Kampung Aquarium Jakarta-What Will Happen as Anies in Charge?

Since the demolition at Aquarium Village in Northern Jakarta that was held at April 4th 2017 there has been lot of temporary building again constructed at the location. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama administration at that time want to build modern fish market, but after the demolition too many political activity at the location that prevent the plan going forward. Nowadays at the location temporary building begin filled the location and during the Jakarta Governor election it used as strategical campaign for the strong candidate rival at that time which is Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno.

After the active duty for new Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Vice Sandiaga Uno, still there are no update on what to do at the location. Come news update in the couple of days on november that Anies will rebuild the place for people who stay there, Anies said will develop the place with both approaching using sociology and economy approach, it is not clear on what exact plan on the location.

While still on the discussion on the desk of Jakarta Governor administration, people who lives at the temporary building at the location waiting uncertain on what will happen to them. Is the location will be just an abandoned place where politician use their voice for only their win campaign? or is there exact infrastructure update at the location that will deliver the promise by Anies to the people who live there? The uncertain can only answered by Anies administration during his postion as Governor.


Photo and Text : Donal Husni

Indonesia Sea Toll Transportation Program

Loading and Unloading Equipment at Tanjung Priok Harbour in The Morning

  Marine Highway (Sea Toll) program allocations by President Joko Widodo is not a mere discourse program, it was revealed in coordination meetings and Maritime Ministry for Resources to discuss the program and the development of Toll Sea based on Presidential Decree No. 106/2015 on the Implementation of Public Service Obligations For Freight Sea. The coordination meeting chaired by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Resources, which was attended by Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, Trade Minister Thomas Lembong, President Director of PT. Pelni as well as representatives of other relevant ministries and institutions in the Office of the Ministry for Maritime and Resources, on Monday (30/05).

The essence of the application program Toll Sea is to keep the price disparity logistics in the islands do not differ much from in the big cities, based on the study of the Ministry for Maritime and Resources as presented by Deputy III Ministry for Maritime and Resources, Ridwan Abubakar that a pretty good example of the decline in the prices of basic necessities in Namlea Buru, some commodities are good enough, the target of regulation, decreased to 30% to 40%. (Press Conference Release by Ministry of Maritime and Resources).

Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro expressed Budgetting support for Sea Toll Program is already maximal especially in the Ministry of Transportation, in particular Directorate General of Sea and Land. Sea Transportation budget both for Goods and Passengers to 1.16 trillion Rupiah. Graphic below show the budget that allocated by Indonesian Government to Support the Program : 



The implementation of the budget look a little bit weird when the essence application of Toll Sea is to keep the price disparity logistic on the island at east of Indonesia do not differ much from big cities. Chart below shown that loading and unloading goods are high on the east side of Indonesian Island (red color shown high activity) :

 






Comparation of using Sea tol transportation compare to private transportation at Namela, Buru District at Maluku Island release by The Ministry of Maritime Coordinator Department  show significant decrease of price that will make price of goods between big city and small city especially in east of Indonesia not so much different. 

 


With data comparation above sea tol transporation budget for Passengers  although still needed still unnecessary to spend too much on it,  the main spend should be to sea transportation for goods. 

As quote said : “What tasks are more important? It’s hard to know when you’re caught up in the flow of things, just doing things left and right, quickly switching between tasks, and so on. Everything seems important. But when we step back and think about what matters most, what will make the most difference in the world and in our lives, we can see what we need to focus on, to make time for. We can’t step back unless we’re aware that we’re getting caught up in less important tasks.” ~ Leo Babauta, Indonesia government just never learn on to get "First thing first"

(Photo, Text, Graphic : Donal Husni)

At The End The Police Also Human

A Police officer on the field after securing evidence from a man who brought some amount of weed on the street at South Jakarta (Photo : Donal Husni)

 

In the morning of May 28th 2016 I was awake on 5 am,  preparing to attend the examination of competency held by Indonesian Independent Journalist Organization (AJI). As usual, i gout on my open garage that was closed by gate and lock to heat up my motor bike, then i went to the bathroom to take a bath, during my spending time in the bathroom I heard the sound of gate opened, but I think it was just my neighbor, but then the sound getting loud until i realize that it was my gate opened. I suddenly put my towel wrap my on my belly and jumped to the front of my house, my bike was stolen, i run tried to catch the two thief but there is nothing that I can do, the speed up and i cannot stop them, event the security who guard my complex house cannot catch them.

It feel so hurt to experience that for me and I believe it will be the same for any one who get that experience, all I can do is to accept the reality and let it go. Security then asked me to completed my motor bike document and copy it then give to them for they will process it to the police. When talking about the police, I show pessimism because almost three years a go I also lost my camera equipment with total lost of  40,000,000 rupiah and my report to the police is just the paper that they will keep in drawer. But any way there is no wrong I guess to file report, so i did what the security told, I was also contacted my fellow journalist who cover tangerang area in Banten Province to give the number of Tangerang Chief of Police, then informed the chief on what happening to me, he answered it and say he already informed it to his men. As days goes by there is no information on where about my stolen motor bike was until now and also as years goes by I have to let go my lost camera, although the thief was caught by the police, i cannot continue to process it as they asking me for money if I want the case to be solved.

Living in Indonesia as the citizen,  i am fully aware that I have to survive on my own, because the system in this country is very corrupt; a typical in any development country. That is why i always put in my mind "Let Go, Let God". This situation not just happening to me, it also happen to any body. The question is, why the police not working effectively in reducing the crime in this country?

Base on the data released by Indonesian Statistic Bureau (BPS) from 2010 to 2013 number of crime in Indonesia ups and down but the solving case of number of crime reported only 40-50% solved by the police.

Chief of Indonesian Police say that Indonesian police have difficulty in solving the number of crime happening since the ideal proportion number between police and society is 1:300 which is the actual proportion right now still 1:575,  that is why the police right now on the working to add more personnel in order to filled the gap. 

But the fact happening on the field is totally different because crime solving based on crime reported to the police handling by "who can give money" to the police, you can ask any one who reported crime to the police especially with motor vehicle thievery or luxury item, they will work hard in solving the problem if we pay them the money. At the end it's not the case of proportion of police with people after all, but the willingness to solve the crime by the police. Is that so bad that the police asking for money every time they received crime report to be solved?

Graphic below will explain to us how much income the police have from the low level grade to the high level grade compare to the daily expense that they have to spend for them self and their family :

As we can see from the graphic, the total income plus police additional income from bonus that they get per year compare to the expense that they have to spend is not reasonable. Only few police get honor and respected income by becoming other professional work like ojek, carpenter, or selling goods to have additional income and i fully respect with that. The real problem is when most of the police get easy income by doing corruption such as asking money when they receive crime report to be solved or asking money on the street with violators of traffic rules on the street. 

Although the proportion between the police vs society still the problem for the police to work fast and effectively to solve the crime, but the real main problem is the salary of the police that still far from acceptable. Badrodin already asking additional police through Indonesian House of Representative according to CNN Indonesia Report : 

"We are proposing an additional budget allocation in the budget of fiscal year 2016 amounting to Rp 20.099 trillion," said Badrodin during a meeting on Thursday (17/9). According Badrodin, additional budget would be used to cover the lack of payment of salaries, allowances and remuneration amounting to Rp 5.17 trillion. Police will also use an additional budget of Rp 6.27 trillion for the construction of facilities and procurement of equipment in order to improve public services and the handling of social unrest. The additional funds raised the most for use in the improvement of operational support offices and the implementation of the technical functions of the police amounted to Rp 8.65 trillion"

With above additional budget still not helping the police to get the acceptable salary compare to their expense / year.  This is not not an easy problem to be solved, really need serious act if we want the police to work professionally, beside that there is the need to give massive mental revolution the police personnel for not doing corruption with continuing of education and training.

Although there is still high hope from me as citizen of Indonesia for the police to reduce the crime in this country, that high hope only happen in my dream, because in reality the police are human too, they need to eat, have good time, and raise the family while doing their job. I have lost thousands of rupiah from loosing of what i have, at the same time i have lost my trust to police too who also fighting to survive. Hopefully there is still hope some day the police will stand in front of us as the justice fighter that will help us to feel secure again which I don't know when. 

Indonesian Millitary Strength

Navy ammunition warehouse, damaged by an explosion, at Pondok Dayung island in Jakarta March 5, 2014 Photo : Donal Husni

In 2016, Indonesia again prove as one of the most powerful military in the world, by wining the championship of Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting in Australia, Indonesia for the moment succeed taking 18 Gold, 8 silver, and 4 bronze at the championship.

Since 2008 Indonesian Military always win in the championship, the military personnel only use bullets and weapon that produce by Indonesian Military Company : PT. Pindad, and for eight consecutive year they always win.


The question is do the winning for 8 executive years  proven that Indonesian Military worth to be respected in the world? The answer is yes and no. If we look at the table below :

Mapping of Military Strength Countries in the world

Indonesia is in number 14 base on www.globalfirepower.com in 2016 listing military strength, on the map above (click to enlarge) Indonesian seen in the to 20 country with military strength (the more loose the color the more stronger the military strength, according to the site USA still on the number one in military strength in the world). The answer is yes, Indonesia right now is one of the country that should being considered by other country that want to attack, because of the military strength. Although considered in the top 20 of military strength in the world, Indonesia military still have a lot of weakness. Table below will explain in more detail comparative between Indonesia military strength to other country : Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, United Kingdom, China, Russia, and USA :

Source : http://www.globalfirepower.com

Compare to the close neighbor country like Thailand, Indonesia Military Support such as Air Plane, Helicopter, Trainer Air craft still below. With Territory wider than Thailand, Indonesia will be easily attacked from the Air. Compare to Australia that also near Indonesia territory, the air defense also still low. In marines, Indonesia defense and attacking support also still below with other country as listed on the graphic. Lately tension between China and Indonesia regarding to South China Sea dispute ending in diplomacy, Indonesia military have to think twice regarding the China military strength as the number three in the world, answering to the question : no, Indonesian military equipment support still low.

 Indonesia military strength compare to other country is in the man power, although still below China. With only strength in man power of military, Indonesia will be a sitting duck if attacked by powerful country such as China, USA, UK, or event the neighbor Thailand. It will be like when Indonesia attacked by UK force during the bloody fight in Surabaya in 10 November 1945.

Indonesian military fully understand with the situation, with their military technology that still far away from other country, they are in the process to get more additional military equipment and technology that will make them can compete with other country. To fulfill the need, Indonesia will have to spend a lot of money to buy those military equipment to other country such as Russia and China that offer cheap price, but still it will need a lot of money.

This situation should be considered as the top priority, because there is no promising the peace will always stand. As Europe and USA are in bad economy condition, they will find the way to make reasonable and make sense attack to other country to save their economy condition, and at that time Indonesia Military Defense should be ready to protect our lovely Indonesia.

Photo, Text, Graphic Data : Donal Husni

That's What Friends Are For

Last night i saw a path status from a friend, she lost her key and cannot enter to her apartment, on the comment of her status, the best friend then offered for a night stay. Oh well just an ordinary of life how friends matters, it remind of me of the song "That's what friends are for".

The lyric that sang by Dionne Warwick's  ft. Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder is very simple :

And I never thought I'd feel this way
And as far as I'm concerned
I'm glad I got the chance to say
That I do believe, I love you

And if I should ever go away
Well, then close your eyes and try
To feel the way we do today
And then if you can remember

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Well, you came in loving me
And now there's so much more I see
And so by the way
I thank you

Oh and then for the times when we're apart
Well, then close your eyes and know
The words are coming from my heart
And then if you can remember

Keep smiling and keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
In good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
'Cause I tell you, that's what friends are for
For good times and the bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

While listening to this music this remind me to my bad time, when I lost every thing on my new journey as photographer focusing on documentary and journalism. My camera and lenses lost, and zero money on my bank account, on the next day I have to do a documentary project for a client, on that exact time I called my best friend to borrow his camera and lens to do the project and also borrow some money so can have meal on a month to survive. Without questioning my best friend lend offer his camera and money for me, this is the moment that I felt I have the best friend in the world. 

Yes for good time and bad time you can always count on your friends because : that's what friends are for, some times they are annoying to you, but don't get mad because they also feel the same way about you, but at the end they all love you as you love them because "that's what friends are for".

The link of the documentary project that I make for client using my best friend camera : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbq86HOjE_Y

Photo and Text : Donal Husni

Save Orang Utan

On February 09 2016 I cover the press conference about smuggling of orang utans that will be released to the wild at Indonesian Ministry of Forestry office in Jakarta. It was three baby orang utans being restored to the wild (Puspa, Moza, and Ujang), they are in good and healthy condition after quarantine at Taman Safari zoo in Cisarua-Bogor. They were saved after smuggling to Thailand, since 2015 around 15 orang utans saved from smuggling in Thailand and Quwait.

The press conference went well, but there is one thing that bothered me : "The Executive at Ministry office", as a person from Borneo Orang Utan Survival Foundation told me they just not helping so much in the process of return back these babies orang utans, many bureaucracy and papers work, that made the NGO work longer than expected, "but what can we say we live in this country and we have to face them under the law of the country", said a person from the NGO. 


Orang-utans are the world's largest tree-climbing mammals,In 2016, the Orangutan Conservancy believes there are only about 45,000 orangutans remaining in Borneo and  Sumatra. Shockingly, the number was about 60,000 as recent as a decade ago. 

Mr. Ian Singleton, Ph.D : Director of Conservation Sumateran Orangutan Conservation programme explained the number of papers and bureaucracy in Indonesia made the process in saving very difficult, beside that number of staff at the conservation for orang utan both in Kalimantan and Sumatera still very little, fixing both of it will help more effective saving orang utans in the wild according to Mr. Ian. Dr. Ir. Jamartin Sihite, CEO of The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation adding that people should aware that orang utans is not a pet, they belong to the wild. He added the trees cutting for giant palm oil plantation have made orang utans habitat got cornered and easier for people to catch them for smuggling. Both of the expert said that saving orang utans is a working together for all of society to prevent them extinct.

What we can do to help them as society? by not buying product from those giant palm oil plantation such as butter, cooking oil, etc will help the companies going for bankrupt which will make them stop cutting the trees more in order to produce more oil from the plantation. 

Orang utans are part of the ecosystem on earth, like any other extinct animal on earth we must save them to make the food chain still in balance, unbalance of food chain will bring us to the chaotic of environment system that we as human who will face the consequent.

I am The 100 Finalist of The Eyeem Award, Yay!!

Got an email today 21 August 2015 that said :  

"Congratulations! I want to let you know that you are one of the finalists for The 2015 EyeEm Awards. Your photo was selected out of 200,000 photos and made it to the shortlist of 100 images. You can see your photo and those of the other finalists here: http://blog.eyeem.com/2015/08/the-2015-eyeem-awards-finalists"

First thing come up in my mind is that will it pay my bills? I am professional photographer (which it doesn't mean i create beautiful pictures all the time!) it mean that i make money from doing photography,i take photos and then get paid. Mostly my work are editorial and street photography because i really love that genre, it just can make me calm after taking that kind of photos.  Start this career professionally since 2010 and been doing it for the sake of  loving it until now.

Nowadays doing editorial nor commercial stock photography didn't pay the bill anymore since all the price fly the way down freely from 0,000001 USD to only 5 USD, i've tried so many microstock and also news agency sell my work through them but the payment not so well, and then come Eyeem that I thought can give a different to the industry,  but still the same; only 5 USD and max 15 USD that they sell through the giant greedy corporate called getty images. Conclusion for me : there's no stock industry that can really help the professional photographer any more. But that didn't make me pessimist to not continuing with the stock photos (and because my genre editorial, i am focusing most of my stock to editorial), the sites such as Eyeem or some of News Agency that I am joining with can provide me with their audience that can help built a brand of me as professional photographer. 

Back to the first thought come up in my mind, does this announcement paid my bills? in short term for sure NO and No Way selling photos through Eyeem or any other microstock or news agency can pay my bills!! But as my brand developed high there will be organization or personal that interesting in hire me for the photo project, and that where I can make big deal of high income. So a big YES for long term doing uploading photos to them (Eyeem or any microstock or News Agency). 

About the photos it self that made me to the 100 finalist, it's a photo that I made for a photo project that gave to me by a Lovely Lecture and very intelligent from Universitas Indonesia, Mrs. Rita Damayanti-Chief of Central Health Research Public Health Universitas Indonesia, one of the most famous Universtiy in Indonesia (make me proud as I am one the graduated from this university). She asked me to make features photos about Family Planning using IUD that can control the birth rate which since 2000, Indonesia having an increasing birth rate that made the population rate in Indonesia increase significantly. So she asked  me to join her on the journey to some area where CHR-UI doing the research. The place where i took the picture was at Bima-West Nusa Tenggara, the family planning program was well applied there, so further research need to be done to make people change perception from using temporary family planning such condoms or pills to long term family planning like IUD (intra uterine device). I was looking around to find image that can represent the research process, until i find this moment where happy children from happy family went home after learning quran from the mosque. I was using my lost Canon 5D M2 and 16-35 F2.8 and Flash 600 ex (it was lost because i want to sell it to upgrade to 5D M3, but an assholes hypnotize me by pretend want to buy the camera, he is in jail now, but the police cannot guarantee that i can have the camera or exchange money, I don't know why but that the situation in Indonesia, you cannot expect a lot from the F****N POLICE) on wired so that can get spreading light that not to harsh in dimly almost sunset afternoon, several shot was taken until i have this moment. 

I am happy getting through the 100 finalist and may be winning the grand prize that will expose me to international recognition, that is where i can get the change to get extra money from a lot of photo project that can pay my bill. Thank you Eyeem for the opportunity, this is like World Press Photo in non professional level. Again Thank YOU and I hope I will win the grand prize!

August 21st 2015
Writing on my pair of Old PC and Old Keyboard that may be I can change it to a Mac Laptop if I win the grand prize.
Donal Husni
Freelance Photographer