Rp 2.5b sports event criticized

Rp 2.5b sports event criticized

JAYAPURA, Papua: The Papua branch of Indonesian National Youth
Committee (KNPI) has drawn fire for organizing an event that cost
the administration about Rp 2.5 billion (more than US$2 million).

The Millennium II Youth Sports and Arts Week (Porseni) was
opened on July 8 by Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and closed on July 14
by Papua Governor Jaap Salossa.

Local activists said the costly event was insensitive in light
of the suffering of the Papuan people.

Institute for Civil Empowerment (ICS) director Budi Setyanto
told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura that Porseni was a waste of
state money.

The money from the provincial budget should have been used to
improve health and education, he said.

Budi questioned the local politicians' commitment to public
welfare.

Papua's KNPI chairman Gerson Jitmau said Porseni was not
merely a sports and arts week, but also aimed to foster unity and
integrity among youths, who were expected to maintain the unitary
state. --JP

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Across-pilots-survive
Pilots survive from training plane crash
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Pilots survive from training plane crash

JAKARTA: An Air Force training plane crashed on Monday into a
dam in West Java, but its pilot and co-pilot survived by jumping
into the water.

The plane, identified as a Marceti SF-260, plunged at about
12:20 p.m. into the Jatiluhur reservoir in Purwakarta regency.

Purwakarta Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Zainal Arifin said the
pilot, First Lt. Anang Heru, and co-pilot, First Lt. Teones,
survived by jumping into the water, and that both were evacuated
to Jakarta.

The light plane crashed while on a flight from the Air Force's
base Halim Perdanakusumah in East Jakarta to Suryadarma airbase
in Subang, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Purwakarta.

Officials at the Jakarta airbase and police in Purwakarta
confirmed the report but declined to give details. --Agencies

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Across-ETimor-refugees
E. Timor refugees to be reregistered
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E. Timor refugees to be reregistered

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The Ministry of Home Affairs will
reregister East Timorese refugees in West Timor next month due to
conflicting reports on their number.

East Nusa Tenggara's refugee task force and relevant
government offices recently submitted numbers that differ from
Central Statistics Agency (BPS) records.

Djidon de Haan, assistant to the provincial administration
secretary, said the ministry, in cooperation with the local
government, would reregister the refugees.

The results would be compared with the BPS data, he said in
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

"Accurate data will enable the central government to adopt a
policy of dealing with the refugees in the future."

Djidon said that under international law the refugees were not
yet recognized as Indonesian citizens, although around 28,000 had
resettled in Indonesia.

"Under such conditions, the refugees will most likely not be
allowed to vote in the 2004 general elections as their Indonesian
citizenship depends on the recognition of the UN High Commission
for Refugees." --JP

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Across-police-blasted
Police blasted over gambling inaction
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Police blasted over gambling inaction

BATAM, Riau: The Batam Muslim Young Preachers' Association
(IDM) has lashed out at Riau Police for failing to crack down on
gambling on the industrial island.

IDM deputy chairman Iskandar Zulkarnaen said police had failed
to follow up on an investigation into gambling in a casino at
Batam's Tering Bay Resort.

Riau Police chief Brig. Gen. Deddy Komaruddin has named Batam
tourism office head Buralimar as a key suspect in the case, but
the charges against him were not followed up, Zulkarnaen said.

He told The Jakarta Post that he had received information that
Komaruddin and Barelang Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhartono would be
replaced soon, adding that this could complicate the handling of
the case.

Batam Mayor Nyat Kadir was also charged with involvement in
the gambling legalization, though the status of the case is
unclear.

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Across-students-study
1,800 students too poor to study
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1,800 students too poor to study

BANDUNG: At least 1,800 elementary school graduates in
Bandung, West Java, cannot afford to continue their studies at
secondary schools, officials say.

Bandung municipal education office head Edi Siswadi said on
average, "around five percent of elementary school graduates in
Bandung are forced to leave school, mostly because of economic
problems."

The students' failure to continue their studies left about
6,000 seats in local state and private secondary schools vacant,
Siswadi said.

He said private schools suffered most, while the cheaper state
junior high schools still registered big numbers of new students.

More than 36,000 graduates had enrolled in private and state
secondary schools this year, Siswadi said. --JP