Straighten up and fly rightThe buzzard told the monkey "You're chokin' me Release your hold and I'll set you free The monkey looked the buzzard right dead in the eye and said Your story's so touching but it sounds just like a lie Straighten up and fly right Straighten up and stay right Straighten up and fly right Cool papa, don't you blow your top.

- Nat King Cole & Irving Mills

Living a life that has begun to resembles a tawdry, long-running soap opera, the last several weeks have been especially trying for convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby. Following the rejection of her final appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court challenging her 20-sentence for bringing 4.2 kilograms of marijuana through Bali's airport in 2005, a three-hour documentary aired last week on Australia's Channel 9 that did little to cast her or her family in any kind of positive light.

That documentary characterized Corby's "performance" before the Denpasar Court and international media as little more than a conscious efforts to manipulate the media and the courts to cast herself as a hapless and unfortunate victim of circumstance. Now literally at wit's end, Corby has been moved from her Bali prison cell to a Denpasar hospital where she is on a suicide watch, reportedly suffering from chronic depression.

The Australian documentary, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth presented a damning picture of Corby and her dysfunctional family revealrd:

● A family apparently prepared to bribe officials to subvert the path of Indonesian justice only to later attack amd impugn the "honesty and impartiality" of the very system they apparently sought to subvert.

● Corby's late Father, Brother and Half-Brother – all of whom have had drug arrests included among a sizeable list of past criminal convictions.

● Statements by Corby's Australian lawyer who now freely admits he manufactured allegations that Australian airport workers had planted the drugs in Schapelle Corby’s luggage.

● Corby rehearsing "spontaneous" outbursts pleading "for help" from the Australian people for later dramatization before an ever-ready phalanx of cameras operated.

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however, improbable must be the truth."

~ Arthur Conan Doyle

The sheer value of the 4.2 kilograms of high-value marijuana found in Schapelle Corby's argues strongly against those those suggesting the drugs were planted by Indonesian officials seeking a bribe from the young Queenslander.

Such a suggestion simply does not stand up to any thoughtful consideration. If Custom's authorities were in the habit purposely "setting up" and targeting blackmail victims among arriving passengers in Bali, why is the Schapelle Corby case the single such case of its kind that has come to the media's attention? Moreover, even if once accepts the improbably proposition that airport officials are running a drug-based extortion racket, why would they target a near penniless beauty school student and use an exorbitantly costly 4.2 kilograms cache of quality marijuana to lay a trap when several ounces of the drug would have work equally well?

Other have also sought to defend Corby by questioning why "anyone" would bother trying to illegally import marijuana into a country where it is already cultivated, cheaper to buy and arguably more accessible? Informed observers close to the case, however, have replied, pointing out that a) the drugs found in the bag were a high potency hydroponics' variety of marijuana known to be produced in Queensland and b) an "European" dealer with a stash of high quality drugs is able to sell his or her product at a premium prices to other tourists who derive comfort from avoiding a purchase from a local who might be working in an undercover capacity for the Bali police.

Increasingly humiliated in her native Australia where fewer and fewer of her fellow countrymen defend her innocence, and facing the stark reality of two decades in a Kerobokan prison cell – Schapelle Corby is, quite literally, at wit's end. Suffering from acute depression, she is now hospitalized in Bali's Sanglah Hospital.

Start by Saying, "I'm Sorry"

To our view, Corby’s last and perhaps only hope of accelerating the end of her imprisonment is to seek a presidential pardon from Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. To do so, however, would require her to admit what many have suspected and an entire panel of Indonesian judges found to be true; namely, she did in fact attempt to smuggle 4.3 kilograms of marijuana into Bali.

In fairness to Corby, she has been steadfast in insisting that she is not guilty of the crime for which she was arrested, tried and sentenced to prison for 20 years.

While there are no "sure things" in any judicial process – let alone in Indonesia, a heartfelt and genuine apology from Corby to the Indonesian President and the many millions of Indonesian's who have suffered from her callously staged shenanigans would go a long way towards establishing a reconciliation with the Indonesian justice system and could help to hasten the day of her eventual release from prison.

From our perspective, the Indonesian people are an incomparably large-hearted people and almost culturally-bound by their traditions to grant forgiveness whenever it is sincerely sought by wrongdoers. Demonstrably able to put a bitter past behind them, the people of Bali could even be expected to forgive a woman whose calculated campaign has been depicted as doing greater economic harm to the island than the two terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005.

It is, of course, her right to stand on principle and continue to insist she had no knowledge or connection to the valuable stash of drugs found in her possession at Bali's airport. And, conversely, it is also the Indonesian Government's right to continue to hold her to serve the remainder of her sentence behind bars.

For Schapelle to continue to maintain her innocence in the face of her criminal conviction, lost appeals before the courts and her negative portrayal on her home country's electronic medic means that Corby now desperately needs to offer a viable explanation on how 4.2 kg of drugs found its way into her luggage. To date, both Corby and her legal team have utterly failed to offer anything approaching a tenable explanation.

Perhaps Schapelle's last remaining hope is to seek the forgiveness of those she has so egregiously wronged. Based on her past behavior, being believed will prove a considerable challenge for her, but this should not discourage any resolution on her part to finally "straighten up and fly right."

The Indonesian government is introducing a number new rules and regulations that should make the Republic's airways safer and more user-friendly for the general public. Among the changes now in place for Indonesian aviaiton:

● Indonesian airlines that experience fatal accidents twice within a single year can have their directors or corporate officers connected with air safety and security made persona non grata, preventing their future employment within the Indonesan aviaiton industry.

● Airlines that fail to terminate directors or safety personnel when directed to do so by the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority can have their operating permit "frozen" by the Government.

● The Government are creating more stringent "establishment" rules and experience qualifications for those wishing to launch an Indonesian airline.

● Indonesian airlines are now required to provide compensation to passengers when they fail to keep to their published schedules. Airlines whose flights leave between 30-90 minutes behind schedule are now required to provide passengers with light refreshments. Passengers delayed between 90-180 minutes are entitled to an airline sponsored meal or transfer to alternative flights operated by the carrier or competing carriers. Delays of more than 3 hours or 180 minutes compel the airline to offer accommodation to their stranded passengers.

Bali's former Chief of Police and current gubernatorial candidate, I Made Mangku Pastika, has been quoted in a Sydney Morning Herald article by Mark Forbes saying that Bali remains a terror target.

Pastika complains that the Island has "failed to introduce enough security to prevent more terrorist attacks" and, as result, remains a target for terrorists. "The terrorists still consider Bali is the best place to do their activity and send a message to the world," Pastika said.

Urges Australian to Continue to Visit

Speaking on the campiagn trail in Bali, General Pastika has promised that if elected he will dedicate himself to continually improve security in Bali.

An acknowledged authority on security and law enforcement, Pastika is widely credited with heading the effort that "identified, jailed or shot" tens of terrorists suspects connected with the October 2003 and 2005 terrorist bombings in Bali.

Pastika told the Herald, "Bali is dependent on tourism and tourism needs security, safety and in all facilities, hotels, tourist attractions and all those things."

Pastika urged the Australian people to continue to visit Bali, warning: "Once we are scared of terrorism they are winning; that's why I appeal to all the people of the world; don't be scared of terrorism, just come."

Bipun Kapur Heads The Westin and BICC

Bipan Kapur has been appointed General Manager of the 350-room The Westin Nusa Dua and the adjoining Bali International Convention Center (BICC).

Commenting on his recent appointment, Bipan said: "I am looking forward to learning more about this beautiful island, working with the people and re-initiating the Westin brand of hospitality. Westin is more than just a hotel. It's a destination where our guests are understood and where they can be at their best. Providing a series of experiences through our signature initiatives such as Unwind- A Westin evening ritual, Westin Destination Club, runWESTIN, ensuring that guests feel better when they leave than when they arrived."

Before joining The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bipan opened the inaugural Westin-branded property in India, The Westin Sohna Gurgaon Resort & Spa (TWSG).

Bipan has been associated with Starwood since 1992. Past assignment include working as a F&B Manager with Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast, Australia, prior to stints in China, Malaysia and Brunei.

A graduate from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management he also holds a Masters degree in Hotel administration from the Institut de Management Hôtelier International (Cornell/ESSEC) - Paris, France.

An Australian national, Bipan is married and has a son. He is a keen golfer and swims to stay fit.

Bipan replaces Jan Bungaard who held the same position at The Westin since April 2005.

Syaiful Imron Holds the Purse Strings at The Westin

Syaiful Imron has been appointed Financial Controller at The Westin and BICC. Prior joining the Resort, Syaiful served as the Financial Controller of Sheraton Surabaya Hotel and Towers and has been associated with Starwood since 1995.

He is a graduate from STEI Perbanas majoring in Finance and started his career in the hospitality industry as Income Auditor of Sheraton Surabaya Hotel and Towers.

Syaiful and his wife are the proud parents of three children.

The National News Agency Antara reports that over and above the problem of rising fuel prices, passivity and a less-than-proactive management of Indonesia's airports also plays a role in recent decisions by Qantas and Continental to end their scheduled flight services to Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport.

Antara quotes an unnamed business person from Bali's aviation sector as saying while rising fuels costs played a role in the two airline's decision to stop Bali flights, a lack of "attention" from the management of Indonesia's airports were also a factor in the decision to cease flying to Bali.

The source said that the incentive given to airlines by Indonesian airport operators were "minimal" and that, in fact, airport management (in Indonesia) are more inclined to "squeeze" airline operators by posting high airport use tariffs.

Conversely, the observer said that during difficult periods, such as the current oil crisis, many airport managers overseas actually extend special incentives to airlines by discounting service fees in order to preserve air service to their destinations.

The observer told Antara: "This is the problem, here at (Bali's) Ngurah Rai Airport a progressive tariff is in place that allows the first two hours of aircraft parking to be free, but for periods of more than two hours a multiple of the tariff if applied. Airports in Indonesia are expensive."

The anonymous spokesperson said that when oil prices increase the management of the airport should extend incentives to stimulate air commerce and maintain existing air corridors. Adding: "It's not that airlines don’t want to fly, there just unable to pay Indonesia's non-competitive fees which contain no 'incentive discounts.' Our airlines are in a 'dazed' condition resulting from the sudden rise in oil world prices."

Staying in Touch with Our Customers

The observer also complained that Indonesia's Department of Foreign Affair, Department of Communications and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism were less than attentive in maintaining a sound business nurturing relationship with the host governments of the airlines that fly to Indonesia. He reasoned that with a strong lobby Continental Airlines would not have decided to withdraw from Bali and could, in fact, have been encouraged to add frequencies to Bali while stopping flights to Cairns in Australia. This was not done, he said, and Continental decided to cancel Bali while preserving its services to Cairns.

Continental's Manager Speaks

When Antara contacted the local manager of Continental Airlines at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport, Dara Mustika, she commented that some 50 destinations served by her airline have recently been cut with around 2,000 employees losing their jobs.

When asked about the cost of using Bali's airport, Mustika confirmed that in the course of a single visit by a Continental 737around US$3,000 in airport service fees are incurred.

Underling the impact of higher fuel costs, Mustika also advised that during the four-month period of January-April, Continental paid Pertamina US$412,000 for aviation fuel. This compares to only US$917,000 paid for fuel by the airline for the entire year of 2006 and US$1.065 for fuel for the entire calendar year of 2007.

The Indonesian Director General of Taxation has announced its intention to exempt Indonesian residents who possess an official tax number (NPWP) from paying the unpopular Rp. 1 million (US$107) fiscal charge each time they depart on a foreign trip, effective January 1, 2009.

The fiscal charge, which is settled at special tax kiosks at Indonesian airports and seaports, is technically reimbursable and can be credited against final payroll tax liabilities.

The new move designed to enhance bureaucratic efficiency and encourage Indonesian's to register and pay taxes, will only be available to the estimated 4.9 million individuals who have registered and obtained an official NPWP registration from their local tax office.

Tax officials are hinting that the "fiscal free" facility may only be a temporary measure, with the entire policy up for review on January 1, 2009, two years after the introduction of the trial "fiscal free" period.

Government officials have been quoted in the national press as saying they are confident that any loss in revenues from the fiscal fees will be more than offset by increases in the national taxpayers' base. In 2007, the government collected Rp. 2.5 trillion (US$268.8 million) in fiscal fees. The total fiscal payments collected in 2006 totaled Rp.1.2 trillion (US$129 million).

Under the new facility to take effect on January 1, 2009, travelers need only show the NPWP of the family head to be exempted from paying the fiscal charge. Dependents under the age of 21 can also be exempted under their parent's NPWP, while children under the age of 12 are not required to pay the fiscal fee.