An article in the official criminal code stipulates that court trials should be a cheap, quick and simple way to see that justice is done. But whether or not the court actually recognizes this particular section of the legal code is a different matter.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The Supreme Court's decision to overturn a graft ruling against Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra Suharto has caused outrage among the public and cast doubts on President Megawati Sukarnoputri's ability to rid Indonesia of endemic corruption.

Vaudine England – The latest campaign by police in the capital to wipe out crime – dubbed Operation Great Elimination – has been hailed a resounding success, with 23 mostly petty criminals shot dead in the past month.

Residents, far from being shocked at the gunning down of possibly innocent people without trial, are applauding the effort.

Jakarta – Some 5,000 workers at Indonesia's state aircraft manufacturer picketed the presidential palace yesterday to demand higher pay and urge the government to stamp out what they called rampant corruption in the company.

Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's pledge to support the US war against terrorism is straining her fragile alliance with Islamic political parties and strengthening the hand of Vice President Hamzah Haz, a conservative Muslim, to challenge her authority.

Richard Galpin, Jakarta – In Indonesia, a nation of almost 200 million Muslims, the radical fringe is getting increasingly angry with the US and its allies. Anti-US demonstrations have been getting steadily bigger as the US prepares for possible military action over the 11 September attacks on Washington and New York.

Jakarta – Vice President Hamzah Haz on Tuesday urged Indonesians to respect a supreme court decision quashing a graft conviction and jail sentence on Tommy Suharto, fugitive son of the former dictator. But critics said Monday's ruling showed that law enforcement had become meaningless. About 150 students held a protest rally near the home of former president Suharto.

Timothy Mapes and Puspa Madani, Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court overturned a graft conviction against Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the fugitive son of former President Suharto, in a surprise decision that underlined the problems this nation faces in grappling with years of rampant corruption.

Jakarta – In a sign of the changing times, the country commemorated on Monday what used to be called Pancasila Sanctity Day but has been renamed Commemoration of the National Tragedy due to the Betrayal of Pancasila".

Jennifer Chen, Singapore – The Indonesian rupiah fell past 10,000 to the dollar for the first time since July 31 on Tuesday, trampled in a corporate rush to buy dollars.

Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso pledged on Friday to continue operations aimed at maintaining order in the city despite the fact that they have not yet proved to be successful. Sutiyoso argued that the city administration would continue the operations because there had been a "significant improvement" in public order.

[The recent (inadvertent) release of more cables between the US embassy in Jakarta and Washington in late 1965 has supplied more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle mapping Washington's enthusiastic support for the Indonesian army's bloodthirsty crackdown against the Indonesian Communist Party when up to a million people were slaughtered.

Hundreds of protesters staged an anti-communism rally at the National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta on Sunday in commemoration of the bloody 1965 abortive coup, which is blamed on the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

[Slavery was abolished years ago, but the plight of some housemaids today shows that inhumane attitudes never die. The recent self-immolation by a housemaid who endured ill-treatment from her employers in Jakarta has brought attention once again to the problem of domestic helpers denied their basic rights.

Jakarta – Indonesia's plans to win back foreign investment for its troubled economy could falter as the United States and other governments fear for the safety of their diplomats and citizens in the world's most populous Muslim country, analysts said Friday.

Jakarta – Trafficking in women is rampant here due to inadequate legal instruments and weak law enforcement, a researcher said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military chief's proposal to establish a new antiterrorist agency has sparked fear among human rights activists of a resurrection of the New Order regime's dreaded internal security agency (Kopkamtib).

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Frustrated residents in outer Jakarta have seized two water trucks and refused to pay increased water rates after their erratic water supply slowed to a trickle.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian Police force has been branded as cowardly for its reluctance to rein-in radical Muslim groups.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Unemployed, impressionable, and reckless, 26-year-old Taufiq Abdul Halim is the face of the next wave of foot soldiers being deployed to fight the cause of religious extremism in the region.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Small groups of Indonesians are signing up to join a holy war against the United States. A minority is even claiming links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation.

Jakarta – The Jakarta city council has postponed plans to buy garbage trucks and other essential vehicles because the budget must be used to buy cars for councillors.

Jakarta – Tension was high in the Glodok area in Kota, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, after Taman Sari Public Order Officers demolished VCD vendors' stands along the road during a raid on the vendors on Wednesday night.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The US, "deeply disappointed" by the failure of the Indonesian authorities to act against intimidation by hardline Muslim militants, has told Americans to consider leaving the country.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Thursday that the government was committed to continuing its deregulatory measures in the economic sector.

Daniel Cooney, Jakarta – Opposition to potential US strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan is growing in Indonesia, and President Megawati Sukarnoputri could face a test of resolve after pledging support for Washington's fight against terrorism.

Up to 1,663 illegal immigrants are known to have entered Indonesia in the past two years, Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said yesterday.

Jakarta – Some 10.3 trillion rupiah (S$2.06 billion) in state funds was misused in the 18 months up to the end of June this year, local media reported yesterday.

Jalil Hamid, Jakarta – Indonesia's struggling stocks are bracing for rougher times because of a growing anti-US mood in the country, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Jakarta – A hardline Muslim youth group warned on Thursday anyone backing Washington's self-declared war on terrorism should leave Indonesia, or risk being forced out.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's longest-running television station is struggling to stay on the air with depleting financial resources, and there are calls to commercialise the station.

Jakarta – Indonesians do not read books because they are expensive; publishers do not produce books because demand is low.

Gde Anugrah Arka, Jakarta – Indonesia is set to introduce a new excise tax scheme which could significantly alter the make up of the lucrative cigarette industry and affect two of the biggest and most widely held locally-listed firms.

Edith M. Lederer, New York – Indonesia's president offered Tuesday to cooperate with the United States in fighting terrorism and warned that terrorists are making a "big mistake" if they think they can destroy America.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, was found guilty of defaming a former state official and was ordered to pay US$52,000 in compensation, court officials said yesterday.

Jakarta – At least one island near Jakarta still boasts of dazzling corals and plenty of fish, and the people owe the Suharto family for its conservation. For years, Pulau Pemagaran in the Thousand Islands area north of Jakarta Bay was one of the former ruling family's quick getaway spots.

Jakarta – Leaders of oil-producing districts predicted potential trouble over a new oil and gas law as President Megawati Sukarnoputri courted oil barons in the United States, reports said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top Islamic authority called Tuesday on all Muslims to wage a jihad (holy war) if the US launches an attack on Afghanistan and warned President Megawati Sukarnoputri not to support any such retaliation.

Jakarta – A hardline Muslim youth group in Indonesia said on Tuesday more than 200 of its members had signed up to participate in a possible holy war against the United States in Afghanistan.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Elok Sulistianingsih, covered with a traditional Muslim headscarf, tells her young charges to love all religions as she teaches them to recite the holy Koran at a mosque in the Indonesian capital.

Jakarta – Indonesia Tuesday promised to take firm action against Muslim militants who have threatened retaliation against Americans here for any US attack on Afghanistan.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Police snipers guard buildings housing United States government agencies and businesses. Sales of T-shirts bearing the face Osama bin Laden are brisk. Mobs of Islamic radicals search hotels for Americans, threatening to expel them. And security is high at the Australian Embassy after newspapers played up Saturday's attack on a mosque in Brisbane.

Jakarta – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto's proposal to disarm the nation's police has received a big thumbs down. Observers say that, if unarmed, the police would be dysfunctional and their lives placed in danger because of the number of hardcore criminals brandishing guns nowadays.

Jakarta – The police were again made a promise by fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who has been on the run for more than 10 months, that the latter planned to surrender himself to them provided they could guarantee him both security and justice.

Jakarta – The National Police Headquarters announced on Friday a reshuffle involving 50 high-ranking police officers.

Jakarta – A series of explosions rocked the parking lot of a busy shopping centre in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Sunday morning, police said.

The blasts caused moderate damage but there were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the blasts was not known. A bomb exploded in the same shopping centre on August 1.

Jakarta – Groups of militant Indonesian Muslims on Sunday showed up at five international hotels in the Central Java city of Solo, demanding to know if any American citizens were staying there.

Six groups of Muslims, each of about 25 to 30 men, separately checked the five hotels and the city's airport, Detikcom online said. No US citizens were found.

Jakarta – Hardline Muslim groups stepped up their anti-American campaign on Saturday, with several hundred Muslim students rallying in Surabaya, East Java, and Palu, Central Sulawesi, protesting US plans to wage war against Afghanistan.

Jakarta – Are there any strings attached to the promised military and financial aid from the United States? A number of analysts believe there are not.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Militant human-rights activists selected as candidates for the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) are finding opposition within the splintered commission, as some members are not happy with their "pro-Western, anti-military, NGO-approach".