Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – The bill on general elections, which provides that members of the military will be able to vote and be elected in the 2004 general election, is a good start but on its own is insufficient to take the military out of politics, say observers.

Jakarta – A fight broke on Thursday between North Jakarta public order officers and around 200 becak (pedicab) drivers in Sungai Bambu subdistrict in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The clash at midday left a car destroyed by fire and another car damaged, while three officers were injured.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Imagine a squalid three-by-four-meter house under a large water pipe on the Western Flood Canal in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. Its walls consist of used plywood and rough concrete that supports the pipe. It has no kitchen or toilet.

Robert Go, Jakarta – In a triumph over the central government, the Batam authorities have successfully lobbied Parliament to block Jakarta's efforts to take over the island's sea and airports.

Both Batam administrators and members of Parliament in the capital confirmed the decision during interviews with The Straits Times.

Jakarta – Indonesia told international creditors yesterday that its efforts to turn around the sickly economy were bearing fruit, and the creditors largely agreed.

This took place a day after Indonesia promised the International Monetary Fund in a new letter of intent that it will push through reforms in return for a US$340 million loan.

Howard LaFranchi, Washington – The outrage was global in the late 1990s when Indonesia's military and goon-like militias associated with the army ran roughshod through independence-seeking East Timor. The human rights abuses were so wanton that the United States cut all cooperation with the Indonesian armed forces.

Kasparman, Padang – Thousands of protesters expressed on Wednesday their support of a government plan to dismiss the current management of state cement maker PT Semen Padang, lending fresh backing to the company's privatization efforts.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and Minister of Finance Boediono have made a new economic reform agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite signs that the Cabinet is cracking due to a disagreement on key economic policies sponsored by the fund.

Jayandra Menon, Perth – Senior Australian defence officials are worried that the Bush administration's war on terrorism is being exploited by some of its "supposed allies" for their own domestic political gains.

Jakarta – More than 200 burning seams of coal could threaten huge areas of forest in East Kalimantan province, an environmental official said on Wednesday.

Medan – The Military Police in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, are questioning three Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers for their alleged role in an attack on the Serbelawan Police subprecinct post on Monday night.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Sunday's bombing in the Indonesian capital may be the work of criminal gangs and not rogue elements of the military who have been blamed for previous bombings, say police and analysts.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – At least 100 members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) branded chairwoman Megawati a traitor for her endorsement of the nomination of the incumbent Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso for the next governor.

Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta – Astri, 14, from Bunga Sari Japatan village, Indramayu West Java, has spent the past seven months of her life working in a Jakarta brothel.

She dropped out of elementary school four years ago when she was in the fourth grade and decided to earn money for her poor family.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri told a United Nations summit on food and agriculture that the burden of foreign debt on poor nations restricted access to food and undermined poverty reduction efforts.

Jakarta – Despite strong criticism of their performance, members of the House of Representatives (DPR) remained stubbornly undisciplined on Tuesday, skipping a scheduled plenary meeting for reasons known only to them.

Jakarta – Members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police will have to leave politics ahead of schedule as the newly proposed bill on general elections states they will no longer be represented in the legislative bodies in 2004.

Dewi Anggraeni and Syafi'i Anwar – There is something unnerving about Singapore senior minister Lee Kwan Yew's call last week that the world (read the United States) should rely on the Indonesian military to keep the nation from disintegrating because of Muslim militancy.

Max Lane – The persistence of the movement for a self-determination referendum in Aceh, the emergence of the Papuan Peoples Council and the troubles in Ambon have all raised concerns about whether Indonesian unity can be maintained.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has agreed to increase import tariffs on all food and agricultural commodities in the near-term, a report said.

Police in the Indonesian capital have warned that more bombings are likely in the city following a blast outside a discotheque early Sunday which injured five people.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A significant increase in the level of donations allowed for political parties has won the support of political observers and a politician, who see the increase as a positive measure to help prevent parties obtaining money from illegal sources.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Thousands of fisherman in the Lampung provincial capital of Bandarlampung are still unable to go to sea due to serious pollution in Pelabuhan Panjang waters, which has been blamed on local sugar cane plantation firm PT Gunung Madu Plantation (GMP).

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – If you are an ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, you need to be a star to get your citizenship papers. And even then it is not easy.

This is the bitter lesson learnt by international badminton star Hendrawan, who got his papers just a few days before leaving Indonesia to win the Thomas Cup in China.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – It is called the office of the Clean Ciliwung Campaign – which is supposed to conduct activities to clean Ciliwung and other rivers in the city, but the two-story building is quiet.

Jakarta – Six countries have agreed to set up the Southwest Pacific Forum and will hold a first annual meeting in Indonesia in August, reports said Sunday.

The new chief of Indonesia's powerful armed forces has been sworn in, promising to protect President Megawati Sukarnoputri from any unconstitutional move to topple her government.

"I will not tolerate anyone who is trying to destabilise the government because it only brings harm to this nation," army General Endriartono Sutarto said on Friday.

Medan – Thousands of workers at state-owned plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara II continued their protest here on Wednesday, demanding their firm's president director Suhairi Lubis be fired for failing to provide them with better pay.

The demonstrators started the rally on Tuesday in the North Sumatra capital and most of them held out a day later.

Jakarta – Malaysia, which has been aggressively looking at business opportunities in Indonesia, joined a host of other foreign countries on Wednesday in voicing concerns about the growing militancy among Indonesia's labor unions.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai met with leaders of the Batak-Toba Forum (Parbato) on Wednesday to diffuse tension that built after the central government decided to allow pulp and paper company PT Inti Indorayon Utama to resume operations.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The automated message comes in a soothing alto voice: "The number you are calling is being repaired." And it is heard often, as the poor resort to ripping out telephone cables and selling them in local black markets to make a living.

Jakarta – A company owned by Tommy Suharto spent 12 billion rupiah on financing protests against Mr Abdurrahman Wahid after the then Indonesian president rejected his pardon plea in November 2000.

Tangerang – Dozens of residents of Cipondoh subdistrict rallied at the municipal administration office on Wednesday to protest the new subdistrict chief.

"We want former subdistrict chief Asmawi back, because all of the residents were very happy with his programs," said Madari, one of the residents.

Jakarta – A five-day strike by thousands of workers at Indonesia's largest cigarette company Gudang Garam appeared to have ended on Monday.

"By noon, there were no longer workers on strike gathering in front of the factory but I cannot yet say whether the strike is over," said a member of the company's public relations office.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia should not extend its contract with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it expires, said National Development Planning Minister Kwik Kian Gie yesterday in a scathing attack that accused the lender of making policy demands that "complicate" matters and are "dangerous" to the country's recovery programme.

Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Corruptors who build on their relationships with leading political figures bring more havoc to the Indonesian legal system than other issues that lead to corruption, including low salaries among the judiciary and the police, a criminologist said on Monday.

Jakarta – An international non-governmental organization (NGO) warned on Monday that endangered species in Indonesia were close to extinction due to poaching and the outlawed animal trade.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Legal experts called on to testify for corruption defendant Akbar Tandjung told the court here on Monday that the former minister/state secretary could not be tried as the case had not resulted in losses to the state.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Strong criticism from the public, particularly legal experts, has changed the West Jakarta Mayoralty's stance on its own instruction obliging students in public and private schools to wear Muslim attire on Fridays.

Jakarta – Lieutenant-General Ryamizard Ryacudu, the outspoken Kostrad commander who took a tough public stance against separatist revolts in Aceh and Papua, has been named as Indonesia's new army chief.

Jakarta – The population of Indonesia, the world's fourth largest nation, is projected to rise to 215.2 million next year from an estimated 212 million this year, head of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Sudarti Surbakti said on Monday.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's main Islamic authority, the Council of Ulema (MUI), is waging a war against television stations and several publications, charging them of veering increasingly towards sex and pornography in the country.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The battle is on for the most lucrative governor's position in Indonesia.

The Jakarta Governor's seat is hotly sought after, offering enormous power and prestige in the country's most populous and richest of cities.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Legislators, bureaucrats and even retired army generals are opening legal consultancies to make a quick buck.

Formal qualifications are not what count; connections with the bureaucracy and plain bribery are being used to win cases.

Jakarta – The government has backtracked on its earlier decision to review a law on regional autonomy and agreed to wait until an evaluation of the legislation is completed before making changes.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – How can students study and their teachers concentrate on their work under a classroom ceiling that is threatening to fall on them at anytime? Yul Indira, the principal of state elementary school SD Pisangan Baru 13 in East Jakarta, may be able to answer the question.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The international environmental group Greenpeace, which is renowned for its confrontational stance towards governments, has been invited by Indonesia to help fight illegal logging, in a sign that Jakarta is getting desperate to prevent the widespread destruction of its environment.

Lela E. Madjiah, Ambon – Indonesian military personnel serving in Maluku face a tough choice: Remain loyal to the republic or leave the military.

The option was offered by Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu during a one-day visit to Ambon on May 20.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The Indonesian armed forces (TNI) has been accused of imposing "concealed martial law" on the trouble-torn Maluku islands after initial attempts to impose it through the proper channels met with widespread opposition.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Drug abuse, student brawls and pornography have reached an alarming level among junior and senior high school students in Central Java's rural areas.

The three problems, which have long affected students and school-age children in urban areas, are befalling teenagers in rural and remote areas of Purbalingga, Cilacap and Banyumas regencies.