MDG: Millenium Development Goals

Belakangan, iklan layanan masyarakat mengenai MDG - Millenium Development Goals, banyak banget. Mulai versi Toto sampai Dian Sastro yang ngomong. Sayang, detail tujuan pembangunan di era milenium ini jarang banget dikupas. Inilah isinya:

1. Menghapuskan kemiskinan dan kelaparan ekstrim:
a. Mengurangi sampai setengahnya proporsi masyarakat yang hidup kurang dari US$1 per hari
b. Mengurangi sampai setengahnya proporsi masyarakat yang menderita kelapran.
2. Mencapai pendidikan dasar universal: menjamin semua anak laki-laki dan perempuan menyelesaikan pendidikan SD.
3. Mempromosikan kesetaraan gender dan memberdayakan perempuan: menghapuskan perbedaan gender dalam pendidikan dasar dan menengah pada 2005, dan pada semua tingkatan pada 2015.
4. Mengurangi kematian anak: mengurangi 2/3 angka kematian balita.
5. Meningkatkan kesehatan ibu: mengurangi 3/4 rasio kematian ibu.
6. Melawan HIV/AIDS, malaria dan penyakit menular lainnya:
a. Menghentikan dan mulai membalik penyebaran HIV/AIDS.
b. Menghentikan dan mulai membalik penularan malaria dan penyakit menular lainnya.
7. Menjamin keberlanjutan lingkungan hidup:
a. Mengintegrasikan prinsip pembangunan berkelanjutan ke dalam program dan kebijakan negara, dan mengganti hilangnya Sumber Daya Alam.
b. Mengurangi setengah dari proporsi masyarakat tanpa akses pada air minum yang aman.
c. Mencapai perbaikan yang signifikan bagi sedikitnya kehidupan 100 jut gelandangan pada 2020.
8. Mengembangkan kemitraan global bagi pembangunan:
a. Mengembangkan lebih lanjut sistem keuangan dan perdagangan terbuka yang berbasis aturan, dapat diprediksi dan tidak diskriminatif. Termasuk komitmen tata kelola yang baik, pembangunan dan pengurangan kemiskinan.
b. Menangani kebutuhan khusus negara belum berkembang. Termasuk tarif dan kuota, meningkatkan penghapusan utang bagi negara miskin yang terlilit utang, memberi lebih banyak bantuan bagi negara yang berkomitmen mengurangi kemiskinan.
c. Menangani kebutuhan khusus dari negara yang terisolasi dan negara kecil.
d. Mengurangi secara komprehensif permasalahan utang negara berkembang.
e. Bekerjasama dengan negara berkembang, mengembangkan pekerjaan yang layak dan produktif untuk kaum muda.
f. Bekerjasama dengan perusahaan farmasi untuk menyediakan akses obat-obatan ke negara berkembang.
g. Bekerjasama dengan sektor swasta untuk menyediakan manfaat teknologi baru - terutama ICT.

Source: UN

Priceless saying..

Jack wakes up at home with a huge hangover after the night at a business function.

He forces himself to open his eyes and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table.

And, next to them, a single red rose!

Jack sits down and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed.

Jack looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house.

He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror and notices a note on the table:

"Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to go shopping – I Love you!!"

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast and the morning newspaper.

His son is also at the table, eating.

Jack asks,

"Son...what happened last night?"

"Well, you came home after 3am, drunk and out of your mind. You broke the coffee table, puked in the hallway and got that black eye when you ran into the door."

"So, why is everything in such perfect order, so clean, I have a rose and breakfast is on the table waiting for me?"

His son replies, "Oh, THAT!...Mom dragged you to the bedroom and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, b!%@h, I'm married!!!".

......

Saying the right thing, at the right time... Priceless.

Dark, cold and scary...

It was so dark, cold and scary. From my bus' window, I could see nothing except the water. In some area there are still no electricity access, yet. Some Jakartans change their "status" to become refugees. Even the rich Chinese who lived in Kelapa Gading's elite real estate. They use mosques, schools, train and busway stations, or paving street to stay. They have no place to shade.

This year's flood is worse than 2002. On the begining of 2007, water-flood hit almost 70% of Jakarta --including 4 neigbouring cities. The floodwater height was up to 2 meters, meanwhile in some area reach 4 meters! Imagine... only top of the roofs and trees were seen from distance. It's horrible.

Today is my first day back to work in the office. Since Friday (2/2) I worked at home, because I couldn't reached my office. All alternative routes were broken due to the flood. While there were no electricity and telecomunnication access in my office.

However, thanks God my appt and office were safe from water. My appt is on the higher land, meanwhile my office is near the Presidential Palace - so it has better preventation from the water. On the 6th day of the disaster, but puddles are still found.

When last month we have wanted rain --because the temperature reached 37 degree celcius, now God sent TOO MANY rain to us.

I Love You

I love you
Not only for what you are
But for what I am
When I am with you

I love you
Not only for what
You have made of yourself
But for what
You are making of me

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the stupid, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy

You have done it
Without a word
Without a sign

You have done it
By being yourself
I love you...

Indonesia's public transport perils

In a country of 220 million people, spread across some 17,000 islands, transport systems are crucial to keeping Indonesia moving. But transport statistics here make worrying reading for passengers.

Last year, there was an aircraft incident recorded every nine to 10 days - planes that crashed, almost crashed, missed the runway, were forced into emergency landing or had technical problems. There were two train crashes or derailments every month, and at least eight accidents at sea. These are official statistics. The real figures, say analysts, are probably even higher.

This year has got off to a particularly bad start. On New Year's Day, a passenger plane carrying 102 people disappeared from radar screens near the island of Sulawesi. Rescue teams were already out in the Java Sea at the time, looking for hundreds of victims of a ferry disaster that had happened two days earlier.

Around the same time, a ferry carrying 58 people sank off the coast of Sumatra, a speedboat went missing near Kalimantan, a train derailed in Central Java and two other minor airline incidents have been reported.

Poor investment
Tough questions are being asked about why Indonesians are at so much risk when they travel. Bambang Susantono, head of Indonesia's Transport Society, an independent think tank, says that since the economic crisis in the late 1990s, investment has been a big problem. "The government doesn't have enough money to build the infrastructure it needs; things like repairing damaged ports, or making improvements to airports," he said.

According to the Transport Society, hundreds of millions of US dollars are needed to bring infrastructure up to standard. The government denies it is risking safety, but does admit that it needs more money.

Not everyone, though, agrees that the solution is to bring in the private sector. Air and sea transportation have already been partly liberalised. The result is a mushrooming of cheaper, budget carriers, which now account for around two-thirds of the incidents reported on scheduled flights.

That is something that worries Bambang Sustanono. "Our concern is that they cut costs by simplifying safety procedures," he said.

"You hear stories about instruments not working, or pilots working long hours. It's a signal that something has to be fixed in the airline industry."

The plane lost at the beginning of 2007 was operated by budget carrier Adam Air. Twenty-nine of its pilots have resigned in recent years, and several have made allegations that the company pressured its pilots to fly unsafe planes. The company denies the allegations, and a court case is in progress.

With so much murkiness around the causes of disasters, people are increasingly turning to the government and asking why it is so difficult to enforce safety regulations.

Wendy Aritenang, Secretary-General of the Transport Ministry, says the government needs to catch up with a rapidly growing industry - deploying more inspectors, enforcing regulations better and encouraging passengers to report on negligent operators.

Reappraisal
At Kota railway station in north Jakarta, the problems of maintaining crumbling networks are worryingly familiar. A technician, waiting out his shift in a dark office on the platform, told us that he and his colleagues were simply "forcing the trains to go".

"The trains are very old," he said, "and there's a lack of spare parts. The attitude of our superiors is [to] make the best of what we've got; so we cannibalise the broken engines to fix the others."

A bill going through parliament now is set to open up the railway network to private operators in the next few years. Government regulations are going to need to catch up fast to stop safety problems growing. The spotlight has been on air operators in recent years, but Indah Suksmaningsih from Indonesia's Consumer Association says this attention does not mean safety on cheaper forms of transport is any better.

She believes the lack of a safety culture, combined with a reluctance among poorer Indonesians to make complaints, means operators often get off without penalties.

But Bambang Sustanono believes the growing focus on air safety, following de-regulation, is forcing a reappraisal of safety issues on all forms of transport.

At the start of 2007, the president announced the formation of a new transport committee to assess what needs to be done across the industry - a process Wendy Aritenang says his ministry has already begun.

He is confident this is the right time to push for more liberalisation in the transport sector. "We give opportunities to the private sector," he told me, "but not a blank cheque. We give opportunities, but also responsibilities. I think this is a good way to improve the transport sector."

Commuters waiting for their trains here at Kota station say they broadly welcome the idea of private investment in the railways.

The possibility of cheaper fares goes down well with the poor majority here, and there is a hope that competition might improve the quality too. But making - and keeping - the railways safe will need massive investment, something analysts say many sea and air operators have so far been unable or unwilling to provide.

And if the government cannot pay, passengers here may need to make a choice between lower fares and higher safety standards.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6270797.stm

Indonesia Economy 2007: Back to the Future

Indikator fundamental ekonomi Indonesia menunjukkan kinerja yang membaik. Namun, kinerja sektor riil justru stagnan. Bahkan, yang lebih menyedihkan, di awal 2007 kita justru mendengar kabar banyak penduduk miskin mengonsumsi nasi aking karena harga beras melonjak tajam.

Kalau melihat indikator ekonomi makro, memang makin baik. Nilai tukar rupiah makin kuat di akhir 2006, dibanding awal tahun lalu. Tapi, hati-hati jika terjadi apresiasi nilai rupiah. Bisa menurunkan daya saing ekspor nasional.

Angka inflasi dapat diturnkan secara drastis dari sekitar 16% pada Januari 2006, menjadi sekitar 8% di awal tahun ini. Dan, proyeksi inflasi tahun ini maksimal 7%. Cadangan devisa yang pada awal tahun lalu sekitar US$35 milyar, kini mencapai US$41 milyar.

Rasio utang terhadap PDB berada di kisaran 42%. Angka ini lebih rendah dibanding dengan 2005 sebesar 45%. Rasio ini mungkin sangat besar lebih rendah pada 2007 ini. hal ini menunjukkan ketahanan fiskal Indonesia yang makin baik.

Karena itu, peringkat utang Indonesia, yang dinilai oleh badan independent internasional, dinaikkan. Standard & Poor’s, misalnya, pada awal 2006 memberikan peringkat B+ dan pada November lalu ditingkatkan menjadi BB.

Indeks harga saham gabungan Bursa Efek Jakarta melejit. Jika pada Januari 2006 IHSG sebesar 1.389, maka saat ini mencapai 1.700.

Tapi, lagi-lagi, dalam hal ini kita masih harus hati-hati, karena 2/3 hingga 3/4 pembeli saham berasal dari luar negeri, sehingga ketergantungan terhadap pembeli asing sangat dominan.

Peningkatan cadangan devisa antara lain ditunjang oleh perbaikan kinerja ekspor, meski peningkatan tersebut lebih banyak berasal dari komoditas berbasis alam, seperti kelapa sawit dan berbagai barang tambang.

Sebaliknya, daya saing sektor manufaktur, seperti garmen, elektronika dan industri alas kaki menunjukkan penurunan.

Jangan 0%
Ukuran utama indikator sektor riil, bagaimanapun adalah pertumbuhan ekonomi. Pertumbuhan ekonomi pada 2006 mencapai 5,4%, lebih rendah dari target semula 5,8%.

Bahkan jika pertumbuhan ekonomi 2006 yang hanya 5,4% itu, maka sejatinya lebih rendah daripada 2005 yang mencapai 5,6%. Meski lebih tinggi dari 2004 sebesar 4,9%.

Pertumbuhan ekonomi nasional masih didominasi oleh konsumsi domestik, baik masyarakat maupun pemerintah. Disamping ditentukan oleh kegiatan dunia usaha.

Volume produksi perusahaan disesuaikan dengan konsumsi domestik dan untuk ekspor. Komsumsi domestik ditentukan oleh daya beli masyarakat dan pembelian pemerintah, baik pusat maupun daerah.

Penjualan ekspor sangat bertangung pada daya saing, jejaring pasar internasional dan insentif ekspor. Makin kuat daya beli masyarakat, akan makin meningkatkan penjualan berbagai barang dan jasa konsumsi sehari-hari, maupun untuk investasi seperti properti.

Kenaikan atau penurunan investasi, baik domestik maupun asing, merupakan indikator ekspansi dunia usaha. Berbagai indikator menunjukkan bahwa minat investasi di Indonesia melamban. Jika tak mau dikatakan menurun.

Karena itu, tak usah aneh jika pertumbuhan impor barang modal menunjukkan angka yang negatif.

Sumber pembiayaan yang penting untuk menggerakkan ekonomi nasional berasal dari dana yang dikeluarkan APBN. Daya serap pengeluaran lewat APBN untuk belanja barang dan modal juga masih terbatas. Dan tahun ini diperkirakan hanya mencapai 70% dari anggaran yang disediakan.

Malah, yang lebih merisaukan, adanya sejumlah proyek yang dibiayai dari pinjaman dan hibang luar negeri. Daya serap proyek-proyek tersebut lebih rendah dan mungkin hanya setengah dari dana yang tersedia.

Dalam kaitan ini, kesalahan tidak selalu berada di pihak Indonesia, tetapi pihak luar negeri memberikan syarat yang terlalu berbelit. Ini karena persepsi Indonesia merupakan negara yang tingkat korupsinya tinggi.

Sumber pembiayaan bagi dunia usaha yang penting adalah kredit perbankan. Total kredit perbankan pada awal 2006 mencapai Rp175 trilyun dan akhir tahun lalu sekitar Rp800 trilyun.

Dengan demikian, pertumbuhan kredit hanya mencapai 11%. Padahal, Bank Indonesia menargetkan ekspansi kredit 18%-20%.

Loan to deposit ratio (LDR) saat ini berada di kisaran 65%, sama seperti 2005. Angka ini lumayan jika dibanding tahun-tahun sebelumnya.

Jika diamati, alokasi kredit perbankan tiga terakhir ini tidak meunjukkan angka perubahan di sektor pertanian. Tapi, sektor perdagangan dan jasa menunjukkan kenaikan. Sebaliknya, sektor manufaktur justru menurun.

Peningkatan kredit untk perdaganan dan jasa akan memberi andil positif bagi kegiatan ekonomi nasional, jika barang yang diperdagankan dari produksi domestik. Tapi, nyatanya, banyak barang impor, baik legal maupun ilegal.

Meski perdagangan bebas sudah menjadi mode global, jangan tanpa batas. Kita tetap harus membantu pengusaha dalam negeri, dan jangan kita obral impor apa saja dengan bea masuk 0%. Ini bakal mematikan industri domestik.

letter cut love

Sri, an ordinary girl from Selotinatah village of Magetan, has bule boyfriend. His name is Michael, from London, UK. Sri cannot stand with Mike's betrayal. He has affairs! Here is Sri's letter, using English which was translated word by word from Indonesian. Don't find the mistakes, just enjoy hehehehe...

Mike,

Hi, my motive write this letter is to give know you something (hai, bersama surat ini saya ingin memberi tahu sesuatu).

I want to cut connection us (saya ingin memutuskan hubungan kita). I have think about this very cook cook (saya telah memikirkan ini masak-masak). I know I clap one hand only (saya tahu bahwa saya hanya bertepuk sebelah tangan). Correctly, I have seen you and she together at town with my eyes and head myself (sebenarnya, saya pernah melihat kamu bersama perempuan lain di kota dengan mata kepala saya sendiri).

You always ask for apology back back (kamu selalu minta maaf berulang-ulang), but I don't trust you again (saya tidak percaya kamu lagi). You are really crocodile land (kamu benar benar buaya darat).

My Friend speak you play with fire (teman saya bilang kamu bermain api). Now I know you correct correct play with fire (sekarang saya tahu kamu benar-benar bermain api). So, I break connection to pull my body from this love triangle (jadi saya putuskan saja hubungan untuk menarik diri dari cinta segitiga ini).

I know this result I pick is very correct, because you love she very high from me (saya tahu keputusan yg saya ambil ini benar, karena kamu mencintai dia lebih tinggi dari saya).

So, I break off to go far from here (jadi saya putuskan untuk pergi dari sini). I have been crying until no more eye water thinking about you (saya menangis sampai tidak ada lagi air mata memikirkan kamu). I don't want fall with banana two times (saya tidak mau terpeleset untuk kedua kalinya).

Safe walk... (selamat jalan..)

Full Love (penuh cinta),
Sri