Bandung to Kuala Lumpur...

This is a Claytons blog post, the blog post you have when you are not having a blog post! If you want to know what the Claytons reference is all about, look it up here.

Anyways, the point of this blog post is to pose a question to anyone who knows or who cares to answer this question, what is there in Bandung or KL that warrants a daily Malaysia Airlines flight between the two cities?

I was doing the daily rounds of Indonesian news and came across a piece on the maiden Malaysia Airlines flight between Kuala Lumpur and Bandung. I thought that AirAsia was already servicing that route and was wondering why there was such a demand for travel between the two destinations that there was a need for Malaysia Airlines to put on a daily flight.

I appreciate that as the economy picks up that more and more people can afford to travel by air. Yet, I had always figured, perhaps incorrectly so, that the majority of passengers from Indonesia to Malaysia were domestic workers and that these individuals predominantly departed through Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta.

Not that it matters one way or the other, but I am interested to know what the demand is for that there is such a need for daily flights.

Oh well...

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport -- Puntuality...

Good News!

Here is one that will have many scratching their heads and thinking, "No way!" However, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has scored second place in the annual forbestraveler.com survey of the most on-time international airports. Now, if the management of the place could only get there services and facilities in order the place would be world class in almost every respect.

Soekarno-Hatta ranked between two Japanese powerhouses; Haneda and Narita. The second place ranking marks a jump from the previous year's placing of sixth.

This is something to be proud of for all Indonesians, if for no other reason as most transportation related news about Indonesia usually involves accidents and fatalities.

Children and the Justice System in Indonesia

Despite the title of this post, it is not some academic expose on juvenile justice. It is a commentary on a particular case that is currently before the Tangerang District Court in Indonesia. It involves children and an alleged gambling session.

The relevant law in Indonesia is Law No. 3 of 1997 on Juvenile Justice. The law states that a juvenile that is subject to the provisions of the law is any child between the ages of eight and eighteen. However, where children are found to have committed an offense that is subject to the provisions of this law and they are under the age of eight, then the child may still be subject to some form of action. This action will not include a court appearance. However, it might include removal from the home and placement with child services.

However, once the child has reached an age of eight then they can be brought before a court of law and tried for their alleged offenses. The trial is to be closed and the identities of the children are to be protected. Interestingly, the above photo is from the hearing and it shows the children wearing masks in order to protect their identity. For me, though, a closed hearing must mean just that, it is closed to all bar the prosecution; the defense counsel, the judges and associated court staff, and the child or children's immediate families. This is seemingly not the way it has been done to date in this case.

However, the lack of real protection of the children's identities is hardly surprising. Having lived in Indonesia and watched a good deal of crime reporting on television or reading about crime in the paper, it is clear that a very poor job is done with respect to "really" protecting the identities of children in criminal matters. I am certainly not in favor of naming and shaming of minor children. On a slightly different note, I also believe that children who have been victim of crime have an absolute right to have their identities protected.

In a case that is currently before the Tangerang District Court that involves the prosecution of ten children ranging in ages from eight to eleven. These children were allegedly caught gambling. Their game of choice was guessing the value of a coin at IDR 1000 a game. This is hardly big stakes gambling, and you would think that the police, public prosecutors, and the courts have bigger fish to fry in the crime stakes than these ten children. Then again, maybe not.

The children were caught in the middle of their high-stakes game within the surrounds of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in June. Sadly, the reason they were there was because they were trying to make a few extra Rupiah shining shoes of much wealthier travellers on their way out of Jakarta or out of the country. The majority of these kids are regulars in primary school and would hardly classify as hardened criminals in the making.

In any event, the criminal prosecution of these children should have been a case of last resort. A slap on the wrist and a warning to their parents and guardians that this sort of thing is not on and if they get caught again then perhaps it is time for social or children's services to become involved. The idea that these ten children could end up in a juvenile detention facility for gambling less than one dollar is more wrong that the offense that they have allegedly committed.

New Passenger Fees at Soekarno-Hatta Airport?

The Tangerang Municipal Council is drafting a piece of legislation that will enable it to levy and collect retribution (fees) from passengers departing from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The terminal that will be affected by this is Terminal II. Terminal II is physically located within the Tangerang Municipality.

Funnily enough, the Council is calling the proposed fee, a donation. However, it is not likely to be a voluntary. Simply, if it was voluntary, then who would pay it. The collection of the Tangerang Municipal fee will occur at the same time as the departing passenger pays their regular departure tax.

The Council has yet to decide how much the fee will be. The fee can be up to 10% of the prevailing airport departure tax. My guess would be that the fee will be the maximum permissible.

This means that the fee is likely to be either IDR 2,500 and IDR 5,000 depending on whether you are departing on a domestic or international flight.

This is probably the first step in a more concerted effort by the Council to collect revenue that it is entitled to do under Indonesia's regional autonomy laws.

Human Trafficking -- One for the Good Guys

Australia made a request under the provisions of the extradition treaty that it has with Indonesia that sought Indonesia's help in arresting Hadi Ali Asgar El Ahmadi. El Ahmadi is an Iraqi citizen and he is alleged to have trafficked some 900 people from the Middle East and Asia to Australia in the period from 1999 through to 2001. Most of these people are thought to have made their way through Indonesia.

Indonesia police arrested El Ahmadi at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on 29 June. The arrest is only now coming to light.

The Office of the Commonwealth Attorney General is playing its cards close to its chest and refusing to make any comments other than they are considering an extradition request. It would seem to be a lot more than that seeing they have already gone to the trouble of making the arrest request. Nevertheless, the Australian government has 45 days from the date of arrest to make a formal extradition request.

With a bit of luck Indonesia's assistance will continue and El Ahmadi will be extradited to Australia to face an Australian court for the alleged crimes he has committed.