[Unfinished Nation: Indonesia Before and After Suharto by Max Lane Verso, HK$223. Reviewed by Tom Fawthrop.]

Jakarta – The chairperson of the National Liberation Party of Unity's (Papernas) advisory board, Dita Indah Sari, has decided to run as a legislative candidate under the Islamic based S

Laurencius Simanjuntak, Jakarta – It appears that the phenomena of 'changing cloths' is becoming commonplace in the lead up to the 2009 general elections.

Laurencius Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Around 70 housewives went to the Star Reform Party (PBR) offices on Jl.

Khairul Saleh, Palembang – The government should mete out the stiffest punishment against anyone involved in the trade of protected wildlife to deter recurrences of the crime, said a co

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – More than 300 Muslim scholars ended a three-day international conference here Friday with a decision to form an ulema body to address global conflicts within the

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – On-year inflation hit a 22-month high in July as the second-round effects of the May fuel price increases were yet to fully materialize, providing leeway for

Jon Lamb – On July 15, the final report from the joint Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) was officially received by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor.

Sahil K. Mahtani – As if to illustrate the universality of poor taste, the former chief of the Indonesian Special Forces Gen.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The implementation of the electronic school textbook (e-books) policy has been met with glitches, with parents of students forced to buy expensive textbooks for

Nurni Sulaiman, Balikpapan – Up to 3,000 forestry workers went on strike in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday, demanding the government raise the monthly provincial wage by at leas

Fery Firmansyah, Jakarta – Three protest actions are scheduled to take place at the State Place and two other government offices on Thursday July 31.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The much-hyped global trade talks collapsed Tuesday with economic powers and top developing nations trading the blame and leaving countries like Indonesia loc

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Pressure is mounting for the AGO to re-open investigations into the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) graft case after a court found businesswoman Artalyta

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – The Corruption Court sentenced businesswoman Artalyta Suryani to five years in prison on Tuesday for bribing state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan.

It's a great story that makes the world go 'round – apart from love and money. A story that feeds the insatiable human need for information on the condition of others.

Andreas D.

Jakarta – An Indonesian court sentenced a businesswoman to five years in jail on Tuesday for bribing a public prosecutor to drop a high-profile investigation in a scandal that has rocke

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Calls are mounting for the government to immediately finalize drafting a bill on governance administration which is intended to promote bureaucratic reforms i

Jakarta – Police have launched an investigation after a cache of up to 10 petrol bombs was found stashed underneath a train heading to the Indonesian capital Jakarta, officials said on

Jakarta – "The Democrats must find another coalition partner," said politics expert, Indra J. Piliang, yesterday.

Andreas D.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – At the opening of the Association of Islamic Students (HMI) congress in Palembang on Monday, the Golkar chairman and his predecessor shook hands and exchanged sm

Fadli, Batam – As many as 2,000 workers of PT Jaya Asiatic Shipyard in Batam, Riau Islands, went on strike Monday, demanding the company fix its poor work conditions.

We are flabbergasted to learn that the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is continuing to lobby the government for an indiscriminate tax amnesty it claims to be vital

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The press community has warned against the emergence of a new form of censorship as evident in a recent ruling between Koran Tempo and a paper company, a discu

All police units based along the country's borders have been instructed to fly the red-and-white flag all along the borders, to welcome Independence Day on 17 August 2008.

Julia Suryakusuma, Jakarta – Vivienne, an old friend of mine from Singapore, came to visit last week. I had just watched a Chinese kung fu DVD and Viv noticed the cover.

Triwik Kurniasari, Jakarta – Hundreds of students from the Arastamar Theological College (Setia) were evacuated from their campus in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, on Sunday, following cla

Aqida Swamurti, Jakarta – The State Ministry for the Environment has recorded that verdicts of not guilty are handed down by the courts in around 40 percent of environmental cases.

Agnes Winarti, Jakarta – More than half of the street children living in shelters in Central Jakarta have been sexually abused and one third take addictive substances, including cigaret

The Papua NGOs Forum is calling on Indonesia's government to stop issuing permits for oil palm plantation in Papua province.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Victims of the July 27, 1996, attack on the headquarters of then opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, commemorated the incident on Sunday by launching a bo

Dian Yuliastuti, Jakarta – Head of Internet Rental Centers in Indonesia (Awari), Irwin Day, has that the money in circulation being spent on pornography has reached US$3.075 million per

Dian Yuliastuti, Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (NCCP) has stated that violence and pornography from the internet still overshadow Indonesian children.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While some 40 million Indonesians struggle to survive on less than US$2 per day, their representatives in the national legislature manage to each secure more tha

"Indonesia on execution spree", reads the headline of a wire service reporting on six such executions in the past month.

Jakarta – The country's packaging industry, which boasts revenues of Rp 20 trillion (US$2.18 billion) a year, is suffering from low imports and disrupted local supply due to power cuts,

The Indonesian government has assured PNG that there would be no repeat border incursions into PNG by its soldiers.

Jeffrey Elapa – A peaceful protest march was held in Madang on Saturday by Divine Word University students over the alleged border incursions by Indonesian soldiers.

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – Ten alleged militants arrested this month planned to assassinate an American teacher in Indonesia and avenge the upcoming executions of the Bali nightclub bomb

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Anwar Rosadi, the father of a 12 year old, who had worked as a maid for Renata Tan, looked worried.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Peace campaigners warned mobilizations of youth groups in the election campaign currently underway could lead to outbreaks of violence similar to recent viole

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Around 20 students in the Central Jakarta city of Yogyakarta were arrested by municipal police on Saturday July 26 when they tried to block President Susil

Jakarta, Indonesia July 23 – Twelve years ago, dozens of young people declared the birth of a new political party, which had a radical-progressive political line.

Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Gay groups, human rights and women groups protested at media bias putting homosexuality in a negative light through association with and negative reporting of

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has underlined the need for reform of Indonesia's military after a report blamed the country for gross human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999.

Jakarta – Indonesia must raise ownership ceilings for foreign investment and liberalize state-owned monopolies to resolve infrastructure bottlenecks, the Organization for Economic Coope

Tereni Kens, Port Moresby – The Papua New Guinea government will be making a formal protest to the Indonesian government over the recent border incursions made by members of the Indones

Ken Yunita, Jakarta – Five separate protest actions by a number of different social organisations will provide a panorama for Jakarta residents on Thursday July 24.