Reflections on the golden Balinese 'barong' By Amir Sidharta JAKARTA (JP): The importance of numerology often gets exaggerated around anniversary celebrations, which is especially true about the golden one Indonesia is celebrating this year. However, Galeri Santi has managed to package quite a charming exhibit around the theme of numbers by presenting paintings of "golden" barong by 17 artists.

Hermawan sees a big leap in world ranks JAKARTA (JP): If the badminton world rankings list were a sea, the U.S. Open concluded on Aug. 13 in Atlanta, Georgia would have caused only a ripple. Winning the Open's men's title was a great leap for Indonesian Olympic bronze medalist Hermawan Susanto. His beaming 15-10, 15-3 win made his opponent in the final, Chinese rising star Dong Jiong, seem dim.

Cataracts cure not popular JAKARTA (JP): Health Minister Sujudi estimates that, of the 250 new cataract patients in Indonesia each year, only 50 can afford to undergo surgery for the condition. The minister says there are now 1.6 million Indonesians suffering from cataracts who have not undergone any form of surgery.

Further enlargement of ASEAN not a dream Bilson Kurus looks at a future with an ASEAN of 10 members. On July 28, Vietnam was formally welcomed into the ASEAN fold as its seventh member. A regional rival of staunchly anti- communist ASEAN up to the late 1980s, Vietnam's entry paves the way for a further enlargement of ASEAN. It is very likely that the rest of Indochina -- Cambodia and Laos -- as well as Myanmar will soon follow in Vietnam's footsteps.

Foundation to hold timed rally JAKARTA (JP): The foundation of Manunggal Karsa Nusantara will hold a timed rally called Margarana Pelabuhan Ratu on Oct. 21-22. The organizing committee's chairman, Ktut Suwardana, said on Friday that the 500-kilometer timed rally will offer a total of Rp 10 million (US$4,415) cash prizes. He said that the rally will start on Oct.

Be prepared for rains in Jakarta, otherwise... By Julie L. Litchfield JAKARTA (JP): As much as I am enjoying my time here in Indonesia, I must admit to experiencing a bit of culture shock. I came to Jakarta from a small town -- about the population of two Jakarta-bound buses from Bogor on a Sunday afternoon.

Film censorship a must to retain certain norms JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian government rules that all films and commercials must be censored to protect the public from any possible negative impact of the productions. Under the tight censorship, certain scenes must be omitted. Some films have even been rejected while others have been withdrawn from circulation following public protest.

Foreign land ownership erodes Bali's cultural identity By Bulan L. DENPASAR (JP): Indonesian regulations encourage foreign investors to develop houses and apartments but prohibit foreign ownership of land. Real estate developers have urged the government to open the land market to foreigners, but it seems that the government is still a long way from granting this for various reasons. One is that the government's chief concern is still in providing affordable housing for Indonesian people.

Young Designers Contest stuns audience By Dini S. Djalal JAKARTA (JP): The hip brigade has landed and immersed itself among Indonesia's fashion students. At the 1995 Indonesian Young Designers Contest last Friday, the audience was given an unexpected education on the newest version of cool. Dressing cool will require a fiery attitude. Plastic pants and sheer slips. Platform combat boots and high heels perched on wooden bulbs. A man in a lace bodysuit with see-through pajamas.

Between moral stimulus and severe libel By Limas Sutanto JAKARTA (JP): There is a close association between progress and criticism in life. Paul Karl Feyerabend, an Austrian philosopher and the pioneer of epistemological anarchism, says that most standards of criticism are found outside ourselves. The possibility of finding a standard of criticism within ourselves is very small. Thus, criticism from outsiders or other parties is essential to progress.

Bored I am a junior member of the expatriate community in Jakarta. My parents compel me to read The Jakarta Post everyday. But it doesn't interest me at all! Could you introduce a separate column for school children which contains stories, drawings, poetry, quizzes and science articles? This could be done at least twice a week. I am sure that all the children of the expatriate community in Jakarta will welcome this new column. M. NANDAN Jakarta

Is pornography a threat to society? What is pornography? Different people have different views on the subject. What one country considers art might be banned in another which views it as pornography. Religions, too, influence the way people perceive things. The following article and several others on Pages 2 and 4 discuss the topic. JAKARTA (JP): Pornography. The term is derived from the Greek words porne and graphos. Porne means prostitute and graphos means writing.

Pornographic literature sold everywhere By Johannes Simbolon JAKARTA (JP): A group of junior high school girls walk past a book street vendor in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. Seeing the girls glance at his merchandise, the vendor, Yudi, a man in his 20s and clad in shabby clothes, goads them to come. "Hey, girls, come. Crossword puzzler books? Not expensive," he says, opening one puzzler book. Then, pointing to another book, he continues, "English conversation book for students.

Balancing power in and outside the ARF The recent progress made by the ASEAN Regional Forum might well be reversed by a combination of factors, institutional and geopolitical. Amitav Acharya examines the subject The second meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), held in Brunei on Aug. 1, may well be remembered as a landmark event in the evolution of Asia-Pacific security cooperation. This is not so much because of the list of security measures adopted by the ARF in Brunei.

Guess What? Music can cure illnesses. Don't believe it? Just ask folk singer Ully Sigar Rusadi. "Indonesia is rich with traditional music. In some regions there is music of which the rhythm is believed to have the power to heal some diseases," said Ully after singing a medley of her songs in an art dialog night organized by the Ministry of Transmigration to celebrate Indonesia's 50th anniversary of Independence early this week.

Harry composes a melody with audience By Johannes Simbolon JAKARTA (JP): Harry Roesli surprised the rock music lovers packing the Classic Rock Pub near the Blok-M Bus Terminal in South Jakarta on the eve of Independence Day by involving them in the composition of a melody to be dedicated to the 50-year-old Indonesia. Everyone showed enthusiasm when Harry urge them to contribute a word, phrase or verse to the lyrics of the would-be song.

President's gifts find a home in Taman Mini museum JAKARTA (JP): A peek inside the Purna Bhakti Museum at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta reveals what heads of state receive as gifts from their own people and other heads of state. Everything imaginable, from a betel nut set to a sword, from a jar to a jade bed, are stashed in the museum. Inaugurated by President Soeharto on Aug. 23, 1993, Ibu Tien's 70th birthday, the Purna Bhakti Museum is the fulfillment of the first lady's dream.

Soeharto launches savings drive JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday urged the public, including students, to save more money so the country could lessen its dependence on foreign aid to finance its development programs. When launching the national savings campaign here, Soeharto asserted that foreign aid, which must gradually be reduced, is only supplementary to the development financing. "Up to now we are still receiving foreign aid to finance our development," Soeharto said.

NAM's call on poverty, women included in Beijing Message By Santi WE Soekanto BEIJING (JP): The Non-Aligned Movement, led by Indonesia, adopted a resolution yesterday calling for a concerted global effort to combat poverty and violence against women. The call was included in the Beijing Message document which was based on a speech by Indonesia's President Soeharto, concurrently the NAM chairman.

Missing bulbs I read By The Way..., lighten up please... (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 20, 1995) with laughter and tears in my eyes. In fact, the missing bulbs occurred not only in Jakarta but also here in my small town of Probolinggo in East Java. Then, I realized that there were a lot of our fellow people still hungry, even though they danced happily in the streets during normal celebration days. We absolutely know how to feign prosperity.

F. Widayanto tracks down the enigmatic 'ukelan' By Hartoyo Pratiknyo JAKARTA (JP): Ukelan: A hair bun? A chignon? In the purely descriptive sense of the word, perhaps both "hair bun" and "chignon" do correctly denote the object: head hair, done more or less in the shape of a bun and normally worn at the back or near top of the head.

Marking time until the final gong in Indonesian jails By Tina Gue What is life like behind bars? Only those who have been prisoners know the agony of waiting for time to pass until the day freedom is allowed once again. Time, so many of us cannot afford to waste, seems abundant and endless for those living behind bars. Only the ticking of the clocks and the sounding of bells, or alarms, indicates that life is passing, that existence continues.

Special tree makes long journey to Jakarta JAKARTA (JP): The carved inverted tree in the middle of the Struggle Exhibition hall of the Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum took a long and interesting journey from its natural home in East Java to the President's museum. The sawo kecik manila (Manilkara kauki) tree was uprooted from Baluran National Park, known locally as Alas Purwa, in Banyuwangi in 1987 on the order of the President's wife, Ibu Tien Soeharto.

Forest fires on Mt Agung JAKARTA (JP): Forest fires are incinerating the tropical forest on Mount Agung in Bali, a forestry official said yesterday. Gede Arya Latihan, head of the provincial office of the forestry ministry, said the fires have razed dozens of hectares of forest. The fires broke out on Tuesday, he said, as quoted by Antara. The cause of the blazes is not immediately known. (sim)

Seoul's trade deficit surges SEOUL (AFP): South Korea's trade deficit ballooned to US$8.6 billion in the first eight months this year, with both exports and imports sustaining vibrancy, the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MFE) said yesterday. In August alone, the country's exports surged 39.6 percent to $10.61 billion, overwhelming an import rise of 34.4 percent or $11.51 billion in the month, MFE's preliminary tallies showed.

MLM destroys ties among close friends JAKARTA (JP): The emergence of Multi-Level Marketing ruined a friendship. MLM companies such as CNI, Amway, Avon, Sara Lee and Fortune have crept into established companies and usurped the loyalty of their employees. The other day, an old friend of mine approached me and, staring at my fogged-up glasses, asked, "Do your glasses fog over often?" Since I thought he was really concerned, I responded "Quite often.

Guess What? You have to talk before the public, but you are nervous. What should you do? "Take a deep breath," suggests Pia Alisjahbana, chairwoman of the Indonesian Ceramics Society. "Just talk the way you do when you chat with your friends," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday after giving a brief speech at the opening of F. Widayanto's chignon clayworks exhibition. Unlike some people who read their speeches from prepared texts, Pia doesn't need any help as she knows exactly what to say.

Beach volleyball queens due here JAKARTA (JP): The world's queens of beach volleyball, including the Australian pair of Anita Palm and Liane Fennick and the Brazilian team of Tavares Pires Sandrinha and Jacky Silva Jacqueline Louise Cuz will be in Bali for this year's World Beach Volleyball Championship from Sept. 13 to Sept. 17.

Preventing the pressure of pornography By T. Sima Gunawan JAKARTA (JP): Sex and pornography are two different things, but pornography has everything to do with sex. Accordingly, people's perception of pornography relates to their views on sex. Many things which are acceptable overseas are banned here on the grounds that they are pornographic.

The tune By Dewi Anggraeni The music started and I moved. I felt unnatural at first, sort of forced, and the music seemed to play on its own, detached from the flow of my movements. I was grateful for the anonymity provided by the yellow silk veil that covered my hair and the lower part of my face. The music began to gain speed, the drums leading, and I moved around the room in patterns forming the number 8.

Keeping your maids This letter is an addendum to an article published on July 9, 1995, in The Jakarta Post. Here are some do's and dont's in keeping a maid. First of all do find out how many names your maid has. Dewi, who worked for me was earlier Lily. Her ex-employer came to visit us and this girl managed to serve her tea and snacks without even a trace of recognition, let alone a smile.

Crossword Puzzler Starting this month The Jakarta Post's Sunday edition will publish a new, more challenging but equally fun crossword puzzler. The cryptic puzzler will appear the first week of every month. We hope this new element will be a welcome addition to our readers. -- Editor

'Kangaroo 95' brings neighbors together By Dewi Anggraeni MELBOURNE, Australia (JP): Kangaroo 95, or the K-95 defense exercise in Australia which involved 17,000 navy, army and air force personnel, 16 ships, 110 aircraft and large numbers of wheeled and tracked vehicles, just ended. Despite protests in various places in Australia, the exercise went smoothly and was visited by Indonesian Minister of Defense Edi Sudradjat and Indonesian Armed Forces Commander Feisal Tanjung.