RI'S LOW-COST CARS TO TARGET EXPORT MARKET

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, Sept 21 (Antara) - The question of who will purchase Indonesia's new inexpensive automobiles became a focus of discussions following Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo's objection that cheaper cars will only worsen the capital city's traffic problems.          Indonesia is en enormous market for auto sales as it has 33 provinces with a population of about 240 million people.          So if Jakarta is already considered to be a city 'packed' with vehicles and terrible traffic jams, then new cars --which will be built based upon the government's low-cost and green car (LCGC) program-- could be sold to customers in regions other than Jakarta.          Yet, there is no guarantee that Jakartans will not purchase green cars, which are expected to be sold at Rp95 million per unit.       Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, popularly known as 'Jokowi', recently sent a letter to Vice President Boediono regarding the government's LCGC policy, which he fears would worsen traffic problems in the city.

BALI READY TO HOST APEC SUMMIT 2013

Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 16 (Antara) - The Indonesian tourist resort Island of Bali has nearly finished preparations to host delegates from the 21 member-countries at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit during the first week of October.         "We are almost finished making preparations. About 80 percent of the preparations have been completed," National Economic Committee (KEN) Chairman Chairul Tanjung, who is also the deputy chairman of the APEC steering committee, said when attending a coordination meeting for the APEC summit preparations in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Sunday.          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led the meeting and later inspected the preparations for the APEC summit on Sunday. The meeting was held at the Nusa Dua Hall of the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), the venue of the October APEC event.         The President said he hoped that Indonesia would serve as the best-ever host for the APEC summit, which will be held October 1 to 9, 2013.         Gatot Dewa Broto, the head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, which is a member of the APEC organizing committee, said about 90 percent of the physical preparations have been completed.          He added that telecommunications infrastructure facilities were also ready for use during the summit, which expects delegates from 21 countries, along with 1,200 business leaders.

A POLICEMAN SHOT AGAIN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 14 (Antara) - While police are still investigating a series of shootings of police officers in at least four Jakarta locations, yet another policeman was shot in Depok near Jakarta on Friday evening.          Attacks on policemen have been taking place in the past three months. The latest attacks included one on Friday evening on First Brigadir Ruslan Kusuma in Cimanggis, Depok, a Jakarta satellite town in the east.         This followed an earlier attack on Tuesday in Jalan Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta, where Chief Brig Sukardi was shot dead.         The shooting of First Brigadier Ruslan Kusuma took place when the police were preparing a separate team to investigate the Kuningan attack. One team has been investigating shooting incidents at three locations in South Tangerang.

INDONESIAN TEMPE PRODUCERS SHUT DOWN TO PROTEST RISING PRICES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 9 (Antara) - Tempe and tofu (fermented soybean cake) makers in provinces across the country halted production on Monday to protest rising prices of imported soybean.          Following an appeal by the Indonesian Tempe-Tahu Cooperatives (KOPTI) and the Association of Tofu and Tempe Producers (Gakoptindo), they stopped manufacturing the popular side dishes.          The Gakoptindo announced earlier that its members would halt production from September 9 through 11 to protest sky-rocketing soybean prices.          "The increasing price of soybeans, as a result of the rupiah's depreciation against the US dollar, has forced many tofu and tempe producers to reduce their production or reduce the size of their workforce.  The aim of the protest is to warn the government and put pressure on it to address this matter immediately," Gakoptindo Chairman Aip Syarifudin said on Thursday.          Some traders at the Poncol Market in Kwitang, Central Jakarta, stopped selling tempe and tofu on Sunday because they ran out of stock before the date of their planned strike on Monday.

MISS WORLD PAGEANT BEAUTY CONTEST KICKS OFF IN BALI

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 8 (Antara) - The Miss World 2013 pageant beauty contest kicked off  in  the  Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali on Sunday evening amid controversies and opposition from the country's Islamic mass organizations.          The opening ceremony was highlighted by cultural arts shows such as dances and music performances which accentuated on the Indonesian colors. A total of 16 Miss World contestants performed a fan dance, giving an emphasis on the Indonesian culture.          Clad in a beige-blue color combination dresses with Balinese frangipani flower decoration on their ears, the beautiful contestants appeared agile and flexible in bringing the Indonesian dance, though they only had a brief, seven hour exercise under the direction of choreographer Eko Surpiyanto.           With bare foot on the stage, the beautiful contestants showed talent and beauty, mesmerizing the audience.           Camille Munro, a contestant from Canada, who was interviewed by the MC, Daniel Manata, claimed that she was now able to learn Indonesian dances even if she had been only several days in Indonesia.           "I am very pleased with this. The others are also delighted. This is a combination of Sumatran, Balinese, Javanese and Maluku culture," she said.           The opening of the Miss World 2013 beauty contest was also marked with singer Novita Dewi, a winner of the X-Factor talent-singer contest.

'TEMPE' TO DISAPPEAR FROM DINING TABLES AGAIN?

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 7 (Antara) - Will 'tempe' and tofu disappear from dining tables and cause millions of stomachs to growl once again, as suppliers of the popular side dishes stop production?     Tempe, which is fermented soybean cake, along with tofu, are popular side dishes, often served at served at 'warteg' (short for 'Warung Tegal' or food stalls) and other eateries in Indonesia, a country of over 240 million.          Over the past several years, tempe and tofu, which are main side dishes for lower-class consumers, have often become scarce when the price of soybean, raw material for the side dishes, skyrocketed.

WORKERS' WAGE DEMAND CONSIDERED UNREALISTIC

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 5 (Antara) - The decent standard of living of laborers has continued to increase in the current economic conditions but raising their wages too high will cause some of their companies to go bankrupt.          Thus, workers who staged rallies to demand a salary increase up to 50 percent are asked to understand the country's economic conditions because high wage hikes could cause firms' closures or workers' layoffs.          "The country is now being hit by economic crisis. The local currency rupiah continues to weaken against the US dollar which affects the economy. So, we hope workers would understand this condition. Employers and workers should support each other," Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said in the City Hall on Tuesday in response to labor rallies demanding salaries increase.          Millions of laborers, however returned to streets on Thursday and held a rally in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, demanding wage increase and immediate implementation of the National Health Insurance (Jamkesmas).