PLN says it received request from ministry to buy Inalum shares

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/21/2011 1:42 PM | Business

A director of state electricity company PT PLN says that the company has received instructions from the government to purchase a stake in aluminium producer PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum).

A contract signed in 1976 and due to end in 2013 gave a consortium of Japanese companies, Nippon Asahan Aluminium Co Ltd (NAA), a 58.8 percent stake in Inalum and the remainder to the Indonesian government.

Once the current contract with NAA expires, the government plans to take over Inalum, rather than renew its contract.

PLN received a letter from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry requesting that it acquire the stake, PLN business and risk management director Murtaqi Syamsuddin said Monday, as reported by kontan.co.id.

Previously, state mining company PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM) president director Alwin Syah Loebis had said his company was ready to purchase the stake.

However, ANTM’s company secretary Bimo Budi Satrio declined to comment on the option of a joint venture with PLN.

“We are still waiting for [orders from] government,” he said.

The government needs around US$700 million to purchase the NAA stake.

Ministry investigating possible outbreak of legionella bacteria in Bali

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 01/19/2011 9:52 PM | Archipelago

The Health Ministry is investigating a possible outbreak of legionella, a strain of bacteria that can cause Legionaries disease, in Bali, an official says.

“A team just arrived from Bali this morning and will check the samples in our laboratory in Yogyakarta. The results might be available a week from now,” Director General for Disease Control and Environmental Health Tjandra Yoga Aditama said Wednesday  as quoted by Tribunnews.com.

The Health Agency has disinfected two locations that may have been exposed to the bacteria, he said.

Legionella bacteria can cause Legionellosis, which can refer to two syndromes: Legionnaires disease, which often manifests as severe pneumonia, and Pontiac fever, according to the website eMedicine.

Tjandra said that the Australian Health Ministry had contacted its Indonesian counterpart to discuss the possibility of an outbreak.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that there have been 10 confirmed Australian cases of Legionnaires' Disease connected with the central Kuta area in Bali since August 2010

Home Ministry requests suspension of Bengkulu governor

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/13/2011 1:10 PM | National

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi on Wednesday asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to suspend Bengkulu Governor Agusrin M Najamuddin, after the latter was named a defendant in a corruption case being heard at Central Jakarta District Court.

“The home minister signed a letter to the President requesting the suspension of the now-defendant Governor Agusrin Nadjamuddin,” ministry spokesman Reydonnyzar Moenek said Thursday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Reydonnyzar said the letter was sent to Yudhoyono on Wednesday evening. Central Jakarta District Court named Agusrin a defendant on Jan. 10.

Reydonnyzar said the ministry had received a case register from the court as evidence that Agusrin’s status had been changed from suspect to defendant.

The suspension ruling, Reydonnyzar said, was in line with the the 2004 Law on Regional Administrations and Government Regulation No. 6/2005 on the Election, Installment and Dismissal of Regional Leaders.

Ministry observes Human Rights Day

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 12/20/2010 10:43 AM | National

The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has chosen the theme "The Protection of Neglected Children in the Effort of Poverty Eradication" for its commemoration of International Human Rights Day on Dec. 20.

The event was held in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy, the European Union and UNICEF.

According to the National Development Planning Agency, 32 million Indonesians, or 14.4 percent of the population, lived in poverty in 2010. (gzl