M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – House of Representatives legislators slammed the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Tuesday for alleged irregularities in its budget spending for the legislative and presidential polls.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – In an apparent move to prove their will to fight corruption, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and vice presidential candidate Hasyim Muzadi visited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An internal rift within the Golkar Party has led several party leaders to split ranks from the party's pro-President Megawati Soekarnoputri Nationhood Coalition to instead back presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Nana Rukmana, Majalengka – The price of vegetable paid to growers has been declining in Majalengka regency, West Java province, over the past few months, sparking concern among thousands of farmers in the mountainous area.

Jun Honna, the author of the book Military Politics and Democratization in Indonesia (2003), and an associate professor at Ritsumeiken University in Japan, has been in Indonesia for about one year to observe the elections here. The political scientist shared his observations with The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The ongoing deliberation of the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill at the House of Representatives (DPR) in the final days of the House members' terms in office has not only drawn widespread attention, but also strong criticism from related institutions and the public in general.

Jakarta – Media-shy President Megawati Sukarnoputri, trailing in opinion polls weeks before the election, has refused her opponent's offer for a televised debate on issues confronting the world's fourth-largest country, an official said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Banda Aceh District Court ordered the release of 10 councillors being detained on graft charges, prosecutors and their lawyers said on Monday, while hundreds of protesters staged protests in several regions to demand legal action against corrupt lawmakers.

In the early hours of Sunday, one of the most feared, yet respected sons of the nation left us. Gen. (ret) Leonardus Benjamin "Benny" Moerdani, 71, deserves the praise that has been heaped on him from many quarters. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was probably one of the best soldiers this nation ever had. It is difficult to deny the fact.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – "Of course the risks are high. But if not us, who else is willing to take the risk?" So asked Hilmi Panigoro, chief executive of PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk (Medco), earlier this year in an interview with local media.

Jakarta – Ex-president Abdurrahman Wahid has thrown his weight behind President Megawati Sukarnoputri's rival in next month's election but said his party had yet to decide which candidate it would back.

Jakarta – The United States yesterday announced US$468 million (S$802 million) in aid to Indonesia, earmarking part of it for improving Islamic schools, which have been blamed for encouraging fundamentalism.

Jakarta – Forest fires and hot spots in Kalimantan are spreading at a rate of more than 100 a day over the past week, an Environment Ministry official said.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) and the government wrapped up on Monday their deliberations on the truth and reconciliation commission bill following a half-hour, closed-door meeting attended by faction leaders in the House.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Legislators with hands in the till beware: The government is on your trail and lawmakers in the provinces are a prime target as it cracks down on graft and organised crime. For the past two months, prosecutors have been fanning out across the archipelago aggressively indicting and detaining councillors at provincial and lower administration levels.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Lawmakers have criticized a stipulation in the bill on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which allows it to recommend the granting of a presidential pardon for human rights abusers, despite the fact that they have not been forgiven by their victims.

Patrick Walters – A strange paradox continues to afflict Australia's bilateral relations with Indonesia.

While people-to-people links strengthen year-by-year, opinion polls show a steadily increasing proportion of Australians now nominate Indonesia as our principal long-term security threat.

Shawn Donnan – Leonardus Benyamin "Benny" Murdani, who died yesterday, was the architect of Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor and from 1983 to 1993 served as first the head of the country's armed forces and then its defence minister.

Governor Abdullah Puteh was on the front pages of newspapers for weeks in recent months, linking him to corruption in the scandalous purchase of a helicopter and a power generator for the Aceh provincial administration. The Corruption Eradication Commission has named him a suspect in the case.

Tempo recently journeyed over the 16-kilometer Blangkejeren-Dusun Gajah section of Ladia Galaska to look at the impact of the controversial road project on the environment and the local population.

Tiarma Siboro – A true intelligence officer to the end, L.B. Moerdani left this world discreetly in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and a few hours later, one of the most feared and respected generals was buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta.

[Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh. John Martinkus. Random House Australia, 2004 326 pp.]

Emmy Fitri, Jakarta – Using the word "secret" as a book title is bound to be a magnet for curious readers, the tease to draw them in to find out more about its promise of providing more information.

Kupang – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is sending another team to Manggarai to continue its investigation into shootings in which five villagers in the area were killed by police, an official said on Friday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The administration and supervision of the military court is to be transferred to the Supreme Court on September 1 in accordance with Law No. 4/2004 on judicial power, which reinstates a one-roof judicial system.

However, it remains unclear whether the move will enable a criminal court to try military personnel.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Some 25 activists from the Front for Poor People's Struggle (FPRM) staged a protest in front of a government office here on Friday, questioning the government on the recent death of prodemocracy activist Churzaini, alias Saddam Hussein, in his prison cell recently.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Parliament is debating a controversial Bill to safeguard the military's profile and let it continue its regional commands.

Jakarta – On Friday August 27, the Women's Alliance Against RUU TNI (Aliansi Perempuan Tolak RUU TN) held a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Police now have no suspects in a bizarre case involving a former Jakarta city council chairman, a businesswoman and an alleged "fraud" worth Rp 1 billion (US$112,359).

Political coalitions with several parties, including the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP), may not be enough for presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Hasyim Muzadi to win the September 20 election.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Two former presidential candidates have elected not to support either Megawati Soekarnoputri or Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the September 20 election runoff, but did encourage supporters to vote in the upcoming poll.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Leaders of the so-termed national coalition of four major parties held their first plenary meeting on Friday, to consolidate their rank and file and draw up a strategy to help the Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi ticket win the runoff.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Numerous newly elected councillors across Indonesia could lose their seats after the General Elections Commission (KPU) ordered local commissions to take swift action against councillors who used false school diplomas.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Three daughters of founding president Sukarno look set to bury their hatchets for a family reunion ahead of the election runoff, which will see the eldest among the siblings, Megawati Soekarnoputri, square off against her former aide Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organizations said on Friday it would press ahead with its drive to unravel the corruption allegations plaguing the General Elections Commission (KPU), despite a threat from the commission to file a defamation lawsuit against the group.

Matthew Moore – The South Jakarta District Court is best known as a place where judges give decisions to the highest bidder, but its ruling this week to set aside the Bali bombing charges against confessed terrorist Idris was one any decent court might have made.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – More than 60,000 workers of the Texmaco Group may lose their jobs following the government's refusal to reschedule its huge debts.

Jakarta – Approximately 300,000 people are living in refugee camps across the country, a senior minister says, adding that the government hopes to repatriate all of them by October.

Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah said on Friday the majority of the refugees were in Maluku and North Maluku.

Theresia Sufa, Sukabumi – Five groups of the endangered Javan silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), or Owa Jawa, have disappeared from the 100-hectare (ha) Kabandungan Forest, a lush corridor that connects Mount Salak and Mount Halimun in Sukabumi, West Java, a park official said.

Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta – Nobody would question the importance and great value of books to the processes and tasks of learning and "becoming an educated person". Undoubtedly one of the most difficult and unfortunate of challenges for many people in Indonesia is the cost of books and, in many instances, the availability of good quality books.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Lt. Col. Bambang Sutrisno, who had just been installed on Tuesday as the Piabung Marine Corps commander in Lampung province, was dismissed from his post on Friday following a raid by marines on a village concert that killed one and injured at least six others.

Flick through the channels on any given night and chances are you will come up against reality – reality TV that is. The most prominent and popular subgenre of these shows is reality-horror, which feature volunteers, often scared to the point of frenzy, or unconsciousness.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The debate over the military's territorial role looks to dominate the deliberation of the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill, which commenced on Thursday.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – A national meeting of civil society involving around 200 non-government and social organisations has taken a decision not to vote in the second-round of the presidential elections on September 20 because they have no faith in the two presidential candidates who are contesting the election.

Adhi Pratomo, Jakarta – Activists from the Student and People's Alliances Against RUU TNI (Aliansi Mahasiswa dan Rakyat Tolak RUU TNI) believe that the RUU TNI (Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentara Nasional Indonesia, draft law on the armed forces) represents an endeavor by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to jack-up her votes in the second-round presidential elections by giving political

Megawati Sukarnoputri was right. In a pre-independence day address, the Indonesian president rejected intervening in a series of court decisions that have resulted in the acquittal of four security officials in trials related to violence in East Timor in 1999, as well as that of a military officer charged over an incident in 1984 in Indonesia that resulted in 23 deaths.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A labor union has cried out against the nationwide trend of outsourcing, labor layoffs and dismissals that have helped employers raise efficiency levels amid the prolonged economic hardship, but have worsened workers' situation.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is on shaky ground with ethnic Chinese after comments by his running mate Jusuf Kalla were taken as discriminatory.

Mr Jusuf had backed Malaysian-style affirmative action favouring indigenous Indonesians, a stance feared by the Chinese community.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Although Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still being touted as the favorite to assume the country's top job, the race remains open for the incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputri to outshine him in the September 20 runoff, a survey revealed.

Dadan Wijaksana and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Renewed debate on whether to retain the hugely costly national fuel subsidy remerged on Wednesday, following a proposal by the government to set aside a whopping Rp 63 trillion (some US$7 billion) for the subsidy this year.

Australia announced a cruise missile programme to give it the region's "most lethal" air combat capacity, a move that further strained awkward relations with Indonesia.

Defence Minister Robert Hill said Thursday the air-to-surface missiles acquired under the 350 million to 450 million dollar (248-317 million US) programme could destroy targets up to 400 kilometres away.