"The dam's breaking... it's collapsing...," a resident of Siring, Porong, Sidoarjo, shouted as he noticed hot mud flowing toward his house last week.
Hundreds of people living near the walls holding back the mudflow were sent scurrying in fear to Porong's main road, effectively blocking the road linking Surabaya and the eastern part of East Java.
Lapindo Brantas Inc., a unit under the Bakrie family, has responded to the unprecedented ecological disaster originating from its gas well by going on a public relations charm offensive aimed at cleaning up its image.
There is plenty of mud to go around in Sidoarjo, but the one party that looks set to come out of this disaster looking the dirtiest is the powerful Bakrie family.
Much of the blame for the disaster has fallen on the family, with Vice President Jusuf Kalla going so far as publicly demanding the family bear all the costs arising from the mudflow.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The central government believes excesses in the implementation of regional autonomy are scaring away foreign investment.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday that local governments had imposed a slew of local taxes burdensome to investors since the onset of decentralization.
Jakarta – The government is standing firm against allegations it attempted to whitewash the reality of poverty and unemployment in the country in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's state-of-the-nation address last week.
Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, Sidoarjo – Thousands of people displaced by the mudflow disaster in East Java held protests in two affected areas Tuesday to demand compensation commensurate with their losses.
Several protesters showed their frustration by covering themselves in the mud that has gushed from an exploration well accident in Sidoarjo regency since May 29.
Palu – Lawyers for three Indonesian Christians on death row say the Supreme Court had exceeded its authority by refusing to process their second demand for presidential clemency.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Corruption watchdogs say there is no point in increasing the national education budget to the constitutionally required 20 percent of total spending until corruption in the sector is dealt with.
Ambon, Maluku – Angry residents attacked a police post in Nusaniwe, Ambon, with stones Saturday upon learning a man was killed in a fight with police.
Fadli, Tanjung Pinang – Illegal immigrant worker Ahmad Affandi recently landed back at Tanjung Pinang's Sri Bintan Pura Port with nothing more than the shirt on his back.
Since that morning when the 35-year-old left from the repatriation terminal in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, he had only eaten a single piece of bread and drank one bottle of cheap water.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A bill aimed at outlawing racial and ethnic discrimination has gained a new lease on life, with members of the House of Representatives special committee resisting attempts to kill it off.
Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia has urged Indonesia to tackle the forest fires it blames for the choking haze that has engulfed the region.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said cooperation was ongoing with Indonesia over forest fires on Indonesia's Sumatra island and Kalimantan on Borneo island, but placed responsibility squarely on Jakarta's shoulders.
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Foreign investment still appears to be in the doldrums, with the second half of the year starting off to a 24 percent decline in direct foreign investment compared with the same period last year.
Soeryo Winoto, Jakarta – Many had doubted Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto's capabilities of overseeing all the armed forces, especially the Army, before he was appointed as Indonesian Military (TNI) commander early this year.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – Activists demanded Friday that authorities revoke the license of PT Lapindo Brantas Inc., arrest its shareholders, and confiscate their assets, in connection with the gas well that has unleashed a barrage of hot toxic mud on Sidoarjo, East Java.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Activists say women are still not treated as equals in many regions, since governments allocate comparatively small amounts of money to empower them and improve their quality of life.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's claim that his administration has made substantial inroads against unemployment is misleading and fails to recognize the urgent need for job creation, an analyst said Friday.
Marlina MS, Jakarta – The government is targeting state revenue of privatization activities to reach Rp3 trillion by next year.
Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The real state of the nation, supposedly the content of Tuesday's speech by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, could have been summarized in just 10 words: Over 40 million people in Indonesia are out of work.
A.J. Susmana – It has been 61 years since Indonesia declared itself as an independent nation. But the question so often asked by the cynical is: "Are we really free?".
Indra Manenda Rossi, Jakarta – The Department of Health has reported that until 2006 14 provinces have been classified as 'leprosy endemic' based on the high rate of death caused by the chronic disease. However, funds for handling the disease are said to be insufficient.
Politicians may consider President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's state budget proposal for 2007 a boring document, devoid of bold fiscal measures and without any frills at all.
But it is precisely the conservative assumptions used in the planned budget that will reassure the market that there are unlikely to be any painful amendments midway through the next fiscal year.
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Palangkaraya – While millions of people celebrated the country's 61st Independence Day on Thursday, firefighters were busy battling flames in Central Kalimantan. Firefighter Aliansyah said it was worth missing the holiday so that he and around 200 others in the province could try to contain the blazes, which reached the capital, Palangkaraya.
A terrorism researcher has warned of a new "bombing season" in Indonesia, as Islamic militants seek to repeat a pattern established since October 2002 of attacking Western targets between August and October.
Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Residents of a village in West Lombok protested Tuesday outside the provincial forestry office in Mataram.
They accused police and forest rangers of wrongful arrest and false accusations during a joint operation two weeks ago in the forest near their village in Sambik Bangkol, Gangga district.
Houses of worship are an important topic of discussion for many people, as the recent debate over them showed. The impression was that people put more importance on the buildings themselves than on practicing the good deeds taught inside them.
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Forest fires on Sumatra and Borneo are sending a toxic haze across the skies of Southeast Asia, raising air pollution levels on the two islands and in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Workers whose companies are affected by hot mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java, said Tuesday they were not being properly compensated for their loss of income.
Jakarta – Although the central government has identified human trafficking as one of Indonesia's most serious problems, the trade continues to flourish here.
Arist Merdeka Sirait of the National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas PA) said that the situation was being aggravated by the way police treated the victims.
Jakarta – A coalition of environmental groups on Tuesday accused leading European flooring manufacturers of using wood stolen from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Thousands of Tangerang residents living along the Cisadane river are at risk of various illnesses due to the increasing level of pollution in the river, a report says.
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Five-year-old Trimo is placed in an old babywalker every now and then. Although his feet can touch the ground, he isn't able to get it moving as other children usually can.
The boy, blind at birth, was playing alone in front of his 12-square-meter house with plaited bamboo walls and a dirt floor.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Depok – Suci Islamiyah will never forget the fact that her mother died in one of the leading government hospitals in Central Jakarta, deprived of proper medical treatment.
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – A rosier economic picture is expected to emerge in the second half of the year, with increased growth forecast after a recent easing of inflation and interest rates.
Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government should take all the necessary measures to prevent Indonesian jihadis from leaving for Lebanon or they will only create more problems when they return home, Muslim scholars say.
Cath Hart and Samantha Maiden – John Howard has pulled the plug on his controversial migration bill to avoid facing a defeat in the Senate.
Hasballah Saad and Michael Shank, Washington DC – The United States Congress recently passed a contentious bill that allocates over US$6 million to Indonesia for military equipment and training in 2007. Two checks will be issued: $4.5 million under Congress' Foreign Military Financing program and $1.28 million under Congress' International Military Education and Training program.
Tom Hyland – The Indonesian Army manipulated the voyage to Australia of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers in a secret pyschological warfare operation that gave Jakarta a diplomatic and strategic victory over the Howard Government, a former intelligence analyst says.
Jakarta – Thick and acrid haze from fires set to clear land is blanketing parts of the Indonesian section of Borneo island, a meteorology official said.
Jakarta – The Jakarta administration will have to rethink its plan to increase public awareness about paying taxes in an SMS reward program after the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declared it prohibited by Islam.
Panca Nugraha, Mataram – The National Commission on Human Rights has asked the government to guarantee the security of Ahmadiyah followers to ensure members of the religious sect can live in peace and worship freely.
Arvin Fikriansyah, Palu – A last-minute reprieve for three Indonesian Christians on death row has been welcomed by activists and relatives as they geared up to fight for a commutation of their sentences.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – The National AIDS Commission is running a trial on the use of female condoms in Papua to reduce the rate of new HIV infections.
Jakarta/Surabaya – Permanent effects from the huge mudflow engulfing Sidoarjo, East Java, may keep thousands of displaced residents from ever returning to their homes, officials warn.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has replaced the chiefs of three military commands and of the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) as part of a major reshuffle of its 79 senior officers.
Jakarta – A controversial religious leader and a feminist writer were named winners of an award for freedom of expression Thursday. They are former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Gadis Arivia who founded Jurnal Perempuan, a woman's journal.
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia's tobacco market, the world's fifth-largest, is primed for foreign takeovers.
Yemris Fointuna and Ruslan Sangadji, Kupang/Palu – Large rallies were held across East Nusa Tenggara on Thursday to protest the impending executions of Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva for their roles in violence between Christians and Muslims in Central Sulawesi's Poso district.
The following are the tangible impacts of the hot, toxic mud that has flooded part of the East Java town of Sidoarjo since the end of May: nearly 8,000 people have been displaced, more than 190 hectares of farmland have been flooded, at least 15 factories have been shut down and a section of the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike has been closed.
Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The delays in the spending of development funds by many local administrations are believed to be partly the result of rent-seeking practices involving collusion between a number of national legislators and local administrations, a minister says.