Official slanders Tana Toraja girls

UJUNGPANDANG (JP): An official who had been absent without leave for eight months returned to work last week only to rock the boat by alleging that "96 percent" of Tana Toraja's high school students have lost their virginity to foreign tourists.

About 2,500 students from Tana Toraja took to the street in this South Sulawesi capital yesterday, demanding that Karimuddin, an official at the local religious affairs office, be punished.

In a statement reported by the Jakarta-based daily Pelita, Karimuddin alleged that Tana Toraja school girls like messing around with foreign tourists.

"Karimuddin has insulted us from Tana Toraja. We are offended ... he has trampled on our pride," a spokesman for the protesters Haris Runda told provincial councilors who met them.

The official's remarks also infuriated Jacobus Camarlow, a councilor from Tana Toraja. He charged that Karimuddin has tarnished the Tana Toraja community's reputation.

The comment that Karimuddin made, without a prior survey, and the heat that it has generated have sent a chill down the Ujungpandang mayor's spine.

"His comment reflects his personal view, not the government's," Malik B. Masry told The Jakarta Post. "I repeat, it's his personal view."

The South Sulawesi governor also wanted to defuse a fracas that started to brew barely a month after three students were killed in a massive demonstration in the city.

He supported the calls to bring Karimuddin to court. (20/pan)