Vidhyandika D.

Since its inception on July 16, 2010, the much-hyped National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) remains wedged within a protracted bureaucracy that slows down its efforts to go full steam,

Jakarta – The political elite in this country should use the holy fasting month of Ramadan as a moment for introspection and evaluation, to ask whether their policies side with the ordi

Presi Mandari – Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa on Friday defended the country's judicial system after a court sentenced Muslim radicals to a few months in jail for killing

Rizal Harahap and Yemris Fointuna, Pekanbaru/Kupang – Angry mobs set fire to three houses believed to be used illegally as churches in Logas Tanah Darat district in Riau's Kuantan Sengi

Arientha Primanita – A new political party bent on putting former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati forward for the presidency in 2014 officially registered itself with the Justice

An official from a religious court in Indonesia has blamed social networking site Facebook for a rise in the number of cases of teenage pregnancies and early marriages in a town in cent

Makassar – The South Sulawesi provincial government is drafting a law to ensure that maids receive a minimum wage and have the right to at least one day off a week.

Wider autonomy granted to Papua in 2001 and a new deal to accelerate development in the resource-rich region in 2006 raised fresh hopes for its people to realize their long-standing que

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Hundreds of residents in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), demanded on Tuesday the local administration revoke a permit to build a new mosque.

Ronna Nirmala – A veteran actor-cum-activist famous for painting protest slogans on the roof of the legislature appeared at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday seeking to wrest the po

Jakarta – Indonesian youths scored poorly compared to their peers around the world in a reading test conducted by the Organization for Economic, Cooperation, and Development (OECD), who

Jakarta – Most cases of violence against women take place within the victim's home, and are committed by a close relative, making it socially complicated for the victim to make a report

Jakarta – The Union of Independent People (SRI) Party, which plans to nominate former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in the 2014 presidential election, will register itself on W

Indonesia's notorious Islamic Defenders Front have a new target – international nongovernmental organization Greenpeace, which has been waging a high-profile battle against the country'

Ulma Haryanto – As the screening process for senior leadership posts at the Corruption Eradication Commission draws to a close, the remaining candidates are finding themselves under fie

Yohanes Sulaiman – Last week, House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie barged into the headlines, displacing Muhammad Nazaruddin's allegations of corruption within the Democratic P

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Despite warnings by authorities' condemning vigilantism, members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) took to the streets in Bandung to demonstrate against c

Ulma Haryanto & Markus Junianto Sihalolo – Adding insult to injury, prosecutors at the Serang District Court on Tuesday recommended nine months in jail for an Ahmadi man critically

John McBeth – A recent public opinion survey showing a drop in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's approval rating from 56.7 per cent to 47.2 per cent over the past six months is the c

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Amid credibility questions, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) appointed a Muslim scholar and a seasoned lawyer to probe four of its top leaders accused

Press council chief Bagir Manan asked the police to pay serious attention to investigating the assault of a Tempo TV journalist last week.

More than 100 out of 491 districts in Indonesia are saying that hefty civil servant payrolls are breaking the bank, the Home Affairs Ministry said.

Michael Holtz, Jakarta, Indonesia – Ignoring the red-and-white danger sign, Sri Mulyati walks slowly to the train tracks outside Indonesia's bustling capital, lies down and stretches he

Mariel Grazella, Jakarta – The delays schools have endured in receiving School Operational Assistance (BOS) funds that were prompted by changes in funding mechanisms have pushed schools

Members of two of Indonesia's most notorious organizations marked the beginning of Ramadan with a brawl on the outskirts of Jakarta on Tuesday.

Tycoon and politician Aburizal Bakrie is one of the candidates being prepped by Golkar Party to contest the presidential electionin 2014.

Jakarta – As candidates enter the next stage of the process to select the next leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), observers warned that escalated political lobbying

Chrestella Tan – Jakarta's government will attempt to clear the streets in the evenings to provide a more peaceful environment during Ramadan prayers, a spokesman said.

Bengkulu – City employees who do not fast during Ramadan would be dismissed from their jobs, Bengkulu Mayor Ahmad Kanedi said on the first day of the holy month on Monday.

Anita Rachman – Pick a side and stick with it, the Golkar Party has demanded of its members with one foot in the camp of the newly declared NasDem Party.

Nurfika Osman & Antara – Ramadan may have officially begun today, but some Muslim communities in the country started fasting over the weekend, highlighting the age-old debate betwee

Ulma Haryanto – As Indonesia's Muslim majority prepares for Ramadan and Idul Fitri, the minority Ahmadiyah Islamic sect is bracing itself for more persecution.

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – A lack of law enforcement is the main factor in Indonesia's failure to stop slash-and-burn clearing of forests, which causes haze, analysts said on Sunday.

Fidelis E.

Jakarta – A study by the National Education Ministry shows many schools throughout the nation are still charging students with various obscure expenses.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Amid increasing public distrust of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the agency says it has been left with no choice but to set up an independent fact

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has rejected a plan to disband the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) proposed by fellow Democratic Party politician and House of Repre

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Embattled Indonesian House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie, who is often criticized for making ill-considered comments, has lashed out at the media fo

Jakarta – Several people have criticized House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie's latest remarks calling to disband the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and pardon corrupt

Index Number: ASA 21/026/2011

Dion Bisara & Faisal Maliki Bakoro – Profits at some of the largest companies in Indonesia rose in the second quarter, boosting the case that the economy grew during that period.

Elisabeth Oktofani – A relatively quieter Ramadan may be in store this year after former Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on the Indonesian Council of Ulema to help control the volume

Pandaya – It seems that national politics gets more muddled every day. The media is filled with depressing news, from corruption, malfunctioning bureaucracy to communal violence.

Jakarta – Regional authorities have warned people against carrying out vigilante street raids as the Islamic fasting month approaches.

Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie is defending his statement that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has failed and should be disbanded.

The Betawi Brotherhood Forum continued to allege on Saturday that Greenpeace's presence in Indonesia violates the law, and was seeking to compel the environmental organization to report

Michael Vatikiotis, Singapore – These days it's so easy to look back at the past decade and marvel at Indonesia's transition to democracy.

Hundreds of conservative Muslims have held a noisy but peaceful rally in Indonesia's capital to demand the government outlaw an Islamic sect they consider heretical.

Ismira Lutfia – Indonesian Islamic scholars had mixed reactions to criticism launched by Western nations of the apparent light sentences handed down to Islamist extremists who killed me