A hidden agenda? From the very beginning the whole thing smelled fishy. People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. VII/2000 stipulated that members of the military and police have no voting rights and no right to contest in elections. It also decreed that both forces would remain neutral and stay out of politics. The MPR also agreed that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police would maintain their seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) until 2004 and in the MPR until 2009.

Religious groups told to fight against child labor Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The International Labor Organization (ILO) has asked local religious organizations to help it free an estimated eight million Indonesian children from the shackles of child labor. The participation of religious organizations is crucial to help the country eradicate child labor, said Pandji Putranto, the national program manager for ILO's International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC).

YLKI tells buyers to take caution at Great Jakarta Sale Leo Wahyudi S., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) is urging people to take care when purchasing items being sold for discounts of up to 70 percent as part of the Jakarta Great Sale. "Consumers should check and compare the goods they want to buy at other shopping centers before deciding to buy them at the Great Sale," Indah Suksmaningsih, the YLKI chairwoman, said on Thursday.

M-Web launches travel site JAKARTA: Internet firm PT M-Web Indonesia has launched travel site M-Web Travel in cooperation with online travel service provider Indo.Com. The site, whose address is mweb.paketrupiah.com, provides services for online flight and hotel reservations and information on holiday packages at top local destinations such as Bali, Lombok and Yogyakarta, the company said in a statement. -- JP

NGOs urge police to probe Mayor KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: A number of youth, journalist groups and non-governmental organizations have appealed to the police to investigate the alleged bribery case involving acting Kendari mayor Andi Kaharuddin.

New collaborative dance contemplates lost scenery Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta Scenery will get a new touch as well-known choreographer-cum- dancer Martinus Miroto, Singaporean choreographer Angela Liong and Singaporean installation artist Han Sai Por collaborate to present it as an art performance for the 2002 Yogyakarta Arts Festival.

A peacemaker behind the scene A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Relations between Indonesia and Australia have always had high and low points over the decades. At the end of 1980s, relations reached their lowest level after Sydney Morning Herald's David Jenkins wrote articles critical of then president Soeharto and his family. Relations touched rock bottom in 1999 following a UN-sanctioned referendum that gave East Timor independence.

Kobatama has new game format JAKARTA: The 2002 season of the Indonesian professional basketball competition or Kobatama will start next month, with the semifinals adopting a best-of-three game format. In the past, the system was only used in the finals. The league, which offers Rp 125 million in total cash prizes, features 10 teams split into two groups. The group matches will be held in four series beginning in Bandung, before moving to Salatiga, Jakarta and Malang.

Indosat names new board of directors Dow Jones, Jakarta Shareholders of international call provider PT Indonesian Satellite Corp. (Indosat) Thursday named Widya Purnama as president director, replacing Hari Kartana. Widya was former president director of Indosat's unit PT Electronic Data Interchange.

2. Shidiq -- Debate on IMF role: Not between good and evil 1 x 32 48 pt Bodoni IMF debate beyond good and evil Akhmad Rizal Shidiq School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 3. Aya -- Suu Kyi should open up dialogue with public 1 x 32 48 pt Bodoni Suu Kyi should share her thoughts Aya Kimura The Asahi Shimbun Tokyo

Telecom firms set to duel in Asia Bernice Han, Agence France-Presse, Singapore The stage is set for an intense battle to capture the hearts and hands of mobile phone users in Asia as the world's top manufacturers roll out a new range of color-screen models with all the bells and whistles imaginable.

Another blow to RI legal system Indonesia's already less than enviable reputation for unpredictable, erratic or outright questionable court decisions received a boost as a result of the Central Jakarta Commercial Court's blatantly wrong bankruptcy verdict against Manulife Indonesia, a majority-owned local subsidiary of a reputable Canadian insurance company.

Govt asks Unocal to pay $500,000 JAKARTA: The Jakarta High Court ruled in favor of a woman who filed suit against oil company PT Unocal Indonesia for distributing her book without permission. Unocal must pay US$500,000 to plaintiff Vioolytje Sooai, 65, who worked for Unocal between 1975 and 1976, according to the court verdict, which was issued in May.

Court, 'SCTV' agree on videoconference JAKARTA: The South Jakarta District Court and private television station SCTV signed an agreement on Thursday on a videoconference to take place on July 2 to hear former president B.J. Habibie's testimony in the case against former chief of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Rahardi Ramelan. The court will possess the original recording of the hearing while SCTV will have its own copy and will have exclusive rights to air the hearing, the agreement said.

Six troops killed by Aceh rebels Ibnu Matnoor and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh Six members of the Indonesian Air Force's special forces (Paskhas) were killed in an ambush by members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) near Iskandar Muda Airport in Blangbintang, Aceh Besar regency, on Wednesday night, an officer said on Thursday. Spokesman for the Aceh Regional Military Command Lt. Col.

Reshuffle, for what? President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who returns home on June 21 from her two-week European tour, might face a new problem: Demands for a Cabinet reshuffle. Some observers have said Megawati's 10-month-old Cabinet has no clear vision. The idea of a reshuffle emerged following State Minister of National Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie's objection to the extension of Indonesia's contract with the International Monetary Fund.

Habibie to testify in rights trial Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A number of former high-ranking government officials are to give testimony in the ongoing trial of former East Timor police chief Brig. Gen. Timboel Silaen to explain their policies on the country's former 27th province. The defense team told the Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal on Thursday that they would present former president B.J.

Who does KORPRI work for? From Rakyat Merdeka With reference to the explanation made by the central board of the Indonesian Corps of Civil Servants (Korpri) in Rakyat Merdeka of June 9 edition, I believe that Korpri is yet to reform itself and change its feudalistic nature as an organization. It is usually the case that members of the executive board of Korpri are not democratically elected as they are certain people with certain positions in government agencies.

IBRA to sell Bank Danamon shares via stock market first Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) plans to sell a controlling stake in publicly listed Bank Danamon via a combination of secondary offering and strategic sale in a bid to obtain optimum proceeds, according to the agency's top official.

'Poor nutrition causes maternal deaths' PADANG, West Sumatra: Excessive blood loss during childbirth remains a major cause of maternal deaths in West Sumatra due to undernourishment, a leading physician said. Gynecologist and obstetrician Mahjuddin Soeleman said on Wednesday the situation resulted from the widespread lack of nutritional knowledge among pregnant mothers and their lack of money, which prevented them from receiving regular medical examinations.