Nearsighted govt<\/p>\n
On Nov. 2, 2003, a flash flood hit a North Sumatran popular
\nresort town near Langkat, killing over 100 people and leaving
\nhundreds of others missing and feared dead. This should have
\nawakened government officials and the public about the importance
\nof improving forest management and stopping illegal logging.<\/p>\n
It is widely known that businessmen in Medan who engage in
\ntimber export have recruited poachers to cut down select timbers.
\nThis practice has been going on for years under the protection of
\ncertain security apparatuses. Syamsul Arifin, the regent of
\nLangkat, has tried time and again to stop this, but to no avail
\n(The Jakarta Post, Nov. 4).<\/p>\n
Another illegally exported product is sand, which has been
\nexported to Singapore for land reclamation projects. Several
\nsmall islands around Batam that have been mined for years are now
\nmissing or sinking as a result, which negatively impacts the
\nlives of fishermen in the area.<\/p>\n
A few days ago, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
\nRokhmin Dahuri said the government would soon reopen the sand
\nexport business -- this time, to Malaysia. Malaysia knows that
\nmining sand would mean destroying its marine environment, so this
\ncountry would prefer importing it from Indonesia. But House of
\nRepresentatives Commission V member Suryadharma Ali said he was
\ncertain the sand would be re-exported to Singapore, as they were
\nin dire need of sand for their reclamation projects, while
\nMalaysia had no such project.<\/p>\n
These issues clearly show that the government lacks vision and
\nis short-sighted in choosing meager foreign revenue over the
\nwelfare of the people. The government, as is also widely known,
\nonly receives 20 percent of export revenues, while the rest goes
\nto illegal exporters and their partners in crime.<\/p>\n
M. RUSDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nearsighted-govt-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }