Djajanti Group forms scholarship fund

JAKARTA (JP): The widely-diversified Djajanti Group announced yesterday the establishment of a Rp 1 billion (US$450,000) trust fund to finance 160 scholarships for school children and students in Maluku and Irian Jaya every year.

"We set up this fund as a token of our gratitude on the occasion of the golden anniversary of our independence," Djajanti's Chairman Burhan Uray said at the launching of the revolving fund yesterday evening.

Burhan added that the trust fund also reflected his group's strong commitment to the development of Indonesia's eastern region through the development of human resources.

He said the income from the fund would initially support 160 scholarships for primary, secondary school, high school and university students a year.

"But the number is expected to increase as the fund grows steadily," Burhan said, adding that the scholarships would be granted to highly talented students from poor families.

The Djajanti Group is one of the country's largest forest- based companies and manufactures a wide range of wood products. The group has also diversified into fishing, sago processing, tree-crop plantations, fishing-boat building and cement.

"Most of our business activities are based in the eastern region, notably Maluku and Irian Jaya. We want to contribute more to the development of human resources in that region," Burhan said.

The students granted scholarships will be selected by two provincial teams in Maluku and Irian Jaya in cooperation with team at the Djajanti head office in Jakarta, he explained.

Burhan hoped that other business groups would contribute to the trust fund or set up their own scholarship programs to accelerate the development of human resources. (vin)