Dili – The World Bank has been forced to defend its consultants in East Timor after the salaries of those hired by the finance ministry were leaked to local media, sparking widespread a

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Government spending remained low as of April, at about a fifth of its full-year allocation, depriving the country so far of the positive impact of the state

Camelia Pasandaran – Though the number of women elected to the House of Representatives looks set to increase, the quality of the candidates remains suspect, election observers said on

Jakarta – The clock is ticking for current members of the House of Representatives, many of whom will loose their seat in four months, but there is still no sign they will be able to pa

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The political uncertainty following Golkar Party's decision to abandon a nearly five years coalition with the Democratic Party will not affect the government

Adianto P.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The President's recent assurance that public officials taking leave to campaign would not affect government activities has come under fire.

Jakarta – Minister of Administrative Reforms Taufik Effendy said Tuesday that the first ever accountability evaluation report for state agencies confirmed the bureaucracy was more inte

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Saturday that it would take a courageous "thug" who dared to face risks to lead the country to a better future.

Jakarta – A survey on the city administration's performance in 2008 was released on Wednesday and showed illegal fees and dissatisfaction with public services still abounded.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – A political watchdog has criticized legislators for taking unnecessary overseas trips and threatening the progress of a crucial bill they are working on.

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – New Year has brought no change to the House of Representatives, which is struggling to fight its chronic problem of absenteeism, despite mounting legislative

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – With the legislative elections fast approaching, most House of Representatives members have begun campaigning in their respective electoral districts, leaving do

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Responding to discouraging results of recent public service surveys, State Minister for Administrative Reforms Taufiq Effendi revealed half of the country's four

Jakarta – About 80 percent of Jakarta's administration offices violate the bylaw on smoking restrictions, according to a preliminary survey conducted by an NGO.

East Timor's Court of Appeal has ruled that the $400 million mid-year budget is illegal.

Lucy Williamson, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court in East Timor has ruled against the government in a key political battle.

Dadan Widjaksana and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta, Beijing – The government has brushed aside claims there is a conflict among Cabinet members that has placed the position Finance Minister

Rendi A.

Questions are being asked about a proposal to massively increase government spending in East Timor.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – In the first-ever informal meeting with the leadership of Regional Representatives Council (DPD) at the presidential office here Friday, President Susilo B

Vidhyandika Perkasa, Jakarta – No significant progress has eventuated in Papua as far as sociocultural, political and economic dimensions are concerned.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – It has been a year since Aceh held a direct gubernatorial election made possible by the peace agreement between Jakarta and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), yet a

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A group of NGOs has urged the House of Representatives to revise and immediately pass into law a public services bill to guarantee citizens' rights to adequate

Jakarta – As much as 60-70 percent of the 2007 state budget (APBN) or between 457-534 trillion rupiah was depleted for the bureaucratic costs of the government, legislator and law enfor

Alfian, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' plenary session is not an efficient forum to debate public issues, said political experts and commentators on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Economists, legislators and students say the government's performance in bringing prosperity to Indonesians has been far from satisfactory.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The 1945 Constitution identifies the House of Representatives as a honorable state institution with legislative and budgetary rights as well as a control f

Jakarta – A political expert warned Tuesday that it might be too late for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to improve his performance in key sectors before the 2009 elections.

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – The economists are concerned that the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla's government will conduct "window dressing" to enhance the economic report with

Sultani – The public's assessment of the performance of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration over the last year has shown progressive signs that they have had enough.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's three years in office have yielded only mediocre results in the fields of the economy, public service and law enforcement, political exper

Dili – East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta has sworn in the country's State Council, saying the advisory body faced the challenge of restoring stability to the young nation.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Despite a number of improvements over the years, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) says that significant irregularities are still commonplace in the management of p

Urip Hudiono and Adianto P.

Dili – East Timor's parliament on Saturday passed a transitional period budget proposal of 112 million dollars on a split decision.

Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao pledged on Thursday to improve security and use funds earned from rich energy reserves to tackle poverty as he set out his new

Dili – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao pledged to prioritise security as he read out his plans for governingthe tiny nation over the next five years to parliament on Thursday.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The people should throw their weight behind the government, no matter how disorderly it is, and turn away from any attempts to have it prematurely removed, a n

Jakarta – Politicians have never been regarded as the most popular of people, and a recent leadership survey by the Islamic and Societal Research Center (PPIM) would seem to suggest tha

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite maintaining good ties with most of his supporting parties, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will nonetheless face major political hurdles in seek

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The replacement of Sugiharto as state minister for state enterprises by Sofyan Djalil, who previously served as information and communications minister, in the r

Jakarta – Although he has yet to officially assume his new post as Attorney General, Hendarman Supandji has already issued statements on his law enforcement priorities.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – Skepticism and disappointment have dominated discussions of the latest reorganization of the United Indonesia Cabinet.

HS Dillon, Jakarta – Following the "limited cabinet reshuffle", I sent a text message to three close friends – a prominent human rights activist, a brilliant economist and a budding pol

M.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives urged the government Monday to resolve the murder case of human rights campaigner Munir, to finalize financial compensation for mudf

Jakarta – While some ministers are preparing for their new positions in cabinet, former justice and human rights minister Hamid Awaluddin is in a slightly different position.

Adisti Sukma Sawitri and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Calls for the President to replace incompetent ministers in his cabinet rose over the weekend after he announced that a reshuffle would

M.