Palembang – Indonesia will fail to attract any foreign direct investment (FDI) next year if chaos occurs in the general elections, prominent businessman Sofyan Wanandi said.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A group of 13 political parties, mostly Muslim-based, have agreed to form a coalition immediately after the legislative election on April 5 next year, one part

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The Army, which is the most dominant service within the ranks of the Indonesian Military (TNI), has been praised for keeping its distance from politics and bette

An Indonesian court imposed an 18-year jail sentence on a man who supplied Islamic militants with the explosives used in a McDonald's restaurant bombing.

Jakarta – Indonesia made progress in promoting respect for religious freedom, but in a number of cases the government failed to punish extremists responsible for murder and other crimes

Jacqueline Mackenzie, Jakarta – Gadis Arivia is the Executive Director of Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan (YJP, Women's Journal Foundation), which initiated the Suara Ibu Peduli (Voice of Conc

Jakarta – The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said that it would transfer all remaining unsold assets to new companies operating under the Office of State Minister of State

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – With the elections fast approaching, Indonesians of Chinese origin have set conditions for legislative and presidential candidates to win their support, namely t

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund has concluded its high-profile role in designing the country's economic reform program over six years with the announcement late last week of i

Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) has removed one major hurdle to judicial independence by placing all courts under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court, but a noted l

Jakarta – The House of Representatives passed on Thursday the long-awaited state treasury bill into law, which Minister of Finance Boediono claimed will greatly improve the management o

Jakarta – More than 100 university students rallied outside the Supreme Court on Thursday, demanding the court to process the case against Speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar

Samarinda – The condition of East Kalimanatan forests has now become cause for worry, in view of continuing illegal logging activities, while bids of conservation have not been very eff

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – A hearing on evictions between Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and House of Representatives Commission II for home affairs turned into a farce on Thursday as commission

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The idea was to ease traffic along Jakarta's busiest streets by encouraging people to abandon their cars, but a new bus system due to start running next month i

Jakarta – The newly elected chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Mr Taufieqqurrochman Ruki, has vowed to develop it into a credible institution.

Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri's son, Mohammad Rizki "Tatam" Pratama, has decided to withdraw from a business project in the Jakarta Fairground after intense scrutiny by legi

Shawn Donnan and Taufan Hidayat – From the perspective of Hansen Kurniawan's cookie shop in Jakarta's Pasar Minggu market, the International Monetary Fund's performance in Indonesia is

Jakarta – Indonesia has extended the detention of four Muslim students deported from Pakistan because they are suspected of links to an accused terror kingpin and several bombings, poli

Given this country's poor record in industrial relations in the past, it is not surprising that the new Law on the Settlement of Industrial Disputes, which the House of Representatives

Jakarta – A former police general will head Indonesia's first five-member anti-corruption commission, dubbed a "super agency", given its authority to summon and investigate state offici

Kasparman Piliang, Padang – At least one man was killed, and three kiosks and a local community health center (Puskesmas) were set ablaze during a clash between residents from two villa

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - The Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) have stated that they reject holding the 2004 general elections in A

Jakarta – House Commission IV for settlement and telecommunications failed on Wednesday to endorse the controversial water resource bill, ordering the Ministry of Settlement and Infrast

Klaten – Hundreds of supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) occupied and seized the party's local office in Klaten regency, Central Java, on Wednesday.

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Apriadi Gunawan, Bandung/Medan – Labor protests erupted separately in Bandung and Medan on Wednesday after their respective 2004 minimum wage pay increases were app

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The huge increase in the number of cases reported of rape and domestic violence against women and children is an indication of the growing level of willingness a

Tangerang – Hundreds of workers of shoe producer PT Dongha Perkasa staged a rally at the Tangerang Municipal Council building on Wednesday starting at around 10:30 a.m., demanding their

Jakarta – An Indonesian human rights group on Thursday accused President Megawati Sukarnoputri of giving the national intelligence agency too much power.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – It looked like just another rally on Wednesday, when about 50 people holding cardboard posters stood inside the Ministry of Health compound in South Jakarta, cha

Jakarta – Indonesia's peak Islamic body has put a religious ban on terrorism and suicide bombings.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Distressingly little has changed in Indonesia from the previous received wisdom that the country's leaders could use state-owned enterprises, including financial

Max Lane – Most of the 24 parties which gained registration for the 2004 general elections trace their origins back to groups or parties that were participants in the New Order politica

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – Some Indonesians see the presidential candidacy next year of former strongman Suharto's daughter, Siti Hardianti Rukamana – on the heels of that of her father's f

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers can no longer arbitrarily dismiss their workers as a new bill on industrial dispute settlement that the House of Representatives endorsed on Tues

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – A legislator expressed concern on Tuesday about a price war among the country's generic medicine producers, fearing it would prompt drug trade in the black marke

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Two witnesses for the adhoc human rights trial of Col.

Rampant illegal mining in Indonesia is inflicting annual losses of Rp3.3 trillion ($389.38 million) on the state, a government official said Tuesday (16/12/03).

Jakarta – Central Jakarta police arrested 54 protesting students, six of them girls, just as they were dispersing after staging an anti-election rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic cir

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Despite a declining trend among most recorded crimes in the city, the number of rape cases has significantly soared – by 25 percent – this year.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A military court here began the trial on Monday of 18 police officers charged with attacking protesters in Medan, North Sumatra, three years ago killing two stu

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Some 1,000 public minivan drivers in Tangerang municipality drove around the city in convoy before staging a protest on Monday in front of the municipal admini

Eony Aurora, Jakarta – A group of lawyers will sue at the Cibinong District Court, Bogor regency, on Tuesday large companies for allegedly producing untreated toxic waste that had pollu

Kasparman Piliang, Padang – Despite controversy, President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik Kiemas will soon be bestowed with a customary title by leaders of a clan in West Sumat

Joseph Kirschke, Jakarta – It's not the cool tile floors, the open courtyard, or the rendering of Picasso's "La Guernica" hanging on the wall by the front door.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on Monday the country's failure to speed up reform within the judiciary was the result of conflicting laws and regulations.

Mataram – Indonesia's human resources development index (IPM) remains low among 175 countries in the world and it is worrying, chairwoman of the Family Planning Board (BKKBN) Sumarjati

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – The education of women plays a more pivotal role than the use of contraceptives in curbing population growth, an expert said on Monday.

Indonesian lawyers have complained that police had refused them permission to see six students who were deported from Pakistan on suspicion of terror links.

Corruption and weak law enforcement are the price which Indonesians are paying for reforms, former Indonesian president B.J. Habibie was quoted as saying.