Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Public diplomacy used to introduce Indonesia as a democratic Muslim nation overseas had been hampered by the domestic social crisis with radical groups oversh

Jakarta – The Rp 100 billion (US$10.9 million) embezzled Bank Indonesia (BI) funds were used to promote certain people into certain positions for the central bank's benefit, the Corrupt

Suwardiman – The geo-political map in the 2009 general elections could be very different from previous elections.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – At least two development projects linked to the presidential office, which appear to have been hoaxes, have revealed nepotism and cronyism among President Susilo

[The following are notes intended to be the first in a series of informal commentaries on the 2009 Indonesian election campaign.

Jakarta – Former president Abdurahman "Gus Dur" Wahid says he will support former minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra in the presidential election next year.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The central government is sticking by its decision to dump mud from the Lapindo disaster into the Porong river despite protests from the local community and

Jakarta – Golkar Party politicians Hamka Yandhu and Antony Zeidra Abidin demanded money from Bank Indonesia (BI) officials to speed up the approval of the revised BI law and resolve the

Aditya Suharmoko and Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The rupiah suffered its biggest daily drop in nearly 10 months on Friday, falling by 1.3 percent to close at 9,375 against the US dollar,

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – One-half of the Rp 224.4 trillion (US$24.45 billion) in the education budget proposed for next year has been allocated for ensuring all Indonesian children comp

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is set to push through the pornography bill in October, despite ongoing controversy over the draft law's vague definition of pornogr

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Stigmatized as rebels, victims of the bloody Talangsari tragedy in East Lampung asked the government on Friday to rehabilitate their names and give the

Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, Sidoarjo – For 50-year-old Subiyanto, this year's Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is cause for both despair and hope.

Jakarta – The super hybrid rice known as Super toy HL-2 was planted and harvested by no less than the President himself with great fanfare last April.

Michael Casey, Surabaya – With the dollar a day he earns scrounging for scrap metal and paper, Jumadi can't buy his family beef or even chicken.

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has decided not to reopen the Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) case implicating fugitive tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Misrin, 32, has never received an Idul Fitri bonus (THR) since he started working as a daily-paid employee at Sina Kasih palm oil plantation in Serdang, Bedagai

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – State prosecutors on Thursday defended their charges of premeditated murder against former State Intelligent Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono, a

In true keeping with the classic political adageare no permanent friends or enemies, but interests", some politicians have decided to put old rivalries on the back burner in the run-up

Nongovernmental organizations on Thursday threw their support behind mudflow victims from Sidoarjo, East Java, by urging the government to compensate them before the post-Ramadan holida

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Minister of Social Services Bachtiar Chamsyah called on parents Thursday to take care of their children instead of handing them over to orphanages.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While police, prosecutors and judges are busily denying accusations of wrongful arrest and prosecution over the murder of Muhammad Asrori, the case has revealed

The government must help 1.5 million Indonesians find work before the end of the year if it is to meet its target of filling 2.5 million jobs in 2008, Manpower and Transmigration Minist

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Public hopes for a democratic election received a new boost on Wednesday, with the government throwing its weight behind a political move to introduce an open

Aubrey Belford, Jakarta – With his sculpted abdominals proudly displayed on his Facebook profile, male model Adrian Maulana cuts a very different figure to the ex-generals and dynastic

Desy Nurhayati and Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday ordered state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina to roll back its decision to raise liquefied p

The legislative election is half a year away, and yet the existing legislation regulating the electoral process, which is still party- rather than people-oriented, has lately become the

Jakarta – A disgraced Indonesian prosecutor was sentenced to 20 years' jail Thursday for accepting a 660,000-dollar bribe from a businesswoman to drop a major embezzlement case.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Expert witnesses testified that the decision made by Bank Indonesia's board of directors in using Rp 100 billion (US$10.9 million) from the Indonesian Banking

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Former senior intelligence official Muchdi Purwopranjono pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the 2004 murder of a prominent human rights campaigner, claiming the ch

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Victims of the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster urged the government to speed up compensation payments to them, following a new agreement between them and government

Jakarta – Islamic minority sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah plans to file a protest to the government against the gubernatorial ban in South Sumatra put in place earlier this week.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Sex workers are out in force in the tourist resort of Baturaden, despite an official ban by the local administration on the operation of the area's red-light

Laurencius Simanjuntak, Jakarta – In the lead up to the 2009 general elections many legislative candidates are using advertisements in the mass media to campaign for themselves.

Eko Ari Wibowo, Jakarta – The National Election Commission rejected on Tuesday the application of Pelopor Party for failing to meet the minimum percentage of female legislator candidate

Jakarta – A former top Indonesian spy pleaded not guilty Tuesday to ordering the murder by poisoning of a celebrated human rights activist who had exposed military abuses.

Another State Intelligence Agency (BIN) official had a stronger motive for murdering human rights activist Munir, Muchdi Purwopranjono's team of lawyers said Tuesday.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and the National Law Commission are planning to establish a body to review unconstitutional ordinances, including sha

Khairul Saleh, Palembang – Bowing to pressure from radical organizations, South Sumatra administration on Monday officially banned Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect considered heretical, in th

Executives of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nadhlatul Ulama for East Java, reject Ramadan sweeps because of their violent nature, which is deemed contrary to the spirit of th

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Paskah Suzetta, the current national development planning minister, was involved in attempts to cover up the alleged misappropriation of Rp 100 billion in cen

Jakarta – Three activists has filed for a judicial review with the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to demand it annul several articles in the 2003 law on presidential elections.

Sam King – This year's May Day demonstrations in Jakarta took on a special significance because they came 10 years after General Suharto was forced by mass street protests to resign as

Jakarta – Scores of Transjakarta bus drivers serving the Corridor II (Pulo Gadung - Harmoni) and Corridor III (Kalideres - Harmoni) have gone on strike since early Monday morning

Laurencius Simanjuntak, Jakarta – It appears that fasting is not deterring some people from taking to the streets to voice their protests.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Scores of Golkar politicians have questioned the party's seriousness in adopting an open system to determine its legislative candidates for the 2009 election.

Arlina Arshad, Jakarta – Families across Indonesia are tightening their belts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as rising food and fuel prices limit spending power for the nightl

The government has often seemed powerless in its response to small but noisy (and often violent) groups who use religion as a reason or pretext to take justice into their own hands.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives celebrated its 63rd anniversary on Friday amid a growing public perception that corruption had taken root in the legislative body, which Speaker A

Jakarta – The majority of suspects in Jakarta are subjected to brutality while in police custody, a recent study claims.