Statement from AMINEF on Fulbright Researcher Frank Sedlar.

In connection with a news story in the Jakarta Post on September 29 about an American researcher, Frank Sedlar, the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF), would like to make the following clarification.

Frank Sedlar is an engineer with an M.S.E. degree from the University of Michigan, who received a prestigious Fulbright US Student award to do research in Indonesia for ten months on “Measuring urban resilience to climate change in Indonesia”; this specifically involved developing with host institution University of Indonesia and collaborator PETA Jakarta remote sensors for measuring water levels on Jakarta’s rivers. AMINEF is the binational foundation that manages the Fulbright program in Indonesia. Sedlar’s research was approved by several Indonesian ministries and he had all the necessary research permits and visa.

Contrary to the impression given by the headline and text of the Jakarta Post article, Sedlar was not arrested by Indonesian Immigration authorities for visa violations. Having done research on many of Jakarta’s rivers in the course of his research and having documented many of the changes along the rivers in the course of his research, he was in the area of Bukit Duri in South Jakarta on September 28 and was taking photographs of the demolition of buildings on the river bank there. When asked for his passport by an Immigration officer who was there, he realized he had not brought it with him. Hence he accompanied the officer to the Immigration Office and had someone bring his passport there to verify his identity and visa status. He left his passport there, and the next day he was accompanied by staff of AMINEF to discuss his status with the Immigration Office. After having satisfactorily clarified his status with the Immigration authorities, he was allowed to leave with his passport. At no point was he detained or his movements restricted.

On September 29, he gave a final presentation of his research results at AMINEF entitled “Sensing Jakarta’s hydrological infrastructure” to invited guests and the general public. This focused on his and PETA Jakarta’s work on developing remote sensors for measuring water levels in Jakarta’s rivers.

On September 30, as originally planned from the beginning of his project, Frank Sedlar left Indonesia for the United States. He hopes to write up his research and share it with Indonesian colleagues and others: it has implications for other megacities in Asia that lie on low ground and are prone to flooding and to the threat of rising sea levels caused by climate change.

AMINEF takes pride in the work done by the Indonesian and American recipients of Fulbright and other grants it offers, and that includes Frank Sedlar. Please look forward to reports on his work at our website, and to his future publications.