Foundation donates Rp 500m to help the poor

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians of Chinese descent showed their compassion and solidarity with those worst hit by the monetary crisis when they donated Rp 500 million (US$58,824) to the Ministry of Social Affairs yesterday.

The donation from the Haji Karim Oei Foundation was personally received by Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, President Soeharto's eldest daughter, who was installed as Minister of Social Services last month.

"We are Indonesian citizens too. That is why we are making a donation to help in this time of crisis," the foundation's advisor Yusuf Hamka yesterday.

The foundation was established by the late Karim Oei and has a membership made up of Indonesians of Chinese descent from various religions.

With yesterday's contribution, Rp 6.5 billion has been donated to the ministry's special program to help those in need during the crisis.

The largest contributors so far are Barito Pacific and Djayanti groups, which each donated Rp 3 billion.

Hardijanti also met United States Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy yesterday.

He explained that his country is preparing several assistance programs which will be run through various government departments and non-government organizations.

More displays of public solidarity were evident yesterday.

Bank Mashill sold cheap packages of food containing rice, sugar, cooking oil and noodles, to residents near their branch offices in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan and Lampung.

The packages, said to be worth Rp 15,000 each, were sold for between Rp 1,500 and Rp 2,000.

The Indonesian Navy formally presented scholarships to several students at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) who were struggling to pay for their studies, and distributed thousands of packages containing basic commodities to residents around the IPB campus in Dermaga, Bogor, West Java.

Navy chief Adm. Arief Kushariadi said 200 students received five-year partial scholarships which granted them Rp 100,000 each month. (mds)