Telkom prepares facilities for MPR General Session

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)