Compared to three months ago, the public's assessment of the performance of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government in the ninth quarter of the government's term is showing signs of a decline.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Around 1,200 Indonesian workers who have been languishing in Malaysian jails for up to seven months were left stranded in Belawan regency, North Sumatra, on Saturday after being deported from Malaysia for visa violations.

They were temporarily housed at Transito Dormitory in Belawan and demanded the local government send them home soon.

Banda Aceh – Government troops killed or captured up to 2,000 separatist rebels in the troubled province of Aceh during the first five months of an offensive aimed at crushing the 27-year-long insurgency, a military official said Monday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Experts have called on the government to lift martial law imposed on Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam since May 19 and back instead a clean, civilian government to lead the Acehnese to the 2004 general elections.

Jill Jolliffe, Batugade – East Timorese self-sufficiency came a step closer at the weekend as United Nations peacekeepers handed control of the Indonesian border area to local police.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A group of frustrated Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) executives in the East Java town of Sidoarjo have switched their allegiance to the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Many of the executives said the decision to leave PDI Perjuangan was triggered by the party's failure to accommodate the interests of grassroots supporters.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – As many as 48 East Timorese citizens sneaked into East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province seeking protection from the Indonesia government, claiming they were victims of intimidation, police said on Friday.

Banda Aceh – A court here on Saturday sentenced a separatist rebel to 11 years in prison for his part in a long-running independence battle in the oil and gas-rich province of Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesia needs to increase economic growth by at least 7 percent in order to alleviate the state of poverty under which 38 million people live, the economic minister said on Friday.

Marian Wilkinson Washington, Matthew Moore Jakarta – President George Bush has announced he is ready to resume military aid to Indonesia and renew ties with its armed forces, in a statement that has stunned members of the US Congress.

Leo Wahyudi S. – Many poor people say that hospitals, including those run by the state, offer them inferior services because they do not have the money to pay for quality health care. The Jakarta Post spoke with a number of residents about the issue.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The city has the money and its share of poor people, but the poor do not get to enjoy the money. The capital's health budget is Rp 74.45 billion (US$ 8.83 million) for 83,364 poor families.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Along the banks of Jakarta's dirty Muara Angke River, several thousand families are preparing for their first-ever appearance on television.

They are not sure when their big day will arrive, though today is looking likely. But they know what to expect, as they have seen it on the television news for weeks. And now it's their turn.

Jakarta – Dozens of vendors from the Senayan Vendors Association (HPSJ) staged a protest at the City Council on Friday, demanding that the management of the Bung Karno Sports Complex halt plans to evict them.

Jakarta – Indonesian police said on Saturday they had killed three men and arrested five suspected of involvement in a string of deadly attacks in Central Sulawesi province.

Anindhita Maharrani, Jakarta – Cleaning up the New Order [regime of former President Suharto] is truly a super difficult job. Basically, almost all of the political parties at the moment are leftovers of the New Order who more or less have the same mentality.

Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Friday the Aceh operation would not be halted during the fasting month of Ramadhan, as had been demanded by rights activists.

Michael Casey, Jakarta – The prime minister of East Timor said Friday that his nation has little hope of overcoming its desperate poverty unless the United Nations extends its presence there and donor countries reject proposals to reduce aid.

A historic agreement was reached Wednesday between the country's largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, on eradicating corruption in a nation that continues to rank among the most corrupt countries in the world. Indonesian Corruption Watch coordinator Teten Masduki shared his views with The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti on the issue.

Jakarta – Unidentified gangs on Friday attempted to set fire to houses in troubled Poso, Central Sulawesi province, where 13 people have died this month in a fresh outbreak of well-planned violence, police officials said.

Jakarta – South Jakarta public order officers bulldozed on Thursday three houses on Jl. T.B. Simatupang, Cilandak Barat, to make way for extensions to the Cilandak Town Square mall, despite an ongoing legal battle over the ownership of the land.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The World Bank praised the government's economic reform package laid out in a special White Paper as a program of impressive targets that promises to improve the investment climate and generate higher economic growth.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Family members of Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel have been told to back presidential candidates who accommodate the institution's interests and are committed to maintaining the country's territorial integrity in the 2004 general elections.

Leo Wahyudi S. – The health services are supposed to be for all citizens, regardless of their social status. However, many people from the lower income brackets are reluctant to seek treatment in the hospital as they cannot afford the medical bills. Besides, being rejected by a hospital on account of lack of money is an exceedingly bitter pill to swallow.

Bali – An Indonesian Muslim militant was jailed for life yesterday for his key role in last year's deadly bombings on this holiday island that killed 202 people.

Mubarok's sentence is the latest in a string of verdicts against Muslim radicals who blew up two nightclubs in Bali last October, killing mostly foreign tourists.

Hundreds of militant Muslims shouting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest) attended the burial of Indonesian terrorist bomb-maker Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi in his home town, a family lawyer said.

Jakarta – The United States plans to resume cooperation with Indonesia's armed forces because the Jakarta government has assisted a US investigation into the murder of two American citizens in Papua province, President George W. Bush said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

Lhokseumawe – Government troops gunned down 10 suspected rebels and three civilians were found dead in the latest violence in Indonesia's war-torn Aceh province, a local military spokesman said Friday.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A court-martial here sentenced two soldiers on Thursday to up to 14 months in jail for their roles in events connected with a weapons raid last April on a military armory in Wamena regency, Papua province.

Indonesia has sent two thousand police and troops into the western island province of Sulawesi, to prevent violence between Muslims and Christians. At least 10 people have died in two separate attacks on four mainly Christian villages in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Hundreds of terrified villagers who fled the attacks by masked men are reported to be slowly returning home.

La Remmy and Erik W, Poso – Jakarta plans to increase security in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, to prevent outsiders from perpetrating further attacks after the deaths of at least nine people in recent raids there, a senior minister said on Wednesday.

Bandung – Charismatic Indonesian Muslim preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar, popularly known as Aa Gym, said on Thursday he would not meet with US President George W Bush when the latter comes to Bali on October 22.

"My rejection of the US invitation to meet Bush is not an act of hatred but as a protest over the country's unfair treatment of other nations in the world," he said.

Jakarta – Indonesia is still "very weak" fighting terrorism because of soft laws and is just waiting for the next attack, the head of the government's anti-terrorism board said on Thursday, days before a visit by US President George W. Bush.

Indonesia must show the world that its Muslim majority is moderate and peace-loving and not let a tiny group of "murderers" determine its direction, US President George W. Bush said in an interview.

Leo Wahyudi S. – The recent case of a patient sent home by a hospital because he could not pay the full medical bill is indicative of the poor treatment low-income people receive from the health service. A number of people recounted their bad experiences when dealing with hospitals to The Jakarta Post.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Mrs Megawati Sukarnoputri's critics said yesterday it is time the Indonesian President took responsibility for her administration's poor performance in key areas instead of blaming others for it.

Kurniawan Hari and Ainur R. Sophiaan, Jakarta/Surabaya – At least seven of Golkar's 19 presidential aspirants have secured a ticket to the party's preliminary convention to choose five candidates after winning the support of at least five provinces as required by the convention.

Evi Mariani and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The intensive evictions of illegal squatters across the capital is apparently related to city budget spending in the last semester by the relevant agencies in the city administration.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – The government painted on Wednesday a brighter outlook for the country's exports for next year, predicting exports to grow by 7 percent, higher than this year's growth target of 5 percent.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti insisted on Wednesday that foreign direct investment in Indonesia was on the rise, saying that the gloomy reports from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) did not represent the real situation.

An international rights group called for Indonesia to ban officers accused of past abuses from involvement with the war against separatist rebels in Aceh province.

La Remmy, Palu – A bomb blast rocked Betania village in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, as police intensified the hunt for masked gunmen who killed at least nine people in recent raids in the violence-torn district.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Bribery and blackmailing attempts have started to daunt members of the General Elections Commission (KPU) as supply procurement tenders worth millions of US dollars for next year's general elections are being processed by the commission.

Kurniawan Hari and Suherdjoko, Jakarta/Semarang – The Golkar convention series to select its presidential candidate remains far from complete and nothing is sure except for the fact that chairman Akbar Tandjung has been made to labor.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The World Bank may not disburse the third and last tranche of the Water Resources Sector Adjustment Loan (Watsal), worth US$150 million, to Indonesia if the controversial water resources bill fails to meet a 1999 commitment on water resource policy reform.

Alan Sipress, Dili – Joni Marques is in jail for his role in the ambush and murder of three Catholic priests, two nuns and their traveling companions in 1999, one of the most infamous incidents during this country's violent birth.

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – An international human rights watchdog on Wednesday identified at least six senior Indonesian military figures with histories of "gross" human rights violations who are now playing key roles in Jakarta's five-month-old offensive against separatists in Aceh.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Hundreds of fishermen who live along the banks of the Muara Angke River in North Jakarta did not go out to sea on Tuesday, instead staying at home to wait for the public order officers to come and try to demolish their houses.

Tiarma Siboro and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe – The government dropped on Tuesday the clearest hint of its intention to extend the martial law now in effect in Aceh, saying that security must be maintained in the province to enable the Acehnese to vote in next year's elections.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia's macro indicators are probably better today than they have been at least since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 wrecked the economy.