S'pore views RI ties over 'long term' SINGAPORE (AFP): Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's recent scathing criticism of Singapore should not be allowed to harm bilateral ties, Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. "We have to see our ties on a long-term basis," Lee was quoted as saying in The Straits Times report Saturday. "I think we take it in a calm sort of way," he said.

Indonesians flock to lifestyle portals By Joe Cochrane JAKARTA (DPA): Despite being ground zero for Indonesia's staggering political and economic problems, the capital Jakarta has no shortage of trendy bars, restaurants and nightclubs that attract young, upwardly mobile trendsetters. This city of 10 million also has no shortage of Internet cafes, which attract customers ranging from college students to civil servants to business people wanting to surf the web and send e-mail.

Light dishes for breaking the fast JAKARTA (JP): These two traditional recipes are suitable to be served at the coffee table for breaking the fast before consuming heavier meals. They are easy to make and will be familiar to Indonesian Muslims from Ramadhan fasting months of the past.

'Sahur Kita' a friend in the early morning hours Sahur Kita; Hosts: Eko Patrio and Ulfa Dwiyanti; SCTV; 3 a.m. - 4:30 a.m. JAKARTA (JP): Do you want to make an easy Rp 1 million while partaking of sahur (the predawn meal) this Ramadhan fasting month? Then tune in to Sahur Kita and guess the answer to a simple question related to Islam, such as "what is the argument for fasting?". If you still cannot come out as a winner, then there is another chance to land the money.

Destiny By Lie Hua "So you are Rusmini's daughter?" he asked again, his eyes gazing penetratingly at the fair-skinned girl with an oval face, her hair cut short to reveal the nape of her neck. As if disbelieving his eyes, the man, in his mid-forties, asked again, wanting confirmation that she was indeed Rusmini's daughter. Taken aback, the girl could only answer in a weak voice. "So alike, so alike, no wonder," the man said again, nodding his head, the hair graying and receding.

Rapid development causes high tides in Demak regency Text by Tertiani Simanjuntak, photos by Bertho Wedhatama SEMARANG (JP): High tides bring all good things from the sea, but what happens if it reaches your doorstep? "The tides forced us to leave our homes.

Idul Fitri -- A blessed time of giving and receiving By Kafil Yamin BANDUNG (JP): It was still four weeks before Idul Fitri, but Fajar had been whining the whole day through for a new pair of shoes. Hairah, his mother, could hardly console the 10-year-old boy but said: "OK. Tomorrow we will go to shoe shop." But Hairah did not really mean "tomorrow". "And if I did, I didn't really lie because we could just go to the shoe shop and not buy anything.

Staking out the city for hot year-end sales People can be divided into two groups: those who love a good sale, and those who pass them by, says one wise shopper dedicated to hunting out the best bargains this city has to offer. And anyone who has spent time in the capital knows Jakarta is one of the best cities in Asia offering bargains with optimum product quality, selection and best of all -- good value. December promises to be full of bargains, even more so than at other times of the year.

A day with an RSCM plastic surgeon, Gentur Sudjatmiko Dr. Gentur Sudjatmiko, 53, is head of the plastic surgery unit at Central Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusomo General Hospital (RSCM), where he spends his days enlarging breasts, sucking fat and erasing wrinkles. The Central Java-born father of three lives in Cilandak Barat, South Jakarta and spoke to The Jakarta Post's contributor William Furney. JAKARTA (JP): "It's an early rise for me as I have to say the morning prayer.

Six people killed in Irian Jaya proindependence demonstration By Emmy Fitri JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): Police fired upon proindependence supporters on Saturday in the town of Merauke, some 690 kilometers south of Jayapura, killing at least six people after an independence rally that reportedly turned violent. Irian Jaya Police chief Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Y. Wenas confirmed the incident, saying that the six killed were members of the separatist Papuan task force.

PSMTI decries discrimination BATAM, Riau: The Chinese-Indonesian community's Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa Indonesia (PSMTI) ended its first congress here on Friday night with pledge against any form of discrimination. In its statements read by the secretary of the plenary session Dharma Yudha, PSMTI said that Chinese descends (in Indonesia) were part of the Indonesian nation as reflected in its slogan Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Diversity in One).

KONI wants Taufik on SEA Games squad SEMARANG (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) urged the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) to include world number one men's singles player Taufik Hidayat on its squad for the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur. The KONI official in charge of athlete development, Muchamad Hindarto, said on Saturday that Taufik was not included on the list of 32 shuttlers under consideration for the SEA Games.

Tropical storm kills 12 in RP MANILA (Reuters): Tropical storm Rumbia has killed at least 12 people in the Philippines as it heads west towards the western island of Palawan and into the South China Sea where it is expected to gain strength, officials said on Saturday. The storm, which has been passing through central and southern Philippine islands since Thursday, forced hundreds of families to flee their homes due to high waves and floods.

One day she pierced her naval... By Aida Greenbury JAKARTA (JP): Ever since Jenny's baby was born two years ago, there was something she had promised herself, and that was to have her navel pierced. For her, it would be a kind of a statement, as in: "Look at my stomach. Stretched by carrying a growing human being for more than nine months did not affect its beauty". In fact, she felt her stomach deserved a medal of appreciation for it suffering during pregnancy.

Get a rush playing your favorite tunes as MP3 files By Vishnu K. Mahmud JAKARTA (JP): There was a crowd of people at Gatot's desk and that could only mean one of two things: there were either free goodies to eat or Gatot had just bought a new toy. Unfortunately for my hungry stomach, his Philips Rush MP3 player was not edible. MP3 players have come a long way since they were first introduced in 1998.

What's in store for holiday shoppers Upmarket shopping malls are merrily adorned with Christmas and Idul Fitri decorations, the magnet to draw shoppers. Will it work in having cash registers ringing as music to the ears of retailers? The Jakarta Post contributor Tri Hafiningsih reports.

Two die in RI Air Force crash JAKARTA (AFP); An Indonesian air force training aircraft crashed in the densely-populated province of Central Java, killing an officer and a non-commissioned officer on board, the air force said Saturday. "The aircraft crashed near Purworejo yesterday (Friday) afternoon and the two people aboard were killed in the incident," said Cahyono, an officer at the operations center of the Adisucipto airbase in Yogyakarta, central Java.

Ramadhan time for Jakarta Sunday Maghrib 5:59 p.m. Monday Imsak 3:57 a.m. Subuh 4:07 a.m.

'I can't imagine myself without my moustache' Andi Alifian Mallarangeng came into great demand as a political observer after the downfall of former president Soeharto, as more political debates were held and the media began to publish and air sharper criticisms. The 37-year-old father of two, who earned his doctorate from Northern Illinois University, now lectures at the University of Indonesia. Andi, who is married to Vitri Cahyaningsih, spoke with The Jakarta Post's Emmy F.

When a noodle vendor speaks up JAKARTA (JP): What's the correlation between the threat of dragging the President before a special session of the House of Representatives and the fate of a fried noodle seller? This might seem like a ridiculous question, but the threat has much to do with the income of Nanang, a 23-year-old native of Kuningan, West Java, who sells noodles on Jl. Kaliurang in Yogyakarta.

Local celebrations for the holidays Most cultures around the globe mark the holidays at the end of the year with all-out festivities. In Indonesia, Muslims and Christians are celebrating their year-end festivities at almost the same time this year. While Christmas is always on Dec. 25, Idul Fitri is, of course, based on the Islamic calendar, Hejira, which is lunar- based and so is a shorter year. This means that the upcoming Idul Fitri is, by the Gregorian calendar this year, on Dec. 27 and Dec.

Autonomy a disaster? From Neraca Recently, worries about the implementation of regional autonomy have been either boldly spoken or timidly voiced. Some are concerned about matters pertaining to indigenous people, while others wonder about the sharing of natural resources. I believe, however, that all these worries are groundless. Regional autonomy is meant to ensure that all Indonesian people across the archipelago -- not only in Jakarta -- can enjoy the equitable distribution of prosperity.

Taiwan brews up the art of tea drinking Taiwan has been known as a producer and exporter of high-grade tea for more than 200 years. At the invitation of Teh Enam Tiga, an importer and retailer of Taiwanese oolong tea in Indonesia, The Jakarta Post's Pandaya took a close look at the tea culture in Taiwan early this month. His articles and photos are below.

Fire rages in densely populated area, 86 families left homeless JAKARTA (JP): Fire gutted dozens of houses at a densely populated area in Bukit Duri subdistrict, South Jakarta, on Saturday afternoon, leaving some 86 families homeless. No fatalities were reported in the incident. A resident said the fire began at 2 p.m. on the hot and dry afternoon.

Theft in hospital I was hospitalized at Mitra Kemayoran Hospital recently and had a bad experience. On Nov. 3, 2000, at about 2 a.m., I had problems sleeping. So I called the nurse and she gave me a sleeping pill, after which l slept well. At about 7 a.m., my brother, who had stayed the night in the hospital, woke me up to say that his mobile phone had disappeared. In fact, there was no one else in the room except my brother and I.

Messages to travel through time, space By Lim Tri Santosa BANDUNG (JP): When I was eight years old, I watched a documentary about a bunch of archaeologists who discovered some hieroglyphics in Egypt. I was immediately inspired. I gathered my metal lunch box, filled with 5 rupiah and 10 rupiah coins, a list of my best friends ranked in order, my "cute" photo and my best socks and handkerchief, which I was sure constituted a scientific breakthrough.

Book Nook: 'Kisah Intel dan Sebuah Warung' Kisah Intel dan Sebuah Warung (A Story of Intelligence Officers and A Sidewalk Restaurant); By Sobron Aidit; Garba Budaya, August 2000; 170 pp; Rp 20,000 JAKARTA (JP): Many people will probably buy this book out of curiosity, because its author bears a famous surname. Yes, Sobron Aidit is a younger brother of D.N. Aidit, the chairman of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was blamed for an attempted coup in 1965.

Guess What? Krisdayanti For pop artist Krisdayanti, music is everything. Music helped her reap her present success and popularity. It is also where she met her husband, singer and songwriter, Anang. "Through music I can meet many people ... I even met my former lover, Anang, through music," the 25-year-old singer told the audience at her show in the Sheraton Media Hotel, Central Jakarta.

Utut beats Peng to pave way to play-off JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Grand Master Utut Adianto, whose elo rating is 2583, managed to take revenge on Chinese GM Peng Xiaomin, whose elo rating is 2657, in the second leg of the second game in the US$3.5 million 2000 FIDE World Championships in New Delhi on Friday. Utut, playing the black pieces, managed to defeat Peng in the 71st move using the Scandinavia defense.

Govt to launch Rp 100 billion 'economic crash program' in Aceh JAKARTA (JP): Just two days before a planned unilateral declaration of independence in Aceh, the government announced here on Saturday it would launch a Rp 100 billion "economic crash program" for the people in the volatile province. Addressing a media conference at Merdeka Palace, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli said the "immediate initiative" was designed to meet the economic and social demands of the Acehnese.

Players, clubs 'can seek cosponsors' JAKARTA (JP): Sports observer Fritz E. Simandjuntak said on Friday badminton players and clubs could seek cosponsors without changing the sponsorships deal signed by the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) and Japanese sports equipment producer Yonex. "It would be much easier if both PBSI and Yonex revised the deal, particularly the condition saying that PBSI's cosponsorship deals must be worth US$300,000 per product, per year.

Stuffy air in Indonesia's public world Indonesian Images -- The Culture of the Public World; By Niels Mulder; Kanisius Publishing House, 2000; 249 pp; Rp 25,000 JAKARTA (JP) Vociferous protests are heard loud and clear. Groups of people can easily turn into a mob, sometimes rowdy, sometimes orderly. A small issue can spark a heated debate. Headlines capture attention not for their content, but for their sheer vulgarity. Goodbye politeness and farewell propriety, it seems.

Arts Agenda Art Exhibition by Peter Dittmar at Gaya Fusion of Senses, Jalan Raya Sayan, Ubud, Bali, phone (0361-970253), through February. German artist Peter Dittmar will hold a solo exhibition at Gaya Fusion of Senses in Sayan, Bali from Dec. 20, 2000 through February next year. Dittmar has had dozens of solo exhibitions in Europe, Asia, Australia, the United States and South America since 1977.

Home Movies JAKARTA (JP): Some 50 years after its first appearance -- and after a flood of later Kurosawa films, from the "easterns" Yojimbo and Seven Samurai to the epic Kagemusha and Ran and the musingly beautiful Dreams -- Rashomon may have lost some of its exotic appeal and novelty. Nevertheless, the film, now restored from the old original copy, still makes a worthy addition to any film buff's collection.