Jakarta Post articles from May 2000

Jakarta Post archives from May 2000

Vested interests in national exams.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): This is the time of year when millions of elementary and secondary students take the national end-of-cycle examinations known as Ebtanas. It is also a time of year when many national, regional and local officials of the...

Asia-Europe meeting showcases realities and prospects.
May 31, 2000... This is the second of two articles by the former foreign minister of 1988-1999, Ali Alatas, based on a presentation at the 30th anniversary of the Indonesia-Germany Economic Association in Jakarta on May 17. JAKARTA (JP): In the field of...

Report on Bank Central Asia: Setting the record straight.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): There are several misconceptions related to the analysis contained in the equity research report on Bank Central Asia prepared by its lead underwriter PT Danareksa, as reflected in the article by Melville S. Brown ( The Jakarta...

If you love animals, say it with the arts.
May 31, 2000... YOGYAKARTA (JP): "Humanizing animals" might be the right way to describe the three-dimensional installations of Bunga Jeruk currently displayed at the Indonesian-French Institute (LIP) in Yogyakarta. From May 22 to June 2 the graduate of...

French artist displays surrealistic works.
May 31, 2000... YOGYAKARTA (JP): You can't judge whether people are "nice" or "dishonest" by looking at their physical appearances; they are too complex to be judged that way. That adage seems to fit the theme of the paintings that Peruvian-born French...

Expecting a world which is free from tobacco.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): A teenager asked his friend for a cigarette. The friend cynically said he did not have any. "I'm a passive smoker, meaning I never buy cigarettes but always ask others for some," the teenager joked. He got one and began to...

Soeryadjaya family returns to Astra.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): After an absence of eight years, the founding family of PT Astra International marked on Tuesday its return to the company with the appointment of Edwin Soeryadjaya as an Astra commissioner. Philip Eng Heng Nee, the managing...

Govt to boost tax revenue to 16% of GDP by 2004.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo said on Tuesday that tax revenue must be increased to 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2004 from the 11.1 percent estimate for 2000 to allow the state budget deficit to be cut...

Most of bond proceeds for expansion.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed food giant PT Indofood Sukses Makmur will use most of the proceeds from the issuance of its Rp 1 trillion (about US$125 million) bonds to finance its expansion projects, the company's top executive said on...

Plantation firms told to return disputed land.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, has instructed state owned plantation companies to return some 40 percent of land taken by force or bought at unfair prices from local people in the past. Gus Dur said in...

Ericsson launches WAP phone.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Sweden-based mobile telecoms company Ericsson Indonesia launched on Tuesday its first Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) mobile telephone, the Ericsson R320s. The company said customers using the post paid billing service...

Boleh Net's joint venture.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Internet company PT Boleh Net Indonesia announced on Tuesday that it would establish a joint venture company with UIN.com from Korea to benefit from the growing demand of Internet users in Indonesia. The company said in a...

TNT opens depot in Serang.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): PT TNT Indonesia, an express distribution and logistics company, had opened new depot at Cikande Industrial Estate in Serang, West Java, in a bid to expand its market to the nearby coverage area. Company director Collin...

Stock quotations on JSX.
May 31, 2000... Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on May 30, 2000: Shares Close Change Trading Volume Ades Alfindo 725 0 0 Adindo Foresta Indonesia 300 0 383,500 Alakasa Industrindo 950 0 0 Alfa Retailindo 850 25...

Satelindo restructures $583 million debt.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) signed agreements on Tuesday to restructure US$583 million in debts to more than 45 foreign and local creditors, including the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA). The...

Conversion Rates.
May 31, 2000... Bank Indonesia's conversion rates on May 30, 2000: Bank notes rates Buying Selling Rp Rp U.S. dollar 1 8,170.00 9,170.00 Australian dollar 1 4,689.58 5,272.75 Austrian schilling 1 549.50 616.96 Belgian franc 1 187.44 210.45...

Government to open up telecom sector by 2002.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The government is considering lifting the exclusive rights held by state-owned telecommunications monopoly PT Telkom and PT Indosat by 2002 as part of the liberalization program of the country's telecommunication sector, a...

Young shuttlers vow to join Thomas Cup team.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The national men's team's victory of bringing home the Thomas Cup four consecutive times and 12 times in history of the coveted cup has motivated young shuttlers to follow in their seniors' steps. Ronny Agustinus said on...

Febi, Hendri get contract extension.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Young Indonesian tennis players Febi Widhiyanto and Hendri Susilo Pramono will receive an extension of their contract with German-based PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia for the 2001 period. Coach Deddy Prasetyo declined...

KONI to sanction PRSI Jambi chapter.
May 31, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The training director for the 2000 Olympic Games, Arie Sudewo, is considering imposing a sanction on the Jambi chapter of the National Swimming Federation of Indonesia (PRSI) for sending its women's swimmer Elsa Manora Nasution...

44 dead in fresh N. Maluku violence.
May 30, 2000... AMBON, Maluku (JP): The unabated bloodshed in North Maluku continued on Monday when at least 44 people were killed in a predawn attack on two villages on Halmahera island. Chief of the Pattimura Military Command overseeing Maluku, Brig....

JSX composite index hits one-year low.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) Composite Index dove on Monday to close at its lowest level since April, last year due to reports of bombings in Medan. Securities analysts said that major foreign and local investors dumped...

Top negotiator with GAM appeals for restraint.
May 30, 2000... BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Senior diplomat Hassan Wirajuda, who is the government's chief negotiator with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), called on all conflicting parties on Monday to exercise restrain to help restore peace in the province. ...

Man wanted for scam, fake money.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Police pledged to find the suspect in a fraud that involved counterfeit money, a police official said on Monday. Central Jakarta Police Precinct Second Lt. Arya Perdana told reporters about the deception...

Police name 11 suspects in PDI HQ attack.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The National Police Headquarters disclosed on Monday that its investigation of the attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996 has been accomplished. Speaking to reporters after the...

Familiar race card played in Fiji crisis.
May 30, 2000... MELBOURNE (JP): We live in an era where information technology bombards us with so much news that it is becoming harder to process even one tiny fraction of it. In our effort to grab as much as possible, we tend to reduce our learning of...

Avoid copying Lebanon's mistakes.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The end of the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory will trigger a series of developments and bring new opportunities for Lebanon. The withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will bring an end their effective...

Consumers' rights.
May 30, 2000... I would like to report that, contrary to rumors about the reform movement, the concept of consumer rights and fair treatment of customers has yet to arrive. On May 25, I had a telephone call at about 5 p.m. confirming a first come, first...

Asia-Europe meeting showcases realities and prospects.
May 30, 2000... This is the first of two articles by the former foreign minister, 1988-1999, Ali Alatas, based on a presentation at the 30th anniversary of the Indonesian-Germany Economic Association (Ekonid) in Jakarta on May 17. JAKARTA (JP): On March...

Keeping Bali special, wonderful for tourists.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): For the many tourists that arrive in Bali each year, the Balinese experience can be wonderful and special. Bali is world renowned as a holiday destination and by now epithets attached to the island have, to a degree, become...

New IMF boss Koehler to visit Jakarta.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): International Monetary Fund managing director Horst Koehler is scheduled to visit Jakarta on Sunday to examine the implementation of the country's economic reform measures. Finance minister Bambang Sudibyo confirmed on...

Agriculture minister appoints new top officials.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture M. Prakosa replaced on Monday almost all of key officials in the ministry and expanded directorate generals from three to five as part the ministry's restructuring program. Speaking at the...

Share trader fined Rp 100m.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) said on Monday it fined local capital market trader James Rachmat Subekti Rp 100 million (about US$11,765) for market manipulation. James was implicated in jacking up the price...

Bambang faults IBRA concerning draft bill process.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) will have to drop its plans to submit a controversial draft bill to the House of Representatives because the process has been improper, according to Finance Minister Bambang...

XL, Siemens, Satunet tie up.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Mobile telecommunications operator Excelcomindo Pratama signed an agreement with cellular phone manufacturer Siemens Indonesia and news portal Satunet on Monday to provide Internet access through wireless application protocol...

JSX gets go ahead on new listing.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) sees no problem for the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) to trade start-up companies. Bapepam chairman Herwidayatmo said the agency had yet to decide whether the JSX could go...

Stock quotations on JSX.
May 30, 2000... Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on May 29, 2000: Shares Close Change Trading Volume Ades Alfindo 725 0 0 Adindo Foresta Indonesia 300 -25 325,000 Alakasa Industrindo 950 0 0 Alfa Retailindo 825 25...

Energy minister off to China to sell Tangguh gas.
May 30, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will visit China in a bid to find buyers for the Tangguh natural liquefied gas (LNG) project in Irian Jaya, a senior government official said on Monday. Director general...

House okays Bank Niaga recapitalization.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): After hours of heated debate, the House of Representatives finally approved late on Thursday to fund the increased costs for the recapitalization of publicly listed Bank Niaga. The recapitalization costs have increased to Rp...

President to survive interpellation.
May 26, 2000... Legislators plan to exercise their interpellation rights and question President Abdurrahman (Gus Dur) Wahid over his controversial policies. Political science lecturer Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia shares his views on the possible...

Peleng quake toll rises.
May 26, 2000... PALU, Central Sulawesi: The death toll of an earthquake on May 4 in Peleng Island rose to 48 after another victim who had been treated in hospital died. Djeraini, 67, a resident of Banggai islands died from on Wednesday after being...

Reformists meeting canceled due to technical reasons.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The officially scheduled dialogue between President Abdurrahman Wahid and the country's three top leaders on Thursday was canceled due to technical reasons. President Secretary Djoko Mulyono officially scheduled the...

Witness insists Sjahril attended Feb. 11 meeting.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Former deputy chairman of Bank Bali Firman Soetjahja confirmed on Thursday that Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin attended a Feb. 11, 1999 meeting at Hotel Mulia in Central Jakarta which discussed measures to accelerate...

Metrodata targets $14.3m from rights issue.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Metrodata Electronics expects to raise about US$14.3 million from the its limited public offering next month. Company president Lesan Limanardja said here on Thursday that about 60 percent of the funds...

Religious factor in recent clashes.
May 26, 2000... This is the second of two articles by Andree Feillard, a specialist of traditionalist Islam in Indonesia and a research scholar for the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris. PARIS (JP): The Association of Muslim Intellectuals...

Shostakovich performance vibrant with theatricality.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Russian composers are under-represented in Jakarta classical programs, therefore a Shostakovich performance by two marvelous young musicians last Tuesday (May 23) at Erasmus Huis was most welcome. Before an engrossed audience,...

Kerosene output increased.
May 26, 2000... PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): In response to the disappearance of kerosene from markets in Central Java and several areas in West Java, state oil and gas company Pertamina increased kerosene output at its refinery in Cilacap, Central Java...

Fortune buys Bawean field.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Fortune Oil & Gas, Inc. announces today that its subsidiary, Indo Pacific Oil and Gas, Inc., has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares of GFB Resources (Java) Ltd. from Carmanah Resources Ltd. of Calgary,...

Stock quotations on JSX.
May 26, 2000... Stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (in rupiah) on May 25, 2000: Shares Close Change Trading Volume Ades Alfindo 725 0 13,500 Adindo Foresta Indonesia 375 25 5,000 Alakasa Industrindo 950 -300 4,000 Alfa...

Mari queries Texmaco, Chandra Asri deals.
May 26, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Economist Mari Pangestu questioned on Thursday the debt settlements for textile giant Texmaco Group and petrochemical firm PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Center, saying the deals lacked transparency. "It's a problem because...

MPR sizes up direct election of president.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) members began tabling proposals on Wednesday for a Constitutional amendment on presidential elections, with a majority of factions supporting a new system in which the people directly elect...

Recovery of closed bank assets tough.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia said on Wednesday that it was facing various difficulties in its efforts to recover the assets of 16 banks liquidated by the government in November 1997. Bank Indonesia senior official, Sri Rahayu Wiwi, said...

Expert warns against hasty regional polls.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): A world-renowned expert on international politics said here on Wednesday that the hasty introduction of elections of local governments could ignite separatism in the country's provinces. Samuel P. Huntington, an American...

IMF comes under fire over RI reforms.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The International Monetary Fund's far reaching involvement in the country's economic reform program is often counterproductive to the overall efforts in lifting Indonesia out of its worst ever crisis, economists have said. ...

Cilacap fish production drops.
May 25, 2000... CILACAP, Central Java: Fish production in Cilacap regency has dropped drastically due to vanishing plankton and the depreciation of rupiah, an official said recently. Dwi Yuliono, the head of infrastructure and production at the...

Foreign affairs ministry undergoes reshuffle.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is undergoing a quiet reshuffle of its top echelon with a signatory of the recent Aceh accord, Hassan Wirajuda, replacing senior diplomat Nugroho Wisnumurti as Director General for Political...

Laskar Jihad rejects calls to leave Maluku.
May 25, 2000... YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Jihad Force) has rejected calls from Maluku authorities and residents to leave the riot-torn islands, saying the request was groundless. "We will not pull Laskar Jihad out of...

Eradicating corruption takes time, says Adi.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Corruption eradication in Indonesia will take time due to rampant cases of the crime, newly installed chairman of the independent anticorruption team Adi Andojo Sutjipto said on Wednesday. Speaking at a media conference...

Gus Dur set to make another trip in June.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman is scheduled to make another overseas trip next month, including stopping over for medical treatment in the United States. Without specifying the exact timetable, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi...

Illegal foreign footwear products concern Aprisindo.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Footwear industry executives are warning of mass layoffs if the government fails to curb the influx of illegal footwear from abroad. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 workers in the footwear industry could soon...

NGOs seek support through mass media.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Legislators and employees of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) office were reportedly annoyed when hundreds of forms kept coming through their facsimile machines. They can probably expect many more until the scheduled...

Critics not after accountability of president: Amien.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The likelihood of a political confrontation that could topple the government looks increasingly distant after President Abdurrahman Wahid's harshest critic affirmed that the coming People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) would only...

Brimob, battalion officers come to blows over dispute.
May 25, 2000... BOGOR (JP): Senior officers of the National Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit in Kedung Halang have contacted their counterparts from the 10th/76 Artillery Battalion in Ciluar to settle a dispute between the two groups following a violent...

Store owners invited to join Discount Fair.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is calling on businesses to participate in the Discount Fair, which starts on June 14 to commemorate the city's anniversary and Independence Day. ...

Another student dies in brawl.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): East Jakarta Police detectives are searching for suspects in the killing of 17-year-old student who was struck with a machete to death on Wednesday. The student, identified as Anoos Fuadi, 17, was caught in the middle of a...

Two men commit suicide separately.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Kemayoran Police detectives in Central Jakarta are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of 27-year- old man on Monday from severe burns, an officer said on Tuesday. "We have collected a little...

Grand plan for library a step ahead of times.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): After thinking deeply, Hernandono, the head of the National Library -- home to a lofty number of historical documents -- finally realized that his dream of developing the institution into a world-class library might be too...

Soeharto neighbors sick and tired of student rallies.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Residents living near the private residence of former president Soeharto and his family in Menteng, Central Jakarta, are appealing to students to halt their protests in the upmarket neighborhood. Interviewed by The Jakarta...

Group vandalizes, loots East Timor NGO office.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): A group of around 30 people from an unidentified group vandalized the office of Solidamor on Wednesday afternoon leaving two staff, including Solidamor chairman, injured. Besides vandalizing the office on Jl. Pramuka...

Audit the military.
May 25, 2000... No one doubted the statement from Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono on Tuesday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) were so underfunded as to affect their overall performance. But when Juwono warned that the...

Opportunism.
May 25, 2000... I read Mr. G.N. Brown's letter (There is no violence in Bali, The Jakarta Post, May 23, 2000) with a mixture of admiration and sadness. Admiration, because Mr. Brown has seen a "window of opportunity' in a situation where I see only grief and...

Religious factor in recent clashes.
May 25, 2000... This is the first of two articles by Andree Feillard, a specialist in Indonesian traditionalist Islam, and a research scholar at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. PARIS (JP): The tragedy of Maluku is far from...

Pursuing religion from a different perspective.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): During his last television appearance in 1973 Alan Watts, an Episcopalian minister and acclaimed interpreter of Oriental disciplines, was asked what it was he found lacking in modern Christianity that led him to examine Far...

Widayanto pays homage to love of mother and child.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): It was a bright Sunday morning for a visit to the unique and shady studio of a noted ceramics artist in Ciganjur, South Jakarta. F. Widayanto invited a number of journalists and art lovers to view final preparations for his...

Unique house of Dewa free from influences of 'asta kosali'.
May 25, 2000... DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Dewa Nyoman Kuat lives in a unique house with a distinguished architectural style on a street in busy Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali. Unlike other Balinese homes, the layout of Dewa's two-story house...

Arja dance tells of the need to love and respect.
May 25, 2000... DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The beautiful teenage girl, Ida Ayu Prihandari, donned in an elaborate and lavish Galuh costume of the classical Balinese dance-drama Arja, appeared on the stage playing an exquisite Balinese gamelan instrument last...

Mining group warns all lose in court actions.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) said on Wednesday that seeking court settlements in disputes between provincial governments and mining firms only caused losses to both sides. IMA executive Paul Louis Coutrier said...

BI says economy still safe from fake banknotes.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia deputy director for banknote supervision Kaidi Thohir said on Wednesday that the amount of fake rupiah banknotes in circulation did not pose a threat to the economy. Kaidi said that the amount of the fake...

AIA expects higher premium income in 2000.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Insurance company PT Asuransi AIA Indonesia expects a 30 percent to 35 percent increase in total premium income in 2000 from Rp 178.94 billion ($21 million) achieved in 1999 through the opening of 10 new sales offices later this...

PT MII launches new software solution.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): An information technology provider, PT Mitra Integrasi Informatika, launched on Wednesday new software, Business Planning Control System (BPCS), amid growing demand for system integration solutions in the country's software...

Freeport to cut output by 30,000 tons a day.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday that U.S.-based cooper and gold mining company PT Freeport Indonesia has agreed to cut its daily output by about 30,000 tons of ore from 230,000 tons at...

BII lands loan facility.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Bank Internasional Indonesia announced on Wednesday it secured a revolving loan facility from Standard Chartered Bank. The bank said the interest rate on the US$50 million loan would be based on the London Inter Bank Offered...

Bank Bali taps online payment.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Bali launched on Wednesday a new online payment system amid uncertainty over the prospect of its recapitalization program. Bank Bali will provide secured Internet real time payment processing for...

Bayer books higher sales.
May 25, 2000... JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Bayer Indonesia booked gross sales of Rp 173 billion (US$20.8 million) in the first quarter of this year, up from Rp 161 billion in the same period in 1999. Company president Wolfgang Piroth said in a...