1. Asset - 4x 12<\/p>\n
City urged
\nto improve
\nmanagement
\nover assets<\/p>\n
City administration was urged to quickly improve its management
\nover all city assets to prevent asset loss and to increase city
\nrevenue especially from those being used in business cooperation
\nwith the private sector.<\/p>\n
The demand was expressed by City Council's Commission B
\noverseeing trade and investment affairs on Monday during a
\nplenary meeting to evaluate the 2002 City Budget.<\/p>\n
\"So far there is no clear regulation stating which office is
\nresponsible to manage city assets. Even the city assets office
\nhas failed to keep track on city assets,\" commission spokesman
\nDani Anwar said in a prepared statement during the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"We also lament the office's explanation on the absence of
\ncertificates and other legal documents on city assets used or
\nrented by private sectors,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Dani emphasized that such condition had hampered the efforts
\nto increase revenue from city-owned enterprises.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are 52 city-owned enterprises with various
\nstatus ranging from wholly-owned to joint venture company and
\nother commercial cooperations.<\/p>\n
Those enterprises failed to contribute the expected Rp 64.99
\nbillion (US$7.38 million) revenue to the 2002 City Budget. The
\ngenerated revenue was only some Rp 43.74 billion or about 67
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Clean and tidy assets management is important as city
\nadministration itself is in the dark about its own wealth.<\/p>\n
The City Assets Office head Rama Boedi said that Jakarta's
\ntotal assets, consisting of companies and properties, were valued
\nat more than Rp 7.9 trillion.<\/p>\n
City Council is currently drafting a city bylaw on city assets
\nmanagement to become a legal basis for the administration to
\nmanage its own assets, especially against developers who refuse
\nto build social facilities.<\/p>\n
Monday's plenary meeting was the first to be presided by
\ncouncil speaker Agung Imam Sumanto who was installed as council
\nspeaker before the budget plenary meeting.<\/p>\n
Agung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) faction succeeded Eddy Waluyo of the Indonesian
\nMilitary\/National faction who had to resign as council speaker
\nfollowing his decision to run for governorship last year.<\/p>\n
Contacted separately, Azaz Tigor Nainggolan of the Jakarta
\nResidents Forum (Fakta) told The Jakarta Post that the assets
\nwere forfeited in purpose to allow corrupt city officials to take
\nadvantage by selling the assets to private sectors.<\/p>\n
\"The city-owned enterprises actually have such a huge
\npotential to generate large amount of revenue for city budget
\nprovided that they are managed properly,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But the problem is they are managed by retired city officials
\ninstead of professionals who really have business senses and
\nskills.\"<\/p>\n
Tigor said high professionalism was very important because a
\nbusiness entity would seek profit with its operation.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the joint venture companies use city assets which
\nmeans they also carry social purposes and not only business ones.<\/p>\n
\"Poor management will only allow private sector to reap high
\nprofits by sacrificing city assets,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Another problem with city-owned enterprises is that the city's
\nshare composition in joint venture companies, there are 11 of
\nthem, tend to decrease with the course of time.<\/p>\n
The dilution is mainly caused by city administration's
\ninability to inject fresh capital to those companies.<\/p>\n
\"If the administration cannot provide capital to keep its
\nshare composition, it would be better if the administration had
\nnot invested in the first time,\" said Tigor.<\/p>\n
\"It would be better to set the companies as wholly-owned ones
\nand manage them properly.\"<\/p>\n
2. Trial - 2x 25<\/p>\n
Activist stands trial
\nfor insulting Megawati<\/p>\n
An activist from the radical group Islamic Youth Movement
\n(GPI) stood his first trial on Monday for allegedly insulting
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri during an anti government
\nprotest in mid-February.<\/p>\n
The defendant, M. Iqbal Siregar, was indicted of violating
\nArticle 134 of Criminal Code Law on the deliberate intent to
\ninsult the president or vice president that carries a maximum
\npenalty of six-year imprisonment. He was also accussed of
\nviolating Article 137 (1) on publicizing the conduct that carries
\na maximum penalty of one year in jail.<\/p>\n
The article is known here as pasal karet (malleable article),
\nbecause in the past, the New Order regime drew upon it to
\nsuppress its political opponents.<\/p>\n
The indictment, read by chief prosecutor Arnold Angkouw, said
\nthat during an anti-government protest on Jan. 15, the defendant
\ncarried a picture of Megawati with a black tape closing her eyes
\nand words \"Hunted by Public\" imprinted on top of it.<\/p>\n
\"He then showed the picture to the crowds while saying `this
\nis the president that has disappointed citizens',\" Arnold said,
\nadding that the defendant then threw the pictures on the bustling
\nJl. Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta, only to be run over by
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
The chief prosecutor said that such an act constituted a
\ndeliberate insult to the President.<\/p>\n
Iqbal conducted the act during a protest against a number of
\nMegawati Government' policies, which he said had added to the
\nplight of the populace. The rally was also attended by other
\ngroups such as the Islamic Students Association (HMI), the
\nAlliance Against Mega (ATM) and the Jakarta Student Executive
\nBodies (BEM).<\/p>\n
The trial for Iqbal was the third to be held in the country
\nduring Megawati's term of presidency. Late last year, Muzakkir
\nand Nanang Mamija, respectively from the Populist Youth Movement
\n(GPK) and the National Farmers Federation (STN), were sentenced
\nto one year in prison after being proven guilty of stomping the
\npictures of Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz.<\/p>\n
Currently, trials on cases of insulting state leaders
\ncommitted by three student activists, Rico Marbun, Fathul Nugroho
\nand Ardy Purnawanani, are still underway.<\/p>\n
Moments before the presiding judge Cornel Sianturi concluded
\nthe hearing, the defendant's lawyer Taufik Basari said that the
\nteam of advocates would submit a defense. The judge later agreed
\nthat the defense could be read on Thursday.<\/p>\n
After the hearing was over, Iqbal -- who had been placed in
\nthe custody for eighty days, the last time in Salemba prison,
\nCentral Jakarta -- said that his trial was but one example of how
\nthe Megawati administration was following the path of the
\nauthoritarian regime of former President Soeharto in using the
\nmalleable article to curb protests against his government.<\/p>\n
\"These articles (Article 134 and 137) will simply kill off the
\ncountry's burgeoning democracy,\" Iqbal told reporters.<\/p>\n
Citing that the trial could become a bad precedent for pro-
\ndemocracy movement in the future, he said: \"If the articles are
\nstrictly applied, thousands of our youth who resent the
\ngovernment's policy will crowd the country's prisons.\"<\/p>\n
Reiterating Iqbal's statement, Taufik said that the
\napplication of the malleable articles against political activists
\nshowed the Megawati administration was indeed a repressive
\nregime.<\/p>\n
3. Busway - 2x 20<\/p>\n
3-in-1 extention plan
\ndecided after trips<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso said on Monday that the extension plan of the
\n3-in-1 traffic policy up to the afternoon rush hours would be
\ndecided after he has finished his 12-day trip to Latin American
\ncities.<\/p>\n
The new restrictions, announced last Wednesday, are related to
\nthe plan to implement the 12.9-kilometer busway system from Blok
\nM in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Currently, only private vehicles with three or more passengers
\nare allowed to pass Jl. Sudirman, Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Gatot
\nSubroto in Central Jakarta from 6:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. But
\naccording to the new plan, it will be also applied during rush
\nhours in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
The new restrictions are deemed important to ease possible
\ncongestion caused by busway system once it is implemented.<\/p>\n
Another restriction under study is to prohibit cars with plate
\nnumbers ending in certain numbers to travel during certain days.<\/p>\n
The administration will also develop 14 new feeder routes,
\nconnecting residential areas with the restricted zone to
\ncompensate the traffic restrictions.<\/p>\n
\"I will have to learn all the restrictions during my visit.
\nOnly after that I can decide,\" Sutiyoso told reporters.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, who is slated to leave on Saturday and will return
\nhome on May 7, will visit Sao Paulo in Brazil, Mexico City in
\nMexico, Bogota in Colombia and Quito in Ecuador, according to
\ncity spokesman Muhayat.<\/p>\n
His visit to Sao Paulo is made after several invitations
\nextended by the Sao Paulo governor who has visited Jakarta
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
\"There is also a possibility to discuss a plan to assess
\nsister city relationship,\" said Muhayat.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso is also expected to learn about public transportation
\nmanagement in Mexico City and have a closer look on the busway
\nsystems implemented in Bogota and Quito. -- JP<\/p>\n
4. Kartini - 1x 30<\/p>\n
No more 'kebaya' on Kartini Day<\/p>\n
Monday was Kartini Day, named after Indonesian heroine of
\nemancipation Raden Ajeng Kartini. Until a few years ago, schools
\nwere busy organizing activities to observe the day, usually
\ncontests such as cooking and flower arrangement. Female students
\nwere also told to wear the traditional outfit of kebaya, like
\nwhat Kartini did.<\/p>\n
\"Thanks God, it's over,\" said Hariati, a mother of a 8-year-
\nold daughter, said.<\/p>\n
She related how she had to persuade her daughter, who refused
\nto wear kebaya at school, as requested by the teacher.<\/p>\n
\"I told her that it was my birthday and she had to wear the
\ntraditional clothes to make me happy,\" said Hariati, adding that
\nher trick worked.<\/p>\n
A teacher said that the school did not celebrate Kartini Day
\nas there was no more instruction from the government on the
\nsubject. Besides, she said, many parents also complaints about
\nthe obligation to wear kebaya.<\/p>\n
Yanti, who sends her daughter to SD Trisula, Cikini, Central
\nJakarta, said she did not agree with the school's order on the
\nstudents to wear traditional clothes on Kartini Day.<\/p>\n
\"The point of Kartini's struggle is not wearing kebaya. In the
\nmeantime, the order made me busy for nothing, like taking my
\ndaughter to a hairdresser, borrow the clothes, and put make-up on
\nher face,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Kartini was born in Jepara, Central Java, on April 21, 1879. A
\nbrilliant young woman from a noble family in Jepara, Central
\nJava, she was touched with the condition of other women at that
\ntime. They were who mostly had no access to education and had to
\nstay at home, waiting until men proposed them for marriages.<\/p>\n
Through her correspondent letters to a Dutch woman, Kartini
\nshared her thoughts, including that she was against polygamy and
\nthat a woman should have an option to stay single.<\/p>\n
She wrote in Dutch and her ideas were quite progressive and
\nexceptional.<\/p>\n
Tragically, in the end, Kartini should give up and accepted
\nher father's request to 50-year-old marry a man who already had
\nthree wives and six children. Later, Kartini died in 25, three
\ndays after giving birth to her first son.<\/p>\n
The government declared Kartini a national heroine in 1964 and
\nsince then her birthday has been observed as Kartini Day.<\/p>\n
Students were merely told that Kartini was a heroine of women
\nemancipation because she was care about women's education.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, 48, an activist on women's right,
\ntold the Post that it would be better for school to open
\ndiscussion on women's rights, instead of holding ceremonial,
\nartificial celebrations.<\/p>\n
\"It will be better if people explore more on Kartini's
\nthoughts, so they will get the basic idea,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She gave herself as an example.<\/p>\n
Despite of the annual flag hoisting ceremony at her school on
\nKartini Day, Nursyahbani said she did not understand who Kartini
\nwas before she finally read books on her later when she grown up.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, somehow Kartini's death showed that a woman's
\nnatural fate is giving birth. Taking care of children can be done
\nby man as well. It was proved that at the end, Kartini's son was
\ngrown not by his mother,\" she said.<\/p>\n
5. Speak - 2x20<\/p>\n
'So I find it hard
\nto study English'<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that English is one of the most important
\nsubjects at school. The government even held the National
\nDebating Championship last week, which was participated in by
\nmany students who speak English fluently. However, there are many
\nothers who have difficulty learning English, as some students
\nexpressed to The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Fanny, 17, is a second grade student of a private economics
\nvocational high school in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta. She resides
\non Jl. Gelora, Central Jakarta, with her family:<\/p>\n
Frankly speaking, I don't like English, because the lessons at
\nschool are not at all interesting.<\/p>\n
The teachers teach so fast that I am hardly able to catch up.
\nSo I find it hard to study English. I prefer mathematics to
\nEnglish.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the teachers often give difficult assignments to
\nthe students such as compiling English materials from newspapers
\nclippings, taking pictures of foreigners, interviewing them and
\nrecording the interview on tape.<\/p>\n
Last week I tried to interview a foreigner but he was upset
\ndue to the communication barrier and even called me a crazy
\nperson. I didn't like it. I gave up the assignment.<\/p>\n
I failed an exam because I could not give the appropriate
\nreply in a mock phone conversation in English with the teachers.
\nI did not get a certificate.<\/p>\n
In a way I realize that English is very important now, more
\nover if I major in secretarial studies. Thus, like it or not I
\nhave to study hard.<\/p>\n
However, I regret my parents cannot afford the fee for an
\nEnglish course. So I have to study myself.<\/p>\n
I hope someday I could get a job and at the same time I would
\ntake an English course to improve my proficiency.<\/p>\n
Destyana, 18, is a third grade student of state-run SMU 60 in
\nKemang Timur, South Jakarta. She lives in Pasar Minggu, South
\nJakarta:<\/p>\n
I like English because there are no figures like in
\nmathematics. I hate numbers and accounting or anything whatsoever
\ndealing with numbers. So, I like English and it has nothing to do
\nwith the teachers.<\/p>\n
I think that I have to enjoy English lessons as English is one
\nof the compulsory subjects one has to pass in the final exam.<\/p>\n
Besides, English will be important for the Asian Free Trade
\nArea (AFTA). Many jobs now also require English as one of the
\nimportant qualifications.<\/p>\n
I don't want to join an English course. Well, at least I have
\nthe commitment to pay more serious attention to the lessons in
\nclass from now on. I'm afraid that if I fail the final exam it
\nwill be hard for me.<\/p>\n
Only one thing is motivating me to study English better, that
\nis to graduate from senior high school and pass the English exam.
\nThe new system now requires a pass grade in English and several
\nother compulsory subjects.<\/p>\n
The new system is really burdensome for me. I prefer the
\nprevious system in which the pass grade was not as rigid as now
\nand there was no distinction between passing and graduating such
\nas in the current system.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the new system in many ways is much more
\nbeneficial in that it will produce more qualified graduates. That
\nis, as long as there is no fraud in the national final tests.
\nHowever, I am a bit doubtful about that.<\/p>\n
Andi, 18, is a second year student of state-run SMU 24 in
\nCentral Jakarta. He resides near the school with his family:<\/p>\n
I have enjoyed learning English since I was in elementary
\nschool. I have not enrolled in an English course so far. I'm
\nreally self-taught.<\/p>\n
So I keep a keen interest in English regardless of the way the
\nteachers teach or the teachers' personal traits.<\/p>\n
I learn the language through many things including films,
\ncassettes and practicing with my sister. In addition, I rely a
\nlot on the dictionary as the major source.<\/p>\n
I feel confident even though I am just a self-taught learner.
\nI've proven that I can achieve far better results compared to my
\nfriend who studied an English language course.<\/p>\n
I am certain that English is very important for our future.
\nEveryone must master it as an international language. I hope
\nsomeday I will have the chance to study abroad due to my
\nproficiency in English.<\/p>\n
-- Leo Wahyudi S<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/1-asset-4x-12-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }