Japanese investment in Asia to expand in 1995, says Nomura TOKYO (AFP): Japanese investment in the rest of Asia will take off in 1995, after already strong growth in 1994, no matter what happens to the yen, a senior Nomura Research Institute economist said yesterday.

Political will, stability crucial to African development By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat BANDUNG (JP): Greater political commitment and stability are two crucial factors to ensure sustainable development in African states, officials from Asian and African states say. After a three-day meeting here at the Merdeka Building, the Asia Africa Forum on Thursday evening yielded the Bandung Framework for Asia-Africa Cooperation which asserted that a conducive environment is a pre-requisite for development.

Conflict in NU From Merdeka The aftermath of the recent Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) congress, in which Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) was elected Chairman of the Organization, has created two extreme poles within NU. The two groups are now engaged in controversy. Each group has its own potential followers. Gus Dur won the NU chairmanship in the Dec. 1-5, 1994 Congress by collecting 53 percent of the votes. The remaining 47 percent forms an opposition with the support of KH Idham Chalid.

Towards independent organizations An interesting conclusion emerged at a seminar organized by the Indonesian Democratic Party faction in the House of Representatives Thursday: Political party independence remains an illusion in Indonesia because parties are intentionally kept from becoming independent so that the prevailing hegemony structure can be maintained. The broad outlines of state policy require that social and political organizations be independent.

Four companies raise $183 in loans from overseas banks JAKARTA (JP): Royal Oriental Ltd., a subsidiary of the publicly listed Duta Pertiwi, and three subsidiaries of the Ongko Group this week raised around US$183 million in loans from three syndications of overseas banks. The loan facility for Royal Oriental is worth $60 million, while Bank Umum Nasional (BUN), one of the Ongko Group's subsidiaries, obtained around $40 million.

Indonesia up to 28th in world chess stand JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia could at least take a sigh of relief when its men's team eclipsed minnow Bangladesh 3.5-0.5 at the end of the Chess Olympics in Moscow on Thursday, jacking up its world ranking from 40 to 28.   The bad tiding, however, was that the Indonesian women's team was relegated from 18th place to 26th following a 1.5 - 1.5 tie with Bosnia Herzegovina on the closing day.

Towards independent organizations An interesting conclusion emerged at a seminar organized by the Indonesian Democratic Party faction in the House of Representatives Thursday: Political party independence remains an illusion in Indonesia because parties are intentionally kept from becoming independent so that the prevailing hegemony structure can be maintained. The broad outlines of state policy require that social and political organizations be independent.

ABRI calls on NU, PDI, to resolve conflicts JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) moved yesterday to curb the growing crisis besetting Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), calling on their leaders to show self-restraint. ABRI chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Syarwan Hamid said the organizations' leaders would be able to resolve their internal conflicts if they followed their statutes.

Pulo Gadung bus terminal From Media Indonesia The intersections around Pulo Gadung are always clogged by traffic, particularly during peak hours. The housing estates around the terminal have contributed to the traffic jams. They are Kelapa Gading Permai, Kelapa Gading Pratama, Gading Lestari and Pegangsaan Dua Indah. The increasing number of buses and trucks entering and leaving Jakarta along the very narrow roads have added to the problem.

Franz the citizen and the philosopher By Santi WE Soekanto JAKARTA (JP): "There's a deficit of democracy in the current political system here...we already have institutions and components of democracy, but they have yet to work in full capacity." "In the past year, the closing down of three major publications, Tempo, DeTik and Editor, represented the lowest point of political openness here.

Suryacipta sets up industrial estate JAKARTA (JP): PT Suryacipta Swadaya is constructing a new industrial estate specifically for technology-intensive activities on 1,000 hectares in Teluk Jambe village, Karawang, West Java. "The estate, called Suryacipta City of Industry, is designed to accommodate automotive, electronic and component industries for both domestic and international markets," the company's president, Basroni Rizal, told reporters here yesterday.

Surabaya zoo out of place SURABAYA: East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman said the huge zoological park in Surabaya's town center seems out of place but fell short of calling to have it removed. Basofi said the huge park with its shady trees, some dating more than 100 years back, is crucial to the city's environment, the Antara news agency reported. The Wonokromo zoo with its 14 hectare park area is the largest in Southeast Asia.

Film negatives From Bisnis Indonesia On Dec. 8, 1994 I rode my bike from Champion Photo, Mangga Besar, to my place of work, Lokasari (People Entertainment Center). While riding my bike I lost my plastic bag containing film negatives and some money. I am sure the film negatives are not of any use to anyone who found the bag, but they are very important to me. I work with Juwita Photo, and I was going to print the negatives. How can I explain about the loss to the owner of the films.

Two companies get ISO-9000 certificates JAKARTA (JP): PT Nalco Perkasa, a producer of specialty water treatment chemicals, and PT Pertafenikki Engineering, a construction and engineering firm, have won ISO-9000 quality certificates in recognition of their management.

How do national, regional resilience link? JAKARTA (JP): Is national resilience and regional resilience mutually exclusive or mutually interdependent? This question was raised yesterday in a discussion jointly sponsored by the Lembaga Pengkajian Strategis Indonesia, a private center for strategic studies founded by former minister Rudini, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

The trouble with prostitution After all the clamor of the past four months, the nine-month prison term handed down on Wednesday to Hartono Setyawan, the supposedly "untouchable" owner of a high-class brothel in South Jakarta, seems almost anti-climactic. The panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court ruled that Hartono was proven guilty of collecting profit from prostitution, a crime punishable under Article 506 on pandering of the Criminal Code.

Jak Jazz 1994 I read with interest Paul Blair's critical overview of Jak Jazz'94 (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 16, 1994) and I agree with most of the recommendations that he has made. I would like to add one further suggestion for future events and that is to include some traditional jazz bands, especially those that play "New Orleans" jazz. For what has become a major event in the international jazz scene it seems strange to omit any contribution from what is recognized as the roots of jazz music.

Shares slightly lower on JSX JAKARTA (JP): Share prices closed a bit lower on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) yesterday in moderate trading after gaining ground for the previous two consecutive days. The broad-based JSX Composite Index closed 0.15 points lower at 458.78 yesterday from 458.93 on Thursday, while the narrower- based GTDBS-50 Index slipped to 107.73 from 107.74.

Testing manhood leads to four years in prison JAKARTA (JP): A 63-year-old diabetic is sure to think twice before attempting to test his manhood on anyone other than his wife again. The Palembang district court put successful South Sumatra businessman, H.R. Soedjono, behind bars for four years on Wednesday for what he continues to maintain was an "experiment" with his secretary. Soedjono was found guilty of raping his 23-year-old secretary in a hotel here in December last year.

Transmigration From Suara Karya It can be assumed that the lands on the slopes of the volcano are fertile. And, many people would like to live on those areas because they are promising. But volcanoes erupt from time to time, and invariably claim victims. What do the people do then? What happens to the victims? What can the state do about it? Those people must think of their distant future. They must not live close to the volcanoes. There is a lot of fertile land in Indonesia.

Rice production falls by 3.69% JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah announced here yesterday that rice production dropped this year, while other commodity crops did well. Sjarifudin told a press conference that based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, rice production is predicted to have decreased due to this years' long dry season and rainy season flooding.

Negotiations on railways YOGYAKARTA (JP): Director General of Land Transportation Soejono said yesterday that the government is inviting private firms to cooperate with the state-owned railway company Perumka in running both cargo and executive class trains. In a seminar held at the University of Gadjah Mada, Soejono said that negotiations concerning the cooperation are still being conducted and are scheduled to be completed next year.