Rais Hidayat, Jakarta – Several youth organizations were closely tied with the ruling Golkar party under New Order regime. They were its right arm, ready to guard any of its events and to mobilize support. They gained considerable influence, even if some of it was out of fear or resentment.

Kurniawan Hari and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Ansor, a youth group of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, has announced that it will not support the possible presidential candidacy of former NU chairman Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Prominent religious leaders, businesspeople and activists have agreed to step up efforts against corruption by not supporting candidates in the election that have shown an unwillingness to stop corruption.

They publicly announced the agreement during a one-day conference entitled "Building a Union Against Graft" here on Tuesday.

Indonesian police said yesterday they had arrested a man believed to be a senior aide in the self-styled government proclaimed by separatist rebels in Aceh province.

Mohammad bin Mohammad Thoyib, 26, was arrested yesterday at a dormitory for Acehnese students in the city of Bandung in West Java, said the local police chief, Eddy Mulyono.

Eva C. Komandjaja and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The City Council urged the Jakarta Administration on Monday to cut down on the bureaucratic red tape on disbursements for impoverished dengue fever victims, who are unable to get timely or professional medical treatment without the money.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The printing of ballot papers may be moved further back as film printing firms have still not finished the templates for the ballots, which will greatly delay the delivery of the election materials to all the polling stations.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – One of Indonesia's worst outbreaks of dengue fever for years has struck more than 19,000 people, killing at least 336 and prompting a flurry of Government promises to fight it.

Hong Kong – Indonesia is seen as the most corrupt country in Asia for the third year running, followed by India and Vietnam, a survey of foreign businessmen showed on Tuesday.

Singapore was seen as the least corrupt among 12 countries and territories in the region, the study by Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd says.

Almost a third of Indonesia's state primary school buildings need repairs and some are so decrepit they threaten children's safety, a senior education ministry official said.

"I estimate that about 30 percent of our primary schools are suffering from various degrees of damage and decay," said Indra Jati Sidi, director general for elementary education.

Sri Wahyuni and Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Sleman Regent Ibnu Subiyanto reassured teachers and students here on Monday that state-run Ambarrukmo Elementary School would not be demolished until a replacement building was provided.

"Students, teachers and parents should not worry about the plan," Ibnu told journalists at his office.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The government announced on Monday its plan to develop several infrastructure projects worth more than Rp 200 trillion (US$23.5 billion) over five years in the telecommunications and transportation sectors, as well as in the gas pipeline sector.

Banda Aceh – Since martial law came into force in Aceh on May 19, 2003, the Banda Aceh Military Court I/01 has handed down verdicts on 90 legal cases involving 120 TNI (armed forces) officers. Those who have been punished are not just officers from the Iskandar Muda territorial military command (Kodam), but also from military operational units at the district level (Korem).

Ahmad Fikri, Jakarta – West Bandung (West Java) police have arrested Mohammad bin Toyib (26) who they say is the adjutant of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) finance minister.

This was revealed to journalists by the head of the West Bandung police, Eddy Mulyono, at the Bandung police headquarters on Tuesday March 2.

Apriadi Gunawan and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Medan – The government has not yet tended to poor labor conditions at state-owned oil palm plantations in North Sumatra, leaving the majority of workers underpaid and uninsured.

Semarang – The campaign against rotten politicians which is being promoted by a number of non-government organisation (NGO) activists should be supported. However just campaigning against rotten politicians is not enough to bring about improvements. There also needs to be a movement to put intelligent people into these posts.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – The consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.02 percent in February from the previous month as the rice harvest and a stronger rupiah resulted in lower prices for foodstuffs and lower education and recreation costs. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) also reported on Monday that year-on-year inflation during the month was 4.6 percent, the lowest in four years.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – A rise in non-oil and gas exports drove the overall export figure in January slightly higher by 0.74 percent compared to the same period last year, raising hopes that export could help accelerate economic growth to 4.8 percent this year.

Lee Kim Chew – Indonesia's biggest political parties expect to hang on to the votes they won in the 1999 polls, but two emerging Islamic parties are confident of making gains in April's parliamentary elections.

Jakarta – As the election draws close, political parties are now openly touting their possible presidential and vice presidential candidates in the hope of drumming up enough support to grab power.

Student protesters on Monday burned effigies of former president Suharto and parliament speaker/Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tanjung.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A former business associate of well-connected businessman Tomy Winata told the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday that his Artha Graha company security guards' threats of violence had always been a fixture of how Tomy did business.

Indonesia goes to the polls in next month, with President Megawati Sukarnoputri expected to retain power. But this time around, the president's campaign is doing little to influence a small group of once-loyal supporters.

Chinese Indonesians, who have traditionally shunned politics to focus on business, are now showing a new willingness to get politically active.

Jakarta – Former vice president Gen. (ret.) Try Sutrisno defended on Monday a decision by the military to open fire on a crowd during the Tanjung Priok incident in 1984.

Jakarta – Efforts in Indonesia to ease chronic traffic jams in the teeming capital Jakarta are boosting one of the city's more curious professions – car jockeys.

But don't think horses and high stakes. Eni and her two-year-old son spend six hours a day riding in strangers' cars, playing a daily game of cat and mouse with traffic wardens.

Neles Tebay – When the territory of Papua was under Dutch rule, the population was almost exclusively Papuan, made up of some 252 ethnic groups. Since Indonesia took over the territory in 1963, however, the composition of the population has altered due to the influx of Indonesian migrants.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government would increase security at all vital projects and assets across the country, in a move hoped to help attract new foreign investment in the oil and gas sector.

Less than two years after winning independence, war-ravaged East Timor is hoping to lure travelers to its coral reefs and colonial towns. Christopher R. Cox reports on the country's prospects for success

by Christopher R. Cox

Mafoot Simon – All was quiet in the Islamic religious school on the outskirts of this city at the weekend, as students and workers went about their business, in stark contrast to a fortnight ago.

Then, a convoy of cars heralded the arrival of presidential hopeful Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and an entourage of VIPs out to woo the heartlander vote.

Pasuruan – Her father was known as the Smiling General and some have already dubbed her party the Smiling Party. But Suharto's daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, is leaving furrowed brows around Java.

By Mafoot Simon THE story goes that motorists worried about accidents during Indonesian elections carry the colours of all contesting parties – it's their ticket to a safe passage.

But that was in the past.

Mafoot Simon – The sense of anxiety is palpable as six men try to stay calm. After all, they are in their party leader's house to complain about another party official.

For almost three hours, they try to convince Mr Haji Juwanto, head of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) here, that the party should take action.

Tim Shorrock – August 31, 2002, began as a day like any other in the lives of Patsy and Rick Spier. They were teaching school in West Papua, Indonesia, the latest posting in a series of international teaching jobs far away from their home in Denver.

Ben Terrall – In the first visit to Indonesia by a Bush cabinet official since George W.'s October "trip to al-Qaeda hell" (in the words of an unnamed White House official quoted by the New York Times) John Ashcroft flew to Bali in early February to attend a two-day regional conference on terrorism.

Jakarta – Thousands of white-clad, religious conservatives rallied and prayed in cities across Indonesia on Sunday, demanding the imposition of traditional Islamic law in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Papuan tribal leaders rejected what they called an unsatisfactory investigation into the murder of proindependence Papuan leader Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway, and called for the United Nations to set up an independent team to conduct an objective and thorough inquiry into the case.

Lee Kim Chew – In his bid to become Indonesia's next president, former military chief General Wiranto yesterday used Singapore as his launch pad to project himself as the strong leader his country needs.

Muh. Azis Tunny and Yemris Fointuna, Ambon/Kupang – Tens of thousands of eligible voters in Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara provinces may not be able to vote in the upcoming elections, as they are not registered with the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

In Maluku province, the BPS has finished registering voters, although 7,000 eligible voters have not been registered.

Robert Go, Medan – Motorised-rickshaw driver Iskandar was one of millions who chose the black bull symbol of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P) in 1999.

Mafoot Simon – In this Indonesian city of almost 1,000 Islamic religious schools, it comes as no surprise that the Muslim parties will slug it out for votes in April's legislative election.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Having seen the current pre-election political maneuverings in the country, nobody would argue the classic adage in politics "There are no perpetual enemies, only interests".

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The National Police have deployed over 7,000 reinforcement personnel to three conflict-prone areas to help the existing forces there maintain security and order, prior to and during the elections.

Indra Harsaputra and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta/Surabaya – The historic verdict by the Constitutional Court to scrap a ruling which prohibits former members of the outlawed Indonesia Communist Party (PKI), or their relatives, from contesting in April's legislative election has not moved the government to dismantle decades-long discriminatory rulings against them, a minister po

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A constitutional law expert has called on the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Constitutional Court to have a look into two contradictory rules about the presidential elections to avoid possible chaos in the upcoming poll.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The Indonesian public received a huge shock yesterday when restructuring agency Ibra closed its books for good and handed over a bill for the economic crisis that began in 1997: around 477 trillion rupiah, or S$94 billion.

For some, this is the final chapter in a five-year reform effort; others say the process is not yet over.

Jakarta – Indonesian police have released eight activists detained earlier this month in war-torn Aceh province but plan to charge two others with treason for allegedly helping separatist rebels, officials said on Saturday.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – In funeral services, preachers often say, "May he rest in peace". But you can't take that on face value if you are a Jakarta resident.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Students, parents and teachers of the SMPN 56 state junior high school opposing a controversial property deal sought protection from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Friday, the day they were supposed to be evicted.

Jakarta – Two months and more than 300 deaths after a deadly outbreak of dengue fever across the country, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has declared the epidemic a problem. She urged hospitals and officials to help all patients, even if they are unable to pay for treatment.

She also advised Indonesians to take steps to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Aceh police declared two of 11 student activists arrested recently as treason suspects on Friday, saying that they had supported the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Police said the two students had helped GAM by provoking people in Aceh Tengah regency to take refuge.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – The start of the academic year is four months away, but schools in Jakarta – including kindergartens, high schools, state and private schools – are already advertising in the media.