President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo presented the draft state budget (RAPBN) for the 2025 fiscal year to the House of Representatives on Aug. 16, one of his last acts as president before giving the reins to the incoming administration under president-elect Prabowo Subianto. The RAPBN highlights the government’s focus on improving human capital.

A landmark decision by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday has removed the legislative threshold for political parties or electoral alliances to nominate candidates in the regional head elections in November. The ruling is seen as a game changer, particularly for former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, whose path to the polls appeared to narrow after the majority of parties rallied behind Ridwan Kamil.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto has reaffirmed his promise to continue the development of the planned new capital Nusantara once he takes office. In an effort to dispel investors’ concerns about Nusantara's future, Prabowo has said he is an investor in the capital city project.

Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto sent shockwaves through Indonesia’s political landscape when he abruptly stepped down from his position as the leader of the country’s second-largest party. While Airlangga claimed his decision was to ensure a “stable transition” between the current administration and the next, others have speculated that it was due to an underhanded maneuver by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been trying to facilitate a smooth transition of power for his successor Prabowo Subianto by various means, but accommodating Prabowo’s signature programs in the 2025 budget has proven to be the most challenging considering the narrowing fiscal space and economic deceleration.

With over two months still to go until his inauguration in October, president-elect Prabowo Subianto has nonetheless established good rapport with President Vladimir Putin, setting the tone for Indonesia-Russia bilateral ties during his Moscow visit early this month. During their meeting, Prabowo described Russia as a “great friend” and discussed the possibility of various cooperations.

To prove his commitment to the development of Nusantara Capital City, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo insisted on working there, despite the ongoing construction and less than ready state for habitation. Regardless of the questions about the motive behind the decision. Jokowi is simply sending a message, especially to the incoming government, that the show must go on.

The rivalry between National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar and the ruling Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) brothers Yahya Cholil Staquf and Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has taken a new turn as they use the organizations to undermine each other.

In a push for better governance of the mining industry, the government has expanded the Mineral and Coal Information System (Simbara) to now cover nickel and tin toward future expansion to other minerals. The decision to expand the tracking system to the two commodities stems from a recent tin corruption case that incurred state losses Rp 271 trillion (US$17 billion).

In a strategic move to ensure a seamless transition of power, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed three new deputy ministers closely linked to his political ally and successor, president-elect Prabowo Subianto.

Ministers from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration have brought the topic of the subsidized fuel, Pertalite, back into the spotlight. The plan is to reduce the consumption of the government subsidized fuel beginning August, coinciding with Indonesia’s Independence Day. However, differing statements from high-ranking officials have left the public puzzled, as the government has yet to reach a consensus on curtailing the country’s fuel subsidies.

The House of Representatives will soon begin deliberations on the creation of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA), replacing the Presidential Advisory Council known as Wantimpres. The legislation is not seeking big changes other than in name and size of the council, from nine members at present, to whatever number the sitting president wants, raising questions about what is the real purpose of it all.

Vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka has been touring Jakarta amid his busy agenda as mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, stopping by Central Jakarta’s Tanah Tinggi subdistrict and Nangka Market as well as South Jakarta’s Manggis Market on July 3, accompanied by popular celebrity and TV host Raffi Ahmad. Earlier on June 28, he strolled along the Semanggi River in Tegal Alur, West Jakarta, alongside acting Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo is contemplating fielding his youngest son Kaesang Pangarep to run in the November gubernatorial election in Central Java, taking the war against his political mentor Megawati Sukarnoputri, the matron of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to the next level. Central Java has always been a PDI-P stronghold.

Indonesia’s antitrust agency, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), has accused e-commerce firm Shopee and tech giant Google of engaging in monopoly practices. Shopee, accused of monopolizing its courier services, has since closed its case by agreeing to make changes to its services. On the other hand, Google, accused of monopoly through its Google Play Billing (GPB) System, has only just entered its phase of court hearings.

Surveys may put former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan as the most popular figure if he runs for reelection for the same job in November, but he will not win it, and may not even be able to contest it, if President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has anything to do with it.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has suffered another legal setback against Kresna Life Insurance. This defeat took place at the Jakarta State Administrative High Court (PTUN) on June 14, where OJK's appeal to maintain the revocation of Kresna Life's license was overturned. Moving forward, OJK is now contemplating filing a cassation appeal, which could potentially result in the legal enforceability of the overturned license revocation of Kresna Life if they are unsuccessful.

With four months left in office, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has already consolidated his political influence for the next five years. Apart from president-elect Prabowo Subianto pledging to carry on the current government’s programs and having his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka assume the country’s second-highest office, Jokowi has also been manuevering between political parties after parting ways with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto plans to fund his campaign promises by increasing the Indonesian debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio by 2 percentage points annually, potentially reaching 50 percent by the end of his term.  In response to this unprecedented fiscal policy, Morgan Stanley downgraded its evaluation of Indonesia's equities to "underweight," forecasting short-term economic uncertainty.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto has come up with a few ideas about what Indonesia can do to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege by the Israeli military for over eight months. These ideas depart somewhat from the line taken by the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and while it’s questionable whether they would be taken up at all, they make for good optics both at home and abroad. They also shed light on the kind of leader Indonesia can expect he takes charge in October.

Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, has decided to divert trillions of rupiah funds from state-owned Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), the country’s largest sharia bank, to other sharia banks. This move has raised concerns about its impact on BSI but also reveals the financial strength of the Islamic organization that many were unaware of.

After dropping the idea of setting up a transition team, president-elect Prabowo Subianto has come up with a so-called synchronization task force comprising entirely of elites from his Gerindra Party. Its job: To synchronize the moves of the incoming and outgoing governments. It’s a transition team in all but its name, but it skirts the contentious issue of who should lead it.

Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority head Bambang Susantono and his deputy Dhony Rahajoe took Indonesia by surprise with their sudden resignations. This unexpected development raises suspicions about ongoing construction challenges at IKN, potentially leading to their departure. Given that the completion of Indonesia's new capital heavily depends on private sector investment, their resignations might signal concerns about the project's feasibility to potential investors.

After concluding the general election, Indonesia is now preparing another political battle in the simultaneous regional head elections scheduled for Nov. 27, with 37 gubernatorial, 451 regency and 93 mayoral posts on the line. Major parties and power brokers are testing the water before the General Elections Commission (KPU) closes registration of candidates on Aug. 19.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto is exploring alternative protein sources to dairy milk for his signature free school lunch program. He is also redefining the program by adopting a more flexible approach while remaining true to its core essence and objectives. This flexibility is crucial due to the country's geographical challenges and, more importantly, the shortage of raw materials needed to support the original program.

While Indonesians have become more religiously conservative, most of them shunned Islamism in the February general election, as indicated by the failure of the United Development Party (PPP), the country’s oldest Islamist political party, to win any seats in the national legislature for the first time in its 51-year history.

The fourth amendment to the 2003 Constitutional Court Law is about to be added to the growing list of bills that, despite much public backlash, are to be passed into law under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. The proposed amendments will likely chip away at the judiciary’s independence and thus leave it vulnerable to political influences.

The House of Representatives plans to accelerate the law-making process of several controversial bills during the lame-duck period before its term ends on Oct. 1. The politicians are intent on revising specifically the Broadcasting Law, the Constitutional Court Law, State Ministries Law and Indonesian Military (TNI) Law that would help them consolidate their power, unfortunately at the expense of democracy, before the Oct. 20 succession of administration.

President Joko “Jokowi’’ Widodo’s ambition to relocate the national capital to Nusantara in East Kalimantan as his signature legacy will hinge on his success in holding a ceremony to mark Indonesia’s independence anniversary on Aug. 17 in the new city. The major hurdle to the plan is moving thousands of civil servants to Nusantara in a relatively short time.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto is pushing for a big government for when he takes over the helm in October, but it is not so much because he has ambitious big programs to run, but more because he needs to parcel out cabinet posts to political parties, individuals and institutions that helped him win the February election. As if that is not enough, Prabowo is inviting some of the political parties that had supported rival candidates in the race to join his ruling coalition, so he has even more strategic government jobs to give out.