Archive: 19 July 1999
42 articles found
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Basketball players need to break psychological barrier
Basketball players need to break psychological barrier By Ivy Susanti JAKARTA (JP): Although basketball is one of the most popular sport in Indonesia, many people still doubt it can win the country medals in the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam next month.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
IBRA pushes indebted bankers
IBRA pushes indebted bankers JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) is pushing the former owners of seven private banks nationalized in March to repay some Rp 9.4 trillion (US$1.4 billion) in debts to the government. IBRA said in a statement issued over the weekend that it hoped the former bank owners would repay their debts in cash or other liquid assets.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Hutama Karya refuses to pay promissory note
Hutama Karya refuses to pay promissory note JAKARTA (JP): State-owned construction firm PT Hutama Karya said last week it was not liable to pay a promissory note issued by its former management. "The promissory note was issued by the former directors of Hutama Karya without consent from the commissioners or approval from the shareholders, thus it is not valid," the company's lawyer said after a hearing at the Jakarta Commercial Court on Friday.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Speculation continues over TNI deputy commander post
Speculation continues over TNI deputy commander post JAKARTA (JP): Speculation continued over the weekend regarding a revived post of deputy commander in the Indonesian Military (TNI), following Saturday's installment of Adm. Widodo A.S, who was the Navy's chief. In Yogyakarta, a lecturer in government studies at Gadjah Mada University, Pratikno, said that the renewal of the post, vacant since 1983, was "part of a systematic effort to place TNI commander Gen.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Writing and self-confidence
Writing and self-confidence I read with great interest Alwasilah's article Writing needs more recognition published in The Jakarta Post on July 10, 1999. I could not agree more with your emphasis on the importance of feedback in improving the quality of students' writing, which is certainly one way to motivate students. Also, lecturers could support their students by publishing the results of their writing in a school journal or magazine, or even in the Post.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Situation in Aceh tense following arson attack
Situation in Aceh tense following arson attack JAKARTA (JP): The military checked all motorists using the Banda Aceh-Medan highway on Sunday following the burning of a number of vehicles in the area on Saturday. A journalist in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, said no one was arrested, but residents were gripped with fear. "They are still traumatized," he said, referring to past military operations in the province.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Business uncertainty deters foreign textile buyers
Business uncertainty deters foreign textile buyers JAKARTA (JP): Many buyers of Indonesian textiles and textile products have placed their orders with other Asian countries due to growing business uncertainty amid the country's political instability, a senior official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Saturday.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Where to go in Jakarta:
Where to go in Jakarta: Exhibitions * Photo Exhibition: Manusia di Zamrud Tenggara Khatulistiwa, by S.S Listyowati, at Galeri Nomad, Jl. Mesjid I/19, Pejompongan, West Jakarta (Phone: 5733912), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Aug. 6. * Photo Exhibition: Pasar Gambir, at Gedung Arsip Nasional RI, Jl. Gajah Mada no. 111, West Jakarta (Phone: 6347744), 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., July 20 to Aug. 8. * Art Exhibition by Cak Kandar, at Hotel Ciputra Jakarta, Jl. Let. Jend. S.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Time to praise God
Time to praise God From Neraca We were bewildered when the exchange rate of the rupiah teetered above 10,000 to the U.S. dollar. Practically everybody -- from businesspeople to government officials -- tried to find a way to pay their debts. Imported raw materials became so costly that the business of manufacturing in the real sector was stuck. Bank interest rates soared and loans for working capital -- let alone investments -- dried up.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Check documents of cheap cars: Police
Check documents of cheap cars: Police JAKARTA (JP): City police have urged Jakartans who have just bought secondhand cars at attractive prices to examine the authenticity of the vehicle documents immediately. City police detectives' chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said on Sunday that the warning was merely based on a police finding recently of fake documents from scores of stolen vehicles netted by the police over the past few weeks.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
GGS says no dividend
GGS says no dividend JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed textile company PT Great Golden Star (GGS) announced on Saturday it would not pay any dividend this year following losses amounting to Rp 3.76 billion ($570,000) in 1998. This is the second year running that the company failed to pay any dividend. GGS, which at one time last year was in danger of being delisted because none of its shares were traded for six consecutive months, lost Rp 12.7 billion in 1997.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Public vehicle drivers want illegal levies erased
Public vehicle drivers want illegal levies erased JAKARTA (JP): Bus drivers demanded on Sunday the city administration eradicate illegal levies imposed on buses in order to help lower fares. In response, city administration officials said the drivers' demand was impossible to satisfy because illegal levies had become so common in the transportation industry.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Probe into the murder of Sumarsana nears completion
Probe into the murder of Sumarsana nears completion JAKARTA (JP): City police detectives said on Sunday they were close to revealing the suspects and motives behind the murder of Sumarsana, a private employee whose dismembered body was discovered a week ago. Police detective chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo announced the investigation could be completed within a matter of days.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Back on the reform path
Back on the reform path The triumph of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the general election is a victory for the reform movement. It is one which should be cherished not only by PDI Perjuangan supporters, but also by those who have fought for the cause of reform from the beginning.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Clean hands need to audit officials
Clean hands need to audit officials From Media Indonesia According to news reports, the government will shortly set up a commission to audit officials' assets in the implementation of Law No. 28/1999 on clean governance free of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN). Membership of the commission will be determined by the House of Representatives and decreed by the president. The Indonesian Committee on Tax Reforms (KRPI) in its letter No.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Customers attack firm in Medan
Customers attack firm in Medan MEDAN, North Sumatra: A building of another firm claiming to be a multilevel-marketing business, PT Media Laksana Mandiri, was destroyed by hundreds of people in Medan. They said they were customers of the firm, Antara reported on Saturday. The mass action was the second after customers of another firm set fire to two doors of its building and threw bills in the air.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Brunei ready to hold 20th SEA Games
Brunei ready to hold 20th SEA Games By P. Parameswaran BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): Oil-rich Brunei is preparing to roll out the red carpet for participants at next month's Southeast Asian Games, which the tiny state hopes will help fuel its economic recovery. The 4,000 athletes and officials of the 20th SEA Games will be housed in newly-completed luxury apartments in a leafy enclave in the heart of Brunei's capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
PDI-P to reconfirm Megawati nomination
PDI-P to reconfirm Megawati nomination JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri opened a closed- door leadership meeting on Sunday, which is expected to reconfirm the party's nomination of her as its presidential candidate.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
East Timor observes truce for immunization
East Timor observes truce for immunization JAKARTA (JP): Despite continuing violence in East Timor, warring factions have been quietly observing a little-known "truce" over the past week to allow thousands of children to be immunized against deadly diseases.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Activists warn of the plight of child refugees in Aceh
Activists warn of the plight of child refugees in Aceh JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Children's Welfare Foundation (YKAI) urged people on Saturday not to forget the suffering of thousands of child refugees in Aceh, who accompanied their parents and adult relatives fleeing tension and violence in their hometowns.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Indofood sells shares
Indofood sells shares JAKARTA (JP): Widely diversified Salim Group sold 230 million shares, or 12.56 percent, in publicly listed food producer PT Indofood Sukses Makmur to international investors for Rp 1.9 trillion (US$283.5 million), the group said. "Fifty percent of the shares were bought by Asian investors, with the remaining shares acquired by investors from the United States and Europe," Salim Group executive director Benny S. Santoso said in a statement.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
IBRA holds furniture auction
IBRA holds furniture auction JAKARTA (JP): Some 16,000 pieces of office furniture worth Rp 800 million (US$119,400) will be auctioned at the Jakarta Fair grounds in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, beginning on Monday, the organizers said on Sunday. Organized jointly by the Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and PT Balindo, the auction is only offering 15 percent of the total amount of furniture confiscated by IBRA from 21 private banks liquidated by the government.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Joko plans to enter modeling despite his basketball career
Joko plans to enter modeling despite his basketball career JAKARTA (JP): Young and good looking, Antonius Joko Endratmo is looking to strike out in a profession a world away from his current job in Indonesia' professional basketball league (Kobatama). The 22-year-old forward, who is currently training for the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, said he would try his luck in modeling if he received any offers from talent scouts. "Many people told me I should be a model.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Bappenas clarifies
Bappenas clarifies Referring to your article on July 14, 1999, page 8, under the title ADB to help govt in Aceh railway plan, we found inaccurate information concerning the one million-hectare peatland conversion scheme in Central Kalimantan. Allow me to make the necessary corrections as follows: 1.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Suicide attempt of poor, old man foiled
Suicide attempt of poor, old man foiled JAKARTA (JP): He was old and poor and apparently desperate about his sick wife. But his attempt to take his own life on Saturday was foiled by his daughter-in-law and he, or at least his family, ended up Rp 162,000 poorer. Djam'an, 72, of Jl. Kramat Sentiong in the Kramat subdistrict of Central Jakarta, was found in the nick of time by daughter-in- law Rini, who lives on the same street.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Protectionist tendencies 'still rife in Asia'
Protectionist tendencies 'still rife in Asia' SINGAPORE (AFP): Most Asian economies are reluctant to ease existing protectionist barriers to trade, even as the regional financial crisis shook Asian governments out of their resistance to change, an independent think-tank said.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Are bloody thumbprints effective?
Are bloody thumbprints effective? By Aleksius Jemadu BANDUNG, West Java (JP): A leftist political leader from El Salvador once said: "When history can no longer be written by ink, it must be written by blood". Fanatic supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), seemed to be saying the same thing when they gave their bloody thumb prints in a show of support for her presidential bid.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Religious leaders protest NU support of woman president
Religious leaders protest NU support of woman president PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Several religious leaders who are members of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and the National Awakening Party (PKB), protested on late Friday and on Saturday a statement by their own leaders regarding the endorsement of NU and PKB of a woman president.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Megawati's doublespeak
Megawati's doublespeak In an interview in the June 21 edition of Newsweek, Megawati Soekarnoputri made a statement which set me thinking. Question: "Why are you so vague when you talk of your policies?". Megawati's answer: "I'm not. It depends on the audience. If I'm addressing an international audience I always talk about specific policies.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Indonesia needs $6b in loans to plug budget deficit
Indonesia needs $6b in loans to plug budget deficit JAKARTA (JP): National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) chairman Boediono said on Saturday that Indonesia needed between US$5.5 billion and $6 billion in new foreign loans to plug the 1999/2000 state budget deficit. He said part of the needed loans had been secured after the country's largest donors, including Japan and the World Bank, confirmed their financial support earlier this year.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Japan's foreign minister to visit Indonesia
Japan's foreign minister to visit Indonesia TOKYO (AFP): Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura plans to visit Indonesia in late July to hold talks with President B.J. Habibie, a news report said Saturday. Komura will fly to Jakarta from Singapore, where he is to attend an expanded foreign ministers' meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) said. Komura and Habibie are expected to discuss the East Timor issue, the national television network said.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Literary magazine making a comeback
Literary magazine making a comeback JAKARTA (JP): Media Kerja Budaya a quarterly magazine that first appeared in 1994 was relaunched last week as a bimonthly, reaffirming its commitment to popularizing literature among the public. Unlike other literary magazines like Horison and Kalam, Media Kerja Budaya does not solely focus on literature but also runs articles on current affairs.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Indonesians not ready for stress of free trade: Experts
Indonesians not ready for stress of free trade: Experts JAKARTA (JP): Psychology experts are concerned Indonesians may not be equipped to handle pressures accompanying the free trade era due to relatively poor competence, low competitiveness, and an absence of business ethics. "They easily crack under stress," psychologists said at a seminar held on Saturday to mark the anniversary of their organization, Himpsi.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
General election results reveal the real Indonesia
General election results reveal the real Indonesia By Prapti Widinugraheni Indonesia's next government will most likely rid itself of the corruption of the Soeharto administration because of the people's desire for reform, as expressed through the ballot box. H.S. Dillon, a former government official turned government critic, and currently a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, shares the reasons behind his optimism over the next administration.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Dozens of members defend multilevel marketing firm
Dozens of members defend multilevel marketing firm JAKARTA (JP): At least 200 members of PT Banyumas Mulia Abadi (BMA), a multilevel marketing company under police investigation for possible fraud, called a news conference on Saturday to defend the legitimacy of the company's operations. "We hereby announce that BMA has never exploited its customers," one of the members, Abdul Jabar Wahab, said.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Malaysian mower to be whipped
Malaysian mower to be whipped KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A Malaysian judge described a grass cutter who pushed a stick into a boy's anus as a "devil with a human mask" and added whipping to his 20-year jail sentence, a report said on Sunday. High court judge Malik Isham ordered Roslan Imun be given an additional 20 strokes of the cane for shoving a 60 centimeter- long stick into the anus of the unidentified boy last month.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Net download speed: Set the pace
Net download speed: Set the pace By Lim Tri Santosa BANDUNG (JP): One day my boss kept asking me if he could have a look on "my Internet". I said he could, and he logged in and directed the browser to a search engine so he could find the information he wanted. It was the first time he had encountered the Internet. Fifteen minutes later he called me and said: "The Internet is running too slow. Could you reboot it, please?" I would love to reset the Internet, but how?
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Five motorists die in train collision
Five motorists die in train collision CIMAHI, West Java (JP): Five motorists died when their vehicles were struck on Jl. Sriwijaya in Cimahi regency by a Parahyangan train plying the Jakarta-Bandung route on Sunday morning. The victims were identified as Mustadi, 34, his wife Lilis Setiarasbukti, 30, and their two-year-old child Atian; and Tedy Ahmad Nuhaendy, 20, and Oha Kahrudin, 50. The accident occurred after the crossing guard reportedly opened the crossing gate too soon.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Antigraft drive could 'degenerate into witch-hunt'
Antigraft drive could 'degenerate into witch-hunt' JAKARTA (JP): A noted American business consultant and analyst warned Indonesia's anticorruption drive could deteriorate into a witch-hunt at the expense of new investment if the drive was pursued without the guidance of clearly established rules.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Analysts bullish on RI's consumer stocks
Analysts bullish on RI's consumer stocks SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): In a good quarter for funds investing in Indonesia, a big bet on consumer stocks saw Indocam Asset Management's Malacca Fund go one better: Indocam's fund gained nearly 196 percent in U.S. dollar terms in the second quarter, according to fund trackers Lipper Inc., compared with a sector average gain of 119 percent. On average, Indonesian funds beat all other worldwide sectors in the three months ended June 30, according to Lipper.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Gay not synonymous with gigolo: Activist
Gay not synonymous with gigolo: Activist JAKARTA (JP): A gay rights activist took exception to Jakarta Police for equating gigolos with gays. "Being gay, transsexual or straight has nothing to do with good or bad morals," Marcel Latuihamallo, head of the Fraternal Association for People of the Same Heart (IPOOS), a gay organization, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Mon, 19 Jul 1999, 00:00 WIB
Motorcycle sales may drop below 1998 figure
Motorcycle sales may drop below 1998 figure JAKARTA (JP): Motorcycle sales may drop below the 1998 figure of 430,948 units, as demand remains low amid the economic crisis, the Association of Indonesian Motorcycle Sole Agents and Manufacturers (PASMI) has said. The association's chairman, Ridwan Gunawan, said over the weekend the low sales projection was mainly caused by plunging sales in the first half of the year.