אמונה בסיפורי האחים גרים נראית לי רציונאלית יותר. לכן, אינני פונה כאן לאנשים החושבים כמוני, - אלא לאותם יהודים, שעינהם מנצנצות בלהט משיחי, הנובע בין השאר מאמונתם בנבואה האפוקליפטית של זכריה בפרק יד:

א הִנֵּה יוֹם-בָּא, לַיהוָה; וְחֻלַּק שְׁלָלֵךְ, בְּקִרְבֵּךְ. ב וְאָסַפְתִּי אֶת-כָּל-הַגּוֹיִם אֶל-יְרוּשָׁלִַם, לַמִּלְחָמָה, וְנִלְכְּדָה הָעִיר וְנָשַׁסּוּ הַבָּתִּים, וְהַנָּשִׁים תשגלנה (תִּשָּׁכַבְנָה); וְיָצָא חֲצִי הָעִיר, בַּגּוֹלָה, וְיֶתֶר הָעָם, לֹא יִכָּרֵת מִן-הָעִיר. ג וְיָצָא יְהוָה, וְנִלְחַם בַּגּוֹיִם הָהֵם, כְּיוֹם הִלָּחֲמוֹ, בְּיוֹם קְרָב. ד וְעָמְדוּ רַגְלָיו בַּיּוֹם-הַהוּא עַל-הַר הַזֵּיתִים אֲשֶׁר עַל-פְּנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם, מִקֶּדֶם, וְנִבְקַע הַר הַזֵּיתִים מֵחֶצְיוֹ מִזְרָחָה וָיָמָּה, גֵּיא גְּדוֹלָה מְאֹד; וּמָשׁ חֲצִי הָהָר צָפוֹנָה, וְחֶצְיוֹ-נֶגְבָּה. ה וְנַסְתֶּם גֵּיא-הָרַי, כִּי-יַגִּיעַ גֵּי-הָרִים אֶל-אָצַל, וְנַסְתֶּם כַּאֲשֶׁר נַסְתֶּם מִפְּנֵי הָרַעַשׁ, בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּה מֶלֶךְ-יְהוּדָה; וּבָא יְהוָה אֱלֹהַי, כָּל-קְדֹשִׁים עִמָּךְ. ו וְהָיָה, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא; לֹא-יִהְיֶה אוֹר, יְקָרוֹת יקפאון (וְקִפָּאוֹן). ז וְהָיָה יוֹם-אֶחָד, הוּא יִוָּדַע לַיהוָה--לֹא-יוֹם וְלֹא-לָיְלָה; וְהָיָה לְעֵת-עֶרֶב, יִהְיֶה-אוֹר. ח וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יֵצְאוּ מַיִם-חַיִּים מִירוּשָׁלִַם, חֶצְיָם אֶל-הַיָּם הַקַּדְמוֹנִי, וְחֶצְיָם אֶל-הַיָּם הָאַחֲרוֹן: בַּקַּיִץ וּבָחֹרֶף, יִהְיֶה. ט וְהָיָה יְהוָה לְמֶלֶךְ, עַל-כָּל-הָאָרֶץ; בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יִהְיֶה יְהוָה אֶחָד--וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד. י יִסּוֹב כָּל-הָאָרֶץ כָּעֲרָבָה מִגֶּבַע לְרִמּוֹן, נֶגֶב יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְרָאֲמָה וְיָשְׁבָה תַחְתֶּיהָ לְמִשַּׁעַר בִּנְיָמִן, עַד-מְקוֹם שַׁעַר הָרִאשׁוֹן עַד-שַׁעַר הַפִּנִּים, וּמִגְדַּל חֲנַנְאֵל, עַד יִקְבֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ. יא וְיָשְׁבוּ בָהּ, וְחֵרֶם לֹא יִהְיֶה-עוֹד; וְיָשְׁבָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם, לָבֶטַח. יב וְזֹאת תִּהְיֶה הַמַּגֵּפָה, אֲשֶׁר יִגֹּף יְהוָה אֶת-כָּל-הָעַמִּים, אֲשֶׁר צָבְאוּ, עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; הָמֵק בְּשָׂרוֹ, וְהוּא עֹמֵד עַל-רַגְלָיו, וְעֵינָיו תִּמַּקְנָה בְחֹרֵיהֶן, וּלְשׁוֹנוֹ תִּמַּק בְּפִיהֶם. יג וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, תִּהְיֶה מְהוּמַת-יְהוָה רַבָּה בָּהֶם; וְהֶחֱזִיקוּ, אִישׁ יַד רֵעֵהוּ, וְעָלְתָה יָדוֹ, עַל-יַד רֵעֵהוּ. יד וְגַם-יְהוּדָה--תִּלָּחֵם, בִּירוּשָׁלִָם; וְאֻסַּף חֵיל כָּל-הַגּוֹיִם סָבִיב, זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּבְגָדִים--לָרֹב מְאֹד. טו וְכֵן תִּהְיֶה מַגֵּפַת הַסּוּס, הַפֶּרֶד הַגָּמָל וְהַחֲמוֹר, וְכָל-הַבְּהֵמָה, אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּמַּחֲנוֹת הָהֵמָּה--כַּמַּגֵּפָה, הַזֹּאת. טז וְהָיָה, כָּל-הַנּוֹתָר מִכָּל-הַגּוֹיִם, הַבָּאִים, עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְעָלוּ מִדֵּי שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה, לְהִשְׁתַּחֲו‍ֹת לְמֶלֶךְ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, וְלָחֹג, אֶת-חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת. יז וְהָיָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יַעֲלֶה מֵאֵת מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאָרֶץ, אֶל-יְרוּשָׁלִַם, לְהִשְׁתַּחֲו‍ֹת, לְמֶלֶךְ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת--וְלֹא עֲלֵיהֶם, יִהְיֶה הַגָּשֶׁם. יח וְאִם-מִשְׁפַּחַת מִצְרַיִם לֹא-תַעֲלֶה וְלֹא בָאָה, וְלֹא עֲלֵיהֶם; תִּהְיֶה הַמַּגֵּפָה, אֲשֶׁר יִגֹּף יְהוָה אֶת-הַגּוֹיִם, אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲלוּ, לָחֹג אֶת-חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת. יט זֹאת תִּהְיֶה, חַטַּאת מִצְרָיִם; וְחַטַּאת, כָּל-הַגּוֹיִם, אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲלוּ, לָחֹג אֶת-חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת. כ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יִהְיֶה עַל-מְצִלּוֹת הַסּוּס, קֹדֶשׁ, לַיהוָה; וְהָיָה הַסִּירוֹת בְּבֵית יְהוָה, כַּמִּזְרָקִים לִפְנֵי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. כא וְהָיָה כָּל-סִיר בִּירוּשָׁלִַם וּבִיהוּדָה, קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה צְבָאוֹת, וּבָאוּ כָּל-הַזֹּבְחִים, וְלָקְחוּ מֵהֶם וּבִשְּׁלוּ בָהֶם; וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה כְנַעֲנִי עוֹד בְּבֵית-יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא.

לא רק היהודים הלאומיים תאבי-הגאולה רואים בפרק זה השתקפות של העתיד הקרוב, - גם רבים יותר מקרב הנוצרים האוונגליסטיים מאמינים שנבואה זו מאד רלוונטית, ושבמהלך הקרב הגורלי על ירושלים, המשיח יתגלה, והיהודים יגלו שמשום-מה הוא דומה מאד לישו...

בכל אופן, הגאולה המתוארת, מתאימה להפליא לתקופתינו. העולם כולו רואה, כיום, בירושלים העתיקה שטח כבוש, וישראל מתעקשת, לבדה, להחזיק בו. מלחמה בין ישראל לכל העולם (האומות המאוחדות) שמוקדה הוא ירושלים - אינה אופציה דמיונית במיוחד. התיאור בנבואה, עם קצת מאמץ של הדמיון המגויס, מתאים גם למלחמה גרעינית ("הָמֵק בְּשָׂרוֹ, וְהוּא עֹמֵד עַל-רַגְלָיו, וְעֵינָיו תִּמַּקְנָה בְחֹרֵיהֶן, וּלְשׁוֹנוֹ תִּמַּק בְּפִיהֶם").

משום כך, הקואליציה הקדושה של יהודים דתיים-לאומיים ונוצרים אוונגליסטיים מכורי-גאולה, דוחפת את העולם למצב בו מלחמה בין כל העולם וישראל על עתידה של ירושלים יוכל להתממש. מן הסתם, הם מאמינים שההרוגים במלחמה זו יהיו רק מקרב הכופרים...

אני לא מאמין שניתן לשנות משהו בהשקפת עולמם ההזויה, אך אינני פטור מהנסיון לעשות זאת. כל שברצוני לאמר להם הוא שגם אם נניח שהנבואות ההזויות בתנ"ך אמורות להתרחש, - אולי יש נבואות נוספות בתנ"ך האמור, המנבאות עתיד אחר למלחמה על ירושלים...

ובכן, לעזרתינו מגיע מרחוק, הנביא מיכה, ובקטע קומפקטי במיוחד, בפרק ג, הוא מזהיר:

ט שִׁמְעוּ-נָא זֹאת, רָאשֵׁי בֵּית יַעֲקֹב, וּקְצִינֵי, בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל--הַמְתַעֲבִים מִשְׁפָּט, וְאֵת כָּל-הַיְשָׁרָה יְעַקֵּשׁוּ. י בֹּנֶה צִיּוֹן, בְּדָמִים; וִירוּשָׁלִַם, בְּעַוְלָה. יא רָאשֶׁיהָ בְּשֹׁחַד יִשְׁפֹּטוּ, וְכֹהֲנֶיהָ בִּמְחִיר יוֹרוּ, וּנְבִיאֶיהָ, בְּכֶסֶף יִקְסֹמוּ; וְעַל-יְהוָה, יִשָּׁעֵנוּ לֵאמֹר, הֲלוֹא יְהוָה בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ, לֹא-תָבוֹא עָלֵינוּ רָעָה. יב לָכֵן, בִּגְלַלְכֶם, צִיּוֹן, שָׂדֶה תֵחָרֵשׁ; וִירוּשָׁלִַם עִיִּין תִּהְיֶה, וְהַר הַבַּיִת לְבָמוֹת יָעַר.

אם תשאלו אותי, הדמיון המגויס צריך פחות מאמץ כדי להאמין בנבואה הזו, שהיא, אחרי ככלות הכל, - גם הרבה יותר צודקת, וריאלית.
מוגש כחומר למחשבה למסוממי-גאולה המסוגלים לחשוב עצמאית מבלי להיכנס לקריז.

(המאמר הופיע ב- www.youpost.co.il)

יום רביעי, 10 במרץ 2010

Which country is the most corrupted in Asia-Pacific?

There are two ranking of corruption perception in Asia-Pacific, I am familiar with: That of Transparency International (TI) from Germany , and that of Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) from Hong Kong .

Most corrupted key nations in Asia Pacific

PERC [source]

TI [source]

1

Indonesia

Cambodia

2

Cambodia

Philippines

3

Vietnam

Vietnam

4

Philippines

Indonesia

5

Thailand

India , Thailand

6

India

-

7

China

China

8

Malaysia

Malaysia

9

Taiwan

Macau

10

South Korea

South Korea

11

Macau

Taiwan

12

Japan

United States

13

United States

Japan

14

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

15

Australia

Australia

16

Singapore

Singapore

It seems that the biggest gap between these two ranking, is about the position on Indonesia . I would recommend the Indonesian government to contact these two ranking bodies, - and understand where the difference come from.

I suspect, the difference is coming from a gap between the perception of local and foreign businessmen about corruption.

If Indonesian government want to attract foreign investments here, - it should do whatever it can to convince the foreign investors that Indonesia is less corrupted.
Of course, the best way to do so, - is by really fighting corruption. A fight against corruption should include a deterrent war against those personalities and entities that are sabotaging the war against corruption. The current government is too weak to do so, and other entities, like some corrupted and populist parties are taking advantage of this weakness by fighting the enlightened figures in the government.

This is how the HK based organization defined the Century Bank drama: "The Hong Kong-based consultancy said Indonesian lawmakers' call for a criminal probe into the Yodhoyono government's bailout of Bank Century in 2008 reflected attempts by a corrupt establishment to maintain the status quo."[source]

By the way, according to PERC, Indonesia is perceived as more corrupted in 2009 than in 2008. Its grade for 2008 was: 8.32, while in 2009 it got: 9.27 out of the worst possible 10. Other numbers for 2009 are: Singapore : 1.42, Malaysia : 6.47, China : 6.52, India : 7.18, Thailand : 7.60, Philippines : 8.06, Vietnam : 8.07, and Cambodia : 9.27. A real shame for Indonesia .


יום שלישי, 9 במרץ 2010

WARNING: International investors in Indonesia – Be careful!

Indonesia is not a place where you can rely blindly on the banking system to ensure the entity you are transferring money to, - is really exists. At least, this is the situation in the respected BCA Bank

Many of the criminals responsible for fraud cases are usually ask for money to be sent by facilities like Western Union , where everyone can get money without serious identity verification.

Recently, I was contacted by a guy who wants to buy bicycle parts from an Indonesian vendor in Medan . He was aware to the fact that there are many fraud cases in Indonesia , so he looks for a supplier who gave him his home address, and BCA bank account. BCA is a respected bank, - so he was sure that if this guy has a BCA bank account, - the bank seriously validated his data, and in case the goods will not be supplied, - he will know where to find the guy, and demand the goods from him or sue him.

As you may guess, - the goods did not arrive. He asked me to go and visit the vendor's home address (Details: Mr. David Sipayung, Jl Menteng 7 GG, Ahliwaris 97C, Medan 20228). I went there. The people at that address said they never heard about the name 'David Sipayung'. The neighbors and the local LURAH office said the same.

So, we contacted the vendor's BCA bank branch (BCA Katamso, account # 8000454941), and we were told to contact BCA through HaloBCA email. It took some weeks, and we were told after some pressure that "Regarding to the crime-indicated remittance which we have talked about from our previous emails, please be informed that we have investigated by phone and visitation to the address and we could not meet Him. Based on our investigation it is correct that the data of the beneficiary account is fictitious and It seemed he had moved away. We'd like to inform you that we have taken a special attention to this account suspect".

Since only a small amount of money is involved (just US$ 1,148.50), - we asked the BCA bank to compensate the buyer with this small amount of money for the lost the bank's negligence of customer details verification caused him.

The bank refused.

For this small amount of money it's not worth to start a legal action. Hence: the money is lost.

So, the massage from us to any international investor: Never trust the accountability of BCA bank.

For Indonesian readers: We will appreciate any information which can lead to the allocation of the criminal that used the name 'David Sipayung' to take my friends' money and run away.

יום שבת, 6 במרץ 2010

How the civil society of Indonesia can be assisted by the USA ?

USA is the mother of modern democracies. Since its independence in 1776, the democracy of USA has been challenged many times by various powerful internal narrow interests, who were trying to influence the government for their own narrow interests. USA civil society was emerged during the time, and has been strengthened in spite of all these non-democratic attacks, but still it has to continue struggle with lobbies of narrow interests.

The youngest democratic society of Indonesia can studied a lot from the rich experience of the civil society of the USA . The USA can contribute a lot for the strengthening of the Indonesian democracy by sharing its experience in these fields with local policy makers, and by empowering Indonesian civil society NGOs and initiatives.

USA administration can help the young democracy of Indonesia by sharing its rich experience on subjects like:

  • How to protect the democracy from internal non-democratic powers.
  • How to promote a society which adhere to the rule of law,
  • How to raise civil service that serve the society faithfully, and
  • How to enforce accountability on powerful institutions and figures.

If USA wants to strengthen the Indonesian democratic civil society, it should not strengthen elements in the Indonesian societies that were responsible for atrocities, - elements that never regret or paying for their crimes.

It was published that the USA under president Obama is going to defy the US law (Leahy Law) which said that the entire Kopassus unit is banned from receiving US military education or training, following allegations of their involvement in a number of atrocities in restive provinces. The law says the ban will only be lifted if the Indonesian government takes adequate legal steps to prosecute implicated officers.

So far, not even one Kopassus ex-generals were fairly sued in Indonesia …

The whole of the Indonesian army is still defying the civil society: By 2009, the military, known by its Indonesian acronym TNI, told to relinquish its business interests under reform legislation, but defied it.

History can show that collaboration between USA or any other strong power with armies, or army-units in most of the 3rd world, - were almost never strengthen democracy, but the opposite. Military officers, backed by Western powers, performed numerous anti-democracy coup d'états around the 3rd world, including the 1965 coup d'état by Suharto.

I hope the rumors are not true, - and the reality is that USA has changed its attitude since Obama was elected. I hope USA will stop its custom of weakening civil societies in the 3rd world. I hope the civil society of the USA will have the power to change the catastrophic US foreign policies.

(
The article was published in www.thejakartapost.com and www.thejakartaglobe.com)

יום שלישי, 2 במרץ 2010

The real root causes of Indonesian poverty

Poverty exists everywhere and its root causes are ingrained in our human psyche. The Indonesian style of poverty is endemic to all tropical-based cultures. For thousands of years or more, tropical inhabitants had everything they needed for basic survival.
On the contrary, in most of the Northern hemisphere, situation was totally different. People were forced to manage their life wisely, because for some months there was not enough food, and except of building a shelter for the freezing winter, they were forced to prepare, - in the summer, - enough heating materials for all these months too. Enough people understood that without some common values they will not survive: Solidarity, long term planning, fairness, good management skills, efficiency, promoting sharp minds, creativity, accuracy, reliability, honesty, rule of law, and accountability were just few of the characteristics essential for a society living in a hostile environment to survive.
Today, we live in a globalized village. “Northern Hemisphere”’ cultures are dominant: The US, the EU, Russia, Korea, Japan and China are the leading societies in the world today. (Of course, not everyone in these societies adheres to the above values — but they are much more common there than in the tropical societies. The highest standard of living is enjoyed in countries where these values are more common, like Scandinavia).
The indigenous cultures of the tropical zones in Asia, Africa and America are lagging far behind. Singapore is a tropical country, but its culture is not. It’s a Northern hemisphere Chinese (Confucian) culture.
Two stories I heard can show the important difference of attitude. In Bangkok, I met a Chinese man who manages a guesthouse. He told me how his grandfather arrived with nothing but his bicycle from China, and sold noodles in the street for living, without a home to live in.
He saved some of the money he earned to buy land, where he continued to sell his noodles. Later, he built a restaurant and lived there. When they had more money, they built an apartment above the restaurant. Then, over the years, they continued building flats above their apartment with rooms for backpackers to rent. Now, they are relatively rich, but continue to work hard.
On the contrary, a story from Indonesia: My Indonesian brother-in-law told me that three of his wife’s brothers have a ruko (a shop-house), where they buy and sell products. One of them own his ruko, and the other two are renting their ruko. I asked him: “So the guy who owns a ruko is making more money than his two brothers?” “No,” he answered, - "The brother who owns his ruko does not need much money. His brothers work harder, and earn more money because they have to pay rent
"...
Indonesia should look at its own Chinese population, and study from them. How many Chinese are looking for governmental corrupted job? How many Chinese are relying on parasitic payments from philanthropists or government? – How many Chinese are begging for money? – How many Chinese are sucking the small budget of Indonesia ?
Now, I found in Indonesia , severe lack of financial solidarity: Many rural poor people, who become rich, are flocking to Jakarta , don't care about their home-island, and poor relatives.
I see rich peo
ple who are happy with the palaces they build as their home. But many of these palaces are located in ugly, stinky, polluted areas with no promenades, boulevards, parks, reliable water and electricity supplies, cultural centers, etc. It seems that not many rich people in Indonesia are willing to pay for better infrastructure for everyone in their neighborhood.
Indonesia sells mainly raw materials, like most African countries. Why not sell high added-value products from these natural resources? Most wealthy people in Indonesia, including state companies, are not investing their money in competitive industries. They do not want to develop Indonesia. They do not want challenges, prestige and pride. All they want is easy and safe (but very small) returns on their investment.
In summary, I would like to repeat the main characteristics Indonesians should embrace if they really want to emerge out of the swampy, tropical culture of poverty and negligence: Solidarity (financially), long-term planning, fairness, good management skills, efficiency, promoting sharp minds, creativity, accuracy, reliability, honesty, rule of law and accountability.
The characteristic order is not important. All of them are important. Missing one of them will cause the whole target to be missed.
Good luck!

(The article was published in www.thejakartapost.com)