Telkom prepares facilities for MPR General Session

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Telkom has prepared the connections for two temporary telecommunication centers to support next month's General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), an executive said yesterday.

Telkom president A.A. Nasution said the centers, to be set up in the Assembly building, would have 12 telephone lines, several modems, facsimiles and telex machines for MPR members and the media.

"We hope that these facilities can assist members of the assembly and media to do their work during the session," Nasution, who checked on preparations at the company's Jakarta office on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, said.

The new facilities will back up existing resources, which consist of 23 coin-operated and 28 card or magnet public telephones.

The two temporary centers will be set up near the media room and the main session room.

The sessions are scheduled to be held between March 1 and March 11, when 1,000 members of the Assembly endorse the State Policy Guidelines and elect a president and vice president for the next five-year term.

Nasution officiated yesterday the handover of 14 mobile phone units to Jakarta Military Command from four private mobile phone service providers: Telkomsel, Satelindo, Excelcomindo and Komselindo.

The command's assistant for logistic matters, Col. Koesnadi, said the mobile phone donation would assist military security operations during the sessions.

"These mobile phones will be used especially by intelligence officers to replace the use of walkie-talkies," Koesnadi told The Jakarta Post.

"By carrying the mobile phones, our officers can go anywhere without being noticed by people around them because they will no longer have to handle chunky facilities or deal with the devices' noisy chitter-chatter."

Telkom vice president for corporate communications D. Amarudien said his office had stepped up its cooperation with Jakarta Police in line with the security measures.

He said the company was also helping police trace telephone numbers allegedly used by irresponsible people to spread rumors.

Amarudien refused to disclose the mechanism used or the result of the cooperation, particularly the tracing of people who have spread rumors about bombs and riots. (cst)