RI shuttlers get a place to practice in Atlanta JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's badminton team has secured a training venue in Atlanta, U.S., for use during the Olympic Games. Lutfi Hamid, who led an advance team from the Badminton Association of Indonesia to the Georgia city, said yesterday that the badminton stadium lies 25 kilometers from the athletes' village. "It's quite far from the village, but transportation is not a problem because the organizers will provide shuttle buses," he said.

Fear led to Garuda crash TOKYO (Reuter): The pilot of the Garuda Indonesia DC-10 that crashed on takeoff at southern Japan's Fukuoka airport this month has said he feared the aircraft would crash in the city if he forced his way up in the air. "I tried lifting the plane's nose but it didn't react. I thought the plane will crash into the city of Fukuoka if we flew like this," captain Ronald Longdong said in an interview with Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun published yesterday.

Radio stations innovate to survive By Johannes Simbolon and Rita A. Widiadana Despite earlier fears, radio broadcasting, the oldest of all electronic mass media, is alive in Indonesia. Aware of tight competition from television, radio stations continue to innovate and adopt hi-tech systems to remain on air. The following article and several others on Page 3 describe efforts made by commercial radio stations to survive and what they have done to boost their audiences.

Radio stations vow to offer other than music By Rita A. Widiadana and Thalia Kamarga JAKARTA (JP): "More Than Just Music" is Trijaya FM's motto. The radio station has kept its promise to its yuppie audience by offering a number of talk shows and news programs in addition to music. Trijaya boasts Jakarta 1st Channel as its top talk show. The show, previously called Jakarta Round Up, offers topical discussions on the economy, society, politics and culture.

RI set to get new radio technology JAKARTA (JP): You haven't heard of Radio Data System (RDS)! Don't feel disheartened because the latest development in radio technology is not only new to Indonesia but also to most Asia-Pacific countries. The seminar on RDS at Sonora radio this week revealed that RDS was first introduced to the Asia-Pacific region in 1995.

CitraRaya wins awards JAKARTA (JP): The Ciputra Group has won the Gold Nugget Grand Awards category for best urban planning for the CitraRaya housing complex in Tangerang, West Java. The president director of the group, Ciputra, received the award at a ceremony at the Pacific Coast Builder Conference 1996 in San Francisco on Saturday. Ciputra told a teleconference from San Francisco that the award was given to CitraRaya for its special artistic concept. "Art is the CitraRaya's main concept.

DJ Ida Arimurti speaks from the heart By T. Sima Gunawan JAKARTA (JP): She kept changing her mind, but then, most kids do. "As a child, I had many dreams, which changed every time. When I saw a pilot, I wanted to become a pilot. When I could draw a little, I wanted to become an architect," recalled Ida Arimurti. Today she enjoys great fame as one of the most popular radio announcers in town. Ida not only gets flowers from her fans, but also food. "There is a family who often sends me food.

Army welcomes Hasina DHAKA (AFP): Bangladesh's more than 100,000-strong armed forces yesterday officially welcomed new Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed -- 21 years after her father was killed in a military coup. Defense officials said Sheikh Hasina was given a guard of honor by the three services at the National Parade Ground. Army chief Lieutenant General Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, accompanied by navy and air force chiefs, welcomed her warmly at the ceremonies.

How to take care of your hand-painted batik shirt By Thalia Kamarga JAKARTA (JP): Batik, particularly hand-painted batik, needs special care. Since it is expensive, especially the older pieces, it is important to preserve it properly. Of course, this is not simple and also quite costly, considering that batik is delicate and easily damaged. According to Josephine Komara, the owner of Bin House, bugs, sunlight and humidity are batik's biggest enemies.

How to turn air travel into productive pleasure By Parvati Sharma JAKARTA (JP): Planning a trip? About to embark on a long journey to unknown parts? Don't move until you've read this. I landed in Jakarta almost two weeks ago after a long and tiring journey which they said lasted twelve hours but I know went on for about three days. During that eternity, I learned some invaluable things which, in the interest of science, I now pass on to you, The Jakarta Post readers. Let me explain.

PDI rallies increasingly brutal: Lt. Gen. Soeyono JAKARTA (JP): A war of words has begun between loyalists of ousted Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri and the military over who was to be blame for the casualties that occurred during recent street rallies. Secretary of the Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability (Bakorstanas) Lt. Gen Soeyono said on Friday that the rallies by Megawati's supporters have turned brutal.

'RRI' tries to keep up with its rivals JAKARTA (JP): For 25 years after its establishment on Sept. 11, 1945, the state-owned radio RRI enjoyed the fame of the country's only radio station. The entire nation relied on RRI for both news/information and entertainment. Its fame was unchallenged until the state-owned television, TVRI, burst into the scene in 1962.

Top radio stations in Jakarta, bandung and Surabaya The following are the radio stations with the largest audiences in Indonesia's three largest cities -- Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. The radio stations were ranked in the Media Index Survey, conducted by Survey Research Indonesia.

TV today TVRI 6:00 a.m. Religious Teachings: Hikmah Pagi 6:25 Morning Focus 6:45 Healthy and Fit 7:00 Morning News 7:30 TV Series: Grandizer 8:00 Science Film 9:00 English News Service 9:30 Focus: People and Event 10:00 Music: Album Minggu Ini 11:00 Stories for Children 11:30 Comedy: Ria Jenaka 11:45 Sports: Dari Gelanggang Ke Gelanggang 12:45 p.m.

Bill on broadcasting sparks controversy JAKARTA (JP): The bill on broadcasting which is being discussed at the House of Representative has given rise to controversy. The controversial articles include those concerning the ownership of radio stations and the requirement to relay programs of the state-owned radio, RRI, said Purnomo, chief daily executive of the Indonesian National Private Radio Association.

Toiling traditional batikmakers worry about the future By Rita A. Widiadana JAKARTA (JP): Inah has been a batikmaker in Kauman village, Yogyakarta for more than 50 years. She spends most of her day sitting on a mat, drawing a large variety of batik patterns with her canting (wax applier), to produce hand-painted batik. "I've mastered all traditional batik patterns of the Yogyakartan style and remember them by heart.

Batik's pattern and length have a special meaning JAKARTA (JP): Batik is worn on various occasions, but few people understand that each batik pattern and length of cloth carries a certain meaning and is created for a certain occasion. According to batik expert Rahmaniar Soeriatna Djoemena, more popularly known as Nian Djoemena, the traditions of using and wearing batik are many and varied and differ from region to region.

Capital city flooded with art exhibitions By Amir Sidharta JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta is flooded with art exhibitions. At least three large exhibitions are being held at three public venues, while other smaller but equally established galleries are presenting separate solo exhibitions by emerging Indonesian painters. The most interesting and important show is undoubtedly the exhibit on Asian modernism at the Ministry of Education and Culture's Wisma Seni Rupa at Jl.

Location is everything when it comes to batik design JAKARTA (JP): Batik, a famous Indonesian fabric, comes in a large variety of designs. Each batik design reflects the social conditions of the place where it is made. Batik made by coastal peoples is different from that produced by courtiers in Central Java. Batik represents the artistic expression of the maker and translates the social activities surrounding them.

Jammed roads From Merdeka The end of the discussion on traffic jam is nowhere in sight. On the contrary, it is taking on wider proportions since the problem is extending to regions outside Jakarta, like Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi. Traffic jams have often been blamed on what is called bottle necks, also on intersections. Indeed, even the toll roads are taking on the brunt of the problem.

Perry in Saudi Arabia to visit bomb site By Christine Hauser DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuter): U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday to stress the U.S. commitment to remain in the kingdom during talks with officials on a bombing that killed 19 American servicemen. Perry and Saudi officials were also to discuss tighter security measures for the 5,000 U.S. military personnel serving in the kingdom. Perry attended a closed briefing with U.S.

Video didn't smash the radio stars, but money did By Johannes Simbolon JAKARTA (JP): Once the king of the air, heard by tens of millions of Indonesians every day, from housewives to government employees and youngsters at street-side warung, radio plays are now giving way to the almighty, and profitable, boob tube. People now prefer watching television soap operas while doing their household chores. Officials are now glued to television sets rather than their radios at the office.