Richel Dursin

'For the sake of your peoples, this is the time to be creative and bold', this was the UN secretary-general's message to leaders attending a summit in Jakarta.

The non-governmental Centre for Electoral Reform (CETRO) in Jakarta is conducting several voters' education programmes all over Indonesia ahead of its presidential polls in 2004 when President Megawati Sukarnoputri is expected to seek re-election.

Despite sex being a taboo among the conservative population of Indonesia, one woman, frustrated with the government's lack of action in battling the HIV/Aids epidemic, has taken to the streets to spread awareness about the deadly disease.