Indonesia must see facts in East Timor saga By Jusuf Wanandi JAKARTA: It is time for the Indonesian elite, and the military (TNI) in particular, to get over Australia's role in concluding the sorry East Timor episode. That means acknowledging that in 1999 it was the TNI and the Habibie Government -- not the Howard Government -- that were primarily responsible for the souring of Australia-Indonesia relations. President B.J.

President's political foes face investigation JAKARTA (JP): New Attorney General Baharuddin Lopa confirmed on Wednesday he would investigate corruption allegations against Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung and senior Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) member Arifin Panigoro.

Drug suspect's arrest tip of the iceberg in Bali's drug battle By I Wayan Juniartha KUTA, Bali (JP): Chief of the Denpasar Police detectives unit Commissioner Cahyo Budi could hardly believe his eyes when he saw what was on a table in the corner of the room. Five different sized pressing machines -- one electric and the rest hand-powered -- several items for grinding, dozens of small bottles containing coloring agents and several kilograms of white powder in a plastic container.

Street children live hard life with laughter, jokes By Hera Diani JAKARTA (JP): If you are riding on a bus, you might encounter young street poets. They can recite romantic poetry or make you laugh with funny pantun (traditional poetry). One such street poet is Januari, 21. He said he had a collection of over 100 pantun and poetry of his own composition. Check out one of them: Jangan suka makan kuaci/Kuaci itu makanan kampret/Jangan suka godain banci/Banci itu teteknya karet.

Government begins drive to make country healthy JAKARTA (JP): The government launched on Wednesday a comprehensive health promotion drive to achieve the goals of the Healthy Indonesia 2010 program. The director general of public health at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Azrul Azwar, said during a media conference that when it came to health, Indonesia performed poorly compared to other countries.

Stock Exchange Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on June 13, 2001: Shares Close Change Trading Volume -------------------------------------------------------------- Ades Alfindo 1,525 0 332,000 Adindo Foresta 110 0 0 AGIS 140 0 250,000 Alakasa 150 0 0 Alfa Retailindo 1,075 25 34,500 Alter Abadi 100 0 0 Alumindo Light 550 0 0 Andhi Chandra 1,850 50 4,000 Aneka Kimia Raya 150 0 0 Aneka Tambang 950 25 1,284,500 Apac Citra 310 15 285,000 Aqua Golden 12,200 0 0 Argha Karya Prima...

Armed attackers set MUI office on fire BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): A group of armed people burned down a building belonging to the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI)'s provincial chapter in Aceh on Wednesday. Nobody was killed in the attack on the 22-year-old convention hall, which took place at about 2 a.m. Witnesses said fire brigades arrived at the scene about an hour later, but were unable to extinguish the fire. Material losses from the incident are expected to reach Rp 300 million (US$27,000).

German artist paints Indonesian images JAKARTA (JP): The ongoing JakArt2001 festival seems to have stretched its arms far and wide to exhibit artworks of significant variety. Among them is German artist Andreas Torneberg, who is currently displaying about 20 of his artworks at Wisma Mitra Budaya until the end of June.

Palm oil ends mixed, shrugs off data KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysian palm oil futures gave up earlier gains and ended mixed in choppy trade on Wednesday as players brushed aside official estimates showing a sharp rise in exports. "Speculators pushed up prices to 826 ringgit when the figures came up. But they started selling again when they learned the data looked impossible," said one trader.

'Conflict maps' to deal with crime PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: The South Sumatra Police chief has introduced a new approach to curb the growth of the region's crime. Insp. Gen. Suparto, who assumed his post as provincial police chief only three months ago, said in Palembang on Wednesday that the modern 'conflict map' approach had worked effectively in reducing the region's crime rate to 2.6 percent over the last three months.

Singapore businessmen a kidnap risk in RP MANILA (AFP): Singapore businessmen have become a kidnap risk in the Philippines, police said on Wednesday, but their plight has been overshadowed by the focus on rebels holding 28 U.S. and Filipino hostages in the south. Four Singaporeans are reported to have been abducted since April, but details only came to light when businessman Roger Yeo met his armed kidnappers' ransom demands to end nine days in captivity.

Limit number of airlines From Media Indonesia On May 13, 2001 I flew to Bali onboard a Garuda DC 10, flight number 406. The plane took off at 2:40 p.m., 20 minutes behind schedule. I was surprised to find only 60 passengers onboard the 250-seat plane. I could not understand why there were only a few passengers. I have been to Bali four times and each time the DC 10 was about 75 percent full.