Archive: 18 August 1998
43 articles found
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Ashamed of the political elite
Ashamed of the political elite From Neraca At the beginning I was proud of the contribution the political elite had showed to the country. Your speeches always suggested that you worked for the benefit of all people. You struggled in the name of the entire nation. However, my pride in you has disappeared, and I am now bewildered, knowing that all you voiced was nothing but an empty promise. The people were lulled with false promises as there was always vested interest in what you did.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Liberty often abused by RI powerholders
Liberty often abused by RI powerholders By Ignas Kleden This is the first of two articles on liberty in Indonesia since the colonial yoke was toppled in 1945. JAKARTA (JP): Liberty seems to have its own history in Indonesia. When it was initially introduced in the early 1920s through the political writings of Sukarno, the word sounded and was accepted as a mere neologism in the then Malay language.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Golkar's Jakarta chapter to elect new chairman
Golkar's Jakarta chapter to elect new chairman JAKARTA (JP): Golkar's Jakarta chapter announced yesterday that it plans to hold a two-day regional congress next week to elect a new chairman for the 1998/2000 period, the chapter chairman said yesterday. Serving chairman Tadjus Sobirin, who was included on a list of nine candidates for the new chairmanship, said the congress was scheduled to start on Aug. 28. "I'm ready to contest the election with the other candidates," he added.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Kopassus troops remain high-spirited: Syahrir
Kopassus troops remain high-spirited: Syahrir JAKARTA (JP): The Army's Special Force's (Kopassus) troops remain high-spirited and unaffected by the ongoing investigation into some of their officers' alleged involvement in the abduction and torture of political activists, the force's chief said yesterday. Kopassus' commandant general Maj. Gen. Syahrir M.S. said Saturday his men are conducting their activities as usual. "The Kopassus troops' morale remains high...
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Activists told not to inflate rape claims
Activists told not to inflate rape claims JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi has called on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with the plight of ethnic Chinese women raped in the May riots to continue to gather evidence to support their campaigns. However, he said that if they failed to come up with evidence and continued to "exaggerate" their claims then the NGO activists could be charged with spreading rumors.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Internet arrests cast public web of fear
Internet arrests cast public web of fear By Ranjan Roy KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The first arrests in Malaysia for spreading rumors over the Internet have people debating freedom of speech and the right to privacy as they sprint down the information superhighway. The largest Internet service provider Friday assured worried subscribers that it wouldn't snoop into their e-mails, a key tool in a nation that sees information technology as the cutting edge of its development policy.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Akbar chides Amien for public excuse
Akbar chides Amien for public excuse JAKARTA (JP): Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung has chastised Amien Rais for boycotting Friday's conferment of Mahaputra medals by President B.J. Habibie after accepting the invitation to the event, and for later broadcasting his excuse to the media. Amien should have told the state secretariat that he had changed his mind about attending, rather than making the announcement through the mass media, Akbar was quoted by Antara as saying.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Megawati-led PDI gets the people's nod
Megawati-led PDI gets the people's nod JAKARTA (JP): A recent survey on which party people will vote for shows that a majority of people have yet to make up their minds. However, those who have decided tend to support the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) led by Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Fear for possible riots still clouds stock trading
Fear for possible riots still clouds stock trading JAKARTA (JP): Widespread rumors of massive riots ahead and after yesterday's Independence Day celebration would continue to cast a shadow on the local stock exchange this week. Securities dealers said investors, many of whom were still traumatized by the devastating May riots, would most likely sideline the market until the rumors were proven untrue.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Presidential guard beats parking attendant to death
Presidential guard beats parking attendant to death JAKARTA (JP): A member of the Presidential Security Guard (Paspampres) beat a parking attendant to death after a quarrel over a parking space on Jl. Kesehatan in Central Jakarta, an official said yesterday. Jakarta Military Police Commander Col. Hendardji said that Private Agus Gozali, a member of Paspampres Group C for dignitaries and honorable guests, confessed to beating Ichsan, 38, to death after losing his control.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Independence Day observed in somber mood
Independence Day observed in somber mood JAKARTA (JP): Unlike in previous years, when Indonesia's independence day was greeted with glee in the capital, this year's 53rd anniversary was no different from any other public holiday. Many city residents fled the city in the run up to yesterday and many more opted to spend the day at home with their families. Most of the capital's main thoroughfares were deserted and there were no special bazaars, exhibitions or the usual parade of floats.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Economists urge Habibie to revamp banking sector
Economists urge Habibie to revamp banking sector JAKARTA (JP): Analysts approve of President B.J. Habibie's pledge in his recent state address to overhaul the country's ailing banking sector, but demand that his oath be more than mere rhetoric. Rizal Ramli, a senior researcher at the Econit Advisory Group, pointed out that the government had not taken clear measures to mend the country's troubled banking system.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Most of the country will witness ring solar eclipse this weekend
Most of the country will witness ring solar eclipse this weekend By Dr. Moedji Raharto BANDUNG (Antara): Most parts of the country will witness a solar eclipse on Saturday when, during the day, the sky will get dark like twilight or daybreak for a brief period. At that time a ring solar eclipse will be visible in North Sumatra, Riau, East Kalimantan and North Sulawesi. This natural phenomenon is so named because while the eclipse is in progress, the sun assumes the shape of a ring.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Foreign convicts get reduction
Foreign convicts get reduction DENPASAR, Bali: Two foreign convicts serving sentences in state prisons in Bali received reductions on their jail terms on the occasion of Indonesia's independence day anniversary yesterday. German Peter Bauer, who was sentenced to 6.5 years in jail for drug abuse, received a five-month reduction, and Iranian Reza Masyskapour, serving a three-year jail sentence for a similar offense, was given a three-month reduction.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Indosat plans for acquisitions
Indosat plans for acquisitions JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng said here Saturday that publicly listed PT Indosat was considering making some acquisitions in an effort to boost its value before further divestment of government stakes in the state-owned international telecommunications provider. "Three possible (acquisition) targets are being considered," he said on the weekend after attending President B.J. Habibie's state of the nation address.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Ships collide, four killed
Ships collide, four killed JAKARTA (JP): Four people died when the Indonesian ship KM Sinabung collided at dawn yesterday with the Panama tanker MT World Nord in the Strait of Malacca, some 80 nautical miles from Dumai port in Riau, Antara said. Sinabung was en route from Belawan, Medan, North Sumatra, to Tanjung Priok, Jakarta. The tanker was sailing from Singapore to Spain.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Asian reforms 'hurt by financial flaws'
Asian reforms 'hurt by financial flaws' KUALA LUMPUR (Bloomberg): Malaysian Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated yesterday that the international financial system is flawed and would be the main stumbling block to Asia's recovery efforts. "The sudden surge in capital flows show how currency traders and international hedge funds can drastically create real havoc" to countries' currencies, he said at a Muslim Rulers' conference.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Megawati marks national freedom with supporters
Megawati marks national freedom with supporters JAKARTA (JP): Ousted Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri chose to miss the ceremony held by President B.J. Habibie at the State Palace and instead commemorated independence day with hundreds of her supporters at a party branch office yesterday.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Lions Club offers cheap meals
Lions Club offers cheap meals JAKARTA (JP): Lions Club Indonesia plans to continue selling cheap meals to needy people in West Jakarta streets for the next few months. The coordinator of the charity work, Budiman of the Lions Club Jakarta Nusantara, said Saturday the scheme, launched in the middle of last month, was purely meant to help poor people, who have been badly hit by the crisis.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Businessmen hail Habibie's speech
Businessmen hail Habibie's speech JAKARTA (JP): Local businessmen hailed the four-point economic stabilization and reform program delivered by President B.J. Habibie in his first state of the nation address at the House of Representatives Saturday. But they said more concrete action was needed to regain the hard-to-obtain confidence in the shattered economy.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
The rupiah -- one year after its float
The rupiah -- one year after its float This is the first of two articles based on an address given by former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor J. Soedradjad Djiwandono to a luncheon organized by the Indonesia Australia Business Council in Jakarta on Aug. 11. JAKARTA: Repeated discussions have failed to uncover the cause of the unprecedented depreciation in the value of the rupiah against the U.S.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Govt releases 27 political prisoners
Govt releases 27 political prisoners JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie has released 27 more political prisoners, pardoned three elderly communist prisoners, and restored the good name of four senior activists, including the late Lt. Gen. Hartono Rekso Dharsono, Minister of Justice Muladi said yesterday. Habibie, in his decree dated Aug.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Avoid being compartmentalization, church suggest
Avoid being compartmentalization, church suggest JAKARTA (JP): To push for true reform in the country, Indonesians must no longer let themselves be "compartmentalized" by any narrow-minded group's interests, the state's engineering, violence or despotism, the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) said. "We must dare to speak out our true conscience with clear minds, to defend the truth and justice," the conference stated in a pastoral message signed Saturday by KWI Chairman Mgr.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
26 killed in bus accident
26 killed in bus accident BANDUNG, West Java: Twenty-six people were killed and eight others seriously injured when the bus they were traveling in plunged into an eight-meter deep gully in Cibedug Limbangan village, West Java, before dawn on Sunday. An eyewitness was quoted by Antara as saying that the bus, en route from Jakarta to Banjar, West Java, hit several poles in the roadside before plunging into the gully. Garut police chief, Lt. Col.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Taxi driver arrested for robbery
Taxi driver arrested for robbery JAKARTA (JP): Police have apprehended a taxi driver and his accomplice who they believe specialized in robbing taxi passengers, especially foreigners, in the capital. City police detective chief Col. Gories Mere said Saturday driver AS of the President Taxi company and his friend ED were busted Friday at midnight while trying to extort money from a female passenger who was an undercover police officer.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Where to go in Bandung:
Where to go in Bandung: Exhibition * Arts Exhibition by Tanto and Kipli, at Galeripadi, Jl. Ir. H. Juanda 329 (Phone: 022 2500578), until Aug. 23. Performances * Poetry Reading, An evening with Indonesian and German Poetry, by Hamid Jabbar and Berthold Damshuser, the 'musique automatique' of guitarist Peter Habermehl at Goethe-Institut Bandung, Jl. Martadinata 48 (Phone: 022 436440), 7 p.m., Aug. 22. * Drama, by Teater Alibi, in Gedung Kesenian Rumentang Siang, Jl.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
S'pore Power buys RI plant
S'pore Power buys RI plant SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singapore Power Pte is in the final stages of buying an Indonesian independent power producer plant in the Indonesian province of Sulawesi, the Singapore Business Times reported yesterday.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Athletes awarded for success and behavior
Athletes awarded for success and behavior JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council presented a total of 29 athletes from 19 sports with awards in recognition of their achievements and model behavior at a ceremony held yesterday. Thomas Cup hero Hendrawan was included on the list of recipients of Satya Karya Bhakti Olahraga medals, as was fellow badminton player Deyana Lomban, who helped the Indonesian team reach the Uber Cup final last May.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Artwork served up with local cuisine
Artwork served up with local cuisine JAKARTA (JP): Authentic Indonesian cuisine and an artwork exhibition are on offer at the Borobudur Inter-Continental Jakarta Hotel in celebration of the 53th anniversary of Indonesia's independence. The food promotion has traditional cakes and dishes from across the archipelago, while the artwork exhibition features woodwork sculpted by Ketut Nara from Bali and silverwork by Wiyono Istudadi from Yogyakarta.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Habibie's vision
Habibie's vision In his state of the nation address on Saturday, President B.J. Habibie publicly elaborated for the first time on where he thinks Indonesia should be heading in the coming years. He used the occasion to share with the rest of the nation his vision of a civil society, a society that he defines as just, open and democratic. A society which is free of prejudices, and with a sociopolitical system that is transparent, effective and one that reflects the people's sovereignty.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Plane makes emergency landing
Plane makes emergency landing PASURUAN, East Java: A training plane made an emergency landing Saturday, 10:30 a.m., in Raci, East Java's Pasuruan district, because of engine trouble, Antara reported. A Raci official said the civilian pilot of the glider plane made the emergency landing when its engine developed trouble shortly after taking off from Abdurahman Saleh Air Force Base, Malang.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Rouble devaluation sparks fall in SE Asian currencies
Rouble devaluation sparks fall in SE Asian currencies SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The devaluation of the Russian rouble triggered a reflex sell-off in Southeast Asian currencies during Asian trading hours yesterday. Currencies across the region dropped steeply in reaction to news that the authorities in Moscow had widened the rouble's permitted trading band in what amounted to a 33 percent devaluation, although some later recovered from their intraday lows.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
'No' to oppression
'No' to oppression The founding fathers of the Indonesian Republic have freed this nation, but they forgot to teach us of one great risk that freedom brings: that the oppressors and the robbers of our wealth -- whether they be foreign powers or our own power holders -- could return. Our leaders in the recent past only thought about survival -- that of their own and their families and friends -- and imprisoned the people in a cage of backwardness and fear.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Moslem community sidelined by Soeharto govt: Scholar
Moslem community sidelined by Soeharto govt: Scholar JAKARTA (JP): Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid has said the religious tension and riots of the last two years reflected the Moslem community's deep seated-frustration at being deliberately sidelined by the Soeharto government. Nurcholish claimed Saturday that the Soeharto government, in a calculated manner, sidelined Moslem groups in the economic sector, and instead preferred to work with ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Probe into Soeharto's wealth 'to finish soon'
Probe into Soeharto's wealth 'to finish soon' JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General A.M. Ghalib has said that the investigation into former president Soeharto's allegedly ill-gotten wealth is nearing completion. Ghalib said here yesterday that the investigation was 70 percent complete and should be concluded within the next two months.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Telkom cuts off 100,000 lines due to unpaid bills
Telkom cuts off 100,000 lines due to unpaid bills CIPANAS, West Java (JP): Publicly listed domestic telecommunications provider PT Telkom disconnected at least 100,000 telephone lines in recent months because customers failed to pay their bills, the company's president has said. Asman Akhir Nasution said here Thursday that the disconnections cost the firm at least Rp 2 billion in lost revenue a month.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
INRO needs more funds to support rubber prices
INRO needs more funds to support rubber prices SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): The International Natural Rubber Organization has called on member governments to contribute more money to finance efforts to shore up rubber prices. "We have called on members to contribute, but we have not heard from them yet," Ahmad Zubier, INRO's executive director said yesterday. He declined to say how much more money INRO needs to replenish its funds.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Thames Pam Jaya announced
Thames Pam Jaya announced JAKARTA (JP): British water company Thames Water and city- owned water company PDAM Jaya christened their joint-venture firm PT Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ) yesterday. TPJ director John Hurcom said at the company's water treatment plant in Buaran, East Jakarta, that the new name was announced following a restructuring of the company's shareholders to improve the service it offers the public.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Rebels surrender in southern RP
Rebels surrender in southern RP ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (DPA): A top commander and 24 followers belonging to the largest rebel group seeking a separate state in the southern Philippines have surrendered to the military, an official said yesterday. Capt.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Wheat price increase kills small bread producers
Wheat price increase kills small bread producers By Sylvia Gratia M. Nirang JAKARTA (JP): The 300 percent price increase of wheat flour since early this year has left most small and medium foodmakers on the brink of collapse. Many small-scale bread producers and other wheat-based industries have been forced to stop production. "With such an increase, bread is no longer affordable for the common people, our main buyers. It means we have not much choice but to stop operations," one baker said.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Drop In Center offers help to narcotics 'victims'
Drop In Center offers help to narcotics 'victims' JAKARTA (JP): It can feel like doomsday when you find out that your child has become a drug addict. You desperately want to cure your child's addiction but are too ashamed to seek outside help. Don't be discouraged. You are not alone. There are many parents with similar problems who are willing to share their experiences and help you get through the hard times.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
People celebrate Aug. 17 modestly
People celebrate Aug. 17 modestly JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of people joined the solemn commemoration of Indonesia's 53rd anniversary of independence in a ceremony led by President B.J. Habibie in the grounds of Merdeka Palace. Conspicuously absent from the assembled dignitaries was former president Soeharto, who has presided over the ceremony for the last 32 years. Although invited, Soeharto spent the day at his home on Jl.
Tue, 18 Aug 1998, 00:00 WIB
Malaysia may take drastic measures to boost economy
Malaysia may take drastic measures to boost economy KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones): Malaysia may soon introduce drastic measures to shore up its flagging economy, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Saturday, warning that some of the population may be unnerved by the new strategy. But the blunt-speaking premier told doubters they should trust their leaders. "Have faith in the government," the national news agency Bernama reported him as saying.