Max Lane – Despite what some media may tell us, the 2004 Indonesian election results indicate that there is no nostalgic swing to the past, but instead a popular rejection of the elit politik.

Bhimanto Suwastoyo, Jakarta – Indonesian military chief Wiranto won a decisive victory early Wednesday in the contest for the Golkar party's presidential nomination but faces a much tougher battle for the top job.

The party founded by former dictator Suharto picked the strongman's former adjutant Wiranto, who has been indicted in East Timor for crimes against humanity.

Jakarta – Indonesia's consumption-driven economy is expected to grow faster than expected this year but it still lags behind the rest of Asia in exports and investment, the World Bank said Tuesday.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – More than 1,000 former employees at state aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) staged an unruly protest on Monday at the West Java High Court in Bandung, damaging the court buildings.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesian militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has not even been charged yet in a fresh terrorism investigation, but already public opinion is shifting behind the jailed preacher amid anger at perceived US meddling.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Fresh from a six-week recess, House of Representatives legislators started on Monday their new sitting period, with nearly 60 bills lined up for deliberation.

Surabaya/Jakarta – The country's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has not yet named its preferred presidential candidates despite frequent visits by Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid to several influential NU clerics.

Jakarta – The United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB) says that the Saviors of the Nation Forum (Forum Penyelamat Bangsa) which has been conceived by [National Mandate Party chairperson] Amien Rais and [Justice and Prosperity chairperson] Hidayat Nurwahid is quasi-unity, a pretence and just pragmatic.

Golkar's leader Akbar Tanjung promised to battle Indonesia's endemic corruption and revive the economy as members of the party founded by former dictator Suharto met to choose a presidential candidate after its apparent parliamentary election win.

Jakarta – A senior minister who teamed up with President Megawati Sukarnoputri's main rival said yesterday he was optimistic they could make a strong showing in the July polls for president and vice-president.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Former Indonesian general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has edged ahead in the race to become the country's next president by teaming up with a running mate from the Golkar Party of former president Soeharto.

Jakarta – The executive director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), Munir, says that the drawing in or courting active military officers to enter politics will only destroy the nation's system of defense.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Kerosene has become very scarce in the past two months in Semarang, the capital of Central Java, and neighboring areas due to a lack of supply, causing its price to soar.

Jakarta – Several donor countries and institutions agreed on Monday to hold routine meeting discussing the improvement of Indonesia's investment climate.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesian police have named Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir a terror suspect and are focusing on possible links to the Bali blasts and his alleged leadership of an al Qaeda-linked militant group, officials said on Friday.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The national legislature will resume sitting on Monday until early July, involving many members who are unlikely to be reelected for another five-year term.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police recorded 208 bodies found on streets and other public places in Greater Jakarta during the first quarter of this year and about half of those remain unidentified.

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Local prosecutors have brought a criminal charge against a group of activists who staged a rally on Wednesday to urge a serious investigation into corruption scandals in Cirebon, West Java.

Woro Swasti, Jakarta – On Monday April 19, the United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB), which was established by 14 student organisations, held a demonstration rejecting the results of vote counting in the recent legislative elections.

Maryadi, Jakarta – Around 70 people who claimed they were from Ngawi, Magetan, from the East Java city of Madiun, demonstrated at the Constitutional Court building on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta on Monday April 19.

Alisa P, Jakarta – Speaking at the offices of the Dakwah Muhammaddyah, Munir SH, the executive director of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) said that National Mandate Party (PAN) chairperson Amin Rais must be responsible for the reformasi stalling. Especially since Rais is attempting to team up with the military as his partner in the coming presidential elections.

Alisa, Jakarta – Dita Indah Sari from the United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB) has strongly criticised the current crop of presidential candidates who are creating illusions, such as [former Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security] Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), [National Mandate Party chairperson] Amin Rais and [Justice and Prosperity Party chairperson, P

M. Ilham, Jakarta – The United Opposition Front (Barisan Oposisi Bersatu, BOB) and the Indonesian Trade Union Action Committee (Komite Aksi Serikat Buruh Indonesia, KASBI) are calling for a national strike on May 1 to coincide with May Day. According to Anwar M.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – The favorite pairing for the next president and vice president is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, cofounder of the Democratic Party and Jusuf Kalla of the Golkar Party, a survey which findings were revealed on Friday said.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Since its launch on January 15, city residents have warmed to the busway as shown by the increasing number of passengers over the last three months.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The emergence of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Democratic Party as the two parties that have garnered the most votes for the Jakarta City Council has come as something of a surprise.

M. Ilham, Jakarta – According to the government the elections in West Papua were a success, however for the people of Papua this cannot be said to be true, moreover as many as 70,000 Papuan people were not registered to vote. Identification cards are not longer used at polling stations [voters must have a separate voter registration card].

Robert Go, Seminyak – Bearing an ornately carved "dragon blowpipe" and a wooden cigarette box, souvenir seller Dewa Nyoman steps more lightly on his beach route now that Indonesia's general election has passed without trouble.

The Golkar party of former dictator Suharto maintained its lead in Indonesia's general election but a rival demanded party leader Akbar Tanjung resign ahead of a convention to choose the party's presidential candidate.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The recent presidential decree which centralizes the issuance of permits for investment under the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) reflects not only a lack of creativity on the part of the government in streamlining the bureaucracy, but is also detrimental to the spirit of the long-sought regional autonomy.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A group of professionals, religious leaders, students, organizations and senior military officers announced on Friday a movement to gather support for presidential hopeful Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – A retired army general, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is likely to be President Megawati Sukarnoputri's most serious challenger in Indonesia's presidential election in July, judging by an opinion poll and the views of political analysts.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – If SBY [recently resigned coordinating minister for politics and security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and presidential candidate for the military backed Democratic Party) becomes president, then responsibility for the military operation in Aceh, the investigation of human rights violations and reform of the military will be obstructed.

Indonesia's Golkar party, the former political machine of retired dictator Suharto, looks set to reassume dominance on the country's political landscape. Just six years after being ousted from office, Golkar is poised to win this month's legislative election. It's now eyeing a prize unthinkable just a few years ago – winning the presidential elections.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Imagine trying to run a country where your political party controls less than one tenth of the seats in parliament.

Indonesia's former chief security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will face that challenge should opinion polls prove right and he wins the country's first direct presidential election this year.

Indonesian police have officially declared jailed Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir a suspect in terrorism cases, the attorney general's office said.

A defence lawyer said Bashir was now unlikely to be freed from prison on April 30 after serving a sentence for lesser offences.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government is considering an amendment to Law No. 62/1958 on citizenship that will scrap all regulations that discriminate against Chinese-Indonesian.

Surabaya – About 1,800 workers from household appliance company PT Kyung Dong Indonesia (KDI) in Sidoarjo staged a protest on Thursday at the East Java gubernatorial office on Jl. Pahlawan, Surabaya.

They demanded Governor Imam Utomo to prevent the closure of the company.

Jakarta – Construction of what is billed as the world's tallest tower began in the Indonesian capital yesterday.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso oversaw the start of work on the Jakarta Tower in the Kemayoran district on the site of the city's former airport.

Thousands of children have been forced into prostitution by their parents and others on the Indonesian island of Java, an International Labour Organisation study has found.

Child trafficking for prostitution is one of five labour sectors researched in support of Indonesia's National Action Plan to prevent and eliminate the worst forms of child labour.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – For nearly 50 years, the Indonesian military held 20 percent of the county's parliamentary seats – but now the time has come for these unelected officers to leave the legislative building for good – and find a new place in the country's changed political landscape.

Presidential hopeful Akbar Tanjung came under fire at a lunch with the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club Wednesday, struggling to answer questions on corruption and details of his promise to fix the economy.

Tanjung started out strongly at an event whose audience was peppered with foreign diplomats keen to see the Golkar Party chairman in action.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – More than 300 additional paramilitary police arrived in the religiously-mixed regency of Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Monday after an new attack on a church over the Easter weekend injured seven Christians.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – After a week-long rally triggered by relatively trouble-free legislative elections, the Jakarta stock market plunged on Monday on fears of political instability following news that several politicians may reject the general election results.

Jakarta – The liquidation of Bank Dagang Bali (BDB) and Bank Asiatic, caused in part by a number of lending irregularities, point to the fact that the painful and costly efforts to restructure the banking sector have yet to bear fruit.

Jakarta – Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar rejected on Monday a plan to require senior high school graduates to undergo compulsory military service.

Malik said there was no urgency in implementing the program, which has been adopted by several Southeast Asian neighbors.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Golkar Party officials supervising the party's convention have expressed concern about possible money politics during unreported meetings of leaders of the party's regency chapters with presidential candidates.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The results to date of the count in the legislative elections appear to more or less reflect the amount of work put in by the political parties during the campaign, and how much they forked out on advertising.

Robert Go, Seminyak – In the wake of criticism, Indonesia's major political parties began retracting their demands for a re-election yesterday.

Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) turned down on Monday a demand for a nationwide reelection by a score of political parties contesting the legislative election.

KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsudin said that the political parties failed to come up with a strong case, as they could only cite a small number of irregularities in polling stations.