JP/5/acros05

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