Jakarta – Indonesia's president has not achieved all he set out to in his first year as leader, but unforeseen events, in particular December's catastrophic tsunami, have not helped, an

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Judged against the strong political mandate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono obtained in last September's presidential election, Indonesia's economic performance durin

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Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – Around 1,000 people from a number of Acehnese social organisations participated in a seminar to discuss a draft law on the organisation of a government in Aceh

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – The Tangerang Regental Council (DPRD) has endorsed a bylaw that upgrades 77 villages in the regency into subdistricts, and regent Ismet Iskandar has sworn in v

Hera Diani, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remains a popular president, with 63 percent of Indonesians satisfied with his performance in running the country, a new survey

Dili – President Xanana Gusmco told lawmakers in East Timor Monday to make fuller use of their constitutional rights to challenge in parliament the actions of the Dili government.

Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – Rather than "ladies and gentlemen", a provincial candidate for the House of Representatives once addressed an audience "Bapak dua dan ibu dua (father two and m

Jakarta – Women politicians in regional legislative councils across the country have urged the government and the House of Representatives to revise Law No.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government has been accused of stalling the deliberation of a bill on free access to information, casting doubt over its commitment to clean and good g

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' disciplinary committee said it has found prima facie evidence of a conspiracy among lawmakers to "sell" budget allocations.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Factions in the House of Representatives are drawing up strategies to snatch top positions in strategic commissions or auxiliary bodies, following the introducti

Tiarma Siboro and Hera Diani, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has set up a special commission to draft a revision of Law No.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report on the House of Representatives has revealed that legislators left hundreds of millions of rupiah worth of unpaid electric an

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has again put a disclaimer note on the government's financial report of the state budget, despite the implementation since last ye

Jakarta – Pressure continued on Friday for the House of Representatives to open their meetings on the state budget to ensure transparency, in the wake of allegations of state funds bein

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – It is still difficult to claim that Indonesia has a true bicameral legislature with its seemingly weak "senate", which has done nothing significant in nearly a y

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Closing budget talks in the House of Representatives to the public enables lawmakers to engage in corruption, it was concluded at a discussion held following rep

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Calls for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to quickly shake up his Cabinet received more support on Thursday as senior politicians insisted that confidence in

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – People are losing confidence in the government's economic team, who they see as responsible for the current financial crisis – the worst in this country in

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remains popular after 10 months in office despite some disappointment over the performance of his economic team, a poll showed.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono installed former justice minister Muladi as the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) Governor on Tuesday, repl

Zakki P.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Independent legislative watchdog Teliti said the House of Representatives continued to disappoint despite being filled with younger and better educated mem

Jakarta – The ongoing increases in global oil prices and a volatile rupiah exchange rate have become major obstacles for the government to meet its 2005 state budget targets, according

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Question: Is it a working visit if it's just a visit without working? Will it still be called a study tour if it's just about touring but no studying?

Primastuti Handayani, Beijing – Since opening a special PO Box and call center over a month ago, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has received 2,500 letters and 140,000 text messages

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government's plan to increase the take-home pay of the President, Vice President, ministers, and high-ranking state officials met with mixed reactions on Wed

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – After wrapping up his Friday prayers with a hasty request for prosperity, Arman – not his real name – rushed to the canteen to meet his colleagues.

Dili – Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri unveiled an enlarged government Wednesday in East Timor as part of his drive to improve the performance of the Dili executive and decentralize power

Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is the first faction in the House of Representatives to openly oppose the controversial proposal for a hike in the salary and allowances of

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – They come, stay a while, murmur a few words, laugh, leave and get paid.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House secretariat has proposed awarding legislators generous increases in salaries and allowances, despite the generally poor performance of the lawmakers.

Rendi A.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – If the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, thought he could get closer to his people by giving out his mobile phone number and inviting complaints,

Hera Diani, Jakarta – It is not exactly like a subtle rejection by a fellow who dutifully gives his number and asks you to call him but never picks up the phone.

Rendi Witular, PurwakartaWest Java – For those of you who find the notoriously inept bureaucracy is posing a stumbling block in seeking a solution to your problems, add 0811109949 to yo

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Opposition bloc in the House of Representatives was dealt a major blow as the legislative body voted on Tuesday against creating two special committees to inquir

Hera Diani, Jakarta – In order to ensure regional autonomy, the government has been urged to amend the law on regional administrations, which still places governors, mayors and regents

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is well on its way to failing in its lawmaking function, with zero laws passed and only a few bills drafted since its 550 members to

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – The People's Representative Assembly (DPR) is disappointed over the military's domination of Echelon I level positions in the Department of Defense.

Rendi A.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Since its establishment five years ago, the National Ombudsman Commission has experienced many dark moments in their offices, quite literally.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The unprecedented direct presidential and legislative elections last year were widely praised as free and fair.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – House faction leaders ignored an invitation from the government to discuss the fuel price increases on Friday night, saying they were preparing for a

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A former top official of the defunct Election Supervisory Commission (Panwaslu) said the central government should delay the country's first direct elections fo

Tony Hotland and Rendi A.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Provincial election commissions (KPUD) are facing a number of problems, including a lack of clear guidelines, in organizing the country's first direct elections

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The food and beverage allowance for the West Java governor and deputy governor for fiscal year 2005 has been increased by more than 60 percent to Rp 1.138 bi

Jakarta – Around 50 percent of first echelon government officials are facing imminent reshuffle due to their poor performance, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.