Monthly Archives: August 2006

Lagi, Pertumbuhan dan Kemiskinan

Harry Seldadyo

Diskusi lama tentang pertumbuhan dan kemiskinan dikuak kembali. Ini bermula dari pidato kenegaraan Presiden Yudhoyono di DPR tanggal 16 Agustus lalu yang menyebut penurunan kemiskinan dari 23,4 persen (1999) menjadi 16 persen (2005).

Kepada pers, Wakil Presiden Jusuf Kalla juga menegaskan kemiskinan pasti turun jika pertumbuhan semakin baik (Kompas, 19/8/2006). Namun, sejumlah pengamat meragukannya. Pasalnya, 16 persen bukanlah angka terbaru pascakenaikan harga BBM. Selain itu, angka pembanding lain, yaitu penerima BLT dan raskin, justru menunjukkan bahwa kemiskinan tak menyusut. Jadi, pertumbuhan 5-6 persen belakangan ini tak punya dampak serius bagi penciutan angka kemiskinan.

Jatropha oil: A promising, clean alternative energy

The Jakarta Post, 4 July 2006
by Yuli Tri Suwarni

Discovering an affordable and cleaner burning alternative energy source has long been the dream of industrial chemical engineer Robert Manurung.

Inspired by the difficulty of finding firewood in his hometown in North Sumatra, the 50-year-old native of North Tapanuli set out to find a cheaper energy source.

In the next six months, the Bandung Institute of Technology expert just might realize his dream. Oil produced by the castor-oil plant, known locally as pohon jarak (Jatropha curcas L), which Manurung has been studying for sometime, will on a trial basis replace diesel oil to generate electricity in East Nusa Tenggara.

His discovery, called Jatropha oil, was greeted with pessimism by several colleagues at the institute, some of whom said “it was nothing new”.