PRESS DIGEST-Indonesian newspapers - Aug 20

Following are some leading stories in the main Indonesian newspapers on Aug 20.

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JAKARTA POST

- GOVERNMENT MAY NOT RAISE TOBACCO EXCISE

Indonesia's government may keep its excise duty for tobacco products unchanged next year to protect employment in the cigarette industry, Anwar Suprijadi, director general of customs and excise at the finance ministry, said.

- PLN IN HOT PURSUIT OF COAL COMPANIES

Indonesia's state-owned electricity company, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), is speeding up plans to acquire coal mines to secure coal supply to its power plants, chairman Al Hilal Hamdi said.

- SHOPPING CENTRES SAY NO TO FORCED POWER-SAVING PLAN

Shopping centres in Indonesia have rejected a government plan to force them to switch to their own power generators for 10 hours every week to help ease the burden on the country's electricity supply, the chairman of the Indonesian Shopping Centre Association said.

- KPK PRESSURED TO INVESTIGATE LATEST CENTRAL BANK SCANDAL

Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is coming under increased pressure to act after a lawmaker confessed to graft linked to the election of a senior central banker.

- CILACAP, BALI ON HIGH ALERT AHEAD OF EXECUTIONS

Indonesian police have increased security in Cilacap regency, Central Java province and ini Bali ahead of the anticipated executions of three Islamic militants convicted for the 2002 Bali bombings, police officials said.

- KERETA API TO CONTINUE RAILWAY SLUM DEMOLITIONS

Indonesian state railway company, PT Kereta Api, will continue to clear slum dwellings beneath elevated railway tracks or next to the rails in the Greater Jakarta area, a company spokesman said.