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American Indonesian

Chamber of Commerce

�for business and understanding�

 

To: All Members

From: Wayne Forrest, Executive Director

 

Floods Recede After Causing Severe Damage

 

The severe flooding that has affected virtually all of Jakarta has begun to recede.  Ten days of heavy rains pelted most of the country but Jakarta was particularly hard it.  Many rivers overflowed and the city's antiquated drainage system could not handle the deluge.  Most of the low lying areas of the city flooded out and electricity shut down. Perhaps a quarter of Jakarta's homes were under water and 330,000 residents had to seek higher ground.   Many major office buildings, including some on the major thoroughfares of Jalan Sudirman and Gatot Subroto were hit by floods. For a few days modern office towers were only accessible by rubber boats. The Regent Hotel had all its kitchens and ballrooms under deep water. Others have limited access or are impossible to get to or don't yet have electricity.  Several housing complexes (like Executive Paradise) with high proportion of foreign residents were badly hit, and almost all foreign companies are reporting that many of their employees were personally affected.  The huge cleanup has begun, and like New Yorkers, Jakartans have pitched in with high spirits.  Foreign managers are sill assessing the floods affects on their operations and workforces. 

 

Across the nation, hundreds of thousands were displaced by floods and landslides, and at least 150 have perished according to media reports.  Although politicians are debating what to call it ("a disaster, or national disaster") it was by all accounts one of the worst calamities to hit the country in 25 years. 

 

If you haven't experienced communications difficulties, you probably won't, as the weather reports indicate the worst of the rains are over.  Still, it will be awhile before things are back to normal.  Most international offices that remain closed should be back next week or the week after but the city will have continuing pockets of problems and traffic will be even more difficult.

 

Although the rains severely damaged crop lands in several areas, Indonesia's Director General for Food Security stated that "there won't be a rice shortage". However, there are continuing reports of damage to export crops such as rubber, palm oil, and cocoa.  Harvests for some of these crops (such as cocoa) are in April and there are expectations of delays and output reductions.  

 

The US Government responded immediately with $250,000 of aid.

 

Daily news items can be read on AICC's Website:  www.aiccusa.org. Click on "headlines".

 

Sabirin Program Cancelled

 

AICC's lunch program with Indonesia's central bank governor, Syraril Sabirin, originally scheduled for January 30, had to be cancelled, as the governor did not receive permission to leave the country.

 

 

 

 

Washington Doorknock: March 4-6

 

On behalf of AICC, Wayne Forrest will join AMCHAM Indonesia's second "solo" Doorknock program March 4-6.  The delegation will be led by AMCHAM's new President, Carol Hessler, Country Manager for Edison Mission Energy. The doorknock brings Jakarta-based US managers and other professionals to Washington for meetings with key Administration and Congressional officials involved with bilateral policies and programs.   AICC hopes to host some of our AMCHAM colleagues in New York following the doorknock program.

 

Other Upcoming Speakers

 

Robert Gelbard- We're checking dates, but former Ambassador to Indonesia, Robert Gelbard, has agreed to speak at one of our next meetings, either late February or early March.

 

Ambassador Soemadi- Indonesia's new Ambassador to the United States is expected next week and we hope to host him soon after he takes up his post.