1. VOTE: 50 pt, 2 cols, 4 x 12<\/p>\n
Councillors
\nsplit over
\nvoting
\nprocedure<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
City Council factions are divided on the voting procedure for the
\nSept. 11 gubernatorial election especially concerning
\nconfidentiality in the voting process.<\/p>\n
Contacted separately on Friday, councillors from the Justice
\nParty (PK) and National Mandate Party (PAN) factions told The
\nJakarta Post that they preferred that councillors mark a cross on
\nthe ballot paper or perforate the paper instead of writing the
\ncandidate's names on the paper.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) factions insisted that
\ncouncillors write the names of the candidates.<\/p>\n
\"Our faction wants the ballot paper to be marked with crosses
\nas it will guarantee the confidentiality of the vote as required
\nby the 1999 Law No. 22 on regional autonomy,\" said chairman of PK
\nfaction, Achmad Heryawan.<\/p>\n
\"Writing the names will open the possibility for certain deals
\nto take place.\"<\/p>\n
Achmad said that certain groups could add special words to
\nsignify their group so each candidate would know by the
\nsignifying mark which group had voted for them.<\/p>\n
Suppose several groups supported a candidate named Amir, said
\nAchmad. The first group could write \"Amir OK\" while the second
\ngroup could choose to write \"Amir Yes\". The third group could use
\nanother code.<\/p>\n
Achmad said the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) factions based their argument
\non practices carried out at both the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
\"Voting procedures at the DPR and MPR are carried out by
\nwriting candidates' names on blank paper. It has become a
\nconvention at those state institutions.<\/p>\n
\"But we (City Council) have our own conventions. Besides,
\nmarking crosses against the names on the ballot paper will
\nprevent unfair practices,\" said Achmad.<\/p>\n
Achmad also admitted that the council's election regulations
\ndid not specify whether the ballot paper had to be crossed,
\nperforated, or written on.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, councillor Syamsuardi Botan of PAN faction said
\nthat there were vested interests at stake if Golkar and PDI
\nPerjuangan kept insisting on writing the candidates names.<\/p>\n
\"If we want to really adopt the one man one vote policy, we
\nshould perforate the ballots.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, it has been a City Council convention to perforate
\nthe ballots instead of writing names. We don't have to copy the
\npractices of the MPR and DPR,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Syamsuardi also said that perforating the ballot paper would
\nenable councillors to use their own conscience in choosing a
\ngubernatorial candidate.<\/p>\n
\"This procedure enables us to diverge from our party's policy
\nif we believe the party's policy is against public interests.\"<\/p>\n
There have been rumors that PDI Perjuangan faction is
\ninsisting on writing the candidates' names as a way to control
\nits members loyalty.<\/p>\n
A split occurred in the faction with the decision to support
\nincumbent Governor Sutiyoso's renomination despite his alleged
\ninvolvement in the July 27, 1996 attack on PDI headquarters.<\/p>\n
Faction members will be free to vote for candidates other than
\nSutiyoso if the ballot is cast by either putting a cross against
\nthe name or by perforating the name on the ballot papers.<\/p>\n
2. RECLAIM: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30<\/p>\n
Pantura reclamation to go ahead<\/p>\n
Ignoring protests from environmentalists, the City
\nAdministration has decided to go ahead with its plan to reclaim
\nand revitalize some 5,200 hectares of sea and coastal areas at
\nthe northern part of Jakarta (Pantura).<\/p>\n
Executive chairman of the Jakarta Waterfront Management Board
\nM. Sidarta said reclamation of 2,500 hectare of sea and
\nrevitalization of 2,700 hectare of coastal areas is a significant
\neffort to improve environmental condition in the area.<\/p>\n
\"The reclamation project is not only aimed at tapping the
\neconomic potentials, but it is also part of the effort to improve
\nenvironmental condition in the area,\" Sidarta said at a round
\ntable discussion here on Friday.<\/p>\n
Sidarta argued that the government has no fund to improve
\nenvironmental damage along 32 kilometers of Coastal area in the
\ncity therefore it needs involvement of the private sectors in
\nmanaging the areas.<\/p>\n
He said without reclamation project, the environmental problem
\nlike abrasion as well as social problems in the coastal areas
\nwould continue.<\/p>\n
According to Sidarta, the reclaimed areas will be used for
\nhousings, industrial estate, seaports, and other business
\ncenters.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Forum for Coastal Areas Society, Didit Eko Y,
\nhowever, said that the reclamation project will cause an
\nenvironmental and social damage as it is still based on a
\npresidential decree No. 52 issued in 1995.<\/p>\n
\"If the economic opportunity become the main objective of the
\nreclamation project as stated in the presidential decree, it
\nwould cause various negative impacts,\" according to Didit.<\/p>\n
Environmental impacts include the possible worsening floods in
\nthe city, submerge of small islands as the project needs some 200
\nmillion cubic meter, and the damage of mangrove ecosystem along
\nthe coastal areas.<\/p>\n
According to Didit, social impact would be more difficult
\nproblems as many people mostly poor fishermen would be evicted
\nfrom their houses in the coastal areas as only those who have
\nmoney who would be able to have access in the reclaimed areas.<\/p>\n
3. SUSU: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30<\/p>\n
Anthrax fear hit milk business<\/p>\n
Amid public fears over the recent outbreak of anthrax in Bogor,
\nvendors and suppliers of milk in the Bogor municipality have
\nsuffered losses as customers shun their products.<\/p>\n
\"Many of my customers have stopped buying milk from me. Even
\nif they do buy it, they always ask whether the milk is infected
\nwith anthrax or not,\" a milk vendor, Muhidin, said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"I usually sell 35 liters of milk daily but now I can only
\nsell 27 liters,\" said Muhidin, who has been a milk vendor since
\n1964.<\/p>\n
News of the latest anthrax outbreak became public on Tuesday,
\nwhen the media reported that five employees of a livestock farm
\nin Kebonpedes, Bogor regency, had been infected by the disease
\nafter they slaughtered a sick cow on July 28. Another employee
\nwas later also found to be infected by the virus.<\/p>\n
Another milk vendor, Yusuf Mustofa, 39, shared a similar
\nexperience, saying that her earnings had dropped from Rp 40,000
\nto Rp 20,000.<\/p>\n
Yusuf bought the milk from the breeding farm owned by Sukarja,
\nnext to the one owned by Uci, whose employees were infected by
\nthe anthrax virus.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Bogor Milk Producers' Cooperative (KPS) manager
\nBintarso admitted the sale of milk had been affected. But he said
\nsales had returned to normal after laboratory testing showed that
\nthe milk was not infected.<\/p>\n
He said cooperative members sold 6,000 liters of milk to
\nIndomilk a day and between 3,000 liters and 4,000 liters to
\nDiamond Ice Cream. They also send the milk to a cosmetics factory
\nand a sweets factory which each need about 850 liters per week.<\/p>\n
Bintoro said the Husbandry and Fishery Agency in Bogor regency
\nissued a letter on Aug. 1 stipulating the regency be on alert for
\nthe virus.<\/p>\n
He said that the letter was addressed to all members and
\nexecutives of KPS and another cooperative called Giri Tani
\nCisarua. The agency said the two cooperatives were not allowed to
\nget new cattle without certification issued by local officials or
\nveterinarians.<\/p>\n
4. TEACHER: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30<\/p>\n
Island teachers get more benefits<\/p>\n
The city administration is to upgrade the status of temporary
\nteachers who pass a special examination to contract teachers as
\npart of an attempt to improve their well-being, especially those
\nworking in the newly-established Kepulauan Seribu regency.<\/p>\n
\"All temporary teachers will be given the chance to improve
\ntheir status by taking a special test that is scheduled for
\nsometime in September,\" Governor Sutiyoso told reporters on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
\"Should the teachers pass the examination, they will get a
\none-year contract from the city administration, which can be
\nextended.\"<\/p>\n
Currently, temporary teachers only get between Rp 100,000 and
\nRp 200,000 (US$11 to $22) per month.<\/p>\n
A contract would entitle them to receive a salary of up to Rp
\n750,000. Even those who fail the test, however, will receive a
\nsalary raise based on the provincial minimum wage of Rp 596,000
\nper month.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, city spokesman Muhayat said that priority would be
\ngiven to teachers in the Kepuluan Seribu regency, as promised by
\nSutiyoso to the islands' teachers on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso visited Untung Jawa Island to inaugurate several
\ninfrastructure projects worth Rp 10.5 billion (US$1.1 million),
\nincluding port and sanitation facilities.<\/p>\n
Previously a district of the North Jakarta mayoralty, the
\nregency is considered the least developed of the city's five
\nsecond level administrative regions due to its geographical
\nisolation.<\/p>\n
\"The only way to improve the quality of the Seribu islanders
\nis by improving the level of education there.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, the city administration is providing more
\nincentives for teachers so as to give them extra motivation,\"
\nMuhayat said.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are about 30 permanent teachers and 95
\ntemporary teachers paid by the city working in the Seribu
\nIslands.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the permanent teachers will get an additional six
\ndays added on to their 12 days annual leave, which can be taken
\nthree times a year so that they can visit the mainland, as a
\nfurther incentive.<\/p>\n
The teachers and each of their family members will also
\nreceive allowances when taking annual leave.<\/p>\n
The new policy is expected to start in September pending the
\napproval of the City Council.<\/p>\n
\"But even if we cannot start the incentive program this year,
\nthe teachers will be enjoying the benefits by next January,\" said
\nMuhayat.<\/p>\n
In a separate development, in Bekasi dozens of temporary
\njunior high school teachers demanded on Friday that the Bekasi
\nmunicipal administration recruit them as permanent teachers.<\/p>\n
\"Our job is to increase the public's level of education but
\nthe administration must pay attention to our welfare,\" one of the
\nteachers, Dadi Suryadi, was quoted as saying by Antara.<\/p>\n
The teachers demanded that the administration prioritize them
\nduring the next recruitment drive planned for sometime in
\nSeptember.<\/p>\n
5. SPEAKUP: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30<\/p>\n
'The amulet works well for me'<\/p>\n
Modern people still need the services of psychics in certain
\ncases, such as when one is possessed by a spirit. But there are
\nalso others who visit the paranormal to see their futures or to
\ngain magic power.<\/p>\n
Hari, 46, owner of a restaurant on Jl. Mampang Prapatan, South
\nJakarta. Last month he visited two different psychics to cure one
\nof his waiters who was possessed by a spirit:<\/p>\n
The case occurred last month after we served a family who held
\na garden party in Cibubur, East Jakarta. Manto, my waiter, looked
\nhealthy when we arrived. He served the guests as usual, but when
\nthe party was over, he became quiet and refused to do some
\nremaining jobs.<\/p>\n
At night, his body temperature increased and he suddenly
\nstarted acting weirdly. His voice became deeper and he spoke
\nEnglish. Manto actually could not speak English, he is a
\nelementary school graduate. He claimed that his name was James
\nfrom Australia.<\/p>\n
During the night, Manto -- or James -- repeatedly said that he
\nneeded water. We gave him more than 30 liters during the night
\nalone. In the morning, Manto slept all day, but when night came,
\nhe again said that he was James.<\/p>\n
We took him the next morning to a psychic in our neighborhood
\nbecause we believe he was possessed by a spirit. The psychic did
\na ritual, but he failed to heal Manto. The psychic claimed that
\nhe could not communicate with the spirit because he does not
\nspeak English.<\/p>\n
We took him to another psychic, a blind woman, in East
\nJakarta. The blind female psychic said the spirit inside Manto's
\nbody wanted people to pray God for him. We did a mass prayer for
\nhim. Luckily, Manto has since recovered.<\/p>\n
Lanny Kurniadi, 41, a customer service officer in a bank on
\nJl. Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta. She visits a Chinese psychic
\nevery Chinese new year to see her future:<\/p>\n
Some people have gifts, others don't. Psychics have magical
\npower. Common people like me need them to see our future.<\/p>\n
I always visit a psychic to predict my luck each year. I use
\nhis prediction to make me more alert to face any problem in my
\nlife. I must plan everything the best I can to avoid problems.<\/p>\n
The predictions also make me more aware about my relations
\nwith others and about possible business opportunities in the
\nfollowing years.<\/p>\n
Muha, 32, a taxi driver who lives in Cimanggis, West Java. He
\nvisited a psychic, his next-door neighbor, to be blessed with the
\npower to defend himself from criminals:<\/p>\n
I have a very risky job. I mean, taxi drivers could be stabbed
\nor killed by robbers who pretend to be passengers. That's why I
\nneed the power.<\/p>\n
The psychic gave me a certain amulet three years ago. I must
\nuse it everyday, so I wear it as a necklace. I also had to do a
\ncertain ritual and fast for 40 days before he gave me the amulet.<\/p>\n
The amulet works well. I have proved it. Last year, two
\nrobbers attempted to stab me. There is a scar in my neck but I
\nfelt nothing, I even hit them and they ran off like rabbits.
\n-- Muninggar Sri Saraswati<\/p>",
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