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Despite the Central Bureau of Statistics’ (Badan Pusat Statistik – BPS) latest report suggesting a decline in the number of visits by foreign tourists to Indonesia, the government seems to be celebrating the accomplishment of exceeding their target.

BPS reveals that Indonesia is experiencing a decline in foreign tourists by 0.61 percent in the last year. The report suggests that in December 2015, Indonesia attracted 913,800 foreign tourists while the year before the number had reached as many as 915,300. BPS also highlights that the number did manage to increase by 17.46 percent from November to December 2015.

The government, on the other hand, claims that the number of visits by foreign tourists throughout 2015 exceeded their expectations, and that Indonesia has managed to attract 10,406,759 visitors in total.

Despite the seemingly high figures, BPS’ method of survey is in question. Head of BPS, Suryamin reveals that 9.73 million of the total number refers to those who belong to the regular visit category; 370,869 refers to those who visit through Pos Lintas Batas (PLB) or border checkpoints; while the rest, at 306,540, belongs to those who visit temporarily.

Tourism expert Ida Bagus Surakusuma suspects that BPS might still be combining the number of visits with those of tourists passing through border checkpoints. This could spark new questions regarding the accuracy of BPS’ statistical methods, which could also jeopardize the Ministry of Tourism’s policy plans.

“What is hoped is accurate statistical data is improved. We do not have accurate statistical data. Indonesia needs that for their policy materials, for instance in promotional increases,” Surakusuma claims.

The government insists that BPS’ report is free from manipulation and conducted based on standard global procedures. Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya assures that BPS uses methods from United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as followed by other countries. “We use the standard set by UNWTO, [and] got that amount [10,406,759],” Yahya says.

The minister further adds that the president would like to see an increase in tourism beyond 10 percent and hopes to reach the goal of welcoming 12 million foreign tourists this year. With a tourism growth target of 20 percent in 2016, the government will be focusing on tourism acceleration.

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One of the world’s most recognized endurance series, Tough Mudder, is coming to Indonesia in October 2016.

Founded in the US in 2010, Tough Mudder is a 16-20 km obstacle course run designed by British Special Forces to test all round strength, stamina, mental grit, teamwork and camaraderie with the most innovative courses. More than 2,000,000 participants worldwide have participated in this competition to date.

With more than 200 events since 2010 spread across seven different countries globally, this year Tough Mudder will reach more ‘Mudders’ by expanding the series of events to Indonesia. On October 1-2, Bali will welcome the very first Tough Mudder in Asia.

What makes Tough Mudder different from any other sports competition is that it is not a race, but a team challenge. Teamwork is needed to complete this challenge with no time to race against.

The event will be held over a period of two days in Jimbaran Hijau, South Bali, a destination popular among holidaymakers on the tourist island. Ridzki Syahputera, a representative of the event, said in the official launching at Bengkel Crossfit Jakarta,”This is anticipated to be the toughest Tough Mudder in the world.” The challenging running terrain in Jimbaran coupled with hot and humid weather are factors participants will find particularly difficult in Bali’s chapter of this renowned global event.

Tough Mudder is working together with Seroja Partners, a market entry specialist based in Jakarta, to bring the first Asian chapter of this event to Bali. Organizers are targeting 8,000-8,500 participants from all over the world to attend. They are hoping to reach locals and expatriates in Indonesia, Australians living in Western Australia, as well as sporting fans from neighbouring Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore.

Tough Mudder does not discriminate towards age, sex, or disabilities. For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/ToughMudderIndonesia or the Instagram account of Tough Mudder Indonesia on www.instagram.com/toughmudder_id

Tickets are on sale from April 14, 2016 through the website https://toughmudder.id. Expats living in Indonesia holding a valid stay permit (KITAS/KITAP) will be entitled to local ticket prices. 

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In the wake of a brutal gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl in North Sumatra last month, the government is considering serious punishments for rape offenders.

This week, seven teenagers were sentenced to ten years in prison after being found guilty of raping and murdering a young girl. But the Indonesian government is expected to revise its laws, after the crime sparked outrage from citizens across the country.

Supporting the move to potentially include chemical castration and the death penalty is President Joko Widodo, who emphasized that cases of sexual violence should never be taken lightly:

“I want to give a warning about sexual violence against children. I want this to be considered an extraordinary crime, so the handling of it would also be in an extraordinary way,” Mr. Widodo stressed, as reported by ABC News.

In Indonesia, as many as 35 cases of sexual violence are reported every day according to the national commission. Currently, the sentence for rape in the country weighs a maximum of 15 years for adults, while other crimes including murder, drug trafficking and terrorism are punishable by death.

Despite overwhelming tension from Indonesians to apply more extreme punishments for these offenders, some would still prefer to conduct rigorous investigations and fair sentencing as opposed to chemical castration – an attempt to suppress a man’s sex drive by injecting drugs.

Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women, for instance, fears that castration will not be effective:

“Castration will not solve the problem,” said Azriana, the agency’s chief as reported by Wall Street Journal.

Instead, she encourages Indonesia to promote gender-equality education as a way to prevent more cases of sexual violence from happening.

Of at least a dozen men who were involved in the schoolgirl’s gang rape, five are still under investigations and the search for two other suspects continues.

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In April, Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid a visit to London, UK, as part of his presidential tour of Europe. His visit fostered a closer and more open dialogue between the corporate members of the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (BritCham) and various Indonesian ministries.

In the first of a ministerial trio of briefings, Minister of Communication and Information Technology Rudiantara spoke of strategically focusing on expanding the Terrestrial Fibre Network, Palapa Ring Project, to enhance coordination between all ministries to ensure coordinated extension of broadband network. The second priority is to promote greater efficiencies on Spectrum utilisation by encouraging Active Spectrum coordination between operators. Finally, and of particular interest to foreign investors, was the assurance of continuous review of the Negative List (DNI) to further open up investment opportunities in technology and promote new technology development.

During the second briefing, State Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) Sofyan Djalil confirmed his priority to review and abolish local regulations that hinder speedy decision-making at government level. He is also striving to create greater communications between private and public partnerships as a means to achieve government targets.

The Audience at Ministerial Briefing Series | Photo by BritCham

The largely international executive audience was pleased to learn of plans to further reduce the speed of license issuance from months to just days. Djalil explained that this will take time as this requires a comprehensive review of all licensing regulations. The Minister has committed to open his doors to businesses that have constructive ideas and solutions to assist the government to improve its performance. He is keen to learn from the UK’s Better Regulation Office that has vast recent experience and successes in simplifying the regulatory environment.

Yesterday, BritCham finally completed the trio of Ministerial briefings and welcomed Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya. Before a special breakfasting with BritCham members, the Minister jumped on Jokowi’s message in the UK that he wanted Indonesia to have ten more tourist islands like Bali. In a private pre-brief with BritCham Executive Director Chris Wren, Minister Yahya highlighted that his ministry had secured four of the nine designated Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which would be the conduit to deliver the new tourism projects.

BritCham Exec. Director Chris Wren and H.E. Mr. Arief Yahya | Photo by BritCham

In a statement, BritCham Chairman Adrian Short received the government’s initiative with great delight:

“The willingness of ministers to talk to the BritCham international business community is highly significant. It confirms a finding from our Business Confidence Index that foreign business is experiencing a more open approach form the Indonesian leadership. We welcome and applaud this.”

BritCham is known as the most active foreign Chamber in Indonesia with a large membership comprising almost 1,000 nominees from 250 corporations. For over 30 years, BritCham has maintained a positive relationship with the Indonesian government while also continuing to promote business opportunities in Indonesia to the UK and Southeast Asia.

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Despite ongoing reports about the Indonesian government’s plans to increase cigarette prices, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the ministry has yet to finalize the decision.

Recently, Minister Indrawati revealed that the new cost of cigarette will most likely be decided prior to the government’s deliberation on next year’s state budget.

Responding to the people’s overwhelming reaction to the price increase, Minister Indrawati has made it clear that the Finance Ministry has yet to proceed with the plan:

“As of today, the Finance Ministry has yet to issue any new ruling either on the retail cigarette price or cigarette excise,” said the minister as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Rumours about the price increase have indeed sparked outrage from producers. The director of PT Gudang Garam, one of Indonesia’s largest cigarette manufacturers, for instance, said that the plan could bring damage to the tobacco industry:

“If the government decides to go ahead with the plan, I believe it will wreak havoc in the industry,” said Istata Taswin Sidharta as reported by Tempo.

Similarly, Head of the Indonesian Cigarette Factory Union (GAPRI) Ismanu Soeriman insisted that the rumours are false because cigarettes contribute a significant amount of income to the country:

“We condemn the information. It is a hoax.”

Plans to increase the cigarette price was initially based on a study conducted by Hasbullah Thabrany, the Head of the Center of Economic Research and Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of Indonesia.

The findings suggested that a person will stop smoking if the price of the cigarette is doubled, so accordingly the solution was to raise the cost.

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Over 80 apps and websites with LGBT-related content may soon be banned by the Indonesian government.

As the Indonesian LGBT community continues its fight for equal rights, the nation is now moving to disallow networking apps and websites that promote ‘sexual deviancy’. These apps include Grindr, Blued and Boyahoy.

The decision to ban the apps and sites was made during a private meeting on Wednesday, where authorities reviewed a police request to remove 18 LGBT apps after they were allegedly used by a child prostitution ring.

“Most of the contents are leading toward pornography [and have] violated the law on pornography and the law on child protection,” said director of information security for the Ministry of Communications Aidil Chendramata in a statement on BuzzFeed News.

As the nation appears to be taking steps towards the proposed ban, private companies like Google and Apple are confronted with the consequence of having to remove the apps from their digital stores. “We will ask the stores to take down the apps for Indonesia,” said Communications Ministry Head of Investigations Teguh Arifiadi.

Indonesia is likely to face another round of international condemnation if the government puts this plan into action. Speaking to TIME, deputy director of Human Rights Watch Phil Robertson revealed that banning LGBT apps would only reinforce the nation’s growing intolerance towards the LGBT community.

“This ban on what Indonesian authorities called ‘LGBT applications’ is discriminatory online censorship, pure and simple, and yet another blow against the rights of LGBT persons in the country,” he said.

Over the past several months, the rights of the LGBT community have been called into question. In August, the Constitutional Court even proposed to make homosexuality a crime in Indonesia.

Law expert Hamid Chalid protested during a lawsuit hearing last month, saying, “Our country has legalized fornication, male rape, and homosexual acts. We’ve allowed our constitution to become too liberal — is that what we want?”

Featured Image via Guillaume Paumier ; Photo by Naeimasgary

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The government is set to raise cigarette taxes next year in a bid to discourage illegal practices in the tobacco trade.

A new tobacco tax policy is set to take effect in January of 2017, with an average increase of 12.26 percent on retail cigarette prices. The Indonesian government believes an increased excise on cigarettes will deter players in the tobacco industry from carrying out illegal business.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati recently claimed that Indonesia is determined to stop the illegal cigarette trade, as the nation has seen a 29.3 percent increase in illegal cigarettes on the market since last year. “From January until now, the office has confiscated 176.22 million cigarette sticks worth of Rp.135.55 billion (US$10.41 million),” she said on Friday as quoted by The Jakarta Post.

According to Mulyani, the nation’s Customs and Excise Office has examined as many as 1,593 cases of illegal cigarette business this year alone in Indonesia. These figures show an increase in the archipelago’s illegal tobacco trade over the last three years. 1,232 cases were processed in 2015, and 901 were processed in 2014.

To this end, Customs and Excise officials are planning to restrict the distribution of illegal cigarettes by working with the Trade Ministry and the Industry Ministry to ensure that all cigarette machines operating in the market have been registered.

See: Indonesian Finance Ministry Yet To Confirm Cigarette Price Increase

Last week, the government grabbed 11.2 million cigarette sticks and one cigarette machine with the production capacity of 90,000 per hour. The illegal items were confiscated during a three-day operation conducted by Customs and Excise officers to monitor the distribution of cigarette machines in Jakarta and Klaten, Central Java.

“Illegal cigarette production threatens both health and employment in Indonesia’s tobacco industry,” Customs and Excise director general Heru Pambudi said.

But despite the government’s initiative to end the illegal cigarette trade, experts and activists still think that the new price will not stop devoted smokers from lighting up.

“They [the smokers] can still afford cigarettes, given the minuscule increase in excise tax,” said Tuti Soerodjo, a chairwoman at the tobacco control special committee at the Indonesian Public Health Experts Association.

While the current law suggests that excise taxes on cigarettes are instrumental in restraining tobacco consumption, Soerodjo said that Indonesia still supports the tobacco industry.

In a nation where 65 percent of Indonesian men are smokers and illegal tobacco is ubiquitous, can a small excise tax really really make a difference?

Featured Image via Public Domain Pictures

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Two Chinese nationals suspected of performing illegal abortions were recently arrested by Jakarta immigration officers.

The two women, whose identities were kept confidential for security purposes, allegedly opened a beauty salon that served as a front for their underground abortion clinic. Police officers located said illegal clinic in one of the Mediterranean Apartment units in Taman Sari, West Jakarta.

Authorities reported that the operation to arrest the suspects was planned after an immigration officer’s week-long surveillance of their illegal activities.

See: Dead Infant Found in Airplane Toilet

During the raid and arrest, police found evidence that corroborated their suspicions about the illegal abortion activities. Certain medical equipment, devices, and special drugs were discovered in the apartment. Police have yet to confirm the criminal charge the expat suspects will face.

With exception to rare occasions when the life of the pregnant mother is at risk, abortion is still considered illegal in Indonesia. Nonetheless, many women still resort to illegal abortion practices and turn to unauthorized practitioners without the proper medical background and expertise.

Every year, three out of 1,000 Indonesian women between the ages 15 and 44 are admitted to the hospital with complications from illegal abortions.  A recent study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute shows that abortion is 20 percent more prevalent in Indonesia than it is in all other Southeast Asian countries combined.

Featured image via Pixabay; video via Kompas TV

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Indonesian President Jokowi congratulated Donald Trump for winning the latest presidential race in the United States late Wednesday evening, November 9.

President Joko Widodo promptly congratulated the newly elected President of the United States Donald Trump after the candidate was officially announced as the winner of the recently concluded national elections.

After opening the 2016 International Mathematics and Science Olympiad in Tangerang, Jokowi extended his congratulations to the new American president on behalf of the Indonesian government and people.

After the official declaration of Trump as the 45th president of the US, Jokowi told reporters that the results of the election were a reflection of “the will of the majority of American people.”

The Indonesian president confirmed his readiness to continue working with the US and keep their mutually beneficial relationship healthy. The United States is one of the five biggest foreign investors in the archipelago. Donald Trump personally has several businesses and resort properties in the world’s most Muslim-populated nation, despite his oddly contradictory and stanch Islamophobic campaign rhetoric that called for all Muslims to be banned from entering the US.   

See: A Pledge To Fight Trump’s Racism And Bigotry

Dewi Fortuna Anwar, an international relations expert, commented on how the results of this year’s presidential election in the US could not have been in greater contrast to Barack Obama’s victory in his first presidential term eight years ago.

Anwar told reporters that it’s understandable that the entire world is still shocked and unable to reconcile the idea of Donald Trump winning the presidency. Candid scenes of the stunned reactions of some members of the voting population were evident at the @america cultural centre at Pacific Place in Jakarta, where the election results countdown was held.

Located at the heart of Sudirman Central Business District, the @america venue is home to the socio-cultural arm of the US Embassy in Jakarta. A crowd of American analysts and diplomats, as well as local and foreign media representatives, gathered there to wait for the final tally.

The majority stood stunned and still when Trump won the 245 of the 270 votes required from the electoral college to win. In the end, the businessman gathered his winning 276 votes. The self-proclaimed billionaire — who provenly doesn’t pay his taxes — from the Republican Party won the race against Hillary Clinton, a historic event that will be considered one of the most divisive times in US history since the Civil War.

An Indonesian diplomat raised his concern about the enormous task that lay ahead in the organization of a functional foreign policy regulation for the new administration. It is well-known how the entire Trump campaign had consistently annoyed the country’s Muslim-majority population.

Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon tweeted a congratulatory post with a selfie he had with the new president during their controversial New York meeting early last year. The firebrand legislator and former speaker of the House of Representatives Setya Novanto were reported to the House Ethics Council. Both were rumored to have endorsed Trump’s presidential campaign. Both officials got away with light warnings.

Images Credits: Wikimedia, Okezone

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The Indonesian government continues to make efforts to stimulate economic growth by attracting foreign investments. In a new policy package, investors are not only allowed to manage special economic zones, but also own residential property for income tax discounts of around 20 to 100 percent. To invite more foreigners, the government is evaluating the chances for investors to manage the special economic zones and invite more manufacturers to occupy said zones.

Similarly, this model has been adopted by Vietnam, as they welcome foreigners to manage specific zones with benefits of free trade rules, better infrastructure, and lower tax rates, to further bolster manufacturing and exports.

With hopes of luring investors, chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Franky Sibarani, reveals that the government is additionally considering plans of reimbursing investors if they build basic infrastructure, like roads.

Approving the new plan, Sany Iskandar, chairman of Industrial Zones Association (HPI) says that it will assure foreign investors with greater legal certainty. In his words, “It would definitely attract investments from many countries.”

Accordingly, Singaporeans and Chinese investors have reportedly expressed their interest in investing and managing such economic zones.

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Facing an economic slowdown, the Indonesian government is set to revamp laws on foreign ownership in certain sectors, starting with tourism investments.

To many foreigners, doing business in Indonesia has long been an attractive opportunity. The country is strengthening in terms of spending power, demographics, and diversity. It’s also becoming a world-renowned hotspot for tourism.

Unfortunately, the prospect of legally doing business in Indonesia comes with caveats, especially in the case of foreign ownership in businesses that take money out of the local economy. Most sectors have caps in place that limit foreign ownership to a maximum of 51 percent, as of 2014; the latest official revision of the government’s Negative Investments List. Historically, foreign firms have been made to jump through hoops just to operate legally in the archipelago.

Sizeable companies looking to do business in Indonesia without a local partner must usually set up a foreign investment entity. Indosight, a market entry service for foreign businesses in Indonesia, says this typically means a firm must have around US$1 million in capital on paper, with 25 percent of that amount paid upfront into an Indonesian bank account. This is not an easy thing for small or medium-sized enterprises looking to tap into the nation’s tourism sector. If foreigners want to be cowboys about it – and many do – they need to find a trusted local partner to act as the business owner. It happens more often than some might think.

Soon, however, these all-too-familiar woes may no longer apply.

BKPM to allow foreigners full ownership of restaurants, bars and cafes

Coordinating Board (BKPM) recently said it would allow foreigners full ownership of bars, cafes, restaurants, and sport centres in an attempt to bolster interest in the nation’s tourism sector.

Indonesia’s travel and leisure space is arguably on the brink of thriving, as more than 9 million tourists turned up from overseas in the past 12 months. However, due to the strict limitations on foreign investment and the volatility of the nation’s political landscape, many businesses have been hesitant about bringing their money to Indonesia, opting instead for neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Thailand.

It seems as though Indonesian officials have taken note of missed opportunities, and are now rethinking their strategy, with regard to foreign-owned businesses.

“With this revision, we are trying to build a perception that Indonesia is more open. With this rule, we believe the investment commitment could increase by 50 percent from last year,” head of BKPM Franky Sibarani recently told reporters. Last year, Indonesia eased the visa requirements of 84 countries for tourism-related purposes. BKPM now claims it has been working on increasing that number, further solidifying its resolve toward a booming tourism economy.

By the end of this quarter, BKPM says it will have also revised Indonesia’s Negative Investments List. The list states all the sectors in Indonesia open to foreign investment, as well as the maximum percentage of ownership foreigners can have in each space. Relaxed ownership laws are believed to take effect in several sectors, including film, e-commerce, manufacturing, and warehousing.

Experts say there is a high chance of seeing major changes when the updated Negative Investments List comes out in April. While not all sectors are expected to see the same leniency as tourism, analysts believe most industries could see foreign ownership caps spike up to anywhere between 60 percent and 70 percent.

But it’s not all great news for foreigners. Chairman of BPKM, Mahendra Siregar recently revealed that the government has chosen to reduce foreign ownership in other sectors. In onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling services, for example, foreign ownership will now be capped at 75 percent, as opposed to the previous 95 percent.

There are speculations as to why the government is choosing to revamp laws now. The news comes hot on the heels of reports that Indonesia is facing slow and stunted economic growth. But even with the declining state of the economy, opening up prospects of full ownership of tourist ventures like bars and restaurants to foreigners has reignited interest from overseas investors.

“In the past, people were always interested in investing in Indonesia. However, the restrictions on ownership meant that we would have to find partners, who most of the time wouldn’t have the same goals that we did, causing the deal to fall through,” explains Raja Lalwani, a private investor from Dubai looking to enter Indonesia’s restaurant market. “Being able to have full control opens us up to more opportunities than we had previously thought of.”

Lin Neumann, managing director at the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, believes that due to President Joko Widodo’s promises to ease investment restrictions, the Chamber must also make sweeping changes. “The trend has been to restrict investment. For the first time in ten years, you have a president saying the opposite,” he recently told reporters.

This is contrary to previously implemented laws. In the past, Indonesia completely ended foreign investment in the retail sector, as well as heavily limited it in the agriculture and electricity industries. Reports claim that foreign shares in some oil and gas companies saw ownership drop from 95 percent to nothing at all. Analysts believe that although restrictions weren’t as heavy on investments in tourism, the increasing number of legal regulations applying to the surrounding sectors caused investors to become sceptical that Indonesia’s tourism would not suffer the same fate.

As with most claims from the government, rumours and speculations abound, and not much can be said with certainty at the moment. The proposed policy changes have already seen increased opposition from officials and lawmakers, which means there will be a lot of back-and-forth discourse on the matter before people like Raja Lalwani will be able to open up a bar on the beach in Seminyak.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived in Berlin, Germany this morning to start his five-day presidential tour in Europe.

President Jokowi plans to meet local officials and businessmen to discuss Indonesia and Germany’s partnerships in vocational and educational fields. As reported by Detik, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi reveals that Jokowi will be meeting Germany’s President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

During the visit, the president will be addressing the issue of extremism and terrorism across the globe and will ask European leaders to help promote tolerance and peace.

“As a country with the largest Muslim population, the president is relying on this presidential visit to work together with European leaders to spread the values of tolerance and peace, through multiple digital channels and new social media,” Ari Dwipayana, a representative for the president’s Communications Team, explains in a statement to Liputan6.

The president hopes that his visit will encourage European leaders to work together in upholding justice and humanity, as well as strengthening the relationship between Indonesia and the European Union (EU).

The president is also scheduled to visit the United Kingdom (UK) after he leaves Germany to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron in London. With the UK, Indonesia is focusing on strengthening their relationship in trading, investment, maritime and creative economies. According to the BBC, President Jokowi will be planning one of his blusukan trips during his London visit.

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