Indoneasia's 200-millionth baby born

Indoneasia's 200-millionth baby born

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will announce today its 200 millionth
citizen after a baby is chosen and named by President Soeharto
from the more than 8,000 babies delivered across the country
yesterday.

The new-born 200 millionth Indonesian, will be picked from
five babies nominated by the National Coordinating Board for
Family Planning Program (BKKBN), which monitors deliveries of
babies in all 27 Indonesian provinces.

The naming of the baby affirms Indonesia's status as the
world's forth most populous country, after China, India, and the
United States.

The lucky baby will meet the criteria set by BKKBN: it should
be either the first or second-born child of a literate and
legally married couple; the mother should have been no less than
20 years old at the time of marriage and a participant of the
government-sponsored family planning program.

Monitoring the arrivals of the new born babies yesterday, The
Jakarta Post journalists visited several maternity hospitals in
the city to interview parents whose babies fit the criteria to
become the 200 millionth citizen, who will be named by the head
of state and whose parents will be given a prize.

When asked by journalists what the prize will be, Minister of
Population concurrently BKKBN chairman Haryono Suyono said: "I
can't tell you about it now, but the President is very much
concerned about education, so the prize will probably be related
to education."

Haryono said all the babies delivered yesterday would be
awarded with certificates, stating they were on born on Feb. 4,
1997, the day Indonesia's population reached 200 million.

Yesterday, the Post talked to Adolfina Elviaty Luciana, 28,
and Erwin Yoyo, 32, whose second child was born at 00.05 a.m. at
the Pondok Indah private hospital, South Jakarta.

The new-born baby girl, Anisa Livia Ramadhani, weighed 3,090
grams, was 48 centimeters long, and was delivered through
caesarean section as her mother had a difficult labor having the
baby at 40 weeks.

"Anisa was projected to be born earlier, but she probably
waited until today so she could be the 200 millionth citizen
Elviaty said yesterday.

Elviaty, who looked happy and in good health, is a KB (family
planing program) participant who used an IUD after giving birth
to her son more than two years ago.

Erwin, who used to be a centerback for the Junior Indonesian
Soccer Association in the 80's, shared his wife's happiness.

Haryono said yesterday the board would closely observe
deliveries of babies in both rural and urban areas to get a
precise idea of who was the 200 millionth citizen.

"At exactly 3 a.m. tomorrow (Feb. 5), the board will pick five
babies who meet all requirements set by the board. The President
will then choose one baby to be awarded with a special name," he
said.

Data gathered by the Post as of 5 p.m. yesterday showed there
were two baby boys and four baby girls born at the Asih maternity
hospital, one boy and two girls at the MMC hospital, and four
babies at the Pondok Indah hospital, all in South Jakarta.

Ella Pratiwi, 26, gave birth to her second daughter at 4 a.m.
yesterday at Asih hospital. She said she was delighted that her
baby was born on Feb. 4.

She said she had heard about the program to chose the 200
millionth citizen, but she never thought her baby would be born
exactly on the set day, as she was due to deliver earlier, on
Monday.

"I just thanked God for giving me such a beautiful daughter,"
said Ella who, like Elfiaty, also used an IUD between
pregnancies.

Meanwhile, four boys and twin girls were delivered at the Budi
Kemoeliaan private hospital, while the state-run RSCM general
hospital, in Central Jakarta, helped deliver of seven babies.

At RSCM yesterday, Maria Rusdiana, 29, gave birth to her
second son at 10.55, while Ningsih, 22, delivered her first baby
girl earlier at 10.25.

Neither was aware that Feb. 4 meant something special for them
and the country. (04/12)