Putri enjoys being her grandfather's 'heir'By K. Basrie JAKARTA (JP): Her childhood was tough enough. Her mother died shortly after she was born, 38 years ago. Putri Wong Kam Fu was then taken care of by her step-grandmother.

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Tradition of palm-wine drinking prevails among BalineseBy Putu Wirata DENPASAR, Bali (JP): "Being tipsy from palm wine is not going to hurt the state. But, being 'drunk' with greed for wealth certainly would!" exclaimed Ketut Kelim, 49, the leader of a genjek (local group of traditional artists).

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Zarima case drags onFrom RepublikaThe case of Zarima, the so-called Ecstasy Queen is, if one reads the papers, quite aggravating. The case has been long- winded and is proceeding very slowly. Punishment, which should have been meted out to her right away, seems to be kept at bay.

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A tale of a magicianBy Bakdi Soemanto For years Lancingan dreamed of becoming a magician.When he was in Kindergarten the principal invited a magician to entertain the pupils. In front of the young students he made pencils, chalk, writing books and balls disappear just by touching them.

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Muara Angke fishermen use skills to surviveText and photos by P.J. Leo JAKARTA (JP): The Muara Angke village on Jakarta's northern tip is home to traditional and semi-traditional fishermen.Here, they can be seen making their boats, fish traps, hooking fishnets, auctioning and preserving fish.

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Tying the knot after cruising the Citarik on a raftText and photos by Mulkan Salmona SUKABUMI, West Java (JP): Rafters Lody Karua and Amalia Yunita celebrated their wedding in a different way -- cruising along the Citarik River in Sukabumi on a rafting boat.

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Regrets for 1996 and resolutions for the new year JAKARTA (JP): Government officials, business executives, professionals, artists and workers were asked by The Jakarta Post to look back and share a few of their thoughts about 1996.

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Cartoonist Sutanto's art dabbles in fantasyBy Parvathi Nayar Narayan JAKARTA (JP): To appreciate the art of T. Sutanto is to enter the realm of the fantastic and the surreal. His images are drawn from a rich repertoire of fable, folklore and dreams.

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Guess What? Hard-pressed British Prime Minister John Major emerged Thursday as "personality of the year" among listeners of BBC Radio Four's popular Today morning news program.

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Paranormals predict 1997 will be gloomy As 1996 draws to a close, people everywhere are attempting to evaluate their past performances -- their failures and successes. Their plans for 1997 will be based on this evaluation. Some are optimistic, others pessimistic about their future.

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Bali grapples with the rising consumption of EcstasyBy Putu Wirata KUTA, Bali (JP): Bali, once regarded as a tranquil paradise, is now a haven for drug traffickers and prostitutes. Lately it has been drawing thieves, robbers and murderers.

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TV todayTVRI 6:00 a.m. Religious Teachings: Hikmah Pagi 6:25 Morning news 6:45 Healthy and Fit 7:00 News 7:30 TV Series: Grandizeer 8:00 Women's program: Tata Busana 8:30 Information 9:00 English News Service 9:30 People and Events 10:00 Music: Album Minggu Ini 11:00 Children's ...

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Good business prospects for the Year of the Ox BANDUNG, West Java (JP): The New Year will arrive in three days. But according to the Chinese calendar, the new year begins on Feb. 7. It is called the Year of the Ox, or, more precisely, the Fire Ox.The ox works hard.

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Middle class seen as too weak to advocate changeBy Ati Nurbaiti JAKARTA (JP): Views of the Indonesian middle class are both optimistic and pessimistic.The optimists are investors.

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Living without maids and baby sitters at weekends JAKARTA (JP): Aliyah and her husband, Nirwan -- not their real names -- were trying something new: Living without a baby sitter or maids at the weekends.

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The last straw: Are camels stronger? JAKARTA (JP): In the old days our ancestors wore wide-brimmed straw hats, sat on straw chairs, tickled their ears with straw and slept on straw mats.

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Deception drives 'The Last Seduction'By Dini S. Djalal JAKARTA (JP): In the midst of generic action thrillers and kiddie comedies, here comes a film with more sting than a nest of hornets.

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Mama Terate trains herself to become a soothsayerBy K. Basrie JAKARTA (JP): Mama Terate, 79, has developed herself into one of the country's senior soothsayers.Born as Lee A Kioek, alias Seruniati Arief, she has worked as a soothsayer for over two-thirds of her life.

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When a door is more than a doorBy G.S. Edwin JAKARTA (JP): Doors do not merely separate space, nor are they only meant for ingress and exit. They, especially the closed ones, tell stories.

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'Sepak takraw' squad to train in Malaysia JAKARTA (JP): The men's national sepak takraw squad plans to train in Malaysia soon as preparation for the SEA Games here next year.

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Anthology features poems of ASEAN writers ASEANO: An Anthology of Poems from Southeast Asia Published by The ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information, Manila, 1995 282 pages JAKARTA (JP): What does the word "Aseano" mean? If you think that it has something to do with the Association of ...

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Life in Traubled Tasikmalaya slowly returns to normalBy MMI Ahyani TASIKMALAYA, West Java (JP): Shops started to open and police officers began to patrol the streets yesterday as the town, ravaged by riots Thursday, struggled to resume some normalcy.

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Sheng and Shu: The criteria of artDear friends,Sheng and Shu literally refer to food: Sheng is the quality of food in its natural, raw or uncooked state, while Shu is applied to food upon ripening, maturing or after having been cooked.

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Morality and comedy meet in traditional Javanese playBy Achmad Nurhoeri JAKARTA (JP): What comes to your mind if your neighborhood doctor, your average motorcycle salesman, the local police chief, the local military officer and your regent are jumbled together in one arena? A community meeting? A ...

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How the White House celebrates ChristmasBy Hillary Rodham Clinton I'm writing this column on Christmas Eve, in the little room on the second floor that I use for my study. It's where Eleanor Roosevelt and Bess Truman slept and where Jackie Kennedy wrote letters.

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Norwegian explore Indonesia in cultural exchangeBy Lela E. Madjiah OSLO (JP): "Ooooooh, Bali!"The expression of beautiful memories and longing says it all.

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