James Castle, Jakarta – For anyone involved in business or policy in developing Asia, the boom and bust of the 1990s are the defining events of the last twenty years.

John A. Prasetio, Jakarta – A decade ago, almost without warning, the Asian economic crisis arrived to challenge the "East Asia Miracle" thesis of the World Bank.

Binny Buchori, Jakarta – What do we remember about the economic crisis of 10 years ago?

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Recent improvements in Indonesia's macroeconomic indicators are bringing about confidence in the economy as a whole, with the central bank's latest survey showin

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia is now formally on the vanguard of the global green energy movement.

As Asia this month marks a decade since the region went into a deep financial crisis, one might well ask, what exactly has Indonesia been doing these last 10 years?

Ary Hermawan, Sanur/Bali – The Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) will begin its fourth hearing session here today with only seven key witnesses in attendanc

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor exporters and activists have called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to evaluate the implementation of a 2006 presidential instruction on rapid,

Dili – The rumble of a generator and the whir of ceiling fans muffled the quiet words of a judge as he questioned a witness in a murder trial one recent hot, still afternoon.

James Dunn – Jill Jolliffe's report detailing Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's involvement in the torture of prisoners in East Timor (Canberra Times, Saturday, July 14) raises questions that

Dili – Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at gangs of youths in East Timor's capital Sunday, after an explosion went off at a base for Australian troops and houses were s

[Dreamseekers: Indonesian Women as Domestic Workers in Asia by Dewi Anggraeni. Equinox, Jakarta (2006) pp. 250.]

Jakarta – An activist and the widow of slain rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib have asked the Attorney General's Office to provide more evidence in seeking a review of a Supreme Court

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has accused the government of encouraging deforestation by allowing eight industrial timber plantati

Jakarta – Jakarta Industrial Relations Court decided Thursday that retail giant Sogo must reemploy 45 staff who were fired due to the closing of the chain's Plaza Indonesia branch in Ce

Endy M.

Nani Afrida, Berastagi – Five years after sharia was first implemented in Aceh, many residents, especially villagers, still do not fully understand it, an Islamic group says.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Crystal clear jurisdiction of military tribunals is essential in curbing impunity and achieving transparency toward a more professional military, the Indonesian

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – As in previous sitting periods, the House of Representatives seemed to spend little time passing laws to benefit the people, and lots of time criticizing t

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The government hopes to reduce unemployment and poverty by diverting some routine spending in 2008 to help finance infrastructure development in the regions.

The newly passed Jakarta Special Administrative Law can be seen as promoting democracy in Jakarta, though only timidly, but lacks all the articles to necessary to transform Jakarta into

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) says more than 65 percent of eligible voters in Jakarta will not cast ballots in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial election.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Despite strong protests from the business community, the House of Representatives will press ahead with its plan to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) le

An expert in criminal law told the Constitutional Court on Thursday that a regulation stipulating that ex-convicts cannot run for office is unjust and discriminative.

Jakarta – A recent survey by a coalition of non-governmental organizations active in the education sector found schools are still illegally making parents pay to register their children

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Legislators said Thursday the government should be able to allocate more money for the education sector, while thousands of teachers from Banten and West J

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A voter education group distributed educational brochures for the gubernatorial election Thursday to encourage people to use their right to vote.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – The hunt for Alfredo Reinado has been officially called off in East Timor's central mountains and the rebel military leader and his heavily armed men are being

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives decided Thursday to suspend finalizing its proposed interpellation motion over the Sidoarjo mudflow after the House Consultati

Banda Aceh – Victims of the Aceh conflict being assisted by the group Fraternal Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations (SPKP HAM) will hold their second congress in Saree in

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Rampant torture in Indonesian prisons could be minimized if the government ratified the Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention against To

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – It was business as usual Wednesday a PT Naga Parama Shoes Industry (NASA) and PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry (HASI), manufacturers for American athletic appar

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Law and rights activists have labeled the Constitutional Court's revocation of Criminal Code articles concerning defamation against the government as

Muhammad Wildan, Singapore – The spread of radical Islamism in Indonesia has led many people to assume that it has to do mostly with the incorrect interpretation of Islam.

Welcome back to New Perspectives (Perspektif Baru), I'm Jaleswari Pramodhawardani and I'm here with Zely Ariane, an activist from the Perempuan Mahardhika National Network.

Hikmahanto Juwana, Jakarta – This newspaper has published various opinions from writers discussing legal conditions in Indonesia.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The trial of an illegal logging suspect was delayed Wednesday after a group of people disrupted court proceedings at Medan District Court in North Sumatra.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has a few tough decisions ahead of him in the wake of a recent spate of land disputes involving the Indonesian Military (TNI) and civilians.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Indonesian police routinely torture, rape and kill with impunity in West Papua and risk fanning separatism there, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report rel

Jon Lamb – The June 30 election has resulted in neither of the two main contenders – the ruling party Fretilin and the recently formed CNRT (National Congress for Timorese Reconstructio

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court struck down on Tuesday articles in the Criminal Code banning speeches and writing expressing hostility toward or inciting hatred of the

Jakarta – The government has made no significant progress toward implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 23 years after its r

Iwan Gunawan, Jakarta – The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seemed to be irritated by independence aspirations reflected in the display of separatist flag in Ambon

Jakarta – The House of Representatives has enacted a new Energy Law that is aimed at securing sustainable energy supplies, and promoting energy conservation and the use of renewable ene

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The government must improve the qualitative aspects, not quantitative aspects, of political parties through the package of political bills currently

Hambali Batubara, Medan – Student and social organisations in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan demonstrated at the Japanese Consulate and the representative offices of PT I

James Balowski, Jakarta – Coinciding with the release of a report by Human Rights Watch exposing endemic human rights abuses in West Papua and the refusal to allow a member of the US Co

Sohirin/Jems de Fortuna, Semarang – A leak at the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) nuclear-powered electric generator plant has made the residents around Gunung Muria (Jepara, Pati and K

Jakarta Post – Eight religious-based political parties are demanding the government lower the electoral threshold from three percent to two percent in the new legislative election bill

Jakarta Post – Commission I for defense and information at the House of Representatives and the government have agreed to delay the discussion of an article on military operations in th