Makmur Keliat, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has relied on three popular arguments to convince the people that the increases in the fuel prices were the right decision.

Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyno has opted for a steady hand on the wheel, with changes to his cabinet. The moves are restricted to key economic posts.

Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon

Speakers: Ross McLeod, economist, Australian National University; Arief Budiman, professor of Indonesian Studies at Melbourne University

Jakarta – The limited Cabinet shakeup announced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday night appears to be a blessing in disguise for the fractured National Awakening Party (PKB).

Jakarta – Every workday morning, a small but expanding community in the traffic-clogged megacity of Jakarta brave fume-belching buses, aggressively driven cars and steamy heat to indulge in an unlikely passion: bike riding.

Yogyakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a Cabinet reshuffle on Monday aimed at boosting his government's economic performance against a background of high inflation and unemployment.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – In a decision eliciting jeers and cheers from the gallery, the government and the House of Representatives agreed on Monday to postpone the implementation of the much-criticized government regulations on broadcasting.

Intania Nur Kusuma, Jakarta – The World Trade Organisation (WTO) will hold its 6th ministerial level meeting in Hong Kong on 13-18 December. The meeting will face opposition with around 2,000 farmers planning to hold a demonstration – including 50 farmers from Indonesia.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – A National Police plan to fingerprint all students of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) across the country as well as their alumni has irritated the head of a major Muslim organization.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – An action opposing the arrival of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that was being organised by the National Students Front (FMN) has ended in a clash. Dozens of students were in the middle of the action when police broke it up. Five students were arrested and police chased scores of others.

Jakarta – One may have seen it coming. Perhaps not glaringly conspicuous, but the signs where there for a return to the situation where information would be controlled and restricted by the government.

Gede Suardana, Denpasar – A sentence of five months jail and 10 months probation is being sought by the prosecution for 12 Udayana University students from the People's Struggle Front for Democracy (Front Perjuangan Rakyat untuk Demokrasi, Frontier).

This nation is learning – the tough way – the hard lessons of democracy. Each new challenge brings forth a new response that either regresses or propels this nascent democracy forward.

Britain, a former foreign secretary once declared, had no permanent allies, only permanent interests. Lord Palmerston, a 19th-century political giant, died 140 years ago but his legacy lives on.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Alleged pollution in Buyat Bay has not been settled yet, but North Sulawesi has yet again become embroiled in an environmental dispute with a mining company.

Rusman, Samarinda – After illegal logging, coal mining is now the biggest danger to the environment of East Kalimantan. Many coal mines – especially those run by local cooperatives – have abandoned prudent principles in running their mines, leading to environmental destruction in the respective areas.

Supriyono Pangribowo, Jakarta – The offence of insulting the president is being used again. This time an activist from the Indonesian National Student Movement (GMNI), Monang Johanes Tambunan, has been charged for making a rude remark about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Jakarta – Authorities are preparing to charge 10 senior local officials from the Indonesian part of Borneo with involvement in illegal logging and embezzlement of state reforestation funds.

Jakarta – What you can and cannot see on TV is now practically in the hands of the government, and so is what you can or cannot hear on the radio, say some communications experts.

They were commenting on four recently-issued government regulations on foreign, private, community and subscription-based broadcasters.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Junior high school No. 56 in Melawai, South Jakarta, was swapped away by the city administration to a private company, and now parents are fighting to save a junior high school in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, from sharing the same fate.

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Mataram – Thousands of teachers in East Lombok regency have been on strike since Thursday to protest against the implementation of a bylaw passed two years ago requiring compulsory deductions from their salaries, ostensibly for charitable purposes.

Jakarta – Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, is scurrying to ready for a potential bird flu pandemic but health and animal husbandry officials warn they so far lack crucial resources.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The October bombings in Bali have proved to be a severe blow to Indonesia's tourism sector, with the number of foreign visitors dropping by nearly 31 percent to 267,800 during the month, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Thursday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Prosecutors have recommended a life sentence for Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto for the murder of the country's top human rights campaigner Munir.

The case is being closely watched by human rights groups both at home and overseas to see whether the government will bring the powerful masterminds behind the murder to court.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The government has decided not to appeal against a recent court ruling in favor of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) arising out of a pollution case in North Sulawesi, saying the two sides were currently working on an amicable settlement.

Jakarta – Higher crude palm oil and rubber production contributed to a 19 percent increase in the country's non-oil and gas exports during the first 10 months of the year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has reported.

Non-oil and gas exports during the period increased to US$54.5 billion from $45.9 billion compared to the corresponding period last year.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – The Wirabuana Military Command is still questioning 25 soldiers accused of being responsible for attacking and looting houses in a remote subdistrict in South Sulawesi at dawn on Tuesday.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – The Bush administration's decision to drop its arms embargo against Indonesia and resume full military ties fits a pattern of policy failures in East Asia. These failures underscore profound ignorance not only of the region but of where the US's true interests lie.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A political grouping, officially launched here on Thursday by dissatisfied elements of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's party, is deemed a serious threat to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan).

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – The news last week from Washington that the United States would restore full military ties with Indonesia after a 14-year lapse must have been sweet music to the ears of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, himself a retired general.

Nurvita Indarini, Jakarta – Although the sentence being sought by the public prosecutor for Pollycarpus is considered just, the former secretary of the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF), Usman Hamid, has urged that the investigation in to the Munir murder case not end with Pollycarpus.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Less than a week after the country refused entry to American researcher Sidney Jones, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the lifting of the ban on Tuesday, blaming the incident on the government of his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found 11 cases of irregularities in the management of state enterprise funds during the first semester of the year, with potential losses to the state amounting to Rp 2.59 trillion (US$258 million) and $39.1 million.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – It is true what they say, "Money can't buy everything". As in the case of Probosutedjo, a businessman and half-brother of former president Soeharto, billions of rupiah "spent" to bribe prosecutors and judges could not get him exonerated.

Kerryn Williams – On November 22, the US State Department decided to override restrictions on US-Indonesian military ties imposed by Congress less than two weeks earlier.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is facing internal conflict following its patrons' decision to renew the party's support for the government.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
US Department of State
2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

Jakarta – As the forestry-based industry has yet to perform efficiently, the government should review its policy to increase next year's natural forest logging quota, an environmental organization says.

Jakarta – Creating internal conflicts within radical groups through infiltration is one of the strategies being pursued by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to fight terrorism, BIN director Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar said on Monday.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Enraged by the arrest of terror suspect Syarif Tarabubun, hundreds of people attacked and burned down on Monday a Muslim boarding school believed to have been harboring terrorists.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot could be in any city in the world for World AIDS Day, which falls on Thursday. But he has chosen to commemorate it here, in the capital of the world's fourth most populous nation, as it is "the new frontline of an AIDS epidemic".

Tony Hotland and Blontank Poer, Jakarta/Surakarta – Apparently exhausted over pressure to bring the country's former authoritarian leader Soeharto to court over corruption allegations, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Monday that the matter was now in the hands of the Supreme Court.

The Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) is very alarmed that the United States is resuming military ties to Indonesia.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Recent raids conducted by city police and the immigration office have revealed thousands of foreigners staying in the capital either without proper permits or with expired permits.

In a surprising and appalling move, the State Department waived all legislated restrictions on US military assistance for Indonesia on November 22. For the first time in over a decade, the Indonesian military is now eligible to receive Pentagon weapons and training without any specific human rights or other conditions.

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – The national celebration of Teacher Day turned sour on Sunday after a poetry-reading that was critical of the poor state of national education irked Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) very likely elicited a big sigh of relief from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the Muslim-based party reconfirmed its support for his government, at least for another year.

Wrapping up its two-day meeting, the influential PKS board of patrons unanimously agreed to grant Susilo a crucial vote of confidence.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – The decision by the US administration to resume arms sale and military financing to Indonesia is a foreign policy trophy for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It was even more significant since the decision was made through a special discretionary waiver granted to the executive to override certain restrictions of a law.

Antony Barnett – British military equipment is being used by the Indonesian authorities against civilians in remote parts of the country.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Concluding its two-day leadership meeting on Friday, the Golkar Party reaffirmed its position as the main supporter of the current administration as it seeks more seats in the Cabinet team.

Eva C. Komandjaja and Suherdjoko, Jakarta/Semarang – An attempt by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to ban Islamic books thought to foment radicalism has been opposed by a large Muslim organization that fears the move could prove counterproductive.