Australia offers donation to IPB

Australia offers donation to IPB

BOGOR: The Australian government has provided financial
assistance to the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) to help
the school contain plant diseases.

Aunur Rauf, a senior lecturer at IPB, disclosed on Sunday that
Australia was worried that plantation diseases in Indonesia would
spread to Australia and affect its plantation industry.

Rauf said that an outbreak in an onion field in Brebes,
Central Java, was an example of the danger of certain diseases.

Another example was a failed harvest because of certain types
of flies, known as liriomiza cinensis. The Australian government
expressed concern about them and the possibility that they may be
spread to its territory if not checked properly.

Raud would not reveal the amount of money given the school. He
said that in a time of crisis, any assistance would be helpful.
-- Antara

;JP;KHS;
ANPA..r..
Scene-Muslim-protest-dangdut
Muslim group protests 'dangdut' show
JP/4/scene17

Muslim group protests 'dangdut' show

JAKARTA: The Islamic group of Mujahidin Council strongly
protested on Saturday against a program aired by private station
SCTV featuring rapid-fire, hip-shaking dangdut singers Inul
Daratista and Anisa Bahar.

In a statement signed by the council's information unit
chairman Fauzan Al-Anshari, the group said the program was
indecent because such movements resulted in temptations of the
flesh.

Al-Anshari added that the program aired on Friday night had
violated Indonesian values as a majority of its population were
Muslims.

According to Fauzan, the erotic dances stimulated Muslim men
to engage in sex and was therefore sinful. Through a letter, the
Mujahidin Council demanded SCTV not to repeat a similar program.

He warned the management of SCTV and requested a response,
otherwise the council would report the case to police. - Antara

;JP;KHS;
ANPA..r..
Scene-govt-TVRI-status
'TVRI' to get clear status soon
JP/4/scene17

'TVRI' to get clear status soon

JAKARTA: The government has promised to help cash-trapped
state-owned television station TVRI, a company director says.

TVRI president director Sumita Tobing said on Sunday that he
was informed by the deputy state minister for state-owned
enterprises (BUMN) Roes Aryawidjaya that the government would
also replace the television station's board of directors.

Sumita said the deputy minister expressed support for the
consolidation taking place in the television company, from
getting rid of corrupt practices, auditing the company's
financial records and firing the TVRI directors.

State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi had
approved nominees to fill the five director positions, she said,
adding that two of them would be TVRI officials and others from
outside. -- Antara

;JP;AAH
ANPAa..r..
Scene-police-hunt-balibombers
Police hunting for 10 more terrorists
JP/4/4SCENE

Police hunting for 10 more terrorists

JAKARTA: The police are still on alert and keen on capturing
at least 10 more prime suspects for the Oct. 12 Bali Bombing who
are still at large, says Made Mangku Pastika, chief investigator
of the bombing.

Pastika said on Saturday that police were still looking for
the suspects. Police have arrested a total of 29 suspects.

The 10 identified as Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali, Dr
Azahari, Dulmatin, Idris, Umar alias Wayan, Umar Arab alias
Patek, Zulkarnaen, Noordin Mohamad Top, Saad alias Achmad Roichan
and Heri Hafidin.

Pastika said that except for Dr Azahari who holds a Malaysian
passport, all of the suspects were in Indonesia.

"Logically, it is easier to hide here than in other
countries," he said.

The whole world was shocked after a bomb exploded in a fully-
packed night club on the island in October of last year, killing
202 and injuring 135. --Antara

;JP;EVI;
ANPAa..r..
Scene-NGOs-education-bill
NGOs release 'education bill'
JP/4/education bill

NGOs release 'education bill'

JAKARTA: Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
education activists have released their own version of the
education bill as a protest against the House of Representatives
and the government, which are now deliberating on an education
bill.

The NGOs and activists, which are united in the Plural Society
Group (Kumpul), announced their bill on Friday at the office of
Kapal Perempuan, and called it the "people's version of the
education bill."

Kumpul has demanded that the House postpone passing the bill
from the original schedule of May, saying that the House should
accommodate more aspirations from the public, especially from
"marginalized" citizens.

Kumpul, which has intensively formulated the public version
bill for almost three months, consists of NGOs whose constituents
are workers, domestic helpers, street children and many more.

"We have known about the bill since August last year," said
Yanti Muchtar, the director of Kapal Perempuan. "And the
government invited us to a hearing one day and we conveyed our
opinions. But apparently, they did not take our opinions
seriously and none of our items made it into the bill."

The bill, according to Kumpul, was full of superficial
religious thinking and market-oriented ideas. Moreover, they
thought the bill hampered schools and the public from creatively
running their own education programs in line with their visions
and missions.