Scholarships for 200 millionth citizen<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Wahyu Nusantaraaji has got it made for life.<\/p>\n
Named by President Soeharto as Indonesia's 200 millionth
\ncitizen, Wahyu, born on Lombok at 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, is assured
\nof scholarships for as long as he wants to study.<\/p>\n
PT Pos Indonesia, the state-owned postal company, quickly
\nadopted him as its son, and guaranteed his education.<\/p>\n
Wahyu was selected yesterday from the 8,778 babies born in
\nIndonesia Tuesday, the day the country's population officially
\nreached the 200 million mark.<\/p>\n
He is the second child of Achmad Riyadi, a 28-year-old
\nbusinessman, and 26-year-old Rohana, who live in Jeru Waru
\nvillage, Keruak District, East Lombok Regency, in West Nusa
\nTenggara province.<\/p>\n
He was one of 81 entries submitted by the 27 provinces to the
\nNational Family Planning Board (BKKBN) in Jakarta to be
\nofficially declared the 200th millionth citizen.<\/p>\n
Other than details of his parents, he was anonymous when he
\nwas picked by the President yesterday morning.<\/p>\n
Soeharto then name the infant.<\/p>\n
Wahyu means revelation, Nusantara is another name for the
\nIndonesian archipelago, and Aji means valuable.<\/p>\n
His name means \"a valuable revelation for Indonesia,\" BKKBN
\nChairman and State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono said
\nafter reporting to Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential
\noffice.<\/p>\n
\"Be sure not to separate Nusantara and Aji,\" he added.<\/p>\n
All 81 entrants fulfilled the criteria set by BKKBN. They
\ninclude being a first or second-born child of a literate and
\nlegally married couple, and that the mother should have been no
\nless than 20 years old at the time of marriage.<\/p>\n
The choice of Wahyu was because West Nusa Tenggara was one of
\nseveral provinces where the national family planning and national
\ndevelopment programs had been particularly successful, Haryono
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Haryono, who has been involved with the program since its
\nlaunch in 1969, recalled the province had one of the highest
\ninfant mortality and post-natal mortality rates 28 years ago.<\/p>\n
\"Introducing family planning was very difficult then. Now
\nthings have changed.<\/p>\n
\"That's why the President said let's give it to West Nusa
\nTenggara,\" Haryono said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto has also asked that every province, regency and
\nmayoralty adopt one of the babies born in their areas Tuesday and
\nprovide them with scholarships, so \"they will grow into quality
\nchildren\", the minister said.<\/p>\n
The President will also award certificates to every baby born
\non Feb. 4, 1997.<\/p>\n
News of the award was greeted with joy in Mataram, the capital
\nof West Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
Sutrisno, head of the local BKKBN office, told Antara:
\n\"People have always turned a blind eye when looking at West
\nNusatenggara,\" Sutrisno said.<\/p>\n
Now, this should change, he said.<\/p>\n
Wahyu was born a healthy 3.9 kg baby, reflecting the
\nprosperity of the province. Once a net importer of rice, West
\nNusa Tenggara now exports its rice surplus, he said.<\/p>\n
He felt that the scholarships given to Wahyu were justifiable.
\n\"Since he was named by the President, we cannot let him become
\nneglected and unschooled.\"<\/p>\n
To mark the occasion yesterday, Haryono presented President
\nSoeharto with a tiny computer, the size of a table clock, which
\nmonitors the Indonesian population.<\/p>\n
\"At the turn of midnight yesterday, the clock showed exactly
\n200,008,778, because 8,778 babies were born yesterday (Tuesday),\"
\nHaryono said. The figure has still to be adjusted to take into
\naccount the number of people who died Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Haryono disclosed that to mark the occasion, his office
\nplanned to organize a seminar on rearing children, because the
\nnext generation would grow up in an environment completely
\ndifferent from that witnessed by previous children.<\/p>\n
Today's children would live longer, to at least 70 years old,
\nand they would become very much part of the global community,
\nspeaking not only one language, their local dialect, but also
\nIndonesian, Malay, English and others, he said.<\/p>\n
They would also be raised in a different social environment.<\/p>\n
They would probably be raised in a family where both parents
\nworked. If in the past children played with their siblings,
\ntoday's children would play with their neighbors, who probably
\ncome from different ethnic groups.<\/p>\n
Children would therefore learn about unity through diversity
\nfrom childhood, he said. \"That's the difference between Wahyu and
\nHaryono when he was a child,\" Haryono quipped.<\/p>\n
\"Wahyu will speak the language of his neighbors, the language
\nof tourists visiting West Nusa Tenggara. He will grow up to speak
\nseveral languages, but he will also have greater tolerance toward
\nethnic and cultural differences,\" he said. (emb)<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/scholarships-for-200-millionth-citizen-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }