Jakarta – Human rights activists have slammed the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for deciding to shorten the commission's chairmanship term from two-and-a-half years to one year, accusing the newly-appointed commissioners of having a secret agenda behind its controversial decision.

Ezra Sihite – Following up on a presidential instruction issued last month on the handling of domestic security disturbances, a minister said on Friday that he had issued a circular mandating the establishment of regional security teams across the country.

Zubaidah Nazeer – Some Muslim women in Indonesia are stepping up to a more active role in radicalism as the country's terror cells regroup, with analysts warning the authorities to strengthen anti-terrorism measures.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – On his last day as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, newly appointed Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Anis Matta shared a light moment with his colleagues, saying they agreed on almost every issue, except polygamy.

Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The House of Representatives said it would question the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) next week over a report saying Indonesia was complicit in the US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) secret operation to detain and torture suspected terrorists worldwide following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

On February 6, 2013, Timor-Leste's Parliament gave general approval to the proposed 2013 State Budget. Forty MPs from the Coalition voted in favor, and 25 from Fretilin abstained.

Hayley Davis – Academics have called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to resolve agrarian conflicts and prevent indigenous land rights being compromised by upcoming elections.

An expert group of researchers, policy makers and scientists have presented a petition directly to the president in what they are calling "An Academic Movement on Agrarian Justice."

Arya Dipa, Bandung – As the campaign season kicked off on Thursday, ahead of the upcoming West Java gubernatorial election, the five candidate pairs have begun making "10,000 promises" in an attempt to lure voters.

The gubernatorial candidates will campaign for the next 14 days to win the hearts of the people ahead of the Feb. 24 ballot.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) wants the government to revise Law No. 1/1974 on marriage, which legalizes polygamy, to protect women.

Jayapura – The Indonesian Navy is to enhance the monitoring on maritime defense by establish Navy Primary Base in Papua region.

"We will establish the twelfth Indonesian Navy Primary Base in Sorong, Papua," said the Fifth Primary Base Commander of Jayapura Brigade General Putu Wijamahaadi here on Friday.

Jakarta – Members of veteran rock band Slank have turned to the Constitutional Court (MK) to exercise their constitutional rights after the police banned the band from performing on several occasions.

Several thousand workers from across Greater Jakarta gathered at various locations in the middle of the city on Wednesday demanding the government to reduce their monthly social security contribution.

ID/Agusyanti, Dessy Sagita – Hundreds of companies will be exempt from paying their employees the new minimum wage to prevent bankruptcy, the manpower and transmigration minister said on Thursday.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Judicial Commission (KY) and the Supreme Court are at loggerheads over whether Judge Muhammad Daming Sunusi, who attracted widespread public outcry for making an insulting remark about rape victims, should be fired.

SP/Robertus Wardi – Joko Widodo may only have been sworn in as governor of Jakarta last October, but a new survey suggests he could aim even higher next year.

A poll by the United Data Center (PDB), conducted from Jan. 3-18 with 1,200 respondents in 30 provinces, found that Joko was the figure most people wanted to see as president in the 2014 election.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Some lawmakers are criticizing Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for cherry-picking its battles following the arrest of lawmaker Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq last week in the government import beef bribe scandal.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to commence investigations into five men it alleges are now controlling major Indonesian Police procurement projects.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) says it will soon launch a probe to determine the reasons behind a prolonged spike in beef and cattle prices in the nation.

Jakarta – Activist Ratna Sarumpaet has asked the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to check the tax returns of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his children so as to avoid further negative public perception following a report on the issue by The Jakarta Post.

Jakarta – Education Minister Mohammad Nuh failed to answer a National Commission on Human Rights' (Komnas HAM) summons on Wednesday to clarify a controversial government draft regulation on the teachers unions.

Tunggadewi Matangkilang – Speed bumps should be declared forbidden under Islamic law according a cleric at the Samarinda chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI).

A junior high school teacher in the Pangkep district of South Sulawesi has been reported to police by the local district chief for insulting him in a comment on Facebook, a report said on Thursday.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Democratic Party chief patron President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is relying on party chairman Anas Urbaningrum to unite the party until the 2014 general elections, and he will do whatever it takes to retain Anas in his post despite the graft allegations leveled against him, analysts say.

Bagus BT Saragih and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should do more than just make claims in responding to reports of alleged discrepancies in his family's tax returns, former finance minister and director general of taxation Fuad Bawazier said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of residents planted banana trees in the potholes along Jl. Raya Serang in Tangerang regency on Tuesday to protest to the government's neglecting of the damaged road.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Some people in West Java consider vote-buying in gubernatorial elections to be the norm.

The Indonesia Survey Circle's (LSI) communication image executive director, Toto Izul Fatah, said around 36.1 percent of the community regarded vote-buying as normal. "The survey was conducted with 440 respondents," Toto said in Bandung on Tuesday.

Ainur Rohmah, Semarang – Hundreds of becak (pedicab) drivers in Semarang staged a rally in front of the mayor's office on Tuesday in protest against frequent raids by municipal public order officers (Satpol PP) claiming violence and brutality.

The pedicab drivers claim that public order officers have vandalized pedicabs and forcibly confiscated them.

Fadli, Batam – Around 300 residents of Batam, Riau Islands, have rallied to shut down the Tanjung Kasam steam-powered electricity plant (PLTU) until state-owned electricity company PT PLN stops it from pouring ash onto their homes.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-018-2013

Dear friends,

Jakarta saw another bout of heavy rains and attendant flooding on Wednesday afternoon, with reports of multiple main thoroughfares rendered impassable, downed trees and the capital's Hotel Indonesia traffic circle again inundated by floodwaters.

Mimin Dwi Hartono, Jakarta – Draft national security bills have been deliberated by the House of Representatives for a long time. However, they have continued to be rejected by lawmakers, principally on fears that the bills might trigger human rights violations if enacted.

Yuliasri Perdani and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Members of the House of Representatives have criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's new security regulation that outlines the cooperation between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police in dealing with communal conflicts, calling it unnecessary, and quite possibly illegal.

A member of the Islamic Defenders Front has received a three-and-a-half-month prison sentence for vandalizing a mosque run by Ahmadiyah devotees in Bandung, on the eve of Idul Adha last year.

Tangerang – About 300 workers from the Alliance of Indonesian Labor Unions Congress (KASBI) distributed information on new minimum wage rules.

At a rally on Monday, the workers distributed copies of a gubernatorial regulation dictating sectoral wages for 2013 for industrial firms.

The world's third-largest paper producer Asia Pulp and Paper said on Tuesday it had stopped using logs from Indonesia's natural forests, after fierce campaigning by green groups against the company.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Siti Hartati Tjakra Murdaya, once one of Indonesia's richest women, cried on Monday, as the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced her to 32 months' imprisonment for bribing the regent of Buol, Central Sulawesi.

Jakarta – Environmental activists urged the government to drop its plan to boost coal exports from Kalimantan, as it would not only contribute to greater carbon emissions but would endanger the island's biodiversity.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Cases of religious and ethnic intolerance across West Java are due to a lack of religious awareness, with such cases intensifying due to negligence on the part of the government, activists say.

The governments of East Timor and Thailand last week signed a memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation in exploration and development of the Timorese oil sector.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) is calling on the government to restore the rights of its members, who have been living in a shelter for the past seven years, following their eviction by the majority Sunni community in Ketapang, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A new public opinion poll released on Sunday shows that the job approval rating for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has in fact been improving in spite of graft scandals that rocked his Democratic Party and other political parties in his ruling coalition.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta – Violence remains rampant in Papua as two civilians were attacked by unidentified people in two different areas.

The body of Yerson Wonorengga, 22, was found in the Skyland River, Jayapura, on Friday morning with an open wound on the waist. It is alleged Wonorengga was a victim of a brawl between two groups in Skyland on Thursday evening.

Zakir Hussain – The world's largest Muslim organization, with some 40 million followers, marked its 87th anniversary with a musical ensemble and a wayang performance featuring a Javanese saint last week.

Rizky Amelia – Give a Singaporean school student a three-tier test on any subject, and 95 times out of 100 they will be able to answer the intermediate and advanced questions, says Musliar Kasim, Indonesia's deputy minister of education.

SP/Carlos Paath, Ezra Sihite & Rizky Amelia – It was with great fanfare that Anis Matta was appointed the new president of the Prosperous Justice Party on Friday.

But two days later, rifts in the country's biggest Islamic party have become apparent, with recriminations echoing that the party chose the wrong person to guide it out of a historic low.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The Islamic United Development Party (PPP) has continued to make overtures to a number of fringe groups in the country in an effort to shore up support from traditional Muslims.

Ina Parlina and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – In a country where conspiracy theories are alive and well, pointing your finger to a clandestine operation – be it the universe, spy agencies or, well, the Jews – for the ills that have befallen you, is perhaps the easiest thing to do.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Prabowo Subianto is concerned that despite Indonesia's resource wealth the country has always been seen as market by producers from abroad.

Daniella White & Eileen McInnes – The year 2012 was a turbulent time for minority rights in Indonesia. Incidents of violence, sometimes resulting in death, were frequent and countless communities are still being denied the opportunity to practice their religion, despite laws guaranteeing their inherent rights.

More than 7,000 people have signed an online petition demanding the National Police Chief and South Sumatra Police release an activist arrested during a protest rally held by farmers and environmentalists on Tuesday.