JP/5/acros05

Minister to stop mining in protected forests

TERNATE, North Maluku: Minister of Forestry Mohammad Prakosa says he will not stand by and allow mining to take place in protected forests.

He said he would discuss the problems stemming from the overlap in interests between forest protection and the mining sector with the House of Representatives in Jakarta.

"I am not in a position to accept or reject something that has already been stipulated in Law No. 41/1999 that bans people from open mining in protected forests," Prakosa said here on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, at least 22 work contracts on mining in protected forests had already been signed before the law was enacted," he said.

A protected forest in Gosowong subdistrict on Halmahera island in North Maluku province is under threat by the extension of a nearby gold mine.

Data from the forestry ministry reveals that Indonesia has 120 million hectares of forests.

Prakosa was in North Maluku to accompany President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband, Taufik Kiemas, who visited the province to meet with supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). --Antara

2,203 civil servants in NTB to lose jobs

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) administration is urging 2,203 civil servants to accept early retirement or functional jobs as part of its efforts to streamline the bureaucracy and boost efficiency.

"This is a solution to overcome problems over plans to cut jobs within the administration," its spokesman, Lalu Gita Aryadi, said on Monday.

Last month, the local government issued Regulation No. 8/2003 on the reorganization and "rationalization" of the bureaucracy in the province. The ruling will see at least 2,203 civil servants lose their jobs.

Lalu said there were at least 5,267 government posts in the provincial administration and, under the new regulation, 3,064 of them would be scrapped, affecting 2,203 civil servants.

The ruling came into effect on Feb. 27 and will last until 2005, he added. --Antara

Cleric adopts Inul as 'foster daughter'

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: Head of the South Kalimantan religious affairs office Artani Hasbi has supported the ban by the province's Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) on dangdut singer Inul Daratista for her "erotic" dance style.

But in an apparent move to counter the ban and condemnation from other religious leaders in several cities across the country, a charismatic Muslim cleric, Zaini Abdul Ghoni, in Banjarmasin has offered to become Inul's foster father.

Inul accepted the offer and attended Zaini's Islamic class on Saturday at his house in Banjarmasin, where she was staying after a dangdut concert in the town. Dangdut is a popular local music with strong Arab/Indian influences.

Before other Muslim women at the gathering, the cleric prayed for Inul to have the strength to remain strong and patient in facing condemnation.

The ban by the local MUI branch will hamper her plans to perform in four other towns in South Kalimantan in the near future.

A similar ban was also imposed on Inul by the Yogyakarta administration, a move that has sparked criticism from many Muslim leaders.

The ban has otherwise brought her further attention and has seen her popularity skyrocket, thus making her a new national celebrity with hundreds of million of rupiah in monthly income. --Antara