Making the great white hope of a smile come true Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A smile is the friendliest gesture, more welcoming than a handshake or even a hug. It lights up a person's face and engenders comfortable, secure feelings in others. But before you flash your megawatt smile, make sure those pearly whites are just that.

Press freedom champion Mochtar 'only feared for his Juliet' The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The late writer and journalist Mochtar Lubis was remembered among friends as "a consistent and persistent fighter for press freedom and corruption eradication in the country". "My friend Mochtar Lubis was always on the front line when it came to press freedom," poet Taufiq Ismail said in a tribute for Mochtar held at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center, Central Jakarta, on Saturday.

Nailing it: Salon taps into care for fingers and feet Emiria Wijayanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A unpardonably pretty face or a shock of glossy hair may be the dream of many in the beauty stakes, but for others it's about putting our best foot forward.

Luluk/Alvent advanced to Malaysia Open finals Eva C. Komandjaja The Jakarta Post Jakarta Fifth seeded pair Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto became Indonesia's only hope at the 2004 Malaysia Open badminton championships after they had secured a place in the men's double final round on Saturday. Luluk/Alvent grabbed a ticket to final round after defeating Danish Duo Thomas Laybourn/Peter Steffensen 13-15, 15-5, 15-10 in a semifinal match on Saturday afternoon.

Portugal dismisses speculation on referee Associated Press Alcochete, Portugal The Portuguese camp dismissed talk that Markus Merk, the German referee named for the Euro 2004 final on Sunday, will be biased toward Greece because he is close to Greece's German coach Otto Rehhagel. The two Germans are friends and Merk was the Rehhagel family dentist in Kaiserslautern. Rehhagel has said he's known Merk since the referee was 15 years old.

Koreas mull joint team for 2008 SEOUL : South and North Korea are to begin discussions next month on forming a joint team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The two Koreas have agreed to parade together in the opening ceremony in Athens next month in a show of growing rapprochement between the old Cold War enemies.

Bengkulu: Finding diamonds in the rough Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Bengkulu I was set to explore all that Bengkulu had to offer when Sudiyono, my rental car driver, asked my permission to turn on the tape. As the trip was my first visit to the remote Sumatran province, plus I was traveling solo, I realized that my safety was pretty much in Sudiyono's hands. So, it was a case of anything to keep him happy.

'Kebaya', fashion with staying power Stevie Emilia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta -------------------------------------------------- The Nyonya Kebaya: A Century of Straits Chinese Costume Datin Seri Endon Mahmood Periplus Editions, 2004 176 pp ------------------------------------------------------- The invasion of practical Western style clothing has led to the waning appeal of the kebaya traditional blouse in recent years.

The winning team: Be careful what you wish for Growing up in Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic, I played soccer. Not very well, admittedly, but I played -- as did everyone else. After moving to New York, I lost touch with the world's most popular sporting activity. But Indonesia, where I now work, made sure of reminding me. A flurry of text messages, such as "So which team are you supporting?", suddenly began appearing on my mobile phone. At first I thought it was a joke.

Raden Saleh's legacy lives on in German town Christina Schott, Contributor, Dresden, Germany Raden Saleh Syarief Bustaman, the grandfather of modern Indonesian art, was among the first Javanese ever educated in Europe in the 19th century. Every city in Indonesia has a street named after him, every Indonesian knows his name, although it's often not more than that. He is commonly known as a "prince" (not true, in fact) who was sent to the Netherlands to study the European style of painting.

Traveler's tips Bengkulu, the capital of the province of the same name, is only a 55 minute-flight from Jakarta. Sriwijaya Air and Merpati Airlines fly there, with one-way fares of Rp 200,000 and Rp 250,000 respectively. That is around the same fare for the bus trip, which takes approximately 18 hours. Accommodation is plentiful, clean and moderately priced, with the best to be found on the beach outside of town. Walking is the easiest way to get around the small town.

Where to go in Jakarta: Sunday, July 4, 2004 Exhibitions * Sintang Textiles at Textile Museum, Jl. K.S Tubun No. 4, West Jakarta (Tel. 5606613), until October. * Installation Republik Togel 303, Lontar Gallery, Jl. Utan Kayu 68H, East Jakarta (Tel. 70798626), until July 9. * Painting, Painting

West Java's Cianjur tries out 'sharia' system Jonas Viering, Contributor, Jakarta The patriarch sat on his mattress on the floor of the traditional wooden Sundanese house. Now shrunken by age, his wrinkled body was too small to fill out his T-shirt. Still, he sat there with the poise of someone sitting on a throne, the gilded cap on his head serving as his crown. The voice of the honorable K.H.Mh. Kosasih was barely louder than the whisper of the palm tree leaves in the evening breeze outside.

Indonesia secures one title in Thamrin Cup Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia has secured one title at the Thamrin Cup international junior tennis tournament here, as two Indonesian girls' doubles will battle it out in the final on Sunday. The host country also booked two tickets for the finals of the girls' singles and boys' doubles, but lost the boys' singles semifinal match.

Update sought on Wiranto, Hamzah funds M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The General Elections Commission (KPU) asked on Saturday presidential candidates Wiranto and Hamzah Haz to submit their most recent bank accounts. The KPU said Golkar Party's Wiranto-Solahudin Wahid ticket had reported their account balance, which amounted to Rp 49 billion (US$5.2 million). Their statement of account was dated May 31, a day before campaigning began.

Researcher Roby learns the value of networking Hera Diani , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta It's people like Roby Muhamad who give good reason to bypass school reunions to avoid those potentially pressure-filled, cringe-inducing Romy and Michelle High School Reunion scenarios. Yes, we went to the same junior high school in Bandung, he dated one of my girlfriends and both of us studied science in university.

Domestic response challenges rattan producers' creativity Rudijanto, Contributor Considered as second class, cheap and old-fashioned furniture by many locals, Indonesian rattan furniture has spread to almost all European and Asian countries, as well as the US, Australia, Canada, and the North and South African countries. Rattan certainly is an exotic material for those living in non-tropical countries as it mostly grows in tropical regions, particularly Southeast Asia.

Yes, I am dreaming of the good old days Aida Greenbury, Contributor, Jakarta I sighed deeply, daydreaming about the good old days. I was not benignly pondering Siti "Mbak Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana's virtuous expression while yelling for a return to the era of her dad, with the twisted irony of her speaking before hundreds of tired, hungry people doing their best to earn enough for the day. My mind was actually full of black and white silhouettes of the 1950s in Indonesia.

Be careful what you wish for Growing up in Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic, I played soccer. Not very well, admittedly, but I played -- as did everyone else. After moving to New York, I lost touch with the world's most popular sporting activity. But Indonesia, where I now work, made sure of reminding me. A flurry of text messages, such as "So which team are you supporting?", suddenly began appearing on my mobile phone. At first I thought it was a joke.

On the rocks and learning what matters in life Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Berau, East Kalimantan I have always believed that life is made up of many experiences designed to help us appreciate the limited time we have on earth. I was never more sure of this than when my boat sunk on the reefs off Derawan Islands in Berau, East Kalimantan, last month. June 1 began with a disappointment.

Nailing it: Salon taps into care for fingers and feet Emiria Wijayanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta An unpardonably pretty face or a shock of glossy hair may be the dream of many in the beauty stakes, but for others it's about putting our best foot forward.

Residents get to work before the big day Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The final 48-hour countdown for the landmark presidential election began on Saturday with residents in the capital devoting their time and energy to erecting polling stations (TPS) in their respective neighborhoods. Some neighborhood units preferred to build polling stations in public areas, while others opted to use schools, empty houses, garages or verandas.

Ex-minister Subandrio dead at 90 Former deputy prime minister Subandrio, who was imprisoned for 30 years for his alleged involvement in an abortive coup in 1965, died on Saturday due to old age. He was buried at Jeruk Purut public cemetery in South Jakarta later that day. Born in 1914 in Surabaya, Subandrio was sentenced to death in 1966 for his alleged role in the failed coup on Sept. 30, 1965, which was blamed on elements of the Army and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Raden Saleh's pavilion now a cherished home Somewhere in the tranquil hills of Saxony close to the Czech border, between cow pastures and old vineyards, stands a monument as unique as the development of German-Indonesian friendship. The Blaues Hdusel (Blue little house), built by Major Friedrich Anton Serre in 1848 to honor Raden Saleh, the so-called founder of modern Indonesian painting.

TV Program: Sunday, July 4, 2004 .TB.30" .90" TVRI 6:00 a.m. Morning News 7:00 Children Show: Pentas Ceria 9:00 Music: Delta 10:00 Sports: Otoscreen 11:00 TV Drama 12:30 p.m. English for Fun 1:00 News: Berita Siang 2:00 Music 3:00 English News Service 4:30 Music 5:00 Cartoon: Robocon 6:30 Talk Show: Obrolan Wong Cilik 7:00 News: Berita Nasional 8:00 Talk Show 9:00 News: Dunia Dalam Berita 9:30 Class Music 10:00 Music: Dansa Yo Dansa 11:00 Puppet Show TPI 6:00 a.m.

Campaign fund irregularities Law No. 23/2003 on presidential elections stipulates penalties for campaign fund irregularities: Article 89 (6): Those who give or receive campaign funds exceeding the designated amount face between four months and two years in jail or a fine of between Rp 200 million and Rp 1 billion. Article 89 (8): Those who provide false information in campaign fund reports may face between two months and 12 months in prison or a fine of between Rp 1 million and Rp 10 million.

JP/18/TINTIN Tintin: Music teacher goes international with film shorts Ni Luh Dian Purniawati, Contributor/Denpasar Once a month, film buffs pack the hall of the Irama Indah House music school and store in Denpasar to watch film shorts. The event has taken place regularly since Aug. 31, 2002, thanks to Maria Clementine Wulia, founder of the Minikino film community, who is a daughter of the owner of Irama Indah, where she also teaches.

Mega opens antiterror school in Semarang Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Java President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated on Saturday an international antiterror school here in Semarang, as part of Asia-Pacific efforts to combat terrorist attacks. A drill to rescue terrorist hostages highlighted the inauguration ceremony, which was held in conjunction with the National Police's 58th anniversary.

Luluk, Alvent challenge home pair of Choong, Lee in Malaysia Open finals Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Fifth seeded pair Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto became Indonesia's only hope at the 2004 Malaysia Open badminton championships after they had secured a place in the men's double final round on Saturday. Luluk/Alvent grabbed a ticket to final round after defeating Danish Duo Thomas Laybourn/Peter Steffensen 13-15, 15-5, 15-10 in a semifinal match on Saturday afternoon.

Not to be critical, but we are a bit thin-skinned Krabbe K. Piting Contributor Jakarta When we say we can handle criticism, do we really mean it? Can we look our critics in the eye and have a healthy albeit heated discussion on the subject? Can we accept the fact that -- shock, horror! -- somebody out there has a different opinion or taste and wants to let us know about it? Sure, we say. Bring 'em on! We can handle criticism, just as long as it's constructive. Not petty and mean and personal.