30 August 2012

H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President, Republic of Indonesia

Your Excellency,

Jakarta – Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Wednesday that the government was expecting to procure a dozen submarines to augment Indonesia's existing fleet by 2024.

Jakarta – The lack of government transparency on bureaucratic reform has left the media unable to access information on the issue and the subject is underreported.

Yanshinto Sembiring & Pamudji Slamet – The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled that the all political parties that plan to register for the 2014 election should be verified by t

Margareth S.

Ismira Lutfia – According to data collected by the National Commission on Human rights from 2007-2012, the National Police tops the list for public reports on human rights abuses in Ind

Jakarta, Indonesia – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requires full attention from his audiences, regardless their position or age.

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono boasted about his administration's awareness of the importance of infrastructure development in his speech at the 201

Farouk Arnaz – Seven people detained in the wake of a deadly mob attack on Shia Muslims in Sampang, East Java, were released on Wednesday due to a lack of evidence or witnesses, East Ja

Jakarta, Indonesia – A watchdog group accuses Shiite attackers have close ties to local leaders and police officials, creating resistance among authorities to reveal the masterminds of

Arientha Primanita, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite – The chairman of the country's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, on Tuesday distanced his group from the rec

Calvin Sidjaya, Jakarta – Early last month, the Indonesian government held its first ever congress of Indonesian diaspora in Los Angeles.

Ezra Sihite – About half of the members of the House of Representatives were absent during a plenary meeting celebrating the 67th anniversary of the legislative body on Wednesday.

Arlina Arshad – Indonesia's creaking university system is failing to keep pace with its booming economy, struggling to produce graduates equipped for modern working life in the Southeas

Tobias Basuki, Jakarta – The country's top officials have finally paid attention to the brutal attack on the Shia community in Sampang, East Java, which not only claimed two lives and d

Jakarta – Experts say that the government has made little progress, if any at all, in its efforts to reform the bureaucracy 14 years after the start of the reform movement.

Hans David Tampubolon and Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Despite unresolved problems that continue to deter investment in local infrastructure projects, the government is gearing up for anoth

Viriya Paramita – The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) says it has received hundreds of complaints on Ramadan-themed programs broadcast by local TV stations during the Islamic f

Jakarta – Inefficient management, a sluggish culture and corruption are among the challenges faced by the Indonesian government in launching bureaucratic reform, says a senior minister.

Index: ASA 21/033/2012

Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) says it will continue building solidarity with Rohingya refugees in Myanmar through humanitarian NGOs.

Margareth S.

Indra Harsaputra and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta – Followers of Tajul Muluk, the Shiite cleric sentenced to two years for blasphemy by Sampang District Court in July this year, fled i

Surabaya – The National Police have only named one suspect out of hundreds of people that participated in an attack on a group of Shiites in Sampang, East Java on Sunday.

Jakarta – A government watchdog is criticizing lawmakers from the House of Representatives (DPR) for a Rp 1.6 billion (US$168,332) junket to Brazil to research village administration.

Jakarta – Any expectations of immediate measures to build new national roads have been put on the back burner, at least until 2014, despite crumbling infrastructure that has created hig

The number of fatal traffic accidents during this year's Idul Fitri exodus nearly doubled, according to the latest statistics.

Ismira Lutfia – Indonesia is taking advantage of a scramble by major powers to boost their influence in the Asia Pacific to build its defense capabilities, analysts said.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Democracy activists have lambasted the Jakarta's election authorities over their inaction in the face of the rampant use of religious and ethnic slurs ahead o

Vento Saudale, Bogor – The police arrested a Koran recitation teacher in Wanaherang village in Bogor after he admitted to having sexually molested 13 of his students over the course of

Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Sita W.

Dessy Sagita, Amir Tejo & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Two people were killed and five were injured in an attack on a group of Shia students and teachers in Sampang, East Java, on Sun

Dicky Christanto – Loopholes in budgeting laws and the national political system are blamed for the lack of political accountability among members of the House of Representatives.

It has been 14 years since Soeharto was ousted, ending 32 years of corrupt, authoritarian rule.

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – Two Shia followers were reportedly killed in a melee involving Shia community members and an anti-Shia group in Sampang regency, East Java, on Sunday.

Pitan Daslani – A powerful wave of aspiration for a total overhaul of the presidential election system has begun to take shape over the past month following appeals by President Susilo

Pitan Daslani – The biggest difficulty in Indonesia today is finding capable democratic leaders with statesman qualities.

Viriya Paramita – A noted legal expert has said that the hugely increased state budget allocation for the legal sector indicates the government's inability to clean up and strengthen it

Andreas D. Arditya and Margareth S.

Vento Saudale, Bogor, West Java – Police have arrested a Koran recitation teacher in the Wanaherang village in Gunung Putri, Bogor, after he admitted to having sexually molested 13 of h

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said on Thursday that his ministry had recommended local administrations to repeal 824 bylaws considered to be flawed and contrar

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Parliament watchdog, Formappi, has criticized the national legislation program set by the government and the House of Representatives, saying it lacks clea

Dion Bisara – The government has been forced to set aside hundreds of trillions of rupiah from an already-strained state budget to prepare for a slew of lawsuits.

Sukabumi, West Java – Indonesia's highest clerical body says more than 100 followers of a minority Islamic sect in Sukabumi have apologized for their "misguided" religious practices, fo

Jakarta – Police say 686 people were killed in 3,927 traffic accidents during this year's Idul Fitri holiday exodus between Aug. 11 and Aug. 21.

Rizky Amelia – Corruption Eradication Commission investigators looking into the alleged bribery of two Anti-Corruption Court judges are widening their net to see if other members of the

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has said it plans to use data about the bank accounts of the senior police officers implicated in a procurement scandal as part of

Zakir Hussain, Jakarta – Indonesia's defense spending will once again top that for all government agencies, spiking to a record 77.7 trillion rupiah (US$8 billion) next year.

The House of Representatives Commission I on defense affairs has supported the government's initiative to require all Indonesian men aged 18 years and over to serve in the military.

The death toll from traffic accidents involving holiday revelers traveling to and from their hometowns for Idul Fitri had reached a staggering 574 as of Tuesday, with the police predict