Badawi, SBY discuss friendship and crisis

Erwida Maulia, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Wed, 03/18/2009 9:01 AM

Badawi said mass layoffs were “inevitable” amid the global economic downturn in Malaysia and Indonesia.

"What is happening here is happening in every country. Economic crises will always impact on employment," he told a joint press conference with Yudhoyono after talks at the State Palace, Jakarta.

The two agreed to boost coordination in handling problems with Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

Badawi said Malaysia had launched an economic stimulus package to curb the number of layoffs.

The Indonesian government has expressed concerns about the two million Indonesian workers currently employed in Malaysia, claiming 300,000 are facing retrenchment because of declining product orders.

Badawi, who promised last year to step down from office this month, said he hoped the next leader of Malaysia would continue to strengthen ties between the two nations, considering relations have been shaky in the past.

“I feel the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia, including my own personal relationship with President Yudhoyono and the ties between our members of Cabinet, are currently strong,” he said at the launch of annual dialogue between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“And we have pledged our relationship matures and grows into knowledge-based relations,” he added.

Yudhoyono, in response, said Indonesia and Malaysia could not avoid having different views and even disputes over several issues given their geographic and historical closeness.

This, however, should not prevent the nations from prioritizing their mutual interests about other differences, he said.

“Even though Pak Lah (Badawi) will soon leave the government and I will leave it too, someday, I believe this spirit of togetherness and the partnership that we’ve built will continue to expand in the future,” Yudhoyono said.

Tuesday’s meeting between Yudhoyono and Badawi was their third encounter in recent months after discussions at the ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, and meetings at the World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta last month.

Both Yudhoyono and Badawi jointly opened official dialogue aimed at strengthening the historical collective memories of the two nations following recommendations by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Indonesia-Malaysia.

EPG Indonesia-Malaysia was set up during their fifth annual consultative meeting in Kuala Lumpur in July 2008 to tackle problems that often cropped up between the two neighboring countries.

The group recommended that Malaysia and Indonesia continue enhancing relationships and boost cooperation in economic, social, culture, education, media and youth affairs.

Capital Flows to Developing Countries Decrease

Tuesday, 03 March, 2009 | 14:31 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has said that capital flows to developing countries have decreased to less than one-third of the original amount of more than US$600 billion. 

“Now there is only US$180 billion left,” said Sri Mulyani in Jakarta yesterday (2/3). 

Therefore, there will be funding shortage in developing countries. 

Currently, representatives of 20 G-20 member countries are gathering in Jakarta to discuss an international response to this situation. 

They will also discuss about the role of international funding agencies like the World Bank, the ADB and the IDB. 

The forum will try to find solution to the decreasing capital flows. 

Sri explained that President Yudhoyono's idea about a global expenditure fund for Moslem countries, which was announced at the World Islamic Economic Forum, could be a solution for developing countries to manage the global economy crisis. 

Moslem countries that are rich with oil resources are expected to help poor Moslem countries. 

GUNANTO ES 

"Unbridled greed" to blame for economic woes: Malaysian PM

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi blamed "unbridled greed" Monday for the global financial meltdown as business people from across the Islamic world gathered to discuss the crisis. 

Badawi called for a new financial system to replace the Wall Street model as he spoke at the opening of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta alongside Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. 

"We have inherited a system where people can trade what they do not own and the resulting inflationary pressure in the global market has caused immense damage to the economic well-being of the world`s poor," he was quoted by AFP as saying in a speech. 

"Such is the impact of unbridled greed in the financial system where there is no accountability on money lending.... The world is beginning to appreciate the need for alternative financial arrangements." 

He said Islamic finance -- which shuns interest and avoids profiting from industries such as alcohol and gambling -- was "gaining credibility as an alternative." 

"I do believe that Islamic finance has a bright future in the global financial system. This is something that we can capitalise upon," Badawi added, while noting the lack of harmonised standards in Islamic banking. 

The fifth WIEF since 2004 gathers hundreds of business leaders from across the Muslim world as well as senior officials such as Organisation of the Islamic Conference Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. 

Organisers say the two-day forum at a luxury hotel in the capital of the world`s most populous Muslim country "aspires to change the global perception of the Muslim world from a conflict zone to a lucrative economic region." 

Discussions are focusing on the US-led financial meltdown, the environment and the future of fossil fuels, food security and small business development. 

All speakers at the conference extolled the virtues of Islamic finance and the need to boost food production to feed the poor in developing countries in the wake of last year`s food crisis. 

Prices soared due to a combination of factors including poor harvests, changing diets in emerging economies and growing demand for food crops for biofuel production. 

Badawi said that if the growth in world food production continued to fall "the Muslim world will not be able to feed its growing population." 

Indonesian President Yudhoyono said 22 of the 50 least developed and most indebted countries in the world were Muslim, and called for oil-exporting Islamic countries to set up a fund to support poorer Muslim states. 

Yudhoyono warned against any trend toward protectionism in the face of the global slump, and called for the completion of the latest round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks designed to free-up world trade. 

WTO members came close to a deal last July in Geneva but talks fell apart amid mutual recriminations between developed and developing countries. 

A new trade pact is seen as a way of preventing protectionism by binding countries to rules monitored by the Geneva-based WTO. 

"The worst thing that anyone can do is become protectionist and thus invite protectionist retaliation in a trade war in which everyone will emerge a pitiable loser," Yudhoyono said. 

"We should remain practitioners of free trade and persevere in working for a development-oriented trade regime in the WTO round of negotiation." 

Southeast Asia`s largest economy, Indonesia has denied allegations it is imposing non-tariff trade barriers by restricting imports of major goods to five ports and requiring translations of imported food labels. 

Indonesia recently successfully launched its first retail Islamic bond issue to help fund a six-billion-dollar economic stimulus package. 

Other leaders from Muslim countries at the conference included Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi and the deputy prime ministers of Qatar and Yemen.

President calls for increased cooperation among Muslim countries

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on Muslim countries to intensify cooperation in trade and investment to help stem the impacts of the current global multi-facet crisis. 

"In the trade and investment sectors, especially in the current crisis, we must increase solidarity in the form of cooperation for the welafere of the Muslims," President Yudhoyono said in his opening speech at the Fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here on Monday. 

Cooperation was crucial particularly to curb protectionism in the international trade following the global financial crisis, he said. 

The Muslims countries should intensify trade among members of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) as stipulated int he OIC`s 10-year action programs which recommended 20 percent increase in the total trade volume among Muslim countries, he said. 

Cooperation agreements signed by the private sectors during the forum were concrete cooperation among Muslims countries, according to him. 

The President witnessed signings of business agreements, among others, between the Ras Al-Khaimah Emirate and the East Kalimantan provincial administration, PT Garuda Indonesia and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Indonesian state own oil and gas company Pertamina, ETA Star Grup Dubai and Itochu Corporation of Japan, Bank Muamalat Indonesia and the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, as well as between PT Pos Indonesia and Islamic Payment Sdn Berhad of Malaysia. 

He also believed that the application of the Islamic banking system should be boosted to help deal with the financial, food, and energy crises. 

The President said that the syariah (Islamic) banking could cope with the impacts of the global financial crisis better than the conventional banks. 

It showed that the syariah banks was not tempted to invest in the financial and asset sectors only, but they also operated to support the real economic, he said. 

Indonesia has had a Law on syariah banking sicne last year, and in the near future would issue syariah bounds, he said. 

Among those present in the WIEF opening ceremony were Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Morocco Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

SBY tells OIC to continue with internal reforms

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 03/02/2009 8:13 PM  

Yudhoyono has told the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ishanoglu to continue reforming the grouping’s internal structure and to use soft power to carry out its policies, tempointeraktif.com reports. 

During a brief meeting on the sidelines of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), Yudhoyono thanked the OIC for aid sent to Aceh tsunami victims and orphans after the disaster hit the region five years ago, presidential spokesperson Dino Patti Djalal said Monday. 

“The OIC also showed its appreciation to Indonesia for its active participation in pushing for internal ref .

The organization would seek more donors to help orphans continue their education, Dino said. 

“The OIC also asked for Indonesia to continue supporting peace efforts in the Southern Philippines between the Muslim minority Moro National Liberation Front and Philippine government,” he added. (ewd)

World Islamic Economic Forum

The Jakarta Post  |  Mon, 03/02/2009 3:43 PM 
 

 

All eyes on Sharia economy: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi walks past by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior during the opening ceremony of the 5th World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Muslim nations seek closer ties in economic crisis

The Jakarta Post, Zakki Hakim ,  The Associated Press ,  Jakarta  |  Mon, 03/02/2009 3:36 PM 
 

 Economic brotherhood: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (center with black cap) joins other Islamic leaders at the opening of the fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta on Monday. The other leaders are (from left to right) WIEF chairman Tun Musa Hitam, United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheik Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, (Yudhoyono), Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Qatar Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Organization of Islamic (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and the fifth WIEF organizing committee chairman Sofyan Djalil. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

Muslim nations need to forge closer ties to meet challenges posed by the global financial crisis, Indonesia's president said Monday at the opening of the annual World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta. 

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed creating a Muslim support fund, noting that Islamic nations account for nearly half of the 50 leas-developed and heavily indebted countries in the world. 

He also said oil-exporting countries should help cushion the economic blow for developing countries by investing more in their agricultural sectors. 

"Muslim countries with vast reserves but without a real agricultural sector can come to the rescue," he told the delegates. "And since they are food importers, they will also be securing their own food supply needs." 

Yudhoyono said the financial crisis also opened up new opportunities for Islamic banks in oil-exporting countries, noting that they have not been as severely affected as their Western counterparts because they did not invest in "toxic" assets or in leveraged funds. 

Yudhoyono also touched on climate change, energy security and food shortages. 

This is the fifth meeting of the World Islamic Economic Forum. This year nearly 1,600 participants from 36 countries - including the leaders of Malaysia and Morocco, as well as senior government ministers and corporate leaders - are attending the three-day event.

Fifth World Islamic Economic Forum kicks off in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 03/02/2009 10:41 AM
 

 Business class: Business leaders share a moment before a signing an MoU for future cooperation, on the sidelines of the fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta on Monday. The leaders are (from left to right) Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital CEO Robert J. Genise, Garuda Indonesia president director Emirsyah Satar, Utama Pos Indonesia deputy president director Ketut Marjana, Bank Muamalat Indonesia president director Riawan Amin and The Islamic Payment System Sdn. Berhad managing director Shahzad Kader Sultan. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama
 

Hundreds of delegates from around the world attended the fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Jakarta on Monday. 

The two-day international conference was officially opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and WIEF committee chairman cum State Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan Djalil. 

"This forum is aimed at increasing cooperation and understanding between participants," Djalil said, as reported by kompas.com. 

Sofyan added that the forum seeks to raise some US$3 billion in investments. 

Kompas.com also reported that 1,557 people, including 1,395 delegates, 85 speakers and 70 heads of state from 38 countries were present. (amr)