Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Departing from public expectations, the 2009 legislative election will likely grant more seats to political parties' loyalists than people's representatives.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Bandung, the capital of West Java, has been recently deemed unsafe after numerous homes have been annually inundated during the rainy season for the past thr

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) says corruption in the education sector is still rampant and that the government must take action to stop the practices.

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Civil court is the fairest way to settle disputes over media coverage without putting press freedom in danger, an alliance of human rights activists says.

Novia D.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The government confirmed Friday a plan to revise the economic growth target down from the 6.8 percent stated in the 2008 state budget amid soaring global pri

Abdul Khalik – Debate over the country's aging warfare equipment is dragging on, with House of Representatives lawmakers opening fire on the government for impeding arms procurement.

The weak leadership of Islamic parties and their ignorance of the principles of pluralism will lead them to defeat in the 2009 Legislative Election, said a political analyst.

Jakarta – The government recommended Wednesday the House of Representatives limit the number of independent candidates running for regional elections to maintain a balance between indep

Many government critics, non-governmental organizations and the media perhaps do not realize, or pretend not to realize, that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's anti-corruption offens

Jakarta – The government plans to privatize 44 state companies this year, including 10 companies initially planned to be privatized last year, says a minister.

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Recent flooding that submerged part of the Sedyatmo turnpike – the main roadway to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport – was primarily caused by the surroun

Canberra – Australia and Indonesia said they were making inroads into combating extremists in Southeast Asia, agreeing on Thursday to step up counter-terrorism efforts and extend securi

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Irwan Nugroho, Jakarta – Apparently on account of being accused of being communists, an activity organised by the Joint School Forum (Sekber) was attacked and a number of participants i

Jakarta – In a review of the government's performance in 2007, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) says that it is disappointed with the government's economic plans

Sam King – Hundreds of people took protest action in North Sumatra, East Kalimantan, Central Sulewesi, East and West Java and Jogjakarta on January 15-17 to demand cancellation of Indon

Jakarta – Soeharto's alleged past crimes, including allowing the deaths of thousands and other human rights abuses, should effectively deny him hero status, a political discussion heard

Jakarta – One of Indonesia's top news weeklies apologised Wednesday about the cover of its latest issue, which depicts Suharto and his children in a composition mimicking that of Leonar

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Reform within intelligence agencies is necessary to make those bodies accountable and prevent arbitrary killings such as the murder of rights activist Munir, law

Jakarta – Most workers in industrial estates in Sumatra and Java have yet to benefit from higher monthly wages, despite the regional minimum wage increase which came into effect in Janu

Jakarta – Rescuers dug for survivors after a landslide on Indonesia's main island pummeled a village on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and destroying homes and roads, official

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) must rid itself of the "invisible hands" hampering its fight against corruption, a workshop heard here Tuesday.

Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – A warning signal was raised today for political parties referring to themselves as Islamic parties.

John Passant – War criminal Suharto is dead. Look for the tears from his Western supporters.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) and the Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP) have rejected a proposal by the House of Representatives (DPR) to divide Papu

Jakarta – Police plan to name new suspects in the case of the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib by June at the latest, a former member of the fact-finding team for the c

Agnes Winarti, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights has agreed to oppose the implementation of the city's public order bylaw this month.

Padang, West Sumatra – Padang-based biscuit maker PT Asia Megah Biskuit has halted operations since Dec. 22 last year after a series of demonstrations by its more than 600 workers.

Loro Horta, Dili – Since the 2006 deployment of Australian peacekeeping troops to East Timor, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) has been confronted with a persistent anti-Australian se

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – The trade deficit with China in the non-oil and gas sector skyrocketed by more than 3500 percent from US$35 million in 2006 to $1.28 billion last year, the Centr

James Madden – The widow of one of the five journalists killed by the Indonesian military at Balibo in 1975 has labelled Paul Keating "ignorant" for attributing the blame for the murder

Most of the severest of Suharto'c critics, inside and outside of Indonesia, rightly concentrate of the gross violations of human rights during his 33 years of power.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Using a parliamentary threshold in the next legislative election would simplify Indonesia's multi-party system, a coalition of non-governmental organizations sa

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – US President George W.

Dili – "It's when you see a child who looks nine but is actually 12 that you realise the extent of malnutrition in Timor Leste," Jean Flueren, the World Food Programme (WFP) country dir

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – A soldier and two police officers were killed and six others injured in a clash between military and police personnel in Masohi, Central Maluku, on Saturday.

Joseph Nevins – The death of Suharto, the strongman who ruled Indonesia for more than three decades, is cause for reflection in the United States, particularly as Americans choose our n

Ade Mardiyati, Jakarta – Heavy rains and high tides have caused chaos in Indonesia's capital for three days, highlighting its ailing infrastructure as roads to the airport became impass

[Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance. Editors: Ross H. McLeod, Andrew MacIntyre. Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). 207 pages, 2007.]

Abdul Khalik, Nusa Dua, Bali – Indonesia is seen to be a main target for money laundering, as a report by the Indonesian financial intelligence unit reveals, with a sharp increase in su

Jakarta is flooded, again. Just one day of incessant rain, from Thursday night through Friday morning, was enough to paralyze the capital with floods.

Jakarta – Appointments were canceled, passengers were left stranded and residents were forced to leave their homes. Jakarta was chaotic on Friday.

In an article – The nation builder – in today's Sydney Morning Herald, Paul Keating attempts to justify his attendance at Suharto's funeral last week.

Irawaty Wardany, Sanur, Bali – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) announced it will target 20 percent of votes in the 2009 legislative election, and welcomes non-Muslim constituents, th

Apriadi Gunawan and Nana Rukmana, Medan/Cirebon – Mixed reactions have greeted a proposal to bestow national hero status upon controversial former president Soeharto.

Paul Keating – The death of Soeharto, the former president of Indonesia, gives all Australians a chance to assess the value of his life and the relationship between Indonesia and Austra

Dicky Christanto, Nusa Dua, Bali – An alliance of civil society groups has prepared tougher measures to strengthen its anti-graft campaign against corrupt politicians across the country

President Suharto of Indonesia, who died last month, was responsible for the invasion of East Timor in 1975, for its occupation for almost 25 years, for the murder of so many of its peo

Dicky Christanto and Muhammad Nafik, Nusa Dua, Bali – A coalition of civil society groups said the international anti-graft conference wrapped up here Friday had seen "little progress"