INDONESIA A NEWS

Between ideology and tacticsTension between religious and democratic concepts still plagues the political life of moderate Islamist movements, write Marina Ottaway and Amr Hamzawy ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- - Moderate Islamist parties and movements that have adopted the strategic option of taking part in official political life in the Arab world are up against a range of ideological and tactical obstacles associated with the extent to which they are structurally and doctrinally democratic, on the one hand, and the degree of their commitment to democratic standards and processes in practice on the other.Ideologically, moderate Islamist movements and parties are torn between their faith that the law regulating the bonds between the state, society and the individual must be founded upon the word of God -- i.e. Islamic Sharia law -- and the concept of a civil democratic government whereby laws are formulated on the basis of majority vote in a legislature...

In the latest drama, somehow US$130 million of government money ends up in Bakrie pockets sym·bi·o·sis (sim'be-o'sis, -bi-) n. pl. sym·bi·o·ses (-sez) Biology: A close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member. There may be no better example of a symbiotic relationship anywhere than the relationship of the companies of Aburizal Bakrie to the Indonesian government, especially given the most recent episode, in which a state company intended to generate wealth for Indonesia's microbusinesses ended up pouring US$131 million into distressed units of the giant Bakrie empire in July and August. Bakrie, the country's richest man unless the current financial crisis has undone him completely, is Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare in the cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The job is widely considered to be a plum awarded to Bakrie because of hi...

Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday approved a long-delayed mining law that experts say will deter large-scale investments. The biggest change is that permits known as contracts of work, which were issued by the central government and were valid for 30 years with a possible 20-year extension, will be replaced with licences. In most cases, licences will be issued by district governments, which are regarded as more inconsistent than the central government and can be changed or cancelled with little or no warning. Indonesia's mineral deposits, particularly coal, gold, copper and tin, are amongst the world's richest but its mining policies have been amongst the least attractive to foreign investors. Investors have largely ignored Indonesia since 1999 because of legal uncertainties, especially following the devolution of many powers to provincial and district governments. However, mining groups such as Freeport-McMoRan, Inco, Newmont and Newcrest have operations in the country. Pr...

The remains of a house all but swallowed by disgorged earth that erupted during exploratory drilling for natural gas in Indonesia. Victims receive little government aid. (Mamat/Agence France-Presse) Driven out by mud in Indonesia By Seth Mydans Published December 15, 2008 Her children insist, so every week or two Lilik Kamina takes them back to their abandoned village to look at the mud. "Hey, Mom, there's our house, there's the mango tree," she said they shout. But there is nothing to see, only an ocean of mud that has buried this village and a dozen more over the past two and a half years. The mud erupted here during exploratory drilling for natural gas, and it has grown to be one of the largest mud volcanoes ever to have affected a populated area.Unlike other disasters that torment Indonesia - earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis - this one continues with no end in sight, and experts say the flow could continue for many years or decades. The steaming mud keeps bubbling...

FORBES ASIA closes out our annual coverage of Asia's wealthiest tycoons on a low note. The total worth for all 480 tycoons fell to $779 billion, from $940 billion, despite the fact that we added an additional list of 40 Richest. Fortunes in Indonesia have collapsed with the global economy, pushed down by a dismal stock market, off 54% since last year; plunging commodity prices; and a weak rupiah, which lost nearly a quarter of its value in the past year. The central bank established more stringent currency controls in November to limit speculation after the rupiah hit a decade low. No surprise then that the nation's 40 Richest and their families are now worth a total of $21 billion, down from $40 billion. Fourteen have lost more than half of their fortunes, including former billionaires Aburizal Bakrie and Eka Tjipta Widjaja. There are only 7 billionaires, down from 11 in 2007. Two of the 40 added to their fortunes, but the gains had more to do with information gathering than a...

Indonesia's Papua province is set to pass a bylaw that requires some HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with microchips in a bid to prevent them infecting others, a lawmaker said on Saturday.Under the bylaw, which has caused uproar among human rights activists, patients who had shown "actively sexual behaviour" could be implanted with a microchip to monitor their activity, lawmaker John Manangsang said."It's a simple technology. A signal from the microchip will track their movements and this will be received by monitoring authorities, " Manangsang said.If a patient with HIV/AIDS was found to have infected a healthy person, there would be a penalty, he said without elaborating.The Jakarta Post newspaper on Saturday quoted Constan Karma, the head of Papua's National AIDS Commission, as saying the plan violated human rights.The local parliament was expected to introduce the controversial legislation in Papua, which lies in Indonesia's easternmost fringe,...