Jakarta – Inflation in Indonesia rose 1.99 percent in January and surged 14.42 percent year-on-year, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Bureau chief Sudarti Surbakti said the January consumer price indexfigure showed a "significant increase" as a result of a fuel price rise in the middle of the month.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – A member of the General Elections Committee (KPU) urged the House of Representatives on Thursday to immediately revise the 1999 Election Law, or else the committee would run out of time to prepare the 2004 polls.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – A number of non-governmental organizations suggested on Wednesday that the government dissolve the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) for failing to live up to the public's expectations in the fight against corruption.

Jakarta – Indonesia lacks the legal framework and the necessary counter-terrorism laws to deal with the problem, said national police chief Da'i Bachtiar.

The only regulations now available to deal with terrorism are the Criminal Code and Law No 12/1951 on firearms, he told the House Commission I.

Jakarta – Flooded areas in Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi have paralyzed economic and office activities since the last three days in the capital. Floods also enveloped several areas in total darkness since the natural disaster incapacitated 120 power relay stations supplying 400 wattage power to public housing areas.

[This year we have still to see the worst of the floods. Former state minister for the environment and professor in business ethics Sonny Keraf, who served in the Cabinet of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, shares his views on environmental policy with The Jakarta Post contributor Dwi Iswandono.]

Question: What is your comment on the recent floods?

Max Lane – The Indonesian government's implementation of policies demanded by the International Monetary Fund – the reduction of subsidies on petrol and kerosene, as well as on electricity and telephone charges – has caused widespread price increases and the disappearance of some products from markets.

Max Lane – The Australia Indonesia Institute (AII) is advertised as a body promoting people-to-people relations between Australia and Indonesia. Its real role in defending the political status quo in Indonesia and Australia has been revealed by a recent funding decision.

Jakarta – State Minister for Environmental Affairs Nabiel Makarim said on Wednesday that the current flooding in Greater Jakarta was the result of years of massive malfeasance in city planning and law enforcement which has led to major environmental destruction.

Chris Mccall, Halmahera, North Maluku – More than a year after their final stand, the Christians of Duma still lie in shallow graves dotted around the village.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's second-largest political party, Golkar, could be coming apart at the seams.

Several top members have been named and now join chairman Akbar Tandjung as key suspects in graft scandals that their political rivals are reportedly exploiting to undermine the once powerful party.

Singapore – It would be easier to fight terrorists in Indonesia if the US resumed normal military ties with the country, the chief of the US Pacific Command said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The United States is offering support – including millions of dollars for police training and increased intelligence sharing – to help Indonesia crack down on potential terrorists within its borders.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The problem of flooding in the capital city was worsening due to continuing violations of the Jakarta Master Plan, which had resulted in a decrease in the number of water catchment areas, an expert has said.

Erick W., Palu – The situation in Luwuk, Banggai, Central Sulawesi remained tense on Monday as thousands of people marched through the small town to protest against the assault by local police of four officers from the local administration on Sunday.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia's president has always avoided reporters, but new curbs on journalists covering her activities have sparked fears the government may be trying to retreat behind barriers familiar under ex-autocrat Suharto.

The president has recently appointed eighteen ad hoc Human Rights judges. Can Indonesia's Court of Human Rights function objectively and independently from the International Court of Justice? Indonesia is endeavoring to improve its human rights record.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The dissolution of the Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bapedal) has ignited fears that all previous efforts by the organization to conserve the environment will come to a standstill, activists said.

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian manufacturers Monday urged the government to allow the employment of Indonesian women workers amid a recent ban on the intake of Indonesian workers.

Jakarta – Indonesia criticised neighbouring Malaysia on Monday for Kuala Lumpur's decision to halve the number of Indonesians working in the country and said the move could backfire and spark an influx of illegal workers.

Semarang – Employees of state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telkom's Central Java and Yogyakarta regional offices will strike on Monday to protest plans to transfer the unit to state-owned telecommunications company PT Indosat, according to a labor union chief.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The resignation of legislator Sophan Sophiaan from both the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) may have been triggered by intense pressure to tow the party line on controversial issues, a fellow legislator said.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Political observers expressed concern on Saturday that amid the crisis of leadership the nation was facing, the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri had failed to accommodate the aspirations of the people.

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, ended its annual meeting here on Sunday, calling on the international community to put an end to what it sees as a new form of imperialism.

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A team established to save Golkar is accusing certain leftist groups of trying to dissolve the party by exploiting corruption allegations against its chairman Akbar Tandjung, a suspect in a Rp 54.6 billion financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Activists have demanded that the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Home Affairs mount an immediate investigation into Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso for allegedly violating ministry decree No. 50/1999.

Robert Go – Tattooed and multiple-pierced 19-year-old Ismail, aka Pluto, cannot remember how long he has been homeless.

All he knows is that he started out in Medan on Sumatra Island and roamed the tough streets of Jakarta before ending up in Yogyakarta in Central Java. "I'm well travelled, compared to other Indonesians," he said wryly.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government will not extend any logging contracts until a survey is conducted of all forest concessions, Forestry Minister Muhammad Prakosa said Monday.

Jakarta – New witness testimony in a corruption case against Indonesia's parliament speaker Akbar Tanjung has further discredited his claim that he used state funds to buy food for the poor.

Tanjung is under investigation by state prosecutors for the suspected embezzlement of 3.8 million dollars from the state logistics agency Bulog in 1999.

Mark Baker in Manila and Lindsay Murdoch in Jakarta – The Indonesian Government is under mounting pressure to crack down on the fundamentalist Jemaah Islamiah movement after new evidence linking it to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and terrorist raids across South-East Asia.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – As a governor, Sutiyoso should abide by the law. Ironically, he has long violated a ministerial decree that bans him from holding the post of commissioner at the city-owned market operator, PD Pasar Jaya.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – West Java, a large province closest to the capital, Jakarta, has hidden its decade-long teacher crisis behind its achievements in the field of education.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Two top separatist leaders in Indonesia's Papua and Aceh provinces have been killed in the last three months, raising suspicions that the Indonesian government is out to cripple the separatist movements by targeting their leaders, even as it promises to negotiate with them.

Jakarta – The proposed formation of a Riau Islands province has stirred strong discord pitting the central government and the islands' inhabitants – some of whom oppose the idea – against the current Riau province on the mainland, which seeks a democratic compromise on the issue.

Rita A. Widiadana, Denpasar – Indonesia will soon become "the backyard" nation among Asian countries if it fails to combat serious corruption and a lousy work ethic, says noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Due to its alleged "inhuman and violent practices" recently, the City Public Order Agency (Tramtib) has come under strong criticism from some members of the public and non-governmental organizations, with some groups calling for its dissolution.

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – The Health Ministry secured Rp 500 billion (US$48 million) this year from the state's fuel subsidy reduction to provide medical services for the country's 37.3 million poor.

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.