Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) withdrew on Friday its proposal to insert an article into the military bill being deliberated by the House of Representatives banning newly retired military personnel from politics.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Bandarlampung municipal administration is planning to demolish some 5,000 stilt houses in Lampung Bay, in line with its plan to implement the so-termed Waterfront City Project.

Jakarta – Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD) Muhamad Taufik said Sunday that the number of registered voters for Monday's presidential election declined by 103,528 to only 6,617,980, while the number of polling stations is reduced by 10 from 224,224 stations into 224,214.

Among the foreign observers here for the runoff of Indonesia's first direct presidential election on Monday, the largest contingent consists of the 220 members of the European Union Election Observation Mission. The following are excerpts from an interview with its chief observer, Glyn Ford, who spoke to The Jakarta Post's M. Taufiqurrahman.

Jakarta – Over 100 million people are expected to flock to hundreds of thousands of polling stations on Monday to cast their votes in the final round of the country's first-ever direct presidential election.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), joined by Padang's North Siberut Alliance for the Preservation of Mentawai Culture (AMAPM), are urging the government to put a stop to logging activities on the island of Siberut, which is among the Mentawai Islands.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Don't miss an opportunity, that's the journalist's motto and this includes the final moments in the lead-up to the "finals" of the second-round of the presidential election.

The bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta has elevated terrorism, as an election issue, from a shade above nowhere to a point just visible on Indonesia's political horizon.

But the hopes and priorities of Indonesian voters, as they head to the polls on Monday, will be vastly different from those held by anxious regional neighbours.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – As the projector flickered, people in interfaith relationships told their stories.

Indah said she and her siblings were labeled illegitimate and mocked because their parents were of different religions.

A married couple claimed there was never a problem; the differences, in fact, helped their children become more tolerant.

Jakarta – Two days before the presidential election runoff on Monday, the campaign team for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was kept busy countering allegations that could harm its candidate.

A tabloid called Fakta (Fact) hit the streets in Jakarta on Saturday, running one-sided stories about what it called Susilo's "public deception".

A deadly attack on Australia's Jakarta embassy days before Indonesia's presidential polls may help a former general unseat President Megawati Sukarnoputri but is unlikely to prove the poll's tipping point, analysts say.

Bandung – President Megawati Soekarnoputri handed over Rp 230 billion in bank loans to small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs across West Java and Banten during her visit here on Friday. The loans, disbursed by state bank BRI, require no collateral.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Golkar's decision to suspend several of its members would affect a major coalition led by the biggest party to help President Megawati Soekarnoputri retain power in Monday's election runoff, analysts say.

A. Junaidi – If there was one person known to talk in seminars or discussions about the gay and transvestite communities in Indonesia as recently as five years ago, only one name would probably have come up: Dede Oetomo, chairman of GAYA Nusantara and a sociolinguist from the Surabaya-based Airlangga University.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The city administration began implementing the revised three-in-one traffic policy on Friday, though it did little to alleviate the usual heavy congestion along the major thoroughfares of Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.

Workers began flooding out of their offices along these two streets at about 3 p.m. in order to avoid the restricted zone.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Ignoring main stake holders' aspirations, the House of Representatives is determined to complete the deliberation of the much-criticized bill on national social security system (SJSN) next week.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – A Jakarta court on Thursday sentenced a leading magazine editor to a year in jail for libel in a case seen as a landmark for press freedom in Indonesia, a country supposedly in the era of reformasi. The verdict deals a harsh blow to press freedom and reinforces Indonesian courts' reputation for bizarre decisions, a key barrier to investment.

Suko Sudarso, Jakarta – The presidential election on September 20, is likely to become a battle of symbols – the popular-change symbol of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono challenging the authority-stability symbol of Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Kendari – Dozens of activists held a protest on Friday in downtown Kendari, demanding that prosecutors speed up a probe into the alleged embezzlement of Rp 11.6 billion (US$1.2 million) by Muna regent Ridwan Bae.

The regent was accused of embezzling Rp 11.6 billion in a teak tender recently in the regency.

Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – The idea behind staging a televised presidential dialog – not a debate – was to give voters the opportunity to learn more about the candidates' platforms, and what could be expected of them if elected president.

As Indonesians prepare to go to the polls on Monday, the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) stated, "No matter which presidential candidate prevails, the Indonesian military has already won."

Almost all religions forbid homosexuality as can be seen in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible or the people of the Prophet Luth in the Koran. According to a recent study, however, homosexuality can be found even in religious institutions, including in pesantren (Islamic boarding schools).

Donggala – Central Sulawesi General Election Commission (KPU) has fired the chief of Donggala Municipality KPU Abdullah Malabang and his four subordinates for vote markup in the July 5 legislative election.

Jakarta/Surabaya/Madiun – The National Police announced on Thursday that they had arrested at least eight people allegedly linked to last week's deadly blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, which killed 10 people and injured over 180 others.

Gandhi Sukardi, Jakarta – The September 9 bomb explosion in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, could have been prevented if the police and the intelligence services, had an army of secret informers, who are well-paid and full-time, not doing the job as a pastime or amateurs.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – International and domestic observers lambasted on Thursday the guilty verdict against Tempo magazine's chief editor Bambang Harymurti and called it a setback for the country's press freedom and democracy.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court found Tempo weekly guilty on Thursday of publishing false material and libel, and sentenced chief editor Bambang Harymurti to a suspended one-year jail term. The court, however, acquitted the journalists who wrote the article in question.

Kurniawan Hari and Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Jakarta/Mataram – Golkar politicians suspended from the party for refusing to back Megawati Soekarnoputri in Monday's presidential election runoff, continued on Thursday in their activities in support of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Jakarta/Indramayu/Jayapura – While not declaring a controversial quiz a violation of campaign regulations, the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) demanded its halt on Thursday.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – While the current trend of maternal mortality rate (MMR) shows a decreasing pattern, it may be difficult for Indonesia to achieve the target of MMR of around 125 per 100,000 births set by the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals, an expert says.

Jakarta – Amid reports of a continuing slump in foreign direct investment (FDI), Indonesia is in for even gloomier prospects after the recent Australian Embassy bomb attack, according to Indonesian-Australian Business Council chairman Noke Kiroyan.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government must establish a "country borrowing strategy" and improve the distribution mechanism of foreign loans to regional administrations to ensure the efficient and effective use of the loans in the future.

Tiarma Siboro and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A number of national figures, grouped in the newly launched Cultural Movement for Reform, signed a declaration on Thursday to support the Susilo-Kalla ticket in the upcoming presidential runoff.

Indonesia's Presidential election could herald significant changes to the way the government runs the country. The historic direct Presidential poll will cement the democratic constitution with Indonesia's future. If opinion polls are correct and former military general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wins, he will have a firm mandate to pursue his policy agenda.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – The Makassar District Court began hearing on Thursday the case of six student and labor activists charged with insulting President Megawati Soekarnoputri during a protest in April.

Pekanbaru – Haze returned on Thursday to the skies of Pekanbaru, raising concern over new breathing problems spreading in the city.

Pekanbaru Deputy Mayor Erwandy Saleh said that the quality of the air in the city was poor.

With only three days to go before balloting begins in the country's final round of its first direct presidential elections on Monday, Indonesians can draw little comfort from official assurances that everything is being done to ensure that the situation remains under control.

Kurniawan Hari and Suherdjoko, Jakarta/Semarang – The Golkar Party dismissed Jusuf Kalla, a member of the party and the running mate of election front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, from his post as a Golkar advisor on Wednesday, and suspended the membership of 11 other party members indefinitely for refusing to support Megawati Soekarnoputri in Monday's election runoff.

Jakarta – Two foreign agencies officially registered to monitor the presidential election runoff have arrived here to observe the poll from the opening until vote counting.

The Atlanta-based Carter Center said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that it would deploy a team of 57 personnel for the mission.

The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
US State Department
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Mr. Secretary,

Jakarta/Surabaya/Makassar – Confronted with a limited campaign period and the vast expanse of the country, candidates of the September 20 runoff have decided to turn to print and electronic media to lure voters.

Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta – There has been a fundamental shift in how President Megawati Soekarnoputri communicates. The Megawati we saw during Tuesday night's presidential "dialog" was definitely a different one from the Megawati in the first round of presidential dialogs weeks ago.

In what was seen as a test case for press freedoms in newly democratic Indonesia, a court cleared two journalists of libel but said the article they wrote was defamatory.

Jakarta – In a departure from the general legal trend that has characterized the Tempo saga and coming ahead of the verdict expected on Thursday from the Central Jakarta District Court, a high court ruled in favor of the Tempo Media Group in its appeals against two lower court rulings.

Kupang – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is ready to provide protection for UN agencies that reopen in East Nusa Tenggara province, the western part of Timor island, a local commander said on Wednesday.

"Actually, it is the duty of the police, but we are ready to help the police guard the country," Wirasakti Military Resort Commander Col. Maswardi Moesanip said.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – The two presidential candidates and their running mates were forced to address what may be the toughest economic challenge next year – raising fuel prices at home – when they met a group of economists during a televised dialogue late on Wednesday.

Damien Kingsbury – Jakarta has always been a city of intrigue, and for every significant political event there are usually any number of theories to explain it. Usually, one or even a couple of these explanations is close to the truth.

Low competitiveness in the country's manufacturing products is a major obstacle in the efforts to push economic growth, according to a senior economist.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) economist Mari E. Pangestu said on Wednesday that low competitiveness had hampered both exports and investment, two key factors to accelerate economic growth.

Indonesia's presidential candidates pledged to get tough on terrorism as official campaigning began for the country's first direct leadership polls – a contest overshadowed by a deadly embassy attack.

With surveys favouring her suave presidential poll rival, Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri has sought to shed an aloof and uncaring image and rebrand herself as a go-getting and attentive leader.