Truck drivers protest levy
TANGERANG: Some 200 truck drivers staged a rally at the municipal council offices here on Friday to demand the abolition of the road use levies imposed on drivers.
They were also demanding the release of six fellow drivers who were detained by the police following a violent protest over a similar issue last month.
"Can you imagine that from Batu Ceper to Jakarta we have to pass by four collection booths which charge drivers Rp 3,500 each?" a driver, Taufiq, 37, told The Jakarta Post.
He said that the drivers could chose to just pay Rp 1,000 or Rp 1,500 without receiving a ticket, meaning that the money went directly into the collecting officers' pockets.
The drivers began their rally at 8 a.m. but as of 3 p.m., none of the councillors had deigned to meet them.
The administration started imposing the levies two months ago. Truck drivers have repeatedly complained about the levies, which range between Rp 3,500 and Rp 7,500.
Since their complaints were going unheard, some 150 angry drivers vandalized 16 collection booths across the town on Oct. 15. As a result, the police arrested six drivers on October 31.
The administration then promised to halt the collection of the levies, but it appears that this promise has been broken.--JP
;JP;MULTA FIDRUS; ANPAj..r.. Greater-fire Fire claims couple's lives JP/6/GREAT
Fire claims couple's lives
TANGERANG: A young couple died on Friday morning as fire gutted their home in the Pondok Indah Kota Bumi housing complex in the Pasar Kemis area of Tangerang.
The remains of the victims, Edi Suryanto, 35, and his wife Yohane, 22, were found wrapped in an embrace near the kitchen door.
According to Yusuf, a neighbor, the couple arrived home at about 2 a.m. after watching the Divasea Concert at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Central Jakarta.
Yusuf said Yohane, a former model, turned on the gas stove to boil water but she and her husband then fell asleep.
"My wife was awoken by the smell of smoke, and she rushed out to find out where it was coming from. The smoke, in fact, was coming from our next door neighbor's house, which was on fire," Yusuf said.
Two fire engines and local residents managed to put out the fire by 4 a.m.
"Fortunately, the victims' 16-month-old son Kevin was left at his grandmother's house in the Taman Cibodas housing complex. Otherwise, he would have died along with his parents," Yusuf added.
An Isuzu Panther minivan and a new Vespa motorcycle belonging to the victims were left untouched by the fire.
;JP;AEL; ANPAj..r.. Greater-Charity-Bazaar Women's International Club to held charity bazaar JP/6/GREAT
WIC to hold charity bazaar
JAKARTA: The annual charity bazaar organized by the Women's International Club will take place next Thursday at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center.
This year's event will feature 170 Indonesian stands representing a number of different provinces as well as 35 stands organized by embassies in Jakarta offering various specialty delicacies and crafts.
At the white elephant stall, the yearly bazaar's most popular attraction, visitors will find second hand books and home appliances donated by members of participating organizations.
Proceeds from the bazaar will be donated to organizations providing social and humanitarian programs, such as orphanages and hospitals for mentally disabled children.
The U.S. Embassy and the Australian Embassy will not take part in this year's bazaar, according to Rose Lintong, spokeswoman of WIC.--JP
;JP;REN; ANPAj..r.. Cardiac-Harapan-status New status for Harapan Kita cardiac center JP/6/GREAT
New status for Cardiac Center
JAKARTA: After three years under government control, Harapan Kita Cardiac Center has been transformed into a nonprofit state company (Perjan).
Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi officiated the hospital's new status on Friday, which coincided with its 16th anniversary.
He said the upgrading aimed at cutting bureaucracy and enhancing the hospital's efficiency.
"With the new status, the hospital will be able to operate on its own with unlimited operation policy and budget allocation. The government, however, will still inject subsidies, especially for the poor," he said.
According to the director of Harapan Kita Cardiac Center, Aulia Sani, the hospital spent around Rp 10 billion (about US$1 million) in subsidies for the poor last year.
Aulia added that with the new status, the hospital would have more freedom to sell itself, including placing advertisements in the media -- a practice not allowed under the previous status.
With such active promotion and marketing, the hospital aims to become one of the prominent cardiac centers in the region, Aulia said.
Harapan Kita Cardiac Center was founded by the late former first lady Tien Soeharto in 1985. The hospital was under the control of the Harapan Kita Foundation until 1998 when Soeharto stepped down from the presidency. The foundation subsequently transferred the cardiac center to the government. -- JP