Syed Abdul Rahim: The Indian Ferguson

Great managers are a rare breed in football. Nowadays, if a manager has a good season, he is considered as the next big thing in football. But, if, and when, he slips away into footballing mediocrity, people forget the man they considered the answer to all their problems just a year ago.

In a country where cricketers are given demi-god status, very few athletes from other sports manage to break the norm and be remembered forever. Hockey magician Dhyan Chand and the Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh are two examples out of a very small bunch to enjoy this legendary status. Football, however, has failed to produce an Indian who is counted in the same breath as Sachin Tendulkar is by the cricket fans.

As hard as it is to believe, there was a time when India were considered a force to be reckoned with in football. Some people, who claim to be "in the know", will tell you Indian Football died the day we were refused entry into the 1950 World Cup because the team wasn't comfortable playing football in shoes while others will come up with an explanation that the travelling cost to Brazil was considered too immense by the football federation.

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What they (the people in the know) will not tell you is that the most successful team India ever produced was active after the 1950 World Cup. India ruled Asian football for almost two decades under the leadership of just one man, Syed Abdul Rahim. Born in 1909 in Hyderabad, Rahim was a school teacher who changed the way India approached the game of football.

Having been under British rule for more than 200 years, football in India was influenced by the British style of football that mostly revolved around dribbling the ball. Rahim introduced the concept of passing the ball more and ambidexterity while playing. He used to organise football tournaments for youngsters to play futsal where the colts could harness their skills and techniques.

The start

A strict disciplinarian by nature, Rahim commanded respect and diligence from his players and the players responded to his approach to such a level that Jamal and Noor Mohammad played a match for him on the day after their mother passed away. Known as a motivational speaker, Rahim could pick up his team from a heavy defeat and make them achieve incredible things in the very next match.

He was handed the reins of the Indian National team in 1950 along with the responsibilities of managing the Hyderabad City Police team as well. With the Hyderabad club, Rahim won five consecutive Rovers Cups which remains a record to this day. He also reached five Durand Cup finals with the team winning three of them.

In the Hyderabad team, there were players who played five years for him without missing a single game. The ever-present Noor Mohammad recalling the training session years later said, "Often at practice we had just one football and for refreshments afterwards just a cup of tea but our hard practice, a will to succeed and excellent coaching from the late Rahim Saheb enabled us to become a successful team".

With the national team, Rahim's first major assignment came at home when India hosted the 1951 Asian Games. Being at home, a lot was expected from the team and they didn't disappoint. Riding on Sahu Mewalal's three goals in two matches, India made it to the finals with consummate ease without conceding a single goal.

India met Iran in the final, who had prominent players such as Masoud Boroumand and Parviz Koozehkanani, who later went on to represent Washington University Bears and Bayer Leverkusen respectively. India dominated the final winning the game 1-0, with the man of the tournament Mewalal coming up with yet another winner.

Rahim's team, then, travelled to Finland to take part in the 1952 Olympic games. India suffered a 10-1 defeat at the hands of eventual runner-ups Yugoslavia. The fallout due to the result was incredible as many of the Indian players played without boots. The AIFF released a statement that players would have to wear boots while playing for the country.

1954 Asian Games and the 1960 Olympics

After a disappointing result in the 1954 Asian Games, where India were knocked out in the group stage, India headed Down Under to the participate in the 1956 Olympics where they would face some of the best teams in the world. Their first match was scheduled against arguably the best team in the world at the time, Hungary. The Hungarians boasted of players such as Sandor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskas, but due to the Hungarian Revolution, India were given a walk-over in the first match.

Next up was the home team – Australia. India started the game in style with Neville D'Souza shocking the home crowd with a goal in the ninth minute. But Australia were not going to let the Indians steamroll them into submission and when Bruce Morrow scored eight minutes later, the Indian contingent knew they had a game on their hands.

India took the lead again with D'Souza scoring again in the 33rd minute, but Morrow restored parity eight minutes later. Within five minutes of the restart, D'Souza completed his hat-trick and with Krishna Kittu's goal in the 80th minute, the Australian resilience was finally laid to rest.

India faced Yugoslavia next in the semi-finals. After a very competitive first half, both teams headed into the break with the scores level at 0-0. In the second half, India shocked their illustrious opponents by taking the lead through the man of the moment Neville D'Souza. But, it took Yugoslavia just 5 minutes to take the lead and they made India chase the ball for the final half an hour, during which they scored 2 more goals to make the scoreline 4-1 in their favour.

In the 1958 Asian Games, Rahim did not manage the squad but returned for the following international tournament. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, India were placed in the group of death with Hungary, France and Peru. They started the competition against the mighty Hungary, losing the game 2-1 with Tulsidas Balaram scoring the consolation goal in the 79th minute. Despite the loss, this result added credibility to India as the Hungarians beat Peru and France 6-2 and 7-0, respectively.

France offered a different type of threat to the one offered by the Hungarians in the first match. The French had finished third in the 1958 World Cup and had already beaten Peru in the first group game and needed a win to keep up with Hungary. India played one of the greatest games in their history picking up their first points in the Olympics drawing 1-1 after leading till the 80th minute of the match. The draw ended India's chance of qualifying for the next round, but they were praised by the media for their gritty performances.

The 1962 Glory

Having outperformed themselves at the Rome Olympics, India were one of the favourites to win the gold at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. According to Franco Fortunato, Rahim setup a two-month preparatory camp in Hyderabad. India started the campaign with a 2-0 loss to South Korea, who had won the inaugural Asian Cup in 1954. But under the expert guidance of Rahim, India shrugged off any dark memories of the loss, with a dominating 2-0 win over Japan in the very next game.

After an even first half, where the game was tied 0-0, Rahim gave one his most inspirational team talk. As the team walked out for the second half Rahim spotted PK Banerjee vomiting in a corner. The legendary manager walked upto him asking him what was wrong. On hearing Banerjee was not feeling well, Rahim, instead of consoling him, started shouting at him for not informing the management he was unwell before the game had started. He told Banerjee to "go out and play at the top of his game".

Needless to say, Rahim's talk inspired Banerjee, who broke the deadlock within five minutes and when Balaram scored the second, Japan knew their time was up.

In the final group game, India thrashed Thailand 4-1 with Chuni Goswami and Tulsidas Balaram scoring a goal each while PK Banerjee scored a brace. India were pitted with South Vietnam, who had scored eight goals in two matches after a surprise loss to Indonesia in the first match, in the semi-final.

In the big game, India thrived with a double from Chuni Goswami and a Jarnail Singh goal earning the Indian contingent a place in the finals where they would square off with the South Korea. The victory, however, came at a cost with Jarnail Singh picking up a head injury during the match.

The FINAL

Due to various political reasons and with the final being held at the end of the Games, most of the Indian athletes had flown back and the Indian football team found itself without many fans for the gold medal match. However, as Novy Kapadia recalls, India found an unlikely ally in the form of the Pakistan hockey team.

The final was where Rahim showcased his brilliance, playing the injured Jarnail Singh as a striker. According to PK Banerjee, Jarnail used to play as a centre-forward in his college days and Rahim's research helped the team surprise the Koreans.

PK Banerjee handed India the lead in the 17th minute before Jarnail added gravitas to Rahim's decision by putting India 2-0 ahead before half time. The South Koreans, backed by the crowd lay siege on the Indian goal, but the defence stood firm. Even though the Koreans scored late in the second half, India went on to win the Asian Games gold, which to this remains the greatest achievement by the Indian football team.

As the story goes, the entire team was unable to sleep the night before the final. As the team gathered in the hotel, they saw Rahim, who had been diagnosed with cancer, smoking a cigarette. The entire team along with Rahim strolled the streets of Jakarta and before coming back he just said, "Kal aap logon se mujhe ek tohfa chahiye....kal aap sona jitlo," which loosely translates to, "I want a gift from you tomorrow....the gold medal."

He sadly passed away a year later and according to his player Franco Fortunato, "With him (Rahim), I personally think he has taken (Indian) football to the grave."

Rahim's vision

Rahim was a revolutionary and had the rare gift of far-sightedness. He changed the British long-ball football and played to his players' strengths by training them to play shorter passes and making sure they were in the pink of health to play that style. Unfortunately, over 50 years later, India continues to play the style of football Rahim had worked so hard to change.

He was one of the first people to play the 4-2-4, a system that the great Brazil sides of 1958 and 1962 used during their World Cup triumphs. In 1964, Alberto Fernando famously said, "What I learnt from Rahim in 1956 is being taught now in Brazil. Verily, he was a football prophet." 

It wasn't that Rahim was a one-trick pony, the futuristic manager, frequently, used a system where the team would play without a striker, a system that was similar to the 'False 9', used by Spain to great success in the 2012 European Championships. Talking about the system, Rahim's son Syed Shahid Hakim said, "Critics talk about the Spanish playing with six midfielders and no forward. Rahim, in those days, had a withdrawn forward that was flexible. No country in the world had even attempted that formation then."

Legacy

"He was a master at work. He made the Indian football team a formidable unit. He had the uncanny ability of spotting talent and turning them into solid players. But he was a strict disciplinarian," according to Zulfiqaruddin, who was coached by the legendary coach.

Balaram, one of the greatest players India has produced, commemorates Rahim as a great strategist stating, "There were no computers then, but Rahim Sahib was a genius. His mind worked faster than a computer. With simple observations, he would plan his strategies." 

Asian Games winning captain, Subimal Goswami recalling Rahim said, "He was a visionary. He had tremendous intelligence and knew could read the players and he knew which player was good for which position."

This article is aimed at informing people about the great man, who did his best to change Indian football. 60 years have passed since his sad demise, but his contribution to Indian football remains unparalleled.

Source: Syed Abdul Rahim: The Indian Ferguson

At a center in Indonesia, macaque monkeys are readied for a return to the wild

I never thought jet lag could induce hallucinations, but after I flew four time zones past the international date line, snagged a 90-minute nap in Jakarta and endured a six-hour van ride, I had to wonder whether the sedated monkey getting its belly shaved in front of me was a dream.

It wasn't.

Here at the Cikananga Wildlife Center, a wooded area about 200 miles southeast of Jakarta, 18 rescued female macaques were being prepped for sterilization surgery, a critical first step in their lengthy rehabilitation process.

Their stories varied, but these creatures were all victims of Indonesia's animal pet trade, forced to perform as dancing monkeys, or topeng monyet, on the streets of Jakarta, the capital.

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Cikananga was the first stop in December on a week-long trip to Indonesia that would also take me to the island of Bor neo. My spouse, a veterinarian, worked for a surgical instrument manufacturer that provided the specialized tools required for these operations. Travelers can volunteer at Cikananga (for a fee of $185 a week, including food and lodging) for as little as one week, assisting in medical treatments, feeding, observing behaviors, cleaning cages and other tasks.

Thanks to a five-year campaign by the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, animal acts have been outlawed in the city since 2013. (The organization now is seeking a national ban.)

"This is a huge step forward toward better animal welfare in Indonesia," said JAAN co-founder Femke den Haas. But because JAAN had no rescue center of its own, the animals had to go somewhere, which is how they ended up in Cikananga.

To help with the medical treatments, Den Haas turned to International Animal Rescue Indonesia, a nonprofit launched in 2006.

Four-year-old Josha, dressed in an army outfit, used to spend her days begging for money so her owner could collect a few rupiah from passersby. When she was rescued in March 2013, her thumbs were missing and her waist had scar tissue from a chain she'd been tethered to.

Besides Josha's physical abuse, consider that she and other macaques had been taken from their families and deprived of the freedom of the forest where they belong.

Working as if on an assembly line, wildlife veterinarian Paolo Martelli, assisted by Karmele Llano Sanchez, a veterinarian originally from Bilbao, Spain, and IAR Indonesia's program director, performed tubectomies to keep these primates, which are not endangered, from reproducing.

"Finding release sites is quite difficult, plus the [sites'] … capacity is often limited," said Martelli, the chief veterinarian at Ocean Park, an oceanarium and marine mammal park in Hong Kong.

But first the macaques must learn to forage for food and avoid predators.

And, Sanchez said, they must be socialized into groups to mimic how they would live in nature. Once that's accomplished, they'll be sent to Penjaliran off western Java, "a beautiful island with a really nice forest," Sanchez said.

::

If you go

THE BEST WAY TO JAKARTA, INDONESIA

From LAX, connecting service (change of plane) is offered on All Nippon, JAL, Cathay Pacific, China, Singapore, Eva, China Eastern, Philippine, Cathay, Delta, Thai, usually connecting to Indonesian airline Garuda. Restricted round-trip fares, including taxes and fees, begin at $878.

TELEPHONES

To call the numbers below from the U.S. dial 011 (the international dialing code), 62 (the country code for Indonesia) and the local number.

WHERE TO STAY

Sheraton Bandara Hotel, Bandara Soekarno-Hatta, Jakarta; 21-559-7777, www.sheratonbandara.com. Though it could be classified as an airport hotel — it's less than two miles from Soekarno-Hatta International Airp ort — the 225-room luxury resort has three restaurants, a fitness center and tropical garden. Doubles from $150.

Kosenda Hotel, No. 127 Jl, KH Wahid Hasyim, Jakarta; 21-3193-6868, www.kosendhotel.com. Great location in the Thamrin area of the city with easy access to major shopping and entertainment. Features 60 rooms and a rooftop lounge. Doubles begin at $200 and up a night.

WHERE TO EAT

Sambal Tapas Outdoor Bar & Lounge, Sheraton Bandara. Small plates, cocktails and live music. Open 11-2 a.m.

Linjani Restaurant (at the Sheraton) is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Serves an extensive selection of Indonesian and international cuisine, buffet-style or a la carte with decadent desserts.

Waha Kitchen, Kosenda Hotel, www.wahakitchen.com. Open 24 hours. "Modern Asian cuisine," with breakfast favorites and dinner choices such as Waha fried rice with chicken and prawns.

TO LEARN MORE

Cikananga Wildlife Center, www.cikanangawildlifece nter.com/?page_id=40

International Animal Rescue Indonesia, www.thegreatprojects.com/indonesia

travel@latimes.com

Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times
Source: At a center in Indonesia, macaque monkeys are readied for a return to the wild

Ariana Grande Provides Performance In Jakarta, Supervisor Makes an attempt Injury Control. Las Vegas Blog

Reported From Area 51.

Ariana Grande put on another spectacular show, in what the Jakarta Post is looking an "impeccable performance." Grande appears to be joining the ranks of Britney, Christina, & Miley as she sheds her little girl appearances & calls for the world see her as the lady in that she is grow to be. Ariana's performance in Indonesia this past Wed. was just another stop on her Honeymoon Tour. Previously, Ariana was in Manila where the Inquisitr reports she brought the home down. It's no shock in that Grande's show in Jakarta had the same response. With her current scandal involving doughnuts, plainly Ariana & her supervisor are trying some injury control. Billboard reports in that Grande's supervisor, Scooter Braun, who's extensively referred to as Justin Beiber's supervisor, just lately mentioned the pop diva on Larry King's Ora.television show. "Ariana is one the nicest people I've ever met & really just so charming. The- celebrity came so quickly lat ely and she or he was not used to it and she or he struggled 'cause she does not like all of the cameras. …

Read more on this matter…Ariana Grande Gives Performance In Jakarta, Manager Attempts Damage Control

Source: Ariana Grande Provides Performance In Jakarta, Supervisor Makes an attempt Injury Control. Las Vegas Blog

Racing to beat China, Abe sweetens bid for Indonesia rail project

Politics Aug. 28, 2015 - 06:53AM JST ( )

JAKARTA —

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent an envoy to Indonesia to offer a sweeter deal to build a high-speed railway, a Japanese embassy official said on Thursday, highlighting the importance of the multi-billion dollar project that China also wants to win.

The two Asian giants are in a neck-and-neck contest to win a contract to build Indonesia's first high-speed rail, between the capital Jakarta and textile hub Bandung, a project that would bolster their influence in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Japan and China have until Aug 31 to submit their best offers to Jakarta.

"Prime Minister Abe decided this project is very politically important so he dispatched a special envoy to meet President Joko Widodo again," Yoshiko Kijima, attache for economic affairs at the Japanese embassy in Jakarta, told Reuters.

Japanese envoy Izumi Hiroto submitted the fresh proposal to the president late on Wednesday, the second such revision since China sweetened its bid on Aug 11.

Japan is offering a 40-year loan at an interest rate of 0.1% with a 10-year grace period. The latest proposal also offers Japanese government guarantees on financing and increases the percentage of local content.

China has also mounted a high-profile campaign to win the deal, offering a loan of $5.5 billion with a 50-year tenure, an interest rate of 2% and a grace period, as of Aug 14.

Indonesia has hired Boston Consulting Group to evaluate the two proposals and is set to announce a winner soon.

The contest has put Indonesia in a diplomatic bind, a government official said.

"There is definitely a feeling in government that this is a tricky one because both China and Japan are important trading partners and they don't want to upset one or the other," said one government source with knowledge of the matter.

Kijima, who attended Wednesday's meeting with the Indonesian president, said Hiroto had made an "emotional" presentation of the latest offer.

"The high-speed rail is a symbol of national pride and development in Japan and it will come as a shock to Japan and its people if the project goes to China," Kijima said.

She said business relations between Japan and Indonesia were expected to be normal regardless of the outcome.

Japan competes with Singapore as Indonesia's top investor in Indonesia, while China is the Southeast Asian nation's biggest trading partner.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015.

Source: Racing to beat China, Abe sweetens bid for Indonesia rail project

ZTE Supports Smartfren Launch 4G LTE-Advanced Service in Indonesia

New 4G LTE-Advanced network covers 22 major cities nationwide 22 cities as Smartfren becomes first Indonesian carrier to operate both hybrid TDD/FDD LTE and CDMA networks

Illustration. (Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

JAKARTA, Indonesia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, is pleased to help PT Smartfren Telecom launch 4G LTE-Advanced network in Indonesia, giving users access to the highest-performance mobile broadband services.

"We are glad to partner with Smartfren to roll out their 4G LTE Advanced network in Indonesia"

The new 4G LTE-Advanced, which supports both the FDD-LTE and TDD-LTE standards, was launched commercially by Smartfren in Jakarta on 19 August, and coverage areas already include the 22 major cities of Indonesia. The new network deploys ZTE's market-leading 4G LTE solutions including eNB (evolved node B), Cloud Radio and eHRPD to deliver the best user experience to subscribers.

"The nationwide launch of our 4G LTE-Advanced service follows successful trials and the June launch of our Andromax range of LTE Smartphone and portable WiFi devices. We believe that 4G LTE-Advanced technology will open many opportunities for our customers and further accelerate the Information and Communication Technology Industry as a backbone for Indonesian economic growth. 4G LTE-Advanced will enable our customers to enjoy improved multimedia streaming, online games, cloud storage and video conferencing. Smartfren is committed to bring the best of 4G LTE technology to Indonesia to deliver not only higher speeds but a more stable and reliable 4G LTE experience," said Smartfren Chief Executive Officer Paul Hodges.

"Smartfren just launched the widest LTE Advanced Service in Indonesia. We leverage both TDD and FDD technologies to get best of both technologies: high capacity and throughput on TDD at 2300 MHz and large coverage with FDD at 850 Mhz. With this combination, we can offer the best broadband experience. We have chosen ZTE for this deployment due to our long time relationship and their leadership with TDD networks," said Smartfren Chief Technology Officer Christian Daigneault.

"We are glad to partner with Smartfren to roll out their 4G LTE Advanced network in Indonesia," said Shi Lirong, President of ZTE Corporation, "We are fully committed to delivering a state-of-the-art LTE ecosystem, which will help Smartfren offer the best mobile broadband services to their customers. This alliance has allowed ZTE to further cement our position as the partner of choice for telecom operators in the country in developing and maintaining their LTE ecosystem. This partnership also fits into our long term vision of developing a sustainable LTE network in Indonesia."

With ZTE's powerful Universal Subscriber Profile Platform (USPP), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), and Online Charging System (OCS) products, the core NEs of both CDMA and LTE networks are highly integrated to provide a unified user database and policy control and charging policies, allowing the LTE network to be deployed rapidly, facilitating maintenance and operation of 3G and 4G networks in the future, and lowering operational costs. Smartfren can take advantage of the sophisticated OCS system to launch flexible tariff packages in the market to attract upscale users with an urgent need for mobile broadband services.

By the end of June, ZTE has concluded 185 4G LTE/EPC commercial contracts globally, partnering with the world's biggest operators including Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, China Telecom, Hutchison, Softbank, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Vodafone, VimpelCom, MTN and Telefonica.

About ZTE

ZTE is a provider of advanced telecommunications systems, mobile devices, and enterprise technology solutions to consumers, carriers, companies and public sector customers. As part of ZTE's M-ICT strategy, the company is committed to provide customers with integrated end-to-end innovations to deliver excellence and value as the telecommunications and information technology sectors converge. Listed in the stock exchanges of Hong Kong and Shenzhen (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), ZTE's products and services are sold to over 500 operators in more than 160 countries. ZTE commits 10 per cent of its annual revenue to research and development and has leadership roles in international standard-setting organizations. ZTE is committed to corporate social responsibility and is a member of the UN Global Compact. For more information, please visit www.zte.com.cn.

About PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk.

PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk (IDX:FREN) is one of Indonesia's premier telecommunications service providers. Commencing operations in 2002, Smartfren was the first mobile operator in the world to launch CDMA EV-DO Rev.B technology in 2011. Smartfren meets the needs of Indonesian consumers offering a wide range of mobile products including voice and data services, enterprise solutions and other Value Added Services. At Q2 2015, Smartfren's customer base was 11.9M. In Q3 2015, Smartfren launched the first nationwide 4G LTE-Advanced service, providing customers with the widest 4G LTE network coverage in Indonesia.

Smartfren is a member of Sinarmas. Further information can be found at www.smartfren.com

LTE-Advanced is a mobile communications standard and a major enhancement of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). One of the main enhancements of LTE-Advanced is Carrier Aggregation which is the capability to aggregate two or more radio channels to obtain faster speeds.

Source: ZTE Supports Smartfren Launch 4G LTE-Advanced Service in Indonesia

Ohio zoo sending endangered rhino to Indonesia to mate

An Ohio zoo that has the last Sumatran rhino in the United States announced plans Tuesday to send him to Southeast Asia on a mission to mate and help preserve his critically endangered species.

Conservation experts at the Cincinnati Zoo say 8-year-old Harapan could be on his way within several weeks to Indonesia, where nearly all the estimated 100 remaining Sumatran rhinos live. Numbers of the two-horned descendants of Ice Age wooly rhinos have fallen by some 90 percent since the mid-1980s as development of their Southeast Asia forest habitat and poachers seeking their prized horns took their toll.

Cincinnati's zoo has been a pioneer in breeding the species, also called "hairy rhinos," producing the first three born in captivity in modern times. Harapan will join the eldest, Andalas, who has been in Indonesia since 2007 and has produced one male offspring. Andalas will turn 14 next month.

"We are very sad about the (Sumatran rhino) program coming to an end here in Cincinnati," said Terri Roth, the longtime head of the zoo's Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife. "It's a huge loss for us. But it's the right thing, to at least have Harapan able to contribute to survival of the species."

She said Harapan is not only the last Sumatran rhino in the Western Hemisphere but also the last one regularly available for public viewing.

Roth said final details and permits are still being worked out so the transfer timetable is uncertain. It's expected Harapan will be flown to Jakarta, then taken by ferry to his ancestral island home of Sumatra.

Rhino preservation officials in Indonesia weren't immediately available for comment Tuesday because of the time difference.

Veteran zoo rhino keeper Paul Reinhart will accompany Harapan. He and others will work with Harapan, who already has traveled across the U.S., to condition him to being in a crate for the long flight.

Harapan and Andalas' sister, Suci, died from illness last year at the zoo after the Cincinnati conservationists discussed trying to mate the siblings in a desperation move. Harapan was brought back to Cincinnati two years ago after being on loan to the Los Angeles Zoo. He also spent time in Florida's White Oak conservation center.

He will join Andalas at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, where he lives with three females and his one male offspring, born in 2012, on the Indonesia island. With three Sumatran rhinos in a sanctuary in Malaysia and Harapan, there are only nine in captivity globally. Some scientists recently concluded that there are no more Sumatran rhinos living in the wild in Malaysia.

Conservationists and government officials met in Singapore in 2013 for a Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit to discuss increasing action to protect the species.

Environment ministry officials in South Africa, home to most of the world's remaining rhinos overall, reported a total of 393 rhino poachings through April, an increase of more than 20 percent over the same period in 2014. Rhino advocates said recently they believe the losses are even higher.

South Africa has struggled to counter poaching syndicates cashing in on high demand for rhino horns in parts of Asia where some people claim they have medicinal properties for treating such maladies as hangovers and cancer.

Source: Ohio zoo sending endangered rhino to Indonesia to mate

Singapore at 50: Population Pressure and the War for Talent

Story Highlights

Singapore's GDP growth has averaged 6.8% annually since 1976

Political pressure mounts against further population growth

Only 9% of Singapore's workforce is engaged

As Singapore nears its 50th anniversary, the city-state faces intense global competition for talent.

Singapore comes to this competition -- not to mention to its half-century mark -- in a seemingly strong position. The city-state's GDP growth has averaged 6.8% annually since 1976, and the country's financial reserves -- though they are kept deliberately vague -- don't appear to be in danger of drying up soon. Though the country's population has more than doubled from just over 2 million in 1970 to 5.47 million in 2014, its unemployment is 2%, and the economy is virtually at full employment.

Singapore's national well-being is the highest it has been since the global financial downturn: 43% of respondents in 2014 rated their lives highly enough to be considered "thriving," while only 1% of respondents rated their lives poorly enough to be considered "suffering."

This impressive developmental trajectory is hard for a country to top, but many of Singapore's global competitors are cities. Hong Kong has long been seen as a rival for pole position as a financial hub in Asia, and with "megacities" -- cities with more than 10 million in population -- on the rise, the list of Singapore's potential rivals expands. From 1950 to 1960, 60% of the growth of megacities was in the developing world; between 2000 and 2010, the developing world accounted for 90%. The fastest-growing megacities include two in Singapore's own backyard in Southeast Asia: Bangkok in Thailand, and Jakarta in Indonesia.

Competition Among Megacities Intensifies Battle for Talent

The pace of growth in these megacities has intensified competition for many of the elements that Singapore has relied on to grow -- most worrying being the previously mentioned competition for talent. Singapore has long aimed to be the "home for talent" in Asia. In 1970, 97% of the country's population were residents; in 2014, just over 70% were.

Much of the influx in nonresidents was driven by foreign talent, or expatriates with experience or expertise locals lack. Now, as domestic political pressure mounts against further population growth, while existing infrastructure cannot accommodate the pace of population expansion, other growing megacities seem more attractive as alternatives to Singapore. Because of these factors, recruiting a steady supply of foreign talent may no longer be a sustainable strategy to meet Singapore's talent needs.

In Singapore's growing technology sector, for example, a recent report ranked the city-state last among 20 startup-friendly cities for access to talent, taking 21% longer to hire a software engineer than in Silicon Valley, California. Singapore also ranks as one of the world's most expensive cities, so even with its relatively low personal income tax rates, employment in the country might not be as enticing as it used to be for foreigners. In the short and medium run, Singapore must improve the political feasibility of importing foreign talent, attract and retain the right talent, and enhance the productivity of the talent it has to stay ahead of its competitor megacities.

Reversing a long-term decline in labor productivity will require exploring new solutions. Though productivity grew at an annual rate of 5.2% in the 1980s, this figure fell to 1.8% in the 2000s. The quality of the country's resident labor pool is very high: The literacy rate among residents is a 96.7%, while almost 26% of residents 25 years and older are university graduates.

Only 9% of Singapore's Workforce Is Engaged

Ensuring that the labor pool is productive may be a challenge: According to Gallup's 2013 State of the Global Workplace study, only 9% of Singapore's workforce is engaged, while 91% are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and less likely to be productive. Gallup researchers have conducted eight meta-analytic studies over 15 years, and each time have observed a strong relationship between employee engagement and productivity. In the most recent study, workgroups with high levels of engagement are 21% more productive than workgroups with low levels of engagement.

Gallup studies also suggest that only three in 10 people have the naturally recurring thought patterns to manage individuals for performance excellence, increasing workers' productivity. Choosing the right people to be managers and leaders and investing in the development they need to excel could hold the key to unlocking the national push for higher productivity. Small- and medium-sized enterprises employ about 70% of Singapore's workforce, so finding and deploying a scalable, cost-effective solution for these organizations to select, engage and develop high-performing talent could help the country improve its competitive position in the global war for talent while improving the productivity of the talent it already has.

A growing body of research suggests that optimizing the workplace yields strong productivity gains at a high return on investment. Engaged employees currently make up only 9% of Singapore's workforce, so increasing this percentage could offer at least as high a return on investment as a technological or process improvement. If workplaces in Singapore can harness their people's potential, just imagine what could be in store for the country in the next 50 years.

A version of this article appeared in The Business Times.

Leong Chee Tung is Manager, Singapore and Southeast Asia, at Gallup. He is based in Gallup's Singapore office.

Source: Singapore at 50: Population Pressure and the War for Talent

You can be World No 1 and still be aware that there’s everything left to do: Saina Nehwal

Written by Shivani Naik | Mumbai | Published:August 24, 2015 1:35 am Saina Nehwal rates her win over Wang Yihan at the World Championships higher than her victory over the same opponent at the All England earlier this year. (Source: PTI)

A week after she bagged the silver medal at the World Championships, Saina Nehwal looks back at the gloom that surrounded her last year and what all went into beating arch enemy Yihan Wang and crossing the World Championships quarterfinal hurdle at Jakarta. The world No 1 is also confident that she'll come back stronger with answers to the challenge that Carolina Marin poses. Excerpts from an interview.

Quarterfinals of the World Championship (a threshold Saina Nehwal had never crossed before) against Yihan Wang (a player who had always beaten her soundly). How was Jakarta different from previous times?

I'd lost so many times in the quarters of the World Championships that it was not just relief but a huge thrill to overcome that jinx. The last few times I had lost to Yihan Wang, I had made small but crucial errors in the last few points. But this time at the same stage, I had a few extraordinary rallies. At the All England, she'd not been moving well, so I won't count that win as major. But here it was a bigger challenge as she was picking shuttles and retrieving everything. I just had to prolong the rallies. She had pulled out the second set, and it wasn't easy at all being two points down at 16-18 in the decider. But I stayed relaxed. I usually rush at this stage and mess up, but I was very calm this time. I kept moving her around and could play the big shots at the crucial juncture which I'd never managed earlier.

Tell us about how you got into a rut in Hyderabad.

It's been very tough. My coaches, parents have put in a lot of effort, too, before making this happen. Thing is I started performing early, getting results at the international level at age 15-16. Hyderabad was a good place to take me from an OK level to a good level. But I wasn't going beyond good, that was not happening. I would win three tournaments in a row and then lose badly in the next few. I wasn't winning regularly enough. 2010 was good, '11 not, '12 was, but '13 not. In 2013, I'd been struggling against all sorts of players.

Why did you find it to be such an urgent need to leave Hyderabad?

I understand it is very tough for Gopi Sir to give attention to many players. But I was World No 2 and I needed someone who could push me to World No 1. After Olympics, people had started criticising me, and fellow sportsmen had started doubting my ability and motivation. My performances were not good and I understand why there were questions in everyone's minds. I wasn't feeling right about the situation and my game wasn't improving. I went to the Uber Cup where Vimal Sir's tips helped me, but then the next three weeks in Hyderabad again I felt my game was stagnating. He helped me again at the Australian Open. I'd lose to Xuerui Li (Olympic champ) again. Thing is I wanted to at least give a fight, take it to three games. At the World Championships, my movements were weak. I couldn't come out of tricky situations. I knew I had to do something.

Did you doubt your decision to move at any point?

Sometimes in life you have to take a risk. I know many people were against that decision. But I was emotionally happy in Bangalore when I trained hard, and within two weeks the results were there to see. I gave Yihan a tough fight at the Asian Games after a long time in three sets. I beat Ratchanok (Intanon) and almost everyone at Uber Cup, won China Open, reached semis of Dubai Super Series Finals. It felt good to be not losing all the time. I believed in Vimal Sir. After all the sacrifice, when results started coming, it was satisfactory. Last one year has gone so fast, it means I've been happy.

What were the thoughts going on in your head when you packed your bags?

I was just very upset with my performance at last year's World Championships. I was angry with myself and frustrated because I didn't know why I was losing. I was not thinking about Gopi sir or Vimal sir or anyone else. I just wanted my game to be the best it could be when I left Hyderabad. Sometimes you just have to get very stubborn about your decisions. Otherwise I was anyway losing. Vimal Sir could give me more than 100 per cent and I'm grateful about that.

What went so wrong in the final in Jakarta?

Carolina's improved a lot since the first few times I played her. At the India Open too, it was a close three-setter and at the All England and the Worlds she's beaten me now. In Jakarta, in the second game, I made a silly service error at 18-17 and it was an easy cross-court for her. Then I made a horrible line judgment, it was something I shouldn't have. I was overwhelmed by crossing the quarterfinals at the Worlds since it had been a jinx. I definitely should have put in a little bit of extra effort into the final three points of the second set. In the third game, you never know. It had already been close to an hour by the time of the third set, and she was tiring. Had it been longer, I could have fought back. But I didn't do enough to take it into the decider.

How will you deal with the Marin challenge?

I'll definitely end up playing her many times before the Olympics. She's a big challenge and I have to find ways to deal with her. Typically, she's quick and comes at the net very hard. Whenever you try to set yourself a comfortable pace against her, she'll suddenly attack you at the net. I need to be a little more aggressive.

Why was Yihan such a big demon in your career?

Yihan has been a very difficult opponent for me. She started almost same as me, and has always bothered me. She might again come back to her old form. She's handed me some very bad losses, and beaten me comfortably in the past. This time I was able to make her move. Like Carolina, she has faster shots and I need to start making her move front and back and front. She'll be prepared, but I know I'll figure her out after playing her on a regular basis.

Just how bad can bad days get and how did you deal with the jinx?

Oh, it can become a very big burden, and push you into dark corners. People keep telling you and then you start believing yourself that you can never beat a certain player or cross the quarters, like it happened with Yihan or the Worlds. So, it's satisfying to finally beat that player and cross a hurdle. I had started feeling that I'll never be able to beat Yihan, and it's difficult to explain just how badly it can play in your head. But you always tell yourself that you are a sportsperson and your bread-butter job is to fight challenges. I'll never stop fighting. It needed me to realise that I would need to learn good strokes to put her into trouble. You can be a World No 1 and still be aware that there's everything left to do, so much to learn. That's what trying to beat Yihan Wang taught me.

Source: You can be World No 1 and still be aware that there's everything left to do: Saina Nehwal

In Indonesia, Many Islands and Many Faces

In the second grade, I spent many hours with a World Book Encyclopedia, an opaque projector and a vast stretch of butcher paper tacked to the classroom wall. My goal was to trace a map of Indonesia. It was for a report, which probably mentioned that Indonesia was the world's fourth most-populous country and the one with the most Muslims, and that it was covered in rice paddies and exports oil. But what I remember was the map itself: There were so many islands that even a professional tracer would have found the job taxing.

Even the 7-year-old me would have known that trying to see such a vast country in 18 days was folly. But that's all the time the current me had as I planned for a late June arrival. Trying to see everything certai nly wouldn't work — at 17,000 or so islands, 18 days would get you about a minute and a half on each (teleportation technology required).

So instead, I went for an agenda that was still ambitious (and tiring) but more achievable: four very different places on four disparate islands. I hoped to find experiences that might represent the mind-boggling diversity of the country. (For more articles about my trip, go to nytimes.com/frugaltraveler.)

Perhaps it's not surprising that each stop ended up involving religion and ritual, which are a rich part of life almost everywhere on the islands. And it's definitely not surprising that they were intimate experiences. If Indonesians have one thing in common, it's that foreigners are frequently welcomed into parts of their lives that most Americans I know would keep private.

Continue reading the main story Slide Show From Papua to Bali, Beauty and Intimacy

CreditAndy Haslam for The New York Times

The trip took place during Ramadan, when things slow down and many businesses close on heavily populated Java, as well as on Sumatra and many other islands. So I plunged into Ramadan activities during one stop, then turned to areas where Indonesia's substantial non-Muslim populations — that's about 33 million Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others — are dominant.

All four legs came at very modest prices. The experiences described below were either free or close to it, and everything from guides to lodging to local flights (see the accompanying box) was cheap by almost any standards. The biggest cost of a trip to Indonesia is the trip itself — from New York, one-stop flights to Jakarta or Denpasar, Bali, often start about $1,20 0. Not a bad deal for access to such a rich and varied world.

SUMATRA

"Sahur!" A voice over the loudspeaker rang out from some nearby minaret. "Sahur!" The night before it had jolted me awake sometime after 3 a.m. But this time, after setting an alarm in my hotel room for 2:40, I was on the back of a motorbike zooming through Padang, the mostly Muslim capital of West Sumatra province.

Photo Padang's water comes from the mountains. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times

Sahur is the predawn meal Muslims eat during Ramadan. Calling it breakfast is inaccurate; it does not so much break a fast as provide sustenance for one, the daily dawn-to-dusk prohibition on eating, drinking and smoking that Muslims engage in, for the most part joyously, during the ninth month of the Muslim calendar.

The man driving was Heri, a young friend of a friend of a friend; in a cafe the night before, he had called his friend Ami to see if her family would be willing to have a stranger over at 3 a.m.

As Ami, who turned out to be a bright-eyed 23-year-old journalist and photographer, would tell me later: "When he said to me, someone from New York want to come here to your home, I was shocked. It was great!" She had even rushed to invite a friend who spoke better English.

Ami and her friend Nisa, both dressed in veils and Western clothes, greeted us and were cheery despite the early hour. Her dad, Rusli, who turned out to be an imam, was just stumbling out of his room, bleary-eyed. Her younger brother Rayhan was still dozing, sprawled out in a heap of pillows on the living room floor.

Except for a stop at the Pasar Pabukoan, a special Ramadan daytime market, the day before, it was my first direct experience with the fasting ritual, and I peppered them with questions. Fasting was one of the five pillars of Islam, I learned, a time of prayer and spiritual renewal. No , they do not get hungry while fasting, maybe a little thirsty. There is no school, though there are special religious programs for children. Soccer is played, but only at night. The timing of the fast depends on local sunrise and sunset, so its length varies greatly around the world.

Finally, I asked them all if they pray five times a day. Nisa and Ami did. Heri demurred. I looked to Ami, daughter of an imam after all, to see what she thought. "We pray to Allah that he will pray five times a day," she giggled.

We were called to the table by Ami's mom, Desmaniar, who was wearing a flowing, flowery dress and long veil. I noticed Rayhan still lying in a heap on the rug, and in my best impression yelled, "Sahur! Sahur!" It was my first Ramadan-related jo ke, but everyone seemed to think it was funny.

Padang is home to the Minangkabau people, whose food makes up much of what the world knows as Indonesian cuisine. Just as waiters do in Padang restaurants, Desmaniar had set out bowls of multiple dishes on the table.

Photo Chillies from a local market. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times

My favorite was dendeng, dried slices of beef with red chiles, but I also liked the kangkung, a tasty green sometimes called water spinach, and rendang, a Padang specialty, typically beef cooked for hours in coconut milk. This version was made not with beef but with cow's lung; it was spongy rather than tender, but with the same alluring flavors of spices and coconut milk reduction.

After the meal, Rusli left for the mosque. Ami, along with friends and siblings, prepared to pray, and they asked me to join. I had no idea whether non-Muslims were permitted to do this, but took the cue of my hosts and decided to consider it a meditation. I was given a sarong, and Ami's older brother showed me how to wash properly for prayer. I fo llowed as best as I could, and can at least report that sujud, the prostration step in Muslim prayer, is soothing.

I had enjoyed my first sahur, but wasn't sure how I would do getting up before 3 every day for a month. Before the imam left, I had thanked him, and he had laboriously put together a phrase in English for me. "Next time, we very happy — you come here again," he said. Next time, I hoped, would be for dinner.

Photo The mountains of southern Sulawesi in Tana Toraja. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times SULAWESI

The seventh water buffalo got away.

To aid dead relatives' journey to the afterlife, the Toraja people of Sulawesi slaughter water buffalo at the start of their elaborate, multiday funerals. Torajan funerals are a reason visitors come to amoeba-shaped Sulawesi, one of Indonesia's biggest islands.

At the funeral I attended in July with an ad hoc group of new friends and a guide, there were 17 buffalo to be sacrificed. The first six went as smoothly as can be expected when men try to kill 800-pound beasts with a single slash from a hand-forged knife. Each man held up the rope attached to the buffalo's nose ring, exposing its throat, and then, grasping the knife's bamboo root handle, wound up and took a whack. The crowd, a mix of locals and tourists, gasped, oohed and shot video with iPhones as the buffalo went down thrashing and blood soaked the grassy hillside.

Continue reading the main story

But the executioner of No. 7 either declined or forgot to tie up the animal, who, as blood spurted from its wound, bolted toward the pasture below, where it head-butted another buffalo. It then turned around and headed for the temporary buildings — sort of fancy tents — where some family members had retreated for tea and snacks and relief from the sun. There was a Pamplona-like mad scramble to get out of the way; I had backed away well before. No one was hurt — except the buffalo, of course, which was recaptured and died shortly thereafter.

From high above, on a platform topped with the astonishing soaring saddleback roofs that characterize Torajan architecture, the deceased looked out over the proceedings. An effigy of the deceased, th at is, as well as a portrait of her — a prim, kind-faced woman with short white hair. Her preserved body lay in an elegant coffin.

Preserved, that is, for over two decades: She died, in Western terms, in the early 1990s, we were told. Until a funeral, the person is not considered gone, but merely "sick." The body is preserved using techniques similar to mummification, and continues to "live" in the family home, and even pose in family pictures. In what is often the yearslong period before burial, the family must save money for the buffalo and prepare for the elaborate ceremonies.

The Torajan people, whose centuries-old funeral rites predate their conversion to Christianity, are famous for these traditions; the events, especially those close to the city of Rantepao, where tourists typically stay, are often full-on tourist attractions, with paid admission (the one I attended was 20,000 rupiah, about $1.50 at 13,100 rupiah to the dollar). A gift is also expected, generally a carton of cigarettes (about 180,000 rupiah) per group. (I was there with three other travelers splitting the cost of our guide.)

Photo A funeral celebration in Tana Toraja. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times

Despite all this, it is not a show for tourists. If anything, it is a display of social status for the community and for the hundreds of family members who come from across Indonesia — there's quite a Torajan diaspora. I met one family that, we were told, was part of that diaspora but displayed its local pride with matching "I Papua" T-shirts.

If the sacrifices sound brutal, at least the animals' bodies were fully used. Skins were used for ritual items like drums, gloves and shields; meat cut up into hunks and passed out; and horns kept to display on the tongkonan, the Toraja's stunning boat-shaped traditional homes. Even the hooves served a purpose, though not one I would have expected: They become toys. A string is attached to each like a leash, and delighted children drag them around.

It was the sacrifices themselves that stayed with me; I continue to compare the water buffaloes' death to what I imagine happening in factory farms every day and ponder whether this ritualized death is better or worse. In other parts of Indonesia, the buffalo are draft animals, but here they are venerated and carefully cared for. "A Torajan farmer washes his buffalo at least twice a day," our guide said. "He probably takes a shower himself once a week."

PAPUA

The mountain village of Wesagalep is a two-and-a-half-hour, thigh-burning uphill hike from the rushing Baliem River. That included occasional stops that my fitter friend, Cristian, used to take in the breathtaking views; I was more focused on actu al breath-taking.

Photo A son of a Dani chief. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times

After a laborious trip, we were hoping for a warm welcome when we reached the terraced group of thatched homes, called honai by the indigenous Dani people. The villages of the Baliem Valley in Papua, the province that occupies most of the Indonesian half of New Guinea, are accustomed to Western travelers coming through for the night, bearing gifts of cigarettes, tea and sugar, and paying around 100,000 rupiah to sleep on the wooden floor of the village office.

We are hardly the most controversial intrusion in the 75 years or so since their first contact with the wider world — try Christianity, colonialism and the Indonesian military for starters. Somewhat disappointingly, visitors are more likely to see T-shirts than tradition al skirts for women and very revealing penis gourds for men in many villages. Only a few older men dress traditionally — which means they are not dressed at all except for a gourd partly covering their genitals.

When we arrived, about two dozen women gathered in front of a honai motioned us to the men sitting outside another. They told Cristian, who speaks Indonesian, to wait. A man had died in the village the day before, and this was a solemn meeting to plan the appropriate ceremony for the next day.

How would you act if two strangers approached you as you planned a relative's funeral and asked to stay the night? Not like the Dani, certainly. They had us sit down with them and listen in, not that we could understand the local language. Then we were invit ed to stoop down below the low-hanging roof and clamber into the men's honai.

It was dark and smoky inside, daylight streaming through the door, revealing a cloudy haze. In the center, there was a hearth, whose fires had blackened the startlingly low ceiling — surprisingly, it was actually a two-story dwelling, with sleeping quarters upstairs. Unsure what to do, we joined other men, sitting cross-legged on the soft grass floor. One, dark-skinned and wrinkled with a graying beard, incanted a few words, and on cue, the others joined in a monotone hum.

It was soon clear he was crying — ritualistically, it seemed to me — as were several others. We sat, spellbound, curious. Why in the world had we been invited in? What did this all mean?

Soon after, we were led to the village leader's honai, where Cristian questioned him and translated. The leader had three wives, all from other villages; intra-village marriage is prohibited. Pigs are the only animals they raise, but their meat is reserved for ceremonies. (The next day, we witnessed the pigs killed with handmade bows and arrows.) We were given a dinner of sweet potatoes, a Dani staple, as twisted and warped as ginger root, skin crispy from having been cooked under heated rocks, but inside soft, moist, succulent.

Photo The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Bali. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times BALI

The morning that the Balinese Hindu festival of Galungan began, I rode my bike through the thickly settled but largely untouristed streets of Kemenuh village. From the Kudesa Guest House — run by a charismatic retired woodcarver turned village priest, with rooms starting at $9 on booking.com — it was a less than 10-minute ride to the home of my generous new friend, a rather strapping 38-year-old bus driver named Widi, who lived just over the border in the next village, Blahbatuh. I had met him two nights earlier when I stopped my bike to see why there were two dead pigs on the sidewalk outside his house. (Widi and his relatives had killed them to distribute to family members planning to make lawar — minced meat, vegetables and spices — and other dishes for the festival.)

Bali is known for being spiritual, and I tend to hate when things are called "spiritual." But break out the thesaurus, because even I could not deny that I felt something holy, sacred, ethereal all around me that morning. Chimes played and the air was tinged with incense. I was pelted by occasional raindrops as I rode by ornately decorated orange-brick temples, their entrances flanked by plucky sandstone dvarapala (gate guardians) wrapped in sarongs. Outside each house was a penjor — a graceful, ornamented bamboo pole that arches up above roof level, its end weighted down with offerings. It looked like a giant's fishing rod reeling in a heavy catch.

Photo Penjors are popular outside homes during the Hindu festival of Galungan. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times

Widi and his family greeted me warmly at his family's compound, which included several buildings of living quarters and a temple; in the middle was a flowering frangipani tree. He gave me a pressed white linen shirt, a white cloth hat and a brown patterned sarong, necessary attire for the three open-air public temples we would be visiting that day as part of Galungan, the uniquely Balinese festival of uniquely Balinese Hinduism that takes place every 210 days, when ancestral spirits return to earth. Everything about me looked Balinese, except for me. We gathered three children, and with a basket of flowers for prayer, headed out.

Each village in Bali has at least three temples, one for each of the Hindu trimurti, or trinity: Brahma the creator, Vish nu the maintainer and Shiva the destroyer.

Shiva was first. "Shiva is destroyer, but not bad," Widi explained. "It's something positive — like recycle!" (I later found references to Shiva as the "transformer.") The temple was enchanting, with elegant orange brick and elaborate sandstone carvings. Inside the gate, women and girls knelt and men sat cross-legged on the ground, in prayer.

Outside, we joined a large crowd waiting its turn. The women, dressed in colorful robes, held large metal baskets on their heads, full of offerings: flowers, rice, cakes, oranges, apples and bananas. The men, dressed, well, like me, held smaller baskets, with flowers and rice for prayer. We went in and sat down, cross-legged. Though I didn 't spot any other outsiders, no one seemed surprised or displeased to see me; in fact, Widi encouraged me to take pictures.

As Ami had in Padang, Widi assumed I would pray with his family. The prayer ritual is compellingly soothing. Soon after he lit incense and "washed" his hands and face with the smoke I tried to follow his movements as he brought his palms together before raising his hands to his forehead. He took a yellow flower, and did the same thing, then a red flower, and then both together. (He admitted to not having the full array of flowers.)

A woman came by and sprinkled us with holy water, then poured it into our hands three times for us to drink, and once more to wash our face. We then took rice, pressing it into our foreheads, then our ch ests, and then into our mouths.

Why so much water?, I asked. "That is the symbol of life," Widi said. "If you grow something, you must put water first. Then you get trees and good life."

We repeated the process at two more temples, and each time Widi added a final step: checking his phone. Of all the intriguing cultural elements of the day, I found his brand choice to be the most curious: the Balinese still used BlackBerrys?

Bali is famed for keeping its traditions alive despite being the most touristed island in the country. (In fact, so touristed that many people don't even realize it's a part of Indonesia.) "In Bali, we keep the o ld culture," he said. "The other islands, before, they had special culture, religion, but it changed."

Of course, by then, I had seen plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Photo Terraces of rice paddies shape the landscape. Credit Andy Haslam for The New York Times IF YOU GO

Getting to Indonesia is one thing; getting around it is another. You can travel within the bigger islands by bus (or train), but a trip like mine required flights, and lots of them.

The good news is that there are regular flights to and from just about everywhere. The other good news is that they can be very, very cheap, often less than $50 a leg. The bad news is that most of the airlines do not meet world safety standards and have been banned from flying in the European Union. The other bad news is that it is impossible to book most flights online without an Indonesian credit card or bank account.

The Safest Bet

The easiest and safest solution is to stick to Garuda Indonesia (garuda-indonesia.com), the country's flagship airline, which is a SkyTeam partner and serves about 60 domestic destinations. Flights can be booked online, and service is excellent. (Garuda is also the only Indonesian carrier with flights to Europe and the United States.) Still, prices are often higher than other carriers like Batik, Citilink, Sriwijaya and the much-maligned Lion Air (which just about everyone told me to avoid, for dependability and safety issues).

Try a Travel Agent

But Garuda (and AirAsia Indonesia, which also can be booked online; airasia.com) will not get you everywhere, and the other airlines are often much cheaper. You can book them after arrival in Indonesia through (ubiquitous) local travel agents or the airline offices themselves. Be sure you compare the agency's quoted price with fares you find online; I tried to book a bargain Citilink flight through my Jakarta hotel's agent and was quoted a price much higher than I saw on the Citilink site. (I booked directly with Garuda instead.)

If All Else Fails

Sometimes even the agencies can't help. When I tried to reserve a round-trip flight on Trigana Air between Jayapura, the Papuan capital, and Wamena in the Baliem Valley, a different Jakarta- based agency simply could not make the reservation. My only choice was to have them book on Wings — a discount subsidiary of, alas, Lion Air. Still, the flight left on time and, obviously, I survived to tell the tale.

Source: In Indonesia, Many Islands and Many Faces

Worries about a full-blown crash could be a bit premature

Worries about a full-blown crash could be a bit premature By Karishma Vaswani Asia Business Correspondent

21 August 2015

From the section Business

Are concerns over a new crash justified?

Emerging markets' currencies tumbling to near record lows. Millions of dollars worth of foreign funds pulled out of stock markets in the region. And some investors around the world fearing a major financial meltdown.

It certainly feels like we've been here before.

Many in Asia's financial circles are calling this a re-run of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.

I remember that crisis well. I was a university student interning for the BBC in the summer of 1997 in Jakarta, and I witnessed the full brunt of the Asian financial crisis on some of the most vulnerable in society.

The Indonesian rupiah lost more than 80% of its value - going from 2,500 rupiah against the US dollar to 16,000 at its lowest point. The stock market wasn't spared - it fell by more than 50% by December 1997 and businessmen lost tens of thousands of dollars in a single trading session.

There was panic everywhere. People thought banks had run out of money (and some had), so they formed long lines outside branches, trying to withdraw all their savings. Factories shut down, and workers lost their jobs. The price of basic foods like cooking oil and baby milk soared.

An economist friend of mine in Indonesia once told me that you know you're dealing with a crisis when the "ibu-ibus" (Indonesian for housewives) are affected. Housewives in South East Asia's biggest economy saw the price of imported formula milk for their babies triple, leading to protests outside supermarkets across the country. One Newsweek article described how cooking oil was rationed and sold at police stations. "If they didn't, people would kill each other," the article said.

The meltdown in Asia was set off when Thailand floated the baht in 1997, setting off a domino effect in the region where one by one, currencies fell against the US dollar.

Today, many are worried that China's devaluation last week could set off a similar trend.

Bad news by the day

Some analysts are even warning the impact will be far bigger than 1997 because China's economy is far more important and integrated into the world economy than Thailand ever was.

China's devaluation has already led to the tumbling of currencies around the region.

And it seems like every day we get bad news about the world's second largest economy.

On Friday, data showed that China's factory activity shrank at its fastest pace in more than six years.

All of this adding to increased concerns that China's economy is slowing down - which it is - and how much of an impact the slowdown will have on the rest of the world.

Even the US Fed has raised concerns about the Chinese economy's outlook in its latest minutes.

The thinking goes that if China keeps slowing down , then it won't buy as much "stuff" from Asia as it has in the past, and that will mean Asian economies that have grown thanks to the commodity boom and Chinese demand will slow down too. We're already seeing evidence of this across the region.

Since China and Asia together make up more than half of global growth, a slowdown here is bound to have an effect on the health of the overall world economy.

So if at this point you are starting to feel a little unsettled about the future, I wouldn't blame you.

Chinese factory activity is also on a downward trend Indian engine

But, when in doubt, reach for the hard facts and take a deep breath - and here's what Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist at Capital Economics, says:

"Sentiment [on China] is currently overly downbeat," he wrote on Friday. "The downside risks to short-run growth are now overstated.

"Credit growth has begun to accelerate on the back of recent policy easing, which should feed through into stronger activity, albeit with a lag. The fiscal stance is also set to loosen in coming months as local governments accelerate spending to hit annual budget targets. "

So if that's true - and credit growth in China is starting to pick up, those effects are typically often seen in the real economy within three to six months.

Emerging markets are also in a far stronger position than they were back in 1997-98. They have stronger current account balances, higher foreign exchange reserves and mostly floating as opposed to fixed exchange rates - which means they don't have to be defended from speculative attacks.

The other factor to consider is India's economy - it now claims higher growth than China's (although many analysts have questioned how those figures have been calculated) and its stock exchange - the Sensex - has seen record inflows in the last six months, attracting investors who have fled from the volatility in Chinese shares.

So it could provide an alternative engine for global growth, if the government's figures are to be believed. I'll be in Mumbai, India's financial capital next week, to see first-hand how much of that growth is actually being felt on the ground.

So that's all good news - and should have investors and policy-makers breathing a sigh of relief.

Daily stock market fluctuations in a highly connected and globalised world are to be expected, but they shouldn't necessarily be seen as the beginning of the end of the world.

What we should be paying more attention to, perhaps, is whether there are long lines outside of our banks and supermarkets. Now that's what you call a crisis.

Source: Worries about a full-blown crash could be a bit premature

The Uber of moto-taxis tries to bring order to Jakarta's traffic insanity

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Everywhere you look, professional drivers are fighting back against apps. In Paris, taxi drivers burned cars to protest Uber. In New York, taxi drivers tried lobbying the mayor for a ban.

And in Jakarta, the city with the world's worst traffic, drivers of the iconic "ojek" motorbike-taxis are fighting back with fists and words against the green-jacketed "Go-jeks" that threaten their way of life. 

For years, moto-taxis have been lifesavers for residents of the Indonesian capital who don't want to spend hours in gridlock or wrestling with the dysfunctional public transit.

Ojek pick-up stands are on pretty much every corner and in constant demand. At rush hour, or when the city is flooded, prices soar and bargaining is useless. A half-hour journey that would normally cost around two US dollars can be as much as four or five dollars. But there's nothing to be done — you need them more than they need you. The system is completely informal, and, according to the drivers, works well this way.

But all this is changing. A few months back, a company called "Go-jek," one of several companies offering a more organized take on the ojek, launched an app that allows users to order the service online. The app calculates the price of the journey, about 30 US cents per kilometer, and the driver will pick up passengers wherever they are. "It's simple, it's practical, and of course, it's cheaper, there's no need for the hassle of bargaining. They just give better service," says 27-year-old customer Boris Anggoro. Go-jek already employs more than 2,500 drivers and is hiring hundreds more as its popularity grows by the day.

Like Anggoro, many in Jakarta are delighted with this "better version" of ojeks. Unsurprisingly, many traditional ojek drivers aren't. At all. Across Jakarta, banners reading "Go-jeks forbidden here" have appeared on top of traditional ojek stands. Sukisno, a 45-year-old ojek driver and the "boss" of his stand, has put a banner up.

"They're not allowed to pick up clients from here. We wait here from the morning, sometimes we don't have clients all day. And they come, they take our clients. You think that's normal?" he asks. "I'm afraid I'll get emotional and that there will be clashes," he adds.

There have been clashes already. Go-jek drivers have been beaten up, threatened, and chased out of what ojek drivers see as "their" territory. Boris Anggoro was attacked while using Go-jek. "A local ojek driver came, he started yelling at us 'what are you doing here!,' he threatened my driver and tried to take his helmet off him."

Boris shared his story on social media, and the post went viral. He says that's because many have faced similar problems. The intimidation process is working, and some Go-jek drivers refuse to work in certain "sensitive" areas where ojek drivers have bullied their new rivals.

Irvan Mappiasse, a 41-year-old Go-jek driver, worked on a regular ojek for five years. He openly wears Go-jek's distinctive green jacket, which many of their drivers prefer to hide under another one to avoid confrontation.

Mappiasse doesn't understand why traditional ojeks feel threatened by the newcomers and don't want to sign up to the service. "They offer us work, it's better money, and we get health insurance," he says.

Sukisno won't hear of it. "Here I'm the boss. Why should I take orders from other people? I was here before, and I'm a professional ojek," he says. "Why should I have to go online?"

But Sukisno and other die-hard drivers of traditional ojeks might have no choice but to adapt. In Jakarta, the change is already visible.

Go-jeks are everywhere.

Source: The Uber of moto-taxis tries to bring order to Jakarta's traffic insanity

White House picks ambassador to oversee Iran deal

Ambassador Stephen Mull is pictured. | AP Photo

Stephen Mull, the outgoing envoy to Poland, has been chosen to spearhead U.S. implementation of the nuclear agreement. Just don't call him a 'czar.'

By Nahal Toosi

8/19/15 5:20 PM EDT

Updated 8/19/15 6:12 PM EDT

The Obama administration is planning to name Stephen Mull, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Poland, as lead coordinator for implementing the Iran nuclear deal — a massive task that could be highly scrutinized in light of partisan wrangling over the agreement.

An administration official said Mull, who joined the foreign service in 1982, is the State Department pick, though the choice is not yet official.

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Mull's appointment could both please and disappoint close observers of the process: The fact that there will be a lead coordinator — administration officials refuse to call it a "czar" — is something many advocates of the deal support, but Mull may not be as well-known a figure as some had hoped.

Congress is still reviewing the deal with the Islamist-led government in Tehran, and is expected to vote against it next month. However, the administration is confident that opponents don't have the votes needed to override a presidential veto, so the State Department is going ahead with long-term planning for implementing the complex deal, which requires that Iran curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

Mull has held a wide range of diplomatic positions, including some that involve navigating the U.S. bureaucracy, according to his biography on the State Department website.

Mull's roles include serving as "a senior adviser to then-Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, in which capacity he coordinated U.S. diplomatic efforts on Iran, managed the State Department's crisis response during the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008, and led negotiations on a range of U.S. national security issues, including the agreement permitting the flight of U.S. military resupply flights to Afghanistan through Russian airspace." 

He's served as the U.S. ambassador to Lithuania and was the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. Prior to his swearing-in as ambassador to Poland in October 2012, he served as executive secretary of the State Department, a position akin to a chief operating officer. Mull also worked in the office of the undersecretary of state for international security affairs and arms control.

"He's got a long history in the State Department, on everything from sensitive political missions to organizational matters, but he also has got very good knowledge on Iran," said Richard Nephew, a former State Department official who worked with Mull on sanctions-related matters.

It was not immediately clear whether the coordinator role would require congressional confirmation, though that is unlikely. The position will be based at state, but Mull is expected to have representatives from other departments involved in implementing the deal reporting to him, including officials from Treasury and Energy.

The White House referred questions about Mull and the position to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mull also did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

When it first emerged that the administration was weighing appointing a lead coordinator, a number of experts in arms control and diplomacy spoke highly of the idea. Some noted that such a position did not exist in the wake of the 1994 nuclear deal with North Korea; that deal ultimately fell apart.

The Iran deal, whose lead negotiators hailed from seven countries, is far more complex than the North Korea agreement. It is expected to be phased in over time and puts responsibilities on all the parties involved to take specific steps, including, for the U.S., removing sanctions. Some experts argued that the lead coordinator should be a heavy hitter with a direct line to the president — someone Congress could also be happy with.

"Much will depend on the person's substantive experience and bureaucratic clout," said Joel Wit, a former U.S. official who helped negotiate the 1994 North Korea deal. "It's essential for effective implementation that they have both."

Mull, who maintains an active Twitter account, though largely in Polish, is due to return to Washington by the end of August. He'll take over the implementation efforts from Joseph E. Macmanus, who has been serving as the interim coordinator and is the current executive secretary at State.

Source: White House picks ambassador to oversee Iran deal

Indonesian plane confirmed destroyed, 54 bodies found

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Indonesian rescuers search through wreckage of the Trigana Air ATR 42-300 twin-turboprop plane at the crash site in the mountainous area of Oksibil in Papua province on Tuesday.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA—Searchers on Tuesday found all 54 bodies in the wreckage of a plane that crashed on the weekend in Indonesia's Papua province, officials said.

The ATR 42-300 aircraft operated by Trigana Air Service crashed on Sunday just 10 minutes before its scheduled arrival at Oksibil in the mountainous Pegunungan Bintang district.

"If the weather allows, the bodies will be immediately evacuated and handed over to their families once identified," Transport Ministry spokesman Hadi Juraid said.

Another Transport Ministry official, Julius Barata, said the aircraft's flight data and voice recorders, known as black boxes, were also found.

The recorders will be handed over to the National Transport Safety Committee for investigation, he said.

Search chief Bambang Sulistyo said the plane was totally destroyed and many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition.

Earlier attempts by rescue workers to reach the location had been hampered by mountainous terrain and bad weather, officials said.

The plane was on a 55-minute flight from the provincial capital Jayapura to Oksibil.

Four of the passengers were post office workers carrying 6.5 billion rupiah ($615,000) in cash, said FX Haryono, the head of the Jayapura post office. The money was to be distributed to families in Pegunungan Bintang under a government social welfare program.

Search chief Bambang said bank notes were found at the crash site but many of them were burned.

"We could still recognize it was money," he said. "I've asked search teams to hand over the money to authorities."

Papua relies heavily on air transport because of limited road networks through its jungle.

The crash is the third major air accident in Indonesia in eight months, and is likely to raise more questions about the country's aviation safety.

In December, AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea off Borneo midway from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people on board.

In June, at least 141 people were killed after an Indonesian Air Force C-130 plane crashed into a residential area in Medan, North Sumatra and burst into flames.

Source: Indonesian plane confirmed destroyed, 54 bodies found

A Gift for Indonesia’s Independence Day: Ahsan/ Hendra Won World Badminton Championship

Mohammad Ahsan dan Hendra Setiawan with their medals (Photo source: Kompas.com)

Jakarta, GIVnews.com – Indonesia can proudly celebrate its 70th independence day after winning gold on home soil at the Total BWF World Championships on Sunday (16/8). Mohammad Ahsan/ Hendra Setiawan defeated Chinese duo Liu Xiaolong/ Qiu Zihan in the final of the men's doubles in Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan Jakarta.

"We are very proud we can give this gift, even though it's not yet tomorrow," Hendra Setiawan told reporters from various media after the match.

The third seeded men's pair swept the title match in 2 set with the score of 21-17 and 21-14. The song of "Indonesia Raya" resounded with the waving of the Red and White flag, giving a sweet finish of the tournament for Indonesia.

China's Liu/ Qiu did give a good fight especially in the first set when they forced a draw at 17-17. But Ahsan/ Hendra recorded four consecutive points to make sure they won the set. The Indonesia's best duo played even better in the second games. They continued to lead in points and eventually won the game.

Here are the other results of the world championship finals:

Mixed doubles: Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei (CHN / 1) vs Liu Cheng / Bao Yixin (CHN / 4) 21-17, 21-11

Women's singles: Carolina Marin (SPA / 1) vs Saina Nehwal (IND / 2) 21-16, 21-19

Men's singles: Chen Long (CHN / 1) vs Lee Chong Wei (MAS) 21-14, 21-17

Women's doubles: Tian Qing / Zhao Yunlei (CHN / 5) vs. Christinna Pedersen / Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN / 4) 23-25, 21-8, 21-15

Source: A Gift for Indonesia's Independence Day: Ahsan/ Hendra Won World Badminton Championship

World badminton championships: Chen retains crown, denies Lee his elusive gold again

Chen has emerged from the shadows of compatriot Lin Dan with a complete game built on his supreme agility, speed, power and fitness. PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA: Top seed Chen Long proved unstoppable as he retained the singles crown at the badminton world championships on Sunday, with Lee Chong Wei suffering an agonising fourth straight defeat.

There were back-to-back championship victories in the women's singles too, with world number one Carolina Marin beating India's Saina Nehwal to defend her title.

Lee entered the final hungrier than ever for his elusive world title but could not unsettle the Chinese world number one, who stormed to a 21-14, 21-17 victory in just over an hour.

An overjoyed Chen, who has already won four titles in a stellar season this year, wept and kissed the court as his final triumphant smash sailed home. "I cried last year too, but this time I cried even more," he said via a translator. "This was a very difficult tournament to play. Every match was very difficult. Every opponent was very strong. I'm happy to win this men's singles, not just for myself but for the China team."

Chen was unrelenting and outmanoeuvred the Malaysian at every turn, ending Lee's dreams of gold with a smash directly at his feet.

"He [Chen] played so well today," said Lee. "I tried to adapt, but he defended all the way. I tried to play a rally and he ran with me."

Lee entered the competition unseeded for the first time in years after returning from an eight-month doping ban. His comeback had pundits tipping he would take gold in Jakarta.

Earlier, top-seeded Marin charged to a 21-16, 21-19 win over Nehwal to take home her second successive gold medal.

The Spaniard burst into tears and collapsed on the court as Nehwal's final shot sailed out, delivering Marin the title she was not sure she would defend.

She nearly missed the world championships entirely after suffering a foot injury just a month ago, and had refused to speculate about her chances of retaining her crown. "This time was more difficult than the first time," she said.

History was made earlier in the day as defending champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei became the first pair ever to win three gold medals in the mixed doubles, with a routine victory over Chinese compatriots Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin 21-17, 21-11. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th,  2015.

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Source: World badminton championships: Chen retains crown, denies Lee his elusive gold again