First newspaper response

Channel News Asia

Indonesia acts, Singapore Regrets

Pearl Forss

Link

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews
/view/254450/1/.html

Summary

This article basically talks about Indonesia announcing a sudden ban on land sand exports to Singapore, citing environmental reasons for her decision. It tells us that Singapore had earlier pledged to aid Indonesia in addressing these concerns, but that Indonesia had refused.

Comments

I feel that the real reason behind Indonesia's ban is in reality, not an environmental one, but instead, a political trick employed by Bambang and his government to turn the attention of the citizens away from the country's domestic failures. Drawing on historical evidence, this was also seen in 1962 - 1966, when President Sukarno established a policy of Confrantasi to distract Indonesia's citizens from the country's domestic problems of high unemployment and death rates.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 2007 report has stated that 98% of forests on Sumatra and Borneo may be gone by 2022 if deforestation continues at this rapid rate. Yet the Indonesian government does not seem to be stepping up efforts to counter deforestation, or perhaps that it is unable to, seeing how agriculture employs 44.3% of the workforce, and even if it wants to, its government, which is plagued by issues of corruption, doesn't seem up to the task.

All this is also coupled with the fact that 660 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is released every year in Indonesia due to the drainage of peat lands; and not forgetting Indonesia has pledged to lower greenhouse emissions by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol?

As for the haze problem: if Indonesia was really concerned about its environment, wouldn't it have stepped up efforts to disallow commercial companies from clearing forests by burning them for plantation agriculture?

The ASEAN agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution proves this point too. All other ASEAN countries have signed it in 2002 whereas Indonesia has yet to sign it.

And last but not least, it is relatively illogical for Indonesia to turn down Singapore's help if she really wanted to solve its own environmental problems, seeing how she has consistently depended on the Republic for manpower in previous crises, such as the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and in the incidence of bird flu.

However, I suppose that I could be wrong and unfair in my stand, in that Indonesia is really trying hard to change for the better; for having been brought up here in Singapore, where the standard of living has always been much higher than that of Indonesia's, being an armchair critic is undoubtedly a much easier option than being a malnourished, poor, homeless person begging for food, like what many people in Indonesia are doing currently.

I have also been swayed by societal negative perceptions towards Indonesia due to the smog issue (1990s), although the incident occurred when I was relatively young. Hence, as I grew up, I gradually developed a prejudiced mindset towards countries such as Indonesia, and this mindset would have influenced my views on this entire issue.

But to conclude, I shall say that even Indonesians oppose the change. That’s telling - they don’t seem to believe that it’s in Indonesia’s interest. Below is a quote from Mr Syahrul Jamal, general secretary of Riau Sand Exporting Businesspeople Association, on how banning sand export to Singapore would negatively affect the Riau Island's economy:

"This decision would damage the islands' sand mining industry, which relies heavily on exports. It could also hurt up to 3,000 workers whose incomes depend on sand mining ... In terms of pricing and payment, exporting sand to Singapore brings in more profits overall, although local buyers pay about $6 more for one cubic m of sand. But with Singaporean buyers, they purchase the sand on the spot, pay in cash and organise transportation. ... The new policy will definitely reduce the production capacity of the Riau Islands' sand mining companies."

(498 words)

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