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President Yudhoyono visits Muarojambi temple Antara
JAMBI - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday morning visited Muarojambi Temple which has been registered by UNESCO to be one of the world`s cultural heritage monuments. The head of state visited the Temple, considered one of the richest archaeological sites on the island of Sumatra, in the company of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Culture and Tourism Minister Jerwo Wacik, Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono and a number of other ministers, Jambi Governor Hasan Basri Agus, and several local officials. President Yudhoyono arrived here on Wednesday for a three-day
working visit until Friday, and the visit to Muarojambi Temple is part of his agenda. According to Wikipedia, the eight temple-like structures appear to be Buddhist, and were probably built around the 14th century. Archaeologists conclude that the site was the center of Old Jambi, the capital of ancient Malay kingdom which reigned supreme about ten centuries ago. The capital was sieged and
destroyed in 1377 by armies from Burma, now Myanmar. For centuries, the site had been lost and forgotten deep in the jungle, only to be rediscovered in 1920 by a British military expedition team. Muara Jambi temple complex covers an area of 12 km2, along the side of Batanghari river. There are eight main temples in the complex, all of them are located in the center area, fortified by walls. Three of them are already renovated. In 1982, a 32-centimeters tall female bronze statue was found at Koto Kandis, in the Muara Sabak sub district. It is believed to be the goddess Laksmi, holding a lotus bud in her left.
Friday, September 23, 2011
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Earthquake jolts Sumbawa Antara
MATARAM - An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted Sumbawa District, on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, Thursday at 3.59 am local time. The quake`s epicenter was located at 9.92 degrees Southern Latitude and 117.79 degrees Eastern Longitude, around 68 km southeast of Sumbawa Besar, and at a depth of 10 km below sea level, according to information from the National Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). The temblor did not have potential to trigger a subsequent tsunami, and no reports of damages were available so far. Residents of East Lombok District also felt the tremor. Samsul Rizal, a local resident, said the tremor lasted about 25 seconds and caused villagers to rush out of their homes in panic. “I was still in bed when suddenly there was an earthquake. I and my family members rushed out of the house. Outside, I noticed that my neighbors were also staying outdoor,” he said. On July 25, 2011, Sumbawa was also shaken by a magnitude-5.0 earthquake at 7.59 pm local time. The temblor`s epicenter was located at 7.91 degrees Southern Latitude and 117.60 degrees Eastern Longitude, around 68 km northeast of Sumbawa Besar. The earthquake did not cause a tsunami.
Cabinet shake-up, now or never Antara
JAKARTA - The cabinet reshuffle discourse may have disturbed ministers but the president had better realize that it is now or never at all so that his ministers can concentrate on their jobs in the remaining three years, observers say. “If the president really intends to replace low-performing or problematic ministers, he had better do it immediately because , if not, it will have political implications that will affect his government`s performance,” Arizka Warganegara, political analyst of Lampung University (Unila) said in response to the cabinet reshuffle discourse. Arizka`s view was shared by his political scientist colleague Edi Indrizal of Andalas University in West Sumatra. Edi said that if the president did not reshuffle the cabinet, it would further worsen his image which had already dropped by an unprecedented figure of late. “Moreover, the president now has objective reasons to reshuffle his cabinet because there are several ministers whose performance is considered not optimal,” Edi said. Besides, if the president reshuffles his cabinet, the new ministers will have enough time to carry out their visions and missions in the administration`s remaining three years. However, the two political observers said that in replacing some of his ministers President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should not base his decision on political considerations. “It would be useless to reshuffle the cabinet if it is based on political considerations, much less if it is based on like and dislike. The new ministers` performance would not be maximal
because the right man was not put in the right place,” said Arizka. In the meantime, Edi said that if political considerations were taken into account in replacing the ministers, it would be hard to expect that an improvement in the ministers` performance could be made in the remaining three years. He said that political considerations for a cabinet reshuffle could be a boomerang for the president because so far the ministers who got more public spotlights were those who came from political parties. Therefore, now is the time for the president to prove to the public that he was not `held hostage` by political parties and could take a firm step to place professional people for carrying out his vision and missions, Edi said. He said it was now time for Yudhoyono to carry out reshuffle because now was the last momentum for him to decide the journey of his leadership. Two years of his second presidential term was enough for him to judge which ministers had to be replaced. According to Arizka Warganegara, the president in replacing his ministers should use a clear and measurable criteria. He must have the courage to ignore political intervention from political parties in his coalition and the opposition party. Besides, the president should place professionals in their respective fields and provide no rooms for personal egoism in the cabinet, thus objectivity would become a means of measuring the composition of the cabinet. In this case, the Head of State should empower the Presidential Work Unit for Development Supervision and Control (UKP4) as
an institution which is able to provide an objective assessment of the government`s performance. Political observer of the Malangbased University of Muhammadiyah (UMM) Dr Mas`ud Said meanwhile suggested that Yudhoyono should pay attention to three aspects in reshuffling his cabinet. He said that the three aspects covered ministers who were related to legal problems, who had bad performance and who had bad
health conditions. A minister with legal problem was not good in public opinions while those with bad health conditions would affect work performance. The new ministers must be more capable than the outgoing ministers they had replaced as otherwise it would invite new public criticisms. “It would not pose any problem if the successor ministers have more capability,” Mas`ud said. Rizka Negara added that if order
to see incapable ministers their performance should be learned from the assessment and report of the UKP4. He said that at least four ministers should be replaced due to inability to handle the problems of Indonesian migrant workers overseas, judicial mafia cases, unprofessional handling of the upcoming SEA Games and the failure in the mediation of free trade such as the Chinese Asian Free Trade Area (CAFTA).
AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD
Anti-corruption protesters from a coalition of anti-corruption organisations with members from Islamic hardline and conservative groups rally outside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in Jakarta on September 22, 2011. Jakarta has been rocked by series of high profile corruption cases that included Muhammad Nazarrudin, the sacked treasurer of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party. Protestors called Yudhoyono liar and demanded to step down. The shirt slogan reads “corruption hunter force”.