Ambon to host next sail Indonesia

Ambonmay become the site of the next annual Sail Indonesia next year.

"Next year there was a plan to organize it (Sail Indonesia) in Ambon. Itwas also suggested that the location would be in Banda Sea," Minister ofMarine and Fishery Affairs, Freddy Numberi said here Sunday.

The moving of the location of the event, he added, was aimed at improving theeconomy of other areas in the country.

He said that the economic growth of North Sulawesi following the World OceanConference/WOC) in May 2009, and the implementation of Sail Indonesia inBunaken reached 8 percent.

"Although most of the sightseers were domestic tourists, at this such anevent could at least revive the economy," Freddy added.

Therefore, he hoped Ambon would draw a lesson from Sail Bunaken, to enable thelocal government concerned to cover the shorcomings of Sail Indonesia inManado.

At least he reminded that the local administration or private circles would nothesitate to make an investment or build the necessary facilities andinfrastructure to support the anual event.

Learning from the implementation of the WOC, Freddy said, the money that hadbeen spent on the construction of facilities by the government or privatecircles may be regained by almost twofold.

Orangutan encounter in Borneo’s peat swamp forest

ByKathleen Morf Vandervust

After a hot and sleepless night under the tin roof of our guesthouse in BaunBango, it is time to make our way down to the pier to embark ontoSurahmansyah’s boat. The “official” forest ranger never arrived andSurahmansyah has offered to be our guide to the park today. He proudly pointsto his T-shirt saying that he has been trained by the WWF. Jacques and I are inCentral Kalimantan and on our way to Sebangau.

There is a cool morning breeze as we ride downstream to Karuing, the nextvillage. Tall trees border both sides of the Katingan River. A large boatfilled with cut logs is waiting for its next destination. A bare-chested olderman wades thigh-deep through the water, along the muddy coast, trying to find agood place to set up his net. Traveling on the rivers of Kalimantan is one ofthe best ways to get around. The island only has a few roads, which are not inthe best of shape, so it is easier, safer and quieter traveling on the islandsextensive waterways and there is always something to see.

Ambon to host next sail Indonesia

Indonesiahas opened Southeast Asia's largest marine park in the Savu Sea, a migrationroute for almost half the world's whale species and home to vast tracts of rarecoral, the country's fisheries minister said.

Environmental groups, The Nature Conservancy and WWF will help set up thereserve, where efforts will be made to stamp out illegal practices such asdynamite and cyanide fishing. Tourism activities and subsistence fishing bylocals will be allowed but restricted to certain areas.

The Savu Marine National Park, launched at the World Ocean Conference inManado, Sulawesi, will cover 3.5 million hectares (8.649 million acres) in anarea of 500 species of coral, 14 species of whales and 336 species of fishliving in the Savu Sea near Flores in eastern Indonesia.

"(It is) potentially one of the largest marine protected areas in theCoral Triangle," Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Freddy Numberisaid on Wednesday.

He was referring to the biologically diverse coral reef network bounded by Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and the SolomonIslands.

"About 14 species out of 27 -- meaning 50 percent -- species of whales inthe world migrate using this route from the Pacific Ocean, passing through theBanda Sea, Flores Sea and Savu Sea to the Indian Ocean," said Numberi.

Rili Djohani, The Nature Conservancy's marine expert, said the park willprotect sea turtles, dolphins, sharks and could help boost tuna stocks byprotecting their spawning grounds.

"It's a beautiful place and it's now the largest marine protected area inthe Coral Triangle," she said.

Malukureefs have huge eco-tourism potential: Official

TheBanda Islands in Maluku are home to more than 60 percent (or 432) of theworld's 700 coral species, which is why most of the province's waters areincluded in the Coral Triangle, an official says.

Maluku is unique in that unlike any other Indonesian province, more than 90percent of its waters are included in the coral triangle, known for its highbiodiversity, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry research officialGellwynn Jusuf said.

"This area really has huge potential," Gellwynn told The Jakarta Postin Maluku on Monday.

The area's marine biodiversity had led the Indonesian government to come upwith the Coral Triangle Initiative - proposed for the first time during theAsia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit in 2007.

The initiative, Gellwynn said, was aimed at protecting coral reefs from damagecaused by global warming.

If managed optimally and effectively, Maluku's marine areas could yield higheconomic returns, he said. With vast areas of coral reefs, Maluku is rich infish and other sea biota including decorative fish species.

Fish species found in Maluku waters include the Black spotted Puffer, Trumpetfish, Anemones, Juvenile Damselfish, Porcupine fish, Ornate Ghost Pipefish,Scorpion Fish, Lizard fish, Moray Eels, Seahorses and Banded Sea Snakes.

Ambon Mayor welcomes Swiss Bel Hotel`s opening

AmbonMayor Jopi Papilaja has welcomed the operation of Swiss Bel Hotel in the city,saying it would lift the image of Maluku`s provincial capital.

"The presence of Swiss Bel managed by an interantional hotel network willboost the image of Ambon as a modern city worth visiting," he said at aceremony marking the official opening of the hotel dubbed "Pearl ofAmbon" here on Monday.

He admitted the investor had initially hesitated to build the hotel in the cityin 2005 but after being persuaded by the local government and promised specialfacilities, they finally agreed to carry out the project.

"I once even reminded them to finish it quickly so that it could belaunched before I complete my tenure," he said.

He said the presence for the first time of a five-star hotel increased thenumber of star-rated hotels in the region following the Aston Natsepa a yearago.

"Swiss Bel and Aston will improve the image of Ambon as a secure place andworth visiting by both domestic and foreign tourists," he said.

The presence of the hotels demonstrated the seriousness of investors to boostdevelopment of the city after being ravaged by social conflict in 1999.

Papilaja expressed appreciation to the management of the Swess Bel Hotel thathad helped promote Ambon and Maluku through the hotel`s network.

Bay fiesta to enliven Sail Banda to be attended by President

TheAmbon city administration is holding a bay fiesta to highlight Sail Banda whichwill be held in July and August 2010.

"We will hold a bay fiesta in Teluk Dalam, Ambon, to encourage theparticipants of Sail Banda, Indonesian 1,500 youngsters as well as foreigntourists in the international marine activity with its highlight to be attendedby President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on August 3, 2010," Ambon Mayor JopiPapilaja ssaid here Monday.

The bay feast will include a swimming competition, fishing competition,traditional boat competition, and sea cleaning.

"We will persuade Sail Banda participants hoping after they have returnedto their respective countries they will promote the undersea park of Ambon, andhistorical and cultural tourist potentials there, as well as the stablesecurity situation in the area so that their tourists would not hesitate invisiting the Maluku provincial capital city," Papilaja said.

"We will also support the development of Teluk Dalam of Ambon with theWater Front City (WFC) program, the funding of which had the approval of theMinistry of Marine and Fishery Affairs," Papilaja said.

Sail Banda is aimed at promoting Maluku`s marine potentials by which the numberof tourists to Ambom is expected to increase with its strategic impacts onseveral other sectors.

"So the people of Ambon should not only free proud by holding Sail Bandahere, but also need to use the event to raise their welfare," Papilajasaid.

The Ambon city administration will also encourage and support the people forpromoting their houses as home stay because normally foreign tourists prefer tomix with the local population.

The presence of President SBY in Ambon scheduled on August 3 has also beenprogrammed to promote Maluku as a national fish feed center.

Deep-sea images reveal colorful life off Indonesia

Scientistsusing cutting-edge technology to explore waters off Indonesia were wowed bycolorful and diverse images of marine life on the ocean floor - includingplate-sized sea spiders and flower-like sponges that appear to be carnivorous.

They predicted Thursday that as many as 40 new plant and animal species mayhave been discovered during the three-week expedition that ended Aug. 14.

More than 100 hours of video and 100,000 photographs, captured using a roboticvehicle with high-definition cameras, were piped to shore in real-time bysatellite and high-speed Internet.

Verena Tunnicliffe, a professor at the University of Victoria in Canada, saidthe images provided an extraordinary glimpse into one of the globe's mostcomplex and little-known marine ecosystems.

"Stalked sea lilies once covered the ocean, shallow and deep, but now arerare," she said in a written statement. "I've only seen a few in mycareer. But on this expedition, I was amazed to see them in greatdiversity."

Likewise, Tunnicliffe has also seen sea spiders before, but those were tiny incomparison, all around one-inch (2.5 centimeters) long: "The sea spiders... on this mission were huge. Eight-inches (20-centimeters) or moreacross."

One animal captured on video looks like a flower, covered with glasslikeneedles, but scientists think it is probably a carnivorous sponge. The spikes,covered with sticky tissue, appear to capture food as it passes by.

Scientists used powerful sonar mapping system and the robotic vehicle toexplore nearly 21,000 square miles (54,000 sq. kilometers) of sea floor offnorthern Indonesia, at depths ranging from 800 feet (240 meters) to over twomiles (1.6 kilometers).

The mission was carried out by the U.S. National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's ship, the Okeanos Explorer. An Indonesian vessel, the BarunaJaya IV, also took part, collecting specimens that, together with all rightsfor future use, will remain in the country.

Indonesian kitchen: Nutmeg in your pot

Whohas never heard of nutmeg?

Merchants and adventurers sailing from the western hemisphere and seekingfortunes in the East once considered this spice one of the top commodities nextto cloves.

But where does nutmeg actually come from? According to history books, theregion of Maluku and the small island of Banda are places where the nutmegtrade began in times gone by.

People in the region regard the nutmeg tree and its fruit as one of the mostbeautiful and useful plants around. On opening the fruit, we can see thenet-shaped fuli (mace), which has a blazing deep red-orange color. This notonly serves as a flavor enhancer but can also be used as a very attractivedecoration for dark-colored dishes such as semur (stew), which is usuallyprepared with the addition of sweet soy sauce.

Many different stews in Indonesian cuisine have a pinch of nutmeg or some macein them to enhance the flavor. In fact, most Indonesian stews are of westernculinary influence, such as semur, the name of which is derived from the wordschmoren from the German word meaning "braising".

The Germans must have introduced their schmoren technique to the region viamissionaries spreading Christianity in the area, or who went to the Netherlandsand taught locals there how to make the German dish schmorbraten. From theNetherlands, the Dutch then took this dish to the Dutch East Indies(Indonesia).

Anyway, semur is now a well known dish in Indonesia, and some regions havespecific regional varieties of it. In many cases, semur is flavored with apinch of nutmeg. In most cases, semur varieties are made with a spice pastecomprising shallots, garlic, pepper, sweet soy sauce and a pinch of nutmeg.

These ingredients are stir fried until they become aromatic.

After preparing these basic ground spices and soy sauce, the dish is easy tomake. With its main ingredients ready it can be made in less than half an hour.The classic semur dish uses beef or chicken. And for those who like toexperiment, semur can be prepared with tofu or vegetables such as eggplant(aubergine).

Semur Betawi from Jakarta (made with beef or buffalo meat) is one of the morefamous examples, using shallots, garlic, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, groundpepper (black or white), ground cloves and semi-sweet soy sauce.

Whereas Semur Jawa from Central Java omits the cinnamon and only uses shallots,garlic, nutmeg, ground pepper, and whole cloves. The Semur Medan meanwhile,uses shallots, garlic, finely sliced red chili, ground pepper and nutmegwithout cinnamon and cloves - and for the soy sauce, a semi-sweet, rather saltyvariety is used.

Want to taste an excellent semur dish made with mace? According to many peoplethe Manado-style Smor Ikang (braised fish) has a very interesting spice mix.

Cut 500g clean freshwater fish into 2. Coat with 1 tsp salt. Cut 500g peeledpotatoes into serving pieces. Fry the potato and fish alternately in 300mlcooking oil until done and brownish. Drain. Grind 4 shallots, 3 cloves garlicand 15g ginger. Stir fry in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until aromatic. Add 3whole mace, 5 whole cloves, and pour in 300 ml water. Let it come to the boil.Add 3 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce and 2 sliced tomatoes. Season with 1 tspsalt (or to taste), 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and a pinch of granulated sugar. Letcome to the boil again. Just before removing the mixture from flame, add friedfish, fried potato and 50 g soaked glass noodles. Serves 4.

In many places, the fruit flesh is sweetened and called Manisan Pala. For thosehaving a taste of the preserved fruit flesh for the first time a rather tangytaste will be obvious. Some people suggest not to eat Manisan Pala too muchbecause it is addictive. It can also apparently induce drowsiness and if eatenin excess can have the same fatal result as an overdose of sleeping pills. Butnevertheless it is a very popular snack.

Bogor with its cool, rainy climate is one of Indonesia's most famous places forManisan Pala, where it is sold wet and dry. If you want to see what nutmeglooks like fresh, go to Bogor where you'll find nutmeg galore at thetraditional wet markets. If you feel inspired you could even check out Bogorplant sellers who sell nutmeg trees from 30cm high - perfect in an earthenwarepot to complement the sunny side of your terrace.

Nutmeg trees are also wonderful male and female trees. A male tree is able tofertilize ten to twenty female trees and they are called therefore "theharem" tree (a term coined by French botanist Nicolas Cere). And accordingto A Taste of India, (by Mary S. Atwood) the Shah of Persia, Sultan Husain1711, declared himself "The Sun of Glory and the nutmeg of Delight".

Toba 'orchid paradise' yields 200 new species

Scientistssay they have found almost 200 new species of orchids in the Eden Park touristforest in Sionggang village in Toba Samosir, North Sumatra.

A group led by botanists and orchid experts Ria Telambanua and Michele Siraithas been exploring the area for years.

“We’ve successfully identified almost 200 species of forest orchids afteralmost four years of research. We intentionally haven’t published any of themfor the sake of preservation,” Ria said on Sunday in Toba Samosir.

The discovery of new orchid species was typically followed by large-scaleexploitation, she said.

The researchers identified the new species by identifying morphologicaldifferences, using orchid catalogues and by consulting with experts.

“This area is an orchid paradise. It has extraordinary natural riches. Thereare thousands more orchid species that have yet to be identified here,” shesaid as quoted by Antara.

Ria and Michele will launch a book on the new species late next month, Riasaid, adding that a portion of the profits would be donated to orchid experts.

Garuda`s Ambon route expected to boost Maluku`s tourism

Themuch awaited reopening of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia`s Ambon routein June is expected to have a significant effect on tourism in Maluku.

Starting June 1 this year, there will be regular flights from Jakarta to Ambon,Maluku province`s most prominent island with hilly terrain, covered in lushvegetation, has many idyllic spots and two crescent shaped bays, Baguala andAmbon bays.

"The planned reopening of Garuda Indonesia`s Jakarta-Ambon route with astopover in Makassar, South Sulawesi in the first week of June 2010 will have astrategic impact on the development of Maluku`s tourism," local cultureand tourism office spokesperson Florence Sahusilawane said in Ambon on Monday.

Sahusilawane expressed optimism that with the Garuda Indonesia`s new route tothe scenic eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, more foreign tourist in the run upto the international marine event of Sail Banda 2010 would come to Maluku.

Hendra Sumarno, the general manager of Garuda Indonesia`s Makassar branch, saidin Ambon over the weekend that the company was preparing the personnel neededto handle the reopened route.

In addition, an office of the national flag carrier would be opened next to theMutiara Hotel on Jalan Raya Pattimura in Ambon to give the best possibleservice to Garuda customers in Maluku.

Hendra Sumarno said Garuda flights to Ambon were scheduled to depart fromJakarta`s Soekarno-Hatta airport at 10 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) with astopover at Makassar`s Hassanudin airport before flying to Pattimura airport inAmbon, and return to Jakarta at 5 pm East Indonesia Time (WIT).

"We are to schedule Ambon-Jakarta flights in such a way that they willarrive in Jakarta a few hours before Garuda flights to Amsterdam take offbecause many foreign passengers from Ambon usually want to have connectingflights to the Netherlands," Sumarno said.

He said the Jakarta-Makassar-Ambon route would be served with aircraft having acapacity of 14 to 16 business-class seats and 120 economy-class seats.

Other airline companies flying to Ambon at present are Lion Air, Batavia Air,and Sriwijaya Air from Ambon-Makassar-Jakarta, Ambon-Surabaya-Jakarta, andAmbon-Jakarta.

Kalimantan is one of the world`s flora center

KalimantanIsland (Borneo) is one of the world`s flora center because the diversity oftrees in a small plot of land in the island`s forest equals to those in thewhole Papua or South America, according to the forestry ministry`s a pressstatement.

The Island has the richest flora on the Sunda Islands because it has 10,000 to15,000 special of floral plants.
The flora diversity on the Borneo island is as rich as those in the wholeAfrica, which is 40 times bigger than Borneo.
The diversity of Borneo Island`s flora covers the Asian and Australian elementswith more than 3,000 trees, including 267 species of Dipterocarpaceae (58percent of them are endemic Dipterocarpaceae species) and belongs to the mostimportant commercial wood in Asia.

It has also over 2,000 orchid species, 1,000 fern species and various speciesof "kantong semar" (Nepenthes sp.).

The endemic plant rate is also very high, namely 34 percent of plant speciesand 59 plant families are only found on the island.

Kalimantan has the high biodiversity and flora rates thanks to its geographicalcondition. The majority of the island`s geography is in coastal abd river areasand the height of almost half of its land is below 150 meters of the sea level.

These conditions have made Kalimantan an ideal place for various floral plantsto grow.

Its tropical climate. constant temperature and high rainfall rate with evendistribution make the Borneo forests always green all the years.

Kalimantan is the world`s third largest island after Greenland and Irianisland. The island is located in three countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia(Serawak, Sabah), and Brunai Darusalam.

The island is part of the Sunda Island chain consisting of two parts, namelyBig Sunda Islands: Kalimantan, Java, and Sumatra; and Little Sunda Islands:Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Barat Daya Islands, and TanimbarIslands

Foreign photographers take part in underwater photo competition

Atleast two foreign photographers were among some 50 colleagues from Indonesia inunderwater photo-taking competition in Banda islands from April 25-30, 2010.

"Christian Hinckley and Hendri Tjhang of Singapore are the foreignparticipants in the undersea photo-taking competition in Banda," SailBanda local committee spokesman Cak Saimima said here on Sunday.

He said the foreign photographers and their Indonesian colleagues left Ambonfor Banda Neira on Sunday morning by MV Siwalima.

Earlier on Friday they enjoyed the undersea panoramic view at Laha village inTeluk Ambon subdistrict, while some of them explored undersea cave off thecoast of Hukurila village at Leitimur Selatan sub-district in Ambon beforeleaving for Banda on Saturday.

"The two diving sites were introduced by former Pattimura MilitaryCommander Maj Gen M Noer Muis who is currently Bukit Barisan militarycommander," Saimima said.
Saimima added that Noer Muis was the initiators of underwater photo-takingcompetition in Banda islands and would also act with Christoffel Simanjuntakand Edy Purnomo as the juries.

"The former Pattimura Military commander has promised to promote underseanatural beauty of Maluku, found nowhere else in the world," Saimima said,adding that the underwater photo competition was part of Sail Banda which wasscheduled to last from June 17 to August 17, 2010.

Meanwhile, Noer Muis said the participants of the photo competition took theirleisure time to go diving at the two separate locations in Laha and Hukurila onFriday and Saturday before leaving for Banda.

"The best pictures in the undersea photo-taking competition in Banda willbe published in the book on "Exploring Banda Islands" which is beingarranged," Nore Muis said.

Waterbirds in mangrove forests under threat

Thenumber of species and the populations of waterbirds in Muara Angke naturalconservation area, North Jakarta, have decreased because of water pollution andhuman encroachment into the area, an environmental organization says.

During its annual survey on Saturday, volunteers of Jakarta Green Monster (JGM)found 206 waterbirds, down from 333 last year, with only 18 species identified,down from last year’s 23.

JGM reported that the missing species were the Little Cormorant (Phalacrocoraxsulcirostris), Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana), White-browed Crake(Porzanna cinerea), Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and Black-naped Tern(Sterna sumatrana).

However, a very rare species, the Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) andtwo endangered non waterbird species, Sunda Coucal (Centropus nigrorufus) andBlack-winged Starling (Acridotheres melanopterus), were spotted on Saturday.

JGM has been studying the Waterbirds in the area each year since 2006, inrecognition of World Wetland Day on Feb. 2, which marks the anniversary of thesigning of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in 1971.

JGM volunteer Ady Kristianto said water pollution and human encroachment werethe main causes of the decline in bird numbers. The darkened water in the areahad been heavily polluted because of an accumulation of plastics and styrofoamfrom the Angke River, he said.

Liquid waste from nearby housing complexes and makeshift houses was also dumpedthere.

“Water pollution has slowed the growth of mangrove trees, which provide shelterto the birds, and has also caused a decline of fish stocks, the main foodsource for waterbirds. Some species are unable to adapt and had flown away toless polluted areas,” he said.

Human encroachment had disrupted the habitat, Ady said.

At least 27 orchid species in Meru Betiri National Park

Atleast 27 species of orchids live and grow at the Meru Betiri National Park(TNMB) in East Java Province.

The national park`s staff had conducted an inventory on orchid species existingat the park and it found 27 species of orchids there, Heri Subagiadi, TNMBhead, said here on Monday.

"The 27 species of orchids grew well on a number of trees at the TNMBarea," he said.
Among the orchid species are Cleisostoma subulatum Bi, Corymborkis veratifoliaBi, Cymbidium sp, Dendribium crumenatum, and Flickingeria.

The inventory was conducted in the park`s sections of Banealit (Jember) andSarongan (Banyuwangi).

"We plan to conduct an inventory of orchid species in the whole area ofthe 58,000-hectare national park with the cooperation of anotherinstitution," he said.

Indonesia has more than 4,000 species of orchid, which are native to almostevery part of the archipelago. Kalimantan (Borneo) is the richest island innumbers of species of orchids in the world, Sumatra has 986 species, Java morethan 971, 123 found in Maluku at the eastern part of Indonesia and the Provinceof Papua has more than 1000, mainly Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum.

Mangrove Ecotours and Conservation

Onthe island of Nusa Lembongan, tour operators and environmentalists are workingtogether to protect a vital resource.

Found in tropical and subtropical tidal zones, mangroves are a natural defensefor coastal areas, serving as buffers against storms and erosion and providinga vital source of nutrients for fish and coral reefs.

Despite the critical role they play in coastal ecosystems, vast tracts ofmangrove forests are commonly cleared to make way for shrimp ponds orbeachfront developments.

In Nusa Lembongan, a small island southeast of Bali, local communities havebeen quietly nurturing their mangroves, not only as part of a larger effort topreserve coastal resources, but also as a way to develop ecotourism on theisland.

Wayan Sukitra, 47, said he recognized about 20 years ago that the mangroveclusters bordering the beach in his village of Jungutbatu could become anadditional attraction for tourists, who come mostly to dive in the island’scoral-rich waters and to enjoy its tranquil white-sand beaches. After meeting aFrench tourist who took a special interest in the mangroves, Wayan decided tomove forward with his idea and set about planting 150,000 mangrove trees.

Today, Wayan is one of 33 tour operators who provide boat rides through themangrove forest that now boasts 13 species of the tree and is home to 30 birdsspecies, minotaurs, lizards, crabs and a host of insects and butterflies.

The site attracts a regular stream of visitors, mostly from Australia andEurope. Several years ago, Wayan opened the Mangrove Bar and Restaurant, a cozyoutdoor eatery on a quiet beach among the mangroves.

“In the busiest months, from July to November, the restaurant brings in goodbusiness,” Wayan said with a modest smile, declining to disclose his profitmargin.

To keep the tourists coming, he added, the mangrove tour operators organize amonthly cleanup of the mangroves.

Three months ago, Nusa Lembongan was declared a “marine protected area,” alongwith the neighboring islands of Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan. The initiativeaims to protect the area’s marine resources, including the mangrove forests,coral reefs, fish stocks and seaweed farms.

Traditional Maluku dances to enliven Kuta carnival

Twotraditional Maluku dances are to be performed by the Bali-Maluku FamilyAssociation (Ikemabal) to enliven the Kuta Carnival in Bali on September 26,2009.

"The `lenso` and `gaba-gaba` dances are to be performed in the carnival,an annual parade of Indonesian arts and culture that usually draws manytourists," said Ikemabal chairman Samuel Uruilal here Sunday.

He said the event which will be held for the seventh time will be used byMaluku people staying in Bali to promote their exotic traditional arts and culture.

"Ikemabal has a moral responsibility to promote Maluku`s art and cultureto be known worldwide and not to be claimed by other countries like the"Sayange" song recently," said Samuel.

The lenso dance in combination with the "sawat" dance is usuallyperformed by Muslims in Maluku on religious holidays.

"We want to show a dance that reflects the communal harmony in ourpeople`s life nurtured based on our cultural value of `Pela-Gandong` so it willnot perish under the influence of globalisation," Samuel said.

Pela-Gandong is a traditional wisdom of the Maluku people underlining that allmen are related to each other and therefore they should always live in peace.If a group of people is building a house of worship, people belonging toanother group must help and support it.

He said that the world should know the Pela Gandong cultural value is stillvery much alive in Maluku and being practiced with greater fervour since theend of the communal conflict several years ago.

"The Kuta carnival is a strategic opportunity, because Bali is a worldtourism center.
Showing Maluku culture at the event will help put Maluku on the world tourismmap," he said.

The Ikemabal art team at the Kuta carnival was also ready to wear traditionalclothes, "Cele" (for men) and "Kebaya" (for women).

"A number of Maluku `Jujuro` (men) and `Mungare` (women) in Bali have beenrecruited and trained to make the traditional clothing," he said.

Meanwhile, Maluku Tourism and Culture Office chief Florence Sahusilawanecommended Ikemabal`s intention to help promote Maluku`s traditional arts andculture.

"Promoting Maluku`s art and culture is not only the government`sresponsibility, Ikemabal`s breakthrough is positively appreciated as a form ofmoral responsibility to conserve the heritage," she said.

Florence added that Maluku is to come into the international spotlight in the comingyears by at least three upcoming international events, namely a "WorldPeace Day" function in Ambon in November 2009, the `Sail Banda` event andthe 2010 International Peace Olympiad.