The western movies showing in Jakarta last weekend included My Sassy Girl, released in 2008, New Daughter and Blood Creek, both released in 2009, and Source Code, released last April.

Edilberto C.

Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – The death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of United States Special Forces in Pakistan this month has turned a lens on the sustainability of his al-Qaeda radic

Armando Siahaan – Speaking at an international conference in Jakarta last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mentioned that he was trying "to get Oprah Winfrey to say something ab

With the general election now three years off, the political climate is heating up every day as politicians begin jockeying for positions, heightening the rivalry.

Beyond our imagination, the Indonesian Islamic State (NII) teachings have spread to many layers of society, but the way the government plays down the lurking danger that may cost the ex

Al Araf – Every act of terrorism will be followed by the government's desire to reassess and strengthen the role of state security institutions.

Wawan Sobari, Malang – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) released a seminal report this month on local governments' social assistance fund policies.

Rebecca Lunnon & Muh Taufiqurrohman – Indonesia's Detachment 88 has once again struck a blow against terrorism by making arrests linked to March's spate of book bombs and by foiling

With the war on terrorism far from over, Indonesia has seen mounting attacks on corruption fighters, despite the nationwide acceptance that graft is an extraordinary crime, separate fro

Armando Siahaan – Those dreaming, or drooling, to see American porn starlet Sasha Grey strut her stuff in person here in Jakarta can, well, just keep on dreaming.

Yanto Soegiarto – Two things members of the House of Representatives just won't stop from doing: building a new Rp 1.13 trillion luxurious office building, and making expensive comparis

Julia Suryakusuma, Jakarta – First we had Ariel "Peterporn", then something even better.

Loro Horta – After 400 years of inept Portuguese colonial rule and 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation, Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) gained its independence in 2002 following

The floodgates of reform opened at the end of president Soeharto's repressive and monarchial New Order have, directly and indirectly, paved the way for unlimited political freedom in In

Pandaya, Jakarta – First, a revered figure made earth-shaking revelations on corruption, a breach of electoral laws and commonplace polygamy among leaders of the Islamist Prosperous Jus

With the political rumor mill in full swing over an impending cabinet reshuffle and a senior conservative lawmaker photographed watching pornography during a plenary session, the behavi

Yohanes Sulaiman – A scan of recent news offers more evidence, if any were needed, that accountability means little in the upper ranks of politics and business in Indonesia.

Armando Siahaan – Nazril "Ariel" Irham must be smirking right now, knowing that a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party, which was one of the many groups calling for him to be impr

Mohammad Iqbal Ahnaf – An often overlooked consequence of Suharto's fall was the end of his strategies to stifle political radicalism.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives leaders' insistence on going ahead with building a Rp 1.16 trillion (US$118 million) super luxury 36-story office tower despite taxpayers' fierce

Johannes Nugroho – Furor has broken loose in Senayan over plans to build a Rp 1.13 trillion ($130 million) legislative office tower.

Muhammad As'ad, Surabaya – Many people, from civil society activists to pedicab drivers, are debating whether it is necessary for the House of the Representatives (DPR) to build a fancy

Omar Pidani, Jakarta – Timber smuggling from Indonesian forests along the Kalimantan-Malaysia border has long become a "pain in the neck" for the country.

Damien Kingsbury – The government's East Timor asylum seeker solution is dying a death of a thousand cuts. It is a slow and painful process and unedifying to watch it writhe in agony.

Jakarta – As our intelligence community is struggling hard to improve itself and provide early and accurate information to the country's top decision makers in the wake of several incid

Rizal Ramli, Jakarta – Recent revelations from WikiLeaks documents, stating that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his family were involved in corruption are, frankly, not a big su

Hasyim Widhiarto and Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – Supported by solid constituencies, mainly comprising young and educated Muslims living in urban areas, the Prosperous Justice Party

Yohanes Sulaiman – Early on Saturday, on Twitter, I read the news about how Roy Suryo, Democratic Party lawmaker, managed to delay the 6:15 a.m. flight of Lion Air to Yogyakarta.

Armando Siahaan – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be remembered for a lot of things, but being a bastion of pluralism is definitely not one of them.

Socratez Sofyan Yoman, Jayapura – The people of Indonesia outside Papua are clearly confused and keep asking: Why have indigenous Papuans never recognized and accepted the Act of Free C

Bruce Gale – "We shall not ignore democratic values.

Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a force working against corruption and poor governance in Indonesian society.

Armando Siahaan – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should consider himself a lucky man.

Wimar Witoelar, Jakarta – The brouhaha surrounding the trouble in the ruling coalition between the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) might seem c

Joe Cochrane – I see nothing wrong with people changing their minds about an important issue. Nobody's perfect and a bit of self-reflection and calm, cool reasoning is healthy.

The young nation's application to join Asean should be approved despite the problems it may cause to the grouping's integration plan

Johannes Nugroho – In spite of the state's stated efforts to combat corruption, Indonesia's record on clean governance is invariably dismal.

Marcel Thee – The latest national sex video scandal involves a clip of Iwan Fajarudin, a National Mandate Party lawmaker from the Purworejo Legislative Council and a woman he claims is

Vincent Lingga – This week was abuzz with wide speculation that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would rebuke and oust the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) from his

Keith Loveard – The government is finding out the real cost of a free press: Nobody's reputation is safe, particularly if a media owner decides to take sides politically.

Taufik Darusman – Didik Setyo Handono, a judge at the South Jakarta District Court, deserves a medal: He is the first judge to apply the legal principle of reverse burden of proof since

Geradi Yudhistira, Jakarta – The government has responded to the impending food crisis by developing a food estate in the Papua regency of Merauke (MIFEE).

Hamish McDonald – With popular uprisings turfing out rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and perhaps elsewhere in the Arab world, a lot of analysts have focused on fears of "contagion" in other re

Elaine Pearson – Last July, violence erupted when municipal police and hundreds of people organized by militant Islamist groups tried to break into an Ahmadiyah mosque in Manis Lor vill

In the foreword to the Indonesian translation of "Suharto and His Generals: Indonesian Military Politics 1975-1983," the author, veteran Australian journalist David Jenkins, described a

Idries de Vries – The Indonesian Armed Forces recently announced it had accepted a grant of 24 F-16 jet fighters from the United States, and that during the course of 2014 it plans to b

Katherine Demopoulos, Jakarta – Indonesia's status as a thriving pluralist democracy is under threat as the country's religious minorities face increasingly violent persecution and Pres

Elaine Pearson – Last July, when the United States lifted its ban on military assistance to Indonesia's elite Special Forces, Kopassus, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised the Ind

The murder of three Ahmadiyah followers in Banten on Sunday is a concrete example of state-sponsored terrorism against the country's own citizens.