RI-S'pore sign deal on air, tourism

RI-S'pore sign deal on air, tourism

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Singapore yesterday agreed to
improve cooperation in air transportation, the tourist industry,
the combating of forest fires and international fora.

"President Soeharto and Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong also had a common perception of various issues that will be
discussed at the coming APEC Leadership Economic Meeting in
Bogor, West Java, in November," Minister/State Secretary
Moerdiono told reporters after a meeting of the two heads of
government in Yogyakarta yesterday.

Prior to the meeting, Soeharto and Goh witnessed the signing
of agreements on air transportation and tourist sector
cooperation by their cabinet members.

Under the air agreement signed by Minister of Transportation
Haryanto Dhanutirto and his Singapore counterpart Mah Bow Tan,
five Indonesian airlines -- Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara,
Sempati Air, Bouraq Airlines and Mandala Airlines -- are allowed
to fly to Singapore from any place in Indonesia and to proceed on
flights to any destinations in the world.

Yesterday's agreement amended the previous one which allowed
only three Indonesian airlines to serve Singapore.

In return, two Singaporean airlines, Singapore Airlines and
SilkAir, are allowed to serve three more Indonesian cities --
Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi, Solo in Central Java and Mataram
in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

The two Singaporean airlines currently serve 10 Indonesian
cities -- Denpasar, Medan, Surabaya, Manado, Padang, Pekanbaru,
Pontianak, Ambon, Biak and Jakarta.

The Singapore airlines are also allowed to proceed on their
flights from Indonesia to other destinations in Australia, New
Zealand, the South Pacific and North America.

Government figures indicate that in the first semester of this
year the number of passengers traveling between Singapore and
Indonesia reached 1.21 million people, while the amount of
freight reached 39,300 tons.

Under the agreement on cooperation in the tourist sector
signed by Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto
and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the two
countries will launch joint promotion and marketing programs as
well as developing a series of tourist projects.

Fire

The two countries also agreed to cooperate in easing the
effects of forest fires which have darkened skies in the region.

Moerdiono said that the agreement was reached during the talk
between the two leaders.

Thick haze, believed to have resulted from forest fires in
Indonesia, has darkened the sky over parts of Indonesia,
Singapore and Malaysia.

Malaysian officials issued a public alert in Kuala Lumpur
Wednesday, saying the pollution had reached a very unhealthy
level. Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said the government
would order cars off roads, close schools and declare a public
holiday if the situation worsens.

Singapore authorities have issued several warnings that the
haze has reached unhealthy levels after the Pollutants Standard
Index, a measure used in the United States, rose above the 100
mark.

Premier Goh, speaking at a press conference after the talks,
said: "We agreed to handle this problem not for the present but
for future years ... This is not an easy problem."

Goh said that he and Soeharto agreed to set up meetings of
aides, most probably involving the ministers of environment and
agriculture, to seek ways to handle the effects of the fires.

He said that Indonesia had apologized to its neighbors,
Singapore and Malaysia, for the smoke that has blanketed the
region due to the forest fires.

"We will try to prevent the fires from spreading by educating
farmers so that they do not burn their fields," Goh said about
possible steps to take.

Moerdiono, as quoted by Antara, also said that the cooperation
of other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) -- Brunei, the Philippines and Thailand -- may also be
sought.

"There is a possibility of not only the three countries
(Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia) but more ASEAN countries
helping because forest fires could happen anywhere," he said.

Moerdiono also said the worst forest fires were in areas with
peat and coal deposits in Kalimantan. He said steps to overcome
the effects of the fires will still have to be studied.

Indonesia's Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo
said earlier yesterday that the fires did not seriously affect
the country's natural forests and were mostly limited to
industrial timber estates.

They have reportedly been caused by the burning of bushes and
tall grass being cleared for the planting season or converted
into plantations.

Djamaludin said authorities in the provinces are calling on
rural people not to scorch the land for planting purposes. (hdj)