Street singers bring back memory of Batak composer By Johannes Simbolon JAKARTA (JP): The street musicians, billing themselves as Rio Band, picked up their old instruments, took in their audience of restaurant patrons and began strumming their favorite songs. Tondongta is the name of the restaurant, located in the Senayan eatery complex, and is a popular hangout both for the Batak of North Sumatra and lovers of Batak cuisine.

Spotlight Photo A: Textile JP/msa SILKY BUSINESS: The Indonesian Textile Association secretary- general, Irwandy Muslim Amin (left), the Association of Indonesian Apparel Manufacturing Companies chairman, Hars Djoemena (center), and the Association of Footwear Producers chairman, Anton J. Supit, enjoy a chat following the signing of the Declaration of Solidarity of the Indonesian Textile, Clothing and Leather Society.

Soeharto pleads for stability JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto left on a one-week foreign trip yesterday, but not before pleading to the nation, which is engulfed in a deep crisis, to preserve political stability. "I have confidence in the people. I'm leaving the country calm, hopeful that political and national stability can be maintained," Soeharto said shortly before boarding his plane for Cairo to attend the Group of 15 summit which will be followed by a state visit to Egypt.

Lokananta sounds out the nation's musical, video compilations By Yogita Tahil Ramani JAKARTA (JP): Something easy on the ear. This is how some people would probably define music. The nation's 27 provinces and its cultural heritage of, among others, gamelan, suling (flutes), genjring (tambourines), lutes, reeds, fiddles and rebab (two-stringed musical instrument), makes defining music a bit more difficult.

RP election billed 'the greatest show on earth' By Jamil Maidan Flores JAKARTA (JP): An estimated 23 to 27 million of the 34 million registered Filipino voters -- nearly half the entire population of the Philippines -- will flock tomorrow to more than 174,000 voting precincts to elect a president, a vice president, 12 senators, 206 members of congress, 77 provincial governors and hundreds of other provincial officials, and 1,608 mayors and thousands of other city and municipal officials.

Indonesia gets mixed results in junior tennis JAKARTA (JP): Local junior tennis players had mixed fortunes at the World Championship Asia/Oceania qualifying tournament yesterday. The boys team marked the first time they have qualified for the world championships with a 2-1 defeat of Hong Kong. However, the girls' team lost 2-1 to Chinese Taipei in the Group One top- of-the-table clash.

G-15 ministers to examine Asia crisis and world trade CAIRO (Reuters): Foreign ministers from the G-15 group of developing countries met in Cairo yesterday to pick through the lessons of the Asian financial crisis and try to rally their combined forces in world trade talks. The ministers were meeting ahead of a three-day summit opening on Monday, which Indonesia's President Soeharto will attend in spite of riots and economic turmoil at home.

Folk songs revive many ald memories JAKARTA (JP): For scores of people, folk songs bring back many memories about their childhood or first loves. The people interviewed here share with us their favorite folk songs and their stories behind those songs: Titus Sarijanto, 57, former director general of forest utilization at the Ministry of Forestry : My favorite song is Bengawan Solo (about the river in Solo by Gesang).

Local folk songs strive to survive Over four months of this, the Year of Art and Culture, have passed. But one aspect of Indonesian culture, folk songs, has received little attention. To help redress the balance, The Jakarta Post reporters Ida Indawati Khouw, Johannes Simbolon, Sugianto Tandra, Sylvia Gratia M. Nirang, Yogita Tahil Ramani, wrote the following stories. Pictures were taken by photographer IGGP Bayu Ismoyo.

Barter trade The present hardships, unemployment, skyrocketing prices of basic commodities as the result of the monetary crisis would not have happened if the exchange rate for the rupiah against U.S. dollar had not depreciated to such low level. Because the rupiah is so influenced by the U.S. dollar, the higher the demand for the dollar, the lower the value of the rupiah will become. I vividly remember that in 1951 there were two blocks of currencies -- the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar.

Local folk songs have diverse 'borrowed' origins By Remy Sylado JAKARTA (JP): "Folk song" was a popular musical expression among youngsters here in the early 1970s. It was embraced as an alternative to compete with the pop industry segmentation used by traders at music centers such as in Glodok, West Jakarta. Folk songs used to be understood as only popular folk music -- both new and traditional -- adopted from the Anglo-American world. Names like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Donovan were idolized.

TV programs Today TVRI 6:00 a.m. News: Sari Berita Sepekan 6:30 Morning Focus 6:45 Healthy and Fresh 7:00 Religious Teachings: Hikmah Pagi 7:30 Children's Program: Arena Kami 8:00 Children's Program: Kumbang and Family 8:30 Children's Program: Nuansa Anak 9:30 Variety Show: Widya Wahana 10:00 Talk Show 10:15 Music: Album Minggu 11:30 Talk Show: Bincang-Bincang 12:15 p.m.

Games Federation denies haze reports KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The Commonwealth Games Federation denied yesterday that haze threatened this year's competition or that some of the games would be moved to other countries. The 26th Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur in September, and 67 of the 69 Commonwealth countries have confirmed they will join the competition.

Walter Spies letters emerge at Christie's auction in Amsterdam By Amir Sidharta JAKARTA (JP): Twenty Walter Spies' letters, hitherto unknown, emerged in the most recent Christie's Amsterdam auction of Indonesian pictures, watercolors and drawings. The letters were addressed to Carl and Olive Gotsch. Carl Gotsch was apparently the director of music at the Keraton (palace) Yogyakarta. When Spies arrived in Java in 1923, he took a job as a piano player in a cinema.

London recital surprises poet Isma By Sori Siregar JAKARTA (JP): Applause should not always follow a poetry reading. There are places and times in which poetry readings are enjoyed by an audience as a spiritual experience. They listen to the reading and try to catch the very meaning of the poems read. It would be more interesting if an audience had the opportunity to listen to poems read in their original languages before their translation.

Shoot to cripple, not kill, riot manual says JAKARTA (JP): Persuasion remains the order of the day for commanders leading antiriot forces to quell student protesters and rioters, according to a military manual. Although each antiriot unit is supported by three troopers carrying firearms, they must never open fire unless persuasion or other alternatives, like using batons and tear gas to push back and disperse the crowd, have been used.

Friendship By Sory Siregar If someone smiles and tears well up in his eyes, what is the meaning of the smile? It could be interpreted in many ways. But I have my own interpretation. The smile Yamani gave me was the product of sadness and joy. Yamani gave me a hug after his smile. We embraced tightly. After disentangling ourselves from our hug, he asked me to be seated.

New trend on the move -- Going incognito JAKARTA (JP): The daily student demonstrations across the nation have inspired certain parties, including security forces and state employees, to hide their identities for different reasons. Many state employees, who have been accused of playing a part in bringing the nation to the brink of bankruptcy through corruption, only wear their uniforms at work. They hastily remove any telling sign of where they work whenever they have to leave the office.

Australian citizens briefed JAKARTA (JP): Australian Ambassador John McCarthy will brief Australian citizens here on the current political and economic situation in Indonesia. The briefings will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in the theatrette of the Australian Embassy on Jl. HR Rasuna Said, South Jakarta. All Australian citizens are invited to attend.

Different exchange rates How trustworthy is a bank which has different exchange rates for the same kind of Australian dollar traveler checks on the same day, during the same hour? I wanted to exchange A$900 at Bank Dagang Negara's (BDN) head office, but because of a bank policy this was impossible and all I could exchange was $300. As a result, I had to visit three different BDN branches, taking along my one-week-old baby.

Two killed as protesters continue taking yo streets JAKARTA (JP): Two men, including a police officer, were killed at rallies yesterday as anti-government protesters took to the streets again in many cities. The first victim, Mozes Gatot Kaca, 39, a member of the Yogyakarta Search & Rescue (SAR) team, died on Friday evening after being struck a fatal blow to the back of his head with a blunt object.

Military drill ended WASHINGTON (Reuters): The United States military abruptly ended a small joint exercise in Indonesia Friday, saying it was concerned over anti-government demonstrations and ordered 17 elite U.S. special forces troops to leave the country. Defense officials said the cancellation in the first week of a month-long training exercise was not in protest over the Jakarta government's handling of the student protests. They said it was partly to protect U.S.

Habibie clarifies ICMI's views JAKARTA (JP): Vice President B.J. Habibie yesterday repudiated reports that the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) supported calls for an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and a cabinet reshuffle, saying remarks by two top ICMI officials asserting such a position were made in a personal capacity.

Germany aims foreign students By Marieke van Heek JAKARTA (JP): Education for free? That must be paradise for students. This is the case in Germany, where a university education can be had for free -- an important reason for international students, including Indonesians, to study there. During a seminar at the German Embassy on Friday, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) explained plans for making the German educational system more convenient for international students.

Garin latest film to Cannes Festival By Marselli Sumarno JAKARTA (JP): Asih is a middle-aged woman separated from her husband. She has settled in Yogyakarta and earns a living making batik. She has no children of her own but takes care of three teenage boys. The three boys live life in the harshness of a big city. They grow up on the streets, looking for money as shoeshine boys, newspaper vendors or whatever job they can get. All is done to survive. However, the city's harshness is their end.