Aspirations Fund and Segentong Pig

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 3:03 pm
J Kristiadi

Is there a relationship between the fund and the aspirations of pork? For more details, you need the following information. Dana aspiration is proposed, which is impressive "origin" so that every member of the Golkar Party, the Parliament can be allocated Rp 15 billion per year. Said to assist in the distribution of electoral districts. These funds come from the people and the total tax each year by more than Rp 8 trillion. Drawdown was facilitated by representatives of the people.
While vocabulary segentong (meat) pork, the country of origin, commonly called pork-barrel. The title refers to the practice of allocation of public funds given to constituents by MPs so that they can be re-elected in subsequent elections. Political practice is much criticized and controversial because of more priority to personal interests rather than public interests as well as prone to fraud and false targets.
That said, origin of the term is known about the end of XVIII century, before the civil war in the United States. The story, which has been marinated pork was given as a gift to the black slaves for grabs. The provision, but it also defamation.
Therefore, it is understood that just copying ideas from other countries without in-depth assessment was received resistance from the government and at the same time a sharp criticism from the public. If in a country where democracy has been established it is prone to irregularities practice, can be imagined if carried out in Indonesia as a new democracy to the extent of the epidermis. Pig Gentong project will be very prone land abuse and can become the facilitator for money services.
It's no secret that penggerogotan State Budget, especially fund centers, such as a special allocation fund, the general allocation, and deconcentration, the land which can lead to corruption. Therefore, the regional head diligent search for a facilitator to these funds, in addition to swell, also flows into the region.
The proposal can institutionalize the practice of giving "candy" of political elites to voters in order to obtain political support. The difference is, if the gift is cash and candy and maybe carry some personal money, while the aspirations of funds through the scheme which they consider more sophisticated sourced entirely from state funds. But, essentially similar, namely poured state money for political purposes are concerned.
In fact, a number of political parties strongly criticized government policy ever considered use of public funds for the award of the 2009 election. Shape, among others, are direct cash assistance, business credit people, school operational assistance, special aid students, independent national program of community empowerment, alleviation programs in urban poor, and education voucher. Policies that use public funds for the benefit of winning the presidential election. However, such practices seemed to be the inspiration for the birth of the idea of the aspirations of funds.
Public resistance was getting stronger because of low levels of public confidence in political parties and representative institutions. The community is still not healed her hurt with the proposed construction of the Parliament building is said with a sloping ceiling plan funds nearly Rp 2 trillion.
Previously, similar projects is the installation of LCD TVs in the elevator, the procurement of computers, security systems are redundant at the Senayan Complex, House of Representatives Complex fencing project, and so forth. Thus, if the fair almost every proposal that comes from the House always direaksi negatively by the public.
Damaged structure
Such practices can not be justified, in addition to destroying the order of state enforcement of clean and true. First, implementing the policy, including the equitable distribution of regional development, is the executive realm. The function of Parliament is very firm and clear, namely, supervision, budgets, and legislation.
Second, equity in the region is set up with the scheme of decentralization, deconcentration, and the duty of assistance as stipulated in Law No. 33 of 2004 on Financial Balance between Central and Local Government. By forcing the fund's aspirations, will hit the local autonomy rule for the Regional Budget prepared by local governments and approved by regional people's representative institutions, rather than by Parliament.
Similarly, the arguments that rely on Article 15 Paragraph (3) of Law No 17/2003 on State Finance, which stated among others, the Parliament may propose changes in revenue and expenditure budget bill, it is very easy to be broken. They forgot that the Act confirms the power of state financial management in the executive branch, not the legislature. Therefore, the user is responsible to the executive budget in accordance with the levels of government in accordance with Law No. 1 / 2004 on State Treasury.
Hence also, the proposal is impressive carelessly canceled course. If you want to emulate the political practices in countries that have well-established democracy, not imitation-leather skin. Moreover if has proved more harm than good for society.
Better mimic how instill democratic values that the powers entrusted to them may actually be used to manage the country in order to bring prosperity and justice. Honorable mention for the representatives of the people is not a protocol, but actually in people's hearts.
J Kristiadi CSIS Senior Researcher

Picking Lessons from Business Nursalim Toughness

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 3:05 pm
Hermas E Prabowo
Nursalim Ahmad (52) just loss of more than USD 70 million. Three times in a row, red onion crop to crop failure. Venture capital and savings were exhausted, but he never gave up.
Nursalim even been determined to come back later when planting onions have more capital. "Now again ngumpulin (capital) first," he said in late May.
For Nursalim, villagers Klampok, Brebes, Central Java, falling-up for onion farmers were common. If the climate is nice and good crop management, profit could be obtained. The opposite also can occur, such as that experienced by the father of three children in June 2009 when planting onions in an area of 0.75 shoulder (a shoulder around 6000 square meters).
Although the current climate that's good, he failed harvest due to plant garlic treated workers unfairly. "It should be sprayed, not sprayed. Yes, devour pests, "said Nursalim.
The next planting season, September 2009, he planted more onions shoulder width of 0.5. Once again she was not lucky. The rain when it did not come due to a longer dry season. Red onion plant less water. He tried to save the plant by making pantek wells, but water resources are limited and not sufficient to irrigate crops in order to grow the perfect onion. At harvest, red onion into small pieces and sold only cut down to Rp 5 million.
Two unsuccessful attempts did not make Nursalim broke. In January 2010, he returned to plant onion shoulder width 0.75. At that time the water overflow. Hope had come sowing.
However, the prediction missed. Until March, the rain was still falling heavily. Onion crop was damaged. Onion leaves and then broke down. Nursalim returned to crop failure.
"Of the three times of harvest, I can only spend Rp 13 million. Her capital to USD 70 million more, "he said. In fact, with that much capital, it should be profitable Nursalim hundreds of million rupiah.
Hardiness
Life as an onion farmer had to be resilient. Moreover, when the climate increasingly hostile as it is now. "There is no option for us except to plant. Yes, depending on fate, "he said.
For the onion farmers, failure is a matter of course. At least, it is believed Nursalim. Here, resilience as a farmer challenged. However, he had to get up and go back to work hard to build a new hope.
First, too. We started married life, 1980s, Nursalim not have anything. There was no rice fields. In fact, the only expertise is to hoe.
Only with a hoe, young Nursalim not shy so coolies in the fields of people. From wages to laborers to hoe it, Nursalim managed to save. Capital which he collected were then used to trade water spinach vegetable. It turned out that profits from selling water spinach is better than being a laborer to hoe. His wife also did not remain silent and nimbly helped Klampok selling vegetables at market.
Shoulder to shoulder to raise money little by little, in 1985, Nursalim dared to hire a field planted with kale. The result is not bad. When it leases land to Rp 200,000 per shoulder.
The business grew. He began to buy their own fields. Because of increasingly widespread land-existing garapannya own fields and rice paddies any lease-revenue increases. Especially after he has sufficient capital to grow onions. Because of good crops, income from the onion she bought the land again.
Onion farming is risky. Since the first, fully aware Nursalim. Therefore, he did not rely on one business and started doing a kind of diversification.
Incidentally, the year 1998, there were neighbors who want to sell the tractor 15 PK. Without thinking, he sold his land area of 0.25 shoulder. The money from the sale of rice that he bought the tractor. Nursalim calculations do not miss. At the time of the season if the land, tractor hire more people and bring in revenue to $ 6 million a month.
Not only lease the tractor, he also planted spinach. He planted his shoulder-length land swamp with cluster systems. Result, each day he can harvest water spinach. "Not bad there is additional income of Rp 50,000 per day," he said.
Kangkung learned every day that his wife was brought to market. With the swamp, Nursalim not need to be confused meet the needs of daily meals. Meanwhile, the results of his efforts to sell vegetables at the market can be saved.
In terms of cultivation, Nursalim also diversifying. 2.5 hectares of his land, which he bought in stages for more than 20 years, he planted various crops. Some swamp cabbage, chili, rice, onion and others.
Although variations do business, the most promising opportunities for the cultivation of onion Nursalim. Capital is indeed great, but if successful the profits were not small. Besides saving money, he also bought a new rice fields.
Not infrequently to fulfill his desire to plant onions, Nursalim hunting land outside Bradford. "Never until Banyumas," he said.
For farmers onion, garlic planting challenge today is more complex, especially after felt the impact of global climate change. The main difficulties that they face is the inability to predict climate. On the other hand, governments often do not provide adequate access to climate information. As a result, farmers are overwhelmed with the wild climate.
In the rainy season, sometimes still dry. In contrast, the dry time, the rain is still occurring. Since there is no access to information about the precise estimate of the climate, the farmer was so fond of speculating. "Indulgence" is not rare new fatal, as experienced Nursalim.
Nursalim is resilient farmers. During this time, with no government presence at his side too, he proved able to rise up to build his life.
However, if this situation continues, and resilient farmers like Nursalim allowed to continue to fight alone against ganasnya climate change, who knows how many more years they could survive. Nursalim failure is also the failure of other farmers.

Wary of Western tricks

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 4:31 pm
Global warming has made headlines worldwide because it causes environmental damage. This disaster raises global appeal about the importance of reduction of gas emissions, the cause of warming. However, says the pressure is so strong in developing countries, with the lure of aid, so that would reduce emissions?
Just for information, at the environmental summit meeting in December last year, in Copenhagen, Danish, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has declared a willingness to reduce emissions 26 percent over the next decade. Furthermore, Indonesia offers a decrease in emissions by 41 percent if there is adequate assistance from the international community to decrease these emissions.
This is certainly an example of Indonesia because it will be considered as an example in reducing emissions. This is certainly a laudable action.
Canada, Australia, and Japan is a country considered a promising example of emission reduction, which is much larger than the promise of U.S. President Barack Obama, who is only willing to reduce emissions 17 percent.
Indonesia willing to reduce emissions, one based incentive scheme called REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or Reducing Emissions with the Prevention of deforestation and forest degradation. REDD offer assistance to developing countries, the debt will then be shaped, with a willingness to reforestation, or prevention of deforestation.
In 2007, the World Bank said Indonesia as the world's biggest cause of pollution. Why? Only the World Bank was the one who knows.
The smallest portion
In the New York Times last March 22 issue, Fred stok of the World Resources Institute, said by implication that the emission reduction efforts in Indonesia is only possible from the reduction of ambition to be the owner of the world's largest oil palm plantation and the cessation of deforestation.
Amazon jungle, Latin America, and the forests in Africa also became sararan REDD. Is the world's largest emissions occur in developing countries and forest owners. List of world's largest providers of pollution showed the opposite (see graph).
Population 2009 report, citing the environmental journalist Fred Pearce, says that 500 million citizens of the world's richest, or 10 percent of the total world population, contributes 50 percent of world carbon dioxide emissions.
About three and a half billion people worldwide, or about 50 percent of the total global population, generally live in developing countries, accounted for only 7 percent of global emissions.
So why replace the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who replaced former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as co-chair a UN panel group, launched a fundraising drive directly REDD?
Stoltenberg Why not encourage the reduction of global emissions simultaneously, including by U.S. forces, raising the exhaust gas emission reductions, more than 7 percent?
Beware of REDD. With this scheme, the developed countries of the world's biggest cause of pollution, can not escape from responsibility on the grounds has donated funds for emissions reductions through REDD in developing countries. That is, through REDD happened endorsement of pollution, through the justification for increased assistance through REDD.
 
Do not forget, the declaration of the relative economic growth along with increased pollution. Pollution reduction is relatively in line with the reduction of development. Farida Akhter, December 11, 2009, in OnlineOpinion Australia, asked. "Why every time the Western countries failed to reach emission reduction targets, their eyes were immediately drawn to developing countries?" (MON)

"THE NAME nationalism"

Kutib this article from Arena Magazine

Crude nationalism is considered to be the cause of many problems of nationality in Indonesia today. Not only the state, too many people get a suit on meaning and understanding of "nationalism" as an identity. Here are the views Syafiq Aleiha, Former Chairman of the National Council of the Indonesian Youth Struggle Front (FPPI), about the phenomenon that this worsening.

What is "nationalism" as one identity for the country?
Yes, can we call identity. Nationalism or nation identity itself emerged because of the modern concept and we are not born with. He (nationalism, read) was born in 1920 as the ideals of a nation state, previously we have not found a nation state. Studies on the nation-state in the country are also relatively new, as Benedict Anderson filed. Initial ideas about the nation-state which underlies the emergence of the ideology of "nationalism" is also new. When Ernast Renan defines nation what is? He calls that nationalism is the soul. As quoted Soekarno, nationalism is a soul of a spiritual principle. From there actually could be called a nationalist identity. Identity as a nation could be people with particular ethnic identities, but he still had a chance to change, so that's not a standard of identity and death.
Ernast Renan, originator of the idea of nationalism, saying that the nation is the highest that were born out of solidarity with the historical experience of communal suffering. Solidarity is at the main base of the community today and the future. Like Indonesia, realized the power and potential as a multi-ethnic society, there arose a desire for independence. By uniting the people of the archipelago, Indonesia unplug from the clutches of the Netherlands. Moreover, the encouragement of political power that has been there before, as indicated by boundary line supervision kingdoms of the archipelago in the past.
Meanwhile, according to Ernest Gellner, nationalism is a consequence of new forms of community organization which relies on high culture established by the school and is maintained by the state. In his book, Nations and Nationalism, he refused to say that the nation is a natural community. For Gellner, the educated bourgeoisie often occupies the position of the main characters in the process of nation-building. Nationalism is not the rise of the latent power of past or asleep, in spite of having a claim like this. Responding to these theoretical differences, Lutfi Rahman, political and social analysts of the Institute of Islamic and Social Studies (LKIS) argues, there are some things that underlay the birth of Indonesian nationalism. First, Islam is able to bind multi-ethnic communities of the archipelago which exceeded the boundaries of race, ethnicity, and culture, in the context of the fight against the Dutch. "Stigmatization that colonialism is identical to the heathen, and the people of the archipelago are obliged to fight a Muslim majority, is an effective stimulus." Second, the introduction of modern knowledge linked with understanding of Javanese aristocracy and the people gave birth to the structure. This is a substantial contribution to the educated in the country to build his dream of Indonesia. Third, the introduction of the notion of "Left", such as SI Semarang, which began to distinguish between the people, the proletariat, and the Dutch colonial bourgeois groups included in the category.
From this third Lutfi, experiences and ideals of a society formed in managing its infrastructure. Despite the limited debate time Dutch colonialism. "We can imitate the Sun Yat Sen, or Ibn Saud, that emphasizes independence first. While the shape and management of the state is the next thing, "according to a statement quoting Lutfi Sukarno's time.
Meanwhile, according to Kusnanto Anggoro, a political observer LIPI, lunturnya national consciousness during the state was due more to use a military approach. Although as an instrument builder responsible nationhood, an error if the country using military means as the media to unite the nation. Violence can only solve problems in just physical territorial integrity. While the spirit of nationalism can never be established with violence. Kusnanto also argued that the meaning of nationalism, post-cold war nationalism should be different from previous eras. Today, nationalism is only interpreted as a political-economic stability. So when the political-economic instability are likely to arise ethno nationalism, ie nationalism, which further highlight a small identity and ignore the larger. This phenomenon usually occurs in the plural countries like the Balkans, Rwanda and several Central American countries the days are more dominant ethno-nationalism. Though this trend will threaten the nation-state conception.
To face the threat of ethno-nationalism in the context of Indonesia must be distinguished between the nation-etnic groups, who could be given political rights (political rights) as well as the freedom of civilians (civil liberties), with etnic group who were given only civil liberties without having to get a polical rights. Nevertheless, the recognition of cultural autonomy must still be given. Political observers also suggested LIPI, Indonesia must make transparency in the understanding of nationalism and nationality. Because, as a project by the state, nationalism, requires an effective governance as well as the legitimacy of the public. For channels that democratization will become an important instrument in creating a number of joint-Indonesian. In addition, the state has an important role in preventing conflict with each other nationalities. The concept of multiculturalism as demand has multipledentity. This means that the people as the ethno-nationalism, but also has the citizenship and nationality. Only when bertiganya side by side, could be continued by talking Indonesianitas or keindonesiaan. But the point is, we need mutual respect, responsibility and solidarity to maintain Indonesia as a state building without sacrificing the essence of nationalism and nationality are smaller.

When a citizen had to use or abandon "nationalism"?
            Nationalism is most relevant when used against imperialism. Since most of the rise of nationalism is a talent to oppose imperialism. Especially outside Europe, nationalism is more used to repel invaders. European context, nationalism is more based on the spirit of modernism, a state organization that originated from the kingdom, was transformed into the nation state. Nationalism can also be used for the context of relationships with other nations through the glass eyes of a particular identity as a nation. Actually the political-economic-cultural nationalism became irrelevant to put forward. The phenomenon of dominance and hegemony of political economy-culture developed countries is more western oriented, or America centric, nationalism became irrelevant to appear again. Not predictably mengkotak-boxed passion for the human race, but to encourage the balancing of power and upholding democracy. Because democracy will run if the balancing of power has been fulfilled. All that could arise if there is a certain kind of strength of a nation willing to fight for the identity of nationality. But at a certain level, a nation becomes irrelevant when he used to be covered, such as Hitler-style nationalism, which devour other race or nation.

Will the concept of nationalism has always emanated from the ruler or group of nobles?
            For the phenomenon of Indonesia, nationalism has become a monopoly power. Case of Aceh, the army claimed on behalf of nationalism, then the nation itself in the fight, killed and massacred. That's the danger of thinking blind nationalism. But if we're honest, all ideologies and even religions also have similar danger. What and who is considered deviant, and not pure, will receive punishment as well as unrecognized. So the real problem is the question of democracy, even to the meaning of nationalism. Fanatical nationalism and options such as the one in the head that put the generals of military operations in Aceh? Ataukan nationalism as promoted the generation of the early 20s when they opposed European colonialism? The second option is what we should actually stretcher. Because, basically, nationalism represents freedom from external forces or free from external contrain.
            Acehnese people saw Sukarno and Hatta as a Muslim, and shouts of "Allahu Akbar" by the people of Surabaya at that time against the Dutch, that's what makes Aceh declared part of the Republic of Indonesia at that time. There is the same religion as factors muck this nationalism has also been expressed by MT Kahin. In his book The Birth Struggle Reflection Republic, he wrote that Islam is not just an ordinary bond, but it really became a kind of symbol in the fight against groups (in group) to fight against foreign intruders. According to him, the people of Aceh are willing to join the Unitary Republic of Indonesia during the proclamation of 1945, only based on the same religious sentiment of that time.
Kian waning of nationalism also caused closure of the debate about how to run this nation. According to Rahman Lutfi, this started to happen when the momentum of the Soekarno presidential decree and continue until the regime of Suharto. As a result, no more discourse about the nation or state for Indonesia. Reopen this debate is important, because of the sediment was suspended when the New Order repression.
           
In the Indonesian context, is there a society that recognizes or using nationalism as an identity?
            Indonesia many people recognize. As we have seen, masihbanyak people watch badminton, football or other sporting matches involving the national team of Indonesia. That is an example of elements of nationalism, even the most trivial. Because in everyday life, nationalism was often not used. Because nationalism is not about politics live Every day (day-to-day politics). A farmer who every day into the fields, the interaction will be more forward side of the farmer as an identity, rather than nationalism. In a small sphere of ideas and he would not touch with a lot of nationalism, so that he need not disclose it. Because it is not enough space to bring it up. Many people who use the nation's identity, in fact they are often related to cross country....