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Viewing cable 07SURABAYA33, MALANG: EAST JAVA'S UNIVERSITY CITY AND EPICENTER OF HUMAN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07SURABAYA33 2007-09-04 07:25 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Surabaya
VZCZCXRO7090
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0033 2470725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040725Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0047
INFO RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0044
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0049
UNCLAS SURABAYA 000033 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/GTIP, EAP/RSP, EAP/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PHUM PGOV ELAB KWMN SMIG KPAO ID
SUBJECT: MALANG: EAST JAVA'S UNIVERSITY CITY AND EPICENTER OF HUMAN 
TRAFFICKING 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1. (SBU) During an August 30-31 visit to Malang, Principal 
Officer spoke with educators and civil society leaders about the 
duality of this East Javanese city: a city famous for both 
education and growing poverty that has made Malang's citizens 
easy targets for traffickers.  Malang hosts two state 
universities and dozens of private universities, with university 
students accounting for 25% of Malang's 800,000 residents. 
Malang also hosts one of Indonesia's best known pesantrens aimed 
at university students: Pesantren Al-Hikam.  Established in the 
1990s by Kiai Hasyim Muzadi, the national chairman of NU, 
Pesantren Al-Hikam aims to produce Muslim scholars with 
knowledge of both Islamic teachings and science.  All of the 
pesantren's 200 students are also studying at Malang 
universities.  Muhammad Nafik, Kiai Hasyim Muzadi's 
nephew-in-law who runs the pesantren, explained that the 
pesantren's overarching objective was to produce men of 
tolerance, understanding, and good moral character - men who 
would enter the workforce as professionals and contribute to 
society at all levels of government, business, civic society, 
and education. 
 
2.  (SBU) Visits to two of Malang's largest universities offered 
insights into the concerns of educators and students.  At both 
Muhammadiyah University and Brawijaya University, faculty 
members asked pointed questions about opportunities for greater 
cooperation with U.S. universities and increased access to U.S. 
government exchange and speaker's programs to strengthen their 
curriculum.   Brawijaya's faculty complained that cooperation 
with Louisiana State University on a cattle breeding program and 
with the University of Kentucky on curriculum development had 
been stalled by security concerns from the American partners and 
the USG travel advisory for Indonesia.   They also requested 
assignment of an English Language Fellow to Brawijaya to improve 
English language teaching.  Muhammadiyah has benefited the most 
from USG programs, hosting both an American Corner and an 
English Language Fellow. 
 
3. (SBU) In contrast to the optimistic, forward-looking 
perspective provided at both the universities and the pesantren, 
NGO contacts focused on local economic circumstances that had 
turned Malang into a major source of East Java's trafficking 
problems and increased corruption.  Indeed, the number of NGOs 
focused on trafficking and violence against women and children 
exceeds the number of universities.  The poverty rate stands at 
30%, with the poorest areas located south of Malang.  The impact 
of the Sidoarjo mud flow on tourism and transportation is 
putting increasing pressure on the local economy.  According to 
the NGOs, men are being enticed to work illegally in mines and 
construction sites, while women and children are being lured 
into the sex trade.  The NGOs agreed that the Regent of the area 
had been supportive of their efforts, while the Mayor of Malang 
refused to admit that a problem exists. 
 
4.  (SBU)  The activists are taking their message directly to 
the villages and to legal authorities. Ibu Sutiah, director of 
Lembaga Pengkajian Kemasyarakatan dan Pembangunan (Study Center 
for Society and Development, LPKP), a Malanag NGO focused on the 
protection of women and children, explained that LPKP was 
working in 16 villages to educate families and village leaders 
about trafficking.  LPKP runs a small training center for women 
and children to increase their job skills.  Similarly, Ibu 
Wahyu, a lecturer at the Brawijaya University School of Law and 
an activist, explained her organization's efforts to educate 
prosecutors, judges, and police about new laws against 
trafficking.  Each expressed guarded optimism that their actions 
would see tangible results, encouraged by the receptiveness of 
some civic leaders. 
 
MCCLELLAND