The Monas

Construction proceeded in three stages. The first period, from 1961/1962 - 1964/1965 began with the official start of construction on 17 August 1961 with Sukarno ceremonially driving in the first concrete pile. A total of 284 piles were used for the foundation block. A further 360 piles were driven in for the museum foundations, with work being completed in March 1962. The walls of the museum in the base were completed by October. Construction of the obelisk than commenced and was finished in August 1963. Work in the second stage, from 1966 to 1968 was delayed by shortages of funding and the aftermath of the 30 September Movement coup attempt. In the final phase, from 1969-1976, the dioramas for the historical museum were added. Problems remained once construction was complete, and work was needed to solve problems with water leaking into the museum. The monument was officially opened to the public on 12 July 1975. The location of the construction site is known as Merdeka Square.

Jakarta Indonesia

Today, Jakarta is a busy and thriving city of some twenty million people but occupying a relatively small area of approximately 670 square kilometers. The city is the center of national government, the center of trade and commerce, the nation's most important port and the gateway to the rest of Indonesia for many of its foreign visitors. The city can claim many of the nation's most important research facilities, educational institutes and cultural organizations. Facilities for visitors include many five-star international-class hotels, state-of-the-art shopping centers, recreation complexes, museums, art galleries and much more.

The city grows every day, with more and more arrivals from the other provinces, all pouring into Jakarta, seeking fame and fortune. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of them, their dreams are not fulfilled and they are forced to accept menial jobs and live in squalid conditions in poor areas of the city known as kampung. Most are too embarrassed to return home and appear a failure in the eyes of their families. They find work wherever they can, as domestic servants, as market workers, as laborers, and so on.

For those with money, Jakarta is a shopper's paradise. There are numerous large, luxurious and expensive plazas like the Plaza Indonesia adjacent to the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Gajah Mada Plaza in the suburb of Glodok, and the new and modern Mal Pondok Indah in Pondok Indah. Those in search of bargains, however, need to make their way to the markets at places like Pasar Cikini, Pasar Tanah Abang, Pasar Senen, and Pasar Baru. In these markets you will not only find bargains, but also get a glimpse of the city's grassroots life.

Schools in Indonesia (Sekolah di Indonesia)

The educational system in Indonesia has developed a lot in recent years, and continues to improve all the time. It was only a few years ago that all schools operated two sessions a day; morning school (Sekolah pagi) and afternoon school (Sekolah sore). This was necessary because there was a shortage of school buildings and a shortage of teachers; so the large number of students wanting to attend school could not be catered to. Sekolah pagi started at 7 am and finished at 1 pm. Sekolah sore commenced at 1:30 pm and went until about 6 pm. These days there are only a few areas where it is still necessary to conduct an afternoon session.
The first compulsory schooling for Indonesian children is Sekolah Dasar (SD) and children usually enter Sekolay Dasar when they are six or seven years old. Sekolah Dasar goes for six years. Children in primary school, when asked what class they are in, will reply with something like 'SD 4' or 'SD 6' which indicates the grade level. All children in Sekolah Dasar wear a school uniform, which is red and white.
After graduating from Sekolah Dasar, students enter Sekolah Lanjutan Tingkat Pertama (SLTP). This is the equivalent of a junior high school and SLTP students are recognizable by their boue-and-white uniforms. SLTP lasts for three years and srudents will say that they are in 'SLTP 1' or 'SLTP 2' and so on. Class sizes in Indonesian schools are usually much larger than in American schools. Classes of forty or more are not at all uncommon, particularly in SD and SLTP.
Sekolah Menengah Umum (SMU) represents the non-compulsory years of secondary education in Indonesia and is the equivalent of a senior high school. Students who graduate from SLTP may enter SMU. At SMU students wear a uniform which is grey and white. Like SLTP, SMU lasts for three years.

Those who graduate from SMU with good grades may enter a University. There are many universities (Universitas) throughout Indonesia. The Universitas Indonesia is one of the numerous universities found in Jakarta. A well known Christian University located in Karawaci Tangerang is: Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH). More about UPH can be found at: http://www.squidoo.com/UPH
The most well-known city for universities in Endonesia is

Allow me to introduce you to Indonesia

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous nation, and the World's largest Moslem nation. Most of the nation's people embrace the Moslem religion, which is called Islam, although with varying degrees of strict devotions. About 10 per cent of the population is Christian and around 3 per Cent are either Buddhist or Hindu.

On the island of Bali, immediately to the east of Java, the people follow their own unique blend of Hinduism, known as Hindu-Bali. Throughout the archipelago there are many different ethnic groups, each with their own customs and traditions. These groups speak their own ethnic languages, as well as Bahasa Indonesia, the national language. Together, these different ethnic groups form the Indonesian nation.
Indonesia was once described as "a garland of emeralds flung across the equator". The tropical, rainy climate provides dense rainforest vegetation. The most heavily forested areas are found in northern Sumatra, south-east Kalimantan and Irian Jaya (Pupua). In such areas a Java and Bali much of the land area has been cleared for agriculture and residential areas and only small pockets of forest remain.

The Role of the Protestant Church in Uniting the Nation

The activities of the Protestant Church in the field of faith and the field of education were of great significance, especially in backward areas. They set up an Indonesian Christian Community and became involved in the process of the national unification of several ethnic groups in its unifying movement.

The Youth Pledge, October 28, 1928

After Budi Utomo had been founded in the year 1908, many youth regional organizations, representing the many islands of Indonesia, came into existence. Through the many joint meetings, these young people gradually understood that they had to be fused into one large and strong organization. In the spirit of national unity to unite all the Youth Movements, the second Youth Congress in Jakarta proclaimed the Youth Pledge for: One Country, One Nation and One Language INDONESIA.

Jam Karet!

In English, this means "Rubber Time"

Both English and Indonesian have expressions which reflect their respective attitudes towards time. In English you sometimes say "Time is Money" indicating the importance sometimes placed upon time. Indonesians, on the other hand, often say jam karet, meaning "time is rubber-it is flexable".

Time seems to be much more important to Americans than to Indonesians. Indonesians tend to have a much more casual attitude towards time. If things don't get done today, there is tomorrow, or the next day, and if you're an hour late for an important appointment there's really nothing to get upset about; after all, so many things can happen to delay you. The traffic could be horrendous-often it is-or friends might call unexpectedly just when you were about to leave. These things happen, and often the only excuse that Indonesians will offer under these circumstances is jam karet. If you are a foreigner in Indonesia you might as well learn to accept this attitude towards time, for Indonesians seem to have little understanding of the concept "I want it now!"

Of course, some things have to run on time. Airline departures and arrivals are a good example. There is not much point in turning up to the airport an hour late and saying jam karet, as the aircraft will have left! Similarly, a teacher is unlikely to accept jam karet as an excuse for being late to class.

How to pray for Indonesia

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. There is great openness to the Gospel in spite of persecution-the church is growing at a rate of 5% per year.

There are more than 40 million Christians in Indonesia, and more than 13 million of them are without a Bible. As more and more seekers convert, the church grows, and the Bible gap only widens.

Bibles are essential in a country where Christians are threatened and their churches are bombed. It is crucial for them to know what they believe. They must be able to answer their persecutors' taunts with faithful confidence. And their deepest strength can only come from God's assurance throughout His Word. Indonesia's Christians need Bibles.

February 23, 2011

Carmelito Regalado, President
Hypermart

I had a recent experience that I want to share with you. My wife (CeCi) and I have been working as volunteers here in North Lippo Karawaci, Indonesia, as dorm masters for UPH College since July 2010.
We like to shop at the Supermall, which is only two blocks from campus, so we can walk the distance and get a little exercise as we shop.

One afternoon, we had just picked up a few items at a local mini mart, and realized that they didn't have any Maple syrup; even though the Hypermart is a little extra distance, it's still in the same city, so we headed there to finish our grocery shopping.

When we arrived at the Hypermart, I checked in the bags I was carrying, so we could shop hands free. The young lady that took my bags accidently dropped one of them on the floor; naturally it was the bag of eggs. When I picked it up off the ground, it was a mess of egg whites and yokes. Not knowing the Bahasa Indonesia language, I just left the bags with the lady and took a number for later retrieval.

After we completed our shopping at Hypermart, I went to retrieve my bags and decided to refuse the broken eggs, and just leave them behind. As I picked up the bags, I left the bag of eggs on the counter, and said "They are broken." The young lady gave me a strange look and seemed insistent that I should take the eggs, so I went back to tell her that they were broken. That's when she opened the bag so I could get a good look; it was a fresh dozen of un-broken eggs.

To my surprise, while I was shopping, she had cleaned up the mess, got me a new package of 12 fresh eggs, even the same brand, and had them ready for my return. I couldn't have been more pleased.

I immediately told my wife, "We should tell someone how impressed we are with the splendid service in this store." Looks like we'll be doing our shopping at Hypermart!

Sincerely,

Harry M. Smith

cc: Kasmin Rasilim

Hypermart's strategy is in line with their mission to deliver the best retail services for the consumers and strengthen their position as the local grocery store proudly managed by Indonesians with international best practice standards. Up to now, Hypermart is the best supermarket with widest network of operation in Indonesia through its many outlets spread over 21 cities and 16 provinces. This achievement is successful, thanks to the continuing support from consumers, vendors, business partners, related government institutions and the general public.

Hypermart takes every possible opportunity to express their sincere gratitude for all the support from the community and dedicates themselves to superior customer service, as they plan for expansions in the future.

Shopping is about comfort as well as establishing a shopping taste and appetite; thus, in order to record stable revenue, it highly depends on the location, culture, and population.

North Lippo Karawaci poses a very promising market potential as it is also supported by the strategic areas and surrounded by residential areas; the market segment continues to grow, even though the company is building another Hypermart outlet located in Cyberpark, only five kilometer away from Lippo Supermal Hypermat.

Those two outlets target different segments, thus it will not create particular market war. Hypermart Cyberpak is expected to control the market in Modernland area, Tangerang, Serang even until Cilegon; Whereas, the Hypermart outlet in Lippo Supermall targets the market segment in Seprong (Gading Serpong) and Parung.

Similarly, Marketing & Merchandising Director of Matahari Food and Beverage (MFB), Meshvara Kanjaya, also claimed the huge market potential of Hypermart in North Lippo Karawaci reaching nearly 15,000 consumers.

Referring to such market potential, she estimated that the average visitors may reach 3,000-5,000 visitors per day. Such projection was based on the calculation of the transaction receipts.

About Matahari
Matahari has progressively transformed from its original business as department store
operator into the current position as the leading and largest multi-format retailer in
Indonesia. Matahari has been a home to more than 6,000 local and multinational vendors.
Matahari's extensive retail network spread over in more than 50 cities in Indonesia
including; 80 Matahari Department Stores outlets, 38 Hypermart, 29 Foodmart, 43 Boston
Health & Beauty Center, and 90 Timezone - family entertainment centers, to provide the
best retail services to its loyal customers throughout Indonesia.

For further Information, please contact:
Corporate Communication Dept.
PT. Matahari Putra Prima Tbk.
Menara Matahari 21st Floor
Jl. Boulevard Palem Raya No.7
Lippo Karawaci 1200, Tangerang 15811
T. 547 5333 ext. 9935, 9011
F. 5475673
e. corporate.communication@matahari.co.id
www.matahari.co.id