Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on Tuesday visited Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the country's greatest modern writer whose works remain officially banned here.

Pramoedya described the meeting as "good" but said he did not ask Wahid to restore his name or grant him compensation for the work that was destroyed while he was in jail.

Jakarta – A law enacted last year by the Habibie government was designed to ensure that former president Suharto and his cronies would be immune to corruption charges, says a senior lawyer.

Jakarta – Hundreds of workers from various companies across Greater Jakarta took to the capital's main streets on Sunday as they geared up for International Labor Day on Monday. Under the close watch of police, the workers marched from the Proclamation Monument to a roundabout near Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta's main business district on Jl. Thamrin.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – After six months of trying to fathom if their President is merely a nicer clone of their former leaders or truly unusually democratic, some Indonesians think they have him figured out.

Jakarta – The government effort to probe prominent businesspeople's alleged involvement in corruption in the forestry sector is doomed to failure because of the probability investigators are also corrupt, experts said.

Jimbaran, Bali – Aside from mismanagement, poverty and overpopulation have aggravated the development of a social security system in Indonesia.

David Lague – Hostility towards Australia in the Indonesian military is undermining efforts to rebuild ties between Canberra and Jakarta and threatening the safety of Australian service personnel and equipment.

Ambon – At least six people were killed and 50 others injured on Sunday when security personnel opened fire to disperse warring groups at the border between Batu Merah and Mardika districts.

Jakarta – Indonesian police fired warning shots and tear gas yesterday to break up a student demonstration in Pekanbaru during a visit by President Abdurrahman Wahid to the city in the Sumatran province of Riau.

The shots and tear gas were fired as the students attempted to break through the police security cordon around the governor's office, the Antara news agency said.

Yogyakarta – Radical Indonesian Moslem fighters who have vowed to launch a jihad, or holy struggle, in the bloodied Moluccas said on Saturday they had been forced to postpone their departure for the islands.

In the first part of our special report on the Indonesian economy yesterday, we looked at the controversial issue of fuel and food subsidies and the millions of Indonesians who are still mired in poverty

While Indonesia's middle class do not have to worry about their next meal, many of them are still going easy on imported goods and luxuries.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – In a surprise move, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday proposed a meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard and East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao to help repair strained relationships.

Jakarta – Crescent Star Party (PBB) chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra acknowledged on Friday accepting Rp 1 billion from then president B.J. Habibie to help finance the newly established party prior to the 1999 general election.

Jakarta – Legislators said after a closed-door consultative meeting that President Abdurrahman Wahid told them his decision to replace two economics ministers was due to their alleged involvement in corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Disappointment with Abdurrahman Wahid's (Gus Dur) government is leading to strange bedfellows, with the former ruling party, Golkar, the faction being most courted, says observer Azyumardi Azra, rector of the state-run Syarif Hidayatullah Institute of Islamic Studies in South Jakarta. The following is an excerpt of Wednesday's interview:

Two years after the regional financial upheaval, the Indonesian economy is slowly regaining its footing. But the recovery is tentative and many painful tasks lie ahead. In the first of a two-part special report, The Straits Times looks at the controversial issue of fuel and food subsidies and the millions more who are still mired in poverty.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Meeting 60-year-old Daruna as she chews betel nut in front of the piles of rubbish that are her main source of income, it is hard to see any evidence of Indonesia's economic upturn.

Jakarta – The government-sanctioned National Ombudsman Council received on Thursday a complaint of corruption in the Supreme Court.

Bogor – Indonesia's forests are disappearing at a rate of 4,000 hectares a day and the government appears to be unable to do anything about it, experts said.

"The situation is getting worse and we should do something," said Jeffrey Sayer, director general of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Makassar – Street rallies by disgruntled students protesting the dismissal of Minister of Industry and Trade Yusuf Kalla here started Wednesday off with a renewed threat to break away from the republic.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Mr Stanley Fischer, the world's chief economics tutor, may find out today if he has a student so compliant he wants to give him all credit for his decisions.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – A Christian religious leader yesterday said the latest outbreak of violence in the Malukus may not have been accidental, but timed to coincide with the three- day visit to the region by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Jakarta – The government has agreed to raise teachers' functional allowances by 100 percent, far below various demands made by protesting teachers.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Air Force will receive six new Hawk jet fighters from the United Kingdom in June. They will be stationed at Supadio Air Base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. "We expect the six British-made tactical attack aircraft will be sent soon.

Vaudine England – Finding seizable assets in Mr Suharto's own name may prove difficult for investigators.

During an official probe in 1998, Mr Suharto said he had 22 billion rupiah (HK$24.2 million) deposited in three private banks and that his personal property included two houses in Jakarta and five hectares of land.

Jakarta – The spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) yesterday defended the military's business ventures, saying it would be impossible to survive on state funds alone.

Jakarta – The Indonesian economy, battered by two years of financial and economic crisis, will post growth of four percent in 2000, up from 0.2 percent this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted Wednesday.

Jakarta – Almost half of the country's mangrove forests have disappeared since 1982, causing land abrasion by the sea and threatening biota living in that environment, activists said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid faced anger among coalition parties within his already fractious six-month-old government yesterday after he fired two key financial ministers.

Several senior politicians raised the prospect of withdrawing their factions from the Cabinet in protest.

Vaudine England – The latest phase in the Government's continuing reshuffle signals a further consolidation of power by President Abdurrahman Wahid.

His technique is also impressive. He announced Monday's sackings while International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Stanley Fischer was in town, leading many to assume the fund had demanded the changes.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said April 25 that foreign submarines must not sail through Indonesia's territorial waters without permission.

Jakarta – Some 1,000 teachers of kindergarten to high school across Jambi staged a noisy rally in front of the provincial legislative building on Saturday. They demanded a 300 percent raise in their salaries and 500 percent in extra allowances.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – A man described by his friends as a "likable mafioso" has been scooped up in recent legal moves against people suspected of attacking Megawati Sukarnoputri's party headquarters in 1996.

Jakarta – The government has started seizing assets belonging to former President Suharto, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office said yesterday. "His assets in various forms have been seized," spokesman Yushar Yahya told the Indonesiakini online news service.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – National Assembly (MPR) chairman Amien Rais said that Indonesia's highest legislative body will not hold a special session this year amid speculation that several groups were working behind the scenes to support one to topple President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Thousands of becak drivers took to the streets of central Jakarta yesterday to demand that their pollution-free form of transport again be allowed to ply Jakarta's central streets.

Klaten – President Abdurrahman Wahid rebuked criticism of his support for the revocation of MPRS Decree No. 25/1965, saying Communist political parties should be banned not the ideology. "I need to put this in the correct perspective. Our constitution does not prohibit communism.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – In the face of strong public criticism, the Attorney-General has reorganised staff and departments to give greater priority to the corruption case against former president Suharto.

The most obvious move has been taking the head of the investigating team, Chairul Imam, off the case pending his planned retirement.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is shifting two-thirds of the judges in Jakarta to other courts outside the island of Java in response to public pressure and criticism of some court rulings.

The massive reshuffle is set to affect 50 to 60 per cent of judges throughout Jakarta, including all the chiefs and deputies in the capital's five district courts.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The fate of Kartini bin Karim acquires special symbolic importance today. Diplomatic efforts are under way to free the Indonesian migrant worker from a death sentence of stoning in the United Arab Emirates for alleged adultery.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – Armed forces commander Admiral Widodo Adi Sudjipto reassured the nation yesterday that the military had no desire to return to politics, and would dismiss anyone who did.

The Laskar Jihad, a 10,000-strong force, is preparing to travel to Indonesia's Maluku province in a stated attempt to end the simmering sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians. An initial 3,000 volunteers are to arrive as early as April 23, threatening to fuel problems in the strife-torn province.

Jakarta – Five non-governmental organizations criticized on Friday the government's draft of the law on the establishment of an anticorruption body, arguing it did not give enough power to the body to combat the crime.

Jakarta – Conduct will soon be added to grades to determine whether an Indonesian student achieves a pass mark, press reports said yesterday.

Besides a good academic performance, the education authorities will also consider a student's conduct or ethics to decide whether a pass mark is warranted, the Kompas daily said.

Jakarta – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday that an independent body to oversee the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) must be established in a bid to ensure transparency and restore public trust in the agency.

Jakarta – Political divisions are slowing economic reform in Indonesia, but this is unavoidable given the size of the nation's political transformation, State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi has said.

"What makes Indonesian progress and recovery so slow, compared to Thailand and South Korea, is that our leaders are not united," Mr Laksamana told a business forum.

Jakarta – Thousands of teachers in Jakarta and other cities yesterday continued to protest over their low salaries, threatening to boycott this month's national exams, despite the government's promise to significantly increase their pay.

Jakarta – Head of the feared Pemuda Pancasila organization Yorrys Raweyai, who was on Tuesday arrested by police, yesterday admitted the Jakarta Military Command had ordered him to mobilize his forces ahead of the July 27 riots of 1996.

May Sari, Jakarta – A three-day strike by 1800 workers employed at the PT Isanti shoe factory in Semarang, Central Java, forced the company to grant 23 out of their 25 demands on April 11.

The strike was organised by the Central of Semarang Workers (PBS), affiliated with the militant independent union, National Front for Indonesian Workers' Struggle (FNPBI).

Palu – Sectarian riots continued sporadically in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso on Tuesday despite the heavy presence of security personnel. Antara reported that smoke was seen billowing from buildings across the paralyzed town. Markets and shops were closed as fearful residents stayed indoors.