Nature Alert: House urges govt to delay purchasing presidential plane

Monday 1 February 2010

House urges govt to delay purchasing presidential plane

PERSONAL NOTE: The President of Indonesia is going to use government money to buy himself a personal jet, whilst the EC, UK government, US, Australian etc governments sends Indonesia tens of millions of dollars/pounds/Euros of their taxpayers money to save forests etc. This is a stark reminder of just how stupid and reckless all these governments are with OUR money.
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House urges govt to delay purchasing presidential plane

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 02/01/2010

The House of Representatives Commission IX has urged the government to delay buying a presidential airplane, saying that it should pay more attention to the people.

"Currently, the people's mood is not good. They can only sit and watch the government spending money," Melchieas Marcus Mekeng, the deputy chairman of House Commission IX, said as quoted by kompas.com.

Melchias said he appreciated the plan to buy the plane, as it would save on the state budget compared to the rental of an aircraft, currently being negotiated, but did not elaborate.

However, the government should be able to provide the basic needs of the people, such as affordable schools and sufficient basic commodities before purchasing the plane, he added.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/01/house-urges-govt-delay-purchasing-presidential-plane.html

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.

Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.

“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.

“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”

Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right." Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.