Archive: 25 January 1999
46 articles found
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Irian wood sells well
Irian wood sells well JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya-based company PT Onin Abadi Permai has exported at least 140 metric tons of the local gaharu (eaglewood), worth Rp 128 billion (US$ 14.4 million), to Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Japan. The company's president, Fachiry J. Robeth, said his company could not yet satisfy the increasing demand from other countries due to limited production.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
KL may ease forex control
KL may ease forex control KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The Malaysian government may announce an easing of some of the strict controls it imposed on foreign investors last year in response to the Asian economic crisis, a news report said Sunday. The announcement is expected to come soon after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and other government officials meet Monday with 40 top international fund managers and potential investors, the Sun newspaper reported.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Women 'still defer to men' at the ballot box
Women 'still defer to men' at the ballot box JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian women, despite enhanced political consciousness, continue to vote based on choices of male relatives and associates, activist and playwright Ratna Sarumpaet believes. "Women are well educated today, and this has led to the increased political awareness," Ratna acknowledged on Saturday in an interview with The Jakarta Post.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Experts suggest CPO export tax should be reduced to below 15%
Experts suggest CPO export tax should be reduced to below 15% JAKARTA (JP): Leading analysts suggest that the government cut the current 60 percent export tax on crude palm oil (CPO) to below 15 percent or abolish it altogether to collect more badly needed foreign exchange.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Talks on East Timor to resume Jan. 28
Talks on East Timor to resume Jan. 28 JAKARTA: The next round of talks on autonomy for East Timor is scheduled for January 28 and is expected to last about a week, Antara said on Saturday. The news agency quoted UN spokesman Fred Eckhard as saying the session "is a continuation of the tripartite talks -- Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations -- that were held in November".
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Guard burns to death
Guard burns to death JAKARTA (JP): A security guard of PT Sarana Sentosa burned to death at the private gasoline distribution firm's truck pool in Cakung, North Jakarta, on Sunday. According to local fireman Eko Setyanto, Subroto, 50, was trapped in a small room he used to take naps at Jl. Tipar. The fire began at about 11:30 a.m. "The victim tried to save himself by getting into a drum full of water.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
American sailor dies at motel
American sailor dies at motel JAKARTA (JP): Foul play is not suspected in the death of an American sailor in a room at a North Jakarta motel, a hospital source said on Sunday. Based on available documentation, the deceased was identified as Leonard Zimmerman, 57, a crew member of a ship docked at nearby Tanjung Priok Port, said Eddy of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital morgue Eddy. According to Eddy, the body was found at Wisma Podomore and admitted to the hospital's morgue at 4:30 p.m.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
ABRI seats still being disputed
ABRI seats still being disputed JAKARTA (JP): The issue of the number of nonelected seats in the legislature the Armed Forces (ABRI) will be allocated promises to remain controversial as the Jan. 28 deadline to endorse the political bills currently being deliberated in the House of Representatives quickly approaches.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Freeport to cut copper output
Freeport to cut copper output JAKARTA (JP): Mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the U.S. mining firm Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, is planning to reduce its copper production at its Grasberg mine in Irian Jaya by 14 percent to 1.5 billion pounds this year from 1.75 billion pounds last year.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Govt to raise cellphone rates by 50 percent
Govt to raise cellphone rates by 50 percent JAKARTA (JP): The government will raise basic call rates of mobile telecommunications by between 46 and 50 percent to be effective on March 1, following a 24 percent hike in domestic, fixed-line phone call rates, a senior official at the Ministry of Communications has said.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
More political will needed for RI recovery: Bankers
More political will needed for RI recovery: Bankers BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Ailing Asian nations -- particularly Indonesia -- will need to show more political will to reform their economies in order to boost investor confidence and help the poor and middle class, said officials from international agencies and development banks.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
TV Program: Monday, Jan. 25, 1999
TV Program: Monday, Jan. 25, 1999 TVRI 5:30 a.m. Religious Teachings: Hikmah Pagi 6:00 Morning News 6:30 News: Nuansa Reformasi 7:00 Children's Program: Lagu Anak Nusantara 8:00 Music 9:00 Music 9:30 Interval 2:00 p.m.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Foreign election observers
Foreign election observers An honest and fair general election is one of the instruments that can save Indonesia. And since the presence of independent observers is needed to ensure that this goal is achieved, Japan, the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are feeling called upon to offer their help.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Golkar's acquiescence
Golkar's acquiescence Golkar, the dominant faction in the House of Representatives, finally dropped its defiant defense of what it calls the political rights of the country's four million civil servants, due to pressure from political groupings and political forces outside the legislative body, in a high-level meeting on Friday.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Scholarship helps crisis-hit students
Scholarship helps crisis-hit students JEMBER, East Java: A total of 1,127 crisis-stricken students at state-run Jember University are now able to stay in school following the disbursement of a Rp 1 billion (US$117,647) scholarship for nine months of expenses, Antara reported on Saturday. Spokesman Imam Soebagio said each student received a lump sum of Rp 540,000 to pay for their tuition and spend at their discretion.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Irian Jayans still living in PNG
Irian Jayans still living in PNG MERAUKE, Irian Jaya: More than 140 Irian Jayans who had resided in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for years and who were scheduled to be repatriated in 1998 have still not arrived in Indonesian territory, an official said. Leonardus Letsoin, a provincial official, was quoted by Antara as saying the 143 Irian Jayans were still at their camp in Kiungga in PNG territory. No information on the delay was available, Letsoin said.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Wisdom sought from House's decision on electoral system
Wisdom sought from House's decision on electoral system JAKARTA (JP): They were united last November in rejecting the government-sponsored district representation voting system for the upcoming general election on June 7, favoring instead a proportional representation electoral system.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
'Xanana' release 'to be meaningful'
'Xanana' release 'to be meaningful' Visiting U.S. Congressmen urged the Indonesian government on Jan. 13 to release East Timor guerrilla leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao who is serving a 20-year sentence. Military observer Let. Gen. (ret.) Hasnan Habib addresses the issue. Question: The government reportedly plans to release Xanana from prison. Will his release help Indonesia expedite a solution to the East Timor issue? Hasnan: Oh, yes.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
S'pore posts minus inflation
S'pore posts minus inflation SINGAPORE (AFP): Recession-hit Singapore slipped into negative inflation in 1998 for the first time in 12 years, the government said Saturday. The consumer prices index last year fell by 0.3 percent from 1997 largely due to lower costs of transport and communication and cheaper clothing, the department of statistics said in a statement. This was the first annual decline since 1986 when the index posted a fall of 1.4 percent, it said.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Translators deserve high pay
Translators deserve high pay As a programmer and a freelance translator, I read with interest the article titled Translation: Engine of cultural progress that moves very slowly published on Jan. 12, 1999. The fact that a translator is paid merely Rp 11,500 per target page is really pathetic. Doing translation work requires full concentration, hard word and a lot of thinking. It is like a job of a programmer.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Rioting pressures local bourse
Rioting pressures local bourse JAKARTA (JP): Trading on the Jakarta Stock Exchange resumes Monday after one week off, but analysts predict that share prices will be under heavy pressure this week following fresh outbreaks of rioting in Ambon, Maluku, and various parts of the country.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Analysts don't expect big hike in interest rates
Analysts don't expect big hike in interest rates JAKARTA (JP): Experts expect the current increasing trend in domestic interest rates aimed at providing support for the beleaguered rupiah will only be limited and temporary. Senior banker I Nyoman Moena said on Saturday that the effectiveness of using monetary instruments to restrain the decline of the rupiah against the U.S.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Violence threatens Sri Lankan election
Violence threatens Sri Lankan election COLOMBO (Agencies): An independent monitoring group has said expectations of widespread violence might keep people indoors in Monday's elections for Sri Lanka's Northwestern Provincial Council. "There is expectation of violence tomorrow. It might keep people home, but we hope they will come out and vote," Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) told a news conference on Sunday.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
ICRC aids Aceh orphans, widows
ICRC aids Aceh orphans, widows LHOKSEUMAWE, Aceh: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) extended assistance to 1,113 children and 1,088 women who lost their fathers and husbands during the nine year military operation in Aceh that began in 1989. The international body's representative here, Philippe Beauverd, presented school supplies and packages of essentials worth Rp 125,000 each in a ceremony in Sigli in the Pidie regency, on Friday.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Ministry urged to cut luxury tax on daily needy
Ministry urged to cut luxury tax on daily needy JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Industry and Trade has urged the Ministry of Finance to reduce or abolish altogether luxury taxes imposed on products that are no longer considered luxuries. Director General of Metal, Machineries, Electronics and Various Industries Agus Tjahajana said on Friday that luxury taxes currently imposed on several electronic products and various other goods were no longer suitable in the current economy condition.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Six youths arrested for damaging cars, motorcycle
Six youths arrested for damaging cars, motorcycle JAKARTA (JP): Two cars were damaged and a motorcycle was set on fire at Mal Kelapa Gading shopping center in North Jakarta in the early hours of Sunday, when a group of young men ran amok after being warned by a mall security guard to stop racing their motorbikes in the area. According to a spokesman for the city police, Lt. Col.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
School load impedes English learning
School load impedes English learning By Yassir Nasanius JAKARTA (JP): The third millennium, which we are about to enter soon, has been dubbed a global age. As the name suggests, the key word of the age, globalization, requires the citizens of the world to act globally. What does to act globally mean? One of the prerequisites for acting globally is the ability to communicate with international communities and this, nowadays, usually means the ability to speak English.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Anwar case could change leadership in Malaysia
Anwar case could change leadership in Malaysia SINGAPORE (AFP): Lingering negative sentiment over the arrest of Malaysia's former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim may force the ruling party to remove Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, according to a report received here.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
25 people injured in toll road wreck
25 people injured in toll road wreck JAKARTA (JP): At least 25 people were hurt, most sustaining head injuries, when their speeding Tangerang-bound bus overturned on the Kebon Jeruk-Tangerang toll road on Sunday evening. Toll road officer Asep said the accident occurred at 5:37 p.m. at Km 17,200 when the driver of the packed Wana Raja bus from Bandung lost control after swerving to avoid another vehicle on its left. According to the bus driver, Baturo, about 80 passengers were onboard.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Fun plays key role in teaching English to kids
Fun plays key role in teaching English to kids By Bambang Sugeng YOGYAKARTA (JP): English has been taught at certain elementary schools for over five years, but observations and studies of its effectiveness have hinted that the present teaching system deviates alarmingly from the original aims posted by the authorities.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Riau put on alert against flooding
Riau put on alert against flooding PEKANBARU, Riau: The province has now been put under full alert status against the possibility of natural disasters, particularly floods, the head of the provincial office of the Ministry of Social Services, Rustam Effendy, said. The recently high rainfall has threatened to inundate areas of the province, particularly along the basins of the three rivers in the province, the Kampar, Siak and Indragiri, Effendy said here on Saturday.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
State railway firm suffers rp 50m in losses per day
State railway firm suffers rp 50m in losses per day JAKARTA (JP): State-owned railway company Perumka suffered losses of Rp 50 million per day in broken train windows smashed by residents living near railway tracks which link Jakarta to other areas in Java, the president of the company said.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
46 bus firms found jacking up fares
46 bus firms found jacking up fares JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Communications Giri Suseno said on Sunday 46 bus companies violated the fixed 35 percent increase in Idul Fitri fares in the five days after the post-Ramadhan fasting month holiday.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Disbursement of emergency fund delayed again without any reason
Disbursement of emergency fund delayed again without any reason JAKARTA (JP): The disbursement of an emergency fund amounting to Rp 109.52 billion, aimed at empowering poor city residents hard hit by a prolonged economic crisis, is being delayed again without any clear reason. Several heads of the Village Resilience Board (LKMD) assigned to be in charge of channeling the aid said that they had yet to receive the fund as of Friday, even though the deadline for the disbursement was set for Jan.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Foundations subject to tax
Foundations subject to tax From Bisnis Indonesia The foundations set up by former president Soeharto no longer have special facilities and they will even have to pay tax. In all fairness, and in order to increase state funds coming from income tax as set in the 1999/2000 State Budget, all foundations, without exception, are subject to tax.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Rate ceiling for Jan. 25 - Jan. 31
Rate ceiling for Jan. 25 - Jan. 31 JAKARTA (JP): The central bank announced over the weekend that the ceilings of interest rates on rupiah and dollar time deposits covered by the government's deposit guarantee scheme for the fourth week of January are as follows: Time deposit Maximum rate Maximum rate Rp deposit (%) $ deposit (%) ------------------------------------------------- 1-month 42 13 3-month 38 13 6-month 35 12 12-month 34 12 24-month 25 13 Maximum overnight rate for rupiah : 34...
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Wiranto cals meeting on violence
Wiranto cals meeting on violence JAKARTA (JP): A closed-door meeting involving top military brass and leading civilians took place late Sunday. Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto said after the meeting held at Wisma Yani in Central Jakarta, that the riots in Ambon, which have killed at least 50 people, had a similar pattern to other communal clashes.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Riot-hit areas told to start healing process
Riot-hit areas told to start healing process JAKARTA (JP): Administrations in riot-hit areas need to make simple, concerted and intensive efforts to start healing wounds, representatives of Muslim organizations and a sociologist said on Sunday. Dialog and persuasion, in addition to local communal leaders taking a hands-on strategy to addressing problems, were strongly recommended.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Malaysia sets strategy ahead of general elections
Malaysia sets strategy ahead of general elections KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad meets foreign fund managers this week as pressure mounts on the government to relax currency controls ahead of general elections. The meeting, expected on Monday, is part of a government plan to try to pull Malaysia out of its first recession in 13 years in time for the polls, which must be held by April 2000.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Kostrad soldier killed in riot-hit Ambon
Kostrad soldier killed in riot-hit Ambon JAKARTA (JP): A mob attacked and stabbed to death a soldier from the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in riot-torn Ambon on Saturday, the Armed Forces said on Sunday. The authorities have arrested 50 alleged instigators of the communal clashes, which have left more than 50 dead in the Maluku provincial capital since Tuesday. Spokesman for the Armed Forces Maj. Gen.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Pancasila philosophy
Pancasila philosophy From Kompas Our country has high principles, probably even the highest in the world, i.e. Pancasila (five basic principles) philosophy and the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity) motto. It is deplorable that their implementation is well below expectation.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Brawls in Cilacap claim one life
Brawls in Cilacap claim one life CILACAP, Central Java: One man was killed, over a dozen others were injured and several stores were looted on Saturday, when thousands of villagers clashed in two separate incidents in the subdistricts of Adipala and Sampang here. Police chief Lt. Andi Lolo said the brawl in Adipala involving residents of the town and villagers from nearby Penggalang began over a pack of cigarettes that was not paid for. "I'm at my wits end.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Revised table
Revised table Three of the tables which appeared on this page in Saturday's paper were inadvertently mixed up.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
76 houses gutted in Tambora
76 houses gutted in Tambora JAKARTA (JP): At least 76 houses in Jembatan Lima subdistrict in Tambora, West Jakarta, were gutted by fire on Friday, leaving about 200 people homeless. The fire, believed to be caused by an electrical short circuit, started at 6:30 a.m. in a house owned by Nursiah. It immediately spread to other houses. "We panicked upon hearing people's screams for help," Machmud, one of the local residents, said.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Where to go in Jakarta: Monday, Jan. 25, 1999
Where to go in Jakarta: Monday, Jan. 25, 1999 Exhibitions * Photo Exhibition: World Press Photo Exhibition: Erasmus Huis, Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav.S-3, Kuningan, South Jakarta (Phone: 525 2321), Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 a.m., Jan. 27 - Feb.11. Painting Exhibition: Dua Nafas by Achmad Syahri and Munadi, Galeri Cipta III, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jl. Cikini Raya 73, Central Jakarta (Phone: 315 4087), 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Jan. 26 - Feb. 4.
Mon, 25 Jan 1999, 00:00 WIB
Suspect caught in cafe looting spree
Suspect caught in cafe looting spree JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Police on Sunday arrested a man accused of involvement in the looting and vandalism of 170 street cafes in National Monument (Monas) Park, an officer said. Chief of detectives Maj. Budiono Sandi said the suspect, identified as Fredy, had admitted to looting and damaging the upmarket sidewalk cafes together with four accomplices on Monday night. Most of the cafes are owned by local entertainers.