Home » Indonesia
Category Archives: Indonesia
And why don’t Ahmad Hamidi go back to Jogkarta?
I have emigrated.
I have done so because of chauvinistic pigs like Ahmad Hamidi who think they have a better claim on the land where four generations of my family grew up in than relative newcomers like him.
If you look at the Wikipedia entry into Wan Hamidi, it says that he is of Javanese origin, with with roots in Kulon Progo Regency, Yogyakarta. Here you see a photo of Wan Hamidi in Javanese gear being at home in Jogjakarta.
So you have to wonder at the duplicity that Malaysians have to put up with if they stay in Malaysia. You have this Javanese posing as a Melayu (which is an ethnic group in Riau and Kalimantan, but become elevated to a race in the Malaysian Constitution). The Prime Minister Najib Razak and his father a former Prime Minister are of Bugis origin (see here).
And of course, as we all know, Mahathir is a mixed-blood with Indian being a prominent part of the mix. (The Tunku – Abdul Rahman – was also of mixed blood with Thai coursing through his veins but he’s the only decent chap in the Umno elite)
So you have all these guys with foreign blood running Umno and through Umno, Malaysia for the past five decades. It is rotten to the core and they would have been drummed out of office, if not for widespread fraud.
So emigrate my Malaysian brothers and sisters. Life outside is much better. But if you’re not inclined or do not have the option to emigrate, fight them tooth and nail!
New Malaysian home minister tells unhappy Malaysians to emigrate
PETALING JAYA – Malaysia’s newly-appointed Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has reportedly said that Malaysians who are unhappy with the country’s political system should leave the country, stressing that loyal citizens should respect the rule of law.
Malaysian news website fz.com reported on Thursday that in his first opinion piece printed in the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia daily since receiving the portfolio on Wednesday, Mr Ahmad Zahid wrote that the illegal gatherings held across the country by opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition was a form of escapism and the denial of the fact that it failed to take control of Putrajaya.
“Malaysia inherited the political system from the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries also use the first past the post system where political parties contesting in the election will only have one representative in each constituency with the principle of a simple majority of votes,” he said in a column.
He said opposition leaders, especially those from Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the Democratic Action Party, had been “irresponsible” in confusing young Chinese voters and their followers who are “politically blind” to dress in black to protest against the result of the 13th general election which they believed went in their favour, going by the popular vote.
Appalling malls
Interesting article but isn’t an important question being left out in this article here? What sort of spatial planning does the city have or implements to allow that many malls? If only journalists would ask the right questions, we can hope to have a better city.
Jakarta’s Mall Boom Driven by Foreign Retailers | The Jakarta Globe
Just when you thought Jakarta may sink beneath the combined mass of the city’s 130-plus malls, a further 313,500 square meters of retail space has been announced, with just three large malls contributing 83 percent of the increase.
The largest of them is St. Moritz in West Jakarta with 129,200 square meters, followed by Ciputra World in South Jakarta and Green Bay Mall in West Jakarta, with 78,000 and 52,000 square meters respectively. St. Moritz is being built by Lippo Karawaci, while Agung Podomoro is the developer of Green Bay Mall.
Ferry Salanto, the director of research at Colliers International Indonesia, said that the developers of those three malls have strategies in place to secure tenants for their malls.
“If they hadn’t secured tenants they would not build the malls,” Ferry said last week.
Local developers have their own flagship tenants when opening up new malls, such as Lippo’s deal with Debenhams and Parkson, and Ciputra’s with Lotte.
Artadinata Djangkar, a director at Ciputra Property, which is responsible for Ciputra World, said the entrance of foreign retailers has increased demand for more retailing space in Jakarta.
In the past two years alone, several international retailers have set sail for Indonesia. Besides South Korea’s Lotte, there is Parkson from Malaysia, Japan’s Aeon and Thailand’s Sentral Group.
The presence of these chains creates lucrative business opportunities for local developers. Ciputra World 1 will cost its developer Ciputra $130 million, while Lippo’s St. Moritz mall is a part of the $1.2 billion mixed-use St. Mortiz Penthouses & Residences project.
Setyo Maharso, the chairman of Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI), said that the strong demand for retailing space is tracking a steadily growing property market. “It is because [malls] are the supporting facilities of neighborhoods and cities,” he added.
With strong economic growth and rising purchasing power, Setyo predicted that the property market will grow between 10 percent and 15 percent this year.
Colliers’ Ferry said that property developers still needed to advance their understanding of mall management in order to generate more revenue.
He said that there are two types of mall in operation in Jakarta, the first being “community malls,” whose visitors are mostly people from the surrounding area, and “destination malls,” which hope to attract visitors from distant areas.
Ferry said that mall construction will slow next year, due to the Jakarta government’s ongoing moratorium on mall construction, introduced in 2011.
He added the policy would encourage more malls to be constructed in regions surrounding Jakarta.
Ferry said that the four regions surrounding Jakarta tended to take turns to host new malls.
“This year, there are more new malls in Bekasi [then the other three regions]. We predict that in 2014, there will be more new malls in Tangerang,” Ferry said.
TIMPs are the new BRICs?
An intriguing piece by a Reuters columnist that posts the theory that BRICs have had their day and it is now the turn of the TIMPs – Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico , Philippines.
COLUMN-BRICs, move over. TIMPs are the new emerging market stars – RTRS
28-Mar-2013 19:30
(The author is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own)
By Conrad de Aenlle
LONG BEACH, Calif., March 28 (Reuters) – One day you’re a hot young thing and everybody loves you. Then suddenly you’re more mature, move a bit slower, and some hotter thing is threatening to replace you.
That cruel reality confronts the four large emerging stock markets known as the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China. These erstwhile ingénues have struggled – the MSCI BRIC Index fell 6.5 percent in the 12 months through March 25 – while four smaller markets with an acronym of their own – Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines, the TIMPs – have excelled, recording gains ranging from 9.4 percent for Indonesia to 37.7 percent for the Philippines.
The TIMPs are blessed with rapid growth, as are many emerging economies. The International Monetary Fund forecasts inflation-adjusted increases in gross domestic product this year of 3.5 percent for Mexico and Turkey, 4.8 percent for the Philippines and 6.3 percent for Indonesia.
What made the TIMPs stand out to Bob Turner, who coined the term and is chief investment officer of Turner Investment Partners, a Berwyn, Pennsylvania, asset management firm, is that they possess qualities that should keep them and their stock markets expanding rapidly and profitably. These include favorable demographics and strengthening economies and political institutions.
“They have young populations, with a high number of workers to retirees,” Turner explained. “They also have infrastructure that needs to be built out and banking systems that are underleveraged.” He meant that individuals and governments are not overextended on credit, unlike in many mature countries, leaving room to borrow more to fuel growth.
But not every fast-growing small economy qualifies as a TIMP for Turner. He dismissed other countries that also have young populations and fast growth potential because they lack liquid stock markets, diverse industrial bases or adequate financial and legal systems.
What the Press can do to prevent future Sleman Prison Attack
It always amazes Unspun how everyone in Indonesia, especially the politicians, excel at barking up the wrong tree whenever something big happens and they are suggesting ways to avoid future such incidents.
The Sleman Prison Attack (brow) is one such incident. As with the past the politicians are zeroing on the amorphous concept called the government, the lack of political will, the lack of enforcement etc etc.
All righteous sounding noises noises signifying nothing and eventuating in noting.
NEWS / World Gunmen overpower Indonesian prison guards, kill 4 detainees accused of murdering elite soldier Ambulances carrying the bodies of the victims of the pre-dawn attack on Cebongan prison leave the prison building in Sleman, Indonesia, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Indonesian police say a group of nearly 20 well-trained gunmen have stormed a jail on the main island of Java and executed four detainees accused of murdering a special forces soldier. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
There is something thatt the Fourth Estate, The Press, can do about it though and it is by adopting a simple question they often use for heads of organizations mired in scandal: “Sir, Will you resign from your position to take responsibility for this situation?”
It is simple, direct to the point and places accountability squarely on the shoulders of those who are responsible for the overall discipline and conduct of their organisations – the head of the organization.
Yet such questions are never asked in Indonesia by the media to the heads, in this case of the military and the police. As a result the concept of responsibility for things happening on their “watch” never gets fully realised and dissipates in the heat of the rhetoric that accompanies each incident.
As a result the chiefs of the military and the police do not feel the heat even if their people killed others, or torch the rival’s organization, or commit cold blooded executions. They have no incentive to change things. Neither will thier successors because they know that they would not be held accountable.
Does anyone know what is stopping Indonesian journalists from asking such a simple question?
‘Weak’ State Blasted Over Sleman Prison Attack | The Jakarta Globe.
Lawmakers have lambasted the government for its failure to protect the public after a brutal attack on Cebongan Prison in Sleman, Yogyakarta, left four people dead.
An unidentified group of 17 gunmen, wearing face masks and carrying assault rifles, barged into the jail early on Saturday morning, threatening the wardens before executing four prisoners awaiting trial over the death of a soldier.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo said on Sunday that the attack was a major embarrassment for the government.
“Revenge motives aside, this attack signifies an open attempt to disgrace the ruling government, in particular the Justice and Human Rights Ministry,” he said, warning a spate of similar violence could now be triggered.
Tjahjo called for all parties caught up in the attack — from Cebongan correctional authorities to the Indonesian military — to be transparent and ready for a full investigation into what happened.
“This incident indicates there is something wrong with the system,” he said.
Tjahjo noted a similar case in Papua, where an army post was attacked by rebels, remained unsolved, as did an attack on a police station in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
Comr. Gen. Sutarman, the National Police’s chief of criminal investigations, said that he had sent a team of officers to look into the incident.
“The National Police will provide backup for this case. The team is being led by [head of general crime] Brig. Gen. Ari Dono,” he said, adding that the police were still examining the crime scene and had yet to identify the assailants.
Fadli Zon, the deputy chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said that the country was being taken over by “mafia.”
“I’ve never heard of such incidents except in action movies,” he said in a statement on Sunday. “The state is powerless and weak in the face of the armed forces. Rule of law is absent and undignified.”
Fadli said the government must take the executions seriously, and demanded swift steps to apprehend the culprits and ensure that such a shocking attack didn’t happen again.
“If not taken seriously, the public will lose confidence in law enforcers and they will take justice into their own hands,” he said. “This brutal incident shouldn’t have happened in Indonesia.”
Separately, Gerindra lawmaker Martin Hutabarat said vigilante acts usually stemmed from a lack of respect for the legal system, which was considered unable — or unwilling — to punish offenders.
“If the people trust our law enforcers, this incident wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Tubagus Hasanuddin, deputy chairman of House Commission I on defense, also called for a strong response from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“This case is not just a matter of discipline. This is an attempt to fight the government. The president must be firm when dealing with this case,” he said on Sunday.
The public had a right to feel terrorized, Tubagus added, with gunman wielding an arsenal of weaponry and taking over a high-security prison with ease.
“Where’s the control [from the army and police]? The state can be considered negligent,” he said.
The Cebongan attack is believed to be linked to a murder at a Slemen club, Hugo’s Cafe, early on Tuesday morning. Special Forces (Kopassus) soldier First Sgt. Heru Santosa allegedly was stabbed to death when he tried to break up a fight at the venue.
Sleman Police arrested four men in connection with the murder: Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, 31; Yohanes Juan Mambait, 38; Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu, 29; and Adrianus Candra Galaja, 33.
Around 1:15 a.m on Saturday morning the jail was stormed by men claiming they were police. After unsuccessfully trying to move the suspects out of their cells, they opened fire, killing all four.
Sex and the single Indonesian
Another sign that too many officials in Indonesia have shit for brains. This draft law, if passed, seeks to penalise fucking among the unmarried.
Unspun is curious Wahiduddin Adams, the director general for legislation at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry thinks are “the prevailing norms” of this society.
As far as Unspun knows Indonesians like a good fuck as anybody and if it is out of wedlock it becomes more tantalising. The worst offenders are usually the politicians and the senior civil servants who get all expenses paid famiilarization trips to fuckshops disguised as Karaoke joints.
So what are the prevailing norms of Indonesia?
Singles Caught Having Sex Face Jail Time Under Proposed Law in Indonesia | The Jakarta Globe.
A draft of a criminal code KUHP revision proposed by the government for debate earlier this month punishes unmarried people caught having sex, a report said on Thursday.
“It [singles engaging in premarital sex] is liable for up to five years in jail,” Wahiduddin Adams, the director general for legislation at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said, as quoted by Tempo Interaktif online.
In the current penal code, only adultery is punishable under article 284.Wahiduddin said that the government included non-married individuals in the proposed revision because it reflected the prevailing norms in the society.
“Our society is not like in the old penal code, that allows this,” he said, according to Tempo Interaktif.However he said that the law could only be used if a report against an individual was filed by others who deemed they have been put at a disadvantage because of the action.
“Therefore, it cannot [be used] in a sweeping operation in the field,” he said, referring to the raids often conducted by police and officials on hotels and inns to look for unmarried couples sharing a room.
Wahiduddin said that the draft penal code revision also threatened unmarried couples living together with up to one year in jail.Ida Ruwaida, a sociologist with the University of Indonesia, questioned the effectiveness of such articles in the penal code.
“It would be senseless if there are no regulation or control in the field,” Ida said, according to Tempo.However, she said that the rules were not intervening in the privacy of individuals. “The intention of the government is good. This is a regulation for a social order,” she said.
Syarifuddin Sudding, a lawmaker from the People’s Conscience Party Hanura, said his political fraction had not yet discussed the matter but he agreed that they should be dealt with under the law.“I think, it would be good if this is regulated,” Syarifuddin said.
Bloomberg TV in Indonesia – how should businesses cope?
One for the record. Will this up the game for TV business news reporting in Indonesia? What would it mean for companies operating here? Do they need to have better media handling skills to take advantage of this development?
Bloomberg Television Expands to Indonesia, 21 Years After Bureau Opening | The Jakarta Globe.
Bloomberg LP will start broadcasting Bloomberg Television Indonesia in May, more than 20 years after the financial news and information giant opened a bureau in the world’s fourth-most populous country and Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Andrew Lack, chief executive of Bloomberg Media Group, said that Indonesia had huge potential as a market for media content. Bloomberg LP established the Bloomberg Media Group — a combination of its television, print, radio, mobile and digital media properties — in 2011.
Indonesia’s economy grew 6.2 percent in 2012, among the fastest in the Asia-Pacific region and faster than developed economies in Europe and North America. Among the 10 Asean member states, only the Philippine economy expanded at a faster pace.
“When you are in the finance and business information business, you’ve been watching Indonesia in the past several years … I ask, ‘How do I get to Indonesia and how soon?’” Lack said on Thursday.
A survey by market researcher Nielsen in 2010 estimated that there were around 50 million TV viewers in Indonesia, of which around three million were pay TV viewers. Indonesia has a population of more than 240 million people. Bloomberg LP says on its website that the Bloomberg Television network is available in more than 310 million homes worldwide.
To set up its Indonesia operation, Bloomberg Television has formed a partnership with Idea Group, a media holding company backed by Recapital Group, which is headed by Sandiaga Uno and Rosan Roeslani. Idea Group was also behind the creation of the online marketplace Bukalapak.com.
Adithya Chandra Wardhana, the chief executive of Bloomberg Television Indonesia, said that it planned to work with existing broadcast companies in Indonesia on free-to-air, pay TV, Internet and mobile platforms.
Adithya said that the company had secured a deal with local regional television networks such as Jakarta TV in the capital region, Surabaya TV in East Java and Depok TV in West Java. Bloomberg Television Indonesia is also in talks with Makassar TV to provide content for the eastern part of the country.
Bloomberg Television Indonesia is also in talks with several major pay television networks, Adithya said, but declined to name them, as the deals have yet to be finalized. “We target middle-, upper-class and affluent audiences. We will be the only television network that specializes in business and financial news here,” he said.
“We will create business content in Bahasa Indonesia, about 80 percent local and 20 percent international.”
The company has recruited Kania Sutisnawinata and Tomy Tjokro, both of whom are former Metro TV news anchors, and 50 other journalists.
Bloomberg Television Indonesia will also air live from the Indonesia Stock Exchange every day to its global network, which is expected to benefit Indonesia.
“I think Indonesia will benefit most from the exposure that we bring,” said Parameshwaran Ravindranathan, head of Asia Pacific for Bloomberg Television, based in Hong Kong.
The doctor who dared to put life before profits and career
To many people, doctors today generally elicit more contempt than admiration because they have sold themselves out to Mammon. For those of us who have to undergo operation and pay the costs, you wonder if you’d be left for dead if you don’t have the moolah or you forgot to insure yourself.
But every now and again comes a story to restore your faith in the medical profession. Two years ago when Unspun had to have a quadruple bypass he met Dr Rozali Watooth in Malaysia who won his admiration with his skill, humanity and dedication. You can read about it here.
Since then Unspun’s had other heart complications arising from atrial flutter and that was when he was introduced by a good friend to his brother, a cardiologist at the Cinere Heart Hospital in south Jakarta.
The doctor was very competent, humble and helpful but today I learned that he was also a hero. Faced with a dying patient, he put his professional life and future on the line by performing a cardiac procedure on a stranger whose employer who took him to hospital could not pay the fees and whose family could not be contacted.
The doctor was in a double quandary. If he did nothing, the patient would surely die. But if he treated the patient, he not only ran the risk of the hospital he worked in not being paid its due; he could also be sued by the patient’s family for malpractice since they were not there to give him permission to treat the victim.
A legal suit would definitely destroy the career he had wanted since childhood and has spent over a decade building.
What did he do? Here’s an account by his sister, who translated a posting from their brother. I feel so honoured not only to have known and be treated by Dr Jeffrey but also the family, particularly their mother, who raised such fine children.
So here’s a salute to mothers who raised children to do the right things; and to the children who dared to risk it all for what they believed in.
Kinda restores you faith in doctors, doesn’t this?
Ling’s Design Studio: Saving A Life
This is the most worthy story that I ever wrote for my blog. No card. This is just a personal, true story that I feel worth sharing.
I translate this directly from what my younger brother Jerry Aurum wrote:
A seamstress laid in the ICU room of a certain hospital in Jakarta. He was taken there by his employer. A young doctor checked on him and found out that this man had a heart attack and they need to do a coronary stent, that cost hundreds of million in rupiah (thousand of dollars in US currency).
The employer said he couldn’t afford the cost and they couldn’t contact the patient’s family. Dealing with heart attack, each minute counts. In fact within the 15 minutes the patient was in the hospital, his heart stopped 3 times, but each time the doctor was able to revive him.
The doctor asked his colleague what should he do. If they don’t do anything, the patient will die. The colleague said well it is what it is, what can we do. Unsatisfied with the answer, the doctor went t the hospital director. Same answer. As a doctor he’s facing the dilemma, if he takes an action without the permission from the family and the hospital and no way to know how the patient going to pay for the procedure, he is facing a high risk that could cost not only his career but his own life (being a doctor is his life).
At the end, the doctor decided to do the coronary stent on his patient who is dying. Without any way of knowing who would cover the cost for the procedure, without any back up from his colleague or the hospital. And if he failed, he would be the one that being accused by the family as being responsible for the death. In his mind he only think of 1 thing. This patient is only 32 years old and who will feed his little children if he passed away?
With God’s blessing, the patient survived. When the patient’s wife arrived (she’s only a maid with low income), she was so thankful. And the doctor was able to convince the hospital to not charge anything to the patient and asked the employer to help with the cost of the medicine that the patient will really need to stay alive and get well.
A few hours later, this story go around the hospital and became hot topic. Some nurses cried and thank the doctor even though they don’t know who the patient is.
When I heard this, I told the doctor, there’s moment in life that show a doctor his quality as a doctor and there’s also moment that show a doctor his quality as a human being.
This young doctor name is Jeffrey Wirianta, a well known cardiologist in Jakarta who loves being a doctor more than anything. And me, Jerry Aurum, is his younger brother who is so proud to have a brother who truly dedicate his life to his work and even more his dedication to other human being. ~
You see, the cardiologist in this story, Jeffrey Wirianta is my big brother. When I read this post on my younger brother’s Facebook wall, I found myself crying with so much love and admiration. And true to his style, when I told Jeff how proud I am of him, all he said that at that moment all he could think of is saving this man’s life. And that he was afraid. Afraid of what “might happen”.
And that makes me even prouder. That he was afraid, yet he did it anyway. The world need more doctors like him. He always wanted to become a doctor since he was only 5 years old. That’s the only answer he ever gave when people ask him what he’d like to be.
In high school, my mom asked him why he wants to become a doctor and he said to save life. To this day, despite all his success, he stay true to his reason and I know my mom is one proud mom at this moment. If you ask my mom, I know she’d said she reached her life goal, which is to raise decent human being.
Mom, I think you did an amazing job in raising us. Especially with Jeff as he became such a good role model for us to follow. To Jeff, thank you for making me believe that there’s still good people out there. That there’s still real doctor out there who really about saving lives.
Right now, I feel like my heart would burst with so much love and admiration. Jeffrey Wirianta, I am so blessed and proud to have you as my brother. You are the best! Love, love, love.
One small step for a Muslim, one giant leap for our eardrums?
Apres lui, le déluge? One can only hope
Indonesian Wins Rare Victory Against Noisy Mosque | The Jakarta Globe
Banda Aceh. An elderly Indonesian said Monday he had won a rare victory against a noisy mosque, despite being forced to withdraw legal action after an angry mob threatened to kill him.
Complaints against the loud speakers issuing the call to prayer have been met with extreme opposition in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation that is home to about 800,000 mosques.
And when Sayed Hasan, 75, filed a lawsuit in December in the city of Banda Aceh, in which he complained of being disturbed by lengthy recordings of Koranic verses, it was met with strong protests from the community.
But Hasan, a Muslim, said despite being taken to see the deputy mayor and Muslim leaders, and then being escorted to the court where he was forced to withdraw his legal suit, he had ultimately won a rare victory.
“I was forced to withdraw my lawsuit as an angry mob threatened to kill me,” he said. “But after I dropped my case, the volume was significantly turned down by about half.”
A local Muslim leader said the imam had decided to reduce the noise.
City dwellers in Indonesia are often woken up before dawn by intermingling calls to prayer from three or four nearby mosques. Many also blare Koranic verses or broadcast day-long events through loudspeakers.
Ninety percent of Indonesia’s 240 million citizens are Muslim. While most practice a moderate form, Aceh province has implemented Sharia law, which is enforced by special Islamic police.
Agence France-Presse
Raise heckles, not eyebrows at new school curriculum
It isn’t eyebrows but heckles that Indonesia’s new education curriculum should raise.
What sort of reasoning goes behind an education philosophy that requires a 10th grade student to learn to be disciplined like an electron, “which always moves within its orbit.” Quacks talking about quarks.
And there’s more shit-for-brains reasoning: Students, proclaim the new curriculum should learn how to behave in a heterogeneous society after studying linear and non-linear equations.
The mind boggles at how presumably educated people can come up with such pseudo-science recommendations with which to shape our children’s minds. But we have them by the spadeful in the Education Ministry and endorsed by the Education Minister Muhamad Nuh.
How can we rid ourselves of such imbeciles in such positions of responsibility and power?
New national school curriculum raises eyebrows | The Jakarta Post
Hans Nicholas Jong, Mon, February 18 2013,
The government has long attempted to incorporate character building in the nation’s education system, but teachers never thought that they would ever be asked to tell students that they would have to learn about discipline from the behavior of electrons — until they saw the new national curriculum.
The Indonesian Teachers Unions Federation (FSGI) has expressed its confusion over the new national curriculum in which the Education and Culture Ministry officials appear to be ridiculously trying to shoehorn civic and religious education into subjects such as chemistry and biology.
“The new curriculum states that a 10th grade student must learn to be disciplined like an electron, which always moves within its orbit,” FSGI secretary-general Retno Listyati told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. “How can my students behave like electrons?”
The teachers were also astounded to learn that they would also be required to use math to instill tolerance in students. “The students are expected to learn how to behave in a heterogeneous society after studying linear and non-linear equations,” she said. “How is that even possible?”
In response to the criticism, Deputy Education and Culture Minister Musliar Kaslim said the new curriculum was simpler and therefore more superior to the current curriculum. “We have integrated and simplified elementary-level subjects. They have been condensed into two books,” he said in a phone interview.
“We have improved what needed to be improved and got rid of heavy material that was burdensome to the students.”
With its thematic and integrated approach, the deputy minister claimed the country’s new curriculum was even better than that of international schools. “Their curriculum is only integrated, while ours is integrated as well as thematic. We apply a holistic approach that unifies diverse subject matters with a central theme.”
Teachers, he said, might initially find it difficult to teach multiple subjects in one class sitting.“If you think about it, then it might seem weird,” he said, adding that once the teachers understood the new curriculum, they would adapt to it.
The ministry, he said, had planned to train highly skilled and qualified teachers to ease them into the new curriculum so they could pass on the skills to other teachers. “We have submitted the list of teachers to the regional administrations,” he said.
“The regional administrations will then review the list and decide on whether the teachers on the list were qualified or not.” The ministry is expected to complete the training, with each session lasting one week, within one month, he said, adding that the training will commence in April.
Add CommentShare on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter More Sharing Services
