Bathrooms now a center for style Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The bathroom is often considered a less important part of a house. Because it is not so exposed, many think they do not need to spend extra effort on their bathroom. However, times are changing.

Powell's visit smooths edges on U.S.--RI ties East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Jakarta, albeit a one-day whirlwind, has brought the much-needed balm of personal diplomacy to a delicate and, in recent months, edgy relationship between the two governments, an East-West Center specialist on Indonesia said.

Migrant workers still stranded in border areas The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A large number of illegal Indonesian workers returning from Malaysia have not yet reached their home provinces as they are stranded in Tawau in East Malaysia, Nunukan in East Kalimantan, and Medan in North Sumatra. At least 130,000 illegal workers from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) are still in Tawau and Nunukan, chairman of Commission E at the NTT provincial council Yohannes Sehandi said Saturday.

Proamendment legislators dominate crucial commission Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) looks likely to endorse the fourth amendment to the Constitution after it selected on Saturday proconstitutional-reform legislators for the commission tasked with debating the crucial issue.

Living without hope Scattered across Sampang, on the island of Madura, over 88,000 refugees live in abhorrent conditions with children continuously gnawing on tiny fish bones as there is no meat or vegetables to eat, while jobless adults wait for death to fetch them. The only work available in Sampang for these refugees is as fishermen. For a full day's work, a fisherman is paid between Rp 1,000 (US 11 cents) and Rp 2,000 each day.

Musa's feminine style fail to shine Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Ruffles, lace, brocade, beads, paillettes. Looks like every designer today is going for a feminine style and moving toward the past. It has been done to death but that is today's trend, which will likely continue until the end of the year. Here, while the economy remains tough and competition is tight, it seems there is nothing that designers can do except follow. Designer Musa Widyatmodjo is no exception to this.

RI's elitist democracy fails the people Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta More than four years since the student-led people power movement ended three decades of tyranny, one's first impression of Indonesia today is that democracy is very much alive. The political arena is a battle for dozens of political parties, elected politicians are far more vocal in raising issues, and the free media is doing its job in exposing scandals after scandals.

Students cheat their way into state universities John Aglionby, Guardian News Service, Jakarta Even though she does not get her entrance exam results for another few weeks, Yenny says she is 99.99 per cent certain she will be among the law faculty freshers at Jakarta State University (UNJ) when the new academic year begins in September.

Tiga Puluh: Heaving and shoving in nice sort of way Bill Blade, Contributor, Jakarta There are some blessed souls who plough through this life with rose-tinted spectacles perched on the ends of their noses and permanent smiles etched onto their mugs. These acolytes at the alter of positive thinking are fully convinced that everything's going to turn out much better than expected and that, basically, we're all going to live happily every after. I, however, tend to be a devotee of Mr.

Ipang goes solo with a switch to trip hop Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Megamendung, Bogor Singer Ipang stood on stage in front of an audience of a couple hundred at the recent Exotic Millennium Arts Festival (EMAF) in Megamendung, Bogor. He laughed nervously, delighted with the warm response. "Thank you very much. Wow, what a surprise. The next song is a ballad, but a kind of sad one, a bit depressing," he mumbled, before launching into a number from his latest album Debut#1.

On the record Artist : Deep Forest, Album : Music Detected (Sony Music) Still innovative, still otherworldly, and still fusing traditional ethnic music with state-of-the-art rhythms. Deep Forest is the long-running new age/world music fusion project of French keyboardists and programmers Eric Mouquet and Michael Sanchez. In this fourth album, the duo bring sounds derived from India, Japan, Turkey and also Indonesia, and mix it with techno.

Parents hope children learn substantial essence of politics Annastashya Emmanuelle Contributor Jakarta The ongoing Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), kicked off on Aug. 1 and will end on Aug. 10. Many Indonesians have shown interest but others have ignored it. Jakarta's teenagers show a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the event. Most of them claimed to have lost hope or faith in the country's legislators and the government in general.

Ford Escape: The latest SUV to be launched here Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta After Explorer, Excursion and Expedition, Ford presents Escape, its latest Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) which is slated to become the most powerful compact SUV. Unveiled at the recent Jakarta Motor Show, it is scheduled to be launched here in October.

Parents hope children will understand politics Annastashya Emmanuelle, Contributor, Jakarta The ongoing Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) kicked off on Aug. 1 and will end on Aug. 10. Many Indonesians have shown interest but others have ignored it. Jakarta's teenagers show a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the event. Most of them claimed to have lost hope or faith in the country's legislators and the government in general.

Indonesia spared Thais in Tiger Cup group draw The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia may be relieved that it has not been drawn in the same group as defending champion Thailand, but the team's manager warned against taking other participants lightly at the upcoming Tiger Cup. Indonesia, which will cohost the biennial soccer tournament among the Southeast Asian nations in December along with Singapore, is in Group A with Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines and Cambodia.

Brimob suspected of killing 3 women in Aceh Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh Three women were shot to death and one girl was wounded by an armed group of men in Meunasah Blang Kandang village, Muara Dua district, North Aceh Friday evening. The victims were identified as Fatimah Hanafiah, 40, Kartini Abdul Wahab, 36, and Fitridah Rasyid, 32. They all bore gunshot wounds to the upper body and head.

TV Program: Sunday, August 4, 2002 TVRI 5:00 a.m. Religious Teachings 6:00 News 8:00 Quiz 8:30 Children's Program 10:30 Music 11:00 Maskum Show 12:30 p.m. Comedy 2:00 Music 3:00 Documentary 3:30 Religious Teachings 4:00 Sports 6:00 News 7:30 Music: Dansa Yo Dansa 9:00 News 9:30 Variety Show 10:00 TV Drama TPI 5:30 a.m. Religious Teachings 6:00 News 7:00 Cartoon 8:30 Chinese Food 9:00 Entertainment News 10:00 Boxing 12:30 p.m.

BMW doubles sales in Asia BANGKOK: German automaker BMW - Bayerische Motoren Werke AG - expects to double its sales in Asia in the next five years after the expansion of its operations in Thailand, a company executive told a press conference Monday. The company said it will invest 600 million baht (US$14.5 million) to expand its Thai unit into an export hub for the Southeast Asia region. Along with the expansion, BMW Manufacturing (Thailand) Co. Ltd.

Jakarta International Community Center: A big melting pot to help expats Susanna Tjokro, Contributor, Jakarta If you have just arrived in a foreign country without friends, your family, if you are married, will be your only companions. You don't speak the local language. On top of that, most locals don't speak English, let alone your mother tongue. You know almost nothing about the local customs. You want to make some new friends, but how?

Tommy keeps comfy three-room 'cell' Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra maintained his privileges in the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta despite a promise by the government that he would be treated as a normal convict after Friday midnight, when he failed to lodge an appeal against his 15-year prison term. Unlike the sparse facilities given to other inmates, Tommy enjoys a three-room "cell" with freshly painted walls in the penitentiary.

More stylish models hit the street I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta In addition to the wide range of luxury imported and locally assembled sedans and sport utility vehicles (SUV), the automotive industry in Indonesia has been enlivened with new models of vans, or multipurpose vehicles (MPVs). Carmakers are competing to create stronger, lighter MPVs that are less expensive to buy, and cheaper to operate.

Jakarta metropolis is like a big durian Jakarta. Of all the cities in the world, why does it have to be Jakarta? For some Westerners, it is a shock to hear that they are going to be sent to Indonesia's capital, even if it's only for a short time. In the last five years, the number of foreign visitors has clearly declined and this has started to create a problem for Jakarta's hotel industry.

New names gain more popularity Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta Although the Toyota Kijang, Mitsubishi Kuda, Suzuki Carry and Daihatsu Zebra continue to dominate the multipurpose vehicle (MPV) market, several new models have also received a warm response from buyers. Kia's MPV series, such as the Carnival and Carens, Chevrolet's Zafira and Honda's Stream are also gaining popularity on the local market.

Old players remain dominant in local market Rikza Abdullah, Contributor, Jakarta The success of the locally assembled multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) in the domestic market has encouraged distributors to import similar types of cars but with a higher quality and more alluring designs. But old players such as Kijang, Panther and Kuda vans continue to dominate the market despite there being so many choices available for car lovers.

MPR commissions in the Annual Session --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commission A Commission B Commission C --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issues the finalization of the the finalization of the drafting recommendations for latest fourth amendment drafts of the Assembly's the five high state institu- of the 1945 Constitution decrees: tions: the administration,...

Eight die in boat mishap INDONESIA: At least eight people have died and three others have gone missing after a boat carrying 23 passengers sank on Saturday in waters between Haruku and Saparua islands in the troubled province of Maluku. The other 12 people survived the mishap, which occurred at 9:15 a.m. local time and were receiving medical treatment at Saparua public hospital.

Students skeptical of MPR Annual Session Annastashya Emmanuelle, Contributor, Jakarta While many people are closely following the ongoing Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which began on Aug. 1 and will end on Aug. 10, not everybody is enthusiastic about the event. Some students are critical of the session. They consider the event will not bring any significant results to the country.

I. Christianto Contributor Jakarta It's not just hitting the ball in the fairway Playing golf is not just walking down the fairway and hitting the ball. It is a lifestyle that describes one's social status, which is why money does not matter for most golfers in Indonesian when purchasing golf paraphernalia. This has created a lucrative industry: the sale of golf equipment and golf accessories.

Indira marches on to serve the people Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta As a politician she has been disheartened and let down by her own party, but as a concerned citizen she keeps her spirits high and is idealistic when talking about political parties and the people. Indira Damayanti Bambang Sugondo was very disappointed when the truth was not revealed in the high-profile financial scandal, which allegedly involves House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).