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