Education, BBM and a President

What is the relation between education, BBM (fuel) and the president of the Republic of Indonesia?

The answer are goodwill and politics. This year, education budget (for 2009) and fuel price increase are among the key decisions made by our President. While people hated the fuel price increase, now people are happy with the eduction budget increase.

However there are few people and politicians who are not convinced and skeptical about the eduction budget increase in APBN 2009. Some says that is only a political move or early campaign to pre-emp the general election in 2009.

Let me share my opinion. Every government decisions is always a political decisions. The key question is whether that decision is made for the benefit of all people in Indonesia or for just his/her political party? As long as his/her decision is for the benefit of all Indonesians, I don't care what the oppositions say.

I think it is very cowardly act for any president to deliberately delay the fuel price increase until the next general election despite the actual economics condition. It is not just he/she tries to fool people to keep voting for him/her, but also in case he/she is not re-elected, then he/she will leave a time bomb for the new president. So that when the new president later on have to increase the fuel price, his/her party can blame or discredit the new government.

Therefore, please be very careful if you hear the Oppositions discredit current government of increasing the fuel price, because this is an unfavorable condition that not only happens in Indonesia. Most rich countries in the world also increase their fuel price. I don't think the Oppositions are able to avoid the price increase as well.

This is when education plays an important role in the society. Is the ability to make up our mind and not easily fooled by politicians.

Thanks Pak SBY!

There was something that made me happy when I read the newspaper this Saturday morning. I saw the headlines, finally the Indonesian government has decided to allocate 20% of their 2009 budget (APBN) for education!

For 2009, the government has expected income of Rp 1022.6 trillion, while plans to spend Rp 1122,2 trillion, which Rp 224 trillion will be allocated to rehabilitate schools, improve their facilities, improve the welfare of teachers, lecturers, and scholarships. The minimum wage of a school teacher is expected to be Rp 2 million/month and above. Unfortunately, we still have a deficit of Rp 99.6 trillion which we have to get it from overseas loan.

Nonetheless, we are heading the right direction. Education is a long term investment which previous government failed to realise. We will not see the result in the next 2-3 years, we (read: Indonesia) will only start to receive the benefit in the next 10 years.

Education will improve the quality of all aspect in our life. It will improve the quality of individual, community and the whole population. It will reduce unemployment that in return will reduce the crime rate, hence our neighborhood will be a lot safer. Education will reduce our dependency from foreign experts, so Indonesia will not be dictate by other countries. Education can make our city cleaner, because educated people will litter or not throw out rubbish from their car. Education will make our street safer, because educated people do not violate traffic rule.

Again, thanks pak SBY for making education a top priority in this country!

Dirgahayu Kemerdekaan RI ke 63, Jayalah Indonesiaku!

I Did It My (Bus) Way Too...

Have you ever tried to get into a busway during rush hour (5.30 - 7.30pm)? Especially the outbound route, it's just like a can of sardines. The good thing about busway is that when it's full, unlike the regular buses, you cannot force your way to get in.

My route is Kuningan-Ragunan and I usually try to catch the bus between 6-7pm. Most of the time, I have to wait for 2-3 bus to pass by before I can get a slot to get in. One day, I got quite frustrated, I have waited for more than 30mins but the buses were always full.

Ironically, the inbound buses were almost empty you can play tennis inside. Then I got this crazy weird idea, how if I just took the inbound route and eventually go back to my original route. I know it's a circular route and an unlimited ride as long as I don't go out of the shelter. I don't mind take a longer route as long as I get a seat.

Everything was fine, I got a seat, I thought I was smart, I thought I will be seating comfortably all the way home. Until I reach the Halimun interchange, suddenly the conductor inspecting the ticket. Everybody who came from inbound route must get out the bus and take a queue to re-enter the outbound route! And the queue at the Halimun interchange was the worst of all. The queue line was extended until outside of the shelter. People were lined up from the ramp out side.

Even though I finally can enter my bus few minutes later, this is one of the stupid experience I will never forget!

I Did It My (Bus) Way

Nowadays, it is very difficult for me to go to and out from my new office in Gatot Subroto, Jakarta. The three-in-one rules that applied twice a day, make it impossible for me to drive alone to my office during 3in1 period unless I take a detour via Kuningan and queue up with hundreds of other cars on the small alleys that lead to my office back entry.

That's why I often ride the bus on the way back home. My friend who has stopped bringing his car to work since the Kuningan Busway operates, told me these tips :

a. Take Kopaja 66 from Gatot Subroto to Kuningan intersection, pay Rp 2500
b. Go to Kuningan Busway shelter, just 50m from the intersection and take the Ragunan lane, pay Rp 3500
c. Get off at Dep Pertanian, Ragunan and transfer to another public transport

Point a and b works fine except few minor problems :
1. The Busway buses are always full during the rush hour (17.30-19.30)
2. My home is still 25 min drive from Dep Pertanian

Several solutions for point 2 are :
a. Take a taxi, it cost me around Rp 30,000
b. Take a city transport (Angkot maksudnya) S61, Rp 2000 get off at Pondok Labu, but it's also still 7 min drive to my home
c. Take Kopaja 20, get off at Poin Square Rp 2500, but it's still 15 min drive to my home

I once tried a stupid solution "c" and take a taxi from there. The taxi almost cost Rp 25,000 because the traffic at Ps Jumat intersection was a nightmare. This is a total screw up.

Total cost :
1. If I take taxi directly from my office, approx Rp 50,000
2. If I take Kopaja + Busway + Taxi, Rp 36,000
3. If I take Kopaja + Busway + Kopaja + Taxi, Rp 33,500
4. If I drive my own car, wait until 3in1 is over, 14km, max 2liter premium, Rp 12,000

My conclusion, until I solve the problem on point 2 in paragraph 4 above, then driving my own car will be the cheapest mode of transport.

Note :
a. 3in1 periods are 6.30-10am and 5-7pm
b. The official name of the bus that runs on busway is Trans Jakarta. Busway is actually the name of the special lane which the bus is driven on