Ruling on maids will tarnish country's image Lee Lam Thye New Straits Times Kuala Lumpur Following Home Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Abu Zahar's statement, Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung commented that non-Muslim families would be allowed to hire maids from countries other than the Government approved ones, should a ruling stopping them from employing Muslim maids be enforced.

Tanjung Priok case gets prosecutors JAKARTA: The Attorney General's Office has appointed 14 prosecutors to handle the case of the 1984 Tanjung Priok shooting incident in which at least 33 people died. At least 14 active and retired military officers, including the incumbent commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), Maj. Gen. Sriyanto, have been named suspects in the case. On Sept.

'Indonesia must develop its own economic strategy' Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Thailand's former minister of commerce Narongchai Akrasanee suggested that in order for Indonesia to accelerate its economic recovery process, it must not rely too much on "ready-made policy" from multinational lenders such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Rini blames naughty distributors for skyrocketing sugar price hikes The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Minister of Industry and Trade Rini MS Soewandi admitted on Monday that the current hike in the price of sugar on the domestic market was mainly due to distribution problems. But Rini said that she could not impose sanctions against the government-appointed distributors because of the absence of a trade law. "This is our weakness.

2. Two columns, 3 x 10 Police set up terrorism directorate 3. Three columns, 2 x 22 KPU names nine for slots on supervisory committee 4. Five columns, 1 x 44 GAM commander warns of more terror in Medan 5. Four columns, 1 x 32 Four injured in Papua plane crash

RI to host 6th EAP Ministerial meeting JAKARTA: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) named Indonesia as the host of its sixth East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Ministerial Consultation meeting next month. The meeting will discuss ways to improve children's welfare in the East Asia-Pacific region for the coming decade. Bali will host the meeting from May 5 through May 7.

Four injured in Papua plane accident Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua A small Twin Otter aircraft belonging to Air Regional Airlines, crashed on Monday near the Mulia, Puncak Jaya regency, injuring all four on board. The plane's pilot, Pingky Firmansyah, copilot Edy Ruslan, technician Samudji and passenger Pentilas Telenggen were rescued by another small aircraft belonging to Trigana Airlines, and taken to a hospital in Timika, Jayawijaya regency.

FPDA members hold talks MALAYSIA: Senior defense officials from Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore held biennial talks on security issues on Monday, joint training exercises and other cooperation. The countries involved make up the Five Power Defense Arrangement (FPDA), a 32-year-old group formed to bolster regional security and protect Malaysia and Singapore from external threats such as communism.

Telkom to put aside dividens JAKARTA: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia said on Monday it is proposing shareholders approve putting aside a smaller 30 percent of 2002 net profit for dividends in order to put more money back into the business. Shareholders will hold their annual meeting on May 9. Rochiman Sukarno, head of Telkom's investor relations department, said the proposed figure is lower than the 50 percent that Telkom put aside from its 2001 net profit.

TNI sets up Aceh media center Claiming to be acting in the name of fairness and transparency, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has set up media centers in Jakarta and Aceh to supply information on the troubled province to the press. Military spokesman Maj. Gen.

ADB predicts RI economy to grow 3.4% this year Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia's economy is expected to grow a modest 3.4 percent this year and 4 percent in 2004, driven largely by private consumption, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released on Monday. The ADB said that the moderate economic growth in the next two years would also be supported by an improving investment climate and the external environment.

'Don't burden people with new parking system' The city administration plans to launch a new on-street parking system next month in a bid to raise more parking revenue for its coffers. Parking attendants expressed their objection as the new system would decrease their income. They claimed that they must give each day a percentage of the money collected from the parking fees to city officials and police, as told to The Jakarta Post.

Airport blast hits tourism industry The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Sunday's bomb blast at Soekarno-Hatta Airport will further damage the tourist industry in the city, which has already been suffering due to the fears of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the impact of the Iraq war, an official says.