Bribery rife as school year nears

Bribery rife as school year nears

JEMBER, East Java: Head of Jember regency's Education Office,
HM Hasi, said that "special referrals" and "bribery" had emerged
as parents become increasingly desperate to ensure that their
children enter desired schools in the upcoming school year.

"I'm surprised that some people still do such things (bribery
and referrals). Such things are no longer acceptable since
everything is done by computer," Dasi said on Friday.

He said that the referral memos came from many people,
including from officials and public figures.

He also admitted there were some parents who came to him,
asking him to ensure that their children pass the admittance
tests to enter senior or junior high schools.

"All I can say to them is, tell their children to study hard
so they'll pass," Hasi said. -- Antara

;ANTARA;STE;
ANPAa..r..
Focus-Cirebon-bomb
Cirebon bomb hoaxer 'did it for fun'
JP/5/FOCUS

Cirebon bomb hoaxer 'did it for fun'

CIREBON, West Java: A suspect believed responsible for a bomb
hoax in Cirebon city was arrested by the police on Friday.

According to chief of Cirebon Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Wisnu,
the suspect, 22-year-old Dedi Hartono, was arrested in his house
after midnight. "We arrested the suspect, known to be a local
preacher, when he was having dinner. We made the arrest after
tracking him via the cell phone that he used to contact Elshinta
radio station in Jakarta," Wisnu said.

He said the suspect sent an SMS to the radio's hotline number
0811806543, saying a bomb exploded outside the Asia Discotheque
and killed several civilians on Thursday afternoon. The radio
station editors called the suspect back so he could tell the
story live.

The false information, he said, caused panic among police
officials in Jakarta as well as Cirebon residents.

"Based on the information we panicked and directly checked the
locations and hospitals, but the information was proven to be a
lie," Wisnu said.

While being questioned, Dedi said he sent the message for fun.
"I was doing it for fun, I didn't mean to terrorize Cirebon
residents," he said. -- Antara

;ANTARA;
ANPAa..r..
Focus-Irian-flood
Heavy rain causes flooding in W. Irian
JP/5/FOCUS

Heavy rain causes flooding in W. Irian

MANOKWARI, West Irian Jaya: Heavy rains over the last two days
have left hundreds of houses in Ransiki district, Manokwari
regency in West Irian Jaya province, inundated, killed one
resident and wiped out two bridges.

Head of the Manokwari Social Services and People's Empowerment
Office, Sergius Muabuay, said on Friday that apart from the
floods, landslides also took place in four villages, Nuhuney,
Wamce, Kamasan and Abreso.

"Residents suffering from the disasters are now taking shelter
in safe areas," Sergius said, adding that the worst damage was at
a state elementary school in Nuhuney.

He said a team from the Manokwari regental administration has
inspected the disaster areas, distributed food aid and helped
bury the dead victim. -- Antara

;JP;YULI TRI SUWARNI;STE;
ANPAa..r..
Focus-Bandung-busline
Bandung to get new bus lanes
JP/5/FOCUS

Bandung to get new bus lanes

BANDUNG: In efforts to deal with traffic problems, the Bandung
administration will soon get 20 new bus lanes, an official said.

Bandung Mayor Dada Rosada said the bus lanes will be set up
using a grant from the Ministry of Transportation, with the first
busline planned for the southern outer ring road serving the
Ciburi-Cibeureum route.

"We're using the outer ring road because the roads in the city
center are too small for bus lanes," Dada said after signing a
MoU for the bus lane project on Thursday.

Director General of Land Transportation, Iskandar Abu Bakar,
said the bus lanes would be different from Jakarta's TransJakarta
busway as they would not have exclusive bus lanes.

He said the earlier monorail plan was still out of reach due
to the high costs, which were estimated to reach around US$400
million for 20 kilometers of the planned route. -- JP