Dutchman says bye to Pentax
An incredulous Dutch tourist yesterday reported that his bag with valuables in it, including a Pentax camera, seemed to have strolled off while he dozed on a Jakarta-bound bus from Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra.
While the well-rested Neils Hoevenaars and friends slept aboard the bus on Wednesday, an opportunistic passenger probably made off with the goods.
"Because of the limited space under my seat, I put the bag on the upper shelve right over my head," he told The Jakarta Post.
Hoevenaars estimated that the total value of his departed possessions is US$500.
A source at the City Police Headquarters said that the bag is almost certainly gone for good, given the number of people who had access to it on the bus.
"We, however, appreciate his effort to report this and hope that we will find the goods on the black market here," the source said. (bsr)
City looking for right trees
The city administration is busy selecting trees suitable for the various types of soil across the city, an official said yesterday.
"For instance, North Jakarta's soil is salty, so not all kinds of trees can be planted there. Thus, we have to plant the right trees in the right places," Edison Meliala, a subdivisional head of the city's environmental rehabilitation office, told The Jakarta Post.
He added that he is also planning to bring trees from Irian Jaya, whose trees attract birds, so that Jakartans will soon be able to hear birds singing in the streets.
When asked why Jakarta was not nominated in the "One Million Trees" competition in January even though the city had planted in excess of a million trees, he said that the competition focused on efforts to motivate people to plant trees rather than the number of trees planted.
"The emphasis was not on how many trees we planted but on whether we were successful in motivating people, especially from the poor and low-income groups, to plant trees," Edison said.
He noted that the competition focused on the participants' contribution to the greening of slum areas.
"Asking people living there to plant trees is not an easy task."
"Making ends meet is already a daily strain for them. How can you expect them to plant trees and then care for them?" Edison asked, adding that his office cannot afford to provide fruit trees which may attract low-income people and motivate them to care for the trees. (06)