Jakarta Post articles from January 2002

Jakarta Post archives from January 2002

Floods swamp Jakarta, death toll hits 14.
January 31, 2002... The floods resulting from the torrential rains that have swamped the Greater Jakarta area over the last five days left the city paralyzed on Wednesday as millions of people were trapped either in their homes or in the massive traffic jams...

Heavy rains 'to ease after one or two days'.
January 31, 2002... The torrential rain that has been falling on the capital will most likely ease after another one or two days of downpours, an official from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said on Wednesday. Paulus Agus Winarso said that...

The worst floods in many decades hit the capital.
January 31, 2002... The current flooding in Jakarta was being called the worst in the modern history of the city as flooding continued through Wednesday affecting hundreds of thousands of people following five days of incessant rain in the city and in the...

Workers recruitment process poor: Legislators.
January 31, 2002... Malaysia would never have decided to halve the number of Indonesians working in the country if the government had exercised proper control over the worker recruitment process, legislators say. The poor quality of recruitment had permitted...

Corruption has contributed to flooding.
January 31, 2002... This year we have still to see the worst of the floods. Former state minister for the environment and professor in business ethics Sonny Keraf, who served in the Cabinet of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, shares his views on...

Indonesia asks for patience in dealing with terrorism.
January 31, 2002... Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, admitting that Indonesia has several flaws when it comes to dealing with terrorism issues, called on the international community not to doubt the political will of the Jakarta government to fight...

Strong but incomplete.
January 31, 2002... Byline: having Hamid Karzai, the leader of the Afghan interim President George Bush's State of the Union speech, delivered Wednesday morning Jakarta time, demonstrates a superb mastery of communication techniques that have effectively...

Swedish-based GAM: 'Talk or fight -- not both'.
January 31, 2002... The death of Acehnese rebel commander Abdullah Syafi'ie has hardened the resolve of the Swedish-based GAM (Free Aceh Movement) to achieve its goal of an Aceh independent of Indonesian rule. Talks in Geneva should be postponed or made...

Govt on shaky ground in raising phone bills.
January 31, 2002... Of late, the government has subjected its people to a new brand of terrorism. It has not only been playing, as a cat would a mouse, with people's fears about living costs soaring uncontrollably but has in fact created a situation where...

City to sign new trash MOU.
January 31, 2002... City Governor Sutiyoso and Bekasi Mayor Nonon Sonthanie plan to sign a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the use of Jakarta's main garbage dump in Bantar Gebang on Thursday. "I hope that I can sign the memorandum tomorrow. We have...

'Bangka-Belitung has great potential'.
January 31, 2002... The development program in Bangka-Belitung province should be oriented to the empowerment of small-scale enterprises and the improvement of human resources to enable it to catch up with other provinces, says an expert. Laurence A....

Three die, three others go missing in Bali flood.
January 31, 2002... At least three people were killed and another three missing after a dike burst on the resort-island of Bali due to the continued heavy rains on Tuesday. The death toll from five-days of torrential rains and the subsequent flooding...

Councillors reject autonomy revision.
January 31, 2002... The Association of Regional Legislative Councils (Adeksi) rejected on Wednesday the revision of Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy currently being drafted, saying it constituted a disguised attempt to foil the ongoing autonomy drive. ...

Political institutionalization spurs democracy: Scholars.
January 31, 2002... Scholars called on the government on Wednesday to push ahead to create and enable a political institutionalization drive -- a stronger respect for the nation's democratic institutions -- in the country, saying, it was a necessity to achieve...

Akbar slams Baramuli over call for snap congress.
January 31, 2002... Long-standing but silent rivalry between Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung and the party's patron Achmad Arnold Baramuli rose to the surface on Wednesday as Akbar accused his foe of campaigning against his leadership. Akbar told the press...

Car makers optimistic about local market.
January 31, 2002... A number of automobile manufacturers have begun launching their new products here and are optimistic they will be able to garner enough sales despite the current weak state of the economy and security problems. "It's the right time to...

First test for BCA bidders to finish within a month: IBRA.
January 31, 2002... The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said on Wednesday it expected to conclude the first of the two-stage tests on the final bidders for Bank Central Asia (BCA) in less than a month. However, IBRA chairman I Putu Gede Ary Suta...

SBI rate drop to 16.93%.
January 31, 2002... The weighted average interest rate on one-month Bank Indonesia SBI promissory notes is continuing to fall, descending for the first time in seven months below the 17 percent mark. Bank Indonesia said its SBI rate fell to 16.93 percent...

Large retailers see strong growth ahead.
January 31, 2002... Three of Jakarta's largest retailers have expressed confidence in Indonesia's economic future, backing the government's prediction of strong consumer spending in 2002. Makro president Simon Collins said the company increased its market...

'Action first, talk after'.
January 31, 2002... ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) at last became a reality on Jan. 1, 2002 -- on paper, anyway. This fact, however, is not to be trifled with. A decade ago, ASEAN leaders decided to establish a free-trade area and this decision received many...

'AFTA is on the track'.
January 31, 2002... Rodolfo C. Severino, Jr, has served as the ASEAN Secretary-General for... years since.... The former... shared his view in an interview over the promising AFTA economic cooperation, which is expected to turn this region into an integrated...

Hinduism meets Islam on paradise island.
January 31, 2002... It was a bright and sunny morning when Amien Rais, Speaker of People's Consultative Assembly, and a number of Muslim community leaders from Kepaon village, one of several Muslim communities in Bali, entered Puri Pemecutan, the palace of one...

IMF approves $341m in new loans.
January 30, 2002... The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approved new loans worth US$341 million for Indonesia, signalling continued support in the government at a time when public confidence has been put to the test over recent controversial policies. ...

Labor groups slam KL over worker ban.
January 30, 2002... Labor activists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) staged a protest in front of the Malaysian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta on Tuesday, criticizing the Malaysian government for treating Indonesian workers...

Heavy storms pound Jakarta, eight perish.
January 30, 2002... Heavy rains continued to pound the city Tuesday, causing massive floods, a landslide and severe traffic jams in almost all parts of Jakarta. As of Tuesday night, the huge floods had caused eight deaths, two missing and almost 10,000...

'Cultural propagation promotes tolerance'.
January 30, 2002... Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid hailed on Tuesday Muhammadiyah's plan to propagate religion using a cultural approach, saying it would promote tolerance among religious followers in the country. Nurcholish said that by taking into...

Power and money drive Aceh military solution.
January 30, 2002... "I am Acehnese. I have seen all Aceh's territory. I have met with Aceh's religious leaders, and many of the population too. It is the request of the civilian population that a new military command (Kodam) be established in Aceh." These...

Debt strangled Indonesia.
January 30, 2002... In the Jan. 21 article in The Jakarta Post by Mr. Rizal Ramli (Debt trap and dependence in Argentina, Indonesia). Mr. Ramli stated that, "In early October 1997, I wrote that the IMF would not resolve the impending financial crisis, but would...

Credit card fraud.
January 30, 2002... Lately, I have been dogged by fraudulent use of my credit card. Having had my MasterCard replaced twice, I have only used my most recently issued card to obtain some cash advances at a branch of BII in Bogor. Recently, however, I was...

Allianz enjoys growing business in Indonesia.
January 30, 2002... Multinational insurer Allianz Group affirmed its long-term commitment to Indonesia during a presentation on Tuesday of the 2001 results for its two local companies, PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia and PT Asuransi Allianz Utama Indonesia....

Pertamina seeks to resolve dispute with IPP.
January 30, 2002... State oil and gas firm Pertamina is seeking an out-of-court settlement with independent power producer (IPP) Karaha Bodas Co. LLC despite last month's ruling by an international arbitration panel for the former to pay US$261.1 million in...

Govt raises phone charges by 15 percent.
January 30, 2002... Minister of Transportation and Communications Agum Gumelar announced on Tuesday that telephone charges would increase by an average of 15 percent starting Jan. 31. He said that the hikes in phone charges were needed to attract new...

Students lose school buildings.
January 30, 2002... BOGOR: Hundreds of students of two state elementary schools in Hambalang village, Bogor regency, have to attend classes at another school because their school buildings had been destroyed under building swap agreements, while the new...

'Tommy tried to bribe Gus Dur'.
January 30, 2002... A suspect confirmed on Tuesday that Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra had attempted to bribe former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid in attempts to obtain a presidential pardon. "Yes, there was such a plan. We'll hear about it in court...

Jakarta floods worsen due to less water catchment areas.
January 29, 2002... The problem of flooding in the capital city was worsening due to continuing violations of the Jakarta Master Plan, which had resulted in a decrease in the number of water catchment areas, an expert has said. Paulus Agus Winarso of the...

Garuda president Abdul Gani resigns.
January 29, 2002... President of flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia Abdul Gani has tendered his resignation amid reports that the government is planning to reshuffle the management of the ailing airline. Speaking during a hearing with House of Representatives...

Crash prompts renaming of train.
January 29, 2002... The Javanese belief that a name is linked to bad or good luck still holds very true for many Indonesian bureaucrats. Javanese families usually rename children who often become ill or who are involved in accidents and many other forms of...

Toppling Akbar Tandjung: Mission impossible.
January 29, 2002... The soft spoken Akbar Tandjung, who was closely involved in the downfall of two presidents and who left his mentor Soeharto shortly before the latter quit in 1998, may now have to use the same strategy to maintain his own shaky position in...

Growth, price stability crucial to help the poor.
January 29, 2002... On Jan. 23, economist Ari A. Perdana wrote about people's vulnerability to poverty. He argued that this susceptibility is rooted in three things: A lack of physical assets, limited human capital, and the absence of a social safety net...

Malaysia clarifies.
January 29, 2002... The Jakarta Post reported on Jan. 25, 2002 on the claim by a spokesman of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that the movement maintains ambassadors in countries that "recognize GAM, such as Myanmar, Malaysia and several African nations". The...

Three robber groups arrested.
January 29, 2002... JAKARTA: Police revealed on Monday that they had uncovered three robber groups targeting jewelry shops, residences and banks during two weeks of surveillance, shooting one to death and arresting 13 others. The city police chief of...

Police vow to speed up handling of fuel scam cases.
January 29, 2002... Police officials revealed on Monday that they would submit the case files for various fuel scams, in which many are alleged to have illegally stockpiled fuel for economic gain, to prosecutors next week, citing that it was part of efforts to...

Bodyguard admits document forgery.
January 29, 2002... JAKARTA: Dedi Sutaedi Yusuf, a former bodyguard to Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, admitted on Monday that he had forged documents under orders from his then boss. Dedi pleaded for his sentence to be commuted in a hearing at the South...

AGO to grill Akbar on Feb. 5.
January 29, 2002... The Attorney General's Office has announced it will question House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung on Feb.5 in connection with his alleged role in a scam involving the National Logistics Agency (Bulog). The Office's outgoing...

Clare Martin visits RI.
January 29, 2002... JAKARTA: Chief Minister of Australia's Northern Territory, Clare Martin, is currently in Indonesia for a three-day visit aimed at bolstering trade ties between Indonesia and the territory. She met with President Megawati Soekarnoputri at...

BKKBN gears up for autonomy.
January 29, 2002... The National Family Planning Coordination Board (BKKBN) will hold a national workshop later this week to determine both strategy and policies in line with regional autonomy. "The meeting will focus on our evaluation of program...

Fathur has no links to al-Qaeda: Da'i.
January 29, 2002... National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar was another state official to deny speculation that an Indonesian arrested in the Philippines, Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, has links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. Da'i said that based on a...

Golkar 'salvation council' stripped of power.
January 29, 2002... Top Golkar Party executives ensured on Monday that a so-called 'salvation council' would be limited to advisory functions, foiling yet another move that could have led to the ouster of the party's trouble- plagued chairman, Akbar Tandjung....

Govt plans supervisory board for Bank Indonesia.
January 29, 2002... The government plans to set up a supervisory board within Bank Indonesia as one of several measures under the new central bank bill to increase its accountability. Article 58A of the central bank bill would authorize the board to...

RI studies U.S. aid to fight terrorism.
January 29, 2002... Indonesia had received several offers of assistance from the United States to help it crack down on the international terrorist movement, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday. He said that Indonesia was in the process...

Garuda suspends Europe service.
January 29, 2002... The country's flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia will temporarily suspend its service from the tourist island of Bali to Frankfurt and London due to a sharp decline in the number of passengers using the service, according to a company...

Telkom workers strike against transfer plan.
January 29, 2002... More than 3,000 workers of state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telkom Tbk in Central Java and Yogyakarta staged a strike on Monday in their latest bid to foil the deal to transfer the unit to another state- owned telecommunications firm,...

Govt to issue rulings on tin, rubber exports Thursday.
January 29, 2002... Trade and industry minister Rini M. Soewandi said that her ministry would issue new rulings on tin and rubber exports on Thursday. "I'm going to sign them (the new rulings) on Thursday. We are now at the stage of adding the finishing...

Alberola's art offers unique take on reality.
January 29, 2002... If you visit Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta, you are sure to find 13 graphic works in soft colors using, among others, yellow and green, as well as other visual objects in attractive serigraphy, such as human figures, buildings, landscapes,...

Development sends waterfowl to brink.
January 29, 2002... The loss of vast areas of wetland throughout Indonesia and elsewhere due to development projects and human encroachment has also meant the loss of precious species. Of particular interest are water birds or waterfowl living in marshes,...

Learning from BCA and Citibank.
January 29, 2002... What advertisements have stood-out in Indonesia's newspapers this past year? Among others, they are advertisements for banks and their wide range of products. Such advertisements, usually full color and one page in size, were attractively...

Lidya declared fit for Uber Cup.
January 29, 2002... Following much speculation about her fitness, Lidya Djaelawijaya has been named the number one singles player in the Indonesian women's team for the upcoming Uber Cup. "She is eighty percent fit and should be ready for the matches,"...

Wynne falls short of Toray singles main stage.
January 29, 2002... Wynne Prakusya has failed to maintain her winning momentum at the Toray Pan Pacific tennis tournament, losing her qualifying final match to American Alexandra Stevenson in Tokyo on Monday. The Indonesian crashed out 6-7 (7-5) 4-6 in a...

BCA saga set for next stage.
January 28, 2002... The drawn-out controversy surrounding the sale of Bank Central Asia (BCA) appears to be nearing its climax, as bidders place their final bids today. Not so, according to analysts. They said the formal bidding process would end, but its...

Telkom regional office plans strike.
January 28, 2002... Employees of state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telkom's Central Java and Yogyakarta regional offices will strike on Monday to protest plans to transfer the unit to state-owned telecommunications company PT Indosat, according to a labor...

Angie adds feather to her crown.
January 28, 2002... Indonesia's Angelique Widjaya added another Grand Slam title to her Wimbledon achievements of last year with an Australian Open junior women's doubles victory in Melbourne on Sunday. The 17 year old teamed up with Argentinean Gisella...

Leftist groups out to destroy Golkar: Team.
January 28, 2002... A team established to save Golkar is accusing certain leftist groups of trying to dissolve the party by exploiting corruption allegations against its chairman Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in a Rp 54.6 billion financial scandal involving the...

BKPM wants to be more open to investors.
January 28, 2002... The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) is proposing to open all business sectors to foreign investors, except for a few sensitive sectors, under the preliminary draft investment bill proposed by the agency. Agency chairman Theo F....

Muhammadiyah intensifies its 'cultural propagation'.
January 28, 2002... Byline: contrast, Muhammadiyah has so far been recognized as a Building a consensus based on its 90 years in existence, Muhammadiyah, one of the most influential Muslim organizations in Indonesia, is now trying to intensify its "Cultural...

Myanmar clarifies.
January 28, 2002... I would like to refer to the headline news report related to the so- called Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the front page of The Jakarta Post on Jan. 25, 2002. You quoted a spokesman of the GAM who reportedly stated that they have their...

Taufik Kiemas grants cars to police.
January 28, 2002... JAKARTA: President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband, Taufik Kiemas, has donated 20 patrol cars to the City Police, a City Police spokesman said on Saturday morning. Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said that the patrol cars were handed over...

Examination on Sidiq commenced.
January 28, 2002... JAKARTA: After a 10-hour marathon questioning session, suspect Abdullah Sidiq Muin admitted to city police that he had received Rp 800 million from ex-fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra. Sidiq's lawyer Supriyadi told reporters on...

Pertamina worries about loss of unguarded evidence.
January 28, 2002... State oil and gas company Pertamina asked the police on Saturday to speed up the legal processing of fuel hoarding cases as it feared any further delay could result in a loss or alteration of the evidence, which, in turn, would hamper the...

Officers grilled over murder of Dutch journalist.
January 28, 2002... Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office have begun questioning two army officers as part of their investigation into the 1999 murder of a Dutch journalist in East Timor, officials said on Saturday. Head of the East Nusa Tenggara...

New device needed to detect periodontitis.
January 28, 2002... Dentists are in need of an advanced device that combines the use of X-ray and computer known as Direct Digital Intra Oral Radiography (DDIR) to detect periodontal (relating to teeth and jawbones) diseases at a very early stage, an expert...

PDKB faction set to merge with KKI.
January 28, 2002... The five-member Love the Nation Democratic Party (PDKB) faction plans to merge with the Indonesian National Unity (KKI) faction in the House of Representatives because it failed to meet a requirement of a newly introduced internal regulation...

Many NGOs exploit children program.
January 28, 2002... JAKARTA: At least 25 percent of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working for the benefit of the country's 100,000 street children were set up because of the lure of huge loans from the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry of Social...

Debt extension plan review waste of time, economist says.
January 28, 2002... Rather than setting up a special team of senior ministers to review the controversial policy to ease repayment terms of indebted ex-bank owners, the government should instead focus on how to execute the original debt settlement scheme, says...

Laksamana urges KPPU not to interfere in asset sales.
January 28, 2002... Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi called on the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) not to interfere in the government asset sale program as such intervention could scare off would-be investors. Laksamana...

Foreign capital flows to JSX set to continue.
January 28, 2002... Foreign investors may continue to make use of their inroads into the local stock market this week by keeping the index up and rising, although local investors looked set to unwind their gains, analysts said. According to estimates by...

SACD, the next-generation super disc.
January 28, 2002... At the time the CD was being developed, the PCM format used by CD represented the most advanced technology available in the recording field. But with the continuous progress being made in digital technology, it became possible to make...

Wynne closer to Toray tennis main stage.
January 28, 2002... Indonesian Wynne Prakusya moved a step closer to the main stage of the US$1.224 million Toray Pan Pacific tennis tournament after advancing to the final qualifying match at the Indoor Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo on Sunday. Wynne beat...

Media gets rap for fueling nation's woes.
January 27, 2002... The country's media must bear responsibility for creating social, economic and political instability through its shallow and incomprehensive coverage of national issues, a senior journalist has said. Jakob Oetama, chief editor of Kompas...

Kemang set to have city's first 'green map'.
January 27, 2002... Jakarta has become notorious for its poor city planning. The City Planning Agency, with many excuses, has been violating its own urban plan, causing much skepticism among residents. The most recent example was the announcement last...

'I hate fanatics -- who are we to judge?'.
January 27, 2002... Tracy Trinita's face, almost feline-like in its beauty, has been her fortune, that's a given. But the 21-year-old model-cum-actress says she realizes that her Eurasian looks will eventually pass their sell-by-date in the fickle world of...

MRT project: A dream never comes true.
January 27, 2002... The number of people that commute to work in Jakarta during the day pushes the city's population to 11 million, far higher than the capital's actual population of about 8.3 million. No wonder that the heavy traffic congestion in the crowded...

Escaping 'banjir' with the helimousine.
January 27, 2002... The annoying floodwaters that recently inundated the vital tollroad to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport raised a single question in the minds of Jakarta's leisure-seeking class: How to escape this monotonous banjir routine? It...

Razor's edge: Seeking that clean cut.
January 27, 2002... The barbershop at Hotel Indonesia is one of the few in Jakarta that offers customers a traditional shave in addition to its other services of haircuts, shampoo and styling, manicures, pedicures, massages for the scalp, shoulders and arms and...

The peculiar art of German artist Gerhard Richter.
January 27, 2002... An interesting exhibition hosted by Goethe Institute and organized by the German Institute for Foreign Relations shows 27 works by Gerhard Richter. It will travel the world during 10 years, presenting an artist who stands out, not by being in...