Bojonggede people live in fear
Residents of Bojonggede, Depok who live in newly built housing complexes, are living in fear because of a rash of crime in the area, located just 10 kilometers south of Jakarta.
The most recent case, area residents were quoted by Antara as saying, took place at 2.30 a.m. on Thursday when a group of masked men broke into a house being run as a coffee shop.
The robbers fled when they were surprised by the owners, who were still awake at the time of the break-in. They did not manage to take anything.
On Tuesday a resident of Bojonggede reported that almost all of his belongings, including electronic equipment and clothing, were taken from his house. At the time of the robbery the homeowner, who asked not to be named, was in his hometown in Central Java to celebrate the Idul Adha Moslem holiday.
"Judging from the large number of goods they stole it is believed that there was more than one perpetrator," an area resident said.
Area residents consider the criminals to be quite bold, given that both houses were located near street lights and that houses next to them were occupied.
Police announced earlier in the week that many criminals had moved their operations from Jakarta to outskirts after the launching of the army-sponsored, anti-crime "Operation Cleansing." (03)
Schools get face-lift
The North Jakarta mayoralty administration will spend some Rp 5 billion (US$2.3 million) to renovate 56 elementary (SD) school buildings located in the Penjaringan, Pademangan, Kelapa Gading, Koja, Cilincing and Tanjung Priok districts.
Suara Pembaruan reported the 56 buildings are in an dilapidated state, disturbing the process of day to day education of the students.
The head of North Jakarta's education office Muhir Subagia said yesterday that the refurbishment will done by repairing the roofs and raising the floors so as to avoid flooding during the rainy season.
The 56 school buildings to be repaired are part of the 293 elementary schools scattered in North Jakarta mayoralty. (mds)
Stateless Chinese register themselves
The East Jakarta mayoralty reported that 483 stateless Chinese have registered themselves as of this week as part of the initial process for gaining citizenship.
According Atang Djuminta, the head of mayoralty's population office, the registrants are comprised of 237 men and 246 women.
The government decided several weeks ago to register the estimated 25,000 stateless Chinese in Jakarta and provide leniency by giving them access to obtaining Indonesian citizenship.
Many thousands of Chinese descents were unable to return home when Jakarta broke diplomatic relations with Beijing following the abortive communist coup in 1965.
However relations between the two-countries have since improved with the resumption of diplomatic ties in 1990.
Atang Djuminta urged that those who have yet to register to do so before the Oct. 4 deadline.
He stressed that registrants must do so in person and avoid signing up through alternative procedures such as service agents. (mds)
Golkar's provincial congress planned
The city chapter of the Golkar will hold a plenary congress (Rakerda) in May 30-31 at the Krakatau Room of Horison Hotel.
Tadjus Sobirin, chief of the Golkar's Jakarta chapter, told a press conference yesterday at the branch's headquarters the congress would formulate some strategic guidelines for the five year period between 1993-1998.
Atje Mulyadi, deputy to steering committee chief, who was also on hand at the press conference, said the congress would focus on three topics.
The first topic is how the party's provincial branch would consolidate itself in the midst of rising attacks on national ideology and concerns of decreasing nationalism.
The second topic is how Golkar would help the city administration implement its strategic plans.
The third topic is formulating Golkar strategy for the 1997 election, and help the government create a peaceful condition to ensure the People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR) meeting of 1998 was run successfully.
Around 600 participants from all 43 districts across the city are scheduled to join the congress.
Tadjus said Governor Surjadi Soedirdja was scheduled to open the congress on May 30, and Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Hendropriyono would make some presentation the same day.
Though the Golkar always gained landslide victory nationwide in the previous elections, it never accomplished the same-scale feat in Jakarta.
Here, two other parties, the PDI (Indonesian Democratic Party) and PPP (United Development Party) tightly competed against Golkar in all previous elections. (jsk)