Waldjinah's stardom is a road well-traveled Text and photos by Tarko Sudarno SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Tune in to the many music programs on television, and cross a musical assortment of pop, rock, jazz and the Arab-influenced beat of dangdut. Some local music is left out of this musical medley. One rarely stumbles across keroncong, traditional pop tunes with distant origins from Portugal. Rarer still are the sounds of tembang, Javanese poetry recited to gamelan accompaniment.

Fasting's best lesson virtue of self-restraint By K. Basrie JAKARTA (JP): Practicing fasting during the holy Ramadhan month is always spiritually enriching. Abstaining from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse between dawn and dusk is simply the means to attain the spiritual experience, but it is certainly not the ends.

Govt must make hard choices in new budget By Rikza Abdullah President Soeharto is scheduled to present the government's draft budget to the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Saddled with its worst economic crisis in 30 years, the government confronts an unenviable choice between cutting spending in compliance with the prescription of the International Monetary Fund, or boosting it to stimulate growth.

Joko to compete in Japan Open for Thomas Cup selection JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's veteran shuttler Joko Suprianto will compete in the Japan Open tournament in Tokyo from Jan. 13 to Jan. 18. National Badminton Center director Christian Hadinata said Friday that Joko's participation in the first part of the Grand Prix series was to see if he could still join the country's squad for the Thomas Cup championship in May.

Curtain to fall on Kemang nightlife Text and photos by Arif Suhardiman JAKARTA (JP): It's almost midnight on Saturday in Kemang. As most of Jakarta is calling it a day, this district in South Jakarta is just getting going. Traffic is moving at a snail's pace, and music can be heard faintly from the brightly lit but tightly shut cafes, pubs and restaurants lining Jl. Kemang Raya and Jl. Ampera.

Pop culture reexamined at Kedai Kebun Gallery Text and photos by R. Fadjri YOGYAKARTA (JP): Plazas, malls, pubs and superstores are not just popular places in urban communities. They have become the substance of city-dwellers, in the form of Coca-Cola, Hollywood, MTV, Batman and other pop culture icons. They are popular with children, they are loved by adolescents and needed by adults.

Contamination of the Jakarta Bay From Neraca The central governing board of the Indonesian Environmental Management (BLHI) has called on the government and the Jakarta administration to pay attention to reports drawn up by non- governmental organizations on the contamination of the Jakarta Bay by heavy metal which has led to the destruction of the marine habitat.

'She's So Lovely' in cinematic testimony to Penns' love By Dini S. Djalal JAKARTA (JP): The new film by Nick Cassavetes, She's So Lovely, opens with a bird's-eye view of an average industrial town. Mediocrity more than smog obscures the unexceptional skyline.

Budget must promote growth: Businesspeople JAKARTA (JP): The nation's business leaders are still hopeful the government will find ways of reviving the embattled economy through its 1998/1999 budget. The Jakarta Post polled several of them on what they expect and hope to hear when President Soeharto presents the draft budget Tuesday night.

Ramadhan welcomed amid monetary crisis Ramadhan began at the most inopportune time. Escalating prices have dampened the joy that normally comes with the arrival of Ramadhan. The Jakarta Post reporters -- Lukman Natanegara, K. Basrie, Primastuti Handayani, Sugianto Tandra, Johannes Simbolon, Ida Indawati Khouw, Yogita Tahil Ramani, Sylvia Gratia and IGGP Bayu Ismoyo -- look at how people are spending Ramadhan in this time of crisis. Related stories are on Page 11.

Moslems see this year's fasting month a challenge JAKARTA (JP): Ramadhan is here. Moslems spend this holy month by abstaining from life's worldly temptations -- eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations -- from dawn until dusk. It is a purification of body and soul. But Ramadhan is different this year for several reasons. It began on the final day of a bleak 1997 for the nation, and many citizens are beginning to feel the squeeze of a battered economy.

Power cut hits RP MANILA (AFP): A power cut left most of the main Philippine island of Luzon without electricity yesterday, the state-run National Power Corp. (NPC) said. NPC president Alfredo Delgado said the outage occurred when a transformer in Laguna province, just outside Manila, overloaded. Presidential Executive Secretary Ruben Torres said President Fidel Ramos ordered power officials to restore electrical service as soon as possible. The outage occurred at about 1:30 p.m.

'Becak' still riding high far from Jakarta's congestion By Jonathan Agranoff GARUT, West Java (JP): Midnight, in a west Javan highland town. All is peaceful. The shops which, during the day were a hive of frenetic activity, have now long shut their doors to the darkness of the night. Street vendors, whose goods were displayed along the length and breadth of the pavement have long since rolled up their mats and gone home. Even the dogs have finished scavenging and disappeared until sunrise.

Ramadhan ultimate equalizer for rich and poor Moslems By Yogita Tahil Ramani, Sylvia Gratia M. Nirang and Ida Indawati Khouw JAKARTA (JP): In a troubling 1997 marked by forest fires, the economic crisis and starvation, the opening of the Ramadhan fasting month on its final day came as a sobering reminder to the nation's Moslem brethren. This holy period of fasting and prayer, helping one another and having faith in one God is a leveler for both rich and poor.

Next budget may look familiar By Rikza Abdullah JAKARTA (JP): The composition of the government's budget for the 1998/1999 financial year will be drastically changed because of the economic crisis, yet it may have some familiar rings. With domestic income from the non-oil sector, the biggest revenue component, likely to fall sharply because of lower income tax receipts, the government's budget will once again be underwritten by bigger oil receipts, and foreign aid.

Laborers keep faith, hope amid hard times By Sugianto Tandra and Prismatuti Handayani JAKARTA (JP): Many blue-collar workers may find it harder to follow the disciplined tenets of fasting this month. Most are bewildered by the sudden economic downturn, and at a loss to understand how it happened. But they feel the effects in trying to make ends meet. Prices of daily needs are soaring, wages are staying put and job openings are few and far between. Worst of all, some are out of work.

Doing your bit to save the environment JAKARTA (JP): What exactly do we mean when we talk about an ecological conscience? Is it that we cherish the beauty of nature when we take our families out for a ride on a sunny weekend? Or that we despise those companies making headlines because of their environmentally destructive production practices?

A hike for the hardy along Mt. Merapi By Ahmad Solikhan KALIURANG, Yogyakarta (JP): The sun is not out yet and dark bathes the pine forest. Flashlights point the way along the footpath. A local guide is at the helm as six foreign tourists, wearing warm clothing and sneakers and carrying backpacks, walk one after another along the foot of Mt, Merapi, 25 km north of Yogyakarta. It is peaceful and the weather is cool.

Malaysia may send foreign workers home KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysia is considering expelling its foreign workers as the "cost" of the country's economic downturn, as an estimated one million people are threatened with unemployment, AFP reported yesterday. "This loss means that foreign workers must give up their jobs to the locals," Deputy Home Minister Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali was reported as saying by The Star daily.

Ramadhan time for Jakarta Sunday Maghrib 6.14 p.m. Monday Imsak 4:11 a.m. Subuh 4.21 a.m.

Sports body gets only Rp 2b for Asiad JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar said the National Development Planning Board only allocated Rp 2 billion (US$350,880) for the country's 13th Asian Games from its original budget of Rp 10 billion. Wismoyo declined to say Friday whether the Rp 2 billion would be enough for preparations of the Asiad. The council's secretary-general, Rudolf S.

Jiang's visit a start in confidence-building By Wang Jisi Probably most diplomatic specialists in Beijing and Washington, for different reasons, judged the recent state visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to the United States as a great success. President Jiang was the first Chinese to visit the White House who is both nominally and actually the paramount leader of China.