Apartments, hotels prepare to face millennium bug<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Apartment residents and hotel guests in the
\ncapital have been warned to reserve an adequate supply of water,
\nkeep emergency lighting on hand and to avoid using elevators at
\nmidnight on New Year's Eve.<\/p>\n
Ignoring the warnings could make you susceptible to the Y2K
\nbug.<\/p>\n
Such warnings were noted in leaflets distributed by many
\napartment managers at their respective premises. Some hoteliers,
\nhowever, will distribute the warnings a few days before New
\nYear's Eve.<\/p>\n
Warnings to temporarily stop using computers have also been
\ncirculated among Jakartans.<\/p>\n
At many apartments, managers have strongly alerted tenants not
\nto use elevators during New Year's Eve.<\/p>\n
Similar warnings can be found on announcement boards and walls
\nof many apartments, such as Wisma Gading Permai in East Jakarta,
\nMitra Bahari and Pesona Bahari apartments in North Jakarta, Atap
\nMerah Condominiums in Central Jakarta and Brawijaya Apartments in
\nSouth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A pamphlet on the walls of Wisma Gading Permai reads: "Don't
\nuse the elevator 10 minutes before and after the year changes.
\nPrepare emergency lighting and reserve enough water."<\/p>\n
Martin Sutedja, a tenant, said the leaflets were posted about
\none month ago.<\/p>\n
Head of the apartment's engineers, Budihardjo Sutardjo,
\ninsisted that the warnings did not reflect that the building's
\ncomputer system was not yet Y2K compliant.<\/p>\n
The warnings, he explained, were made because the service
\nprovided to the tenants also relied on outside services which
\nmight not be free from the double digit millennial problem.<\/p>\n
"We, for example, can do nothing if the water supply from PDAM
\nJaya (the city water management company), or electricity from PLN
\nstate electricity company is suddenly disrupted.<\/p>\n
"So what we can do now is urge tenants to get ready for any
\nunfavorable circumstances," Budihardjo said.<\/p>\n
In regard to elevators, he explained his company had prepared
\nall of the apartment's elevators for the changing of the year.<\/p>\n
"But we still need to be thoroughly alert as something might
\nhappen during that time. That's why we made the 10-minute limit
\nbefore and after the new year," he said.<\/p>\n
Hotels<\/p>\n
Executives at Horison Hotel in North Jakarta, Hilton Hotel and
\nSheraton Media Hotel in Central Jakarta said their companies were
\nready for the millennium bug and would only caution their guests
\nlater.<\/p>\n
Nur'aini B. Prapdanu, the public relations manager of Horison
\nHotel, said the hotel would distribute a leaflet on technical
\ntips to help guests should certain problems, such as a loss of
\ntelephone service, arise at that time.<\/p>\n
"Usually, guests want to call and say Happy New Year to
\npeople. Therefore, we'll prepare direct lines as a backup to
\nserve them," she said.<\/p>\n
Sheraton Media public relations manager Fifi Patricia said the
\nhotel also made similar preparations.<\/p>\n
She added that computer devices at the hotel would conclude
\nits final test on Y2K compliance on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"Our computer devices were checked months ago. We're ready to
\ndo things manually should anything bad happen," she added.<\/p>\n
At other companies and on the street, people also received
\nfree information on "what not to do" during the last seconds of
\nthe century.<\/p>\n
Agus Gunawan, an employee of Guna Sumber Sejahtera electrical
\ncompany in Central Jakarta, said his management circulated
\nsimilar leaflets to staff and friends.<\/p>\n
In the handouts, people were warned to avoid, among other
\nthings, using their credit cards or automatic telling machines
\n(ATMs), printing out bank account balances and flying on
\nairplanes.<\/p>\n
He also suggested that people should do some minor preparation
\nbeforehand, such as making sure their vehicle's tank was full,
\nmobile phones were fully charged, freezers and cupboards in the
\nkitchen were stocked with an adequate supply of food and to
\nensure their last receipts were on hand. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apartments-hotels-prepare-to-face-millennium-bug-1447893297",
"image": ""
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