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The week in review: Help is here to deal with haze
JP/Syofiardi Bachyul JbAfter weeks of resistance and bad-mouthing neighbors Indonesia finally welcomed foreign assistance in extinguishing forest and peatland fires
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JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb
After weeks of resistance and bad-mouthing neighbors Indonesia finally welcomed foreign assistance in extinguishing forest and peatland fires.
If only the government had been quicker in accepting help from neighbors who are badly affected from the haze, it might have been able to prevent the death of at least seven people due to the acute respiratory infections and the deteriorating health of some 200,000 others in Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra.
Indonesia has, so far, deployed over 22,000 military and police personnel and officers from relevant agencies in six provinces to put out the fires, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). The number, however, is far from enough given the scores of hotspots,
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said she was meeting counterparts in Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, China and Australia collaboration measures to end the fires. The Straits Times reported that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) would deploy a Chinook helicopter with a 5,000-liter heli-bucket for aerial firefighting and water-bombing operations and a C-130 Hercules aircraft for cloud seeding.
Meanwhile, the Star reported that the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement
Agency would deploy an amphibious Bombardier CL415MP plane that would be able to drop 6,137 liters of water in 12 seconds while flying at the speed of 130kmh (70knots) for the mission.
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo had visited Kalimantan and Sumatra to observe the efforts in fighting the forest fires, and welcome the help from neighbors, without directly snubbing his aides including Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who had made embarrassing remarks against Singapore.
The thick haze has of course badly affected tourism in the region, and even in Phuket, Thailand. A few sporting events ' including the Tour de Singkarak cycling race in West Sumatra and the World Swimming Championships in Singapore ' were also badly affected.
The main concern right now is the health condition of people affected by the haze, with barely enough masks to go around.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of Thursday, 45,666 people in Riau Islands suffered from illnesses, with four fatalities; 69,734 Jambi residents were sick with one fatality; and 83,276 South Sumatra residents suffered from illnesses and two had died. There were over 43,000 haze-related patients in West Kalimantan, 29,104 in South Kalimantan and 36,101 in Central Kalimantan.
The help of neighbors brings a bit of relief; however people, especially in the affected regions, still demand firm law enforcement against the culprits responsible for lighting the fires, particularly those perceived to be untouchable as fires occur each year in the same areas, and even in the same concessions, environment watchers say.
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Finally, some good news ' the rebound in the rupiah, as signs of growing confidence in the country's economy. The rupiah leaped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday ' the biggest surge in six years ' to 13,821 against the US dollar. The rupiah jumped 3.4 percent to 13,428 a dollar on Friday, taking its advance this week to 9.1 percent.
However analysts have warned that the rupiah would still weaken in the next two quarters due to the weak commodities outlook, current account deficit and a firmer dollar against regional currencies driven by expectations of a US interest rate rise.
They also said the government should be able to benefit from the momentum and strengthen the country's fundamentals and competitiveness, to anticipate future pressure.
On the same day of the rupiah rebound, the government announced its third economic stimulus package, which focused on energy price cuts and new land and financial policies.
The government is also expanding the micro loan program by slashing the interest rate to 12 percent from 22 percent to boost lending and economic activities. Meanwhile, cutting red tape and simplifying land procurement are also priorities.
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This week's focus in the sports world was on a 90-day suspension imposed on Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini by the world ruling soccer body FIFA ethics committee in the wake of a Swiss criminal investigation. The suspension has plunged the FIFA into a deeper crisis.
The criminal case centers on Blatter, who has chaired FIFA for decades, who allegedly abused FIFA money by making a US$2 million payment to Platini.
The development has prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the umbrella organization for all sports to call on FIFA to consider a 'credible external presidential candidate of high integrity'. FIFA is slated to hold an emergency chairmanship election next February.
IOC President Thomas Bach said that 'They [FIFA] must act swiftly to regain credibility because you cannot forever dissociate the credibility of FIFA from the credibility of soccer'.
As the world's most popular sport, people hope that soccer will regain its popularity in terms of achievements and sportsmanship and can become one of the sports that unite peoples from different countries.
Scandals, corruption and criminal acts are something that should not happen in sports bodies.
' Primastuti Handayani
