Fire guts printing company JAKARTA (Antara): A fire gutted a building belonging to the German printing machine company, Heidelberg, on Monday in East Jakarta, an official has said. Six fire engines were deployed to the site on Jl. MT Haryono after the East Jakarta fire department received a call at 10:30 a.m., a firefighter said. "The police are investigating the fire, which was allegedly caused by a short circuit," he said. No casualties have been reported thus far. -- Antara

Preparing the 2005 budget The economists grouped in the Indonesia Rises, or Indonesia Bangkit, forum are right to assert that the current government and House of Representatives do not have the political mandate to legislate the 2005 state budget. The state budget is the most important government tool in implementing fiscal policies, which detail the funds the government allocates toward the provision of public goods and services and the way in which the government finances expenditures.

Balada Ghoshal clarifies This is in reference to my part-two article The future of democracy in Indonesia that you published on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6. When the article was submitted, there was no reference to my association with the United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR), nor was there any reference to any study being undertaken by UNSFIR on the above.

Jakarta's problems spilling over Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim urged the Jakarta administration to share responsibility in coping with a variety of social problems now emerging in the areas bordering the two administrations. "I'll send a team to meet Governor Sutiyoso directly to talk about these problems as most of them are resulting from over population in Jakarta," Wahidin said on Monday.

EcoReefs aim to restore village fishing grounds in Bunaken Mark Erdmann, Contributor, Bunaken, North Sulawesi Throughout this country and Southeast Asia, the illegal practice of blast fishing has destroyed vast areas of once productive coral reef areas. Homemade explosives are effective in killing large schools of fish with a single blast, but unfortunately also destroy the delicate coral framework that serves as shelter for coral reef fishes.

Telkom finishes 2002 reaudit report Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta State-controlled telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) said the reaudit of its 2002 financial report has been finally completed with a consolidated net profit for the year was revised downward by 3.7 percent.

Ship sinks in Flores, three dead, eight missing Jacob J. Herin and Jemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara More than 40 persons of Search and Rescue Team (SAR) have been searching the waters off Flores Island since Saturday for eight crew members of a cargo ship who went missing after their ship sank on Tuesday last week. The eight were among the 12 crew members of the Belaza Timor ship, which is owned by a businessman in East Timor.

Another Bali bomber gets receives life sentence Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali The Bali District Court sentenced Suranto Abdul Ghoni, alias Umar, alias Wayan, to life imprisonment on Monday for his role in the Bali bombings in October 2002. Abdul Ghoni joined Ali Imron, Mubarok and Sarjiyo as Bali blast convicts who have received such a penalty for the act of terror that killed 202 people, mostly Australian holidaymakers.

Orphaned hippo to have new mate Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Now the only male hippopotamus at Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta after the death of his father Omon last Wednesday, nine-year-old Jacky is expected to produce his own line. The zoo management plans to breed Jacky with his younger sister Dania. "The plan is part of efforts to preserve the protected, endangered species ... the offspring will replace Omon," zoo veterinarian Wardani told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

1. CONTINGENCY: 55 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 15 Govt assures public of peaceful polls 2. GURU: 36 pt, 4 cols, 2 x 28 NGOs skeptical on new bill to improve teachers' welfare 3. TEMPO: 32 pt, 3 cols, 2 x 27 Press Law should be used in 'Tempo' case: Legal expert 4. Susul: 28 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 27 Orphaned hippo to have new mate 5. HIPPO: 28 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 36 Hamzah's convoy takes over busway lane 6. ODD: 20 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 40 6.1: Two trees 'married' to appease rain god 6.2: Wedding guest cow wanders into bank

State secretary critical of presidency bill Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta State Secretary Bambang Kesowo questioned on Monday the content of the presidency bill that the House of Representatives (DPR) submitted to the President in December 2001, saying that most of the stipulations in the draft have been set out in the Constitution.

Govt set to sell 20% stake in Mandiri Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government hopes to sell 20 percent of the shares in giant state-owned Bank Mandiri this year through a private placement, according to a senior official. Deputy at the Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises Mahmuddin Yasin said on Monday that the ministry would soon seek approval from the House of Representatives. The House previously allowed the government to sell a 30 percent share in Bank Mandiri.

UNSFIR disclaimer We are writing in respect to Baladas Ghoshal's article on The future of democracy in Indonesia published by The Jakarta Post in two parts, on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6. Please note that the article does not represent the views of the United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR) nor the views of any of the UNSFIR staff. The article was written without any association at all to the work that UNSFIR had commissioned Baladas Ghoshal to undertake. BONA SIAHAAN Sr.

Land for Naval cemeteries provided SURABAYA: The Indonesian Navy has provided 12.2 hectares of land in Sidoarjo, East Java, and Sukamana, Bogor, West Java, for cemeteries for its personnel. The graveyards will accommodate approximately 11,000 Navy personnel from the Eastern and Western fleet. Navy chief Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh inaugurated the cemeteries on Monday during a ceremony also attended by deputy Navy chief Vice Adm. IWR Argawa, Sidoarjo Regent Wien Hendarso and other Navy top brass.

To euro or not: Should oil pricing ditch the dollar? Robert Koch, Agence France-Presse, Algiers As the U.S. dollar continues its slide against world currencies, should oil, the most valuable global commodity, now be priced in euros?

Officers lack info on bird flu Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta As the Jakarta Health Agency relied on its officers at community health centers and hospitals as its vanguards in spreading information of avian influenza, or bird flu, and its impacts for the public, the officers themselves have not received thorough and complete information on the contagious disease.

RI may lose US$10m on poultry export Indonesia stands to lose millions of dollars in exports due to import bans imposed by consumer countries on Indonesian poultry, an association said.

1. Edi -- Champions of reform to reckon with 3 X 15 Indirect leaders: Reform champions to reckon with Edi Suhardi Programme Advisor Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia Jakarta 2. ADB -- Observations from a remote Island in Eastern Indonesia 1 X 30 Observations on poverty from E. Sumba Dr. Friedhelm Betke Advisor to head of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Jakarta

Rupiah Rates Feb.9 Banknote rates TT rates Selling Buying Selling Buying Australian dollar 1 6,926.83 6,147.96 6,571.93 6,502.64 Brunei dollar 1 5,301.90 4,705.99 5,030.25 4,977.47 Canadian dollar 1 6,754.91 5,986.73 6,400.27 6,332.10 Swiss franc 1 7,264.53 6,443.99 6,892.32 6,815.75 Danish krone 1 1,526.96 1,354.99 1,448.73 1,433.16 Euro 1 11,375.77 10,100.79 10,792.92 10,683.50 Poundsterling 1 16,577.38 14,710.97 15,728.01 15,559.64 Hong Kong dollar 1 1,150.39 1,021.57 1,091.45 1,080.50...

Agencies ordered to ready for storms Damar Harsanto and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Tangerang Governor Sutiyoso told all agencies in his administration to prepare for possible storms and floods following the violent storm that hit the capital on Jan. 30. The storm uprooted nearly 200 trees, mostly in South Jakarta, and caused huge traffic jams along roads connecting the municipality to other areas.