Jakarta - Indonesia`s efforts to win back the rights to unique cultural products from abroad are hamstrung by inexperience and a lack of clear claims, an official with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights said on Thursday. Ansori Sinungan, the ministry`s director of cooperation and development, told the Jakarta Globe that Indonesia h... detail... »
Colombo, Sri Lanka - The amateur Sepaktakraw Association of Sri Lanka has embarked on a vigorous drive to popularize the game - similar to volleyball but played with a rattan ball without the use of hands - in the provinces and amongst rural youth. The association`s target is to increase the number of outstation teams at their next natio... detail... »
Jakarta - Indonesia will host the third Southeast Asian Nations` (ASEAN) annual meeting of Sharia economic experts, businesspeople, and Muslim religious scholars in Jakarta on May 25 and 26. The muzakarah will discuss how to accelerate the development of Islamic banking in the region, executive director of the International Sharia Resear... detail... »
Delaware, USA - Timothy McKinnon would cross an ocean, wade through a jungle, and climb a mountain to save an endangered language. In fact, that‘s what the University of Delaware doctoral student is doing on Sumatra, the largest island in Indonesia. McKinnon, the recent recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Student Award, is working to... detail... »
Jakarta - The Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) is facilitating education experts to develop a "grand design" for a 15-year education curriculum, which it will present as an alternative to the new government in August. "People may question what role IKAPI plays in education, and of course, we have our own interests. But if we d... detail... »
Jakarta - A total of 99 painters from 21 provinces in the country staged an exhibition of their works here which included pictures, statues, drawings and videos. "This exhibition shows the government`s attention to painters in the country," Jajat Suparman, culture, arts and film director general at the Culture and Tourism ministry, said ... detail... »
Seremban, Malaysia - The 1Malaysia concept introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will not undermine the interests of the Malays and the position of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Wednesday. He said there was no reason for the people... detail... »
Singapore - Malaysia`s leader has pledged to roll back a decades-old affirmative action program for the ethnic Malay majority, insisting that the long-term benefits of doing so would outweigh the initial "pain," a news report said Thursday. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who took office last month, told Singapore`s Straits Times newspaper t... detail... »
Magelang, Central Java - From his humble home in Tingal Kulon, a serene neighborhood near the Pawon and Borobudur temples in the province of Central Java, traditional dancer Eko Sunyoto described a nearby wayang (puppet) museum. The museum, he said with the enthusiasm of a cultural ambassador to an outsider, was replete with time-honored ... detail... »
Putrajaya, Malaysa - A new Malay literature curriculum will be introduced in secondary schools and literature component programmes will be included in the teaching of Bahasa Malaysia. Wearing his hat of education minister, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the programmes, which will start next year, would be reviewed f... detail... »
Batam, Riau Archipelago - Around 60 hectare of marine conservation areas in Batam are threatened. Batam`s head of Sea Resources Controlling and Rehabilitation, Witono, said that many foreign boats harbor in Batam and their anchors ruin the coral reefs. Head of the Water Pollution Subdirectorate from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries De... detail... »
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysi - Pirate gangs in the Straits of Malacca can be “struck down” within the next five years if the current aggressive pace of enforcement is maintained, a senior Malaysian maritime security official told Reuters. Abdul Rahim Hussein from Malaysia`s National Security Council said that intelligence and enforcement coopera... detail... »