1. JUDI -- 1x45

1. JUDI -- 1x45

Joint efforts needed to shut down gambling dens

Abdul Khalik
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Police cannot fight wide-spread gambling alone in the capital, an
expert says, adding that state prosecutors and judges as well as
other government officials should also join hands.

Criminolog of the University of Indonesia Adrianus Meliala
stressed Wednesday that the government had opted to ban gambling
in any form in the country and thus so law enforcers must do
their jobs accordingly.

"Police officers should close down gambling dens and arrest
gamblers, prosecutors should charge them with proper law, and
judges should convict them without considering whether or not he
or she is a powerful or rich people," he told The Jakarta Post.

Rumors, however, have it that law enforcers and high-raking
officials often protect certain gambling dens for financial
gains.

Adrian said that he often heard stories that several gambling
dens were closed down while several others were left untouched
only because they have connections with certain powerful people.

He said that police could only handle one part of the process
and it was not fair to blame them for all gambling mess in the
city.

Adrian, who is also a personal advisor to Police Chief Gen.
Da'i Bachtiar, alleged that often legislative members and
ministers, who publicly attack gambling practices, ask police to
free certain suspected gambler or operators.

"So, stop being hypocrite if we want to see the capital clear
from gambling activities. Inconsistency makes gamblers think that
the government is not serious in fighting against gambling," said
Adrian. He did not reveal the names of legislative members and
ministers who often asked police to release gambling suspects.

Gambling, which takes many forms in the capital and continues
to thrive despite a ban, is allegedly backed by some well-known
figures and certain police officers.

According to Article 303 of the Criminal Code and Article 2 of
Law No. 7/1974, gambling operators and gamblers could face up to
10 years imprisonment and a Rp 25,000 fine if found guilty.

Former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin had recently renewed his
call to legalize gambling.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) edict commission head
Muarif Amin said that the public could also help police in
controlling gambling.

"Organized groups can take part in efforts to slash down the
number of gambling dens. For example, they can submit to police
data of gambling locations in the capital," he told the Post.

Muarif warned, however, that police's continued failure to
follow up their report could initiate mass action.

"These organized groups can take over police's job to close
down gambling dens, and can cause conflict. Gambling supporters
will fight back as they will question the authority of the groups
to take action. Mass riots and clashes will be unavoidable," he
said.

Several organized groups or paramilitary groups, including the
Native Jakarta Brotherhood Forum (FBR), the Banten Big Family
Development Committee (BPPKB), and the Islamic Defender Front
(FPI), have often conducted raids on bars and discotheque across
the city.

Clashes between groups, often triggered by struggle for
influence and areas, have been common since after the fall of
Suharto in May 1998, while countless victims have been recorded.

Saman Subekti of the National Mandate Party's youth movement
said that he and his friends had submitted to police data on
gambling dens in the capital, including gambling a house in
Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta and a casino in a hotel on Gunung
Sahari, Central Jakarta.

"We will wait for a week. If we don't see any action from the
police then we will do it ourselves. We have grounds for our
action as the law has clearly prohibited gambling," he told the
Post last Monday.

2. HOSPITAL -- 3x17

City to go ahead
with hospital
construction

Damar Harsanto
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Unedited
Despite objection from city councillors, the city administration
would go ahead with its plan to build a Rp 15.1 billion (US$1.6
million) two-storey hospital in Thousands Island regency.

"The presence of a hospital in the regency is of paramount
importance to give immediate and cheaper medical treatments to
patients with relatively milder complaints," City Health Agency
head Abdul Chalik Masulili said in a hearing with City Council's
Commission E on people's welfare on Wednesday.

According to Chalik, patients in need of hospital treatment
would be no need to dig deeper into their pockets to pay between
Rp 2.5 million (US$263) and Rp 3 million for ambulance boats to
reach nearby hospitals.

"However, patients with more chronic health complaints will
have no other choice than going to nearby hospitals for better
treatments as the new hospital would not be equipped with
complete medical devices," he admitted.

The construction of hospital worth Rp 15.1 billion (US$1.6
million) in the Thousand Islands regency was not urgent and it
would only put another burden to the city administration, the
City Health Agency said Wednesday that it would go ahead with the
plan.

The regency only has six public health centers, which all have
no rooms for in-patients.

Residents, who want to be hospitalized, must take costly
ambulance boats to enjoy medical treatment at the city-run Koja
hospital in North Jakarta or the Cengkareng hospital in West
Jakarta.

He added that the hospital was also necessary to provide
immediate help for divers and fishermen who suffer decompression
sickness after their diving or snorkeling activities with
hyperbaric chambers available in the hospital.

Decompression sickness is a dangerous and occasionally lethal
condition caused by nitrogen bubbles that form in the blood and
other tissues of divers who goes up to surface too quickly. One
who suffers the sickness needs immediate treatment in hyperbaric
chamber in which air pressure is gradually increased and
decreased to allow nitrogen bubbles to shrink and safely diffuse
out of the blood and body tissues.

The plan to develop the two-story hospital occupying 2,447
square meters land at Pramuka islet has been opposed by the city
councillors who urged the administration to delay its
construction, arguing that the presence of hospital was not
urgent in the resort islands since the six public health centers
in the regency would be able to accommodate the residents' need
of health services.

"The relevant issue, I think, is how to upgrade services in
those centers instead of building new hospital," the commission E
chairman Dani Anwar asserted.

Dani referred to a prevailing regulation issued by the
Ministry of Health, which stipulates that the development of a
hospital requires minimum populations of 25,000, far higher than
the current population in the regency of only 19,200 residents.

Another councillor Achmad Husin Alaydrus criticized that the
operation of the hospital would only burden the administration
that has to provide the subsidy for it.

"It is easy to develop new hospital, but please keep in mind
how much money the administration has to provide for subsidizing
the operation of the new hospital," Alaydrus said.

3. TEACHER -- 2x24

Former SMP 56 principal
fights to be reinstated

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The former principal of State Junior Highschool SMP 56, Nurlaila,
is planning to sue Governor Sutiyoso in the State Administrative
Court next Monday for discharging her as a civil servant.

"The letter, which meant to discharge me, was issued on Dec.
6, 2004, but it said that I was fired since February (2004). Such
a letter could not be retroactive, that's why I am going to State
Administrative Court," she told The Jakarta Post Monday in
sidelines of an education seminar held at the National Library,
Central Jakarta.

Nurlaila said she was the only teacher who still rejected the
land-swap deal between the Ministry of National Education and PT
Tata Disantara, a company owned by former minister of manpower
Abdul Latif in 2000, which forced the school to move out from the
strategic business area in Melawai to Jeruk Purut, both in South
Jakarta.

Fear that they would get fired, all of her fellow SMPN 56
teachers chose to move to designated replacement schools in Jeruk
Purut, South Jakarta. The schools were State Junior Highschools
SMP 11, 12, 13, 19, which all located in South Jakarta.

"The reason why I'm still fighting for my right is because
there is no legal verdict on the status of my school. The judge
at the South Jakarta District Court said that the school is in
status quo," the 48-year old said.

She said that the administration had also stopped paying her
salary since last year and denied her rights as a civil servant
to receive any other facilities, including pension. The city
administration downgraded her civil servant rank from IV-A to
III-D.

The case of a land-swap itself is now in the Supreme Court,
after both South Jakarta District Court and High Court threw out
a civil suit against the Ministry of National Education and PT
Tata Disantara.

Aside from administrative problems, Nurlaila believed that the
land-swap deal indicated a corruption because the land was only
sold at a price of Rp 2.5 million per square meter, while the
real tax valuation of the land was Rp 9.65 million per square
meter.

Nurlaila, who was supported by lawyers from by Legal Aid LBH
APIK and the Human Rights Lawyers Association (APHI), said she
was convinced that if the judges at the State Administrative
Court were fair, she would win the case.

"Unless the judges take side in favor of powerful persons that
I'm against, I will win the case. But, win or loose I already
gathered support to continue struggling for my rights," said the
woman, who had taught at the SMP 56 since 1990. (006)

4. EMISI -- 1x30

Police offer free emission testing

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

In an effort to raise public awareness on clean air, Jakarta
police together with the Clean Emission Foundation will conduct
free emission tests for cars passing through the police
headquarters on Jl. Gatot Subroto every Friday.

Traffic police chief Sr. Comr. Djoko Susilo said on Wednesday
that not all of vehicles entering the headquarters could be
tested as they have limited personnel and equipments.

"However, we will try to test as many cars as possible to be
able to reach out to wider motorists. We want them to know the
actual condition of their cars. We will also gradually increase
the frequency of the test," he said.

Djoko said that the police would tell the car owners whether
their car's emision was below or above standard, hence the source
of air pollution in the city.

He added that upon knowing that their cars cause pollution,
car owners were expected to immediately make adjustment to their
cars.

"We want people to know that their main concerns are not only
car engine or body but also the emission their car produced as
stipulated in regulation," he said.

He referred to Law No. 14/1992 on traffic, which regulates
that cargo vehicles and public transportation vehicles should
pass emission test to be declared roadworthy.

City Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control, in addition,
requires all vehicles in the city to undergo emission tests while
Gubernatorial Decree No. 1041/2000 on emission standards for
vehicles regulates that the standards vary among vehicles
depending on age and type of fuel system.

Violators of emission standards could face up to six months in
prison or Rp 5 million (US$555.56) fine.

Environmental activist Achmad Safrudin welcomed the police
program but expressed concerns on the lack of law enforcement
despite clear existing laws.

"It is good that police promote emission awareness among
Jakartans. However, what we want to see is that they start
punishing violators," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Jakarta, which is the third most polluted city in the world,
has about four million cars. About 70 percent of the hazardous
substances in Jakarta's air comes from vehicular emission.

5. DRUGS -- 2x28

Four drug dealers nabbed,
8,500 ecstasy pills seized

Abdul Khalik
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Jakarta police arrested over the weekend four suspected drug
dealers and confiscated 8,500 ecstasy pills plus 100 grams of
shabu-shabu, or crystal methampetamine, in three separate
locations.

Two suspected drug dealers identified as Ray Angela, 27, alias
Sherly, and Purwanto Nugroho, 31, alias Kiki, were apprehended in
Sunter Hijau, North Jakarta, while Lie Jie Tek, 44, was arrested
in Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta.

City police narcotics unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sugeng IR said
that Sherly and Kiki caught red handed during a drug transaction,
while Lie was arrested while he was waiting for Sherly to deliver
him the illegal substance.

He said that his officers found 7,300 ecstasy pills and 100
grams of shabu shabu in Sunter Hijau and 200 ecstasy pills in
Gunung Sahari.

"We suspect Sherly is a member of a international drug
syndicate. We still interrogate her if she was the supplier for
many drug agents in Jakarta," Sugeng said.

Based on the information from the three suspects, the police
then moved to Jl. Kewenangan in Glodok, West Jakarta, to pick up
Andrianto Agung, 30, alias Ayung.

"We arrested him also as we found another 1,000 ecstasy pills
in his house," Sugeng said.

He said that all four suspects were now being detained in the
City Police headquarters for further questioning.

The police are in the battle against drug trafficking in the
capital.

In the last two weeks, around 90 drug dealers were nabbed by
East Jakarta police in several locations across the municipality,
while last week Jakarta police arrested four suspected members of
a drug syndicate and confiscated 176 kilograms of marijuana.

A Nepalese, a suspected international drug supplier identified
as Man Sing Gale, 40, was shot dead last April after he
apparently resisted arrest in Bekasi, West Java.

Police said that they seized 1.25 kilograms of heroin, 276
grams of cocaine, 500 ecstasy pills and a firearm from his house.

Earlier, City Police arrested 761 people, including five
foreigners and several active military and police personnel,
seizing over 100 kg of drugs in raids conducted in dozens of
places across the capital.

"Each police precinct chief were ordered since last month to
arrest at least 32 drug traffickers each month in their
respective area as we find the traffickers have penetrated into
neighborhood," said City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono.

6. SPEAK -- 1x40

'All parents complain about high education fees'

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono complained recently about the
growing number of private schools, many of which, he said, put
profit before quality education. However, the government has not
yet been able to place a high priority on education, especially
for the poor, as stipulated in the Constitution. The Jakarta Post
asked residents their thoughts on this important issue.

Parjo, 45, is a security guard at Tanah Abang market in
Central Jakarta. He lives with his wife and three children in
Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta:

I have three children, the eldest is now in high school, while
the other two in are junior high school.

Thank God they were able to pass the admission requirements to
enter state schools, as the tuition fees are cheaper than private
schools.

But still the amount of the school fees and other related
expenditures for their education is a big burden on me, because
it costs around a third of my monthly salary of Rp 1 million
(US$105).

My second child will enter high school next July. It gives me
headache just thinking about the expensive entrance fee.

I heard that the Jakarta administration prohibits schools from
collecting entrance fees from the parents, but I don't think it
is stopping the schools from taking something from us, legal or
not. Such practices are common here.

I could never dream of sending my children to a high-quality
private school.

For me, it is enough to see my children go to a state school
so that they can continue studying without worrying too much
about the fees.

Burhana, 40, works at a bank on Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta.
He lives in Kebon Melati in Central Jakarta. He has two children,
both are studying in elementary school:

All parents, especially from the low-income bracket, of
course, complain about the high education fees, although I have
not experienced it yet because my two children are still in
elementary school.

Several of my neighbors, whose children are studying at junior
high and high schools, said that they had to pay some Rp 2
million in entrance fees to state schools.

I wonder what the politicians have done after getting what
they want?

During the election campaigns last year, they promised to
fight for free education.

I hope when it's time for my children to enter junior high
school over the next several years, the government is able to
provide free education for all.

I'm not sure whether my children are now at a quality school
or not. Moreover, I don't think state schools are so bad, many of
their graduates later go to university.

--The Jakarta Post