Tag: Joko Widodo

Indonesia’s new capital isn’t ready yet. The president is celebrating Independence Day there anyway

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PENAJAM PASER UTARA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia marked 79 years of independence on Saturday with a ceremony in the unfinished future capital of Nusantara, which was planned to relieve pressure on Jakarta but whose construction has lagged behind schedule.

Hundreds of officials and invited guests wearing the traditional clothes of Indonesian tribes gathered on a stretch of grass amid the ongoing construction of government buildings and and view of construction cranes in the center of the Nusantara city.

President Joko Widodo and his Cabinet ministers attended the Independence Day ceremony at the new Presidential Palace, built in the shape of the mythical eagle-winged protector figure called Garuda.

The celebration was initially planned to inaugurate Nusantara as the country’s new capital, but with construction behind schedule it’s not clear when the transfer will take place.

Widodo said earlier in the week that 8,000 guests would be invited, but the number was later reduced to 1,300 because adequate infrastructure was not yet in place.

The celebration at the new State Palace on the island of Borneo was held simultaneously with a celebration at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta that was attended by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.

Widodo began working at the new presidential palace in Nusantara in late July and held his first Cabinet meeting there on Tuesday.

More than 5,000 officers from Indonesia’s police and military were deployed for the ceremony and 76 honorary flag-bearers marched behind the national red-and-white banner.

A bearer is escorted by members of a honor guard as she carries the national Red-White flag to be hoisted during the ceremony marking Indonesia’s 79th anniversary of independence at the new presidential palace in its future capital of Nusantara, a city still under construction on the island of Borneo, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, hands national Red-White flag to a bearer to be hoisted during the ceremony marking Indonesia’s 79th anniversary of independence at the new presidential palace in its future capital of Nusantara, a city still under construction on the island of Borneo, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, second right, and his wife Iriana, right, confer with Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto, second left, as House Speaker Puyan Maharani, left, looks on during the ceremony marking Indonesia’s 79th anniversary of independence at the new presidential palace in its future capital of Nusantara, a city still under construction on the island of Borneo, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

CORRECTS DATE – Soldiers march before the start of a ceremony marking Indonesia’s 79th anniversary of the independence at the new presidential palace in its future capital city of Nusantara, still under construction on the island of Borneo, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Jakarta, with about 10 million people in the city limits and three times that number in the greater metropolitan area, floods regularly and its streets are so clogged that congestion costs the economy an estimated $4.5 billion a year.

The air and groundwater in the old capital, on the northwestern coast of the Java island, are heavily polluted, and it has been described as the world’s most rapidly sinking city. It is estimated that one-third of the city could be submerged by 2050, because of uncontrolled groundwater extraction, as well as the rise of the Java Sea due to climate change.

The construction of the new capital began in mid-2022, spread over an area of about 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 square miles) carved out of Borneo’s jungle. Officials say it will be a futuristic green city with abundant forests and parks, powered by renewable energy sources and using smart waste management.

But the project has been dogged by criticism from environmentalists and Indigenous communities, who say it degrades the environment, further shrinks the habitat of endangered animals such as orangutans, and displaces Indigenous people who rely on the land for their livelihoods.

Since the start of construction, seven groundbreaking ceremonies have taken place for the construction of government and public buildings, as well as hotels, banks and schools.

With a population of about 275 million, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Most of the new capital’s investors are Indonesian companies. The government is contributing 20% of the $33 billion budget and relying significantly on private sector investment for the rest.

To attract investors, Widodo recently offered incentives for the new capital, including land rights lasting up to 190 years and generous tax incentives. Widodo, who has led the country for 10 years, will leave office in October.

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Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.

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August 18, 2024
Indonesia’s leader highlights economic and infrastructure developments in his final state of nation

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s outgoing President Joko Widodo highlighted advances in the economy and infrastructure during his final State of the Nation address Friday.

Widodo said that in the 10 years he’s led the country, his administration controlled inflation, reduced rates of unemployment and extreme poverty, and built new infrastructure in parts of Indonesia that were difficult to reach and with limited resources.

“Furthermore, our resilience as a nation has been proven by our endurance in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, in facing climate change, and in facing the escalating global geopolitics,” Widodo said.

The Southeast Asian nation plays a crucial role in the economic and political dynamics of a region where global powers have been increasingly at odds over Taiwan, human rights issues, U.S. military presence, and Beijing’s assertive actions in contested areas like the South China Sea.

As a tropical archipelago on the equator, Indonesia has the world’s third-largest rainforest, home to diverse endangered species like orangutans and giant flowers. However, economic development has severely impacted these forests, making Indonesia one of the largest global emitters of greenhouse gases due to deforestation, fossil fuel use, and peatland fires, prompting the country’s push for a green energy transformation.

Widodo said Indonesia’s developments — particularly related to smelters and processing industries for commodities such as nickel, bauxite, and copper — would open up more than 200,000 jobs and increase state revenues.

With a population of about 275 million, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy, and has the largest reserves of nickel in the world. Aiming to dominate the world’s nickel supply, the country has gone from having two nickel smelters to 27 over the last decade, with 22 more planned, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. In 2023, the country was responsible for more than half the supply of nickel ore globally.

But, Widodo said, 10 years is not enough time to achieve the goals his government set out to accomplish.

Widodo, popularly known by his nickname Jokowi, began his second and final five-year term in October 2019 and is not eligible to run again. After a February election, Indonesia’s electoral commission formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect in April with Widodo’s son, the 36-year-old former Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as vice president. The highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates.

Widodo will leave office in October, leaving behind a notable legacy that includes the ambitious $33 billion megaproject to transfer Indonesia’s overcrowded capital from Jakarta to the nation’s future capital of Nusantara, in the burgeoning frontier island of Borneo.

Widodo also calls on his successors, President-elect Prabowo Subianto, to continue the leadership of the country, saying he has faith the country will “achieve the 2045 Golden Indonesia vision,” — referring to Indonesia’s goal to become a sovereign, advanced, fair and prosperous country by 2045, when it will celebrate 100 years of independence.

“Allow me to pass the leadership baton to you. Allow me also to share with you the hopes and dreams of all Indonesian people from Sabang to Merauke, from Miangas to the Island of Rote, from the peripheries, from the outermost regions, from rural and urban areas to you,” Widodo said.

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August 16, 2024
Indonesia’s presidential election has high stakes for US and China

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JAKARTA – When Indonesians cast their votes on Wednesday for a new president in one of the world’s biggest elections, the stakes will also be high for the United States and China.

The Southeast Asian nation is a key battleground economically and politically in a region where the rival global powers have long been on a collision course over Taiwan, human rights, U.S. military deployments and Beijing’s aggressive actions in disputed waters, including the South China Sea.

Outgoing President Joko Widodo’s foreign policy avoids criticism of Beijing and Washington but also rejects alignment with either power. The delicate balancing act has won considerable Chinese trade and investment for Indonesia, including a $7.3 billion high-speed railway that was largely funded by China, while Jakarta has also boosted defense ties and intensified military exercises with the U.S.

These policies would likely continue if election frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, the current defense minister whose vice presidential running mate is Widodo’s eldest son, wins, according to analysts.

“None of the major structural features of defense and foreign policy, I think, will change,” said Evan Laksmana, a Southeast Asia security expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.

Subianto adheres to a policy of neutrality and has publicly praised the U.S. and China. He cited America’s historical role in pressuring the Netherlands to recognize Indonesian sovereignty in the 1940s, during a forum in November at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Jakarta.

“This is part of history and we cannot forget this debt of honor,” said Subianto, who also extolled China’s importance to Southeast Asia. “China is a great civilization. It has contributed a lot and now it is very, very active and contributing a lot to our economy.”

Former Education Minister and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, a presidential candidate who is trailing Subianto in most independent surveys, said he would shift what he called Widodo’s “transactional” foreign policy to one anchored on principles if he triumphs in the elections.

“When a country invades another country, we can say this is against our basic values. Even though we are friends, if rights were violated, we can reprimand them,” Baswedan told The Associated Press in an interview last month without saying which country he was alluding to.

Baswedan said human rights and environmental protection should underpin Indonesia’s foreign policy. “If we have no values, then there is a cost-benefit relationship, where we will only support countries that are profitable for us,” he said.

The U.S. and China have both seen how the emergence of a new leader in the region can threaten their interests.

Rodrigo Duterte, after capturing the Philippine presidency on an anti-crime platform in 2016, became one of the most vocal critics in Asia of U.S. security policy while nurturing close ties with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Duterte threatened to evict American military personnel who were in the Philippines for combat exercises. He later moved to terminate a defense agreement with Washington that allowed thousands of Americans to enter the country for largescale combat drills, but he ended that effort as he appealed to the U.S. to provide vaccines at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Duterte’s stormy term ended in 2016 and he was succeeded by Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who approved an expansion of the U.S. military presence at Philippine military bases under a 2014 defense pact. Marcos said his decision was aimed at bolstering his country’s territorial defenses at a time of increasing aggression by China’s coast guard, navy and suspected militia forces in Philippine-claimed off-shore areas.

China protested the decision, saying it would provide American forces staging grounds in the northern Philippines across the sea border from the Taiwan Strait that could undermine Chinese national security.

Indonesia and other state members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations belong to the Non-Aligned Movement, a Cold-War era bloc of mostly developing nations that aspire not to be formally associated with or against any major global power.

Still, the rivalry between Washington and Beijing has permeated the region.

Criticisms of China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea have always been watered down in ASEAN, the 10-member regional bloc.

State members aligned with Beijing, in particular Cambodia and Laos, have opposed any such reproach or attempt to name China as the object of criticism in joint communiques after their annual summits, several regional diplomats have told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity over the years because they lacked authority to speak publicly.

Last year, the Philippine government accused the Chinese coast guard and suspected militia forces of using water cannons, a military-grade laser and dangerous maneuvers against Philippine coast guard patrol ships that caused minor collisions in a series of high-seas faceoffs in the disputed waters.

Under the chairmanship of Indonesia, ASEAN did not specifically mention China but only made general expressions of concern over aggressive behavior in the disputed waterway after their summit meetings.

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Associated Press journalists Jim Gomez in Jakarta, Indonesia and David Rising in Bangkok, Thailand contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Niniek Karmini And Edna Tarigan, Associated Press

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February 12, 2024
Indonesian rescuers focus on landslide as quake toll rises

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CIANJUR, Indonesia — On the fourth day of an increasingly urgent search, Indonesian rescuers narrowed their work Thursday to a landslide where dozens are believed trapped after an earthquake killed at least 271 people, more than a third of them children.

Many of the more than 1,000 rescue personnel are using backhoe loaders, sniffer dogs and life detectors — as well as jackhammers and bare hands — to speed up the search in the worst-hit area of Cijendil village, where people are believed still stuck after a landslide set off by Monday’s quake left tons of mud, rocks and trees in Cugenang sub-district.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Cianjur on Thursday and said that their focus will be on one location where 39 are still missing.

“The search process will be our priority for now. Concentrate there. And this afternoon we will concentrate on this one point for search,” Widodo said.

“Steep conditions and it is still raining and there are still aftershocks. The soil is unstable, so you need to be careful,” he said. “But the Minister of Public Works has ordered his staff, who are used to doing cut and fill. I think this can be done soon.”

He added there are also obstacles in distributing supplies to the injured and displaced who are spread out and hard to reach.

“We hope all victims can be found soon,” Henri Alfiandi, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said Thursday.

On Wednesday, searchers rescued a 6-year-old boy who was trapped for two days under the rubble of his collapsed house.

More than 2,000 people were injured in the quake that displaced at least 61,000 people to evacuation centers and other shelters after at least 56,000 houses were damaged. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency has said 171 public facilities were destroyed, including 31 schools.

Suharyanto, chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 100 of the 271 confirmed deaths were children.

Rescue efforts were temporarily suspended Wednesday as heavy monsoon rains fell.

The 5.6 magnitude of Monday’s earthquake would not typically be expected to cause serious damage. But the quake was shallow and shook a densely populated area that lacks earthquake-resistant infrastructure. Weak aftershocks continued until Thursday morning.

More than 2.5 million people live in mountainous Cianjur district, including about 175,000 in its main town, which has the same name.

President Joko Widodo visited Cianjur on Tuesday and pledged to rebuild its infrastructure and provide assistance of up to 50 million rupiah ($3,180) to each resident whose house was damaged.

Indonesia is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin known as the “Ring of Fire.”

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Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta contributed to this report.

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November 23, 2022
Biden steps into G20 aiming to unite leaders in opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine | CNN Politics

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Bali, Indonesia
CNN
—

President Joe Biden is confronting competing issues at home and abroad while he’s at the Group of 20 Summit in Bali this week, using the moment on the world’s stage to lean into international support for condemning Russia’s aggression while also facing the prospect of hearing Donald Trump announce his next run for the presidency.

Administration officials previewing Biden’s G20 summit activities have their sights set on the coalition’s efforts to voice its opposition against the war in Ukraine, which could send a powerful signal amongst a group that’s so far had fragmented approaches to the Kremlin’s aggression.

This marks the first time the group has gathered in-person since the start of the invasion, and most G20 members are expected to sign onto a statement condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine “and the human suffering it has caused both for Ukrainians and for families in the developing world that are facing food and fuel insecurity as a result,” a senior administration official said.

Such an expression of condemnation has been the work of months of diplomacy between G20 leaders. However, it’s not clear yet exactly which countries will sign onto the declaration.

Although the G20 is comprised of world powers who have long backed Ukraine during the war, it also includes other nations that have been tepid in their response to Russia’s aggression – including India, China, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the host of this year’s summit. The coalition, which is broadly focused on the global economy, also includes Russia itself. But Russian President Vladimir Putin is not making an appearance at the summit this year.

Since the spring, US officials have anticipated a showdown at this year’s G20 over the war. Biden has stated Russia should no longer be a member of the bloc, though expelling Moscow would require support from all of the G20’s members.

As of now, no official “family photo” is listed on a schedule, a sign of the deep acrimony within the G20 spurred by the war in Ukraine.

The president’s diplomatic Tuesday – a day working alongside leaders that’s capped off with a gala dinner – is expected to precede a 2024 presidential campaign announcement by Biden’s predecessor, Trump, from the other side of the world. The prospective announcement would set the stage for a two-year battle for the American presidency, having the power to cast a shadow over Biden’s efforts to unify world leaders – some already personally stung by Trump’s nationalist approach.

Biden and his team have already spent time during his multi-leg, cross-continental trip abroad addressing domestic politics, suggesting the issue has not only loomed on their minds, but also among their foreign counterparts in meetings throughout their travels.

On Sunday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that “many leaders” at the ASEAN Summit addressed the midterms with Biden, that many leaders were “following them closely” and that the president now feels he has a strong position on the international stage.

Vote counts for midterm races last Tuesday continue to trickle in, with Democrats only securing their continued majority in the US Senate this past weekend and the future of the US House of Representatives remaining up in the air. But Biden – who has frequently cast the US’ dynamic with other world powers as a global fight between democracy and autocracy – brought up the political headwinds working in his favor on Monday in Bali after he took part in a roughly three-hour meeting with Xi Jinping.

At a news conference after his meeting with Xi, Biden sought to cast the election results seen so far as a victory for the future of American democracy – a matter he had said was at stake at the polls.

“The American people proved once again that democracy is who we are. There was a strong rejection of election deniers at every level from those seeking to lead our states and those seeking to serve in congress and also those seeking to oversee the elections,” Biden said at the start of his remarks after the Xi meeting.

On Tuesday, Biden will participate in working sessions and a luncheon with leaders at the summit. He’ll also co-host an event on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, which the White House said “aims to mobilize $600 billion in the next five years with G7 partners to deliver sustainable infrastructure and advance U.S. national security and economic security interests.” The president will later meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and end the night at a gala dinner.

The meeting with Meloni will be Biden’s first chance to confer the new Italian prime minister in person since she took office in October – when she became the country’s most far-right leader since Benito Mussolini.

The two leaders undoubtedly have differences on LGBT rights, abortion rights and immigration policies. But they’re expected to focus on shared interests – in particular, their support of Ukraine. According to the White House, Biden and Meloni will discuss “cooperation on shared global challenges, including those posed by the People’s Republic of China, and our ongoing efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.”

The global infrastructure initiative event follows a launch in 2021 amongst G7 partners to better position the US and its allies to compete with China.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative, first announced in 2013 under Xi, aims to build ports, roads and railways to create new trade corridors linking China to Africa and the rest of Eurasia. The Chinese-funded, cross-continental infrastructure initiative has been seen as an extension of the country’s sharp ascent to global power.

At the summit, Biden is also expected to “speak to energy security as a core issue facing the global economy,” calling for a price cap as a “key way that we can help to preserve global energy security.”

Other topics at the summit, the senior administration official said, include economic coordination, climate change, and the Covid-19 pandemic, with new announcements expected on digital infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific and solar power in Honduras.

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November 14, 2022
Russia’s Putin won’t attend upcoming G-20 summit in Bali

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, an Indonesian government official said Thursday, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the chief of support for G-20 events, said Putin’s decision not to come was “the best for all of us.”

U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders are to attend the two-day summit that starts Nov. 15. The summit would have been the first time Biden and Putin were together at a gathering since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is hosting the event on the island of Bali.

“It has been officially informed that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit, and will be represented by a high-level official, and this has been discussed by President Joko Widodo and Putin in previous telephone conversations,” Pandjaitan said after meeting security officials in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.

“Whatever happens with Russia’s decision, it is for our common good and the best for all of us,” added Pandjaitan, who is is also the coordinating minister of maritime affairs and investment. He said earlier that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation.

Pandjaitan did not know why Putin decided not to come but said “maybe it’s because President Putin is busy at home, and we also have to respect that.” Pandjaitan confirmed the same reasons may be keeping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at home as well.

Widodo earlier this year travelled to Kyiv and Moscow in an effort to get the two leaders to sit down in Bali and make peace.

Putin’s decision not to attend the G-20 comes as Russia’s forces in Ukraine have suffered significant setbacks. Russia’s military said it will withdraw from Kherson, which is the only Ukrainian regional capital it captured and a gateway to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

Russia’s announced retreat from Kherson along with a potential stalemate in fighting over the winter could provide both countries an opportunity to negotiate peace, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday.

He said as many as 40,000 Ukrainian civilians and “well over” 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war, now in its ninth month. “Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side,” Milley added.

The G-20 is the biggest of three summits being held in Southeast Asia this week and next, and it remained unclear if Lavrov will represent Russia at all of them. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit began Thursday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, followed by the G-20 and then the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

Biden will attend ASEAN and the G-20 while Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to APEC. Biden is expected to meet with Xi in Bali.

Biden had ruled out meeting with Putin if he had attended the summit, and said the only conversation he could have possibly had with the Russian leader would be to discuss a deal to free Americans imprisoned in Russia.

Biden administration officials said they had been coordinating with global counterparts to isolate Putin if he had decided to participate either in person or virtually. They have discussed boycotts or other displays of condemnation.

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November 9, 2022
Indonesia gears up to start its first high-speed rail line

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BANDUNG, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia is preparing to start Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail service that will cut travel time between two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.

The railway line, which connects Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province, is part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

As the Jakarta-Bandung portion of the rail project approached 90% completion, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo on Thursday visited Bandung’s Tegalluar station — one of the railway’s four stations — where eight train cars and an inspection train that arrived from China in early September were parked.

“We hope with the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, the mobility of goods and people can be faster and improved, and our competitiveness will also be stronger,” Widodo told reporters during the visit.

Widodo also expected the bullet train to benefit other sectors.

Earlier reports said Widodo would invite his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to ride on the China-made bullet train after the Group of 20 biggest economies summit in Bali next month. However, Widodo told reporters Thursday, the plan is still being discussed with Xi and “it is still not final yet.”

The train cars were designed and built by China’s CRRC Qingdao Sifang railway company. September’s delivery was CRRC’s first export of high-speed trains in its 11-train contract for KCIC400AF eight-car trains and one KCIC400AF-CIT inspection train. The contract, worth $364.5 million, was awarded to CRRC in April 2017.

The rail line construction that began in 2016 was originally expected to start operating in 2019 but was delayed until June 2023 due to disputes that involved land purchases and environmental issues.

The 142.3-kilometer (88.4-mile) railway worth $7.8 billion is being constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, or PT KCIC, a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd. The joint venture said the trains will be the fastest in Southeast Asia.

The CRRC claimed that the KCIC400AF train can reach speeds up to 350 kilometers (217 miles) per hour, pass curves with a minimum radius of 150 meters (492 feet), and is equipped with electric motors, each with a power of 625,000 watts. The cars will be divided into three classes: VIP, first and second, and several cars with large spaces between seats will be allocated for passengers with limited mobility.

The manufacturer said the trains are specifically modified to adapt to Indonesia’s tropical climate, and are equipped with an improved security system that has the ability to track earthquakes, floods and other emergency conditions. The length of the eight-car train is 208.9 meters (685.3 feet).

The rail deal was signed in October 2015 after Indonesia selected China over Japan in competitive bidding, and financed by a loan from the China Development Bank for 75%. The remaining 25% is the consortium’s own funds.

The project is part of a 750-kilometer (466-mile) high-speed train plant that would cut across four provinces on the main island of Java and end in the country’s second-largest city of Surabaya.

Infrastructure improvement, Widodo’s signature policy, helped him win a second term in 2019 elections.

Jakarta’s subway — a Japan-backed venture — was inaugurated in 2019 as part of the capital’s efforts to ease traffic congestion. Its second phase will soon be completed and the United Kingdom and Japan have offered the country soft loans for its third phase, said transportation minister Budi Karya Sumadi.

The government has completed other rail projects, including light-rail transit services in Palembang and Jakarta, while five other cities, including on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali, have LRT plans in the pipeline.

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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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October 15, 2022
FIFA won’t sanction Indonesia over fatal crush, Widodo says

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s president said the country will not face sanctions from soccer’s world governing body after the firing of tear gas inside a half-locked stadium caused a crush at the exits, killing 131 people, including 17 children.

Joko Widodo said FIFA President Giani Infantino wrote in a letter to him about potential collaborations between Indonesia and FIFA and the country will remain the host of next year’s U-20 World Cup joined by 24 countries from five continents.

“Based on the letter, thank God, Indonesian is not sanctioned by FIFA,” Widodo said in a video posted on the presidential office’s YouTube channel late Friday.

In its security protocols, FIFA advises against the use of tear gas in or around stadiums and recommends exit gates be unlocked at all times during a game. While those rules are considered a safety standard, they don’t apply to domestic or national leagues and FIFA has no authority over how local governments and police control crowds.

Widodo toured the Kanjuruhan soccer stadium in Malang city on Wednesday and said several locked gates had contributed to the disaster that followed a league game between host Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya on Oct. 1. The national police chief on Thursday said the stadium did not have a proper operating certificate and criminal charges would be brought against six people, including three police officers.

Indonesia’s national soccer association, known locally as PSSI, has long struggled to manage the game domestically.

Gaining the right to host next year’s Under-20 World Cup was a major milestone in Indonesia’s soccer development, raising hopes that a successful tournament would turn around longstanding problems that have blighted the sport in the nation, home to more than 277 million people.

The deadly crush at is a tragic reminder, however, that Indonesia is one of the most dangerous countries in which to attend a game.

Since last week, the domestic league has been suspended. Widodo has ordered the sports minister, the national police chief and the soccer federation to conduct a thorough investigation into the deadly stadium crush.

He said on Friday that Indonesian government has agreed to take collaborative measures with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation to improve stadium safety to prevent another tragedy.

“FIFA, together with the government will set a transformation team for Indonesian ,” Widodo said, adding that Infantino would also to visit Indonesia in the near future.

He said that FIFA will be based in Indonesia during these processes to improve safety standards at all football stadiums across the country, formulate security procedures and protocols for the police based on international standards, take feedback from Indonesian football clubs and fans, regulate season calendar under risk-based considerations as well as to involve experts from various fields for advice.

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October 8, 2022
EXPLAINER: What’s behind Indonesia’s deadly soccer match?

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Violence, tear gas and a deadly crush that erupted following a domestic league soccer match Saturday night marked another tragedy in Indonesian . Here’s a look at how the chaos occurred and what is being done to prevent future incidents:

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HOW DID THE CHAOS OCCUR?

Chaos broke out after Persebaya Surabaya defeated Arema Malang 3-2 in Saturday night’s match in East Java’s province Malang city. Police said there were some 42,000 spectators in the stadium, all of whom were Arema’s supporters because the organizer had banned Persebaya fans in an effort to avoid brawls.

But a disappointing loss by Arema — the first match lost to Persebaya at its home stadium — prompted angry spectators to pour into the field after the match to demand answers. Fans threw bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials and violence spread outside the stadium, where at least five police cars were toppled and set ablaze and others damaged. Riot police responded with tear gas, which is banned at soccer stadiums by FIFA. But it sparked panic.

Hundreds of spectators rushed to an exit gate to avoid the tear gas, resulting in a crush that trampled or suffocated 34 to death almost instantly, with many more deaths to follow due to injuries.

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HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED?

In one of the worst sports disasters, police said at least 125 people died, including children and two police officers, most of whom were trampled.

More than 100 people were injured. Police said the death toll is likely to rise more with multiple people in critical condition.

Data from an Indonesian watchdog organization, Save Our Soccer, said that at least 86 soccer fans had died since 1995, most of them in fights.

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WHY DOES SOCCER BEGET VIOLENCE?

Football is the most popular sport in Indonesia and the domestic league is widely followed. Fans are strongly attached to their clubs, and such fanaticism often ends in violence and hooliganism. But it usually happens outside the stadium.

The most well-known feud is between Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung. Supporters of the two clubs have clashed in several matches that led to deaths. In 2018, a Persija Jakarta supporter was beaten to death by Persib Bandung rivals.

Indonesian football has also been beset with trouble on the international stage. Brawls broke out between supporters of archrivals Indonesia and Malaysia in 2019 during qualifiers for this year’s FIFA World Cup. In September 2019, Malaysian fans were threatened and pelted with projectiles at a World Cup qualifier in Jakarta, and Malaysia’s visiting sports minister had to be evacuated from the stadium after violence broke out. Two months later, fans hurled flares and bottles at each other in another match in Kuala Lumpur.

Also in 2019, after losing in the finals of the U-22 match to Vietnam in the Southeast Asian Games, Indonesian fans took to social media to insult, harass, and send death threats to Vietnamese players and even their families.

In June, two Persib Bandung fans died while jostling to enter the stadium in Bandung to watch the 2022 President’s Cup. The angry supporters became aggressive because the officers on the field did not allow them to enter the already-full stadium.

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WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT IT?

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has expressed his deepest regret and ordered a thorough investigation into the deaths. He has also ordered the premier soccer league suspended until a safety reevaluation is carried out and tighter security put in place. Widodo said he hoped “this tragedy will be the last tragedy of football in Indonesia.”

Indonesia’s soccer association has also banned Arema from hosting soccer matches for the remainder of the season. Rights group Amnesty International urged Indonesia to investigate the use of tear gas at the stadium and ensure that those found in violations are tried in open court.

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October 2, 2022