Denpasar – Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in the country, is certain to play a more active role in mediating and moderating the current political and social problems both on domestic and international levels because of itscredibility and independence, says its chairman.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A key Indonesian parliamentary committee has demanded that the Government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri consider cancelling the Prime Minister's planned visit to Indonesia next month.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – State-run oil and gas company Pertamina revealed on Friday how it misled the public about the price of kerosene. It's explanation partly explains why the price is about double the Rp 600 "retail price" set by the company.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Owing to the rising costs of fuel and spare parts, the city administration has said that it will soon increase city bus fares by between 10 and 20 percent.

Jakarta – Two Indonesian national parks, homes to the endangered Komodo dragon and Javanese rhinoceros, have been earmarked by the United Nations for a million dollar ecotourism project.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A Melbourne-educated Indonesian lawyer has been appointed to judge crimes committed in East Timor in 1999 despite having represented former armed forces chief General Wiranto and having helped prepare the prosecutions.

Jakarta – A man at the center of a bribery claim involving ex-Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid and the son of former dictator Suharto has spent part of the money on gold and his house, media reported Saturday.

Jakarta – Three cars were set ablaze and a man was shot by police when a riot broke out Thursday in an Indonesian town over an attempt to extort money from returning migrant workers, officials said.

Jakarta – Five suspected members of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network arrived in Indonesia from Yemen last July with a plan to blow up the United States Embassy in Jakarta, a high-ranking US official has revealed.

Singapore – East Timor's Nobel Peace Prize-winning foreign minister said Friday he was confident Indonesia would be able to crack down on suspected members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Even though it has been almost two and a half years since an eruption of violence in East Timor, not a single Indonesian military and police officer responsible for security in the territory at that time has been prosecuted.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda yesterday described Australia as the archipelago's "backyard" and said the government had no choice but to get along with Canberra.

Jakarta – Mass rioting erupted when locals clashed with police in the West Java town of Purwakarta on Thursday, leaving at least two people shot and three vehicles, including two policecars, set ablaze.

Jakarta – An international labour body has strongly criticised Indonesian manufacturers for refusing to pay the new minimum wage, saying world retailers were unwilling to buy from "dirty sources."

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – A review by a government watchdog has exposed glaring imbalances in a plan to extend the payment period for large debtors of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) that, if not revised, risked the government's effort to recoup some $13 billion in lost state funds.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – City councillors have expressed regret at the violence and repression used by some Jakarta administration officials during its controversial identification card raids early this week.

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim has said the construction of both the toll road, which leads to the Soekarno-Hatta airport and the Pantai Indah Kapuk real estate are a cause of the city's flooding problems.

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – The Salim Group is lurking behind the scenes, ready to grab its former jewel in the crown, Bank Central Asia. That's the warning given by various quarters to the government in the sale of its controlling shares in the bank.

Jakarta – Only 49 of 500 Indonesian legislators showed up on time for a plenary meeting to debate the setting up of an inquiry team to investigate Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung, clearly demon-strating their reluctance to investigate his alleged role in a financial scandal involving 40 billion rupiah (S$7.1 million).

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday celebrated her 55th birthday with hundreds of orphans and homeless children in a modest gathering at her party headquarters in an apparent bid to offset criticism over her husband's lavish birthday bash in the resort island of Bali recently.

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia, which has temporarily halted the recruitment of Indonesian workers after a riot, Thursday deported 22 textile workers, raising to 91 the total of those sent home.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – City councillors are again spending millions of rupiah of public money by conducting a two-day meeting with city officials at the Horison Hotel in North Jakarta to discuss the proposed 2002 budget. At least 15 councillors grouped under the council's special budgetary team and dozens of city officials attended the meeting which started on Wednesday.

Oyos Saroso HN, Bandarlampung – Activists and the Lampung provincial legislative council clashed on Wednesday after the activists said the province's 2002 draft budget allocated more for the bureaucracy that it did for the poor.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Despite the outcry from city residents, the public order agency continued on Wednesday its controversial door-to-door identity card (KTP) raids in Penjaringan district, North Jakarta, arbitrarily arresting some 98 people, mostly low-income workers.

Primastuti Handayani, Jakarta – Critics condemned the Jakarta administration for continuing its controversial door-to-door ID card raids Wednesday, saying the policy violated human rights, and was also ineffective and ridiculous.

Yogita Tahil Ramani, Jakarta – Long working hours and working without a day's rest may soon be a thing of the past for Indonesia's housemaids, if campaigns demanding greater respect for their legal rights gain more ground.

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) stepped up its pressure on Wednesday for Indonesia to act swiftly against militiamen and others connected to human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999, promising to send international observers to monitor an upcoming rights tribunal.

Jakarta – Amid mounting concern over the negative impact of its fuel price hike policy, the government said the poor should not be affected as it had allocated to them sufficient compensation funds of Rp 2.85 trillion (US$274 million) this year.

Max Lane – There have been student demonstrations, involving hundreds of students, in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Denpasar and Jogjakarta against the fuel price increases announced by the Indonesian government on January 16.

Jakarta – Protests have continued in several cities across the archipelago against the soaring price of staple foods and other commodities, spurred by the recent 22 percent increase in fuel prices.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The city administration revealed on Tuesday that only 32 companies, among 25,000 private firms here, have officially filed objections over the new minimum wage – amounting to Rp 596,266 (US$60) – due to financial problems.

No more companies were expected to file such an objection as the deadline to make the complaint was on Monday.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – The soaring prices of basic commodities caused by fuel price increases have forced people to try to reduce their expenses. Villagers in several parts of Central Java have gone back to using firewood for cooking in place of kerosene.

Jakarta – Some 500 activists of the Surakarta-based Islam Defenders Front (FPIS) staged a rally in front of the US Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Tuesday morning, protesting the US policy on fighting terrorism.

Jakarta – The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) said on Tuesday that it would import some one million tons of rice this year, higher than an earlier target of 500,000 to 700,000 tons, to meet domestic demand.

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – After giving a tepid response to the setting up of an inquiry team to investigate House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, legislators said on Tuesday that they were not in a hurry to decide on the issue.

Jakarta – The city administration started its controversial door-to-door ID card raids in the five mayoralties on Tuesday, arbitrarily arresting 1,763 people, even though many of them had the necessary documentation.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Though accomplices implicated in crimes allegedly masterminded by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra are being tried, the fate of former president Soeharto's youngest son remains clouded in uncertainty.

Police restated Tuesday that its cases against Tommy, relating to his involvement in four main crimes, were strong.

Jakarta – An Indonesian human rights court to try those accused of violence in East Timor in 1999 must meet international standards, the visiting president of the UN Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has set a deadline of March 18 for Indonesia to begin trials of suspects accused of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999, the commission's chairman said Wednesday.

Jakarta – Supporters of an Indonesian party chief suspected of corruption have massed in the capital Jakarta to show solidarity with him, a party spokesman said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The latest biographer of former Indonesian dictator Suharto said Tuesday he believed the ex-president had no part in plotting the 1965 coup that indirectly paved his way to power.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government Tuesday announced plans to raise telephone charges as protests continued over last week's stiff increase in fuel prices. Phone charges will rise by 15 percent from the end of January, said Transportation and Communications Minister Agum Gumelar.

Jakarta – Some 300 members of a radical Muslim group on Tuesday staged a protest outside the US embassy, accusing the United States and the IMF of aggravating the Indonesian economic crisis.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Fuel subsidies cost the Indonesian government 16 percent of its overalll expenditures in 2001. A total of US$5.3 billion (53.774 trillion rupiah) went down the drain.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The fate of one of Indonesia's most powerful political figures, Akbar Tandjung, is being weighed today as a plenary session of the House of Representatives focuses on whether to set up a committee to probe his alleged corruption.

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Political observers lashed out on Saturday at what they saw as a conspiracy to save House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in a Rp 40 billion scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), from facing the music, saying the move would severely erode public confidence and support in any future anticorruption initiatives.

Jakarta – An Indonesian parliamentary commission wants the national logistics agency Bulog to resume its control over the price of rice, a legislator said Monday.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – When Guntur Alfie's friends and colleagues told him to buy a bullet proof vest to sit in judgment on Indonesian military officers charged with human rights abuses in East Timor, they were only half joking.

Jakarta – An angry mob in Indonesia's West Java town of Tasikmalaya took justice in their own hands and burned to death three street thugs who had been allegedly extorting money from local transport operators, a report said Sunday.

Jakarta – A faction from Indonesia's Muslim United Development Party (PPP) announced it was breaking away Sunday to form a new political group.

The PPP-Reform was declared in brief ceremony at an upmarket hotel in South Jakarta with the party's declaration read out by one of the founders, Zainal Maarif.