BEM UI gets new chairman

DEPOK: Gari Primananda has been elected chairman of the University of Indonesia Student Executive Body (BEM UI) -- the equivalent of a student union -- replacing Ahmad Nur Hidayat, the organization announced recently.

Primananda, a fourth-year student of the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, will be chairman for the 2004/2005 period.

The BEM UI is one of the student organizations active in promoting democracy in Indonesia. Its recent activities included arranging debates between political parties and presidential candidates. -- JP