Twelve urban wards in East Jakarta may experience water shortages over the next couple of days as planned maintenance is carried out on a major pipeline.

Rika Anjulika, a spokeswoman from private water operator Aetra, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that Kampung Baru, Cibubur, Cijantung, Ciracas, Dukuh, Kelapa Dua Weta, Kalisari, Susukan, Cipayung, Gedong and Pekayon would be affected but customers would ultimately receive a better service.

“In order to provide a better water supply, we are rehabilitating and changing the main water pipeline,” she said.

Rika said the 1.4 kilometer-long pipeline was originally built by the Dutch in 1922, and was in urgent need of upgrading.

The maintenance works, she said, would be conducted during the night from 9 p.m. and would hopefully be completed by Saturday morning.

“We have decided to do it during the night because we assume that there will be less people using water at that time,” she said.

“Hopefully, we will have it done by 3 a.m. as many customers will be waking up to conduct the morning prayer.”

Rika said Aetra would be providing free water to customers experiencing problems with their supplies, bringing in water by truck during the maintenance period.

“We are opening a 24-hour call center, at [021] 577 2010, for our customers who need water. We will send a water tank to them,” she said.

However, supplies from water tanks would have to be coordinated with local communities because they each carried about 4,000 liters, she added.

Tulus Abadi, managing director of the Indonesian Customer Protection Foundation (YLKI), said water operators should provide compensation to customers if there were service disruptions due to maintenance works.

“They must provide their customer with a free water supply while the maintenance is being done because if they don’t, they will be in violation of the 1999 Consumer Protection Law,” he said.

He said Aetra should also provide discounts to affected customers’ monthly bills.

Rika, meanwhile, said Aetra had informed its customers about the upgrade via SMS, in local media and through local officials.

Sutardi, head of the Cipayung urban ward, however, told the Globe on Thursday that he was yet to receive any notification of the planned works and resulting supply problems.

One Cipayung resident, Evi Rahayu, said that while she appreciated the attempt to improve services, she had doubts.

“Will it be any good?” she said.

In the past, she said, repairs just meant water supplies being shut off. Elisabeth Oktofani

The tax court has rejected the appeal filed by two major foreign film importers against the government’s demands for unpaid royalties, which could mean a longer wait for the return of Hollywood blockbusters to Indonesian screens.

“Unless they pay all [outstanding] royalties, they are banned from bringing foreign films into Indonesia,” Widhi Hartono, head of auditing at the Customs Office, said on Thursday.

The two distributors, largely responsible for bringing in major Hollywood movies, are among three firms that were ordered by the state in February to pay a total of Rp 31 billion ($3.6 million) in unpaid taxes since 2009.

The demand was made shortly after member studios of the Motion Pictures Association decided to stop exporting movies to Indonesia over a dispute on royalty calculations.

The third film importer, believed to deal mostly with small and independent films, has already paid the government Rp 9 billion in back taxes.

The Ministry of Finance last month announced a new scheme that would see importers pay only a “specific tax” on movies, rather than an ad valorem tax, which was based on each movie’s monetary value — mainly ticket sales.

The new plan was meant to be a simple solution to the long-running dispute over royalties that foreign studios said had “a detrimental impact on the cost of bringing a film into Indonesia.”

According to the new rules, importers only have to pay Rp 21,000 to Rp 22,000 per minute for each copy of the movie they screen. With a viewing time of 100 minutes, the tax on the average feature would be as little as Rp 21 million per copy.

Djonny Sjafruddin, the head of the Indonesian Cinema Companies Union (GPBSI), said local movie houses had run out Hollywood film stocks, which caused a 60 percent dip in ticket sales since the foreign-film boycott started in February.

“We have not heard any news from [MPA] and we now only screen independent films in our cinemas,” he said. “Last January, the cinema industry could earn Rp 3.9 billion [a month], but now we only earn a collective Rp 1.9 billion.”

Currently, there are nine foreign film importers allowed to bring foreign films into the country, but most of these firms only distribute B movies.

Widhi said on Thursday that six new film importers had applied for permits with the customs office. “But I don’t know what kind of films that they are going to bring [here],” he said.

Government institutions should work together to help children who were born out of wedlock and while their parents served as migrant workers because most of those children do not have birth certificates, making it difficult for them to enter school or process other documents, an advocacy group said.

Since 2008, the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) has recorded about 215 Indonesian children of migrant workers who do not have birth certificates.

Some of the children were born out of wedlock, while some were victims of rape cases.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of Komnas Anak, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that institutional corporation was needed between the Ministry of Transmigration and Manpower, the Ministry of Home Affairs and also the Ministry of Social Affairs to insure children’s rights.

“The children of the migrant workers are often sent to their grandparents or orphanages because the parents feel ashamed or want to avoid social stigma from the neighbors for being sexually abused,” he said.

Arist mentioned that the government must be involved to help children have a better future despite of their background.

“No matter who they are, no matter what happened to their mother, the government really needs to provide a facility and services to ease those children lives,” he said.

The National Commission for Child Protection is “thrilled” at the success of a celebrity event that raised more than $23,000 for an eight-month-old baby girl who was kidnapped, raped and left to die.

Seto Mulyadi, chairman of the commission, also known as Komnas Anak, applauded the efforts of the public who came together for an event featuring a number of Indonesian celebrities in Jakarta on Sunday night and raised Rp 200 million ($23,200) for the victim and her family.

“[Komnas Anak] is thrilled that there are a lot of people who care about the baby,” Seto told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. “The government should not look the other way, especially the municipal government of South Sulawesi. They should make sure that the baby is well taken care of, both her future and her health.”

The eight-month old was found bleeding from injuries consistent with a sexual attack and abandoned in a boat floating in waters off Bantaeng, South Sulawesi, on May 27.

It was subsequently discovered that the baby had been kidnapped earlier that morning. The girl’s father, a poor fisherman, 24, and mother, 17, had reported the case to police.

It is understood there may be other, similar cases in the area.

Musician Fla Priscilla, who initiated the fund-raising auction and concert in the Cilandak Town Square, South Jakarta, said after hearing media reports about the attack, he confirmed details with activists and traveled to Bantaeng, a fishing village about four-hours’ drive from Makassar.

“As a mother, I only wanted to hug the baby’s mother,” Fla told the Globe. “I know how she feels because I also have a daughter and I wanted to support her family by holding the fundraiser.”

A number of Indonesian celebrities were in attendance at the event, including award-winning actress Dian Sastro, musician Melly Goeslaw and rockers Slank.