JP/30/WOMEN Ati Nurbaiti The Jakarta Post Jakarta For each person, young and old, in the regency of Gresik, Central Java, the average annual budget for health is Rp 1,413, or not even 20 U.S. cents. This revelation emerged in a training session on the regional budget, aimed at female political party cadres.

Changing electoral behavior Anton Doni In 1955 and thereafter, political scientists believed that Indonesians' political choices were bound solely by ideological ties. One's choice was limited to alternatives within his/her ideology: either nationalist, modern Muslim or traditional Muslim. For Indonesians, a shift to another ideology is quite difficult. If you were a modern Muslim, you tended to choose the Masyumi party.

Creating a democratic peace in the ASEAN region Bantarto Bandoro Editor 'The Indonesian Quarterly' Centre For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta bandoro@csis.or.id The 2003 Bali summit of ASEAN leaders saw the signing of the Bali Concord II, which according to President Megawati Soekarnoputri was a watershed in the history of ASEAN. ASEAN is determined to move forward to face more severe security and economic challenges ahead.

Paradigm shift in religious understanding Muhamad Ali Lecturer State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta muhamad@hawaii.edu As we approach the end of 2003 we must ask ourselves, as world citizens, what has become of our religious tolerance. To follow a religion has not necessarily meant that we live peacefully or righteously. We are religious, but we are also corrupt; we observe religious rituals, but we also justify violence.

Yearend - Poltical Outlook - Dec. 30. ------------------------------------- 1. Ignas Kleden : Head of the Center for East Indonesia Affairs (CEIA), Jakarta. 2. Alan Wall : Project Manager for the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), Jakarta. 3. Soedjati Djiwandono : Foreign policy analyst 4. Bantarto Bandoro: Editor of the Indonesian Quarterly published by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta. 5.

JP/30/WOMEN3 Urgent steps to increase women's political representation Make political parties democratic and accountable; amend the law on political parties and rule that 30 percent of parties' legislative candidates must be women.

Industrial action and industrial peace Vedi R. Hadiz Lecturer the National University of Singapore In January 2004, the minimum wage in Jakarta will stand at Rp 671,550 per month, representing an increase of 6.3 percent compared to the year before. Moreover, this certainly seems a "good" wage compared to the level of around Rp 150,000 just seven or so years ago. Though the minimum wage levels in regions across the sprawling archipelago differ, similar increases have taken place elsewhere.

Slight growth acceleration facing head wind Muhammad Chatib Basri Institute for Economic and Social Research University of Indonesia (LPEM-FEUI) Jakarta I was sitting in a small coffee shop in Jakarta when a friend of mine, a foreign economist, asked me how we reconcile the good macroeconomic indicators on the one hand with various structural problems in trade and industry on the other. This is not an easy question.

Govt needs to prevent conflicts in 2004 elections Ignas Kleden Sociologist Director Center for East Indonesian Affairs Jakarta The upcoming 2004 elections is a new political venture. It is new not only in its goal to enable direct election at all levels, but also in terms of its preparation. The preparatory stages are intended to enable voters to select from among 24 parties -- those supposedly eligible because of administrative fit and factual readiness.

The possible impact of the elections on ASEAN Bantarto Bandoro The last decade has seen tremendous pressure for greater democratization in Southeast Asia. This pressure will be sustained as Indonesia will hold its general election next year, a process that will determine the country's destiny at the global as well as regional and national level.

Garuda sees clear skies for new Vietnam route Adianto P. Simamora The Jakarta Post Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Despite its absence for about six years, the country's flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia does not seem to be finding any difficulty in luring customers back for its new Jakarta-Ho Chi Minh City route. In fact, all of the 134 seats were sold out for its flight from Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport to Jakarta last Friday after reopening the route on Dec. 16.

The banking sector in 2004: Slow but sure improvement 'Money politics next year will help the economy' Fauzi Ichsan Global Markets Economist Standard Chartered Bank Jakarta International investors and donors like to point out that although Indonesia's economic growth is rising, investment in the real sector of the economy, and therefore economic growth, are a lot lower than their full potential. There are two reasons why real investment is so low.

Is there a new property boom? Lini Djafar Director, Head of Research & Consultancy PT. Procon Indah Jakarta Tower cranes are swinging, concrete mixers are churning out concrete and Jakarta's roads are once again dirty from the clearing of new development sites.

2003: A year of living in fear of terror Kanis Dursin, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Ever since his wife told him in early November that she had to go home to Hong Kong to attend her younger sister's wedding, James had been restless. Fears of terrorist attacks similar to that of Sept.

The poor in 2003: The year of living more precariously B. Herry-Priyono Driyarkara School of Philosophy Jakarta This is how the draconian government in Jakarta failed to respect calls to display political virtue, even on the eve of Idul Fitri. On that special night, its demolition crews evicted roadside vendors in Mampang, Kebayoran Lama, Pondok Labu, Lebak Bulus and Pasar Minggu. These actions marked a continuation of a series of forced evictions to get rid of the poor from Jakarta.

Promoting Good Governance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa Senior Economist Danareksa Research Institute Jakarta The Indonesian community at large has agreed that creating good governance is one of the main agendas of Reformasi. It seems, however, that the implementation of good governance is still far away. And in the open economy era, which creates stiffer competition among nations, Indonesia will experience huge losses if it fails to move toward creating good governance.

From the Editor Indonesia will see two milestones next year: one in politics, the other in the economy. As our special issue on Tuesday argues, the country will mark another crucial step in its democratization process when the nation goes to the polls to elect new national and regional legislators and, for the first time in Indonesia's history, to directly elect the president and vice president.

Regional govt behavior contradicting aims of local autonomy law Ignas Kleden Sociologist Director Center for East Indonesian Affairs Jakarta After three years of implementation, regional autonomy has produced a number of unintended results that will very likely negate its original aim.

Law enforcement on election fraud and violations Bivitri Susanti Executive Director of Center for Indonesian Law & Policy Studies Jakarta The 2004 general election is coming in the count of days. Will the process fulfill the expectations of the people in bringing a more democratic condition to Indonesia? There are political analyses that answer such a question, but the process plays an important role.

In search for formless Jamaah Islamiyah Muhammad Nafik The Jakarta Post Jakarta "Do you believe Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) really exists here?" a friend of mine once asked. Others have also raised the same question on other occasions. It is truly hard to verifiably say "yes" in reply to that question, although police have repeatedly linked Indonesian bombers to JI.

Dec.26, 2003 Central bank law amended The turbulent political process to amend the 1999 Bank Indonesia Act -- amendments that were proposed by the government in late 2000 -- finally ended last week after the House of Representatives, the finance ministry and the central bank reached a compromise on the most contentious provisions.

No economy is an island, Jack B. Herry-Priyono Driyarkara School of Philosophy Jakarta In early August 2003, when we were still engrossed in collective soul-searching over the absurdity of the Bali bombings, another terror strike hit us. It was the bombing of the J. W. Marriott hotel in the heart of Jakarta. As usual, the solution has been similar to the way many other problems in this country are solved: gone with the wind.

The 2004 elections: The enemy within Satish Mishra UNSFIR Jakarta 2004 is an important year. This is the year when Indonesian democracy either opens its doors to a new wave of consolidation and reform or retreats along the historically familiar path towards a new kind of authoritarianism. These elections will decide whether Indonesian democracy will experience a rebirth or continue to suffer slow suffocation for a second time in fifty years. That seems like an exaggeration.

Post IMF Indonesia: Business as Usual Satish Mishra UNSFIR Jakarta The 13th annual meeting of the Consultative Group on Indonesia on Dec. 11, was a decidedly upbeat affair. As usual in Indonesia, yet unusual for a large developing country, virtually the whole Cabinet was in attendance. Across the table were representatives of countries and institutions poised to help Indonesia finance its budget deficit in the coming election. They would do so either by lending to it or by making gifts to it.

Contemplating a military coup Kusnanto Anggoro Senior Researcher Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta Historian Andrew Janos wrote in 1964 that a military coup in the United States "would be too fantastic to contemplate, not only because few would actually entertain the idea, but also because the bulk of the people are strongly attached to the prevailing (democratic) political system" (The Seizure of Power: A Study of Force and Popular Consent, Research Monograph No.

'Ideological map' in Indonesian politics J. Soedjati Djiwandono Political analyst Jakarta Later on, the Islamic-based political parties set up an "Islamic caucus" to promote unity among the Islamic parties, which seemed as remote as ever. Even the two largest Islamic organizations, the NU and the Muhammadiyah, are never united beyond occasional appearances. They are mostly at odds with each other in many respects, religious or otherwise. The NU-based PKB itself has been split into two wings.

Good governance or perish Djisman S. Simanjuntak Executive Director Prasetiya Mulya Business School Jakarta Most Indonesians are undoubtedly grateful for the consolidation of macroeconomic stability they experienced in 2003. At a time when the growth rate accelerated slightly, inflation was tamed at an annualized rate of less than 6 percent. The rupiah gained strongly against the U.S. dollar, although it lost heftily against the Australian dollar and Euro.

'Ideological map' in Indonesian politics (1) J. Soedjati Djiwandono Political analyst Jakarta The ideological alignment of Indonesian politics since independence has been one of "nationalism," in support of the Pancasila ideology, versus Islam, striving for the establishment of an Islamic state on the basis of Islamic syaria. Interestingly, it can reasonably be assumed that most of the members of the "nationalist" parties are also Muslims.

Banish the hope of military reform Kusnanto Anggoro Senior Researcher Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta As the military's official political role prepares to end in 2004, questions remain as to why the armed forces are withdrawing from politics and how this will further develop and affect democratic reform.

Muslim voters and Islamic parties in Indonesia Mochtar Buchori Legislator for Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Jakarta What do Muslim voters want to see as the outcome of their support for the political struggle carried out by their country, Indonesia? Do they want to have an Indonesian Islamic state, or an Islamic society in Indonesia, or an Indonesian society where Islamic values are observed?

Indonesia: An economy that lacks dynamism Haryo Aswicahyono LPEM-UI Jakarta Over the last nine months, inflation and interest rates have continued to fall. Fiscal consolidation, bank and corporate sector restructuring is continuing, while capital outflow has turned into an inflow. Favorable macroeconomic conditions have been translated into positive consumer confidence and business sentiment.

'Steady as she goes' on local autonomy Bambang Brodjonegoro Department of Economics University of Indonesia It has been almost three years since the first day of implementation of Law No. 22/1999 on local government and Law No. 25/1999 on intergovernmental fiscal relations, which also marked the beginning of a drastic and massive decentralization process in Indonesia. It was drastic because Indonesia has been strongly centralized for more than 30 years and suddenly, beginning Jan.

Dirges of traders and investors Puspa Delima Amri Researcher Dept. of Economics Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta The past year has undeniably seen substantial improvement in Indonesia's macroeconomic performance. GDP growth is moderate yet encouraging, inflation and interest rates are declining, the exchange rate is stable and the stock market is buoyant.