Alleged burglars mobbed in Bali

Alleged burglars mobbed in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: Residents mobbed to death a suspected burglar
and severely wounded another on the resort island of Bali after
they broke into the house of an Italian citizen, Audrito
Valentine.

A third burglar, however, managed to escape the angry
residents of Kerobokan, which is in the western outskirts of
Denpasar.

The incident took place on Tuesday night after the three
intruders were spotted by security guards at Villa Surga, where
Valentine's home is located.

The security personnel alerted neighbors, who captured two men
and immediately dragged them into the street, beating and kicking
them.

When policemen arrived on the scene, one man was dead, and the
other was in critical condition with blood coming out of his
ears, eyes, nose and mouth.

Kuta Police chief Adj. Comr. M. Anwar said on Wednesday that
his personnel were trying to identify the suspected burglars.
--JP

Poor cheated out of subsidized rice

BANDUNG: Corruption has played a part in the distribution of
subsidized rice for the poor in West Java, causing an estimated
Rp 5.9 billion in losses to the provincial administration,
legislators said.

"We received a report from people that they each received less
than the 20 kilograms they were promised," Yomanius Untung, a
member of the West Java legislative council, said on Wednesday.

He said the council later verified the report and found that
the 20 kg sacks of subsidized rice selling for Rp 1,000 per
kilogram, weighed about 4 kg less.

Low-income families entitled to subsidized rice from the West
Java Logistics Agency (Dolog) total 1.1 million.

The cost of the lost rice from January through May could run
as high as Rp 5.9 billion, Untung said. --JP

Unsud hosts int'l seminar on English

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The Jendral Sudirman University
(Unsud) based in Purwokerto, Central Java, is hosting a five-day
international seminar on English.

The seminar, organized by Unsud's Student English Forum is
titled Indonesian Education: A Present for Tomorrow. It started
on Tuesday and will finish June 1.

Participants were from 55 universities, including five foreign
colleges in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines,
Brunei and Malaysia.

Forum chairman Irawan said the speakers featured in the
seminar included Suwarsih Madya of the National Education Reform
Committee, Stephen Hill of Unesco, Sudharmadi of the Ministry of
Education and senior legislator Taufikurrahman Saleh.

"The seminar is aimed at providing an introspection of the
development of English in Indonesia as an international
language," Irawan said. --JP

N. Sumatra governor to form watchdog

MEDAN, North Sumatra: North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin
is planning to set up an honorary council to regulate the conduct
of local high-ranking civil servants.

The new body will hear complaints from community members who
may object to the "morality and attitude" of officials in the
province, Rizal said.

The plan, however, drew mixed reactions on Wednesday from
members of the province's legislative council.

Rijal Sirait, a senior local legislator, said the move would
be an attempt by the provincial administration to conceal its
inactivity in improving the moral credibility and integrity of
local officials.

It would only waste time, energy and money, he said, adding
that the governor should carry out the task of supervising local
civil servants.

However, another legislator, Robinson Sitepu, said an honorary
council was fine as long as it did not recruit more officials or
take up more funding. --JP

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Border-East Timor
No way to Oecusi through West Timor: Moesanip
JP/5/Across

No way to Oecusi through West Timor: Moesanip

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Col. Moeswarno Moesanip, chief of
the Wirasakti Military District supervising security in East Nusa
Tenggara, turned down East Timor's request for the province to
allow overland public transportation from Dili to proceed its
enclave Oecusi through Atambua for security reasons.

"I have been contacted several times, asking the local
military to allow East Timorese vehicles to go to the enclave via
Belu Regency. But I refused to meet the request as there will be
no security guarantees from the Indonesian authorities for buses
that would serve the ply," he said at his office here on
Thursday.

He explained that should the request be met, the bus route
from Atambua to Oecusi would be prone to attack as there were
around 20,000 former pro-Jakarta militiamen living in the
regency.

Deputy Governor Johanis Pake Pani concurred and said it was in
line with the agreement reached during a recent meeting in Bali.

"It looks like it is impossible for the East Timorese
administration to use the land route through West Timor to Oecusi
for security reasons," he said. -- JP