PILPRES 2014

Why Golput is not good?

2014 is an exciting year for Indonesian people. They will carry the presidential election. In todays’s secular system, presidential election is often called the democratic party, where people will be demanded to vote leaders of this country. Obviously we crave a leader who is able to make Indonesia be a peaceful, just, affluent and prosperous. However about who is the right candidate, I do not want to focus on one of the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate. Because both of them have positive and negative values.

Previously let us first look at the positive values of each candidate. First, most of Indonesian people judge Prabowo is a figure that is firm, while Jokowi is assessed as being populist. Second, Prabowo-Hatta have the excellence in terms of popularity that should not be underestimated, while Jokowi-JK have the excellence in terms of electability, and Jokowi does not have a trace of the New Order. Third, Prabowo-Hatta have the power in the party machine, it means that they are promoted by many party, that is Gerindra, PAN, PPP, PKS, Golkar and PBB. While Jokowi-JK have the power in the volunteer machine, because the volunteers who support Jokowi so strong that it can not be taken lightly.

Given the presidential election had its day. The campaign of each candidate have expired since July 5, 2014, the day before yesterday. But, the invitation to select is still underway. In addition, the invitation not to vote or golput is felt real by us. Based on the results of vote counting recapitulation 2014 legislative election that I read on detik.com, KPU has noted the Golput rate has reached 24.89 percent. We are supposed  to address it critically. The era of democracy transmission will cause a lot of people do not believe in the democratic system, but now it will be even more dangerous if Golput is increasing. Most of us also assume that Golput is not good. And then the question arises why Golput is not good?

As intelligent people, we are supposed to take a role to participate in this presidential election. Being Golput is not an option, while use the right to vote in the 2014 presidential election is a must. Anyone who will be voted is supposed to have a grasp of Indonesian political consequences in the future. If we want to see a better future, we are not supposed to Golput.

We will vote a new leader on 9 July 2014. Let's vote the best leader who will be the Leader of Indonesia. Vote the leader who appropriate with the desire of the Indonesian people. That is a leader who is able to make Indonesia be a peaceful, equitable, affluent and prosperous.

Once again, let us support the 2014 presidential election and vote the leaders of this country. Golput is not an appropriate option. Therefore, DON'T GOLPUT! Because, it means that you are not responsible for the future of this country.

That is the reason why Golput is not good.

DEMOCRACY REGARDS!

PILPRES 2014

Kenapa Golput Tidak Baik?

Tahun 2014 ini merupakan tahun yang menggembirakan untuk bangsa Indonesia. Karena masyarakat Indonesia akan melaksanakan yang namanya pilpres. Dalam sistem sekuler saat ini, pilpres sering juga disebut dengan pesta demokrasi, dimana masyarakat dituntut hak suaranya untuk memilih siapa pemimpin negeri kita ini. Tentunya kita mendambakan pemimpin yang mampu menjadikan Indonesia damai, adil, makmur dan sejahtera. Akan tetapi mengenai siapa calon yang tepat, saya di sini tidak ingin menitikberatkan pada salah satu capres dan cawapres. Sebab, kedua capres dan cawapres memiliki nilai positif dan negatif masing-masing.

Sebelumnya mari kita cermati terlebih dahulu nilai positif masing-masing capres dan cawapres. Pertama, sebagian masyarakat Indonesia menilai Prabowo merupakan sosok yang tegas, sedangkan Jokowi dinilai sebagai sosok yang merakyat. Kedua, Prabowo-Hatta memiliki kelebihan dari sisi popularitas yang tidak boleh disepelekan, sedangkan Jokowi-JK memiliki kelebihan dari sisi elektabilitas, selain itu Jokowi tidak memiliki jejak Orde Baru. Ketiga, Prabowo-Hatta kuat di mesin partai, maksudnya dibanding Jokowi-JK, Prabowo-Hatta diusung oleh banyak partai yaitu Gerinda, PAN, PPP, PKS, Golkar dan PBB. Sedangkan Jokowi-JK kuat di mesin relawan, karena relawan yang mendukung Jokowi sangat kuat sehingga ini tidak bisa dianggap enteng.

Mengingat pilpres tinggal menghitung hari. Kampanye masing-masing tim sukses pasangan capres dan cawapres pun telah berakhir sejak 5 Juli 2014 kemarin lusa. Namun ajakan demi ajakan untuk memilih masih terus dilakukan. Lain dari itu, ajakan untuk tidak memilih atau biasa disebut dengan golput ini pun nyata kita rasakan. Berdasarkan hasil rekapitulasi perhitungan suara pileg 2014 yang saya baca pada detik.com, KPU mencatat angka perolehan tingkat golput mencapai 24,89 persen. Tingginya angka golput ini seharusnya disikapi kritis oleh kita. Era transmisi demokrasi ini memang menyebabkan banyak rakyat tidak percaya akan sistem demokrasi sekarang ini namun akan lebih berbahaya lagi jika golput ini semakin meningkat. Kebanyakan dari masyarakat kita juga mengganggap golput bukanlah suatu yang baik. Muncul pertanyaan kenapa golput tidak baik?

Sebagai rakyat yang cerdas, sudah seharusnya kita mengambil peran dalam menyukseskan pilpres dengan berpartisipasi. Menjadi golput adalah bukan suatu pilihan. Sedangkan menggunakan hak pilih dalam pilpres 2014 merupakan keharusan. Siapapun yang akan dipilih hendaknya sudah memahami akan konsekuensi politik Indonesia ke depan. Jika ingin melihat masa depan yang lebih baik, kita tidak boleh golput.

Tanggal 9 Juli 2014 nanti kita akan memilih pemimpin baru. Mari pilih siapa pemimpin yang terbaik yang akan menjadi Pemimpin Indonesia. Pilihlah pemimpin yang merupakan dambaan masyarakat Indonesia yaitu pemimpin yang mampu menjadikan Indonesia yang damai, adil, makmur dan sejahtera.

Sekali lagi marilah kita dukung Pilpres 2014 dan pilihlah pemimpin negeri kita ini. Golput bukanlah suatu pilihan yang tepat. Oleh karena itu JANGAN GOLPUT! Karena artinya tidak bertanggung jawab dengan masa depan bangsa kita ini.

Itulah alasan kenapa golput tidak baik.

SALAM DEMOKRASI!

Sufficient Food Supply, Low Prices Kept Indonesia’s May Inflation Stable

Jakarta. Inflation is seen as stable in May as ample supply from the harvest season kept the price of raw foods low.

The consumer price index is estimated to have increased to 7.3 percent, according to the median estimation of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The index rose 7.25 percent a month earlier, its slowest pace in 10 months. The country’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS) is due to announce the figures for May’s inflation and April’s trade balance on Monday.

“There’s still enough supply from the rest of the harvest season to meet demand,” said David Sumual, chief economist at Bank Central Asia (BCA).

Average price of rice, the staple food for Indonesians, fell 4 percent in May compared to the same month a year ago, according to data from the Trade Ministry. The price of beef stood at 11 percent lower, while chicken and cooking oil fell 12 percent and 14 percent respectively.

The economy is also bracing for effects of the recent increase made in electricity tariff, which saw a 13 percent hike for medium-and large scale companies. It would take “two to three months,” David added, before businesses decide to pass their increasing costs to customers.

Aldian Taloputra, an economist at Mandiri Sekuritas, said that a slightly weakened rupiah would also contribute to rising inflation. The currency weakened 0.7 percent so far this month, making it more expensive for importers to bring in merchandises from overseas.

Still, the economists said rising inflation would not be enough to force Bank Indonesia to raise its benchmark rate, which has been at 7.5 percent for seven months.

Sumber: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/sufficient-food-supply-low-prices-kept-indonesias-may-inflation-stable/

OPINION

In my opinion the month of fasting, feast day, school holidays and the new school year are some inflation factor. Therefore, the Government should really maintain the availability and stability of staple food prices due to the fluctuation in food prices will have an impact on inflation. Trend of price increase always occur one month up to one day ahead of Eid. But this situation seems to be better than last year due to food supply which sufficient. So the trend of rising prices is relatively decreased for this year. Although the condition of the rupiah is slightly weakened, it is more expensive for importers to bring merchandise from abroad. I guess the government does not need to import from abroad for this moment because supply food which sufficient.

Output to be boosted as RI moves beyond rice

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, May 16 2014, 10:35 AM

The government will accelerate the production of cassava because it is believed the crop can alleviate challenges such as food and energy shortages.

The Agriculture Ministry’s post-harvest director Pening Dadih Permana said on Wednesday that the ministry was currently putting together a strategy for the 2015 to 2019 period, which includes expediting production of several strategic commodities including cassava.

                  
“The ministry is focusing on the development of bio-industrial farming, which can produce food and energy,” Dadih said, adding that cassava could be converted into bioethanol.

To accelerate cassava production, the Agriculture Ministry would expand cassava’s crop acreage, improve farmers’ cultivation techniques and control food imports, he added.

Indonesia is still relying on rice as its staple food, but declining production since the self-sufficient era in the early 1980s has prompted the government to develop other food sources.

“Indonesia has the potential [to develop other food sources],” Dadih said, adding that cassava, with its many advantages, might be 
the answer.

The Indonesian Cassava Community (MSI) chairman Suharyo Husen said that one of the advantages of cassava was that its cultivation was easy. “Besides already being familiar to Indonesians, the cultivation of cassava is very easy,” he added.

Achmad Subagio from PT Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food research department said that cassava could even be planted on sand. 

“I’ve tried to plant cassava on around 3,000 hectares of sand in Jember and Lumajang and it surprisingly worked,” he said.

Cassava also had a very high productivity rate compared to paddy, according to Subagio. “Around 23.5 million tons of cassava were produced from harvest areas of 1.2 million hectares, while 13 million hectares of paddy fields could only produce 65 million tons of rice,” he added.

Demand for cassava reached 60 million tons per year, Husen said, but production only reached 23.6 million tons last year, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). That was a decline from 2012, where production reached 23.8 million as harvest areas also decreased to 1 million hectares last year from 1.1 million hectares the previous year.

Dadih said that there were several obstacles in the development of cassava’s production and consumption. “The lack of quality seeds and harvest areas are just some of the hurdles. The price of flour made from cassava is also less competitive compared to the price of wheat flour,” he added. In addition, according to Subagio, there is also a stigma that cassava is food for the poor. (ask)

Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/16/output-be-boosted-ri-moves-beyond-rice.html

OPINION

In my opinion the presence of cassava that abundant and with low prices in the countryside can be upgraded into the high-value foodstuffs. To support the government policies that will accelerate the production of cassava plants because it is believed to alleviate challenges such as food and energy shortages. Moreover, Indonesia is currently not fully self-sufficient in food, in the sense that the entire region can not meet their own food needs of diverse, so that at any given moment requires imports. If the capability of food production domestic can not follow the increasing needs, then Indonesian will depend imports in the future, which means that national food security will increasingly vulnerable as it will increasingly depend on the economic policies of other countries. Therefore, it's very appropriate if the development target food sector in Indonesia, including is making the one of tubers such as cassava as a substitute for rice. In an effort to increase local food that does not rely on one commodity alone.

RI's consumption to rise 40% during Ramadhan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, May 23 2014, 5:05 PM

Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said that consumption in Indonesia would rise by 40 percent during the upcoming fasting month of Ramadhan, which will begin on June 28.

"Spending on transportation, clothes and souvenirs will also increase, not only on food," Bayu said as quoted by kontan.co.id.

He said that given many Indonesians would return to their hometown during Ramadhan, the center of consumption would shift. The capital city would see decreased consumption while regions across the archipelago would consume more products.

In addition, prices of goods before the fasting month were projected to rise between 4 to 11 percent.

Prices would increase by between 1 and 3.5 percent between the first day of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, he said.

The ministry is currently strengthening its collaborations with local retailers in order to maintain the supply of goods, hence stabilizing prices. (nfo)

Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/ris-consumption-rise-40-during-ramadhan.html

OPINION

In my opinion people should be more patient in the face of rising prices, and must be smart in choosing and bargain items to be purchased. And for the traders (middlemen) in order not to raise prices at will and not hoard goods. Because it can be detrimental to consumers. Seen also from Indonesia’s dynamic economy, it needs the participation of the government in overseeing the distribution of basic foodstuffs ingredients so that are not stalled. Such as H-7 towards Eid, trucks carrying foodstuffs experiencing congestion. In this situation the government should consider a solution that does not happen every year. And so the government should conduct market operations periodically. So that the middlemen are not arbitrarily raise the price of basic foods themselves.

Something you should or shouldn't do and can or can't do

Write down something you should or shouldn't do and can or can't do in these place:

1.    Library

a.    You are allowed to borrow some of the books in the library.

b.    You aren’t allowed to buy a book at the library.

c.    You are supposed to bring a library card if you want to borrow the book in the library.

d.    You aren't supposed to be noisy in the library.

2.    Museum

a.    You are permitted to take some photos in the museum.

b.    You aren’t permitted to touch or walk on historic sites at the museum.

c.    You are expected to buy a ticket before you get into the museum.

d.    You aren’t expected to be noisy in the museum.

3.    Restaurant

a.    You are permitted to book a table in a restaurant.

b.    You aren’t permitted to bring food or drinks from the outside in some restaurants.

c.    You are supposed to order the food according available in the menu of the restaurant.

d.    You aren’t supposed to be rude to the waiter in a restaurant.

4.    Tram

a.    You are allowed to take the bicycle on board the tram.

b.    You aren’t allowed to vend on the tram.

c.    You are supposed to buy the ticket at the counter before you board the tram.

d.    You aren’t supposed to interfere with other passengers on the tram.

5.    Park

a.    You are permitted to picnic with your family in the park.

b.    You aren’t permitted to pick flowers in the park.

c.    You are expected to maintain the cleanliness of the park.

d.    You aren’t expected to let your younger brother/sister play alone in the park.

Indonesia Smartphone Sales Could Fall 50 Percent Under Tax Plan

Jakarta. The Indonesian representatives of Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics and other members of a local industry group said smartphone sales could fall by as much as 50 percent if the government imposes a tax on luxury models.

The government is considering a 20 percent tax for smartphones retailing at or above 5 million rupiah ($430), which would make Indonesia the most expensive country in Asia to buy an Apple iPhone 5s.

The tax would be part of efforts to protect domestic brands such as Evercoss Mobile Phone and MITO Mobile, and slow a surge in imports that has caused a deficit in the country’s current account.

The tax would likely be voted on after a new government takes office in October, officials said, and would follow similar action in the auto industry where this month the tax for some luxury cars rose to 125 percent from 75 percent.

“The purpose is to damp the influx of import products since domestic manufacturers only produce low-priced handphones,” Budi Darmadi, director general at the industry ministry, recently told Reuters.

The Indonesia Cellphone Association said the tax would be detrimental to the smartphone industry, which researcher IDC said was worth around $1.4 billion last year on shipments of 10.8 million units.

“If the government applies the smartphone tax … it will increase illegal phone sales in the black market and cut sales of legal phones by up to 50 percent due to the different prices,” association Chairman Hasan Aula told Reuters.

Aula is also vice president of mobile phone distributor PT Erajaya Swasembada.

PT Samsung Electronics Indonesia Vice President Lee Kang Hyun said the tax would make foreign investors rethink putting their money into Indonesia. He declined to say whether the tax would have an impact Samsung’s investment in the country.

Uncertainty surrounding the tax could delay the construction of a local factory by Taiwanese mobile component maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, industry officials said. A Hon Hai spokesman declined to comment.

Local manufacturer PT Aries Indo Global, however, said the tax could help it make 5 million Evercoss phones a month within the next few years compared with 1 million at present, said Aries Director Edward Sofinanda.

Sumber: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/indonesia-smartphone-sales-fall-50-pct-tax-plan/

OPINION

In my opinion, the smartphone includes criteria luxuary items and should be taxed. Because a smartphone is not a basic need and only consumed by certain people. Tax of real smartphone provides an opportunity for local industry to grow. At the marco level, tax of smartphone will have a greater effect on domestic tax revenue. Automatically it will change consumer behavior becomes postpone or cancel the purchase of a new smartphone or switch to buy a local smartphone such as Evercross at an affordable price and will not be taxed. As a result, the smartphone from overseas markets such as Samsung becomes lethargic and cause a decrease in profits this sector employers. However, the policy will likely encourage the official consumers to turn to the black market. I expect the government to have risk management to address these risks.