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strong>Cheaper Bali holidays, but not better ties

Nov. 16, p4

Indonesia announced last week that it will scrap visa-on-arrival fees for Australians in an attempt to boost the number of visitors to the country.

While this may lead to a small increase in Australian tourists visiting Bali, what the government really needs to do to increase people-to-people exchange to make it easier for young people to work and study in Indonesia ultimately facilitating deeper economic, political and cultural relations. (By Rachelle Cole and Arjuna Dibley, Melbourne)

Your comments:

To your article: I couldn'€™t agree more. It borders on a tragedy that both governments have such protectionist policies that their people are artificially kept apart through some misguided concept of apartheid. It didn'€™t work in South Africa and it won'€™t work here.

My God, when will people open their eyes to the realities '€” Indonesia is a populous young country with enormous energy, initiative and a will to make a success of itself and Australia is a huge country with an aging population and a falling birthrate. Seems like a match made in paradise (which most Australians think Indonesia is), doesn'€™t it?

Now, I know this is a silly question but, have you actually ever been through immigration in Denpasar? I am referring to Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Because, the vast majority of visa-on-arrival tourists find it an immense ordeal that takes upwards of three hours '€” after a long and tiring flight (maybe involving a change of aircraft somewhere if coming from Europe)! It is the number one thing complained about!

But for you it'€™s just a walk in the park? Maybe you get special treatment? Who knows?

Terry McAsee

Govt asks EU to ease RI palm oil export

Nov. 19, Online

Indonesia, the world'€™s largest producer of palm oil, has asked the European Union to ease its regulations on palm oil imports, mainly to help Indonesian farmers enjoy benefits from the exportation of palm oil.

Your comments:

The Indonesian government should try to understand Europe'€™s concerns about the destruction of Indonesia'€™s primary forests, about the environmental cost of oil palm monoculture and about its heavy social impact on traditional societies and people in a number of regions in Indonesia.

The other problem with palm oil is its unhealthiness when it is added to industrial food. Heart and vascular diseases and obesity are on the rise in Europe and part of the problem lies with the food that contains palm oil and its derivatives.

Primary forests are used by native people in Sumatra, Kalimantan and West Papua as a source of food, wood and medicine. The empty stomachs are those of native people chased from their forested land by palm oil plantations.

Primary forests also provide invaluable services such as carbon sink, oxygen production, soil retention, water catchment, biodiversity shelter. And they are a yet under-tapped reservoir of new molecules. They have thousands of potential Betapo-lR-like molecules concealed in their biodiversity. Destroying primary forests to plant oil palms is economic nonsense in the long term. With palm oil, some people may get rich quickly, Indonesia may have something to export other than coal, but in the end, Indonesia will have lost its primary forests which have a much higher value.

Jan Karl

One has to wonder if palm oil is so unhealthy, then why popular palm oil derivative '€˜palmitate'€™ meant for suspended Vitamin A+D can be found in many milk-fortified products, including baby'€™s milk
formula?

Further, recent discovery of '€˜Betapol®'€™ '€” another palm oil-derived nutritional additive, with 17 new patents worldwide, is the world'€™s closest natural match to breast milk fat available to mankind. '€˜Betapol®'€™ mimics the unique fat composition and structure of human milk.

Indonesia is lucky to have a President who concurrently fights for export revenue, poverty eradication and environmental protection.

He is fully aware of three mentioned dependencies and wasted no time to take action.

FMN

Open recruitment in all ministries next year

Nov. 15, p3

Following in the footsteps of the Jakarta administration, which has put in place a system that allows government agencies to hold open-call recruitment for civil-servant positions, the central government is planning to implement open recruitment in all ministries starting next year.

Your comments:

I do hope it runs as well as you wish. If we can not address the corruption on a small scale, how could we address on a big scale?

Olla Roemlah

The panel who will judge the recruitment should come from outside of each ministry for fairness.

Orchar Charad

Good job. Hopefully it really keeps his promise to fight against corruption in office and other government agencies.

Lailatul Bariyah