Megawati nurses cold with action movies
Megawati nurses cold with action movies
JAKARTA: After canceling all her appointments in the past two-
days due to a sore throat, President Megawati Soekarnoputri
decided to spend her time watching two Hollywood movies.
Action flicks Terminator 3 and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
were her choice while she was absent from the presidential
office.
Taking most of her guards and personal aides in tow, she
watched the movies at the Usmar Ismail cinema center in Kuningan,
South Jakarta.
"The President likes watching movies, and she watches many
movies including Bollywood (Indian) movies here," one of the
members of the presidential staff said.
Megawati canceled all of her appointments on Thursday and
Friday as she could hardly speak due to a severe cold. She is
scheduled to return to work on Monday.--JP
;JP;MUN;
ANPAa..r..
Scene-AGO-open
JP/4/SCENE
Amien Rais' party passes screening
JAKARTA: The National Mandate Party (PAN) has passed the
administrative screening process for its central board conducted
by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights on Friday, the first
of two steps to be eligible to join the 2004 legislative and
presidential elections.
The head of political party verification at the ministry,
Ramli Hutabarat, said that PAN had fulfilled the administrative
requirements for the elections.
He said that the ministry examined a political party's
executive board, the status of the party's office and a number of
administrative equipment owned by the party.
"PAN's central board has been examined but we must verify the
party's branches across the country," Ramli said.
PAN Chairman Amien Rais welcomed the verification, saying and
he was optimistic that his party would gain at least 15 percent
of the vote in the elections. He also hoped that the party would
be included in the elections' big three winners.
In the 1999 election, PAN ranked fifth after the Indonesian
Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar Party, the
National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party
(PPP). -- JP
;JP;MTR;
ANPAa.r..
Scene-Akbar
JP/4SCENE19
Akbar admits 'betrayal' in coalition
JAKARTA: Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung said on Friday
that some Golkar faction members in the East Java Provincial
Council had cast their votes for Imam Utomo, enabling him to win
the gubernatorial election for his second term of office which
will end in 2008.
According to him, three Golkar councillors reportedly opposed
Golkar's ruling, asking legislators at the provincial legislative
council to join forces with the National Awakening Party and
National Mandate Party factions to support Abdul Kahfi in the
election.
"We are considering holding a meeting to discuss possible
disciplinary measures against those who defied the ruling," he
told reporters here when asked to comment on the East Java
gubernatorial election on Thursday.
Imam, who was nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), won 63 of 100 votes to give him a
mandate for his second term of office. Kahfi nominated by PKB
faction, gained only 34 votes in the election. -- JP
;JP;IWA;
ANPAa..r..
Scene-election-monitoring
Forum Rektor to monitor 2004 elections
JP/4/scen
JAKARTA: A forum for university rectors better known as the
Rector Forum declared on Friday it would actively monitor the
2004 general elections.
"We hope we can mobilize more than 300,000 students across the
country to supervise the elections as we did during the 1999
elections," Sujana Sapiie, an executive of the Rector Forum,
said.
The supervisory team would be established next year before the
April 5, 2004 legislative election, he said.
Sujana explained that the supervisory team would focus on
voter education as the next election would be different from
previous elections.
In 1999, people voted for parties, but in 2004, people will
vote for the party and its legislative candidates. Several months
after the legislative election, the people will also elect their
president and vice president. --JP