On a scale of one to 10, what would be a fair score for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla as they end their five-year term on Monday?

Indraswari, Kuala Lumpur – On Wednesday, Sept.

Al Araf and Anton Aliabbas, Bandung – The swearing-in ceremony of the 2009-2014 House of Representatives' members is a sign that democratization in Indonesia is a continuing process.

Sara Schonhardtm Jakarta – Similarities in culture, language and religious customs should make Indonesia and Malaysia good neighbors.

Jon Lamb – During August and September, Australian and international media outlets ran numerous articles, opinion pieces and commentaries marking the 10 years since the people of East

Nurrohman, Bandung – Allowing adulterers to be stoned to death is not just improper but is generally perceived as uncivilized nowadays.

Pandaya, Jakarta – Their main job has been to make laws but while they were doing it the House of Representatives legislators often stirred bitter controversies that ended up with the n

Usman Hamid and Yati Andriyani, Liquisa, East Timor – Mentioning Timor Leste not only brings to mind a state that was once Indonesia's 27th province, but also a place where gross human

R. Kristiawan, Jakarta – The recently passed film law shows up an irony for democracy in Indonesia, especially in the quality of the public sphere. The old law, Law No.

Hanta Yuda A.R., Jakarta – Who will replace outgoing Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the next chairman of Golkar when the party holds its congress in October?

James Thomas – In seeking the truth behind the deaths of six Australian Journalists in East Timor in 1975, actor Anthony LaPaglia and Kevin Rudd have something in common.

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – Police dealt a blow to Indonesia's main terrorism network Thursday after confirming the death of top-ranked Islamic militant Noordin Mohammed Top following a

Tom Allard, Jakarta – The death of Noordin Mohammed Top is unquestionably a fantastic result for Indonesia's counter-terrorism authorities.

Rizal Sukma, Jakarta – Combating corruption has been often cited one of the most important "successes" of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first administration.

Joe Cochrane & Nurfika Osman – There was no doubt about it this time.

Who wants to visit Aceh – for pleasure, not mere curiosity?

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta – When the global financial crisis was at its height last November, Indonesia's Century Bank faced a severe liquidity crisis.

Germany reminds us that human rights and justice have no time limits.

Paul Daley – The former Coalition government had a vastly different idea of how independent our near neighbour should be than what eventuated.

Twenty-five years ago, Sept.

Noor Huda Ismail, Semarang – Based on my interviews with the actors of past attacks – both inside and outside prisons – there are three primary factors that will keep their movements go

Thomas Barker and Veronica Kusuma, Jakarta – Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade, you would have noticed that in terms of annual output, the Indonesian film ind

Usman Hamid and Paul Barber, Yogyakarta/London – In October 1999, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) published a report, Ruler's Law, that described how Indonesia's first two

Pandaya, Dili – Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta's refusal of demand for an international tribunal to try perpetrators of serious crimes against humanity in East Timor between 197

Damien Kingsbury – It is hardly novel that a politician looking back at the glory days of office will want to ensure that their political legacy looks as positive as possible.

Janeman Latul & Muhammad Al Azhari – Economic and political analysts said over the weekend that the Rp 6.7 trillion ($663.3 million) Bank Century bailout controversy would not gener

Kartika Jahja – Marhaban ya Ramadan. Welcome oh Ramadan. The holy month to abstain from our worldly desires. The blessed month to purify our souls.

[Excerpted from "The March of Patriots" by Paul Kelly, Melbourne University Press, to be published next week]

Paul Kelly, Editor-at-large – The Howard government decided in early 1999 to work for East Timor's independence but concealed this from the Indonesian government, John Howard and Alexan

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta – If the purpose of the recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia was to undermine democracy and rattle investor confidence, the July bombings of the luxury J

It is difficult not to be suspicious of the latest political maneuvers made by the heirs of the late former president Soeharto.

Kartika Inggas, Bangkok – Lubna Ahmed Al Hussein is not a household name in Indonesia.

Kafil Yamin – Since the beginning of last year, the heads of no fewer than 29 provincial, district and municipal administrations have been arrested on corruption charges, with 19 being

Sunanda Creagh, Dili – As a student activist in Jakarta, Avelino Coelho da Silva sought refuge in the Austrian embassy to avoid capture by Indonesian troops.

A decade after the devastation that surrounded the vote for independence, there are some promising signs.

Ten years ago tomorrow, the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a popular referendum sanctioned by the United Nations.

Joe Kelly – Ten years ago East Timor voted for its independence, triggering a contentious Australian military intervention that transformed the nation's regional profile and provoked ho

Australia is still atoning for East Timor's suffering 10 years after the independence vote. No nation has paid a higher price for independence than East Timor.

Ezki Suyanto – History might show that for more than two decades, the fates of East Timor and its giant neighbor Indonesia were inextricably woven together, but for many from both natio

Ten years after voting for independence, the Timorese have little to show for supposed freedom. Lindsay Murdoch paid a visit.

Often it takes the death of a white man to get the story of West Papua past the gatekeepers of the media.

Ricky Gunawan, Jakarta – Indonesia ratified the UN Convention against Torture almost 11 years ago.

Debnath Guharoy, Consultant – Just a few weeks ago, the Mega-Pro ticket proclaimed that the "cultural invasion" by the West must be stopped.

Jonathan Wootliff – Although Indonesia covers only 1.3 percent of the planet's land surface, this island nation is home to about 17 percent of Earth's plant and animal species, some of

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta – Under former dictator Suharto, the military linked Golkar party dominated Indonesian politics for decades.

HS Dillon, Jakarta – To the country's first president, Sukarno, freedom was political independence in its entirety.

Romanus Ndau Lendong, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) are committed to passing the state secrecy bill this month.

Australian governments, both Labor and Coalition, knew what was happening.

Paul Stewart recalls the day in 1975 when a newspaper banner shouted "Five Newsman Missing In Timor".

Kim Knight – Felled trees, burnt stumps. Once tropical rainforest, now palm plantations spread across this Indonesian island like a plague.