Lombok News

NTB Province Government Reject Newmont's state-owned Sell

2009-08-25T03:58:00.000+07:00

The fight fighting over shares 'tasty' rest divestment of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (nnt) between central and local governments increasingly fierce. Government of West Nusa Tenggara Province (NTB provincial government) to object to form a consortium with the divestment of state-owned shares in the company executing the mine. That is because they believe even without berkonsorsium with state-owned, local governments can also get stock.

NTB Governor Zainul Majdi said it would prove his seriousness by writing Coprporation Newmont management. In the letter it will convey a readiness to buy 14 percent stake in PT nnt released for divestment program in 2008 and 2009.

"Never in the history, the central government participating foreign companies to buy shares in the process of divestment obligations," he said. One proof of the central government has handed the right purchasing 10 percent stake in Newmont, which was released in 2006 and 2007 on local governments.

He also explained if it had been agreed with Multicapital (affiliated with the company of Bakrie Group) to make purchases 31 percent stake in PT nnt the didivestasikan until 2010. "So if there are state enterprises that are interested, let's join this consortium," he explained.

The struggle for the divestment of shares of Newmont's exciting. In addition to creating a rivalry between central and local governments, it also confused the authorities determine who Batu Hijau mine, Newmont whether multinational companies from the U.S. or switch to indigenous groups Bakrie.

Pertaruangan two "elephants" is also Finance Minister Sri Mulyani dragged across the street from his colleagues the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Finance minister thinks that the right to purchase only the state, namely PT Aneka Tambang or consortium. While the Government insists NTB Purnomo also be involved.

Dry season to start early, with ‘no extremities’

2009-04-02T15:13:00.001+07:00

Any potential drought in Indonesia this year would most likely occur due to environmental damage rather than a prolonged or extreme dry season, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said Sunday.

“This year will not see any extremities in the dry season, besides a rather early start,” agency head of the climatology division Soetamto told The Jakarta Post.

“Environmental damage, such as deforestation, will most likely be the culprit for any drought cases that may hit the country.”

According to the agency’s report, in some areas the country’s dry season will begin as early as late March or early April. This is premature when compared to the average season commencement times between 1971 and 2000.

“However, the country displays a wide variety of climates, so certain areas will enter the dry season earlier than others,” Soetamto said.

The areas most likely to enter the dry season early will be Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

For those five areas, Soetamto said, the dry season would most likely reach its peak in August.
“Some areas will experience longer periods of dry weather than others. In East Nusa Tenggara, for example, the hot weather could extend for up to eight months, while some areas in Sumatra will likely experience less than a month of the season,” he said.

The country had been through several severe droughts. In 1997, droughts triggered a national food crisis that forced the government to import five million tons of rice. Five years later, another drought led to the failure of more than 500,000 hectares of crops.

“Environmental damage, especially deforestation, will most likely be the cause of any drought or water crisis that may occur,” Soetamto said. In Jakarta, for example, water shortages normally occur when there has not been adequate rain for around a four-month period.

“However, nowadays just two months of dryness can cause the city to scream for water.”

Hydrologist and water resources engineer from the Public Works Ministry Agung Bagiawan Ibrahim said after a seminar on climate change earlier this week that the country’s water supply was being threatened by deforestation, especially along riverbanks.

“Deforestation along riverbanks decreases the crucial impact of water catchments, causing water crises,” Agung said.

In Java the water supply is traditionally scarcer in the eastern parts of the island compared to the west.

“The authorities responsible for managing riverbank areas must take necessary steps, such as replanting trees, to ensure better water management systems in the future,” Agung said.

Education grants for needy students in West Nusa Tenggara

2009-04-02T15:12:00.002+07:00

Mahendra Linus Topa, a fifth grader at SDN Punia State Elementary School in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, was overjoyed when he received a study grant of Rp 90,000 (US$8.00) provided for needy local students.

"I'll use the money to buy some books and a pair of shoes," the son of Muhali and Lilis said.

Although the quarterly education grant is distributed by the provincial administration, the province's eight regencies and municipalities are also required to support the program.

This is because the provincial education budget covers only half of the 330,000 needy students in the province.

Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Education Youth and Sports Agency Ma'shum said the other half would be provided by the respective regencies and municipalities from their own budgets.

"The education grant program will use the budget sharing pattern - 50 percent from the provincial administration and 50 percent from the regional administrations," he said.

Ma'shum said the assistance funds from the provincial administration would be channeled to the respective regency and municipal education agencies according to the number of needy students.

The provincial administration has provided the grants to at least 160,000 students from elementary, junior high and senior high school levels throughout the province. Governor Zainul Majdi and Vice Governor Badrul Munir symbolically presented the scholarships to 20 students from less privileged families in a ceremony held at the Graha Bakti Praja Hall in the gubernatorial office complex over the weekend.

The students will receive a monthly grant of Rp 30,000 for elementary school, Rp 40,000 for junior high school and Rp 65,000 for senior high school.

During the ceremony, which was attended by provincial officials, as well as religious and community figures, Majdi also distributed a copy of Gubernatorial Decree No. 160/2009 on education assistance allocation for needy students to each of the eight regents and mayors.

This initial assistance is part of the education grants for January, February and March this year, which total more than Rp 20 billion ($1.8 million). The provincial administration has allocated Rp 80.56 billion from its annual budget for the program.

Based on the gubernatorial decree, the funds were aimed at assisting students in Mataram city (8,491), West Lombok (24,710), North Lombok (9,281), Central Lombok (30,653), East Lombok (35,464), West Sumbawa (4,327), Sumbawa (12,141), Dompu (12,858), Bima (21,260) and Bima city (5,770).

In his inaugural speech, Majdi said that the provision of education scholarships was part of his administration's commitment to the implemention of free education for needy students, the eradication of illiteracy and the implemention of 12-year mandatory education in line with the 2009-2013 strategic program.

"The basic reason for substandard level of education is people's lack of ability to pay for their children's education," he said.

"It is the responsibility of the administration in accordance with the State Constitution and National Education Law to take over the responsibility of parents of needy students to provide for their schooling."

According to Majdi, the education program will cover students from less privileged families from state, private or Islamic schools equally.

Fraudulent projects in NTB probed

2009-04-02T15:12:00.001+07:00

West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) authorities are investigating the alleged embezzlement of an estimated Rp 45 billion (US$40 million) related two fraudulent operations, an official has said.

The Rp 42 billion 2007 illiteracy eradication project and the Rp 3.3 billion 2008 bridge and road maintenance project are being scrutinized. "The number of suspects could be hundreds or even thousands," Sugiyanta, a spokesman for the NTB Prosecutors' Office, told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.

The state budget allocated Rp 35 billion for the illiteracy eradication project; an additional Rp 7 billion came from the provincial budget.

Managed by the provincial Education, Youth and Sport (Dikpora) Agency, the Rp 42 billion budget was aimed at eradicating illiteracy among over 600,000 people aged between 15 years and 45 in the province.

Ostensibly, an NGO partner requested the funds to operate community learning activities centers (PKBM) designed to provide illiteracy eradication programs.

For each leaning group it established, the PKBM was received Rp 2.5 million in operational funds. "In practice, however, most of the groups were fictitious," Sugiyanta said.

He added that his office detained Mahyudin, 35, the manager of a PKBM in Penimbung subdistrict, Gunungsari, West Lombok, as a suspect on Monday. Mahyudin had requested operational funds for 81 learning groups, none of which could actually be found.

"He has caused losses of over Rp 200 million to the state," he said.

Mahyudin told the police that he received Rp 200,000 for each of the groups he established, claiming that the remaining Rp 2.3 million was taken by the Dikpora agency.

"We are coordinating with the provincial police for further investigation into the case," Sugiyanta said.

He added similar scams had been found in other regencies and municipalities, from which his office had learned of three different modes of operation: establishing fictitious projects, cutting project budgets and reducing the period of projects.

Head of the NTB Police's public relation division, Comr. Tribudi Pangastuti, said his office was questioning a number of village heads in West, Central and East Lombok. "It's true, we are targeting over 100 suspects in the case," he said.

In another development, the NTB Prosecutors' Office has also detained Abdurrahman His, 45, an official at the provincial public works agency, who has been named a suspect in the embezzlement of money related to an allegedly fraudulent project worth Rp 3.3 billion.

Abdurrahaman was detained Monday afternoon after undergoing being questioned at the provincial prosecutors' office.

Sugiyanta said Abdurrahman was a commitment maker official (PPK) for the 2008 national bridge and road maintenance project for the Mataram municipality region.

"It turned out that the project was never really there. It was reported as if it had been done but it was fictitious," Sugiyanta said.

Apart from Abdurrahman, he added, his office had named four other suspects in the case, including three other officials at the public works agency and a working partner.

He said that as similar cases were being found in other regions in the province, the investigation into the case could be expanded, if the same pattern prevails.

Speaking to the media, Abdurrahman's lawyer Taufik Budiman said that his client denied the prosecutors' allegations.

Lombok airport should be complete by October

2009-04-02T15:05:00.000+07:00

The construction of the Lombok International Airport, West Nusa Tenggara, is scheduled to be completed by October this year, officials said Sunday.

In a coordinating meeting between Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafeii Djamal and State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Kalla stressed the urgency of completing the project in order to support a Dubai Emaar Properties investment being proposed for the island.

Kalla said the completion of the airport was expected to coincide with the completion of the proposed tourism resort.

The airport, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2009 and set for operation in 2010, has cost more than Rp 800 billion.

Kompas.com reported that nearly 70 percent of the construction on the runway was complete, while about 65 percent of work on the passenger terminal and parking area was still to be finished.

KPK dismisses charges against West Lombok regent

2009-02-25T11:34:00.000+07:00

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has withdrawn charges against West Lombok Regent Iskandar and freed him from jail following his illness that discourages him to resume court sessions in land exchange graft case.

KPK director for prosecution Ferry Wibisono said Friday that the investigators had released Iskandar from all indictments this afternoon and allowed his family whether or not to carry him home.

“Despite the release, we will work on rescuing state losses in the case,” he told tempointeraktif.com.

Previously, the Supreme Court and Corruption Court have sentenced free Iskandar following two doctors’ testimonies on his physical and physiological illnesses discouraging him to resume court sessions.

Iskandar is a suspect in a case that revolves around a land-exchange deal involving the West Lombok regency administration and private company PT Valindo Lombok Inti. Under the office-exchange deal, struck between 2004 and 2005, the headquarters of the West Lombok administration moved to an office complex outside of Mataram.

The KPK says the state suffered Rp 18 billion (US$1.6 million) in losses from the case.

Court drops graft charges against Lombok regent

2009-02-25T11:33:00.000+07:00

The panel of judges at the Corruption Court decided Thursday to drop the graft case against West Lombok Regent Iskandar due to his severe illness.

The judges received files of medical checkups from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta on the defendant's condition. Doctors advised that the defendant not be made to proceed with the trial due to his multiple illnesses that include severe dementia, which rendered him unable to recognize himself and everyday reality.

"The defendant is clinically proven to be both mentally and physically ill. For example, he urinated during the previous hearing. And at an earlier hearing, he was unable to fairly judge the testimony provided by witnesses. Thus we have no other option but to stop trying the case," presiding judge Gusrizal told the court.

The regent is the first graft suspect the usually merciless court has failed to send to jail.

Iskandar was named a graft suspect last year after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) charged him for his "significant roles" behind an asset swap transaction in West Lombok in 2005. His alleged misconduct cost the state Rp 13.8 billion (US$1,131,148).

He was charged with violating the Corruption Law and was facing a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. He was arrested by the KPK and was held at the Jakarta Police's detention center.

The court had already sentenced Iskandar's business partner, Izzat Husein, director of PT Varindo Lombok Inti, to four years in prison.

At Thursday's hearing, psychiatrist Charles Dumping said Iskandar was no longer able to identify himself.

"He has forgotten his wife and family members. I am afraid this is caused by permanent dementia, which is incurable," he told the court.

Physician Arya Govinda also convinced the judges that the defendant suffered prostate problems and acute blood pressure, which caused him great discomfort each time he attended a hearing in his trial.

Upon hearing the opinions from the experts, judge Gusrizal said, "However, we remain undecided over whether he be released."

Iskandar's lawyer Hairi Parani welcomed the judges' decision to drop the case, saying it was the fairest thing to do.

"The family hopes that Iskandar will be released soon as he must undergo medical examinations," he said.

However, prosecutor Muhammad Rum criticized the judges' decision, saying the trial should not be stopped for reasons of ill health.

Iskandar is not the first official to claim to suffer from illness during a trial. Former president Soeharto failed to attend numerous summons after doctors declared him unfit to do so.

Soeharto was alleged to have misused some Rp 1.4 trillion and some US$416 million of public funds in the seven charitable foundations he chaired. He remained free from all charges until his death last year.

The Regional Representatives' Council speaker and former mines and energy minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita was also hospitalized for eight days during his trial for his alleged role in a US$24.8 million corruption scandal in 2001.

Court dismisses charges against ill West Lombok regent

2009-02-25T11:32:00.000+07:00

The Corruption Court has dropped all charges against West Lombok regent Iskandar, after ruling he was too ill, physically and psychologically, to stand trial in a graft case over a land-exchange deal in the regency.

Presiding judge Gusrizal said Thursday the panel of judges could not continue the trial and would return the case to prosecutors representing the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Gusrizal added the defendant's illness would disrupt the trial, as Iskandar might create his own story and not help for further examination into the case.

“We have referred to the doctors’ reports saying Iskandar suffers from dementia, which causes him difficulty remembering important facts about the case. Thus we are dismissing all the charges and freeing him from jail,” he told tempointeraktif.com.

Previously, two doctors who examined Iskandar told the court the defendant suffered from dementia, a progressive decline in cognitive function. They added he also suffered from stroke and diabetes.

Iskandar is a suspect in a case that revolves around a land-exchange deal involving the West Lombok regency administration and private company PT Valindo Lombok Inti. Under the office-exchange deal, struck between 2004 and 2005, the headquarters of the West Lombok administration moved to an office complex outside of Mataram.

The KPK says the state suffered Rp 18 billion (US$1.6 million) in losses from the case.

ASEAN citizens will get hotel discounts in Indonesia

2009-02-25T11:31:00.000+07:00

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to intensify its promotional campaigns targeting the Southeast Asian market, including a special ASEAN discount program.

“The details on the program will be discussed at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Bangkok, Thailand, in March,” the ministry’s marketing directorate general Sapta Nirwandar said on Friday.

“One of proposed programs is to have hotel discounts effective among ASEAN nations. This means if tourists can prove they are citizens of an ASEAN nation, they will automatically get a special discount,” he added.

Sapta said that the hotel discount program had not yet been officially agreed by the ASEAN nations. “But the Indonesian and Malaysian governments have planned to try the program on a voluntary basis.”

Sapta said that the ASEAN market could play a key role in maintaining the Indonesian tourism industry while the global economic crisis is hitting Western countries so badly.

Around 6 million tourists came into the country in 2008, bringing in around US$7.5 billion in foreign exchange income.

Indonesia managed to record the highest increase in tourism in the ASEAN region from 2007 to 2008, with a volume growth of around 15.25 percent. However, the ministry has not set a higher target for 2009, due to the global downturn.

As for this year’s income target, Sapta said that the ministry forecasts around $6.5 billion of foreign exchange from the tourism industry.

But while the ministry has set a lower income target, it increased the promotional budget to $24 million in 2009 from $22 million last year.

Sapta said that the ministry would allocate the budget more to niche markets rather than to global advertising, since Indonesia’s tourism budget is very small compared to those of neighboring countries like Malaysia, which spent around US$100 million in 2008.

“That is why we cannot afford a mass promotion such as airing advertisements on international television networks. It costs around Rp 75 million just for a 30 second ad-spot,” Sapta said.

The ministry has scheduled several niche-specific events in West Sumatra, such as bicycle riding in Singkarak and an old locomotive tour project in Padang Panjang. “We also plan to develop tourism in Lombok and Sumbawa. Currently, only around 130,000 tourists visit these areas annually. We plan to increase this by 1 million visitors in 2012,” Sapta said.

‘Getting sick’ may be a good strategy to ‘avoid justice’

2009-02-24T11:30:00.000+07:00

The Corruption Court decision to drop a graft case against West Lombok Regent Iskandar for health reasons may set a precedent for other graft suspects to use the same excuse to evade justice.

With such a precedent, graft suspects would know they have found a new loophole within the investigation process of the Corruption Eradication Commission and the trial process of the graft court, legal experts and anti-graft activists said here Friday.

“I’m afraid corruptors will suddenly “get sick” just to evade the court process,” Zainal Arifin Mochtar from Gadjah Mada University’s Center for Anti Coruption Studies (Pukat) told The Jakarta Post.

He said Corruption Court judges should examine thoroughly the medical records of defendants or seek second opinions to establish whether the defendant was really sick or pretending to be so.

“The judges should be really selective in determining when to drop the charges,” he said.

The Corruption Court judges decided to drop Thursday graft charges against Iskandar after they received files on medical checkups from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

Doctors advised the defendants not to proceed with the trial due to his multiple illnesses that include severe dementia, which rendered him unable to recognize himself and everyday reality.

This made Iskandar the first graft suspect the court has failed to jail.

Presiding judge Gusrizal said Thursday the judges panel could not continue the trial, since the defendant’s illness would disrupt the trial, as Iskandar might create his own story and not help with further investigation into the case.

Iskandar was named as a graft suspect last year by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealing his key role in an asset swap transaction in West Lombok in 2005.

His alleged misconduct caused state losses of Rp 13.8 billion (US$1.1 million). He was charged with violating the 1999 Anti Corruption Law and faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The court had already sentenced Iskandars’ business partner Izzat Husein, director of PT Varindo Lombok Inti to four years imprisonment.

According to Zainal he believed the court should only suspend the trial of Iskandar until his condition was improved. “Suspending trial of a suspect for health reasons is allowed in the criminal code but not to drop completely,” he said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) legal researcher Febri Diansyah agreed with with Zainal saying Corruption Court judges should not be trapped by such an old strategy as making excuses about ill health to avoid trial.

“If the defendant is really sick it should be taken into consideration but judges should seek second opinions to prove whether the illness is for real,” he said.

He suggested KPK should file a civil lawsuit against the regent. Even if he could not be responsible criminally, he had still caused state losses.

“I think KPK should try to recover state assets he has embezzled,” Febri said.

Maarif Institute to select award recipients for 2009

2009-02-23T11:29:00.000+07:00

The Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity has called on the public to nominate people for its annual pluralism award.

Raja Juli Antoni, the institute's executive director, said the civil society organization had decided to continue the award presentation this year due to public appreciation of the event in the last two years.

"We received many phone calls and letters from people who encouraged us to continue the event," Antoni said.

"Perhaps it's because the award is in line with our efforts to recognize people who consistently fight for pluralism."

The award is open to local individuals or organizations that pioneer social change at the grassroots level, bridge religious, ethnic and cultural diversity for the sake of human dignity, and are a role model benefitting the local community.

"Our focus is to find local but visionary leaders from all walks of life who do something for people at the grassroots, now that we're facing a leadership crisis," Antoni said.

The institute's founder, Prof. Ahmad Syafii Maarif, warned that Indonesia could not emerge from the current crisis without statesmen who had integrity.

"Amid the crisis of leadership, we point out the emergence of new visionary local leaders. We will promote them as role models for others," said Syafii, former chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's largest Muslim organization.

Antoni said the award would go to those who could help the nation address the problems of poverty, unemployment, ecological disasters, social injustice and threats to freedom of religion.

Last year, the award went to Cicilia Yuliati Hendayani, Hasanain Juaini and Tafsir.

Cicilia, a Catholic NGO activist, won the award for promoting the rights of the residents of Banyu Urip, an isolated, underdeveloped and stigmatized village in the East Java regency of Blitar, once known as communist stronghold.

Hasanain is renowned as a progressive Muslim cleric fighting for democracy in education, including alternative education for women, in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. He also initiated a conservation movement that has turned 30 hectares of arid land into green space.

Muhammadiyah executive Tafsir won the award for promoting progressive ideas running counter to

Indonesia is the birthplace of animal geography

2009-02-23T11:28:00.000+07:00

"Only religious zealots consider Darwin's Theory to be *infamous'. Others consider it to be well-thought scientific theory based on physical evidence and not hearsay."

That's the comment posted on The Jakarta Post website by an assiduous reader, justifiably troubled my erroneous use of word "infamous" in describing Charles Darwin's work on evolution in my previous GreenWatch article about Sulawesi's Pygmy tarsiers.

Apologies for my unfortunate semantic error. As an avid environmentalist, I am a strong admirer of the great naturalist whose work is currently receiving much attention, this being the 200th year since Darwin's birth and 150 years since the publication of his most famous work, On the Origin of Species.

Interestingly, Indonesia plays a pivotal role in the story of the study of evolution. It is also exactly 150 years since his friendly rival and fellow biologist, Alfred Russel Wallace, first publicized his discovery of the near-magical boundary that divides Indonesia's western islands to the west of Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Bali with those to the east including Lombok, Sulawesi and Timor.

During the mid-1800s, while Darwin was exploring the Galapagos islands of South America, Wallace was studying the rich biodiversity on the Moluccan "Spice Islands" that comprise a part of the archipelago of Indonesia.

Attracted by the abundant variety of species, Wallace noticed during his extensive travels in the area that the islands in the western part of the archipelago had animal life similar to that found in continental Asia, while the islands in the eastern part of the chain had species resembling those found in Australia.

The so-called father of animal geography was particularly impressed by the sudden difference in bird families he encountered when he sailed some 20 miles east of the island of Bali and landed on Lombok. On Bali, the birds were clearly related to those of the larger islands of Java and Sumatra and mainland Malaysia, while the birds on Lombok were related to New Guinean and Australian communities.

He marked the channel between Bali and Lombok as the divide between two great "zoogeographic" regions, the Oriental and Australian. This became known as The Wallace Line.

At the risk of getting too scientific, there were actually two "Wallace Lines". Wallace originally placed his boundary to the northwest of Sulawesi, but later relocated it to the southeast of this island.

In fact, without knowing it, Wallace had moved his line to a new position that accurately matches the plate tectonic history of the archipelago. The Australia and Eurasia plates collided 15 million years ago, bringing into contact two communities that had been isolated from one another since the close of the Cretaceous that occurred some 65 million years past.

During the Ice Age, Sulawesi was in contact with the Eurasian mainland, while a deep ocean trench separated Sulawesi from islands immediately to the southwest that were connected to Australia and New Guinea. After Wallace, researchers drew a number of other "lines" in this area, depending on which animal group they studied.

Wallace mainly studied birds for this purpose, but the dividing "line" shifts across the archipelago depending upon whether the subject studied was birds, mammals or freshwater fish.

Wallace's idea has had a profound effect on all biological thinking to the present day. Australian environmentalist and author Penny van Oosterzee has written a remarkable book called Where Worlds Collide that follows Wallace's journeys through the islands of Southeast Asia, explaining his theory and how it has been interpreted by biologists since.

Arguably, Wallace was the true originator of the idea for which Charles Darwin was to become famous. The two were at least working on the same general problem at the same time although in different parts of the world, and Wallace's discoveries prompted Darwin to publish his own findings sooner than he had intended. Indeed, Darwin gave due credit to Wallace, including a mention in the second paragraph of On the Origin of Species.

In this column, I have often cited the importance of Indonesia to the world's ecosystems. The nation is home to an extraordinary abundance of flora and fauna. It has always represented a vital environmental crossroad for the world.

Alfred Wallace's adventures in these islands serves to highlight the importance of conservation to Indonesia. There are all-too-many endangered species in this country. Surely we must do everything possible to protect the flora and fauna that gave the likes of Wallace such vital insights into the very origins of life.

Corruption Court may suspend West Lombok graft case

2009-02-13T21:03:00.000+07:00

The Corruption Court will decide next week whether or not to continue hearings on a graft scandal involving West Lombok regent Iskandar following reports on the defendant's ill health.

Testifying in court on Thursday's, geriatric internist Arya Novandri said the defendant was suffering from mental disorder which made it difficult for him to remember and make decisions.

"During my observations between Nov. 27 and Dec. 9, I found the defendant was suffering from stroke and memory lapses," he told the court.

Charles Effert, a doctor who had examined the defendant's mental condition, said Iskandar was suffering from dementia, a progressive decline in cognitive functioning.

"He perhaps can still remember some past incidents but with holes. It's almost impossible for him to return to normal function when we might remember everything well," he said.

After both doctors' testimony, the court will resume next week to decide whether to continue examining the defendant.

Iskandar is a suspect in a case that revolves around a land- exchange deal involving the West Lombok regency administration and private company PT Valindo Lombok Inti.

Under the office-exchange deal struck between 2004 and 2005, the headquarters of the West Lombok administration moved to an office complex outside of Mataram.

Hundreds of thousands of children neglected, forced to work

2009-02-13T21:02:00.002+07:00

The West Nusa Tenggara Social, Demography and Vital Statistics Agency recorded 227,633 cases of child neglect in 2008, 24,705 of which involved children below the age of five.

Based on the official data published by the provincial statistics agency this year, the victims of child neglect are scattered over seven regencies and municipalities; West Lombok (79,878 children), Central Lombok (5,760), East Lombok (84,673, West Sumbawa (174), Sumbawa (12,438) Dompu (8,755), Bima (8,286), Mataram city (24,058) and Bima city (3,601).

Children between the ages of 5 and 18 categorized as neglected generally come from very poor families and have to work to supplement the family income. Provincial social office head Bachruddin confirmed the high number of child neglect victims in West Nusa Tenggara, adding that the data used indicators regulated in Law 23/2002 on child protection.

The indicators include children who work to supplement the family's income for at least four hours per day and whose basic rights, such as education and social interaction, are not met.

"The figure of more than 200,000 of the province's total population of 4.2 million is fantastic because it refers to the child protection law, and there are a great number of parents in this province requiring their children to earn income for the family," Bachruddin said.

Based on data from a survey by the social office children are employed in a number of ways, as horse carriage drivers, farm laborers and in the pottery industry.

"They work for more than four hours a day and so are listed as victims of child neglect," Bachruddin said.

He added the high number of neglected children in the province was attributed to the poverty issue, because those listed generally come from very poor families, which according to the office's data stood at 369,236 families.

The huge interest among people to work as migrant workers, he said, had also triggered the high rate of victims of child neglect in the province, because the migrant workers usually entrust their children to relatives, or neighbors, when they are working overseas.

Bachruddin said the provincial administration could only take care of 6,865 of the hundreds of thousands of neglected children due to limited funds, while the role played by the community through foster homes took up another 10,453 of them.

Closed crossing threatens agriculture produce

2009-02-13T21:02:00.001+07:00

The temporary closure of the Lembar ferry crossing in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, over the past three days has caused agricultural produce being transported in trucks to start rotting.

At least 200 trucks remained stranded as of Sunday, forming a 500-meter-long queue outside the ferry terminal.

The queue is expected to grow after the Lembar branch of state-owned PT Indonesian Ferry closed Saturday the crossing, which links the regency to Bali province.

Truck drivers delivering agricultural produce said the lower sections of their cargoes were already damaged.

"It's quite difficult during the rainy season. If we cover the cargo with a tarpaulin, it gets wet," driver Agus Suparno told The Jakarta Post.

"But if we leave it open, the produce gets wet."

Agus was delivering 6 tons of onions from East Lombok regency to Pekalongan regency in East Java.

"I got here early Friday. I usually only need 24 hours to reach my destination," he said. "The loss is huge, because onions are easily damaged."

Another driver, Hadi Suratno, said he faced hefty losses for being late with his delivery of bananas and coconuts from Sumbawa regency to Magetan regency in Central Java.

Indonesian Ferry recorded that as of Sunday there were 205 trucks, 10 buses and 10 cars queueing at the ferry crossing.

"The weather is very bad, according to reports from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency *BMG* and skippers who still have the chance to sail," Lembar operational manager Lunggu Simanjuntak told the Post.

"There are strong winds and 4-meter-high waves. That's why we closed the crossing."

Lunggu said similar conditions were being seen at the Padangbai ferry crossing in Karangasem regency, Bali, as well as at other crossings in the province.

In Yogyakarta, more bad weather has kept hundreds of fishermen grounded, while strong winds have damaged hundreds of hectares of rice paddies ready to be harvested.

Local fishermen have not gone out to sea for the last five days, instead killing time by mending their nets or fishing from the beach.

"Once we tried our luck and went out fishing. We were smashed by strong winds that caused a crew member to be thrown overboard," said Mugari, a fisherman at Samas Beach in Bantul regency.

"Luckily, he was experienced and hung on to the net, otherwise he would have been swept away."

Mugari said now was the best time to harvest sea snails, which fetched good prices for export.

"Many fishermen from outside Yogyakarta come here for that, including from Cilacap, Gombong and Kebumen in Central Java," he said.

The BMG's Yogyakarta office said the bad weather was caused by typhoon Freddy, generating waves 4 to 5 meters high. The conditions remain dangerous for small boats, the BMG warned.

Human trafficking victims suffer from mental distress

2009-02-05T07:37:00.000+07:00

As many as 57 human trafficking victims in West Nusa Tenggara have suffered from mental distress and at one point were treated at Selagalas Mental Hospital in Mataram, said the head of a group concerned with the issue.

"Some of them are still being treated and the condition of the others is improving, but they are still receiving outpatient treatment," Endang Susilowati, director of the Mataram Panca Karsa Foundation (PPK Mataram), told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Endang said the 57 victims were among the 317 human trafficking victims under the care of PPK Mataram during 2008, 80 percent of whom are women and 40 percent of them children under the age of 18.

Endang said the victims were believed to have suffered severe trauma after being cheated, exploited and abused during their ordeal, as well as being ashamed to return to their home villages.

She added that the trafficking victims were generally recruited by middlemen who promised them jobs as maids earning good salaries, usually overseas or in big cities.

The trafficking network, based on the accounts of victims at PPK Mataram, would recruit in the villages and send the women to Mataram, and then to Jakarta or Surabaya by air or overland, and later possibly overseas.

From Jakarta, they were sent directly to Batam or Tanjung Pinang in Riau Islands province, and to Malaysia or Singapore. Those from Surabaya were usually sent to Malaysia via Dumai, Riau province, or Medan, North Sumatra, or Batam.

She added that the domestic trafficking route was usually from Mataram to Bali, and later to Palopo and Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

Endang said that human trafficking in West Nusa Tenggara was a serious problem, because the province not only served as a place of transit and source of human trafficking, but was also now a destination. PPK Mataram is currently taking care of 10 victims from West Java.

They are generally children below the age of 20 who have been exploited in a number of enter-tainment places in Senggigi, West Lombok.

"West Nusa Tenggara has become a destination for human trafficking. Most of the victims come from Subang and Purwakarta in West Java. We are helping to return them to their hometowns. They are currently staying at the local social office's shelter," Endang said.

Hundreds of illegal miners detained in Lombok

2009-02-04T07:17:00.000+07:00

The West Lombok administration has detained at least 202 people from South Kalimantan, who attempted to work at an illegal gold mine at Batu Mujur, Sekotong district, about 50 kilometers south of Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara.

Basirun Anwar, the administration's spokesman, said that the 202 people, including two women, entered West Lombok on Wednesday evening in rented cars and were detained when they were buying cooking utensils at the market in Sekotong.

"After their data was registered at the administration office, they were handed over to the provincial social service office to arrange for them to be sent back home," Basirun said.

"They came from several districts in Tanah Laut regency, South Kalimantan. We considered them illegal workers, as they were about to work at a gold mine, which has been closed by the local administration," he said.

The closure of the mine was issued by authorities following a major landslide, which killed six miners several days ago. Despite the incident, an increasing number of people continue to flock to the mine to search of gold. He said that his administration had assigned a joint team to help secure the mine site, consisting of representatives from the Indonesian military, police, the administration police and the Sekotong security office.

After closing the mine, the West Lombok administration urged the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration to revise Regional Regulation No. 11/2006 on the banning of gold mining, so as to enable the administration to mine the existing gold reserves itself.

Basirun explained that in order to send the miners back to South Kalimantan, the regency administration was coordinating with the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration and their respective provinces of origin. Several would-be miners admitted they left their hometowns for Lombok upon hearing about the gold prospects.

They traveled at a cost of Rp 1 million (US$90) to Rp 2 million each by boat from Banjarmasin to Surabaya, before reaching Sekotong. Most took loans from relatives or other sources to pay these expenses.

Suryansah, 50, one of the newcomers from Tabang Ulang district in South Kalimantan, said that the accident, which killed six people, still didn't prevent him from coming to Lombok.

Citizen Journalism: Reforestation initiative launched at Mt. Rinjani

2009-02-03T07:22:00.002+07:00

A reforestation initiative supported by WWF Indonesia, the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, the East Lombok regency, local communities and various corporations, has been launched at Mt. Rinjani in East Lombok.

The NEWtrees reforestation program, launched on Jan. 21, is helping replenish water resources and forest cover in Lombok.

A recorded 40,000 hectares of protected forests around Mt. Rinjani have been destroyed, resulting in severe water shortages for the surrounding community of almost 3 million people. Over the past 10 years in Lombok, 43 percent of springs around Rinjani have dried up and do not produce water anymore. The program launch also featured a green “I-Ring” fundraiser with a ring-back tone titled, Jika bumi bisa bicara (If the earth could speak), donated by singers and composers Katon Bagaskara and Nugie. The two brothers performed this song, and some of their hits, live during the NEWtrees ceremony.

“This is a small thing we can do to help rehabilitate this planet. Imagine if 300 million people in Indonesia used the song for their cell phones - it could be a big, big donation for the Indonesian environment,” Nugie said. “I am so enthusiastic about this because ring-back tones are really popular now, and I think if the media is there to help us, it’s going to be huge.”

The NEWtrees reforestation program was initially established in Sebangau National Park in central Kalimantan in November 2007.

Waging war to promote tolerance in Lombok

2009-02-03T07:20:00.000+07:00

War is usually associated with violence and bloodshed between two opposing parties, but this is not so in the case of the Topat War in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

Here, hundreds of community members from both the local Hindu and Muslim communities gather not for an outburst of hatred but for a celebration of tolerence.

The tradition, which has been carried out from generation to generation for hundreds of years in the village of Lingsar strengthens harmonious ties between Muslim and Hindu residents.

Every year, people from the village of Lingsar hold the Topat War in the Lingsar Pura *Balinese Temple*, which was built in 1759 during the rule of Raja Anak Agung Gede Ngurah, a descendant of the Bali Karangasem King.

The unique thing is that inside the temple complex there are two big buildings; the Hindu Gaduh Temple and the Muslim Kemaliq Mosque, which is used by the local Sasak Muslims for customary ritual ceremonies.

These two buildings stand side by side, they are not separated.

Because of its uniquenes, the Lingsar Temple complex was officially recognized by the government in the 1990s as a place of culture worth preserving.

The Topat War is always conducted on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Sasak calendar, or during the full moon of the seventh month. On the calander of Bali's Hindus, the was falls on the full moon of the sixth month, which was in December in 2008.

At the ceremony Hindus perform odalan or the temple celebration, by conducting a Pujawali (prayer ceremony). Meanwhile Muslims conduct an event to celebrate the life of Raden Mas Sumilir, the Muslim missionary from Demak, Central Java who spread Islam to Lombok in the 15th century. "It is possibly only in Lingsar that you can find a big event being conducted that involves Hindus and Muslims at the same time and in the same place together.

"Although our versions are different, Hindu members carry out Pujawali to respect Batara Gunung Rinjani (the god Batara who lives on Mount Rinjani), Batara Gunung Agung and Batara Lingsar.

"We who are Muslims follow a heritage trail in remembrance of the service of the spreading of Islam by Raden Sumilir," Suparman Taufik, head of the Topat War committee who is also the head organiser of Kemaliq Lingsar, told The Jakarta Post.

The two communities begin by preparing offerings for their respective gods at the Lingsar Temple complex. In the Gaduh Temple, Hindus begin by preparing banten, or offerings, for the Pujawali. Meanwhile in Kemaliq Sasak, Muslims, led by the Kemaliq *organiser* prepare Kebon Odek *Bumi Kecil - Small Earth*, fruits and other natural products which are also offered up.

The offerings are then carried in a procession around the Kemaliq building accompanied by music played on traditional instruments.

Topat or ketupat, *rice cakes* which are boiled in a rhombus-shaped vessle of plaited young coconut leaves as big as an adult fist play a crucial role in the ceremony. While the banten and the Kebon Odek are being offered up, thousands of community members and visitors congrgate in the yard of Kemaliq, waiting in for the topat to be distributed, so a communal throwing ceremony can begin.

The ritual of throwing the topat is carried out at the same time as the rarak kembang waru, the shredding of the leaves of flowers.

Over the past 15 years, the Topat War has become one of the province's biggest tourism attractions. Last months event was ceremonially opened by Deputy Governor Badrul Munir, who threw the first topat to the residents crowded in the Kemaliq yard.

The communities scattered, snatching up and throwing the topat. The community groups were divided into two: those in the higher up Gaduh Temple yard and those in the Kemalliq yard.

Loud shouts erupted as children, teenagers, adults and even housewives joined in the communal throwing. Far from being terrifying and frightening this war was full of hearty laughter, as people tried to dodge the flying topats.

"It's exciting too, though there is also the horrific feeling of being struck by some topat. But it's fascinating. It's said that if someone is struck by a thrown topat that means that you will get blessings," Ayu, 35, a housewife from the Lingsar community who took part in the communal throwing said.

The Topat War continued for around 30 minutes and, afterwards, the community took home the remaining ketupat. It is believed that the topat used in the Topat War has a special quality.

"It's usual that the topat brought home is planted in the rice fields in order to boost the agricultural yield and encourage fertility. It can also be put in merchandise to encourage high sales. This is the tradition," Sahyan, one of the staff members of Kemaliq Lingsar, said.

After finishing the Topat War, the Hindus conducted the Pujawali ceremony in Gaduh Temple, accompanied by a makemit. A makemit involves staying in the temple all night long or meditating while staying in the temple for three nights. Sasak Moslem members in Kemaliq do the same thing.

The heart of the Topat War lasts no more than an hour, but the series of ritual processions goes for two days before the ritual and it wonderfully demonstrates strong religious tolerance between the Hindu and Muslim communities.

A day before the Topat War, the resident of Lingsar conduct the Ngeliningan Kaok procession, in which they walk around the Lingsar Temple complex with two buffalos, which are prepared by members of both religions. They are then slaughtered for gifts and the meat is cooked and eaten together.

As Hindus consider the cow pure and Muslims are forbidden to eat pork the sacrifice is a symbol of tolerance.

"Therefore, in Lingsar Temple people may not bring offerings of cow meat or pork, only fowls or buffalo. If this rule is corrupted it is considered pemaliq meaning it will have a bad impact," the chief organiser of Kemaliq Lingsar, Suparman Taufik said.

He said the procession is to thank God for the blessings that have been given throughout the year.

"There is a more important things the beautiful culture in this Topat War; a long time ago all our ancestors taught us how to have mutual respect and maintain religious tolerance," said Badrul Munir.

Human trafficking rampant in Lombok

2009-02-03T07:19:00.000+07:00

At least 22 women who were recently rescued from a human trafficking network in West Lombok have been placed in three shelters by the provincial social service and civil registration office in Mataram.

“The victims, mostly underage and from West Java, Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara, were forced to work as waitresses and singing partners in a number of cafes and karaoke parlors in the Senggigi tourist resort area,” Bachruddin, head of the social service and civil registration office, said.

Bachruddin said that the 22 women were rescued from a human trafficking network by police in several operations.

“We’ve accommodated them for one-to-two months on average, but they cannot be sent home yet as they have to act as witnesses in court,” he said, adding that his office had informed the victim’s families of their whereabouts.

“They will be sent home after testifying in court.”

Bachruddin explained that the victims were lured to work in tourist sites in Lombok with the promise of high pay.

Five of the 22 victims, accompanied by an advocacy team, went to the APIK Legal Aid Institute (LBH APIK) in Mataram on Wednesday, to urge the police to settle the cases as soon as possible.

“Even though human trafficking activities are rampant in the Senggigi resort area, the police
usually deal with the perpetrators using only the law on child protection and not Law No. 21/2007 on human trafficking,” Tonny Hoban, the coordinator of the advocacy team, said.

Since uncovering the case, the police have yet to detain any managers of the entertainment centers where the women were rescued. “This is because the police named the suspects under the law on child protection,” he said.

If the police applied the law on human trafficking, it would be easier for them to arrest more perpetrators by simply using testimony from the victims. The application of the same law would also enable the victims to receive compensation.

“We will meet the West Nusa Tenggara Police chief and ask him to pay closer attention to the problem,” Tonny said.

Tonny, who is also the coordinator of child law and protection at LHB APIK, said that his office last year provided advocacy for 57 human trafficking victims, of whom 27 were underage.

One of the victims, identified only as Ay, 16, said she came to Lombok on the invitation of a woman named Teh Nining in November last year.

“Teh Nining asked permission from my parents, convincing them that I would earn good wages so I was allowed to go,” the girl, who also worked as a street singer in Karawang, West Java, said

She said that she only worked for one week at the café in Senggigi before the police raided the café.

The best areas to stay on Lombok

2009-02-03T07:10:00.002+07:00

Lombok geographically is almost the same size as Bali and, just as there are popular tourist areas on Bali, so Lombok offers a variety of destinations to suit different holidaymakers' tastes. Following is an overview of the most popular areas to stay in Lombok.

Senggigi is the main tourist area on the mainland, with the town stretching along several fantastic bays on the west coast, and is only 20 minutes from the island's Selaparang airport. It is the ideal base from which to explore the island, and all major tourist attractions can be reached by day trips from Senggigi, including boat trips from Senggigi Bay out to the Gilis. There is a wide range of accommodations ranging from the five-star Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort to elegant private villas to comfortable small hotels and home stays. The main street in town runs parallel to the beach and is lined with restaurants, shops, banks, moneychangers and other tourist facilities. Nowhere near as developed as Kuta in Bali, Senggigi is a delightful place to stay while relaxing, dining and exploring.

Senggigi Bay is a large clean beach around which Senggigi has developed, with resorts running from the beach to the main road. The beach is a great place to hang out, sunbath and enjoy a massage, or swim and snorkel in the clear waters. The Pasar Seni (Art Market) faces onto the beach, with restaurants and bars overlooking the bay and small shops selling souvenirs, clothes and handicrafts in the market behind. The beachfront hotels and restaurants are good places to watch the magical Lombok sunsets, when the sun sinks into the ocean behind Bali, silhouetting the volcanoes against the sky.

Slightly farther north, the resort areas of Kerandangan and Mangsit offer a variety of good accommodations, including the stylish Qunci Villas, Puri Mas Boutique Resorts, Windy Beach Resort and Holiday Resort. The beaches here have white sand and clear turquoise waters and are largely deserted.

At night, there is a great range of entertainment on offer, as well as fabulous dining in some of the Senggigi restaurants. There's international fine dining, cuisines ranging from Thai, Japanese, Mexican and Korean (to name a few), or spicy local Lombok fare all on offer. A number of restaurants and bars have live entertainment with talented local bands playing popular music at night; and there are several nightclubs and discos featuring top bands, DJs and guest stars from around the nation. Senggigi caters to all types of holidaymakers - there are budget options for travelers, romantic options for couples and honeymooners, and wonderful places for families with children of all ages.

The Gili Islands are one of the most popular destinations on Lombok; every year thousands of people flock to these three small islands just off the northwest coast of Lombok. With many fast boat options such as Gili Cat and Blue Water Express providing easy transfers between the Gilis and Bali, the islands have become a popular getaway not just for overseas travelers but for those living on Bali too.

Each of the islands has a distinctively different "feel", which makes them an ideal destination for any type of traveler looking for the tropical island idyll. Gili Air is the island closest to the mainland and has a good range of accommodations, ranging from comfortable hotels to small budget home stays. The pace is very laidback, with days spent sunbathing on the clean beaches, diving in the great locations around the island and snorkeling the reefs just off shore. At night, the mood is relaxed with small warung and restaurants offering fresh seafood barbecues and local cuisine, and live music at some of the bars. Gili Meno is the middle island of the three Gilis and the quietest of the three - perfect for couples and families. The beaches are beautiful and safe for swimming, with good snorkeling just off the beach. This is the best place to see turtles in their natural environment and the dive operators on the island can help you discover the fine dive sites nearby. There are some small upmarket hotels, as well as bungalows on the beach and budget places from which to choose. If walking along a deserted beach under the stars is what you are looking for, Gili Meno has loads of atmosphere. Gili Trawangan is the most famous of the Gilis and the farthest from the mainland, although still only 10 minutes away by speedboat. Here the feel is "tropical island meets Seminyak", due to the number of upmarket eateries and villa developments that have sprung up on the island over the past couple of years. There is such a wide range of accommodation now available on Gili T (as it's known) that you can choose anything from a simple thatched bungalow on the beach to a luxury villa with private swimming pool. Dive companies abound on the island and many people come to Gili T to learn scuba diving, although the snorkeling is good and there are a number of other water activities available, including sunset cruises and glass bottom boat trips. Originally the domain of backpackers, Gili T is definitely now a place for all people - from budget travelers, to honeymooners to families. Something for everyone!

Kuta, the main tourist area on the south coast of Lombok, is not to be confused with its famous namesake in Bali. Kuta, Lombok, is a peaceful beach destination that has found fame due to the great surf locations that surround the small town. The beaches of the south coast are sublime, with sparkling white sand and clear blue oceans stretching to the horizon. Many people come to the area just to view some of the most stunning landscapes in Indonesia. Many more come to challenge the waves that roll off the peninsulas of nearby Gerupuk and Tanjung A'an.

Most of the accommodations in the area cater for the surf crowd, with lots of budget places, although there are a couple of mid-range hotels and some nice small hotels dotted along the beach toward Mandalika. The Novotel Lombok (Mandalika Resort) is located on the pristine beachfront here, and features luxurious accommodation in traditionally designed bungalows and villas.

In town are a number of good restaurants with cuisine ranging from simple local dishes to international fare, while on the hilltop overlooking the stunning coastline is the popular Ashtari Restaurant, serving delicious organic cuisine in a truly delightful setting. If you are looking for a laidback holiday location with lots of sunshine, uncrowded beaches, awe-inspiring views and plenty of accessible local culture, Kuta is the place for you!

Honeymoon in Lombok

2008-10-18T10:15:00.001+07:00

LOMBOK HONEYMOON PACKAGES INFORMATION

WHAT MAKES THE ISLAND OF LOMBOK SO MAGICAL FOR YOUR ROMANTIC HONEYMOON VACATION?

Lombok Romantic and Secluded Buried Boutique Lombok Island Resort Tropical Lombok Island Paradise Friendly Lombok's People EXPERIENCE ROMANTIC BLISS IN A RELAXED AND STRESS-FREE SETTING.

LOMBOK IS A RELAXING AND IDYLLIC TROPICAL ISLAND PARADISE.

YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM MODERN INTERNATIONAL RESORTS OR SMALLER MORE INTIMATE ISLAND RESORTS ONE OF YOUR BEST HONEYMOON PARADISE IN THE WORLD.

Located just off the coast of Senggigi a western part of Lombok Island coastline, the Gili Islands are the drier region of Lombok, thus providing year-round mild and sunny climate, and features more semi-arid landscape.

Made up of a dozen or so islets, The Lombok and surrounded islets provide a paradise for snorkeled and scuba divers, with coral reefs that are habitat to some of most beautiful and exotic fish in the world.

The crystal pristine, warm sea makes exploring the underwater caves, canyons and coral heads an exciting and breathtaking experience.

Many of the Lombok surrounded by boutique accommodation is tiny enough to be inhabited by only one resort on each places, giving visitor a sense of complete privacy and retreat on their own tropical enchantment.

Lombok Island also has an 18-hole golf course, gorgeous natural waterfalls on the mountain slope of Rinjani Volcano one of Indonesian national famous parks.

Lombok Island is easily accessible by plane from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur for the International access and from Jakarta, Surabaya and the closes from Bali is the best gateway for your domestic access.

Lombok Island resorts: Senggigi Beach Resort Kuta Beach Lombok Resort Sire Beach Resort The islet of Trawangan Resort The islet of Meno Resort The islet of Air Resort Senaru Green Natural Slope Resort Since this is your "once in a lifetime" tropical Lombok Island vacation, plan your Lombok vacation with your "Lombok expert".

Lombok Travel Online Ltd. is a Lombok Island Specialist for Honeymoons please kindly contact us for help.

Lombok Honeymoon Packages 4D/3N

Day 01: ARRIVAL LOMBOK - TRANSFERRED TO HOTEL ( L.D )
Arrival at Selaparang Airport of Mataram, meeting service with our staff and transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure at your hotel.

Hari 02 LOMBOK - SASAK TRADITIONAL TOUR ( B.L.D )
Morning breakfast at your hotel, proceed to south tern part of Lombok Island to see, absorb and to learn about the aborigines people of Lombok Island called Sasak Ethnic and first will be visiting Banyumulek the central of pottery maker village since ancestors time, Sukarara the central of Lombok weaving village, Sade the genuine of Sasak houses and village, Kuta Beach Lombok as one of the best beaches in Indonesia where at that place also still can be seen the first village in Lombok Island. lumbung Lumbung is traditional paddi house and also "berugak" (simply of gazebo) Enjoy the feet massage on the golden pepper shape of sands, Luncheon at local Kuta restaurant, Picture taking from the summit of Mawun, Back to your hotel for your dinner with candle light.

Day 03: SNORKELING IN GILI ISLAND ( B.L.D )
After breakfast at hotel in Senggigi Resort, check out hotel and depart to triple angle islets through west coast of Lombok with stop over at Malimbu beach to enjoy the great scenery of Lombok and Bali Island. Get on the traditional outrigger to Gili Air and see the great underwater life's by snorkeling, ride Cidomo around the islet, proceed to Gili Meno to see the cultivation of Lombok Turtles, Having luncheon at Gili Meno, and then continue to Gili Trawangan to have great other snorkeling till before dark. Back to hotel and Dinner will be serving with candle light at hotel restaurant.

Day 04: FREE AT LEISURE AT HOTEL AND TRANSFERRED TO AIRPORT (B.)
Late breakfast at hotel, free at leisure in your hotel and transferred to Selaparang Airport for your home flight. End of program .

Lombok Honeymoon Packages Price by Hotels and Villas Option :

- Stay at Sheraton Hotel 5 Stars ( Deluxe Terrace ) USD$ 950,-/Couple

- Stay at Novotel Coralia Hotel 4 Stars ( Sasak Villa ) USD $ 550. / Couple
- Stay at Senggigi Beach Hotel 4 Stars ( Beach Bungalows ) USD$ 650,-/Couple
- Stay at Hotel Holiday Resort 4 Stars ( Chalet Room ) USD$ 650,-/couple
- Stay at Hotel Jayakarta Resort 4 Stars ( Junior Suite ) USD$ 650,-/Couple
- Saty at Villas Santosa 4 Stars ( Deluxe Bungalow ) USD$ 650,-/Couple
- Stay at Villas Qunci 4 Stars ( Villa Ocean View ) USD$ 700,-/Couple

Lombok Paradise Honeymoon your Benefit:

- 03 night stay at your hotel option Double bed
- Daily American breakfast
- Welcome drink and cool face upon arrival
- 2x romantic candle light dinner for a couple
- Honeymoon cake combine with tropical fruits in the room
- 1 x Picnic Lunch on Gili Tour
- 1 x Lombok massage/spa treatment for a couple
- Private boat to Gili Tour
- Experience guide
- Entreanch fee to object tourism
- Free return airport transfer

Culinary Tourism in Senggigi Area Lombok

2008-10-18T10:04:00.001+07:00

Another tourism spot in the eastern side of Indonesia is Lombok island. It is one of main tourism Object in Indonesia. The island that located in the east side of Bali island has some similarity with it's neighbor, either in culture or the nature's texture. So does the beach panorama, but the beaches in Lombok has more natural and more beautiful since there are not many night club there. One of the famous Beach in Lombok is Senggigi Beach. The beach, located in the north of Bangsal or about 12 kilometers northwest from Mataram city, is the most popular beach and well known for it's beautiful panorama. It is spread out with it's white shores for about 10 kilometers wide. This fabulous panorama will soothes your mind for a while from the routineness in the big city such as Jakarta.

There are lots of activities you can do here at The Senggigi Beach such as snorkeling, diving, canoeing, swimming or having a culinary adventure. Lombok cuisine such as Ayam Taliwang and the vegetable Plecing Kangkung is as tempting as The Senggigi's white sand. So if you dare to leave all of the beach activities, let's prepare your empty stomach and of course the wallet or credit card since we're heading to a famous restaurant at the Senggigi shore called The Lotus Restaurant.

The restaurant branches in Bali and Singapore is serving international and local cuisine. Here you can start by ordering a Cheese Samosa as an appetizer. It looks like other samosa in common but the difference is the cheese inside that melting once you bite it. The Cheese Samosa is served with Chutney Sauce made from fresh plum fruit cooked with chili and sugar. Next, you can order various kind of steak for the main course, for example Black Pepper Beef Steak or Chicken Cordon Bleu. If you want to taste the local cuisine, you should try The Betutu Chicken a specialty of Bali or you can also try Balinese Mixed Rice. For closing, you can order Apfelstrudel as desserts. It is a sour apple sauted with cinnamon powder, sugar and raisins, covered with pastry dough then baked it. Apfelstrudel is served with granulated sugar and vanilla ice cream. The price range in Lotus Restaurant is starts from IDR 20.000 up to IDR 200.000.

Pura Batu Bolong
Finished with the culinary travel we can also visit one tourism site called Pura Batu Bolong. Bolong means perforated or hole, and Batu means Rock, so it's a huge rock that has a big hole in it. You can reach this site by walking for about 30 minutes while enjoying the sunset at The Senggigi beach. Pura Batu Bolong is a temple for Hindu Bali followers, the temple was built at the top of a coral cliff, just like the one in Tanah Lot Bali. A legend said that there used to be a place to sacrifice a virgin as a sharks' meal there. Other legend said that many beautiful princesses in the past who jumped from the cliff because of broken hearts.

As one of Hindu Bali temple this temple was built directed to the Mount Agung in Bali which become The Hindu Bali follower's holy place. This temple is located at a fabulous site, especially for those who want to enjoy the sunset. It's more beautiful and not inferior to Bali's Kuta beach.

Batu Layar
The next destination is Batu Layar. Located not far from Batu Bolong, there's a grave of a Muslim leader. It is a holy place for the Wetu Telu Followers. Wetu Telu is a unique religion that blends Islam and Animism and is only found in the north Lombok. It roots stern from Bayan Village in the north. Batu Layar is lively visited during the “Lebaran Ketupat or Topat” Celebration. It a celebration for those who has fasting for a week after the Idul Fitri day.

Back to Senggigi, this tourism area becomes a hang out place for the youngsters across Lombok. Almost every Saturday night they will gather here just for hang out or rendezvous. Senggigi Beach has such a amazing coral reef. We can also enjoy the beauty of it's underwater life. Not far from here, we can see the Mangsit beach which is also beautiful.

Economy and politics of Lombok

2008-10-18T09:53:00.001+07:00

Lombok has much in common with nearby Bali, but less well-known and less-visited by foreigners [1]. It has been working to increase its visibility to tourists in recent years, promoting itself as an "unspoiled Bali". The most-developed center of tourism is Senggigi, spread in a 10-kilometer strip along the coastal road north of Mataram, while backpackers congregate in the Gili Islands off the west coast. Other popular tourist destinations include Kuta (distinctly different from Kuta, Bali) where surfing is considered some of the best in the world by leading surfing magazines. The Kuta area is also famous for its beautiful, untouched beaches.

Local Sasak children

While the area may be considered economically depressed by First World standards, the island is fertile, has sufficient rainfall in most areas for agriculture, and possesses a variety of climate zones. Consequently, food in abundant quantity and variety is available inexpensively at local farmer's markets. A family of 4 can eat rice, vegetables, and fruit for as little as US$0.50. Even though a family income may be as small as US$1.00 per day from fishing or farming, many families are able to live a happy and productive live on astonishingly small incomes.

In early 2000 thousands fled from religious and ethnic violence that swept over the island, and tensions remain. Some travel websites warn that tourists sometimes provoke anger in this economically depressed region. This warning lacks credibility, since all of Lombok has had a long history of welcoming visitors to the island. Both the government and many of the residents recognize that tourism and the services required by tourists is Lombok's highest source of income. Further proof of the island's hospitality is show by the fact that tourists are virtually never seriously injured by any interaction with the local population. While many of the local population are friendly, there is certainly an element of danger and numerous travelers have shared accounts of violence, particularly in the Kuta region where locals, displaced by hotel projects, resent foreign presence. There is also a refugee camp on the island, costs paid for by Australia, which holds mostly Hazara Afghans who have tried to enter Australia by boat.

Emaar, Emirati property company planned to build a new town sprawled in 1,200 hectares in Central Lombok. It costs estimated at US$600 million. It will have a 7 km natural waterfront, which will support a marina, apart from luxury residences and five-star resorts by Ritz-Carlton^[1]. The Ritz-Carlton will also have a world class golf course and retail amenities. The homes will employ tropical designs and low-rise architecture in tune with the surroundings.^[2]

Geography and demographics of Lombok

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Gunung Rinjani

The Lombok Strait marks the passage of the biogeographical division between the fauna of the Indomalayan ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia that is known as the Wallace Line, for Alfred Russel Wallace, who first remarked upon the distinction between these two major biomes.

The island's topography is dominated by the centrally-located stratovolcano Mount Rinjani, which rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the third-highest in Indonesia. The most recent eruption of Rinjani was in June-July, 1994. The volcano, and its sacred crater lake, 'Segara Anak' (child of the sea), are protected by a National Park established in 1997. The southern part of the island is a fertile plain where corn, rice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton are grown.

The island's inhabitants are 85% Sasak (a people, related to the Balinese, but mostly practising Islam), 10-15% Balinese, with the small remainder being Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese.

History of Lombok

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The Dutch first visited Lombok in 1674 and settled the eastern most part of the island, leaving the western half to be ruled by a Hindu dynasty from Bali. The Sasaks chafed under Balinese rule, and a revolt in 1891 ended in 1894 with the annexation of the entire island to the Netherlands East Indies.

Lombok wikipedia

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Lombok (population 2,950,105 in 2005) is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a "tail" to the southwest, about 70 km across and a total area of about 4,725 km² (1,825 sq mi). The administrative capital and largest city on the island is Mataram.