Meeting planners get new guidebook

Kurniawan Hari The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

------------ Jakarta Meeting Planner's Guide 2005/2006 Chief Editor Indra Sukirno, PT Ventura Perdana Utama for the Jakarta Convention and Exhibition Bureau, September 2005, 216 pages ---------------

Governor Sutiyoso was born in 1944. That means he is now 61 years old. However, his photograph printed in the fifth Jakarta Meeting Planner's Guide 2005/2006 does not show his present appearance.

The publisher uses an old photo of Sutiyoso, when the governor was much younger. Maybe, perhaps, it was Sutiyoso himself who insisted that photo be used.

Also, the use of a black and white portrait of Sutiyoso while photos of other officials are in color is rather odd.

This was just one of many defects in the new Jakarta Meeting Planner's Guide 2005/2006, which was launched recently.

The book is the official publication of the city of Jakarta to help all meeting planners, either national or foreign, with various aspects should they want to organize events in the city.

From cover to cover, the book is full of color. However, the quality of the printing -- and the paper -- is not of the highest quality.

Had the printing and the layout been done better, the book would have been more attractive and eye-catching.

While other books normally display the title and the name of publishers on the first page, this book opens with the table of contents. The contents are divided into several sections including Jakarta Convention and Exhibition Bureau, Indonesia at a Glance, Welcome to Jakarta, Venues, Offices and Accommodations, Convention and Exhibition Support Services, Other Professional Services, Jakarta's Art and Culture Scene, Jakarta Spice of Life, Beyond Jakarta, Important Directories and Planning Your Activities: Trade Show.

In the "Indonesia at a Glance" section, the publisher fails to provide new information, images or tables. Instead of using an image of the Borobudur Temple from a professional photographer, the publisher simply takes one from the Internet.

Information about airlines at domestic and international airports is quite comprehensive. It also includes the location of airline offices at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country's main gateway.

There is a brief dictionary of common Indonesian words including numbers, days of the week, phrases and time.

In regard to the information about media in Jakarta, the publisher should perhaps have separated the English-language media from the Indonesian.

Some of the phrases in the information directory needs correction. Instead of "People's Advisory Assembly" (the MPR), it should have been "People's Consultative Assembly", which consists of the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD).

Mahkamah Agung (the Supreme Court) and Kejaksaan Agung RI should have been put into the Judicial Bodies section instead of the People's Consultative and Legislative Assembly. The Cabinet Secretariat is also mistakenly put into the People's Consultative and Legislative Assembly, while in fact the secretariat belongs to the Cabinet.

Generally, the information provided in this 216-page book is very helpful.

However, the quality of the book should be improved in future. Accuracy is also important aspect, so that people will not get lost in this city, which is a chaotic mix of modern structures and traditional customs.