Al Araf and Anton Aliabbas, Bandung – The swearing-in ceremony of the 2009-2014 House of Representatives' members is a sign that democratization in Indonesia is a continuing process.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Although their plans have been widely condemned by officials, the People's Democratic Defense (Bendera) announced on Thursday that they are ready to invade Ma

Camelia Pasandaran – Analysts on Tuesday attacked the House of Representatives for its poor attendance record, during a judicial review hearing in the Constitutional Court.

Ruslan Sangadji and Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – The Golkar Party's eighth national congress is awash in money, with rival candidates for the chairmanship shelling out hundreds of million

Pekanbaru, Riau – Golkar advisory board member and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Aburizal Bakrie, was officially elected as the new Golkar Party chairman on Thursday morni

Nurfika Osman – Past failures and alleged scandals, especially the Lapindo mudflow disaster, will hound Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie as he assumes his posi

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Analysts say newly elected Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie will solidify support for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and ensure the profitability of

Camelia Pasandaran – Graphic pornographic images made a return to the Constitutional Court on Thursday, much to the discomfort of some of the judges considering a judicial review filed

Jakarta – A survey by Transparency International has revealed Indonesian business players are deeply entrenched in corruption, with 60 percent of respondents admitting to paying bribes

Didi Syafirdi, Jakarta – Five protest actions and one silent action will enliven Jakarta today.

Febriamy Hutapea, Pekanbaru (Riau) – The mud slinging between candidates vying for the leadership of the Golkar Party was well and truly thrown into full gear on Wednesday at the party'

Jakarta – On this day two years ago, Governor Fauzi Bowo and his running mate, retired army general Prijanto, were sworn into office after defeating rival Adang Daradjatun and his runni

Farouk Arnaz & Nivell Rayda – It's official.

Camelia Pasandaran – Hundreds of flawed local bylaws have been quashed by the central government since the country began the shift toward regional autonomy, the Ministry of Home Affairs

Indonesia is considering declaring four villages mass graves after they were buried by landslides in last week's earthquake.

Jonathan Pearlman with agencies, Padang – Unable to reach the bodies buried beneath them, workers have begun demolishing buildings damaged in Indonesia's giant earthquake.

Eric Talmadge, Kampung Laweh (Indonesia) – Children swarmed into the streets clutching begging boxes and yelling "please help me" Wednesday as an aid convoy reached villages deep in Ind

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Heru Andriyanto – The Attorney General's Office was under strong pressure on Wednesday to immediately form an ad hoc team tasked with investigating the di

Farouk Arnaz – National Police on Tuesday warned they would take firm action against a group of Indonesians who were apparently putting the final touches to a plan to invade Malaysia an

Kendari – Hundreds of students from various universities staged a protest on Tuesday at the Southeast Sulawesi legislative council building, where its 45 new members were being sworn in

The rupiah strengthened to its highest level in a year on Tuesday, as the country's strong economic prospects and comparatively high interest rates boosted foreign investment.

Dion Bisara & Muhamad Al Azhari – Sluggish government spending is giving rise to fears that the country will fail to meet the projected 2009 growth target of 4.3 percent.

Farouk Arnaz & Made Arya Kencana – National Police Chief Gen.

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Two years into the job, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo still has to work extra hard to make good on his campaign promises, a discussion concluded Monday.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The President has approved three people to serve as interim leaders of the beleaguered Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), after their nomination by a spec

Aubrey Belford, Bunga Pasang (West Sumatra) – Indonesian housewife Edib Mulyati stands in the ruins of her quake-hit house and smiles bitterly at the government's promises of aid, sayin

AHRC-PRL-037-2009

Although rival candidates consider Tommy Suharto's 10-year absence from politics as a critical drawback in his chances of being elected chairman of Golkar, others within the former ruli

Febriamy Hutapea, Pekanbaru (Riau) – Though Golkar yellow dominates the landscape in Pekanbaru, there is an unmistakable undercurrent of black running through Riau's provincial capital,

Febriamy Hutapea, Pekanbaru (Riau) – The Golkar Party's national congress descended into chaos and required a police cool-down on Tuesday morning as members took part in a heated debate

Text messages have been circulating since last week linking the timing of Wednesday and Thursday's earthquakes in Sumatra with verses about immorality and punishment in the Koran, promp

Padang – As West Sumatra begins rebuilding after last week's earthquake, questions are being raised about whether corruption and shoddy building standards contributed to the extent of t

Farouk Arnaz, Nivell Rayda & Heru Adriyanto – Lawyers for two suspended Corruption Eradication Commission deputy chairmen on Monday filed a new complaint against the National Police

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Padang (Indonesia) – The earthquake devastated west Sumatran city of Padang is slowly trying to drag itself to normalcy today with school students back in those cla

Nivell Rayda – Analysts on Sunday warned that Taufik Kiemas's successful bid to become chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly marked the end of the opposition in the country's d

Camelia Pasandaran – The swearing in of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono on Oct.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The country's military got a party pooper of a birthday present on Monday – a reminder from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that it must phase out its raft

Aubrey Belford, Jakarta – Some superstitious Indonesians are blaming a supposedly unlucky president and not shifting tectonic plates for the latest earthquake.

Eric Talmadge and Irwan Firdaus, Padang – Rescue workers called off the search Monday for life under the rubble left by a massive earthquake, focusing instead on bringing aid to survivo

Candra Malik, Solo – A day after police shut down a meeting convened in Solo, Central Java, by Sri Bintang Pamungkas to oppose the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, t

[The following is a translation of a 2009 article by Detik News related to a previous attempt by the national police to criminalise the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in which trumped-u

As Indonesia's military celebrates its 64th anniversary today, human rights activists are urging it to pursue the reforms introduced following the fall of strongman Suharto in 1998.

Eric Talmadge and Irwan Firdaus, Jumanak (Indonesia) – With no outside help in sight, villagers used their bare hands Sunday to dig out rotting corpses, four days after landslides trigg

Agus Maryono, Banyumas – Around 3,000 teachers of private schools in Banyumas, Central Java, have once again complained about the regency administration not paying them an honorarium fo

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – Farmers in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) are still living in poverty despite 15 years of surplus rice production in the province, an official says.

Tom Allard – Nestled in densely forested hills, with spectacular volcanoes in the distance and pitched on a coast a short boat ride from spectacular tropical islands and surf breaks, Pa

Tom Allard, Padang – Hopes for hundreds of people trapped under collapsed buildings in Padang faded yesterday, as diplomats frantically tried to account for as many as 60 Australians mi

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Hundreds of female sex workers have returned to the tourist site of Baturaden, located in Banyumas regency in the southwestern part of Central Java, after a m

Jakarta – The first People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary session to swear in new members of the representative body on Friday was marked by several protests.

Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and political parties at the House of Representatives have yet to reach an agreement over the composition of the People's Consultati