Hello? Customer service, anybody there? JAKARTA (JP): Do you believe in customer service? Sounds like a silly question, but do you? I don't. I think customer service is a mythical being in Indonesia, as mythical as Hercules or Xena. Whatever embellishment you put behind the word "customer" -- whether customer support, customer service or whatever -- the customer forever stands alone. This is especially apparent when they are on the other end of the phone line.

Tight competition in 'sinetron' festival JAKARTA (JP): A young village woman, dying from hemorrhaging during childbirth, is stared at by her dumbfounded husband, rendered inert by his own insecurities. The scene from the television drama, Perkawinan Siti Zubaedah, (The Marriage Of Siti Zubaedah) fuses tragedy and bravura acting with the immediacy of real life, part of a well-crafted work by veteran director Teguh Karya.

Devers wins Tugu Pratama Omega Tour by one shot JAKARTA (JP): Little-known American Clay Devers won the US$300,000 Tugu Pratama PGA Championship 1997 with a 12-under-par 276 at the Bumi Serpong Damai course yesterday to take home the $48,450 first prize.

Sea Games cyclist stripped of gold medal JAKARTA (JP): After waiting for about one month, the Indonesian Cycling Association finally banned the 19th SEA Games gold medalist Tonton Susanto, who was found guilty of using banned substances, for one month. The association vice chairman, Hario Tilarso, said in a press conference yesterday that -- based on recommendation letters from the International Cycling Union dated Nov. 12 and Nov.

Ecotourism in the hills of Gunung Halimun National Park By Amanda Talbot BOGOR (JP): Thinking of a relaxing break away from the traffic jams and bustle of urban Java? Wanting a break away from the hectic tourist trails? Ecotourism in the hills of Gunung Halimun National Park, West Java, gives tourists a chance to experience a rain forest wilderness and experience the local culture while benefiting the local communities.

Five arrested for dumping aborted babies JAKARTA (JP): Police said yesterday they had arrested five people, including a doctor, for their alleged involvement in last week's dumping of the bodies of 11 babies and fetuses at a garbage site in North Jakarta. City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata said at a forensic seminar at University of Indonesia's Medical School that the five were being detained at Jakarta Police headquarters for further questioning.

Rumania to produce Barbie BUCHAREST, Romania (AP): The world largest toymaker, Mattel Inc., will begin producing its famous Barbie doll in Romania early next year. Mattel signed a contract Friday with Rumanian toy factory Aradeanca to produce 100,000 dolls in 1998. Mattel has offices in 36 countries. Recently, it scrapped its contracts with two plants in China that refused to meet company- mandated safety procedures.

Most 'sinetron' are inferior productions JAKARTA (JP): Simple and shallow screenplays, pretty faces in sexy dresses, handsome heroes, a touch of romance, a blend of comedy and violence here and there. Welcome to the world of Indonesian sinetron (television miniseries). Notorious for its awful miscasting, illogical stories and rambling plots, the locally produced TV melodramas, slapstick comedies and bad-tasted Hollywood-style actions have unfortunately dominated Indonesian television.

Oil well explodes in Aceh JAKARTA (JP): An oil well owned by state-owned oil company Pertamina exploded early yesterday morning in Karang Baru subdistrict, East Aceh, 500 kilometers southeast of Aceh's capital Banda Aceh. First Lt. Syarifuddin of the East Aceh District Military Command told The Jakarta Post that nine houses collapsed due to the force of the explosion. No casualties have been reported so far, but some 1,400 nearby residents have been evacuated to a neighboring village.

Table of output quotas Country New quota Previous Quota -------------------------------- Algeria 0.9085 0.750 Indonesia 1.45644 1.330 Iran 3.94224 3.600 Iraq 1.31408 1.200 Kuwait 2.19013 2.000 Libya 1.52214 1.390 Nigeria 2.04230 1.865 Qatar 0.41394 0.378 Saudi Arabia 8.76053 8.000 UAE 2.36644 2.161 Venezuela 2.58326 2.359 Note: in million bpd

Ken Pattern's lithographs confront Jakarta realities By Chandra Johan JAKARTA (JP): Graphic art remains a mystery to many people here. They still know little about the various graphic art techniques, such as woodcut, etching, screenprint, linoprint, monoprint and lithography. One reason may be the lack of graphic art exhibitions in this country. Art exhibitions are dominated by painting, mainly the oil on canvas standards.

Soeharto calms fears over monetary crisis By Kornelius Purba JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has told the nation not to lose hope and to trust the government in finding the best way out of the monetary crisis. In a media briefing on his return air journey from Medina, Saudi Arabia, Soeharto said Indonesia was not alone in experiencing the economic turmoil, which had affected other developing nations and economically strong countries such as South Korea.

Unfair practice hurt production houses JAKARTA (JP): While the demand for locally produced teleserials is rocketing, their producers are in dire straits. Every year, more than 2,000 sinetron (teleserials) titles are required by local television stations as they are obliged to have local content amounting to 70 percent of their total programs. But only a very few producers can meet the demand. Last year, about 600 local production houses made TV programs.

Shoppers tighten their belts, even luxury ones By Dini S. Djalal JAKARTA (JP): It is lunch hour at Plaza Senayan, and Vita, a 30-year-old marketing executive, is browsing through the shops. Inside an opulent marble-floored boutique, she eyes a black leather handbag not unlike the one she is proudly carrying. Vina picks up this fine sample of Italian craftsmanship, peers at the price tag, and promptly puts the temptation back on the shelf.

Free-spirited Sydney gears up for the next Olympics Sydney has been extensively promoting itself since officially being named host of the 2000 Olympics Games in September 1993. The Jakarta Post's reporter Sugianto Tandra was invited recently to visit Australia's New South Wales capital by the city's tourism authority and Ansett Australia. Following is his story. SYDNEY (JP): Although the Olympics 2000 are still three years away, Sydney has already started the countdown.

Truth in fantasy in tender trap of RI women Pace-setting or trend-setting Fantasizing the Feminine in Indonesia Laurie J. Sears, Editor Duke University Press, 1996 349 pages A$34.00 JAKARTA (JP): An entertaining read is a rare find in academic literature. Captivating readers with meticulous research requires real literary skill.

Woven cloth traces Lombok's history By Susi Andrini SUKARERA, Lombok (JP): It is said that a person's clothes reflect their personality. A piece of cloth can do the same. The difference is that a cloth does not only represent someone's personality but it is also typical of the people who make it and their history. There is a great variety of cloth in Indonesia. Each region is noted for the different characteristics and decorations of their cloth.

A note from Karpov versus Utut By Kristianus Liem JAKARTA (JP): FIDE World Champion, Russia's GM Anatoly Karpov, won the Clash of the Titana against Indonesian GM Utut Adianto after a tie-break. In the main event the score was 3-3, but in the blitz game (5 minutes each) play-off Karpov won 2,5-0,5.

OPEC agrees to raise output ceiling by 10% JAKARTA (JP): The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed yesterday to raise its output ceiling by about 10 percent to 27.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first half of next year, from 25.03 million pbd.

Merpati aborts flight JAKARTA (JP): A Merpati Nusantara Airlines Fokker-100 was forced to return to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport for an emergency landing Friday night after problems with its landing gear, Antara reported yesterday. The plane was 15 minutes into its flight from Jakarta to Palembang, South Sumatra, when the crew discovered the landing gear would not fold back.

Fate of 'sinetron' lies with viewers By Yogita Tahil Ramani JAKARTA (JP): Members of the jury for this week's Indonesian Sinetron Festival have specific criteria for selecting nominees and deciding on the winners. Ultimate judge of the success or failure of any TV show lies in the hands of viewers with their remote controls. Rating points, or lack of them, are the crucial determinant in advertising revenues for teleserials, known locally as sinetron.

Productions nominated for the 1997 Sinetron Festival The following are nominations for the Indonesian Sinetron Festival: Best Comedy Serial: - Asmara dan Dara (Passion and the Maiden -- PT Sepro Karya Pratama) - Fatima (PT Wana Kusuma/ANteve) - Inem Pelayan Seksi (Inem, The Sexy Maid -- PT Rama Putera Produktama) - Mat Angin (PT Demi Gisela Citra Sinema) - Si Kabayan (PT Kharisma Starvision Plus).

Jambi's 'children of the forest' come under threat By Ida Indawati Khouw BUNGO TEBO, Jambi (JP): Deep in the Sumatran jungle live a people a world away from the hectic cybernetic era. They call themselves Orang Rimba, the forest people, or Suku Anak Dalam, literally "Tribe of the Inner Children". They live simply amid the plants and animals which they utilize as their food and for other life necessities. But outsiders are coming into their forest and threatening their ways.

Video workshop digs artistic possibility By Helly Minarti JAKARTA (JP): Alongside mainstream artistic expressions such as painting and sculpting, video art has emerged as a new medium serving the same purpose. It has been widely developed in Europe over the last two decades; there are now some video art museums and regularly held festivals on that continent, like the Biennale Venezia in Italy or Documenta Kassel in Germany. But video art is relatively new for Indonesian artists.

Kasepuhans maintain unique way of living BOGOR (JP): There are two communities living in and around the Gunung Halimun National Park, the indigenous Kasepuhan and the migrant community, referred to as the non-Kasepuhan. The non-Kasepuhans are mainly tea plantation workers, farmers, merchants, and government officials working at the local government offices.

Score roundup GOLF Tugu Pratama PGA: 276 - Clay Devers (USA) 69-69-68-70 277 - Kwon Young-suk (Kor) 70-71-70-66, Mike Cunning (USA) 67-72-70-68, Paul Friedlander (Swz) 67-62-75-73 278 - Jim Rutledge (Can) 68-73-70-67 279 - Kasiadi (Ina) 74-72-66-67, Christian Pena (USA) 69-75-66- 69, Simon Owen (Nzl) 71-68-69-71, Ted Purdy (USA) 71-69- 68-71 280 - Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 73-70-71-66, Craig Kamps (Rsa) 72- 68-71-69, Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) 66-72-72-70, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 74-66-69-71 281 - Kenny...

Tale of Indonesian studies in Melbourne University By Dewi Anggraeni MELBOURNE (JP): When Indonesian academic Arief Budiman arrived earlier this year to take up the position of Chair of the Indonesian Language Program at the University of Melbourne, colleagues and friends saw the event as the coming of age of the university's Indonesian studies. It was also timely evidence that the university's proposed cultural diversity policy is not mere rhetoric.

Try wants badminton body led by the right person JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno told the 17th badminton national congress participants yesterday to elect the best possible person to chair the Badminton Association of Indonesia for the 1997-2001 period. "The officials must be able to work at the highest level and be truly committed to badminton," Try said in his opening speech yesterday.

Dutch institute saves RI history below sea level By Thor Kerr LEIDEN, The Netherlands (JP): Five hundred thousand books and journals, most on Indonesia, lie below sea level here in the vault of the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology's library. Chief librarian Dr. Roger Tol points to the wall and jokes, "Drill a hole there and the whole collection will be destroyed." But he picks up a large encyclopedia on Southeast Asia, printed in 1724, and cradles it like a baby.

Instilling a love of humor in family life By Soekanto S.A. BOGOR, West Java (JP): "You know Ade Rai, Mom? The strong man? Do you know who can beat him?" five-year-old Sammy, who had just got home from his kindergarten, asked gleefully. "No. Who?" answers his mother, remembering the Indonesian bodybuilder with all those muscles who grabbed a gold medal at the recent SEA Games in Jakarta, and who eats at least 40 eggs a day. "Abang Rai," Sammy shrieks before dissolving in laughter.

Will teleserials' glory days last? Day or night, there is always an audience for teleserials. Critics snipe about the shoddy quality and ham acting in the shows, but there is no disputing their hefty ratings points. In conjunction with the Festival Sinetron Indonesia 1997 this Thursday, The Jakarta Post talked to the people behind the scenes. More stories on Page 2 and Page 11. By Rita A.