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