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Despite evidence that shows Gili Trawangan is a hub for meth and ecstasy, the Government remains mildly concerned with its role in regional drug trafficking. 

Psychoactive Mushrooms Sold in Gili Trawangan

Your longboat pulls up in crystal-clear, impossibly-turquoise blue waters, and you walk the few feet across white sand to a beach-front bar. Mountain views lie across the sea, and palm trees sway behind you – you’re truly in your own Robinson-Crusoe paradise. You order a milkshake, and the friendly waiter smiles. Attempting to sell you psychoactive mushrooms in your shake, he asks, “Magic?” No, you haven’t crossed international waters. This is Gili Trawangan.

It is almost too easy to find information about drugs on ‘Gili T,’ the largest of the Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) islands situated between Bali and Lombok. A brief online search finds countless travel bloggers happy to reveal what you can buy, where you can buy it, and for how much on the quaint tourist-laden island. The substance scene here rivals drug hubs like Ibiza, Ko Pha Ngan, and Boracay. As we saw in April this year with the Bali Nine executions, Indonesia’s drug death penalty is not just a scare tactic, but a harsh reality. So, why is the nation’s tiniest party island so rife with drugs?

Tourists and Locals

“To be fair, all tourism destinations have the same probability for drug abuse to happen,” says Sriyanto, Chief Representative of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) for NTB. “Drug dealers make use of crowds and traffic around tourism destinations as potential markets.” Indeed, BNN research, shared by Sriyanto with Indonesia Expat, shows that the main drugs available on Gili Trawangan are crystal methamphetamine (known to the locals as shabu), ecstasy, and mushrooms; all Class 1 Narcotics.

According to the BNN, NTB province is only 19th in Indonesia for drug abusers, and just 1.5 percent of the population uses drugs, far below the 12.8 percent 2012 national average found by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). But, as Sriyanto further confirms, drug abusers on Gili Trawangan are not only foreign tourists, but local citizens too.

Economic Evil

The Support for Economic Analysis Development in Indonesia project found that the gross regional domestic product per capita for the NTB province was less than half the national average in 2011. Crystal meth, the UNODC’s number-one drug of concern for Indonesia, is known to ensnare people with less disposable income. A picture begins to appear of the island’s drug problem dichotomy: on one hand, drugs are purchased on the beach by rich tourists for enjoyment as part of a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience. Meanwhile, further inland, poor locals often live with addictions to harder substances. These two sides of island life are clearly interdependent, and at this stage it’s unclear whether resolving one would affect the other at all. “It is just like the laws of commerce,” says Sriyanto. “There will always be supply as long as there is demand.”

Economics play a bigger, international role with Gili Trawangan’s drug problem. Although Sriyanto insists the island does not serve as a port for the global drug trade, there is a regional dimension to be aware of. According to Jeremy Douglas, regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at the UNODC, it is important to consider Indonesia in the context of the regional drug market and situation. “There are many trafficking organisations, sources and market destinations for drugs in Southeast Asia,” says Douglas. “Indonesia needs to prioritise collaboration with neighbouring states on a balanced mix of supply and demand reduction efforts.”

Despite this, the number of foreigners staying in classified NTB hotels almost doubled in 2013-2014, according to Statistics Agency of Indonesia. It seems the province’s tourism industry is not yet suffering the consequences of illicit drug-related activity. Sriyanto nonetheless expresses a legitimate fear that “drugs abuse and drug dealing is going to be a bad advertisement for NTB tourism, and generally for tourism in Indonesia.”

Enforcement and Education

As with many issues facing the archipelago, laws are one thing, but enforcement is another. Recent media reports claim car-free Gili Trawangan is unofficially ruled by a self-appointed local task force, the SATGAS, whose methods are often provincial. Who holds the real power is the pertinent question, and there is no clear answer: on this issue, Sriyanto would not mention the mafia, commenting only that “this matter is still on comprehensive probing [sic] by our field agents and analysts.”

There is no doubt complex hierarchies exist on Gili Trawangan, in which mutually beneficial relationships span the tourism industry, the drug trade, and local authorities. Despite a high-profile death in 2013 caused by methanol traced to one of the island’s most notorious drugs bars, Rudy’s, Gili Trawangan has so far flown under the radar in terms of a national spotlight on drugs. The result? There’s been no call to action to change interdependent relationships at work on the island. Business as usual, some say.

On a national level, Indonesia Expat reported last February that President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo declared a “state of emergency” on drugs in Indonesia. The Government has not weakened its resolve that it doles out appropriate punishments to traffickers, smugglers, and dealers; as Sriyanto says, these “should be severely punished to the death penalty.”

At the same time, Indonesia is also making strides in targeting the sources of supply. Douglas confirms Indonesia has made major drug seizures recently, namely large quantities of meth. A report from the UNODC’s shows a 75 percent increase in meth seizures.

As Sriyanto affirms, however, strict national laws will not be enough. “We do not only need to eradicate the drugs trading, but also we need to send the drug abusers to rehab facilities.” To that end, he explains, the BNN in NTB has four main agenda items to tackle the issue. They include spreading awareness and prevention knowledge, empowering citizens (somehow), and working together with the BNN NTB on the overall drug problem. Finally, the agency hopes to carry out supply and demand reduction efforts by targeting dealers and promoting rehabilitation. The representative did not elaborate further on details.

Domestic education programmes may contribute to a reduction in local drug users. Only time will tell if this materialises, though for the local residents of Gili Trawangan, it’s to be hoped for. What is required is a concerted and cohesive effort from all parties, including industry, police, and governments, to tackle the regional and global drug markets. Crucially, any initiative must be reliably enforced on the ground, before Gili Trawangan declines from a once-idyllic attraction to a source of national shame.

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During violent attacks on 14 January in Jakarta, the media grossly misreported the facts. It was sloppy and irresponsible, as fear mongering is the definition of terrorism.    

Damaged Police Box caused by suicide bomb attack in front of Sarinah Building, Jalan MH Thamrin. Location of Sarinah-Starbucks terrorist attack in Central Jakarta, 14 January 2016.

Recent terror attacks revealed many things about Indonesia as a nation. It proved Jakartans are not only a resilient bunch, but that they understand the necessity of not cowering from violence.

Following the explosions, Indonesians took to social media. They first wanted to make sure their loved ones were safe. Next they wanted to show the world they wouldn’t be intimidated, nor would they change their daily routines. A flurry of humorous memes and folk hero stories surfaced the following day as a result.

One was the tale of a satay vendor who refused to leave his cart, despite being situated in the thick of a gun battle. Business was better than usual; he sold a lot of meat that day. Netizens united across all channels with a single message and hashtag on social media: #KamiTidakTakut (#WeAreNotAfraid in English).

Despite a steadfast response from the police and the overwhelmingly healthy reaction of Indonesians, however, something was distinctly missing from the attack: responsible journalism.

In case you’ve been living on the moon for the past fortnight, here’s the gist of what happened:

At around 11am on Thursday, January 14, multiple explosions and gunfire erupted near the Sarinah mall at the intersection of Jalan Kyai Haji Wahid Hasyim and Jalan MH Thamrin. One blast went off at a Starbucks and one went off at a police structure in the middle of the intersection. The botched attack occurred near a United Nations information centre, as well as a couple of luxury hotels and foreign embassies. An armed standoff took place on the fourth level of Menara Cakrawala (Skyline Building) for several hours. At least eight people, four attackers and four civilians, were killed. More than 20 others were injured. Police took two of the attackers alive. ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack, and the global spotlight has been on Indonesia since. The government now plans to strengthen its anti-terror law this year to give police greater powers of arrest.

Nicole Asgar, a sports producer and television presenter for MNC Media, was an eyewitness. Watching the event unfold from her window in the adjacent building—and from the TV studio—Asgar says no one truly knew what went on in the hours following the attack. She says misreporting took hold of the city that day. Otherwise level-headed media firms erroneously ran with unreliable data and even audacious hoaxes.

“The situation got the best of everybody,” Asgar tells Indonesia Expat. “Four major media outlets, including iNews, tvOne, Indosiar, and Radio Elshinta, were later sanctioned by the Broadcasting Commission of Indonesia for delivering false news surrounding the attack. They reported explosions in Kuningan, Palmerah, Cikini, and Slipi. The reports turned out to be false. The blame should be wisely put on the authorities for not controlling the news cycle immediately to avoid misreporting.”

Other circulating messages purported that armed men were driving around in a green car (with one on a motorbike) wreaking havoc in South Jakarta, shooting wildly with an AK-47. This too turned out to be untrue.

Asgar says, during the attack producers and editors failed to give reporters adequate information and background facts. They also did not cross-check with authorities. “All information on terrorism comes directly from the police as the prime source,” explains Asgar. “Additional information usually comes from analysts or academics. If there is any misreporting, it usually happens during live reports.”

Certain media received alerts from the Indonesian police department containing a video clip of a man in black clothing, making threats to police and authorities. It was soon discovered that this man had nothing to do with the attacks on Thursday, and the clip was actually from 2014. Asgar says she knew of the video, but her network did not air it because MNC received it second-hand, with little knowledge of its origin.

One of the day’s most flagrant reporting foul-ups happened when multiple media mistook a police officer for a terrorist. “The ‘man in the white shirt’ was first referenced as one of the shooting suspects for a good couple of hours,” says Asgar. “He was later identified as a member of the police, and he was actually shooting at the alleged terrorists.”

Other rumours quickly precipitated alleging the terrorists were expressly targeting Americans. A screenshot of an email instantly circulated, warning US citizens to stay away from the general area of the blast site. The viral image was the only piece of evidence the public could link to a US-targeted attack.

Regardless, it inspired more insidious rumours that the US may have seen the attack coming, which in turn prompted conspiracy theories. The US Embassy denies being tipped off about the attack. “Currently, there is no evidence to support this notion ever surfacing. We will most likely never find out the true targets of the terrorists,” says Asgar.

While Indonesians take pride in their ability to turn a tragedy into a social media sitcom, important questions remain for traditional media. Should editors be opportunistic about page views during a violent attack?

Does an emergency situation give broadcasters a license to shoot from the hip, ignore fact checking protocol, and spread fear?

In this writer’s opinion, the answer is an overwhelming no. A terrorist attack is a time when the principles of journalism are most important. Without them, the media become instrumental to the attack itself. Although Indonesians say they’re not afraid, Jakarta media executives should be — not of ISIS, but of losing their audiences.

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Two German tourists were detained by local authorities for wearing bathing suits while taking a swim at a beach in Lhokseumawe, Aceh.

University students Andre Brun and Dominika Czatskova were enjoying the beach of Ujung Blang, Lhokseumawe on April 12 when they were reported to the police by locals for wearing bathing shorts and a bikini. The locals complained to sharia police, the religious authority in Aceh whose main task is to enforce sharia rules in the province.

Brun and Czatskova were then taken for questioning as they were considered to have violated the religious rules that apply in Aceh. But the couple pleaded that they were innocent as they were unaware of the appliance of sharia law in the province, saying that they did not know they had done anything wrong. This eventually saved them from being legally processed.

As reported by BBC Indonesia, Head of Sharia police in Lhokseumawe, M Irsyadi, decided to release the couple. “The local government [in Lhokseumawe] is not taking this too seriously because it was unintentional. They did this because they were not aware [of the sharia law],” he told reporters.

Brun and Czatskova later made an apology statement to the people of Lhokseumawe before leaving the province on Thursday, April 14.

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Lingkar Ganja Nusantara (LGN) is taking action to raise awareness about the benefits of the marijuana plant through their campaign #MembacaAlam (reading nature).

LGN is a community that advocates and educates about the benefits of marijuana, which have been campaigning for its decriminalization for the past six years. The #MembacaAlam campaign was inspired by LGN’s endeavours to legalize cannabis despite controversies surrounding the matter. In Indonesia, all parts of the marijuana plant are considered a drug and illegal, and one can receive up to four years’ imprisonment for possession of the plant.

Head of LGN Dhira Narayana said in a statement that the organization plans to win back the public’s trust by ensuring that marijuana plants will be properly used and socialized. “What we need to do now is prove that we are capable of looking after marijuana plants. But since this is still illegal, let’s prove that we can care for the nature around us. If we can achieve this, then hopefully we will be able to look after and manage marijuana in the future.”

Working together with volunteer organization Komunitas Transformasi Hijau (Trashi), LGN aims to educate Indonesians about understanding nature, as well as their responsibility to care for it. Through #MembacaAlam activities, Trashi has managed to map out the spread of wild species (birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians) in Beton forest, Jakarta.

The campaign will be taking place on Global Marijuana March today, on Saturday May 7, where advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana from more than 100 countries will be marching to show their concern.

In Indonesia, the event will take place in six cities, including Padang, Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Surabaya, Gresik and Makassar. While Global Marijuana March activities in other countries will include burning marijuana, in Indonesia they will include tree-planting and a clean-up to mark 40 years since marijuana was criminalized in the country.

For more information, please visit Lingkar Ganja Indonesia’s Facebook page.

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Lingkar Ganja Nusantara (LGN) is taking action to raise awareness about the benefits of the marijuana plant through their campaign #MembacaAlam (reading nature).

LGN is a community that advocates and educates about the benefits of marijuana, which have been campaigning for its decriminalization for the past six years. The #MembacaAlam campaign was inspired by LGN’s endeavours to legalize cannabis despite controversies surrounding the matter. In Indonesia, all parts of the marijuana plant are considered a drug and illegal, and one can receive up to four years’ imprisonment for possession of the plant.

Head of LGN Dhira Narayana said in a statement that the organization plans to win back the public’s trust by ensuring that marijuana plants will be properly used and socialized. “What we need to do now is prove that we are capable of looking after marijuana plants. But since this is still illegal, let’s prove that we can care for the nature around us. If we can achieve this, then hopefully we will be able to look after and manage marijuana in the future.”

Working together with volunteer organization Komunitas Transformasi Hijau (Trashi), LGN aims to educate Indonesians about understanding nature, as well as their responsibility to care for it. Through #MembacaAlam activities, Trashi has managed to map out the spread of wild species (birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians) in Beton forest, Jakarta.

The campaign will be taking place on Global Marijuana March today, on Saturday May 7, where advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana from more than 100 countries will be marching to show their concern.

In Indonesia, the event will take place in six cities, including Padang, Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Surabaya, Gresik and Makassar. While Global Marijuana March activities in other countries will include burning marijuana, in Indonesia they will include tree-planting and a clean-up to mark 40 years since marijuana was criminalized in the country.

For more information, please visit Lingkar Ganja Indonesia’s Facebook page.

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In the wake of the Indonesian government’s attempts to attract more investment next year, Chinese business players seem to be increasingly interested in putting their money in Indonesia.

On Monday, President Joko Widodo made the decision to revoke as many as 3,143 rules at the provincial level which he considered to be holding the nation back from gaining competitiveness, according to Shanghai Daily.

“The rules hampered national capacity and slowed our speed to win competition,” President Widodo said.

Further, Chairman of Indonesian Coordinating Board Franky Sibarani said that the board has increased Indonesia’s investment target from Rp.594.8 trillion (about US$44.6 billion) this year to Rp.631.5 trillion (about US$47.3 billion) in 2017.

With the government’s determination to lure more foreign investment, it has also been revealed that more Chinese investors are setting their eyes on Indonesia.

The report came as investment realization data in the last year suggested a 518.6 percent hike compared to 2015, with Chinese investors having reached a staggering US$464.6 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Chairman of consultant firm RSM, Amir Abadi Jusuf, observed that the improving investment climate motivated Chinese investors to access more information and explore more possibilities on investing in Indonesia.

“Chinese investors’ interest and curiosity is very big. They are coming more often to discuss doing business in the country, the prospective sectors, and learning about Indonesia’s banking industry road map,” he said yesterday as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Jusuf also added that the Chinese were consequently ranked the fourth-largest investor in the nation after Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

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Indonesian Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri has warned that illegal foreign workers or foreign personnel who violate labour rules could face immediate deportation from the country.

Minister Dhakiri has made it clear that the foreign workforce in Indonesia must comply with the nation’s rules and requirements as the government continues to monitor them closely. He further asserted that they should refer to the regulations, which include having work and stay permits, as outlined in the Manpower Ministry Ministerial Decree No. 16/2015:

“In Indonesia we have strict rules related to foreign workers. There are competency requirements and technology transfers, for example. Basically, only those with skills can come and work here,” explained Dhakiri last month as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Although the government claims not to reject an influx of foreign workforce, it demands that only those with special skills are allowed to work in Indonesia. “Unskilled workers have no place here and having them here is a violation. And we will take action against any violation, including deportation.”

The minister also said that the government keeps records of the foreign workforce, which includes their exact numbers and names. The data concomitantly suggested that there had been a minor fluctuation in the number of foreign workers from the period of 2011-2016.

In 2011, Indonesia welcomed as many as 77,307 expatriate workers but the number has decreased to 72,427 in 2012, 68,957 in 2013, and 68,762 in 2014. The number has raised slightly to 69,025 last year.

In his attempt to reinforce these regulations, Dhakiri reminded the public that they should report illegal foreign workers to local manpower offices. “If people see [illegal foreign workers or those violating the rules], please report it, and we’ll have them deported immediately. If we ourselves in the government find illegal foreign workers, we’ll also promptly have them sent home,” said Dhakiri.

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Indonesia’s highest Islamic authority recently criticized plantation companies and farmers who use the illegal slash-and-burn method, claiming it is “haram.”

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the nation’s environment ministry are said to be discussing ways to enforce laws against illegal burning of land and forests. Government officials confirmed that MUI was planning to issue a fatwa on this matter, which would hopefully discourage companies from causing further environmental damages.

For those who don’t know, a fatwa is a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority. “There was a meeting between the environment minister and the Indonesian Clerics’ Council, which issued fatwa no 30/2016 about forest and land burning laws,” ministry spokesman Novrizal Tahar told Reuters.

In addition, both parties believe that the proposed ruling would increase the people’s awareness on forest fires and get them to start taking action. “This fatwa will make religious leaders and the general public […] care and start to take responsibility to end forest burning in their area,” said the head of environmental protection Hayu Prabowo.

For the past few years Indonesia has been making efforts to tackle forest fires, one of the nation’s most detrimental environmental issues. Last year Indonesia faced one of the archipelago’s worst forest fires in history that caused thousands to suffer from serious respiratory conditions.  

Featured image via Wikicommons; Video via Seeker Daily

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An international human rights group is pushing for Indonesia to honour the rights of terror victims, particularly foreign tourists facing cultural challenges with the country’s assistance programs.

Indonesia had an estimated 10 million tourists last year; the number accounts for a 10 percent increase from the 2014 reports. Sadly, the country also had several terror attacks since the year began, similar to what it had suffered from in the early 2000s.

On Friday, September 23, officials from Indonesia’s Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK)  and representatives of the World Society of Victimology (WSV) met to discuss plans on how to deal with the problem. The meeting resulted in a mutual agreement between the two groups to cooperate in dealing with the country’s terror victims.

WSV President Marc Groenhuijsen expressed the need for both agencies to further collaborate, as the number of terror victims in Indonesia is on the rise.

LPSK Chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai

Implementation of the cooperation will be set in different ways. WSV members will help train  and educate LPSK authorities on how to better provide state assistance for terror victims, particularly when pushing for their legal rights.

LPSK Chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai stated that organizing the cooperation will benefit the two groups, as they will both learn from each other’s strategies on how to handle the victims of the terrorist crimes.

The LPSK leader mentioned that while the 2006 Law on Witness and Victim Protection entitles terror victims  to get financial assistance from the government, many of the victims are frustrated with the complicated legal procedures that come with it, preventing them from pushing through with the claim. 

2002 Bali Bombing Memorial

Indonesia experienced a great deal of terror attacks at the start of the millennium. The 2002 bombings in Bali was the deadliest and most destructive, as it claimed more than 200 lives and injured around 300 more. The majority of the victims of the Bali attacks were foreigners, and not one of them received government assistance.

Abdul’s organization proposed that compensation be given to the victims of the Central Jakarta terror attacks early this year where four people died and many others were injured. As reported, that would be the human rights group’s first bold move in the fight it has chosen to pursue.

Featured image via CNN; first image via Tempo; second image via Wikimedia

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