During the Special Summit of the DKI Jakarta Provincial House of Representatives to commemorate the four hundred eighty-first anniversary of the founding of the capital city and attended by the governors of provinces in Java and Sumatra as well as the ambassadors from its sister cities, the hope was expressed that Jakarta become a model for other cities in Indonesia.

 

Tokyo, one of Jakarta’s sister cities, has been and continues to be confronted with a number of issues that can be utilized as learning lessons for Jakarta. More than a century ago, Tokyo (“Eastern Capital”) had a population of over one million people.  Despite having endured almost total destruction twice - once during an earthquake in 1923 and again as a result of American bombings during 1945, Tokyo has continued to grow into one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world.  Over a quarter of Japanese population resides today in Tokyo which encompasses an area containing only two percent of the landmass of Japan.

Dalam kunjungannya baru-baru ini, Menlu AS Hillary Rodham Clinton mengatakan Indonesia tidak hanya negara berpenduduk Muslim terbesar di dunia, tetapi juga mampu membuktikan bahwa demokrasi, Islam, dan modernitas dapat melangkah seiring sejalan. Dalam jumpa pers usai pertemuan bilateral Departemen Luar Negeri, Menlu Hassan Wirayudha memperkuat pernyataan Hillary ketika mengatakan seiring peran aktifnya mendorong dialog antarperadaban, agama, dan kebudayaan, Indonesia akan menjadi partner yang baik bagi AS untuk menjangkau dunia Muslim.

Indonesia is locked in the food trap, a situation which has been caused by developed countries and global capitalism. Seven main non-rice commodities, which are consumed by Indonesians, are imported. The last two years have seen a leap in prices for food and other agricultural produce. As a result, there has been a decrease in food security. This has had devastating consequences, such as an increase in the number of cases of malnutrition and an increase in maternal and infant mortality rates.

Some time ago, I was invited to a seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to share suggestions regarding development funding. All the participants, except for myself, came from Latin America. The seminar's goal was to find alternative means of development funding for Latin America. The construction of Banco del Sur (The Bank of the South) is an example of this. This funding organisation offers development assistance with conditionalities that suit developing countries better than those set out by the World Bank and IMF.