Aguswandi, London – Irresponsible statements from politicians in Jakarta is the last thing Acehnese need at this time, post-disaster. Yet this is what we hear from members of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, as they issue statements criticizing the peace talks in Helsinki.

Jakarta – Indonesia's High Court on Thursday upheld a 10-year-jail sentence for the governor of the nation's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province for skimming state funds – a key victory in the government's campaign against corruption, a media report said.

Andi Hajramurni and A'an Suryana, Makassar/Jakarta – Building a clean government! This was the vision expressed by Ichsan Yasin Limpo, a candidate running for regent, when he delivered his manifesto to Gowa regental councillors a few days ago in an attempt to prove his anticorruption credentials ahead of the June 27 local leadership election in the regency.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The current outbreak of malnutrition that is affecting thousands of children in some provinces might be considered a slap in the face for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, not only because such reports have been concealed from him, but also because the reports have dealt a major blow to his government's poverty eradication programs.

Rendi A. Witular and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung – After his private mobile phone crashed just a day after its number was made public last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made public on Thursday a new phone number, 9949, through which members of the public can directly forward complaints and information.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – One of the greatest smear campaigns ever committed in the country's modern history was the one that was waged against the country's first president, Sukarno.

Cirebon, West Java – Some 4,000 children in Cirebon regency are suffering from malnutrition, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Poverty has left many parents unable to provide their children with nutritious food, leading to rampant malnutrition, said Retina Sri Sedjati, the chief of the Cirebon Health Agency.

Jakarta – If a province is wealthy enough to allocate Rp 12 billion (US$1.26 billion) for the renovation of its governor's residence, why do its children continue to suffer from malnutrition?

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Thirteen out of 45 Padang councillors were sentenced to four years in jail each on Tuesday following their convictions on graft charges.

Eva C. Komandjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Documents setting out methods and plans to kill human rights activist Munir have been discovered by the government-sanctioned fact finding team investigating his murder, supporting initial speculation that the killing was part of a conspiracy.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Although the time limit for Fact Finding Team's (TPF) investigation into the Munir case is almost up it seems that it has failed to gain access to documents and information from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). It has been repeatedly said that BIN's director Syamsir Siregar has forbidden his members from giving access to the TPF.

Jakarta – The chairperson of the Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikohi), Mugiyanto, says the 14 activists who disappeared between 1997-98 are dead. This was confirmed by the former minister of defense/armed forces chief retired General Wiranto during a secret meeting with a team investigating the disappearance of activists in 1997-98.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week ordered the country's governors to revive the Regional Intelligence Coordinating Body (Bakorinda), a network of intelligence offices last used to quell dissent in the Suharto era, amid criticism that Indonesia's intelligence bodies had failed to anticipate terrorist attacks in the country.

Jakarta – Indonesian police found a partly assembled explosive device at a south Jakarta train station on Wednesday and a bomb squad was called in to dismantle it, a spokesman said.

Police were also seen stopping and searching vehicles outside another train station in the central part of the city early on Wednesday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The twin problems of school dropouts and child labor in the country have been blamed on widespread poverty.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – The jailing of a university student for insulting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a reflection of the government's reluctance to accept public criticism, an observer says.

Matthew Moore Herald, Jakarta – Imron Cotan has been told he will be returning to a new position, having barely completed half of his three-year term that began in November 2003.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to bring him home in favour of his own candidate is a sign of the President's determination to strengthen ties with Australia.

The babies could not wait – they died before our honorable legislators were able to complete their ongoing revision of the state budget, which would then determine the figures of "compensation funds" to the poor, derived from funds earlier used to subsidize motorists.

Medan – Two soldiers and a staff official with the province's Bukit Barisan Military Command were dishonorably discharged from the military on Monday for their involvement in drug trafficking. Bukit Barisan military commander Maj. Gen.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikohi) is urging retired General Wiranto to clarify his statement that 14 activists who were disappeared between 1997-1998 and who's whereabouts are still unknown are in fact dead.

Jakarta – A team set up by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to investigate the abduction of prodemocracy activists between 1997 and 1998 failed to question four middle-ranking police officers on Monday.

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Slightly built human rights activist Munir appears to have been the target of a huge conspiracy by a 'rogue' group. The evidence, four attempts were planned against his life. And one of the methods was certainly not 'intellectual': using black magic.

Jakarta – The Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigating the death of Munir has found documents containing four plots to kill the human rights activist.

"It would be a great pity if these documents had been thrown away", TPF chairperson Police Brigadier General Marsudhi Hanafi told journalists at police headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday June 14.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Indonesia's elite have always preferred to bury unsavoury events, such as those from the bloody upheavals of the mid-1960s.

Despite its strong association with the New Order regime of former president Soeharto, the Golkar Party managed to dominate not only the last legislative election, but also direct regional elections held in several regencies. The Jakarta Post's Slamet Susanto discussed this with Riswandha Imawan, a political analyst at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

Paul Dalton and Fergus Kerrigan, Jakarta – Since 1998, foreign observers have followed with hope and concern the progress of Indonesia on its uneven path towards democracy, the rule of law and accountability in government. While the challenges are many, there have been impressive achievements, including significant reforms of the legal system.

Jakarta – Reports on corruption and offerings of lucky charms were among the text messages received by the President via his cellular phone not long after he publicly disclosed its number.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sent over 2,000 messages on Saturday, with some of them being read out to him by his assistant, before the system crashed.

It is easy to become increasingly pessimistic about the ability of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's economic team to continue economic reforms – especially when new evidence emerges indicating how incoherent the policy stance of his economics ministers is.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – In an attempt to finish a major backlog of big city projects, Governor Sutiyoso has set a deadline of six months for senior officials to shape up or ship out.

Tim Johnston – Indonesia's commitment to free speech and civil rights was questioned yesterday after a Balinese student was sentenced to six months in jail for showing disrespect to the president.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A new survey by the International Labor Organization (ILO) has revealed that 19 percent of Indonesia's school-aged children could not afford to attend school, the main factor contributing to the high number of child laborers in the country.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – With the sixth graders facing final exams and the new academic year about to start in July, officials at a state elementary school in Sepatan district, Tangerang regency, were wondering what to do about the classrooms.

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, then he seriously miscalculated the scale of the nation's discontent.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the National Police signed an agreement on Friday on cooperation in handling human rights abuse cases.

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.

Nevertheless those who phoned or sent text messages to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's private number on Sunday, were disappointed by the "busy" tone or undelivered messages.

Jakarta – It was a Tuesday morning when a group of women gathered to chat on a narrow veranda of the house of a subdistrict head in Pangkalan Jati Baru, Depok. One might think that they were there for an arisan (monthly social gathering) to catch up with the local gossip.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – After winning recognition from the government, the National Awakening Party (PKB) under Muhaimin Iskandar is mulling action against members of a rival camp.

PKB deputy secretary-general Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh, better known as Yenni Wahid, said on Saturday, however, that doors would stay open for the party's splinter group to rejoin.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – With its June 23 deadline looming, the Munir murder fact-finding team has yet to complete its task of identifying the killers of the noted human rights campaigner, and the government is being urged to extend the team's term and empower it so it can finish its job.

Erwin Dariyanto, Jakarta – On Thursday June 16 the Fact Finding Team (TPF) in the death of human rights activist Munir will again invite Abdullah Mahkmud Hendropriyono in for questioning. The former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) director's lawyer however has responded by challenging the team to a public debate.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – We frequently shake our heads in frustration at the misconduct and profiteering of public officials.

Jakarta – Indonesian lawmakers have objected to a controversial government anti-terror plan to revive a far-reaching intelligence network used to quell dissent during the dictatorial government of ex-President Suharto, a local newspaper said Monday.

On Thursday, US President George W. Bush announced that Congress would extend the government's surveillance and law enforcement powers to track down potential terrorists.

Jakarta – The government has defended the controversial presidential decree that allows the government to forcibly take over privately owned land that has been earmarked for development purposes, even when owners fail to agree on compensation offered to them.

Dan EatonSat – Fury in Australia over the jailing of a young woman in Bali for drugs smuggling has puzzled ordinary Indonesians, and given the world's most populous Muslim nation a chance to display a new maturity, analysts say.

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 your phonebook and the President will lend a helping hand.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Two members of the National Commission on Human Rights held an unannounced meeting with former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto on Friday.

Jakarta – As malnutrition cases across the country hit the headlines, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has drawn attention to the government's failure to disburse the fund for the poor generated by slashing the fuel subsidy.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – In what pro-democracy activists are describing as a blow to freedom of expression, a court here jailed a university student on Friday for insulting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Fabio Scarpello, Jakarta – While negotiations between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Indonesian government officials in Helsinki, Finland, have given rise to a moderate optimism, fighting continues unabated in Aceh. At the same time, two bombs exploded in Central Sulawesi killing 22 people and threatening the fragile peace between Christians and Muslims in the province.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The government's plan to revive its domestic spy agency, which former dictator Soeharto used to watch critics and stifle dissent, drew fire on Friday from human rights activists.

The rights campaigners expressed fear the agency would be misused by security forces, which they said enjoyed impunity despite their alleged rights abuses.