Electricity theft is rampant in the country and,
Electricity theft is rampant in the country and, unfortunately, the theft is reportedly acknowledged by the state- owned electricity company (PLN). Therefore, it is not easy to stop such a crime.
It is not surprising to hear that PLN suffers an 11 percent loss in its annual revenue due to electricity theft. The Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) revealed PLN losses amounted to Rp 1.3 trillion in 2001.
PLN claims to have worked hard to curb the theft and thus the loss has been gradually decreasing. Still, PLN's efforts are far from satisfactory.
PLN's top officials should be more diligent and actually visit areas where electricity theft reportedly prevails. There are many residential houses, shops and offices that pay a small amount for their monthly electricity bill, despite the fact they consume lots of electricity.
We have heard about Electricity Operation (Opal), but we have never heard about the results of its operation. Why doesn't PLN recruit new and credible employees?
PLN must be more professional in supplying its (honest) customers with sufficient power at reasonable prices.
The company officials must be committed to fighting irregularities and take action against unscrupulous and corrupt employees. It's not an easy thing to do, but PLN has no other choice but to do it.
-- Warta Kota, Jakarta
Complaints won't be enough
It was the second time that President Megawati Soekarnoputri lamented and complained about the poor performance of the state judiciary institutions.
The first complaint was aired in front of the Indonesian Indigenous Businessmen's Association (HIPPI) last year, and the second was voiced last week in front of the members of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
The question is: Do the complaints work?
We should agree that all her complaints have made no difference. Many cases have yet to be properly dealt with and many officials (within the judiciary institutions -- including the Supreme Court) are involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).
How do we respond to reports on the unscrupulous South Jakarta District Court judge Torang Tampubolon? Shall we take it for granted or shall we try to uncover what is really going on to reach the truth?
What about the lawyers' representatives office at the Supreme Court? Chief Justice Bagir Manan has banned the opening of a lawyers' representatives office at Supreme Court Office, but what's next?
Where do we start when we want to stop such irregularities? We should begin at the top of the tier: The President. The President could encourage judiciary institutions by monitoring the legal process, not by interfering with it.
Improving judiciary institutions cannot be achieved by mere complaints.
-- Kompas, Jakarta
President Bush's new economic package
With a will for a radical course change that awakens memories of his political kindred spirit Ronald Reagan, President George Bush has launched an economic package that will mark the internal political debate in the United States and influence an international economy with little wind in its sails.
There will be hard battle in Congress about the proposals from Bush (US$600 billion over 10 years, half in tax relief), because in the economic arena there is no political peace. ... The economy is the area in which Bush is vulnerable in the presidential elections in about a year and a half, as his father proved to be in 1992 despite the victory in the Gulf War a year earlier.
Even though his Republican Party has a majority in Congress, Bush is dependent on some Democratic support for his economic package. And his basic thoughts are not rejected by the political opposition: the U.S. economy needs stimulating when unemployment is again rising, and the dramatic stock market fall of the past 3 73