Jakarta – Poor sanitation has cost the state in terms of both health and wealth, a World Bank expert said Thursday, citing annual revenue losses estimated at Rp 56 trillion yearly.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Critics and education experts are up in arms after the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill on educational legal entities, which detractors say will lead to the commercialization of education in the country.

Seth Mydans, Renokenongo – Her children insist, so every week or two Lilik Kamina takes them back to their abandoned village to look at the mud.

"Hey, Mom, there's our house, there's the mango tree," she said they shout. But there is nothing to see, only an ocean of mud that has buried this village and a dozen more over the past two-and-a-half years.

JP/Suherdjoko – The global economic meltdown has slowly taken a toll on Indonesia as 250,000 of the country's migrant workers have returned home, exacerbating the already high jobless rate, a minister says.

Anton Muhajir, Denpasar – Bali's human rights organizations were still embroiled by classical, internal problems diminishing their capability to implement their agendas, an activist said during a civil society gathering last week.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – An ineffective relief and recovery system has led to uneven distributions of disaster-relief funds for reconstruction projects post the tsunami disaster in 2004, a World Bank expert said Tuesday.

Women's rights activists in Bandung have largely failed to empower female victims of domestic violence to defy their husbands and seek legal means to protect themselves and their children, an expert says.

Only two of six incidences of domestic violence reported this year have been brought to the Bandung District Court.

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesian lawmakers passed a new mining law Tuesday that will give the mineral-rich nation greater control over its resources, though analysts warn it could deter investment by multinational corporations.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs approved a controversial bill on the Supreme Court on Tuesday, except for the article on justices' retirement age.

Ni Komang Erviani and Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – The Bali Tourism Workers Union, particularly in the Badung regency where over 200,000 workers depend on tourists for their livelihood, is bracing itself for possible mass layoffs as the global financial crisis persists.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia, along with most countries in the world, has seen the gap between the salaries of its workers widen in the past two decades, a condition that is protracted in Indonesia's case because its informal sector absorbs such a large portion of the total work force, an ILO study has revealed.

Sara Webb, Jakarta – When Indonesia's president delivered his independence day speech to parliament, stressing the need to eradicate corruption, it was clear to many onlookers that the biggest problem was staring him in the face. In Indonesia, members of parliament top the charts when it comes to corrupt practices.

At least 70 people have been arrested or imprisoned for peaceful pro-independence activities in the province of Maluku, Indonesia over the last two years, Amnesty International revealed today. The Indonesian government should immediately and unconditionally release all those detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, belief and association.

Aprizal Rahmatullah, Jakarta – It is as if Jakarta is never free from the bustle of protest actions. Today, seven groups of demonstrators are ready to enliven the capital with the potential to create traffic congestion.

Panca Nugraha and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Lombok, Bandung – Few residents of West Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), bothered to turn up to polling booths Monday to vote in the second round of the regent election, which was held simultaneously in 15 districts.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua's provincial legislative council has decided to postpone the endorsement of the Papua HIV/AIDS Handling bylaw planned for approval this Monday, after the provincial administration deemed it would violate human rights.

Novia Chandra Dewi, Jakarta – The 2009 legislative and presidential elections are within sight. Thirty eight national political parties are registered to contest to fight for the people's votes. But it is estimated that only 10 parties will end up with seats in Senayan (the House of Representatives).

Luh De Suriyani and Claudia Sardi, Denpasar – The Bali Commission for Children's Protection (KPAI) and Yayasan Bali Sruti, a local women's rights NGO, have warned local media to stop publishing material that discriminates against and is offensive to their charges.

Jakarta (Dtc/Lampost) – The Star Reform Party (PBR) is continuing to select presidential candidates who are suitable for support at its convention.

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The government forecasts that manufacturing sector output will only grow by 3.6 percent to 4.6 percent next year, lower than this year's revised growth target of 4.8 percent, says Industry Minister Fahmi Idris.

Buktar Tabuni (arrested) and Mr. Yosias Syet (murdered)

To: Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President, Republic of Indonesia
Mr. Andi Matalatta, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Republic of Indonesia
Mr. Hendarman Supandji, Attorney General, Republic of Indonesia
Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, Chief of National Police, Republic of Indonesia

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – While it will certainly ensure more business, the soon-to-be passed mining bill is likely to discourage large multinational mining companies from investing in Indonesia, putting the future of the industry at stake, mining groups warn.

Ronald Tanamas, Jakarta – The Star Reform Party (PBR) is now looking and seeking out who is the appropriate presidential candidate for it to support in its coming convention. Up until this time the candidate that is acceptable to the PBR convention is Razil Ramli, but it is not impossible that the target may change to [former Kopassus commander] Prabowo Subianto.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The deliberations of a Corruption Court bill have hit a wall as lawmakers struggle to finalize the terms of the draft law before the deadline by the end of next year.

Alexander Downer – With the death of former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas, Australia has lost a good friend who was also a decent bloke.

Activists and researchers on women's rights came together in Bali last month to address among other things the effects of extremist views. The following is a report by The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti, who covered the Kartini Asia Network conference in Sanur.

Jakarta – The city administration must make greater efforts to create green spaces in the capital, the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has said.

The organization estimates the percentage of green areas in the city is only 6.2 percent, lower than the city park agency's latest official estimate of 9.6 percent.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Chinese-Indonesians are still being required by bureaucrats – from immigration to civil registry offices – to show citizenship certificates when applying for identity cards, passports and other official documents, a survey has revealed.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights has urged the government to give more protection to the rights of indigenous people marginalized by rapid development.

Commission deputy chairman Ridha Saleh said here Saturday the rights of indigenous people had long been neglected due to the government's bias towards developers.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The number of child sex workers in Indonesia has more than doubled in the past decade, with the majority operating around resorts amid the country's booming tourism industry, an NGO has warned.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – The Navy's Eastern Fleet has locked horns with villagers once again, challenging them to either peacefully resolve a dispute over land in South Malang, or take the case to court.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The regional stock market collapse, tumbling commodity prices and the fall in the value of the local currency have taken a toll on the country's 40 wealthiest people this year with their wealth plummeting, according to US-based Forbes magazine.

Dian Kuswandini – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) are involved in a war of words over the facts behind the return of US$750 million to the state from AGO cases between Jan. 2004 and Nov. 2008.

ICW went to the press claiming the results from more than 3,000 corruption cases prosecuted by the AGO were questionable.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said Friday all legal documents issued under an online administration system of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry were unlawful because they were signed by a private company.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – In a rare loss of self-control, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vented his anger Friday at a group of protesters rallying outside of the State Palace, saying they were disturbing a Cabinet meeting he was chairing.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) are to partake in a joint training program next week to increase their ability to safeguard the country against internal security threats.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Growth in tax revenue has continued to decline towards the year's end, as the slowing down of the economy has reduced output, the tax office says.

Emma Macdonald – East Timor might be the newest sovereign state in the world, but for PhD graduate Nuno Oliveira the tiny country's ancient history is its most compelling feature.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The settlement of gross human rights abuse cases in Indonesia will likely encounter a deadlock, with law enforcers continually acting "uncooperatively" and the government and lawmakers "lacking the political will" to settle the cases, a discussion heard in Jakarta on Thursday.

Ni Komang Erviani and Indah Setiawati, Nusa Dua – Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika has pledged to support the struggle to file a judicial review of the anti-pornography law, following its ratification earlier this week by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Tom Allard, Indonesia – Ali Alatas was remembered yesterday as a consummate diplomat and fierce patriot who fought hard for Indonesia's interests, whether acting for the dictatorship of Suharto or as an envoy-at-large and presidential adviser in the new, democratic Indonesia.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Bank lending will probably grow more slowly next year, while the proportion of bad loans may rise, as the global financial crisis hits Indonesia's real sector, thus reducing business expansion and debt repayment capacity.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Former top spy Muchdi Purwopranjono denied he premeditated the 2004 murder of noted human rights activist Munir Said Thalib in court Thursday, and demanded judges acquit him of all charges.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie said Thursday the money being provided to mudflow victims in Sidoarjo, East Java, was not compensation but rather constituted a business deal to acquire their ruined land.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A House of Representatives' special committee has slammed the Attorney General for failing to attend a meeting on the establishment of an investigative tribunal into the abduction of democracy advocates.

Andi Hajramurni and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Makassar, Bandung – Rights activists across the country celebrated International Human Rights Day on Wednesday by staging rallies and other events expressing their views and voicing their demands about the current state of human rights in Indonesia.

Oleh Ahmad Arif – The global financial crisis, which began far away in the United States, appears to have also become a bugbear for workers in Indonesia. Starting with national industries that are dying because global markets are stagnating, millions of workers are faced with the threat of dismissal.

Jakarta – The number of workers that have already been dismissed appears to be extraordinarily large. At least, this is the version being given by employers. The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has stated that hundreds of thousands of workers have quietly been losing their jobs – a euphemism for being sacked (PHK).

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Layoffs will not reach into the millions next year as was feared, mainly because of the ability of the informal sector to absorb workers who have been dismissed from the formal sector, the World Bank says.

Fadli, Batam – Companies operating in the industrial areas in Bintan, Riau Islands, have seen dramatic slowdowns due to ripple effects from the global economic crisis.