Ahok gets two years imprisonment

 

Photo: DetikNews

Angga Indrawan

JAKARTA

THE judges in blasphemy case sentenced the defendant Basuki Tjahaja Purnama “Ahok” to two years imprisonment.

“The defendant is proven guilty and convicingly in blaspheme the religion, related to surah Al Maidah,” judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto said when reading the verdict at Ministry of Agriculture’s Auditorium, South Jakarta, on Tuesday, 9 May 2017.

According to the judges, there were several points that incriminating the defendant. Firstly,  Ahok did not feel guilty over his statement as an insult to religion. Secondly, Ahok’s statement was harming religious harmony.

Ahok and his legal team decided to appeal.

Also read: ACTA reveals four strong evidences of blasphemy

Republika, 9 May 2016

http://en.republika.co.id/berita/en/national-politics/17/05/09/opo6mr414-ahok-gets-two-years-imprisonment

 

MUI: Ahok statement is a blasphemy and has legal consequences

RR Laeny Sulistyawati, Ratna Ajeng Tejomukti

JAKARTA

Governor Basuki Tjahaja (Ahok)’s statement about Alquran surah Al Maidah verse 51 has caused unrest among the people, therefore the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) reviewed the case and gave its religious statement on Tuesday. “Ahok has insulted the Holy Quran and/or the clerics. His statement has a legal consequences,” Chairman (MUI) Ma’ruf Amin said.

Ma’ruf explained Alquran surah Al Maidah verse 51 explicitly contains a prohibition for Muslims to make the Jewish and Christian as leader. “This verse as the proposition prohibition non-Muslims as a leader,’’ he said.

MUI stated Islamic clerics are obliged to convey the contents of surah Al Maidah verse 51 in order to remind every Muslim to vote for Muslim as leader. At this point, MUI statement has broken Ahok’s opinion about the verse.

Ahok believed clerics or Muslim in general who cited Al Maidah verse 51 were manipulating and politicizing the verse for political gain. “Ahok has insulted the clerics and Muslims by saying Muslims are manipulated by the verse or who ever citing the verse,” Ma’ruf said.

Also read: Jakarta Governor apologizes for offending Muslims

Further more, MUI said every Muslim should believe the truth and accuracy of surah Al-Maidah verse 51 as a guidance in choosing a leader. “It is haram to say Al Maidah verse 51 as a false guidance and it is a religious blasphemy of the Quran,” Ma’ruf underlined.

MUI said the government and the people are obligated to keep the harmony in religious life, in the society, in the state and in the nation. The government also has the obligation to prevent religious blasphemy by not neglecting the case. “We are asking the people to remain calm, not to vigilante, and let the authority handle the case. Of course, we should keep an eye in blasphemy activities and report it to the authority,” Ma’ruf said.

MUI urged the authority to act proactive and firm in religious blasphemy case. “Who ever did religious blasphemy over the Quran and the Islamic teachings or insulting the clerics and Muslims should be dealt firmly,” Ma’ruf said.

Also read: Muslim condems Jakarta Governor for religious blasphemy

In order to keep public trust in law enforcement, the case should be processed quickly and proportionally in a professional manner. “The authority should consider the sense of justice for the people,” Ma’ruf said.

Republika,

Wednesday, 12 October 2016

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/en/islam-in-archipelago/16/10/12/oew994414-mui-ahok-statement-is-a-blasphemy-and-has-legal-consequences

 

Madura ulamas write to president over Ahok’s alleged blasphemy case

Antara

PAMEKASAN, MADURA ISLAND

LEADERS of Islamic boarding schools have written to President Joko Widodo, urging that the due process of law should follow in the alleged case of blasphemy involving Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok).

The letter was written by leaders of these schools across Madura Island in East Java Province. “We sent a letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo today,” chief of All-Madura Islamic Boarding Schools Association (HP3M) KH Lailurrahman said in a press briefing at Pamekasan Police Precinct here on Friday.

The letter, dated October 26, 2016, was signed by HP3M Chief KH Lailurrahman and his secretary KH Djakfar Shodik. The ulamas said if the legal process in this case was not followed, it will trigger larger rallies against Ahok, the Jakarta governor who is seeking re-election in February 2017.

In the letter, the ulamas also mentioned several articles in the 1945 Constitution that could form the legal basis for their call, including article 1 para 2; article 1 para 3; article 4 para 1; article 24 para 1; article 27 para 1; and article 30 para 4. “Article 4 para 1 of the Constitution stipulates that the President of the Republic of Indonesia holds government power in accordance with the law,” he noted.

Article 30 para 4 stipulates that the Indonesian police is a state apparatus assigned to keep security and public order, protect and serve the public and uphold the law, he underlined. He lamented that it seemed the police had not bothered about the case despite widespread protests against the Jakarta governor.

The Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) said Ahok has committed blasphemy citing a Al Maidah verse 51. Ahok told people in the Seribu Islands not to be deceived by people using the verse asking them not to elect a non-Muslim leader in the forthcoming election.

Also read: MUI: Ahok’s statement is a blasphemy and has legal consequences

MUI chairman Ma’ruf Amin pointed out in a statement that Ahok has insulted the Quran and the ulamas, and that police should investigate the case.

Republika

Saturday, 29 October 2016

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/en/islam-in-archipelago/16/10/29/ofrp5u414-madura-ulamas-write-to-president-over-ahoks-alleged-blasphemy-case

 

‘There will be another Ahok without law enforcement in religious blasphemy case’

RR Laeny Sulistyawat

BANDAR LAMPUNG

ON  Friday (10/28), Muslims in several provinces hold demonstration against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s (Ahok) religious blasphemy.

Hundreds of protesters from 25 Islamic organizations joined Lampung Islamic Movement took to the street. They urged the police to process Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s (Ahok) religious blasphemy case.

Protesters rallied in the street in front of the Taqwa Mosque, Jl Kotaraja, Bandar Lampung. ”We urged police to investigate Ahok who did religious blasphemy of Alquran particulary surah Al Maidah verse 51,” he said.

In the Bangka Belitung Province, thousands of protesters from Islamic Organizations also have held demonstration at the local Police Headquarters and Provincial Parliament office for the same purpose.

They ensured the protest were not correlated with politics. ‘We asked the police and Parliament to convey our aspirations to the National Police chief and the President to immediately process and arrest Ahok for insulting Islam,” Bangka Belitung branch of Indonesia Hizbut Tahrir (HTI) Chairman Sofiyan Rudianto said.

According to Sofiyan, without legal firm sanction, there would be another Ahoks doing religious defamation. “This will disrupt religious harmony in Indonesia and security will be unstable,” he said while asking the police to be neutral and professional in enforcing the law.

Also read: ‘Jakarta governor is trespassing other religion territory’

In front of Presidential Palace, DI Yogyakarta, thousand of people demanded Ahok to be put into justice. “I’m worried if Ahok is not get firm sanction, there will be a lot more massive movement coming from Muslims and this movement will spread all across the country,” Syukri Fadholi Chief of the local Unity and Development Party said.

In Bandung, West Java, rain did not stopped hundreds of youngster from Generasi Muda Jabar to hold demonstration in front of Gedung Sate. “We see no reason for the police to postpone Ahok’s imprisonment,” Coordinator of Darul Hikam Youth, Agus, remarked.

Also read: ‘None of Alquran verse guides people to the wrong path’

Muslims in West Nusa Tenggara appointed November 3rd as the deadline for the police to nail Ahok. They promised to hold a massive movement if Ahok has not been caught on that date.

North Sumatra Police Chief Rycko Amelza Dahniel agreed with the mass who demand the police to process Ahok religious blasphemy case. He noticed the case has been discussed not only nationally, but also international. “We hoped Jakarta Police would settle it accordingly,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bekasi Metro Police Umar Surya Fana have listened aspirations from hundreds members of several Islamic organizations that formed Forum Ukhuwah Umat Islam Bekasi (FUUI). Umar said the aspiration will be conveyed to Jakarta Metro Police chief. “Meanwhile, let’s show Muslims are united, peace lover, and not anarchy,” he said in Bekasi, West Java.

Previously, in Padang, West Sumatra, thousands of people naming themself Forum Masyarakat Minangkabau (FMM) asked the police to hold equality before the law principle. They believed the case of religious blasphemy by a women in Bali would be a perfect example in handling Ahok. “She was caught and punished 14 month imprisonment,” Muhammad Siddiq of the FMM said on Sunday (10/23).

Republika

Sat, 29 October 2016

 

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/en/national-politics/16/10/29/ofrmzw414-there-will-be-another-ahok-without-law-enforcement-in-religious-blasphemy-case

 

 

Jakarta governor Ahok investigated over alleged Islam insult as elections loom

Photo:   Malay Mail Online     

Jewel Topsfield and Karuni Rompies

JAKARTA

Maverick Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, as he is known, has never had a filter. Impulsive and polarising, the city’s first openly Christian and ethnic Chinese governor – a double minority in Indonesia – seems to court controversy.

He questioned a ban on beer sales in mini markets – “no one has ever died from from drinking beer” – suggested schools should not compel girls to wear hijab, insisted he needed no support from political parties and antagonised the urban poor with mass forced evictions.

“If only there were some magic tape to put [over his mouth] so that he would talk as we hope,” former Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri reportedly lamented at a meeting before her party announced it would endorse him in next February’s gubernatorial elections. “But there’s no such thing.”

For all this, the feisty, straight-talking governor is remarkably popular. Ahok, the former deputy governor, assumed the top role in 2014, when his predecessor Joko Widodo was elected president of Indonesia. His no-nonsense efficiency and tough stance on corruptionstruck a chord with voters, more than 95 per cent of whom are Muslim.

Ahok overhauled the stodgy bureaucracy, launched a smartphone app called Qlue which allowed Jakartans to report flood, crime, fire or waste, and worked on reducing floods and improving the city’s lamentable public transport.

The polls suggest he will be hard to beat: Poltracking Indonesia put his popularity at 92.56 per cent and his electability at 40.77 per cent in September.

But just days before the official election campaign begins on October 26, Ahok is being investigated by police over claims he defamed a verse in the Koran.

Prior to the alleged blasphemy, some Islamic groups had urged voters not to re-elect Ahok, citing verse 51 from the fifth sura or chapter of the Koran, al-Ma’ida, which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from living under the leadership of a non-Muslim. Others say the scripture should be understood in its context – a time of war – and not interpreted literally.

In recorded remarks to a group of fishermen that went viral, Ahok suggested that some Muslims were “deceived” by al-Ma’ida 51. The comments caused outrage.

Ahok apologised and insisted he was not criticising the Koranic verse but those who used it to attack him.

But on Friday thousands of hardline Muslims took to the streets, calling on police to process the case. The maximum penalty for blasphemy in Indonesia is five years’ jail.

“The investigation is still going on,” Ari Dono Sukmanto, the head of the national police’s Criminal Investigations Department, told Fairfax Media. “We are now transcribing from the video what was actually said, what actually happened.”

Sukmanto said Ahok would be summoned for questioning: “Everybody is equal before the law and we will need his explanation over what has happened for clarification.”

The two largest Islamic organisations in the country – Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – have stressed that they have no problem with a Muslim voting for a non-Muslim.

Masdur Anwar, the deputy secretary of the Jakarta chapter of NU, does not believe Ahok set out to insult Islam.

“It is impossible that he deliberately did it because it would be suicidal for him,” Anwar told Fairfax Media. “It was just a slip of the tongue. But I can understand those who think it was an insult. Perhaps it is an accumulated feeling [of resentment] about the way Ahok speaks. He is blunt and perhaps these folks couldn’t stand it any more.”

Anwar hopes police investigate the case quickly so the election campaign does not become sectarian.

An editorial in Tempo magazine says the Jakarta election will be a test of the maturity of the young democracy: “Just how far have people left behind primordial prejudices such as religion and race when they go to the polls next February?”

The gubernatorial election is a three-legged race. Ahok’s opponents are Agus Harimurti, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and former education minister Anies Baswedan, who was dumped in the last cabinet reshuffle. Both were surprise candidates: Agus is a political novice who left behind a promising 16-year military career.

The stakes are high. “The position of governor can, as Ahok’s predecessor Jokowi demonstrated, be a springboard for higher office at the national level,” La Trobe University senior lecturer Dirk Tomsa writes. “Indeed, whoever wins in Jakarta next year might well be expected to find himself in the running for a presidential, or more likely, vice-presidential ticket in 2019.”

 

The South Morning Herald

Wed, 19 October 2016

Photo: Fajarnews.com

http://www.smh.com.au/world/jakarta-governor-ahok-investigated-over-alleged-islam-insult-as-elections-loom-20161018-gs510o.html

 

 

Muslim Groups Protest Jakarta’s Governor over Blasphemy of Al-Quran

JAKARTA

SOME 15,000 Muslims from various community organizations, Friday (10/14/2016), hit tables in the City Hall Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, to protest outside the Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama alleged to have degrading Al Qur’an and scholars.

Massa arrived at about 14:00 pm after a previous protest outside the building to urge the Police Criminal Ahok soon turned into a suspect for the offense.

The majority of the mass arrival wearing white costume that makes Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan whitened, while traffic was diverted because all the roads filled with humans.

• NU Chairman Governor Ahok Request Processed By Law
• Sacrilege Quran, Indonesian Police Detective Promise Check Governor Ahok

What is unique, in order to cool the atmosphere and prevent anarchy, the police play a song of praise nuances of Islam when mass among others, are members of the FPI and FBR arrived.

The song playing is songs Asmaul Husna (99 names of Allah) that are downloaded from YouTube and play them through a smart phone that is connected to the car speakers.

“It is already prepared. We do this in order to calm protesters, “said Ronald Arita, Polda Metro Jaya Sabhara members were involved in securing course of action.

But the police action was apparently not very effective, because once the masses arrive, they immediately shouted: “Catch! Catch! Catch the Ahok! “

Muslims are very angry because during the policy Ahok former regent of East Belitung it to the Muslims tend to be discriminatory and oppressive.

Ahok prohibit Muslims from doing Tabligh Akbar in Monas, prohibits the sale of sacrificial animals on the roadside and prohibit slaughter of sacrificial animals in schools and public places.

The peak moment in the dialogue with the citizens of the Thousand Islands on 27 September 2016, Ahok said he does not matter if it is not selected again in Pilgub Jakarta in 2017, warned that linked the plea that Muslims do not elect a leader who is not a believer, citizens have been deceived by Surah Al Maidah paragraph 51.

MUI rate, with what it says it, as if to say that the contents Ahok verse 51 Surah Al Maidah incorrect and scholars who convey that paragraph to the people has been expressed things that are not true anyway, so Ahok considered to have been an insult to the Qur’an and scholars. (Man)

CitraIndonesia.com

Friday, 14 October 2016

 

 

http://citraindonesia.com/insulting-15-000-muslims-demo-governor-jakarta-ahok/

‘Mobile mosque’ makes praying easier in gridlocked Jakarta

Kiki Siregar
JAKARTA

AS THE call to prayer rang out across the Indonesian capital, Sutikno faced a dilemma — the devout Muslim needed to set off through Jakarta’s notorious traffic to pick up his wife but did not want to miss out on worshipping.

However, for him and others juggling the demands of hectic, 21st century life and piety in the crowded capital of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, a solution has just pulled up.

The “mosque-mobile” started cruising through Jakarta in June as the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan drew to a close, aiming to ensure Muslims did not miss out on prayers by setting up in busy places, such as near festivals and sports events.

Sutikno, a middle-aged office worker who like many Indonesians goes by one name, came across the van parked between a sports stadium and shopping malls, and it proved a godsend.

“I was supposed to go to a mosque that is quite far away but then I saw this one,” he told AFP.

“I just parked my car and performed my prayers here. I can save time and go and pick up my wife faster.”

The green and white van has been specially adapted to become a mobile place of worship. At prayer time, the sides of the vehicle open up and a small stage is extended, from which the imam preaches.

Prayer rugs are rolled out in front of the van, with space for up to 100 people, and a handful can worship inside the vehicle. It also provides special robes for women and a tank of water for the faithful to ritually cleanse themselves before praying.

The mosque started operating in Jakarta with a team of four in the final week of Ramadhan, a month of fasting and piety, but plans to continue afterwards.

The van offers its services between 3pm and 7pm for two prayer sessions, at a time traffic is bad as millions flood out of downtown areas and head back to satellite cities. Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day.

During Ramadhan, the crew running the Jakarta “mosque-mobile” also serve snacks to people stuck in gridlock when it is time to break their fast.

The van is run by the Archipelago Mosque Foundation, an organisation that sets up and maintains mosques, with funding provided by Adira Sharia, a group that provides Islamic-compliant financing for motor vehicles.

“We were concerned that there was a lack of places of worship at crowded spots such as music concerts, festivals and football games. Sometimes people intend to pray, but because there are no facilities, they skip it,” said Hamzah Fatdri, director of the mosque foundation.

The Jakarta mosque-on-wheels has hit the streets after the foundation launched a mobile place of worship in the city of Bandung, southeast of the capital on the main island of Java.

The Bandung mosque proved a success, offering prayer sessions at 50 different locations in its first year of operation, and the foundation hopes the van in the capital — which is slightly larger than the Bandung model — can do even better.

Indonesia is already home to some 800,000 mosques, including a large number in Jakarta and other major cities.

But with many people stuck in gridlock at prayer time — particularly during Ramadhan — and ad hoc festivals and sports events typically failing to provide facilities for praying, the foundation believes the “mobile-mosque” will be a great help.

It is the latest innovation to offer relief to residents of Indonesia’s booming but overcrowded, traffic-choked cities, where hundreds of new vehicles are hitting the roads every day as the middle class rapidly expands due to strong economic growth.

Motorbike taxi-hailing apps that whisk passengers quickly through the gridlock have been a chief beneficiary, and have expanded their businesses into other areas such as food delivery and courier services.

Still, some worshippers were not immediately taken by the mosque-on-wheels.

“Maybe because this was a new experience, I felt a bit awkward and embarrassed to pray in an open, public space,” student Mahtashal Harbi said after worshipping for the first time at the Jakarta van.

AFP
Tuesday, July 6, 2016

http://www.bt.com.bn/features/2016/07/06/%E2%80%98mobile-mosque%E2%80%99-makes-praying-easier-gridlocked-jakarta#sthash.osvoVcLZ.dpuf

Pasar Ikan residents spend Ramadhan amid ruins

Forbearing: Evictees of Pasar Ikan perform tarawih, the evening Ramadhan prayer, at a temporary shelter set up next to a half-demolished Mushola (prayer room) in the recently cleared Pasar Ikan in Penjaringan, North Jakarta.(JP/FAC)(prayer room) in the recently cleared Pasar Ikan in Penjaringan, North Jakarta.(JP/FAC)

JAKARTA

SOME children chased mice and cats over the rubble of their former homes while waiting for their parents to finish tarawih, evening Ramadhan prayers, inside a tent and a half-demolished mushola (prayer room) in recently cleared Pasar Ikan in Penjaringan, North Jakarta.

Having to perform prayers on the ruins and enduring a cold night wind were the last things they hoped for this year’s Ramadhan.

Since the Jakarta administration razed their houses in April, around a hundred residents have refused to give up their land, camped inside seven temporary shelters set up amid the ruins.

They have refused to be relocated to low-cost rental apartments, given that they have lived in the area for decades and worked in the nearby fish market.

“This year’s Ramadhan has been emotionally draining,” said 40-year-old Maesaroh. “We are not only being tested by abstaining from food and drink, but our emotions are also being put to test.”

Having been accused of occupying the land illegally by the administration, Maesaroh said that she would continue to struggle for what she claimed to be her rightful land because then Jakarta governor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, had promised to formalize ownership of land that had been inhabited for more than 20 years.

“I have the necessary documents such as PBB [land and building tax receipts] and land acquisition certificate signed by a sub district head,” Maesaroh said.

According to one of the residents, Upi Yunita, she had tried to take care of her land certificate in 2014 but officials at the National Land Agency only said that they could not help her since the land where her house was built had been declared state land. “When I asked them for proof of their claim, they could not show me anything,” she said.

The eviction, which is part of the Jakarta administration’s plan to pave the way for the revitalization of tourism on the city’s northern coast as well as for flood mitigation purposes, affected 347 households.

The residents, however, believe the move was unjust because they had never been involved in any decision-making discussion.

“Ahok is very mean to let us live like this. We helped him win the 2012 election, although most of us cast our votes because of Pak Jokowi, not him,” she continued.

Recalling the old days, she said that many things had changed since last year’s Ramadhan. She said that she used to gather with her family to enjoy the pre-dawn-meal and in the dusk when they broke their fast. Now she had to live separately from her family because her home no longer existed.

“My husband now stays in his office’s dormitory,” she said. “I’ve decided to stay here with other people who share a similar fate.”

Another resident Said, 56, said that the situation was entirely different compared to the last Ramadhan, when a large number of residents performed mass tarawih prayers.

“Afterward, I used to socialize with my neighbors and discuss many things until midnight. I just can’t believe that things have changed so fast,” he said.

He, however, said that he felt touched by the sense of togetherness that developed in the situation. “Just like a big family, we share everything we have. There seems to be no constraints between us,” he said.

The situation has also attracted sympathy from students. Fifty college students grouped under an alliance of engineering students from universities across Jakarta held a breaking of the fast event on Saturday together with the residents and presented 200 boxed meals.

“We feel called. One of our members lives near this area,” said Gabby Latupirisa, a student of Indonesian Christian University (UKI) in Cawang, East Jakarta. (fac)

The Jakarta Post
Saturday, 25 June 2016

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/25/pasar-ikan-residents-spend-ramadhan-amid-ruins.html

Ahmadiyah Member Protested for Holding Prayer in His Own House

Raymundus Rikang and Yolanda Ryan Armindya
JAKARTA

RESIDENTS of Bukit Duri had protested Diantono, a member of the Ahmadiyah congregation, at Jalan Bukit Duri Zoom in Tebet, South Jakarta, yesterday. They asked Diantono and his congregation members to not hold prayers at his house.

To prevent any kind of commotion happening, the Jakarta Metro Police scrambled tens of officers to guard Diantono’s house. “To monitor and supervise the conditions,” said National Police spokesman, Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal, yesterday.

Diantono had also been protested by neighbors recently when Ahmadiyah members conducted Friday prayer at his house last week. Residents of Bukit Duri came to his house with banners rejecting Diantono and his whole Ahmadiyah activities. They asked Diantono and congregation members to join Friday prayer together with other neighbors in the local mosque.

Harun Arrasyid, 48 years old, one of Diantono’s neighbors, said that the neighbors never questioned Diantono’s faith. “Embrace any faith you want, because religion is the right of every person,” said Harun, yesterday.

During the five-year stay there, said Harun, his neighbors also never questioned their social relationships. Diantono’s children mingled with other children every day. “They play as usual, no matter what his belief,” he said. However, the neighbors protested Diantono recently because he held religious activities of Ahmadiyah followers in his home. The members of the congregation members were not even the residents of Bukit Duri. They had been worshipping at the second floor of Diantono’s house.

“If you want to worship God, let us do it together in the mosque,” said Harun.

Headman of Bukit Duri, Mardi Youce, also asked Diantono to comply with the Three Joint Decree of the Minister for the Ahmadiyah. According to Mardi, the agreement prohibits Ahmadis to worship in houses.

TEMPO.CO
Monday, 15 June 2015

http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2015/06/15/057675089/Ahmadiyah-Member-Protested-for-Holding-Prayer-in-His-Own-House

Jakarta to promote Syariah tourism destinations and products

Author Amelia Yugia Masniari (L) and Head of the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office Arie Budhiman (R) holding Amelia’s book on shopping in Jakarta. Photo: BT/Rebecca Oi

Rebecca Oi
JAKARTA

INDONESIA’S capital is drawing up plans to attract more Bruneians to the city.

THE Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office is taking steps to promote tourist destinations in the city through the Jakarta Tourism Business Forum (JTBF) 2014.

Speaking to The Brunei Times yesterday, the Promotion Director of Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office, Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, said: “The number of Brunei tourists visiting Jakarta is still relatively low — below 10,000 visitors annually compared to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia with 186,626 visitors and Singapore with 106,406 visitors.

“We have plans to jointly boost tourism between Indonesia and Brunei, however there are challenges due to the relatively small market of the Sultanate,” he added.

“However, there are tentative plans to meet local travel agents and the national carrier from the Sultanate to create an attractive package for Brunei tourists to Jakarta, “ he said.

He went on to say that both countries have many similarities in terms of culture, food and traditions, therefore he hopes Bruneians would include Jakarta as part of their travel plans.

The tourism office also hopes to promote Syariah tourism destinations and products, such as hotels, travel packages, restaurants and spas.

Syariah tourism is leisure and travel that complies with Islamic law. He added: “Syariah tourism looks very promising because spending by Muslim tourists is growing faster than the global rate and is forecast to reach US$192 billion ($251 billion) globally per year by 2020.”

According to the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2012 research that was conducted by Thomson Reuters, Muslims spent US$88 billion ($114.84 billion) on halal food, which is equal to 16.6 per cent of worldwide food spending. The figure is projected to increase to 626 billion in 2018.

In 2012, the global Muslim population spent US$37 billion ($49.29 billion) in travelling (excluding haj and minor haj), which is equal to 12.5 per cent of global spending. This number is forecast to reach US$81billion ($105.71 billion) by 2018.

He added that the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Indonesia’s GDP was 3.1 per cent of total GDP in 2013, and was forecast to rise by 8.1 per cent in 2014, and to rise by 5.3 per cent per annum until 2024.

Speaking on the one-day JTBF 2014 planned for today, head of the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office Arie Budhiman said: “The introduction of tourism products is now being done in an innovative way through a session called ‘Table Top’.” He said that the session is a concept of business to business (B2B) in which participants can interact personally, exchange information and offer tourism products.

Arie believes that Jakarta does not serve only as the centre of the Indonesian government and the economy but that it had great potential in the tourism sector.

He said that the tourism office will also continue to support Jakarta to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists, which will increase revenue from the tourism sector.

The one-day forum will be see participation by public and private sector establishments including 100 sellers from Jakarta, 194 buyers from 30 cities all over Indonesia and six ASEAN countries as well as local and international media.

The Brunei Times
Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Masjid Hidayatullah, an old mosque in the jungle of Jakarta’s highrise buildings .

http://www.bt.com.bn/business-national/2014/12/03/jakarta-seeks-more-visitorsfrom-brunei