INDONESIA A NEWS

As Hisyam Alizein, alias Umar Patek and a cadre of the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI), rose to speak during his trial in the West Jakarta district court on March 7, few would have expected the 45-year old hardcore terrorist to apologize to the victims of the 2002 Bali bombings that claimed the lives of 202 people.  The JI had indeed surprised many by its rise and ability to organize repeated high profile symbolic attacks in the early 2000s. Patek, being one of last remnants of the outfit offered asurprise yet again - this time confirming the rapid decline of the outfit since the Indonesian authorities executed the Bali bombers in 2008 - both in terms of its existence and ideology. Nothing else could have been a more convincing statement on the decline of Islamist terror in the archipelagic nation, with larger implications on the entire Southeast Asia.  "I ask for forgiveness from all the victims and their families. Those who lost their lives and t...

RECENT visitors to Bali have been urged to see a doctor if they suffer flu-like symptoms, after at least 10 Australians contracted Legionnaires' Disease while holidaying on the island.  Victoria's Chief Health Officer John Carnie said on Friday four Victorians, aged from 45 to 82, recovered after being treated for the illness on their return from holidays in Bali. Six cases were detected among West Australians who had been to the Indonesian resort island, Dr Carnie said. He said the first two Victorian cases were in August and October, and the latter two had visited Bali in late December. "The Indonesian government has been advised of the Australian cases and is investigating to determine the source of the infections," Dr Carnie said in a statement. Dr Carnie said Legionnaires' causes flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever, chills, muscle aches and pains, and may lead to respiratory problems and pneumonia. It is acquired through breathing in very fine dro...

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...

Tiny bits of bone, plucked from the ashes of a royal cremation, found their final resting place in the sea early Wednesday, empty of the soul that had been liberated by fire.It was the last step in an elaborate cremation ceremony three months in the making, the most spectacular royal funeral in Bali in at least three decades. In a roar of orange flames, the body of Agung Suyasa, head of the royal family of Ubud, was reduced to its earthly elements Tuesday in a mass cremation that included three royal figures and 68 commoners. In a Balinese tradition, the bodies of the commoners had waited to join Suyasa and two other members of his extended family in a royal cremation, although the pyres of the commoners were in a separate location. Some of them had waited months or even years, buried or mummified, for the spectacular rites that combine the energy, mysticism and creativity of this Hindu island. Deep in the night, the bones continued to burn, when all the crematory superstructure had be...

Tiny bits of bone, plucked from the ashes of a royal cremation, found their final resting place in the sea early Wednesday, empty of the soul that had been liberated by fire.It was the last step in an elaborate cremation ceremony three months in the making, the most spectacular royal funeral in Bali in at least three decades. In a roar of orange flames, the body of Agung Suyasa, head of the royal family of Ubud, was reduced to its earthly elements Tuesday in a mass cremation that included three royal figures and 68 commoners. In a Balinese tradition, the bodies of the commoners had waited to join Suyasa and two other members of his extended family in a royal cremation, although the pyres of the commoners were in a separate location. Some of them had waited months or even years, buried or mummified, for the spectacular rites that combine the energy, mysticism and creativity of this Hindu island. Deep in the night, the bones continued to burn, when all the crematory superstructure had be...