Live music for lunching members

JAKARTA (JP): A keyboard player, a singer and a couple of unembarrassed, musically eager diners turned the normally sterile and nondescript cafeteria at the People's Consultative Assembly complex into a lively lunch joint.

In the breaks in their tight meeting schedule -- which some admit can be rather tedious -- a number of members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) could be found lunching to the sound of live music in the new House of Representatives (DPR) building's cafeteria.

Some members and reporters even worked up the courage to test their vocal chords and belt out a couple of tunes.

"This is our initiative to support the General Session," claimed vocalist Turi Handayani and pianist Marwan, both DPR employees.

"We were lucky that the DPR's secretariat supported us and bought the equipment," Marwan told The Jakarta Post. (das)