TNI commander denies earning huge profits from businesses Dadan Wijaksana and Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has denied charges that the military's foundations generated enough profit to cover 70 percent of the TNI's budget requirement. "Seventy percent (of our budget requirement) means Rp 35 trillion. What company can make that much of a huge annual profit?

North Sumatra fishermen protest against trawlers Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan Hundreds of fishermen from several regencies in North Sumatra province staged a rally in front of the legislative building in Medan on Monday, demanding that the government ban the use of trawlers in the province's waters. They also demanded that Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri resign for what they considered to be insensitivity to fishermen's suffering, poverty and uncertainty.

Investors important in Indosat bidding The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government is placing the quality of the investors as well as their price offers on an equal footing for the bidding of a 41 percent stake in state-owned telecommunications company PT Indosat. State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi said on Monday that aside from the price, the added value that investors could generate for Indosat was also important.

Occupational accident rate remains high The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea warned employers on Monday to be proactive in bringing down the high rate of occupational accidents, or face stiff penalties for failure to provide adequate safety for workers.

Compulsory vasectomy needed From Bisnis Indonesia For quite a long time I've been overwhelmed by a great concern for the increasing number of Indonesians who are becoming poorer and less well-educated, while the birth rate rises. I cannot imagine what it would be like if the country is some day hit by a population explosion because of the following: The government is no longer financially capable of undertaking massive family planning campaigns as before.

Corruption group slam Riau governor for fraud Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau Riau Corruption Watch (RCW) said on Monday that it had reported to President Megawati Soekarnoputri alleged corruption in the Rp 5.2 billion renovation project of the Riau Governor Saleh Djasid's official residence. RCW coordinator Firdaus Basir said the companies appointed to renovate the house -- C.V. Sakti Bangun Kencana and P.T.

Rupiah Rates Sept.16 Banknote rates TT rates Selling Buying Selling Buying Rp Rp Rp Rp Australian dollar 1 5,228.99 4,676.33 4,979.47 4,925.62 Brunei dollar 1 5,365.18 4,799.80 5,109.16 5,055.67 Canadian dollar 1 6,038.63 5,401.90 5,750.47 5,689.87 Swiss franc 1 6,297.47 5,635.15 5,996.96 5,935.56 Danish krone 1 1,244.23 1,113.24 1,184.85 1,172.59 Euro 1 9,241.32 8,267.85 8,800.34 8,708.61 Poundsterling 1 14,772.58 13,219.01 14,067.64 13,923.71 Hong Kong dollar 1 1,222.55 1,094.29 1,164.21...

1. Polio - 4x 12 Free baby vaccines sold at markets 2. Suti - 2x25 Reelection of Sutiyoso worries poor people 3. Poor - 1x 40 Tembok Bolong: Portrait of urban poverty 4. Speak- 1x31 'Bribery invalidates the election'

Roving art exhibition a window to Indonesia Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia Indonesia is becoming better-known in Australia, thanks to the endeavors of various educational and cultural institutions. On the streets, however, if you stop people and ask them what the term "Indonesia" conjures up in their minds, two place names are very likely to be mentioned: Bali and East Timor.

Bulog's new status The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has insisted on changing its status from logistics agency to state-owned Perum Pangan (general firm dealing with logistics). Bulog Chief Widjanarko Puspoyo said the draft bill on the government's law on the Perum Pangan had been submitted to President Megawati Soekarnoputri before she left for official trips abroad. If the draft bill is approved Bulog will become Perum Pangan starting Jan. 1, 2003.

After ten years of operation in Indonesia, freight forwarding and logistics provider PT Danzas Saranaperkasa, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Danzas Group, has successfully managed to retain its strong customer base for its reliable and excellent forwarding and logistics-related service.

'Bribery invalidates the election' People are now demanding that the recent gubernatorial election be annulled following the admission by gubernatorial candidate Mahfudz Djailani that he had paid a bribe of Rp 200 million to 40 councillors. Dirman, 36, is a fruit trader on Jl. Tebet Raya, South Jakarta, and the father of two children. He has been living here for three years. He was born in Yogyakarta.

Public officials' arrogance From Media Indonesia Some 88 members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and 67 from the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) are apparently in breach of Law No.28/1999 on clean governance. They are required to report and announce their wealth before and after occupying their posts. But in reality they have failed to obey the law.

Squabbles have disturbed nonviolent ASEAN Daljit Singh, Senior Research Fellow Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore The picture of unity among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been somewhat spoilt in recent months by bilateral spats between members. Singapore and Malaysia argue over water. Malaysia offended Indonesia and the Philippines with the way its police expelled illegal Indonesian and Filipino migrants.

House starts drafting geothermal bill Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The House of Representatives has started drafting the geothermal power bill and hopes to finalize it by the end of this year. Rustam Tamburaka, chairman of the House's team for the drafting of the bill, said the House considered the bill important given that Indonesia had huge geothermal resources and that only a small amount of these had been developed.

Vengeful Golkar prepares next move to save chairman Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Golkar is displaying its mettle as its legislators are calling for a disciplinary committee to target colleagues with poor attendance records in a bid to botch a move to unseat House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Stock quotations on JSX Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on Sept.

RP unemployment drops to 11.2% MANILA: Unemployment in the Philippines fell to 11.2 percent in July from 13.9 percent in April because of an increase in jobs in the services sector, according to data issued by the statistics office Monday. The quarterly data said services sector jobs increased to 14.3 million in July, from 13.5 million in April. Wholesale and retail trade, and repair of automobiles and personal and household goods accounted for the largest share of the sector's employment.

Poverty encourages fundamentalism to grow Muhammad Nafik, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Understanding Islam and fundamentalism has become a widespread preoccupation since the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11 last year. German Muslim scholar Bassam Tibi, a professor of international relations at University of Gottingen, was in town last week as a speaker of an international seminar on Islam and the West.

Two foreign women still being held in Aceh Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh Police investigators intensified their questioning of a U.S. nurse and a British academic on Monday but their status remained unclear five days after they were apprehended in Bundeng village, South Aceh. Aceh police spokesman Comr.

Rice experts target fairer deal for poor Asian farmers Deutsche Press-Agentur, Beijing Rice experts and officials on Monday called for joint efforts among Asian rice-producing nations to ensure poor farmers benefit from increased output and technological advances. "Rice is life to an estimated 2.6 billion people around the world," said Angeline Kamba of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).