INDONESIA A NEWS

A research-rich Celebes Sea block spurs a confrontation between two navies An unlikely naval confrontation has broken out between Indonesia and Malaysia, with warships from the two nations challenging each other repeatedly in the disputed oil-rich waters of the Celebes Sea east of the island of Borneo this week. Indonesian navy officials told local media their ships were minutes away from firing on Malaysian warships, which they charged were 12 nautical miles inside Indonesia's territory. However, they said, they called off the attack when the Malaysian ships pulled back. Indonesian officials said the Malaysian Navy and Marine Police have intruded into Indonesian waters at least nine times since the beginning of the year. Najib Tun Razak, on his first state visit overseas after being named Malaysia's prime minister in April, met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on April 23 in an attempt to resolve the matter. An attaché at the Malaysia embassy in Ja

Did the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei or his representative fall for a ring of con artists from South Sulawesi who asked for illegal contributions to the presidential campaign of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono? Police aren't saying, and an inquiry by Asia Sentinel to the Brunei embassy in Jakarta was met by silence and a secretary who first put us on hold and then hung up. Police officials have only said the con artists bilked a "senior Brunei government official" into giving them nearly US$2 million to contribute to a "prominent Indonesian political party." It is illegal for foreigners to donate to political campaign in Indonesia. According to the Jakarta Globe newspaper, national police Monday announced the arrest of a ring of 13 alleged swindlers who were said to have been impersonating government officials since 2006, making phone calls to their victims and asking them to deposit money into various bank accounts. It seems difficult to believe a gang of crooks

It's been just 10 years since Indonesia held its first open elections after more than 30 years of president Suharto's authoritarian rule. In that short time, the nation's 175 million voters have matured, making the world's third-largest democracy a model for Asia and the Muslim world. Unfortunately, Indonesia's politicians haven't progressed as much as its voters. Flailing following last month's legislative elections illustrated just how immature Indonesia's politicians remain. After weeks of meetings to build coalitions strictly focused on the interests of politicians, rather than governing, voters will have the choice of three seriously flawed presidential tickets in the July presidential vote. Former president Megawati Sukarnoputri holds what is likely a unique distinction in the history of democracy. As party leader, Megawati has led her PDI-P (Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle) into three legislative votes, capturing a lower percentage of vot

A dispute between Merrill Lynch and an Indonesian private banking client will be heard by a Jakarta court, a judge ruled yesterday, raising the stakes in a battle in which Singaporean courts have already ruled twice in the bank's favour.Indonesian police have declared Lily Widjaja, the head of Merrill's Jakarta office, and Rahul Malhotra, managing director of its Singapore office, suspects in a parallel but related criminal case. They are accused of embezzlement and defamation in relation to the civil case between the bank and the client. The civil suit is one of several involving Indonesians who claim banks treated them unfairly or failed fully to inform them about products on which they suffered heavy losses when stock markets and the rupiah crashed last year.Foreigners will also be watching it to assess the current state of Indonesia's notoriously unpredictable legal system.Merrill's dispute with Prem Harjani and his company, Renaissance Capital, began when he used a

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In May this year, those Indonesians who are entitled, to vote under present Indonesian law will elect their representatives to thePeoples' Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the House of Representatives (DPR). The new MPR, some of whose members are elected and some appointed, will choose a President for the 1983-1988 term of office. The President will then choose a vice-President. 'Under the Indonesian system as regulated by General Suharto's regime, there are three political parties, the PDI (Indonesian Democratic Party), the PPP (United Development Party), and GOLKAR (Functional Groups). These parties play a significant role in keeping the Suharto government in power.Although the names and symbols of these three parties are very different from each other, the political ideology regulating the direction and nature of their activities is the same; the 1945 Constitutjon (UUD45) and the State Ideology (pancasila). The similarity of their basic principles means that the members

Indonesia's presidential hopefuls must announce their intention to run for election in July by this Saturday, and only incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made the fight against corruption a cornerstone of his political agenda. This month's arrest of the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) chairman in a murder enquiry raises questions about how much has really improved during Yudhoyono's tenure and whether he can maintain the political will to fight graft in the months ahead. In his bid for re-election, Yudhoyono has returned to the anti-corruption theme, a catalyst for his success in the 2004 presidential polls and, analysts say, a reason behind his party's significantly stronger showing at the legislative elections in April, where it garnered over 20% of the vote, up from around 7% in 2004. The KPK's work in prosecuting a number of former high-ranking officials, including former central bank governor Burhanuddin Abdullah and Yudhoyono's own in-law

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NightParty With Glow face During this time I only listen to the theory from a friend about the life of Jakarta, either in the karaoke, nite-club, a fitness club or strip-bar. One time I want to direct to the core Realty show, although not all red to the district that I mentioned earlier. I do not spent a continental, I only spend a taxi to go home because I could not even come home late at night until the early hours if I still delusion. Yes, I am invited by a friend the night the world has to understand Jakarta. "RM" is a red district in the West region. Arrived at that place, this seems to be my friend so know the area and its people. Start of the person standing in front of the entrance, living room to disco dilantai. Overall always greet him. For those who have not known, simply smile and give him gaze admiringly. I so respected, because my other friend said that he was often to this place. Many desas hearsay, both directly and indirectly, he may include people who inve

Last Thursday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono suspended Antasari Azhar, the powerful chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission, from his post after he was accused by police of being the mastermind in the gangland-style murder of a businessman. The temporary removal of a commission member accused of a major crime is required by law under the statutes setting up the commission. But Yudhoyono, by not interfering and keeping to the line that justice must move forward in the case, could be presiding over an important moment in Indonesian politics - reinforcing the idea that powerful officials are not above the law in criminal cases, and that Indonesia's judicial system is improving. Coming off a major victory for his political party in last month's legislative elections, Yudhoyono is a hands-down favorite to win reelection in July. Given his considerable power and prestige, he is key to both seeing that justice is done in the Antasari case and to protecting th

The Indonesian government has stepped up efforts to save the lives of 14 of its citizens who are on death row in Saudi Arabia for being convicted of involvement in a range of criminal cases, including murder."Our missions in Riyadh and Jeddah will provide legal assistance to these people and help them get a royal pardon or their sentences commuted," said an Indonesian diplomat while reacting to a recent report on the cases. He refused to divulge more details about the cases. The report said the Indonesian government had managed to persuade the Saudi side to delay executions, citing appeals for clemency to some of the victims' families. "We are intensifying our personal approach to family members of the victims," said the diplomat. The Indonesian side has already requested the Saudi government to grant royal clemency in some individual cases, but the host government has not responded so far, said another report obtained by Arab News yesterday.The report added tha

THE arrest of Indonesia's anti-corruption tsar over a murder will have little impact on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election campaign, analysts say.This is despite crime fighter Antasari Azhar having been a poster boy for the President. "Corruption is important but, really, the things that are most important are the costs of basic needs, things in relation to poverty," commentator Sunny Tanuwidjaja, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said yesterday. And members of an Indonesian elite class who might see Mr Azhar's arrest as reflecting poorly on the President's anti-corruption drive were unlikely to have a big influence on the election result, he added. "Maybe intellectuals will make the connection, but the ordinary people, they will look to (the success of) programs such as the BLT and BOS (cash handouts for the poor and a school funding program)," he said. Mr Azhar will face as-yet-unspecified charges relating to th

THE head of Indonesia's powerful anti-corruption watchdog, Antasari Azhar, has been named as a suspect in the Mafia-style execution of a senior executive, amid allegations of a love triangle gone wrong. But Mr Azhar's lawyer has dismissed the notion his client masterminded the murder of Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, describing it as a conspiracy to destroy a graft-busting crime fighter. The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, is one of Indonesia's most respected institutions, an independent body set up by the Government to tackle Indonesia's endemic culture of graft.It has claimed high-profile scalps and bolstered the credentials of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at home and abroad.But its reputation took a hit when a spokesman for Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji said on Friday that Mr Azhar was the suspected "brains" behind the murder of Mr Zulkarnaen, an executive with a state-owned pharmaceutical company.A travel ban has been imposed on Mr Azhar, befo