Indonesian handicraft has been famous all over the world and created its own market share. Indonesia is a multi cultural country with various kinds of beautiful arts and handicrafts. Traditional and modern art are easily found in Bali.

Starting from furniture, statue, jewelry such as silver and gold with beautiful design, plywood, photo/picture frames, stationery, wooden arts, stoner craft and statue, ceramics and many more.

In Bali, one of the experienced exporter and producer of art is Terrace House Bali, established in 1996 with experience since 1990 (before it’s just a small handicraft shop in Legian Kuta) and now they’ve served customers all over the world.

Australia, South Africa, Europe, USA, and other Asian countries are their export destination. Various product range, accompanied with quality control are its advantage. They are in retail and wholesale bali handicraft.

Their range of products will add beauty and elegance to your house and living room. Reasonable pricing, classy choice, with beautiful contemporary and ethnic arts and handicrafts.

Bali News: Removing the Social Stigma of HIV/AIDS in Bali
(9/5/2009) Kompas.com reports that many Balinese, particularly those from rural areas, practice discrimination against those infected with HIV/AIDS, including, in some instance, refusing to handle, bury or cremate the remains of those who die from HIV/AIDS. A lack of information on how people become infected with HIV/AIDS is the root cause of why village people will often have nothing to do with HIV/AIDS victims, either living or dead.

To address this situation, religious leaders in Bali have agreed to work together to educate the public and end discrimination against HIV/AIDS sufferers.

The Vice-Chairman of the Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI), the leading Bali Hindu religious organization, Raka Santeri, told the press: “We are concerned with the narrow attitude of people towards those suffering from HIV/AIDS. The bodies of several sufferers who died in hospital have not been received back for burial by either their families or neighbors. This is highly discriminative and cruel.”

The Hindu leader went on to explain that such refusals are not in keeping with religious law requiring that the dead and their remains be honored. Because of this, he is calling on all Hindu leaders to correctly educate their fellow Hindus about HIV/AIDS.

Similar sentiments were also expressed by the Bali representative of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Richard Muchlis. Agreeing that discrimination towards those suffering or who have died from HIV/AIDS is not acceptable, Muchlis said: “It is therefore important that we move together to persuade the public about how HIV/AIDS is spread. What’s more, someone who has died of this disease cannot infect the living.”

Between January and July of 2009, the bodies of six people who died of HIV/AIDS at Denpasar’s Sanglah General Hospital were refused by their families and home villages.

Roy Noldy, an HIV/AIDS activist, regretted the refusal of local citizens to dispose of the dead. He was also shocked to learn that family members of the dead also refused to handle and pray for the deceased.

In February, an HIV/AIDS victim’s body was cremated at the public crematorium in Mumbul at a cost of Rp. 12 million (US$1,200) because the deceased’s family were not prepared to pray and make offerings on behalf of their family member. “Disturbed by these developments were hope religious leaders in Bali will help spread correct information,” Noldy said.

The number of HIV suffers in Bali between 1987 until May 2009 totaled 2,829 people, with most averaging between the age of 20 and 39 years. During the entire year of 2008, 255 people died from HIV/AIDS in Bali.

by http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?Id=5474

By Allan Hall in Berlin
Published: 6:00AM BST 03 Sep 2009

Germans are also incensed that the taxpayer must foot the bill for tens of thousands of euros for Egyptian-born Reda Seyam’s court costs in winning the right to the name.

A court in Berlin said that he could name the child Djehad because it was an “accepted Arabic first name term”.

Germany has some of the strictest rules in the world governing the naming of children. Parents who conjure up fanciful or non gender-specific names often find their choices rejected by authorities.

In recent years the list of banned names has grown to thousands and includes Sputnik, McDonald, Woodstock, Satan, Grandma, Tom-Tom and Peppermint.

Seyam, 49, spent three years and thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash to overturn a decision by Berlin municipal authorities forbidding him from naming his boy Djehad.

A fanatic who rails against the West, human rights laws, votes for women and democracy, Seyam has been under observation by German intelligence services for years.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, has for long regarded him as being a “string-puller” behind the Bali bombings of 2002 which killed 200 mostly young holidaymakers.

But officials say there has never been enough proof to charge him. His first wife left him after 15 years of marriage in the same year as the Bali bombing saying he was a “fanatic” and has been in a witness protection programme in Germany ever since.

Just days ago, however, the Munich public prosecutor’s office announced a probe against him and seven others accusing them of belonging to a “criminal organisation” and to have made internet calls for young German converts to Islam to join in a Jihad against the West.

Seyam has fathered six children with his second wife and gets around £2,000 a month in state benefits.

news by http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/6128905/Germany-angered-over-legal-ruling-to-allow-Islamist-to-name-son-Jihad.html

Discovery Hotel, Jl. Kartika, Kuta
19 – 22 August 2009

Ombak Bali Surf Film Festival launches on August 19th

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 27 July, 2009 : – - What a life… kissed by the sun, hot sand in between your toes, the sound of breaking waves, tight beach bums around you… It’s Bali baby! Kuta’s high season pops up, Ombak Bali drops in. The second edition of Ombak Bali Surf Film Festival takes you for a four day ride. August 19 till 22 in on the island of Bali, Indonesia.

Kuta will transform into surf cinema walhalla. Ombak Bali creates a stage for worlds best surf productions and brings Bali surf lifestyle to a peak. This year the surf film festival jumps next level with a Beach Screening Day on Thursday August 20 on Kuta Reef beach. Screening ‘A Fly in the Champagne’ revealing the intense rivalry between world champions Kelly Slater versus Andy Irons. Lay down and relax watching films under the sun… does life get any better than this?

Get out to downtown Kuta to lay your eyes on many of the latest surf flicks and world premieres like the new Taylor Steele movie ‘The Drifter’ on Rob Machado roaming through Indonesia, female ocean odyssey ‘Dear&Yonder’, the Dede Suryana surf doc ‘Mengejar Ombak’, ‘Havana Surf’ about young surfers in Cuba and more.

Just read it on http://www.globalsurfnews.com/news.asp?Id_news=42067

It was the 3rd claim of her career, after she acquired Hyderabad in 2003 and *s-Hertogenbosch in 2008. She’s the 1st adult female of all time to win back-to-back titles at *s-Hertogenbosch.

Last yr she had broken Dinara Safina in the final, and this year she made it once more, beating out the world number 1 7-5 7-5 in the semi-finals to take the finest result of her career at 32-years of age.

Reflecting her love of grass, the 2008 Wimbledon quarterfinalist has claimed five of her seven career Top 10 wins on the surface, in 2001 over Nathalie Tauziat and Mauresmo, in 2008 over Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic and now another over Safina.

Her win over Safina established her as the first Thai player ever to beat a reigning world number one.

“It was a tough match,” said Tammy.

“Yanina did a good job running me around. I’m happy I held on to win. Last year it was a great experience to win here and I’m so proud I could do it again. I love playing here.”

The Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions will feature top Tour players and next generation champions competing in an innovative 12-woman round robin singles format, offering US$600,000 in prize money.

Additionally, an unbelievable $1 million incentive will be made up to any player that able win 3 of the thirty International Series events, and the Tournament of Champions.

Ref :
thejakarta post

The top 10 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players who have won at least one International tournament during the year and who are not participating in singles at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships will qualify for the event, along with two wild cards.

The 12-woman event will feature four groups of three players in a round robin format, then a single-elimination semi-finals and final.

Matches will take place at the Bali Convention Center, The Westin, Nusa Dua, Bali, from Nov. 4-8.

Published by Ozgur Tore
Monday, 06 July 2009
Best Western hotel owners and senior corporate business development and marketing executives from all over Asia converged on Best Western New Kuta Condotel, Bali, Indonesia, for the 6th Asian Members Meeting held from July 1-4, 2009.

The recently opened deluxe hotel, Best Western’s first in Indonesia, has been chosen to host the bi-annual conference both as a prime example of how The World’s Largest Hotel Chain® is impacting the hospitality industry around the region and because Indonesia is a particularly strong prospect for the US-based multinational brand.

“This property inspired the delegates and their focus on business agenda and insights aimed at capitalizing on the opportunities that still undoubtedly exist even in today’s challenging trading conditions,” said Mr. Glenn de Souza, Best Western International Operations Vice President Operations – Asia.

Besides owners of Best Western hotels in Asia, the list of delegates included Best Western Area Development Office executives, tasked with making the chain the biggest in Asia, and International Sales Agents.

“We were tremendously honored to have been chosen to host the 6th Asian Members Meeting in Indonesia, both as a hotel and as a host nation where Best Western will have 20 hotels within 2013,” said Mr. Jusuf Sawirin, Chief Area Officer – Area Development Indonesia.

Asian Members Meetings are dedicated as opportunities for key players in Best Western’s business development and expansion efforts around the region to come together and share their experiences and accumulated expertise.

“The delegates were thoroughly briefed on Sales & Marketing techniques enabling existing owners to maximize the returns from their properties that specifically address the present economic challenges,” further explained Glenn de Souza who opened the conference.

“It was a great opportunity to recognize our strength in numbers and accentuate the advantages of working together in the spirit of a big, functional family,” the executive added.

Main agenda items included:

· International Sales Office performance and strategies

· Area Development Office performances and strategies

· Best Western International Asia sales & marketing strategies

In addition, two guest speakers; Mr. Volkmar Ensslin – a management consultant and a lecturer of a master management program in tourism and hospitality in Thailand, introduced the topic of ‘Success Factors: Business Ethics’; Mr. Paul Skiadas, Executive Vice President of GE Capital Asia Pacific, spoke on the topic of ‘Financial Services – The Partnership Approach to Hospitality’.

The conference concluded with a dinner and presentation of Best Western ‘Best of the Best’ Awards 2008 to the best hotels in different categories.

The 278-room Best Western New Kuta Condotel is located on Dreamland Beach at Kuta, the beautiful island of Bali’s premier resort area. The aspirations of business and leisure travelers are equally well-served with a large landscaped swimming pool, fitness, a spa, an excellent international dining, and business center & meeting rooms. Another major selling point is New Kuta Golf Course golf course, home of the 2009 Indonesia Open, which conveniently surrounds the hotel.

“The hotel is an ideal spot in which to combine business with pleasure and we will be making sure our guests have plenty of opportunities to do both,” said Mr. Jusuf Sawirin. “The net result of the weekend should be a major boost to Best Western in Indonesia and all over Asia going forward.”

Maj. Randolph Cabangbang said Monday an investigation was under way to determine if the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah was involved in a southern Philippines church bombing that killed five people, The Manili Times reported.

In addition to killing five people, Sunday’s bombing at the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic cathedral in Cotabato injured dozens.

The military said extra security measures would be implemented to try to prevent additional bombings in the area.

Cabangbang said known members of Jemaah Islamiah may be operating in the southern portion of the Philippines, but it remained unclear if they played a role in Sunday’s attack.

“There’s an ongoing operation to capture those terrorists,” the military official said of the wanted militants, identified as Dulmatin, Umar Patek and Zulkifli bin Hir.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scuba diving in Bali in September 2007 with AquaMarine Diving. Featuring USAT Liberty shipwreck at Tulamben, mola mola at Crystal Bay, a whitetip reef shark at Nusa Penida, and lots of macro critters such as nudibranchs and shrimps from Coral Garden, Seraya Secrets and Puri Jati. 720p HD version shot and produced by Nick Hope.

watch the video here

Graeme MacRae and I Nyoman Darma Putra

In Bali, most people have taken this year’s elections in their stride. Balinese are getting used to elections and are beginning to develop their own distinctive electoral culture.

And little wonder. In Bali, as in other parts of Indonesia, there have been many elections since the last national legislative and presidential elections in 2004. These have included several rounds of pilkada (direct elections of regional heads) at the district and city level, the election of a new governor of the province, as well as this year’s (national) general election of members of district, provincial and national parliaments.

Opinions vary on the extent to which truly democratic representation is being achieved in Indonesia. Research in many parts of the country suggests that political elites of the New Order period have found new ways of reconfiguring and consolidating their power through collusion, alliances and cartels that cross the lines of political parties. We have been following elections in Bali for several years, focusing on the cultural dimensions as well as the purely ‘political’ ones. What we have seen leads us toward somewhat different conclusions.

In Bali, old elites haven’t had it all their own way

In Bali, old elites, especially those from the royal houses, have been emerging as political contenders, but they haven’t had it all their own way. Not surprisingly, the powerful local media is also emerging as a dominant force in electoral politics, albeit a not entirely predictable one. Contrary to some of the more gloomy assessments of the growth of democracy, voters in Bali are becoming more interested in the policies and platforms of the candidates. But it’s a constantly shifting picture. Here is a brief summary of what we have learnt.
Electing district heads in 2005

In 2005, there were, for the first time, direct elections – pilkada – in four of the eight districts of Bali as well as in the capital city, Denpasar. In these elections, two new trends emerged.

One trend was the re-emergence of the traditional aristocracies. Since the colonial era, and especially since independence, they had been progressively disempowered. Now, they are returning to the formal political arena, both directly as sources of candidates and indirectly as sources of legitimation and support for candidates. Candidates also drew upon a political language and style derived from traditional forms of display and relationships of patronage between aristocracies and their subjects.

The second trend was the role of the mass media, particularly the dominant Bali Post Media Group (BPMG) in mediating and managing information about the candidates and their campaigns. Most media in Bali, but especially the Bali Post group, charge candidates fees for all but the most newsworthy of coverage of their campaigns, a practice which somewhat blurs the line between advertising and editorial content as well as constituting a significant source of income. As a result, candidates with fewer resources to ensure sympathetic coverage in the BPMG’s many outlets, faced an uphill battle getting elected.

Despite this essentially commercial policy, the Bali Post Media Group was very careful to give exactly equal coverage to candidates (provided they paid) and also to avoid showing partiality toward any particular candidate. In this way, and by using some of the visual language of traditional politics, the BPMG managed to present itself to the public as a neutral party concerned with the well-being of the whole island rather than any particular candidate or party. In this way they implied for themselves a role analogous to the traditional rulers of Bali.

Aristocratic status is a valuable resource that candidates can draw upon, but is not in itself decisive

The results in this cycle of elections were mixed. Some aristocratic candidates succeeded while others failed. The present distribution, after this and the subsequent elections in 2008 is three bupati of high (ie priestly or aristocratic) status and five of ordinary rank. So, while aristocratic status was a valuable resource that candidates could draw upon it was not in itself a decisive one. Two factors that were, on the other hand, strikingly unimportant were the role of political parties and of policy in the electoral campaigns.

To register for election, candidates needed to be nominated by a party or coalition of parties that received at least 15 per cent of the vote at the previous legislative election. But once registered, the candidates conducted their own campaigns and their parties often played little active part. In some cases parties were little more than convenient vehicles for candidates and devoted few resources to support them. Outside of Bali, the island is known as being a stronghold of the PDI-P (Indonesia Democracy Party-Struggle), the party led by Megawati Soekarnoputri at the national level. But on the ground, we rarely see much evidence for this. Some candidates backed by the PDI-P did get elected to executive government posts, but not all, and it’s hard to conclude that affiliation to that party confers much of an advantage. We suspect the pre-occupation that political scientists and other observers have with parties is often misleading.

Likewise, candidates did not highlight their aims, values and practical intentions in their campaigns. They focused more on their personal qualities and reputations and on building support by making visits to communities, during which favours were dispersed and promised. In these regards, elections in Bali resembled those elsewhere in the country, and it seemed to us that these trends might grow in future elections.
The Gianyar pilkada of 2008

The next major round of elections was in January 2008. Here we focus on just one of these elections, that for the district head, or bupati, of Gianyar, where the contest was between representatives of two of the wealthiest and most powerful palaces (puri) in Bali. The candidates were Cokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati (Cok Ace) from Puri Ubud and Anak Agung Bharata from Puri Gianyar. They were nominated by Bali’s two major parties, respectively Golkar and PDI-P. This election was framed and understood by local people largely in terms of the historical contest between the two royal houses.

This time, the Bali Post Media Group also began to move away from its previous even-handed, king-like role, allowing its commercially-driven policy of paid-for ‘news’ reporting to predominate. During the 2005 elections, fees started from as low as Rp 400,000 for an article. In the 2008 campaign, this had increased to a minimum of Rp 1 million for an article in the middle pages with a black and white photo. Front page ‘news’ with one medium size colour picture began at Rp 8 million.

This gave a significant public-relations advantage to the candidate with the greater financial resources, who happened to be Cok Ace. He did in fact win, albeit by a very narrow margin.

But in this election, policy also began to appear as a more significant factor. Cok Ace spoke of subsidised or even free secondary education and promised to facilitate jobs in the international tourism sector for underemployed local tourism workers. These promises appear to have been a factor leading to his success.

But while policy became more visible, parties did not, or if they did, it was not necessarily to the advantage of the candidate. Cok Ace’s successful campaign focused mainly on the candidate himself, and he tried to downplay his Golkar links. Bharata’s unsuccessful campaign focused as much on his party as himself. But despite coming from PDI-P, the most ‘successful’ party in Bali, this proved not to be an advantage, perhaps reflecting increasing public disillusionment with party politics. More importantly, it reflected the greater importance, in the eyes of the electorate, of the personalities and reputations of the candidates. Despite some public bad feeling between the candidates, a minor scuffle at a rally, and a threat by the Bharata team to contest the result in court, the result was accepted, if not especially gracefully.

Two factors that were strikingly unimportant were the role of political parties and of policy in the electoral campaigns

So, while specific loyalties to aristocratic houses were even more central to this election, the role of the media become more overtly commercial. Meanwhile the role of parties remained minimal, while that of policy began to increase.
Electing a new governor in 2008

Six months later, on 9 July 2008, there was an election for the governor of Bali. All three candidates had strong credentials: Gede Winasa was the sitting district head in Jembrana, with a record of reform of the civil service and support for education and health services; Cok Budi Suryawan was a former district head of Gianyar and was also provincial head of Golkar and a senior member of the royal house of Ubud; Made Mangku Pastika had no direct political or administrative experience, but was widely known and respected as the police chief who had quickly hunted down and apprehended those responsible for the Bali bombings in October 2002. Pastika had become a major public figure in Bali, with strong views on moral issues such as gambling, drugs and prostitution, as well as security.

While Suryawan was clearly the Golkar candidate, the PDI-P candidacy was more complex. Winasa became district head of Jembrana in opposition to a PDI-P candidate, but after he was elected he joined PDI-P and became its local chairperson, possibly with a view to attaining the party’s nomination in the gubernatorial race. However, the PDI-P’s national president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, gave her endorsement instead to Pastika. Winasa then resigned from the party and registered his candidature in the name of the Democrat Party and several smaller parties.

However, the Golkar and PDI-P party machines, especially the latter, did play a more significant part in the gubernatorial campaign than they had in the previous elections, and this may have given Suryawan and especially Pastika some advantage over Winasa, whose party support was minimal. However, what made PDI-P support for Pastika effective was that, unlike for Bharata in Gianyar, it kept the focus on the person of Pastika rather than on the party. Another advantage for Pastika was that he was a popular figure at the provincial, and even the national, level because of his police role, while Winasa and Suryawan were well-known only in their own districts.

The media again continued their lucrative commercial approach to electoral news. Most campaign teams signed contracts for advertorial coverage with Radar Bali (part of the Jawa Pos Group) and Nusa Bali (another private newspaper), as well as, of course, with the Bali Post Media Group. The escalating costs of campaigning through the media resulted in all candidates focusing heavily on direct personal campaigning in local communities, farmers’ organisations (subak) and other public venues.

The Bali Post and its affiliated outlets also, for the first time, published their own views which had a direct bearing on the outcome. In 2006, after a series of reports on Jembrana, which Winasa regarded as unfavourable, he had one of the BPMG’s journalists arrested on a legal technicality. The BPMG responded with charges of its own. The latter case never proceeded to court but the bad feelings continued. During the campaign the Bali Post and its affiliates published more stories unfavourable to Winasa than to other candidates. Whenever Winasa, or any other candidate, wanted to counter unfavourable stories, ironically just about the only effective method open was to run paid editorial content in the BPMG’s outlets. In Winasa’s case, the BPMG also successfully supported and lobbied the government to close down his main alternative, the local channel Jembrana TV, both protecting its own commercial interests as well as damaging Winasa’s election hopes.

Policies matter
Cok Ace, the successful candidate campaigning for the district head position in Gianyar, campaigning in 2008
I Nyoman Wilasa

All three candidates based their public campaigns on ‘programs’, which were essentially similar and addressed areas of known common concern: health, education and employment. They varied in their degrees of ambition or, some would say, realism. Winasa’s program focused on ‘Five Frees’ (Lima Bebas): corruption-free administration, free education, free health care, freedom from poverty and freedom from unemployment. Suryawan and Pastika offered what many saw as more realistic versions of the same program involving subsidised health and education for the poor, employment support and poverty reduction. In Suryawan’s case there was added emphasis on traditional institutions as the basis for development as well as infrastructure and housing. Pastika on the other hand emphasised security and tourism. His campaign slogan, Bali Mandara (Maju Aman Damai Sejahtera) means ‘Bali Moving Ahead, Secure, Peaceful, Prosperous’.

Interestingly, when we were conducting research, the opinions we heard expressed about the candidates, at least partly reflected these programs, something that had not been evident in previous elections. For example, in Gianyar, the culturally conservative heartland of south Bali, Suryawan’s emphasis on traditional culture was seen as a reason to vote for him, while Pastika’s known aversion to cockfighting and other forms of gambling was seen as an attack on tradition. Winasa’s rumoured openness to Islam was also an apparent disadvantage. Winasa’s wife Ratna Lestari is a Javanese Muslim who is currently the district head of Banyuwangi. This was used as the basis of ‘black’ (hidden) campaign against him.

The new awareness of policy did not mean that older sentiments were no longer relevant. The main reasons people in Gianyar gave for supporting Suryawan were that he was of high caste, descended from kings and thus naturally suited to rule. Some people said more simply that he was, in the parlance of cockfighting, their ‘home cock’. In the end, sentiments of this kind ensured that Suryawan did win in Gianyar and the other most conservative district, Karangasem. But in other more urban, modernised and cosmopolitan districts such views carried much less weight and he did not poll strongly. Winasa won only in his home district of Jembrana. Pastika, by contrast, won substantial majorities in his own home district of Buleleng and the urban and tourism-dominated areas in the south, allowing him to emerge as the clear winner overall.

Once again, the pattern of politics was changing, with aristocratic status counting more in some districts than others and the role of the media becoming even more important, and notably less impartial, than previously. The most important change was the increasing prominence of the policies of candidates in their campaigns, and in the perceptions of voters.
General elections, 2009

Throughout Indonesia, campaigning for the general election (for parliaments at district, provincial and national levels) began long before the formal start of campaigns. Most candidates ‘stole a start’ (mencuri start). In Bali this was partly justified by the fact that there were effectively only 14 days for the formal campaign, rather than 21, because of a succession of Hindu holidays. In Bali, candidates were able to make an early start by means of masimakrama and dharmasuaka. These are Balinese terms referring to friendly social visits, and in the campaign context the visits were made by candidates to groups such as aristocratic houses and local communities, as well as, inevitably, to the headquarters of the Bali Post Media Group. Despite the traditional terminology, these were visits to solicit support and to provide opportunities for candidates to make generous donations to local causes, a thinly disguised form of ‘money politics’.

The day of the election coincided with a large once-in-ten-years ritual, Panca Bali Krama, at the ‘mother’ temple Besakih. For thousands of Balinese this was a higher priority than the election. A voting booth in the temple complex was planned, but was abandoned because of administrative and technical complexities. As a result many voters had to rush to local voting booths to cast their votes and it is likely that others did not vote for the same reason. The non-participation voter figure in Bali was 25.32 per cent, lower than the 29.01 per cent national figure.

The factors contributing to candidates’ success in the general election were mixed. Members of aristocracies like Cok Suryawan and his cousin Cok Kerthiyasa from Puri Ubud, and Anak Agung Bharata from Puri Gianyar (who was defeated in the 2008 pilkada) won seats in the Bali provincial parliament. Other winning candidates had strong political backgrounds in parties and the bureaucracy. Above all, two critical factors seem to have been important for success: money to fund candidates’ campaigns and strong networks of social-political support. Aristocratic background undoubtedly helped with both these factors, but was not in itself significant. The importance of policy programs was once again minimal, as the public began to tire of hearing more or less identical promises from dozens of candidates.

Whatever the political outcomes, the big winner financially was again the local media, especially the Bali Post Media Group

Whatever the political outcomes, the big winner financially was again the local media, especially the Bali Post Media Group. The only candidate who was able to win without following the previously established pattern of organising very expensive media campaigns was Kadek Arimbawa (aka Lolak) a local comedian who won a seat in the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) in Jakarta, representing Bali. He reportedly spent only Rp 150 million on his campaign, which consisted largely of performances at public rallies held by major political parties for their own campaigns. Instead of asking for a performance fee, he asked to promote his own candidacy for the DPD. For some his success confirmed a popular perception that politicians do not need to be either smart or strong but ‘funny’.

As for the party vote, the pattern was broadly similar to the past. PDI-P again took the largest proportion of votes (40.94 per cent, Golkar was second with 16.76 per cent and the Democrat Party was third with 14.61 per cent. However, PDI-P and Golkar both lost seats, while the Democrats increased almost threefold when compared to the 2004 general election. While PDI-P is still the dominant party in Bali, and Golkar have gained little ground, the emergence of the Democrat Party has changed the political landscape.
Emerging trends

While this is but a small sample from a not-very-typical part of Indonesia, the rapidly evolving electoral scene in Bali does not seem to fit the pattern of cross-party cartels and collusion of established elites that other observers have argued is developing in other parts of Indonesia. While many of the candidates in all these elections obviously had a degree of elite status, and some were arguably part of the established political elite, few of the successful ones were even established politicians. The emerging system has provided new opportunities for new candidates from varying backgrounds. It has also enabled voters to choose on the basis of their own perceptions, which have not always reflected established patterns of political power and hierarchy. As for policy, while it is has become much more visible in campaigns, there are indications that the public is sceptical of policy promises. Above all, the local media, especially the monopolistic Bali Post Media Group, play a crucial role in shaping electoral outcomes, and it found elections to be a very lucrative source of extra income. Media domination, personality politics and policy promises, and a minimal role for parties: politics in Bali are starting to look more and more like the politics we see in established democracies. ii

Graeme MacRae (G.S.Macrae@massey.ac.nz) teaches Social Anthropology in the School of Social and Cultural Studies, Massey University, Auckland.

I Nyoman Darma Putra (d.putra@uq.edu.au) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Queensland, and a lecturer in the Indonesian Department, University of Udayana, Bali.

reference :

InsideIndonesia[dot]org 97: Jul-Sep 2009

The G8 meeting comes as a deadline draws nearer for world leaders to endorse a new global warming pact at a UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December.

DECISIVE MOMENT

The “Bali Roadmap,” unveiled in December 2007, set a two-year deadline for a global agreement and pledged to complete a new UN climate treaty at the Copenhagen meeting to follow up on the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

However, the journey from Bali to Copenhagen has been dogged by squabbles between developed and developing nations and among developed nations themselves.

At the latest UN climate change talks held in Bonn in early June, the 50-page draft for a new global warming treaty grew to more than 200 pages stuffed with rival proposals after its maiden hearing.

Meanwhile, on June 27, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the “American Clean Energy and Security Act,” a legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill came as a hard-won victory for President Barack Obama, who is keen on a leading U.S. role in tackling global warming.

The L’Aquila summit is the last G8 summit before the December Copenhagen meeting. Under Obama’s initiative, a major economies forum for 17 countries, which account for some 80 percent of the global emissions, is scheduled for Thursday on the sidelines of the summit. If the leading powers could sew up differences on global warming at the summit, L’Aquila will be a landmark on the road to tackle climate change.

THORNY ISSUES

Italy, which holds the current G8 presidency, wants the summit to agree that global greenhouse gas emissions should peak by 2020 and world temperature change should be limited to 2 Celsius degrees above pre-industrial levels.

According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a rise in temperatures of more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels would be dangerous for the delicate balance of Earth’s climatic system.

The two targets have been accepted by the European Union, but not by G8′s non-EU members — the United States, Russia, Canada and Japan.

Meanwhile, the leading economies are using different time frames when setting cap goals: some looking to 2012, 2020 or 2050. They are also basing emissions cuts on different baselines: some comparing to 1990 levels, others to 1997 levels or 2005 levels.

In the first round of the Bonn talks in early April, the United States said it was considering cutting its emissions by 14-17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, which means the U.S. 2020 goal amounts to a merely 4 percent cut compared to 1990 levels.

On June 10, the Japanese government announced a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, which translates into an 8 percent cut from 1990 levels.

Australia set its emission target on 5-15 percent by 2020 compared to 2000 levels, while Canada plans to cut by 20 percent by 2020 on 2006 levels.

The European Union (EU) has promised to cut emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and by 30 percent if other rich nations follow suit.

U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern said in late May that rich nations as a group are unlikely to reach the deep 2020 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions as part of a new UN climate treaty.

According to the IPCC, all developed countries should cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels to tackle climate change.

Another thorny issue for developed countries is how to channel money and technology to the poor to help deal with climate change, as an estimated 100 billion to 200 billion U.S. dollars will be needed to support developing countries to tackle climate change.

The EU has urged the leading economies to split the bill based on their historical emissions and current wealth, but the bloc members have so far failed to agree on how to split the bill among themselves.

Meanwhile, some developed countries want a new sliding scale to redefine developing nations and demand more actions by the wealthier developing countries in slowing global warming.

In April, Japan submitted a draft text of the new climate pact to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing up the concept of “wealthier developing countries.”

In the draft document released on May 20, the UNFCCC also passed the buck to poor nations, setting emission reduction goals for developing countries by 2050.

This has drawn fierce criticism from developing nations, presenting another obstacle on the way to a successful Copenhagen meeting.

“The countries gathering in L’Aquila have the biggest responsibility to show leadership on climate. Without their action we cannot expect the rest of the world to move,” environmental group World Wildlife Fund said Friday.

Editor: Wang Guanqun