Ridwan Max Sijabat, Puncak – State pension fund and workplace insurer PT Jamsostek vowed on Sunday to allocate part of its profit this year to improve workers' welfare in the next.
Jamsostek president Achmad Djunaidi said the company was expected to book a profit of about Rp 3 trillion (US$340) this year.
Ramidi, Jakarta – Around 100 demonstrators from the People's Democratic Party (PRD) held a demonstration in front of the State Palace on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat on Monday December 20. The action which began at 11am was protesting proposed fuel price increases which they consider will burden ordinary people.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua, Bali – Newly elected Golkar party leader Jusuf Kalla announced on Sunday the lineup of the central executive board, consisting of big names who had supported him in gaining the party's top post.
Jakarta – The election of Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the new leader of the Golkar Party has raised concerns of first, a rubber stamp legislature, and later a battle of two potential foes.
Experts and politicians warned that Kalla's win may undercut the ideals and authority of directly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as time goes on.
Kornelius Purba and M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua/Bali – The failure of Akbar Tandjung to retain his leadership of the country's largest party, Golkar, on Sunday morning, made him the last of four people publicly regarded as leaders who became "victims" of the nation's early taste of democracy following the departure of strongman Soeharto.
Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto, who has escaped trial on charges of massive graft because he is too ill to follow proceedings, still monitors political developments in the country.
Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia needs to double the size of its police force and give the military a clearer role if it hopes to cope with a multitude of security threats from terrorists to ethnic conflict, a report said on Monday.
Indonesia's vice president has been chosen as the leader of the powerful Golkar party, an outcome that could boost support for the country's new government but divide its largest political group.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has dishonorably discharged eight soldiers for insubordination during their tour of duty in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – At least 23 people had starved to death in the remote Papuan highlands after fleeing a massive Indonesian military operation, church leaders claimed last night.
They pleaded for urgent action to end a crisis which began when the military stepped up its hunt for leaders of separatist rebel group, the Free Papua Movement or OPM.
Yogyakarta – About 2,000 people from a range of Islamic organizations in the province staged a protest here on Friday against gambling after the police chief let a suspected gambling operator go free.
Samarinda – Tensions remained high in Samarinda city on Friday – ith police maintaining a strong public presence after major protests earlier against the appointment of an acting regent for Kutai Kertanegara.
How many times a day do we gripe about traffic in the capital? Despite our protestations and grumblings, most Jakartans despair in silence without ever making their grievances heard.
"Its a fact of life," we tell ourselves. "There's nothing we can do about it," we convince ourselves.
Evi Mariani and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Sixteen years from now, driving in Jakarta will be at a running pace of 10 kilometers per hour (kph) as revealed in a recent study conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Dili – East Timor's Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) indicted 14 people Friday for war crimes committed in 1999, in what the joint Dili-United Nations body said would be its last indictments before winding up its investigations.
Salim Osman, Nusa Dua (Bali) – Disgruntled elements opposed to Vice-President Jusuf Kalla's anti-corruption stance or his decision to stand for Golkar's top post could be involved in the case of suspected arsenic poisoning, his aides said.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Government officials are accustomed to gift giving and will not easily give it up, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was recently told.
Jakarta Chamber of Commerce's deputy chairman for organization and industry, Fatahillah Dachlan, said businesspeople were becoming "more creative" in giving gratuities.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Everyone is deeply concerned about the poor human development index (HDI), drug abuse and the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS among school-aged children in the country, yet there is no institution tasked to lead a nationwide campaign to defuse the problems.
East Timor's cabinet has passed a landmark petroleum law that will open the door to foreign firms seeking oil and gas exploration licences and create millions of dollars in revenue for the impoverished nation.
Yogyakarta – Twenty-one percent out of a total of 2.5 million people in Yogyakarta are effectively unemployed, the province's Manpower and Transmigration Office says.
Office head Diat Minatu said 100,000 out of the 600,000 people had no sources of income at all, while the remaining 500,000 survived by doing odd jobs for parents or relatives.
Hasrul, Kendari – Daeng Embang stared in despair at his dying orchard when a team of government officials and environmental activists stopped by his house on their way to monitor activities at a quarrying site in the area.
Palu – Fish catches in the Palu Gulf had dropped dramatically during the past two years because of sand dredging in the area, fishermen said on Thursday.
Indonesia after Soeharto is full of surprises. Almost daily we are greeted by more surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. We woke up on Thursday to yet another surprise, this one supplied by the Constitutional Court: it had annulled Electricity Law No. 20/2002.
Bandung – West Java Governor Danny Setiawan rejected on Thursday workers' demand for a repeal of the governor's decree on the minimum wage.
Danny said the decree had been agreed by all parties concerned, including workers' representatives.
Indonesian prosecutors' bid to link a radical Muslim cleric to bomb attacks suffered another setback when a key witness withdrew a confession tying the militant to a regional extremist group.
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Thousands of West Java factory workers, grouped under the National Workers Union (SPN), staged a five hour protest on Wednesday outside the West Java governor's office, demanding that the governor raise the minimum wage in the province.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court annulled on Wednesday Electricity Law No. 20/2002, ruling that it was against the nation's Constitution for opening the door to full competition in the electricity business. It was the first law to be annulled by the powerful court since its establishment last year.
Kornelius Purba and M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua/Bali – This week's Golkar Party congress will feature rich, deceptive and powerful people bidding to win the chairmanship of the party, which controls the most seats in the House of Representatives.
There's high drama in Bali at the annual conference of the powerful political party Golkar. Indonesian police have confirmed they're investigating a possible attempt to poison the Vice President Yusuf Kalla, whose attending the conference and is standing for its leadership.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The leaders of Indonesia and East Timor have quietly agreed to discuss setting up a "truth and friendship commission" that would reconsider the massacre of East Timorese about the time of their 1999 vote for independence.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The government must give authority to the General Elections Commission (KPU) in local elections to prevent the interference of regional legislatures, an observer says.
Under Law No. 32/2004 on regional administrations, local elections are organized by local election commissions (KPUDs), which are accountable to regional legislatures (DPRDs).
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A government-sanctioned joint team announced its official report on alleged Buyat Bay pollution here on Wednesday, maintaining its stance that PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) is guilty of contaminating the bay in North Sulawesi.
Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – Although it is emerging as the world's largest Muslim democracy, the country still has a long way to go until it plays a greater role in the Muslim world and other international affairs due to lingering domestic problems, say analysts.
Reporter: Anne Barker
Eleanor Hall: East Timor has upped the ante in its dispute with Australia over oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.
Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has said that the TNI is ready to be placed under the ministry of defense ministry only if this was aimed at reaching a better democratic life. The TNI is basically obliged to encourage the democratization process in Indonesia towards a better situation.
Darmawan Sepriyossa, Cunding Levi, TNR – A team of eight men had apparently come and gone with the wind. They arrived in Papua "stealthily". On Sunday a fortnight ago, boarding a chartered Airfast flight, they landed at the Moses Kilangin Airport, Timika, Papua. No official reception awaited them. In fact, even the local administration had no previous knowledge of their arrival.
Born of a long, bloody revolution which taxed immeasurable sacrifice, it is no wonder that the words "war" and "struggle" are etched into the fables of Indonesian nationalism.
[East Timor: Testimony. Elaine Briere. Between the Lines Books. 128 pages, 64 photographs, $56.95.]
Stephen Langford – For people involved in East Timor's struggle, this book is a must-read. I have Elaine Briere to thank for my start in East Timor solidarity, and I am an admirer of her photography, and of her documentary on East Timor, Bitter Paradise.
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is considering modifying the prerogatives granted to party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, in an attempt to become more modern.
PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung Wibowo said here on Tuesday that special powers could only be exercised after consultation with other party leaders.
Nani Afrida, Central Aceh – Musirah, 50, remembered the day her village fought against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), when hundreds of armed insurgents besieged the village on June 6, 2001.
The guerrillas had previously attacked and burned down other villages in the districts of Batu, Timang Gajah, Bandar and Syiah Utama.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Attorney General Abdul Rachman Saleh says Indonesia will continue to impose the death penalty for certain crimes, as the country lacks competent law enforcement institutions. "I think the death penalty remains relevant," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on the death penalty sponsored by the European Union here on Tuesday.
James Rose – Indonesian and international groups have called for a halt to BP's Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in Indonesia in a letter to BP chief executive Lord Browne, citing sustainability concerns.
The letter highlights concerns over progress on key human rights commitments, transparency, and issues surrounding the West Papua secessionist rebellion movement.
Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Billions of rupiah in change from traffic fines remain idle at a state bank, as most people have been reluctant to go to court over traffic tickets and preferred to pay out-of-court settlements.
Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Enraged by the latest attacks on churches in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Christian leaders demanded here on Tuesday that the government investigate the bloody incidents thoroughly.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The government has finalized a draft presidential regulation to transfer control of the directorate general of post and telecommunications from the Ministry of Transportation to the Office of the State Minister of Information and Communication.
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – At least 2,500 families will lose their homes next year when the city administration launches a massive eviction operation to remove squatters who are living along riverbanks, under overpasses and on idle plots of land.
The administration, however, promised that the people would relocated to nearby low-cost apartments provided by the city.
Jakarta - Suciwati, the wife of the late Munir, is to seek international support. She will be forced to do this if an Indonesian independent investigation team is not able to work effectively.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Police personnel will not hesitate to arrest any parties who attempt to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the proclamation of the West Melanesian State, a top police officer in Papua warned on Monday. The anniversary celebration falls on December 14.
Dili – Dili understands the worries of investors over corruption in East Timor and the government is determined to crackdown on the emerging phenomenon in tandem with aid donors, Foreign Minister Josi Ramos Horta said Tuesday.
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia is planning mandatory military service for its citizens in a bid to beef up the country's defence forces.