Mahfud MD is stepping down from his job as coordinating minister for politics, law and human rights, citing the need to prevent a potential conflict of interests given that he is running for the vice-presidential office in the Feb. 14 election. But with the election just two weeks away, his decision is not likely to be followed by other state officials running for other offices, even though they are just as equally conflicted.

Illicit money could be finding its way into campaigns for the 2024 general election, as the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) recently found that money from overseas had flown into the accounts of 21 unnamed political parties. Totaling Rp 195 billion (US$12.4 million), 30 percent of the funds are said to have originated from shell companies.

Critics said as the President, who oversees and is responsible for the electoral process, Jokowi should stay above the fray. One staunch criticism comes from Jusuf Kalla, his vice president in his first term in 2014-2019, who said Jokowi was in violation of his oath of office.

The Indonesian government has major work ahead for its electric vehicle (EV) ambitions as fewer than 1,000 units of fuel-based motorcycles were converted to electric ones in 2023, falling far short of the 50,000-unit target. For 2024, a more ambitious target of 150,000 units has been set, a feat the government hopes to achieve through a multitude of approaches. Concurrently, the government appears to be prioritizing investments from foreign carmakers to boost the domestic adoption of electric cars.

In the high-stakes arena of Indonesian politics, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka seem to have made strategic and calculated attempts to secure victory after one round in next month's election. Their most recent bold political maneuver was the much-awaited inclusion of East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa in their campaign team, which many believe will significantly impact their electoral bid. Khofifah's alliance with Prabowo and Gibran will be crucial for the pair to win the battleground in East Java and clinch the presidency in a single round.

The Indonesian government has decided to raise the portion of its state budget for fertilizer subsidy, one of the Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration’s last actions ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections. The decision brought attention due to it being in contrast with the second period of President Jokowi’s government, which had previously opted to cut fertilizer subsidy. It also raised concerns that the decision was done with political motives ahead of the elections, with some doubting its effectiveness to the country’s agriculture.

Anyone looking for a clue about the direction of Indonesia’s defense and foreign policy in the next administration would have been utterly disappointed when these issues were brought into the spotlight in Sunday’s presidential debate.

The occupational safety and health (OSH) standard at the nickel-focused Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) is under scrutiny after explosions blasted in Tsinghan subsidiary Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel’s (ITSS) nickel furnace located in the industrial park. The deadly incident adds to the series of OSH incidents in the industrial park, raising concerns over its OSH regulation implementation.

While polls have indicated that the Indonesian presidential race will most likely be a two-round affair because three pairs are contesting, the leading ticket in electability ratings maintains that winning the election outright in February is still possible.

By signing an “integrity pact” with a group of conservative ulamas (Islamic scholars), presidential candidate Anies Baswedan may be gaining some extra votes. But he could also lose the support of a large segment of voters who are not comfortable with the group’s Islamist agenda.

Chinese tech firm ByteDance’s social media subsidiary TikTok has bought a controlling stake in Tokopedia, Indonesian tech company GoTo Gojek Tokopedia’s electronic commerce (e-commerce) platform. The corporate action led to the reentry of TikTok’s integrated online shopping service TikTok Shop after it was booted from Indonesia by a ministerial regulation that bans social commerce (s-commerce). The transaction looks set to be a major shift in the Indonesian online retail market, but it also raised concerns about foreign firms’ domination.

The first round of the 2024 election debates organized by the General Elections Commission (KPU) took place on Tuesday, following the latest survey results that showed nearly 29 percent of the respondents remained undecided about their choice for the Feb. 14 election.

Less than a month after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo officially initiated the construction of the government's fertilizer industrial area in Fakfak regency, West Papua, controversy has loomed over the National Strategic Project (PSN). At the center of the controversy is Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and his associates, whose ties with the project have raised concerns about conflicts of interest.

Moving the capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan may seem like a done deal, but now the costly project, conservatively put at about US$35 billion, is being put to the popular test for the first time.

PT Waskita Karya (WSKT) and subsidiary Waskita Beton Precast’s (WSBP) failure to pay bond payments has once again entered the spotlight as bondholders, the majority of whom are insurance companies and pension funds, rejected a debt-restructuring proposal by WSKT that would extend a payment deadline by up to 10 years through a scheme of 3.5 percent interest on the principal.

Public trust in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) may have hit a record low after the Jakarta police named the antigraft body's chairman Firli Bahuri a suspect for allegedly extorting former agriculture minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo. To regain the much-needed credibility, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo suspended Firli and appointed Nawawi Pomalongo as an interim leader, but the move did little to help the KPK regain ground.

Vale Canada, a subsidiary of Brazilian mining firm Vale, and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM), a unit of Japanese conglomerate firm Sumitomo Group, have finally agreed to divest parts of their stake in Vale Indonesia (INCO) to Indonesian state-owned mining holding company Mineral Industri Indonesia (MIND ID). The initial deal was inked with the signing of a Head of Agreement (HoA) on the sideline of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting, bringing MIND ID to be one step closer to becoming INCO’s controlling shareholder.

The campaign teams of the presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs are confident they can win the Feb. 14, 2024 race in only one round. However, although one of the tickets, namely Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, slowly approaches the 50 percent mark in opinion surveys, experts maintain that the presidential election will most likely carry on to a runoff.

The Transportation Ministry has confirmed that wheel wear on the Greater Jakarta LRT system, resulting in the cancellation of 103 trips daily, was caused by design flaws in the rail tracks, particularly on tight, narrow curves that do not comply with Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 60/2012. Instead of rectifying the problematic rail designs on curves, however, the ministry is currently planning to revise the regulation to accommodate the existing rail designs.

The integrity of the 2024 general election has been undermined by the recent decision to retain six justices on the Constitutional Court even though they have been found guilty of having committed ethics breaches when they issued a recent ruling related to the presidential election.

The plan to extend the Whoosh! high-speed rail (HSR) to Surabaya is entering its early stages. The route extension, which currently only connects Jakarta and Bandung, is necessary to increase the high-speed public transport utilization from its current state. However, there are concerns regarding the possible downsides from continued partnership with China to develop the project, as well as calls for a more thorough feasibility study on the extension plan.

The increasingly estranged relationship between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in his coalition government, in the run up to the February general election will likely undermine the way he governs the country for the remaining 11 months of his term.

The Indonesian government is planning to kickstart the early retirement of its coal-fired power plants (CFPP) ahead of the upcoming 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 28), amid the slow disbursement progress of promised foreign funding. Captive CFPPs for metal processing is said to be the obstacle to the implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) worth US$20 billion.

President Joko ‘'Jokowi'' Widodo is consolidating power around himself ahead of the 2024 elections by nominating his confidante, newly installed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Agus Subiyanto to replace Adm. Yudho Margono as the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander due to retirement. The President is also reportedly replacing State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Budi Gunawan with former Army chief of staff Gen. Dudung Abdurachman.

The announcement of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the last presidential candidate pairing to be registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) reveals a cold antagonism between sitting President Joko ‘’Jokowi’’ Widodo and former president and party matron Megawati Soekarnoputri, which could go on long beyond the 2024 elections.

After reaping profits at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry is now facing a weakening economy. State-owned pharmaceutical companies have been hit hardest, with problems that include significant debt, expired vaccines and a high risk of bankruptcy. Private pharma companies, meanwhile, have booked positive performances.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the victor of the 2019 general election, has finally declared Mahfud MD to be the running mate of the party’s presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo for the 2024 election. That declaration, made amid President Joko ‘’Jokowi’’ Widodo’s shaky support for his fellow PDI-P member, was seen as the PDI-P asserting its confidence even if Jokowi eventually supports rival presidential contender Prabowo Subianto.

State-owned energy company PT Pertamina has quietly received a state capital injection (PMN) of Rp 3.37 trillion (US$40.47 billion), based on a presidential regulation (PP) signed on Oct. 3. Pertamina has received this PMN to fortify the state-owned enterprise's (SOE) capital structure as well as to fund the capacity of its business activities. Interestingly, the SOE received this PMN through PP No. 48/2023 on PMN allotment to PT Pertamina. The use of the presidential regulation means that the PMN was given solely through the President's authority without getting approval by the House of Representatives.

The police are investigating Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) head Firli Bahuri over allegations of extorting Rp 1 billion (US$65,000) from Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo to halt a corruption probe into the cabinet minister.

Indebted state-owned publicly-listed construction company PT Waskita Karya Tbk (WSKT) has caused jitters on the stock market after defaulting on Rp 941.75 billion (US$60.38 million) worth of bonds. The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry scrambled to save Waskita by forcing state banks to agree to the company’s 10-year restructuring plan, but private bondholders rebuffed the plan. Waskita’s fate is now uncertain.