Indonesia's Yudhoyono fears unrest on fuel price
hike
Yudhoyono did not give details about the plan, but the
government told parliament this week it wanted to raise fuel
prices by an average of
29 percent to cut subsidies weighing on the budget. Last
year, the government's oil subsidy bill soared to an estimated
59.2 trillion rupiah ($6.4 billion), from an initial budget plan
of 14.5 trillion rupiah, as oil prices rallied on world markets.
(Reuters)
Credit card fraud 'on the rise' (JKT Post)
Indonesia considers coastal 'escape hills' (the Globe)
More foreign troops leave Aceh, Indonesia (Xinhua)
UN says it has no
plans to boost security despite terror warning
- BANDA ACEH, Aceh (AP): The United Nations said on
Friday it had no plans to increase security in tsunami-battered
Aceh, despite warnings that Islamic militants could be planning
attacks on foreign aid workers. Meanwhile, many donor nations have
yet to pay their pledges for tsunami relief, a UN spokesman said.
Current security measures, are "adequate for the time being," said
Hiro Ueki, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "We are aware of the
environment in which we operate in." (JKT Post)
FROM THE EDITOR:
Earlier today I didn't have any inspiration for a newsletter
story. But as always in Indonesia, it doesn't take a day or
something will happen.
I was sitting in a salon in Plaza Semanggi for a haircut earlier
today when I received an SMS from my babysitter who had just
returned picking up my daughter from the Dutch school. My
babysitter never talks a lot and her text messages are always
short. Never more then two or three words and always ending the
message politely with the word 'Bapak' (sir). To my
greatest shock this message was out of the ordinary. It read: 'Reni
is laying on Bapak's bed'.
Reni on my bed!? Who was Reni!? I SMS-ed the babysitter
back. 'Gede atau kecil?' (large or small?) Her reply was
clear: 'Kecil Bapak'. My brain was dazzled and quickly I
went through my phone memory to look for the name Reni. There were
a few Rini's, two Rene's and one Rani, but no Reni. I had to act
fast. My daughter Patricia had just returned home and I didn't
want her to discover some strange girl in my bed. I had not the
slightest idea who this Reni was. I also couldn't remember having
invited a girl and besides that, why did this lady go straight to
my bedroom!? What a brutality! It had to be bad news. I
urged the hairdresser to finish my haircut as fast as possible. He
did. he just stopped and took of the coat, probably thinking I
wasn't happy with his work. I didn't care, I had to more important
things to do.
As fast as I possibly could I ran back to my apartment and went up
to the floor I live on. In the lift I pushed the button fast and
more then once, as if that would speed up the whole thing. An old
lady and a 'lift cleaner' looked weird at me. I stumbled into my
apartment. The babysitter and Patricia were watching Teletubbies
on the couch. 'Where?' I asked in great confusion. 'Apa Pak?'
the babysitter asked unknowingly. My stress levels were reaching a
boiling point. 'Reni. Where is Reni?' I didn't wait for the
answer and went straight to my bedroom. But I didn't see anybody
laying on my bed. I then looked in the bathroom. Nobody. Now the
baby sitter came dreamingly walking into my bedroom and lifted a
small candy from the pillow up in the air. 'Ini Rennie. (this is
Rennie). Bapak bilang sakit perut (stomach problems), so I bought
some Rennie's'....' (Rennie's are stomach
tablets)
While I am typing this story I can hear the babysitter and the ibu
(who comes three times a week to clean my apartment and of whom I
still don't know the name after two years working for me).
in the back giggling. Well, it is actually not giggling. They are
laughing themselves silly. Indonesians do have a great sense of
humor. Now I have finished this newsletter, I have one thing to do
I am not looking forward to. I have to go back to the salon and
ask the hairdresser to finish the job. I'll take a Rennie with me
and lock the door of my bedroom. Indonesia, unpredictable
but beautiful. -- Rgds, Bart
---xxx---
To check out the latest standings and schedules for the Jakarta
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Friday at VIP at
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Having a Party at Home? Call the Party Express!
 ELSEWHERE IN THE ASIA:
Rabbit' keeps on surfing at 84
Legendary surfer Rabbit Kekai - at 84, the oldest
competitor in international surfing events - has said hopes to
continue boarding
until he
is 100. Kekai was out in the surf when the Japanese attacked
Hawaii's Pearl Harbor in 1941 - the event that triggered full US
participation in World War II. (BBC)
The anatomy of a Thai porn scandal
 Technically,
Thai porn starlet Natt Chanapa could be facing time in jail for
her illegal, hardcore video. But such is the nature of things in
Thailand, where mai ben rai - never mind - holds sway,
that she is now busily cashing in on her new-found notoriety and
popularity. (BBC)
Thais in a flap over public rubbing of breasts
A promotion for breast
enhancing cream that involved three models having a 15 minute
mammary massage in public has caused a furore in Thailand. Whether
it works or not, a headline in the Thai Post tabloid summed up the
controversy best in a society obsessed with marketing gimmicks:
"Big breast bras good for people with
small brains". (Asia Times)
|
Aceh
children still looking for family
FOR
SALE: 
