"I give the operator two days to solve the problem," he said at City Hall.

He said without appropriate lighting, the passengers would be uncomfortable. Transjakarta currently operates its buses until 10 p.m.

Busway shelters in Mangga Besar, Sawah Besar and Monas have been without light since September 2007.

Reports say the power was cut because the shelters had been getting power illegally from the Street Illumination Agency, responsible for lighting public streets.

PLN found out about the situation in September last year in an electricity sweep. The three shelters were categorized by state electricity firm PLN as "non-customers".

"Because they were not customers, we cut their power supply," said operational manager of PLN for Greater Jakarta, Busmin Simanjuntak, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The three shelters used Rp 100 million (US$10,860) worth of electricity between January 2004 and September 2007.

For example, the Monas busway shelter has used up to Rp 44 million worth of electricity.

Transjakarta's head of infrastructure department Taufik Adiwianto said he had made an agreement with the Street Illumination Agency.

"The agency agreed to pay the bills for January 2004 to December 2006, while we paid for January to September 2007," Taufik said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He said Transjakarta would ask for its own electricity meter.

"But PLN asked for the payment of all bills. I have asked the Street Illumination Agency when it will pay their bills. So far, I haven't got any response," Taufik said Tuesday.

Transjakarta's Corridor 1 to 7 have approximately 116 bus shelters throughout the city. The three new corridors have about 80 more shelters.

The protesters, who were members of the FPI, the Islam Community Forum (FUI), Muslim organizations and Islamic boarding schools in the city and surrounding areas also demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ban minority Islamic sect Ahmadiyah and asked police to arrest a man who was holding a gun during the National Monument attack, which happened three weeks ago.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Ketut Untung Yoga Ana told 17 leaders of the protest the police had named the unidentified man a fugitive and were looking for him.

"Residents can bring him to the police or give us information about his whereabouts if they happen to find him," he said. He warned protesters not to hurt him should they find him.

The FPI earlier reported to police the man they accused of being a provocateur from the National Alliance of Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) and submitted his photograph to them.

Although the protest leaders looked satisfied after hearing of the gunman, they still demanded the police release Rizieq, FPI members and Munarman.

They also insisted on meeting the Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman. They were upset when the chief refused to meet them.

"The police did not treat us Muslims fairly. They did not arrest the members of AKKBB like they arrested the FPI members and their leader," M. Al Khaththa, general secretary of FUI said to Ketut.

Jl. Sudirman, where it heads to Blok M in front of the police headquarters, was jammed with protesters and their vehicles, forcing the police to redirect the traffic to other thoroughfares, like Jl. Casablanca and Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta.

The congestion on Jl. Sudirman caused traffic jams in other busy main thoroughfares in the city.

In the demonstration in front of the State Palace, state spokesman Andi Mallarangeng was available to meet the protest leaders. But the protesters did not want to meet him, saying they wanted to meet the President instead.

The campaign in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, is the first in a planned series of nationwide campaigns. The area is notoriously prone to flooding.

Hundreds of local residents and students from schools in the neighborhood took part in cleaning out gutters, digging biopore holes and distributing tree seedlings, hygiene products and baby kits.

PMI volunteers supervised the cleanup, which took in private homes, public facilities and streets. The PMI also provided 10 garbage receptacles for sorting organic and inorganic waste.

PMI secretary-general, Iyang D. Sukandar, said several sponsors had provided support for the activities, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the German Red Cross and the Dutch Red Cross.

"The Agriculture Ministry provided us with the seedlings, and their distribution is part of our effort to curb the effects of global warming," he said.

"Cleaning up the environment and making biopores are also important in helping us adapt to the changing climate," he said.

Iyang said the campaign was conducted to commemorate the 145th anniversary of the World Red Cross Red Crescent Day on May 8.

Agus Surono, head of the Petamburan neighborhood unit, said the PMI's efforts were laudable because they helped raise awareness of the annual flood threat.

"The communities here need to work together with the PMI on a more regular basis," he said.

PMI press officer Aulia Arriani said the PMI usually dealt with disaster relief management, so preventive activities like this were very important.

"This kind of activity promotes community participation in preparing for disasters. We can also educate people and recruit more volunteers from local communities," she said.

She said the PMI also gave free health checks and blood-type tests.

"I'm glad PT KA finally launched the service," said a passenger, Nurcahyo. "I've been waiting for the service for years. I often have difficulties getting information, for example, whether a train is running or not when floods hit the city."

In the near future, commuters will also be able to access information about routes and service updates by calling the KRL Care Center, which was launched in Greater Jakarta on Tuesday.

"The service came a bit later than we expected," said a private company employee, who usually takes a train from Depok in West Java to Cawang in East Jakarta. "We had asked for a call center five years ago. At least it shows they intend to give better public service."

Another commuter, Sali Pawiatan, who usually takes the Sudirman express train from her house in Serpong, Banten, to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, also welcomed the new service.

"The center is a good idea. It is important for commuters like me who need updated information about services. If the train is canceled or delayed, I'll know to take other public transportation," she said.

PT KA sometimes has to delay or cancel trains due to floods or technicalities, like power failures. Sometimes they are unable to announce the change.

"I've already called the center twice and the operators responded quickly. I think they could be more friendly though," she said.

PT KA's city transportation head Ahmad Marzuki said commuters are now able to call any of its hotlines (listed below) but SMS and website services would only be available from next month.

"We want to serve our customers better. We now have eight lines so commuters can easily call us. We don't want them to hear our lines engaged," he said.

PT KA has deployed 12 operators to handle the call center, which had a good response in the first three days of operation.

According to the center's supervisor, Adhi Supriyadi, there were 95 callers on Tuesday, while it received 99 calls on Wednesday and 65 calls on Thursday.

"Most of the callers asked for train schedules," Adhi said.

The number of train commuters across Greater Jakarta increases every year.

Last year, PT KA sold more 118 million tickets to commuters, while in 2006, they sold about 104.4 millions. The actual number of commuters is larger as many passengers take the train without buying a ticket.

Many of the employees, who rallied in front of the PT KA office in Juanda, Central Jakarta, had worked for the company for more than five years.

"Most of us have been hired for years. We have dedicated our lives to the company. It's not fair. The company should hire us as permanent staff," said the demonstration coordinator, Pupu Saepuloh, who has worked for PT KA since 2000.

The employees, who mostly work at ticket counters and ticket checkpoints, are members of the Jakarta Railway Workers Union which organized the demonstration.

Until Monday, they were officially employees of an outsourcing company managed by Kowasjab cooperative, owned by PT KA. As their contract with the outsourcing company ended March 31, they were told to sign a new contract with another outsourcing company, PT Kencana Lima.

"We don't want to be outsourced employees or contract workers for the rest of our lives. We have families to support. We deserve better welfare," Pupu said.

His colleague, Agung, agreed.

"I've been working with PT KA for about 10 years. I don't want to work under the contract system any more. I want to be a permanent member of staff," said Agung, who works at the ticket counter at Gambir station in Central Jakarta.

Pupu said the workers' union had met with PT KA officers on Sunday but the meeting had ended in a deadlock.

The company has some 223 outsourced employees and 181 other temporary workers, PT KA public relations officer Akhmad Sujadi said.

They receive monthly salaries equal to the provincial minimum wage–a little more than Rp 900,000 (about US$96)–and are also insured by state insurance firm Jamsostek.

Akhmad said PT KA would not promote the workers to become permanent staff, saying that anyone who wanted to become a permanent staff member should follow existing recruitment procedures.

"So far, we don't give our contract workers any promotions," Akhmad said, adding that under the new outsourcing company, the workers would receive equal wages and conditions to what they had received previously.

"Support from high-end customers has been one of the essential factors enabling us to become a world-class shopping center," Plaza Indonesia operations manager M. Sjohirin said last Thursday.

Established in March 1990, Plaza Indonesia targets the city's "specific, sophisticated and elegant" consumers who, from time to time, keep coming back for more.

"Our customers nowadays are very demanding and have higher expectations than they did in our earlier years, but so far we have managed to adapt," Plaza Indonesia executive marketing director Mia Egron said.

With easier access to overseas travel and competitive services from other shopping centers in the region like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, Mia said, Plaza Indonesia must keep up with market demands to offer up-to-date and complete choices of high-end goods.

"Or else they could easily go overseas instead," she said.

For Plaza Indonesia to acquire a prominent position in the region, it would need to have a more comprehensive range of international brand outlets, providing more choices of merchandise with competitive pricing.

"But other factors also play a role for this to happen," Mia said, referring to government policies and the condition of the tourism industry in Indonesia.

Claiming to be the largest first-class shopping center in the country, Plaza Indonesia currently hosts more than 200 shops, including exclusive luxury brands, top fashion labels and up-scale restaurants.

Plaza Indonesia is one of many shopping malls in Jakarta which targets the middle to upper economy brackets. Other malls include Taman Anggrek in West Jakarta, Senayan City and Plaza Senayan in Central Jakarta, Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta and Pondok Indah in South Jakarta.

Another upscale shopping center, Grand Indonesia, located just across the road from Plaza Indonesia, is currently under construction and due for completion soon.

Mia said, however, local competitors did not pose as big a threat as regional competitors.

One of Plaza Indonesia's long-time tenants, PT Mahagaya Perdana, was satisfied with business dynamics at the plaza.

"Business here has been very good and promising for us," said Emelyn Siswanto, operations manager of Hugo Boss fashion outlet — one of Plaza Indonesia's first tenants.

Celebrating its 18th anniversary, Plaza Indonesia has launched a new section, allocated especially for its prime retail stores, including international brands like Emporio Armani and Chloe and outlets of renowned local designers like Sebastian Gunawan and Obin.

The shopping center is also doing major renovations on its appearance and facilities and is preparing to add 25,000 square meters of tenant space to its existing 40,000. The renovations are due for completion by the end of the year. (dre)

Street vendors on Jl. Sunda and Jl. Agus Salim, Central Jakarta, denied accusations they dumped garbage into sewers causing a blockage that led to the flooding of Jl. M.H. Thamrin and its surrounding area.

"We do understand that throwing garbage into the sewerage can cause a flood, that's why we pile the garbage at several spots," Pramono, who runs a Padang food stall on Jl. Sunda, said Saturday.

He said the piles were collected every day by workers from the sanitary agency.

"We pay the officers monthly for that service. We follow the rules," said Pramono.

On Wednesday, Juaini Yusuf, head of drainage affairs at Central Jakarta's water management agency, said waste thrown by vendors was one of the main causes of the flood.

"Our officers found stacks of plastic bags and boxes, typical examples of waste from vendors, clogging the sewerage," said Yusuf, as quoted by Beritajakarta.com.

He said he would take 'firm' action if the vendors continued to ignore the agency's warnings.

Flooding frequently occurs in the area whenever heavy rain strikes, inundating Jl. MH Thamrin and causing traffic jams on the busy main thoroughfare.

Other contributors to the floodings are the area's relatively low ground surface and poor drainage.

Basah Hernowo, director of forestry and water resource conservation at the National Development Planning Board, said Friday the administration could not just lay the blame on other parties.

"Instead, they should reflect on whether they have done their job in maintaining the drainage facility in the area," he said.

In 2004, the administration allowed a wholesale trading building to be built in the vicinity, occupying more than 14 hectares of land, including part of the Melati dam which serves as a water catchment area.

Tall buildings on the western side of Jl. M.H. Thamrin inhibit a nearby canal that functions to channel rain water into the Krukut river in the north.

Hernowo said he did not know if the administration ever cleaned the drainage ducts located under Jl. M.H. Thamrin or if they ever dredged the canal.

"The administration can talk with the street vendors and ask for their cooperation on the waste problem. It's not like they're impossible to talk to," he said.

The City Health Agency says its remaining hospital bills of Rp 24 billon (US$2.7 million), which was allocated for medical services provided to poor people (Gakin) in 2007, would affect its budget this year.

The head of the insurance program, Yuditha Endah Trisnaningtyas, said that after the agency paid what it owed, it would have only Rp 195 billion left to finance the insurance scheme for this year.

This budget is far lower than last year's when the agency had to cough up Rp 305 billion.

"We have no choice but to cover our debts with this year's allocation," she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, referring to the impact of the 2007 claims on the 2008 budget.

She was concerned in particular that programs that make medicine available to victims of disasters and pandemics in the city would have shortfalls.

In 2005, the administration launched Gakin cards to identify residents eligible for low-cost or free health care and food.

The administration also allows residents to apply for a relief letter (SKTM) stating that they are eligible for discounted or free medical care.

Patients may use a SKTM to have fees for medical services waived in part, Gaskin-eligible patients don't have to pay any fees at all.

To obtain an SKTM, applicants must request notification letters from their neighborhood unit chief and subdistrict officials. They also need a verification letter from the community health center nearest them confirming their financial status.

The agency's head, Wibowo Sukijat, said he was still optimistic the agency would survive the year.

He said major flooding last year was the main reason the agency found itself strapped.

"The floods were beyond our capacity. It was unexpected. We allocated a lot of money to assist poor families," Bowo said.

He said the poorest people were suffering the most due to the agency's debts, because some hospitals refused to provide free-of-charge services.

"We know that the poor families suffer a lot. We have heard that many hospitals are refusing to accept the Gakin card. We hope we will receive the funds we need soon to pay the arrears," Yuditha said.

Meanwhile, a member of City Council Commission E which oversees public welfare, Selamat Nurdin, said the administration didn't need to be overly concerned about lack of funds at this point since it still had the option of asking for additional funds via the budget revision mechanism.

"We will discuss budget adjustments in July or August," Selamat said, adding that the agency could ask Governor Fauzi Bowo to see that all required funding was in place.

"We can allocate about Rp 55 billion to 100 billion. The amount of the budget goes up every year due to the people's low purchasing power and increasing health care needs," he said.

The shuttle was launched by the city administration for visitors to the Central Jakarta park which is the location of Monas national monument.

The launching of the minibuses — at the park's southwest gate — was attended by Governor Fauzi Bowo .

Head of the Culture and Museum Agency Aurora Tambunan said there were two shuttles, each three-cars-long and able to carry 36 passengers.

Topped with decorative Betawi-style roofs, the shuttle is four meters long, 1.7 wide and 2 high. The shuttle takes 10 minutes to reach the base of the monument from the southwest gate, some 800 meters away.

"We decided to offer a shuttle because visitors were complaining about the distance from the parking area to the monument," Aurora said Sunday as quoted by Beritajakarta.com.

She added that it was a sunny, hot walk.

Aurora said the minibuses would run free of charge from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

At a ceremony Governor Fauzi Bowo said he hoped people would look after the new vehicles.

"The shuttles represent Rp 800 million (around US$88,000) in public funds. So I ask visitors to take care of them," Fauzi said.