A thief who cries thief, or maling teriak maling, is a famous old Indonesian expression that has come back into vogue with the dawn of the government's latest corruption campaign.

We should count ourselves blessed that we live in an age where human rights are part of our daily vernacular.

Indonesian presidents after Soeharto are likely to have learned one important lesson from the former dictator: Don't slip on the oil.

Mudrajad Kuncoro, Yogyakarta – Problems with regional autonomy and increasing demands for bribes are further slowing Indonesia's exports in a highly competitive regional market, a surve

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Violence erupted in the capital of Indonesia's troubled province of West Papua on Wednesday as security forces moved to break up a flag-raising ceremony by indepe

Olle T'rnquist, Oslo, Norway – Indonesia's most prominent, bravest, and innovative democracy-and human rights fighter is no more.

The outcome of the four-day congress of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which is scheduled to be opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday,

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam – The arsenic poisoning of the Indonesian human rights champion, Munir, has aroused so much attention that he is even more "present" in death than he was

David Jay Green, Jakarta – National elections and a change in government are a wonderful time for reflection and stocktaking and Indonesia's recent set is no exception.

Endy M. Bayuni, Santiago – Is forging trade liberalization measures, at a time when the economy is still struggling to get back on its feet, really in the best interest of the nation?

The cruelest fate has befallen the sincerest of men. He spent his life absolving the glories of our blood and state. But his dauntless effort was indemnified by a poison chalice.

It is now already a month after the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's United Indonesia Cabinet and the market is still waiting for what has long been promoted as Susi

Ambassador Marie T.

The Acehnese will have to endure yet another six months of suffering after the new government this week extended the state of civil emergency until May 2005.

Aguswandi, London – An interesting opinion article appeared in this newspaper, which drew a comparison between the plight of the Palestinians and the Acehnese.

Damien Kingsbury, Melbourne – Since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono assumed the presidency, there has been growing talk about the possibility of moving towards a resolution of the conflict in

H.S. Dillon, Jakarta – The forensic results recently released by the Dutch authorities have served to confirm a nagging suspicion.

The Constitutional Court could not have come up with a worse decision when it ruled that the carving of Papua into three provinces was illegitimate while also recognizing the presence o

Evan Jones, Batam – It is welcoming news to see that our new State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik is looking at extending the number of countries whose tourists will be elig

The saga over the massive corruption case at Bank BNI has taken a new turn this week with new allegations of bribery and extortion between the suspects and their investigators.

Our society is so image conscious. We love the ceremony, the symbolism, the pageantry, but without grasping the substance.

The restive Indonesian province of Papua was a ticking time bomb that could drag Australia into its wreckage, a prominent Papuan human rights campaigner has warned.

The end of Ramadhan is the time of year when Indonesia's transportation system, its bureaucracy and network is the most severely tested.

The country has been through an enormous political transformation in the last few weeks.

As the nation clamors for change, the conduct currently being exhibited by the honorable members of our national legislature, the House of Representatives, does not bode well for the im

Dan Kingsley, Jakarta – We have read quite a bit recently about how Indonesia's non-oil manufacturing exports have been decreasing.

The press in our former colony, the tiny East Timor, is much more free than ours; the new nation ranks number 57 together with Ghana and a notch above Thailand on a newly released list

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – When asked about the decision of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to oblige his ministers to sign a "political contract" before their appointments, a senior

It all sounds too familiar.

Agus Sumule, Manokwari – The downfall of former president Soeharto on May 21, 1998, undoubtedly fueled the widespread revival of free speech among the people – including Papuans – in de

For much of the past week, the nation has been so consumed by speculating about who President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will pick as his Cabinet ministers.

While it offered little that was exceptional in this kind of address, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's inaugural speech gave us a picture of the concerns foremost in his mind.

Allan Behm – The pundits might want to dismiss Alexander Downer's thinking out loud on a security agreement with Indonesia as a volte-face or the cynical repackaging of a Keating legacy

A new security treaty between Indonesia and Australia would symbolise the increasingly close relationship between the two countries.

Ben Terrall – Shortly after being declared victor over Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters, Our big theme will be reconciliation an

"A mouse dying in a rice barn" is perhaps the most suitable adage to describe the dire condition of PT Asean Aceh Fertilizer (AAF), after the decision early this week by the outgoing ad

After all the praise that has been heaped by the public and the media on President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the contribution she made in smoothing the path towards democracy in Indone

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's promise this week to put national reconciliation at the top of his government's agenda once he is installed as president on October 20 could not have come at

With extraordinary swiftness the National Police are pursuing the alleged pollution case in Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi.

Muhammad Qodari, Jakarta – Victory for presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is almost certain.

Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – "Change" has been Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign mantra, which brought him into the top position using the tiny and little-known Democratic Party as his s

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – A week after his apparent landslide victory, the policies of presumptive president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remain unclear.

Although slashing fuel subsidies should be at the top of president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's economic agenda during the first 100 days of his administration, raising fuel prices

Satish Mishra, Jakarta – As Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono starts on his final preparation to take over the reins of – ower, it is worth remembering what most observers and pundits were sayin

If politics were reality TV, democracy would mean electing the most-popular idols on TV shows through a cellular phone short message service (SMS).

As the vote count rolls on it has become clear that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Jusuf Kalla are going to win in a landslide and lead the nation for the next five years

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Indonesia's first direct presidential election has ended with a Bambang and a whimper.

Manjit Bhatia – In Indonesia's July 5 direct presidential poll – the country's first since the corrupt Suharto dictatorship's downfall in 1998 – contender Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono thump

Flick through the channels on any given night and chances are you will come up against reality – reality TV that is.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was right.