Rediscovering the Asian identity Megawati Soekarnoputri President, Indonesia We are now living in fast-changing world. What often concerns us is that the changes themselves always entail problems. They can be big, they can be small and in many cases they can be cumulative in nature. Some we inherit from the past and are not easy to solve, and others arise as new challenges. Most of the big problems are inherent in ourselves, while only a few come from outside our community.

1. NELAYAN -- 55 pts Bodoni Bold 7/1 North Sumatra fisherfolk live in sheer poverty 2. BUDDHA -- 40 pts Bodoni Bold 4/1 Buddhist novices wage war on drugs ============== 3. PEOPLE AND PLACES 4. PHOTOS

MUI's antipornography movement From Pikiran Rakyat The moral movement of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) against pornography was not only initiated by its central executives but also resulted from its national meeting in 2000, national working conference in 2001 and the consensus between MUI and central boards of other Islamic mass-based organizations, in response to the negative impact of pornographic material on the nation's character.

JP/4/NELES Special autonomy will not solve crimes against Papuans Neles Tebay Pontifical University of Urbaniana The Jakarta Post Rome In December 2001, the Papuans, through peaceful rallies, rejected Jakarta's offer of special autonomy and demanded the government reveal who killed Theys Hiyo Eluay, chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council (PPC), the motive behind the killing and who ordered it.

City road conditions Since many people haven't experienced the daily dilemma of going to work in Jakarta on a motorcycle, my experience should prove to be an eye-opener. Having lived and worked in Indonesia for over 30 years, I, like most Indonesian executives and expatriates, enjoy the luxury of going to work in an air-conditioned car. While getting ready for work on April 8, 2002 at 7 a.m. my house boy informed me that my normal car route through Jl.

Decorate your desktops to brighten your day Vishnu K. Mahmud Contributor Jakarta Tired of seeing the same color on the background of your computer screen? Are you sick of the picture of the beautiful rolling hills on your PC? Perhaps it's time to accessorize your virtual desktop. Most Operating Systems such as Windows 98 or Lycoris Linux comes with a bevy of colors and pictures users can draw on to smarten up their desktops, the virtual real estate users reach after he or she logs on.

Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post Medan Kamaluddin gently guided his 14-foot long boat to the pier where fishermen living in Block E of the Nelayan Indah housing complex tie up their boats. The complex is located only 2.5 kilometers from Jl. Yos Sudarso, the main road to Belawan Port near Medan. Not until he had tied up his boat did his fellow fishermen approach and ask if he had a good catch. "Not really," he replied softly and reluctantly.

Adrian edited this around 5pm on 12/4/02 ;JP;ICN; ANPAc..r.. Office-property-outlook Market demand remains modest, trend is likely to continue I. Christianto Contributor Jakarta Office property in the capital reported modest growth during the first quarter of this year in line with the country's slow economic recovery. The market trend is likely to continue as there is no indication that business will improve within the next few months.

Software industry for Indonesia: What needs to be done (1x35) Zatni Arbi Columnist Jakarta zatni@cbn.net.id "Have you heard of the bumblebee story?" Andrew McBean, president director of PT Microsoft Indonesia, asked me over lunch last week. No, I had not. "Aerodynamically, bumblebees do not have the right shape to enable them to fly. But, since nobody tells the bumblebees that they cannot fly, they fly," Andrew said. What does it have to do with Indonesia?

Allocations for political parties From Neraca As a citizen I am surprised to read newspaper reports, including reports in this daily on government funds allocated for political parties. In the general elections of 1999, I exercised my right to vote as an obedient member of the nation. Oddly, however, the party I chose has never carried out the mission and vision it declared during election campaigns.

More education on privatization is needed Winarno Zain Director Institute for Policy Studies Jakarta The debate on the government privatization programs for the state owned enterprises (SOEs) reflects how the issue is narrowly understood by the public. The merits or the shortcomings with regard to the privatization of SOEs are never clearly spelled out. It has created confusion from which political rhetoric opposing privatization has gained an upper hand and the chance to dominate the discourse.

India's perspectives on ASEAN and the Asia Pacific Region Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Minister of India India's relations with Singapore have grown considerably over the last decade, but a vast potential still remains untapped. Singapore has considerable strengths in the old economy and ambitions in the new economy. India has needs in the old economy and some competence in the new economy.

Day of Silence // 16 pt univ // Correction: In the editorial of April 12 titled Bali's Day of Silence, we mistakenly wrote that "The Hindus are highly guided by the Ari Hita Karana,". This should have read "Tri Hita Karana. We apologize for the error. --Editor

City road conditions Since many people haven't experienced the daily dilemma of going to work in Jakarta on a motorcycle, my experience should prove to be an eye-opener. Having lived and worked in Indonesia for over 30 years, I, like most Indonesian executives and expatriates, enjoy the luxury of going to work in an air-conditioned car. While getting ready for work on April 8, 2002 at 7 a.m. my house boy informed me that my normal car route through Jl.

1. ZATNI -- 55 pts Bodoni Bold 4/2 Software industry for RI: What needs to be done? 2. VISH -- 40 pts Bodoni Bold 3/2 Decorate your desktops to brighten your day ================= 3. PHOTOS 4. IT-SuperHighway (Supplement)

Illegal fees still rife From Kompas I recently processed a permit in an office under the supervision of the finance ministry. Talking with one of the office division heads, I was told that the office had a very limited operational fund while it had to provide services to the public to process various permits. He went on to say that sometimes its staffers had to make their own efforts to provide or fix office equipment and were forced to ask the public's understanding.