1. VOTE: 50 pt, 2 cols, 4 x 12

1. VOTE: 50 pt, 2 cols, 4 x 12

Councillors
split over
voting
procedure

Novan Iman Santosa
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

City Council factions are divided on the voting procedure for the
Sept. 11 gubernatorial election especially concerning
confidentiality in the voting process.

Contacted separately on Friday, councillors from the Justice
Party (PK) and National Mandate Party (PAN) factions told The
Jakarta Post that they preferred that councillors mark a cross on
the ballot paper or perforate the paper instead of writing the
candidate's names on the paper.

Meanwhile, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) factions insisted that
councillors write the names of the candidates.

"Our faction wants the ballot paper to be marked with crosses
as it will guarantee the confidentiality of the vote as required
by the 1999 Law No. 22 on regional autonomy," said chairman of PK
faction, Achmad Heryawan.

"Writing the names will open the possibility for certain deals
to take place."

Achmad said that certain groups could add special words to
signify their group so each candidate would know by the
signifying mark which group had voted for them.

Suppose several groups supported a candidate named Amir, said
Achmad. The first group could write "Amir OK" while the second
group could choose to write "Amir Yes". The third group could use
another code.

Achmad said the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) factions based their argument
on practices carried out at both the House of Representatives
(DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

"Voting procedures at the DPR and MPR are carried out by
writing candidates' names on blank paper. It has become a
convention at those state institutions.

"But we (City Council) have our own conventions. Besides,
marking crosses against the names on the ballot paper will
prevent unfair practices," said Achmad.

Achmad also admitted that the council's election regulations
did not specify whether the ballot paper had to be crossed,
perforated, or written on.

Meanwhile, councillor Syamsuardi Botan of PAN faction said
that there were vested interests at stake if Golkar and PDI
Perjuangan kept insisting on writing the candidates names.

"If we want to really adopt the one man one vote policy, we
should perforate the ballots.

"Besides, it has been a City Council convention to perforate
the ballots instead of writing names. We don't have to copy the
practices of the MPR and DPR," he added.

Syamsuardi also said that perforating the ballot paper would
enable councillors to use their own conscience in choosing a
gubernatorial candidate.

"This procedure enables us to diverge from our party's policy
if we believe the party's policy is against public interests."

There have been rumors that PDI Perjuangan faction is
insisting on writing the candidates' names as a way to control
its members loyalty.

A split occurred in the faction with the decision to support
incumbent Governor Sutiyoso's renomination despite his alleged
involvement in the July 27, 1996 attack on PDI headquarters.

Faction members will be free to vote for candidates other than
Sutiyoso if the ballot is cast by either putting a cross against
the name or by perforating the name on the ballot papers.

2. RECLAIM: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30

Pantura reclamation to go ahead

Ignoring protests from environmentalists, the City
Administration has decided to go ahead with its plan to reclaim
and revitalize some 5,200 hectares of sea and coastal areas at
the northern part of Jakarta (Pantura).

Executive chairman of the Jakarta Waterfront Management Board
M. Sidarta said reclamation of 2,500 hectare of sea and
revitalization of 2,700 hectare of coastal areas is a significant
effort to improve environmental condition in the area.

"The reclamation project is not only aimed at tapping the
economic potentials, but it is also part of the effort to improve
environmental condition in the area," Sidarta said at a round
table discussion here on Friday.

Sidarta argued that the government has no fund to improve
environmental damage along 32 kilometers of Coastal area in the
city therefore it needs involvement of the private sectors in
managing the areas.

He said without reclamation project, the environmental problem
like abrasion as well as social problems in the coastal areas
would continue.

According to Sidarta, the reclaimed areas will be used for
housings, industrial estate, seaports, and other business
centers.

Chairman of the Forum for Coastal Areas Society, Didit Eko Y,
however, said that the reclamation project will cause an
environmental and social damage as it is still based on a
presidential decree No. 52 issued in 1995.

"If the economic opportunity become the main objective of the
reclamation project as stated in the presidential decree, it
would cause various negative impacts," according to Didit.

Environmental impacts include the possible worsening floods in
the city, submerge of small islands as the project needs some 200
million cubic meter, and the damage of mangrove ecosystem along
the coastal areas.

According to Didit, social impact would be more difficult
problems as many people mostly poor fishermen would be evicted
from their houses in the coastal areas as only those who have
money who would be able to have access in the reclaimed areas.

3. SUSU: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30

Anthrax fear hit milk business

Amid public fears over the recent outbreak of anthrax in Bogor,
vendors and suppliers of milk in the Bogor municipality have
suffered losses as customers shun their products.

"Many of my customers have stopped buying milk from me. Even
if they do buy it, they always ask whether the milk is infected
with anthrax or not," a milk vendor, Muhidin, said on Thursday.

"I usually sell 35 liters of milk daily but now I can only
sell 27 liters," said Muhidin, who has been a milk vendor since
1964.

News of the latest anthrax outbreak became public on Tuesday,
when the media reported that five employees of a livestock farm
in Kebonpedes, Bogor regency, had been infected by the disease
after they slaughtered a sick cow on July 28. Another employee
was later also found to be infected by the virus.

Another milk vendor, Yusuf Mustofa, 39, shared a similar
experience, saying that her earnings had dropped from Rp 40,000
to Rp 20,000.

Yusuf bought the milk from the breeding farm owned by Sukarja,
next to the one owned by Uci, whose employees were infected by
the anthrax virus.

Meanwhile Bogor Milk Producers' Cooperative (KPS) manager
Bintarso admitted the sale of milk had been affected. But he said
sales had returned to normal after laboratory testing showed that
the milk was not infected.

He said cooperative members sold 6,000 liters of milk to
Indomilk a day and between 3,000 liters and 4,000 liters to
Diamond Ice Cream. They also send the milk to a cosmetics factory
and a sweets factory which each need about 850 liters per week.

Bintoro said the Husbandry and Fishery Agency in Bogor regency
issued a letter on Aug. 1 stipulating the regency be on alert for
the virus.

He said that the letter was addressed to all members and
executives of KPS and another cooperative called Giri Tani
Cisarua. The agency said the two cooperatives were not allowed to
get new cattle without certification issued by local officials or
veterinarians.

4. TEACHER: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30

Island teachers get more benefits

The city administration is to upgrade the status of temporary
teachers who pass a special examination to contract teachers as
part of an attempt to improve their well-being, especially those
working in the newly-established Kepulauan Seribu regency.

"All temporary teachers will be given the chance to improve
their status by taking a special test that is scheduled for
sometime in September," Governor Sutiyoso told reporters on
Friday.

"Should the teachers pass the examination, they will get a
one-year contract from the city administration, which can be
extended."

Currently, temporary teachers only get between Rp 100,000 and
Rp 200,000 (US$11 to $22) per month.

A contract would entitle them to receive a salary of up to Rp
750,000. Even those who fail the test, however, will receive a
salary raise based on the provincial minimum wage of Rp 596,000
per month.

Meanwhile, city spokesman Muhayat said that priority would be
given to teachers in the Kepuluan Seribu regency, as promised by
Sutiyoso to the islands' teachers on Thursday.

Sutiyoso visited Untung Jawa Island to inaugurate several
infrastructure projects worth Rp 10.5 billion (US$1.1 million),
including port and sanitation facilities.

Previously a district of the North Jakarta mayoralty, the
regency is considered the least developed of the city's five
second level administrative regions due to its geographical
isolation.

"The only way to improve the quality of the Seribu islanders
is by improving the level of education there.

"Therefore, the city administration is providing more
incentives for teachers so as to give them extra motivation,"
Muhayat said.

Currently, there are about 30 permanent teachers and 95
temporary teachers paid by the city working in the Seribu
Islands.

Meanwhile, the permanent teachers will get an additional six
days added on to their 12 days annual leave, which can be taken
three times a year so that they can visit the mainland, as a
further incentive.

The teachers and each of their family members will also
receive allowances when taking annual leave.

The new policy is expected to start in September pending the
approval of the City Council.

"But even if we cannot start the incentive program this year,
the teachers will be enjoying the benefits by next January," said
Muhayat.

In a separate development, in Bekasi dozens of temporary
junior high school teachers demanded on Friday that the Bekasi
municipal administration recruit them as permanent teachers.

"Our job is to increase the public's level of education but
the administration must pay attention to our welfare," one of the
teachers, Dadi Suryadi, was quoted as saying by Antara.

The teachers demanded that the administration prioritize them
during the next recruitment drive planned for sometime in
September.

5. SPEAKUP: 30 pt, 3 cols, 1 x 30

'The amulet works well for me'

Modern people still need the services of psychics in certain
cases, such as when one is possessed by a spirit. But there are
also others who visit the paranormal to see their futures or to
gain magic power.

Hari, 46, owner of a restaurant on Jl. Mampang Prapatan, South
Jakarta. Last month he visited two different psychics to cure one
of his waiters who was possessed by a spirit:

The case occurred last month after we served a family who held
a garden party in Cibubur, East Jakarta. Manto, my waiter, looked
healthy when we arrived. He served the guests as usual, but when
the party was over, he became quiet and refused to do some
remaining jobs.

At night, his body temperature increased and he suddenly
started acting weirdly. His voice became deeper and he spoke
English. Manto actually could not speak English, he is a
elementary school graduate. He claimed that his name was James
from Australia.

During the night, Manto -- or James -- repeatedly said that he
needed water. We gave him more than 30 liters during the night
alone. In the morning, Manto slept all day, but when night came,
he again said that he was James.

We took him the next morning to a psychic in our neighborhood
because we believe he was possessed by a spirit. The psychic did
a ritual, but he failed to heal Manto. The psychic claimed that
he could not communicate with the spirit because he does not
speak English.

We took him to another psychic, a blind woman, in East
Jakarta. The blind female psychic said the spirit inside Manto's
body wanted people to pray God for him. We did a mass prayer for
him. Luckily, Manto has since recovered.

Lanny Kurniadi, 41, a customer service officer in a bank on
Jl. Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta. She visits a Chinese psychic
every Chinese new year to see her future:

Some people have gifts, others don't. Psychics have magical
power. Common people like me need them to see our future.

I always visit a psychic to predict my luck each year. I use
his prediction to make me more alert to face any problem in my
life. I must plan everything the best I can to avoid problems.

The predictions also make me more aware about my relations
with others and about possible business opportunities in the
following years.

Muha, 32, a taxi driver who lives in Cimanggis, West Java. He
visited a psychic, his next-door neighbor, to be blessed with the
power to defend himself from criminals:

I have a very risky job. I mean, taxi drivers could be stabbed
or killed by robbers who pretend to be passengers. That's why I
need the power.

The psychic gave me a certain amulet three years ago. I must
use it everyday, so I wear it as a necklace. I also had to do a
certain ritual and fast for 40 days before he gave me the amulet.

The amulet works well. I have proved it. Last year, two
robbers attempted to stab me. There is a scar in my neck but I
felt nothing, I even hit them and they ran off like rabbits.
-- Muninggar Sri Saraswati