Archive: 9 February 1999
47 articles found
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Follow-up directives for civil servants issued
Follow-up directives for civil servants issued JAKARTA (JP): The State Employees Administration issued two detailed directives for civil servants wishing to abandon the bureaucracy for politics, Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung said on Monday. The directives were a follow up to Government Regulation No. 12/1999 on civil servants' neutrality, Akbar said during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission II for domestic and foreign political affairs.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Overdue telephone bills ring up Rp 9b monthly
Overdue telephone bills ring up Rp 9b monthly JAKARTA (JP): Overdue telephone bills in the greater Jakarta area total about Rp 9 billion per month (about US$1 million), or 4 percent of total billings, an executive of state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom said on Monday. The percentage is small but its value is significant, said Guntur Siregar, head of the firm's Jakarta branch. "We usually isolate their telephones so they could only receive calls.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Govt to privatize 10 state-owned firms
Govt to privatize 10 state-owned firms JAKARTA (JP): The government will sell stakes in 10 state- owned companies in the 1999/2000 fiscal year to raise Rp 13 trillion (US$1.5 billion) to help finance the state budget, State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng said on Monday. But realization of the plan will hinge largely on the country's social and political situation, he added.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Navy repairs Chinese vessel
Navy repairs Chinese vessel SURABAYA: The Navy has completed repairs on a Chinese vessel impounded last Wednesday when it was sailing illegally in local waters, but its 57 passengers reportedly want to remain in Indonesia. Spokesman for the local naval base Lt. Col. Ditya Soedarsono was quoted by Antara on Monday as saying the Navy was ready to escort the vessel to international waters.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Local financial mart caught in regional rut
Local financial mart caught in regional rut JAKARTA (JP): The local financial market teetered again on Monday with the rupiah weakening to 8,550 against the U.S. dollar and stock prices sliding 1.4 percent. Currency dealers said most offshore operators dumped the rupiah for the whole trading day following the yen's slide against the U.S. dollar. Dealers said state-owned banks were seen selling dollars at Rp 8,920 down to Rp 8,850, to defend the local unit.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
RI agrees to vote on E. Timor's future
RI agrees to vote on E. Timor's future JAKARTA (JP): In a move Portuguese foreign minister Jaime Gama called "face-saving for everybody", Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas announced in New York on Sunday that Indonesia accepted the idea of a UN-organized "popular consultation" of the East Timorese in voting on the territory's future.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
A journey to freedom
A journey to freedom In the nine months of reform, the Armed Forces (ABRI) has accomplished a lot. For far too long, ABRI tried its best to avoid its responsibility concerning genocide in Aceh. But now, finally, the moment of truth has arrived. Recently, the Idi Cut massacre showed to the world that ABRI has only one mission in Aceh: To kill Acehnese.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Police bomb squad kept busy by spate of threats
Police bomb squad kept busy by spate of threats By Emmy Fitri JAKARTA (JP): The soaring number of mysterious bomb threats at both state and privately owned properties have kept the National Police Gegana bomb squad very busy in the past few months. Although many of the calls turned out to be hoaxes, the 700- member unit cannot take any chances but must speed to the site and comb the area in their 28-kilogram black body armor and other special equipment, including metal detectors and robots.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Asian currencies close weaker
Asian currencies close weaker SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian currencies closed lower in range-bound trade on Monday as the yen eased against the US dollar, with the Philippine peso and Thai baht pulled down by domestic factors, dealers said. "The regionals are moving very much sideways," said a dealer with a European bank.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Police destroy big haul of heroin, Ecstasy pills
Police destroy big haul of heroin, Ecstasy pills JAKARTA (JP): At least 2,050 grams of heroin and 29,083 Ecstasy pills, confiscated from between August and November last year from three suspects, were destroyed at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday. "We must destroy the confiscated narcotics in line with legal procedures and Law No. 22/1992 on psychotropic drugs," chief of the National Police's narcotics detective unit Col. Wilhelmus Laturette told reporters.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
200 more people netted in terminal raids
200 more people netted in terminal raids JAKARTA (JP): Police netted 200 more people in their latest raids against suspected drug dealers and other criminals at the city's major bus terminals late Sunday. A day earlier, city police apprehended a total of 186 people from the same locations in a similar operation. The raids were conducted following last Wednesday's severe clashes at the Kampung Rambutan intercity bus terminal in East Jakarta. Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Will the student movement succeed?
Will the student movement succeed? By Olle Tornquist OSLO (JP): Almost every day, I am asked two questions. The first is terribly hard to answer in a manner both brief and academically considered: what's happening to democratization in Indonesia? Soeharto's authoritarian state development project is disintegrating. It is difficult to make prognoses about the future on the basis of the situation that prevailed before the crisis began.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Gambling dens vandalized
Gambling dens vandalized TANGERANG (JP): More than one hundred angry residents damaged four stalls in Pinang subdistrict here on Sunday night as they were believed to have been used as gambling dens. The residents gathered along Jl. Hasyim Ashari in Cipondoh at about 7 p.m., expressing their dissatisfaction over mushrooming gambling activities locally known as hwa-hwe.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Bank, corporate reforms key to Malaysian revival
Bank, corporate reforms key to Malaysian revival By Eileen Ng KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Despite signs of stability in its moribund economy, Malaysia must hasten the pace of banking and corporate reforms if it wants to fully restore investor confidence, analysts say. The imposition of restrictive capital controls last September has paid off, with all economic data now indicating the recession is bottoming out.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Competition could slash Singapore insurer numbers, S&P predicts
Competition could slash Singapore insurer numbers, S&P predicts SINGAPORE (Reuters): Unsustainable competition, falling premium rates and shrinking investment earnings will slash the number of insurers operating in Singapore, ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said on Monday.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
70 students held for bus hijacking
70 students held for bus hijacking TANGERANG (JP): Seventy high school students were rounded up for their alleged involvement in the hijacking of an inter-city Arimby bus to attack students from another school, an official said. An officer of the Tangerang police precinct Capt. Sigit Listyono said that the round-up was made to enable the police to record their identities before returning them to their parents.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
7 killed in riverboat fire
7 killed in riverboat fire PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: At least seven people were killed and four others are missing after a boat caught fire and exploded on a river in the province, Antara reported on Monday. The boat, Bina Bersama, was carrying 122 passengers when it exploded on Friday night off Kalumpang village on Kapuas River in Central Kalimantan, the news agency said.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Aceh widows threaten to election boycott
Aceh widows threaten to election boycott JAKARTA (JP): Widows who lost their husbands during a 10-year military operation in Aceh said on Monday they would boycott elections and support a referendum determining Aceh's status if their various demands were not met. Antara reported from the capital of Banda Aceh that around 42 widows grouped in the Aceh Forum of Widows of the Military Operation met with the local council.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
IMF considers more money for RI
IMF considers more money for RI JAKARTA (JP): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will propose to its executive board additional bailout money for Indonesia to boost its central bank's reserves ahead of the June general election, IMF Asia Pacific director Hubert Neiss said on Monday. He said the proposal would be discussed by the executive board at its mid-March meeting when it reviewed Indonesia's revised letter of intent outlining its economic programs and targets.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Indonesia's economic developments confusing
Indonesia's economic developments confusing The deterioration of the economy has reached a point where it is difficult to see a solution. Economist Kwik Kian Gie discusses dilemmas faced by the government. JAKARTA (JP): Deep economic depression has caused the Indonesian elite to oscillate between optimism and pessimism so that they can no longer make appropriate judgments that are based on the realities. When the rupiah's value strengthened to about Rp 7,000 per U.S.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
RP skeptical about AFTA deal
RP skeptical about AFTA deal MANILA (AFP): Recession-hit local manufacturers face grim prospects with the Philippines set to slash tariff lines in 11 months as part of free trade commitments, a prominent industrialist warned on Monday. "The countdown to globalization is now with us and in 11 months, 85 percent of the tariff line items in ASEAN will be reduced to 0-5 percent," Federation of Philippine Industries chairman Raul Concepcion said in a statement.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Robbed by children
Robbed by children From Neraca Holdups of taxi drivers are no longer the monopoly of adults. Teenagers of about 14 years old recently held up a taxi driver. It gives us reason for concern. Recently a taxi driver was menaced by two teenage passengers, one of them holding a knife to him. Aware that the weapon was at his throat, he forfeited his wallet containing Rp 125,000, the sum he was to pay to his company for the daily rent of the vehicle. The two youngsters ordered him to stop.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
On the Timor Gap
On the Timor Gap Indonesia (and Australia, too, perhaps) may not benefit from the natural wealth lying in the Bonaparte Basin, the Timor Sea, if East Timor is given up as one of Indonesia's provinces.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
1995 elections 'hold clues for today'
1995 elections 'hold clues for today' SEMARANG (JP): Believing the upcoming June 7, 1999 elections will differ significantly from those held between 1971 and 1997 by Soeharto's New Order regime, many have referred to the 1955 elections in search of clues. Unlike the elections under Soeharto which were often dubbed a farce, the 1955 poll was believed to be successful in ensuring free and fair competition, although in the aftermath contesting parties became embroiled in conflicts.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Archery coach upset with postponed training
Archery coach upset with postponed training JAKARTA (JP): The national archery team's head coach Lee Jae- hyun said on Monday he did not expect his trainees to win berths at the 2000 Olympic Games after the Indonesian Archery Association decided to postpone the centralized training session for one month to March.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Pertamina defends Natuna pipeline plan
Pertamina defends Natuna pipeline plan JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina denied on Monday the allegation that the West Natuna consortium had held an unfair tender to the awarding of the contract for the development of the underwater pipeline megaproject to channel natural gas from the gas fields west of the Natuna islands to Singapore. Pertamina's head of foreign contractor supervision (BPPKA) Gatot K.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Rates for tax payment, valid from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14
Rates for tax payment, valid from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14 U.S. dollar 1 Rp 8,475.00 Austrian schilling 1 714.89 Australian dollar 1 5,383.32 Belgian franc 1 243.85 Canadian dollar 1 5,595.91 Swiss franc 1 5,962.43 Deutschemark 1 4,898.56 Danish krone 1 1,294.12 French franc 1 1,499.64 Poundsterling 1 13,855.78 Hong Kong dollar 1 1,093.72 Italian lira 100 508.05 Japanese yen 100 7,369.57 Malaysian ringgit 1 2,230.32 Dutch guilder 1 4,463.89 Norwegian krone 1 1,108.45 New Zealand dollar 1 4,593.45...
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
ARCO allocates US$50m for 900 golden handshakes
ARCO allocates US$50m for 900 golden handshakes JAKARTA (JP): Oil and gas company Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) Indonesia, the subsidiary of Los Angeles-based ARCO, has set aside US$50 million to compensate about 900 workers who will retire voluntarily, the company said on Monday.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Where to go in Bandung:
Where to go in Bandung: Exhibition * Painting Exhibition: Owning Memory, Amanda Johnson (Australian), at Galeripadi, Jl. Ir. H. Juanda 329 (Phone: 022 2500578), until Feb. 25. Performances * Theater: Mimpi yang Bicara, Teater Bebas, at Gedung Kesenian Rumentang Siang, Jl. Baranang Siang 1, Kosambi (Phone: 022 433562), 8 p.m., Feb. 11-12. * Drama: Rebutan Konta, at Gedung Kesenian Rumentang Siang, 8 p.m., Feb. 13. * Sundanese Dances, at Gedung Kesenian Rumentang Siang, 8 p.m., Feb. 15.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Reebok to dismiss 3,000 RI workers
Reebok to dismiss 3,000 RI workers JAKARTA (JP): American sports clothing line Reebok, in anticipation of shrinking production this year, plans to slash employment of some 3,000 workers in its subcontracting footwear factories in Indonesia, a report says. A deputy of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Sugihono Kadarisman, said over the weekend that Reebok Boston told a team of BKPM officials last November it would cut down production in Indonesian shoe manufacturing factories.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Activists oppose ABRI's order to shoot on sight
Activists oppose ABRI's order to shoot on sight JAKARTA (JP): Observers urged the Armed Forces (ABRI) on Monday to reconsider its shoot-on-sight order against rioters, saying that capturing the masterminds of recent unrest would do more to improve the military's image. Albert Hasibuan of the National Commission on Human Rights said the order must not be implemented arbitrarily, while Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party outspokenly said the order was against the law.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Justice ministry comes under fire
Justice ministry comes under fire JAKARTA (JP): Legislators criticized on Monday the use of the safety net funds under the Ministry of Justice, saying that instead of using it to formulate laws and renovate buildings, it was better spent to facilitate legal aid to the needy. Many of the poor now faced jail sentences for petty crimes, many of which were driven by economic causes, Aisyah Amini, head of the Commission I overseeing, among other things, administration, said.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Rare flower in park vandalized
Rare flower in park vandalized BANDARLAMPUNG, Lampung: Illegal loggers are suspected of ripping up a rare giant rafflesia flower recently discovered in South Bukit Barisan National Park in Kubunicik here, Antara reported. Park official Iwen Y. Imarson said on Monday the flower's petals were found tossed last week in a monument near where the plant grew. "We suspect the vandals were illegal loggers upset because park officials foiled their activities several times," Iwen said.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Armed Forces faces human rights dilemma during transition period
Armed Forces faces human rights dilemma during transition period By Aleksius Jemadu LEEDS, United Kingdom (JP): Indonesia's delicate transition to democracy has created a dilemma for the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI). With social unrest and political violence on the rise prior to the 1999 general election, ABRI appears to be bewildered by mounting criticisms of its human rights record.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Regional autonomy bill will go to House
Regional autonomy bill will go to House JAKARTA (JP): The much-awaited bill on regional autonomy, promising to open the door for civilians to become governors or regents without a presidential endorsement, will go before the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Mob burns alive alleged taxi robber
Mob burns alive alleged taxi robber TANGERANG (JP): Angry with the escalating crime rate, dozens of local residents here poured gasoline over a suspected taxi thief and set him alight in front of the Cikokol market in the early hours of Monday. The fire that burned 35-year-old Badrawi was extinguished a few minutes later by heavy rain. He died on the way to the hospital, police said.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
NTT to expand data-service
NTT to expand data-service TOKYO (Dow Jones): Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) plans to expand the area for international data communication services offered by its overseas subsidiaries, company sources said in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun's Monday morning edition. The move is aimed at boosting presence in Southeast Asian and other major markets prior to the July split of the telecom giant that will allow the start of a full-fledged overseas communication service, the sources said.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Importer group balks at buying Indian meat
Importer group balks at buying Indian meat JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Meat Importers Association (Aspidi) said on Monday it will not import meat from India even though it has been assigned by the government to do so. Aspidi chairwoman Frieda N. Nalapraya said importing the Indian beef and buffalo meat would be too risky because it could spread disease to the local cattle industry.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Sabah girl watches landslide kill family
Sabah girl watches landslide kill family KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A landslide crashed through homes on a hillside in East Malaysia, killing 17 people and leaving one 10- year-old girl to watch her family die, a news report said on Monday. Mahani Rudy awoke early on Sunday to a thunderous sound and screams as rocks and heavy rain bombarded her family's squatter home in the village of Kampung Gelam in Sabah state on Borneo island.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Asia as battleground for chemicals firms
Asia as battleground for chemicals firms SINGAPORE (AFP): Asia is expected to be a major battleground of the world chemical industry after the region recovers from its present economic crisis, a top Japanese industry executive said here on Monday. Shigenori Koda, chairman of Mitsui Chemicals Inc., told a regional chemicals conference that powerful western companies now undergoing mergers and restructuring were gearing up to expand their presence in Asia.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Porcupine attack damages oil palms
Porcupine attack damages oil palms PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: Hundreds of porcupines damaged more than 500 trees in a oil palm plantation in Central Kalimantan. "Due to the attack, more than 500 oil palm trees were destroyed," a spokesman for plantation owner PT Multi Persada Gatra Megah was quoted by Antara as saying on Monday. The reason for the raid is unknown, but the spokesman said plantation workers had overcome their initial hesitation to try to rid the area of the pest. (byg)
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Govt clears way for tourists to drive cars here
Govt clears way for tourists to drive cars here NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Hoping to boost the arrival of visitors from neighboring countries, the government has issued a new ruling that allows foreign travelers to enter the country by private vehicle, an official has said. The director general of tourism at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, I Gde Ardhika, said on Saturday the regulation was issued to boost the country's ailing tourist industry.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Singapore's Chee meets Taiwan opposition leader
Singapore's Chee meets Taiwan opposition leader SINGAPORE (Reuters): Prominent Taiwanese opposition leader and legislator Shih Ming-teh met Singapore opposition politician Chee Soon Juan after Chee's release from jail on Monday in what both said was a show of solidarity. "We don't mean to interfere with the affairs here, we only want to show our goodwill and encouragement to our friends, especially Dr.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Stock Exchange
Stock Exchange Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on Feb.8, 1999: Shares Close Change Trading Volume ---------------------------------------------------------- Ades Alfindo 350 0 0 AHAP Insurance 400 0 0 Alter Abadi 275 0 35,000 Alumindo Light Metal 225 -25 510,000 Alumindo Perkasa 125 0 0 Aneka Kimia Raya 200 0 0 Aneka Tambang 1,525 0 5,346,500 Anwar Sierad 100 25 5,000 Apac Centertex Corp.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Malaysia's Anwar says he is victim of Cabinet opponents
Malaysia's Anwar says he is victim of Cabinet opponents KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysia's sacked finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on Monday took the witness stand in his criminal trial and said he was the victim of scheming cabinet colleagues who wanted to quash corruption investigations.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Govt threatens to revoke permits of defiant firms
Govt threatens to revoke permits of defiant firms JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin Nasution warned on Monday 33 timber companies would lose their licences if they failed to pay overdue fees by March 1, with the government introducing new rules to bring delinquent firms into line. Muslimin said timber companies were given a two-month deadline from January to settle their reforestation fee and forest royalty debts, but there had been no response.
Tue, 09 Feb 1999, 00:00 WIB
Indonesia still pursuing its role in Non-Aligned Movement
Indonesia still pursuing its role in Non-Aligned Movement By Nana S. Sutresna JAKARTA (JP): One question that is often asked these days by observers and analysts of Indonesian policy is whether the country should continue its well-known active role in the Non- Aligned Movement (NAM). After all, the Cold War is a thing of the past.