When pedicab drivers are labeled wealthy while a millionaire lawmaker qualifies for state aid, Indonesia’s high-stakes welfare registry proves that confusing data shortcuts with genuine reform costs real lives.

We cannot always stop disasters from occurring, but we can prevent them from becoming disastrous for millions of Indonesians by preparing better.

Jakarta’s plan to bypass "unilateral" regional budget cuts with municipal bonds isn't just an urban infrastructure fix. It is an open challenge to the government's centralist agenda.

When the volcano exploded on Aug. 27, 1883, it destroyed the island on which it stood, killed almost 40,000 people in the surrounding area of Java and Sumatra, sent rafts of pumice to Africa, covered the Red Sea in ash and made barometers as far away as Washington, DC go haywire.

Rushing a flawed asset forfeiture bill to meet a performative political deadline won't stop oligarchs, it will just hand the state a dangerous new weapon against its critics.

Temporary suspensions and advanced technologies won't clear ASEAN's skies from Indonesian wildfires; only prosecuting and bankrupting corporate arsonists will.

As Washington pushes allies to gang up on Beijing, Indonesia must resist the pressure and stay true to its non-aligned roots, or risk becoming the mouse deer crushed between two fighting elephants.

Rather than mirroring the geo-economic fragmentation besetting the world, member states need to come together and negotiate favorable trade terms for the region as a whole.

If Jakarta wants to break free from its crippling gridlocks, choking air and other perennial issues, it must end the era of cheap parking and force drivers to pay the true cost of the road.

When the state embraces street thugs as political muscle, the violence that follows isn't an accident - it is government policy.

As state power and political patronage close in on Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim organization faces a pivotal internal battle: preserve its independent moral voice, or become a rubber stamp for the ruling elite.

It seems to have become a pattern under the government of President Prabowo Subianto. When problems erupt, the state must “be present”, as the President often puts it, which translates into asserting itself more forcefully.

Shuffling Whoosh’s ballooning debt among state balance sheets won't save the region's first HSR service; only hard renegotiations and structural reform will.

These shows may suspended accounts, but the process needs transparency.

As Indonesia's catastrophic wildfires choke the wider region yet again, the real culprit isn't the unusually prolonged dry weather but the corporate impunity and lax governance fueling the flames.

Indonesia and China should focus on solidarity and cooperation with an approach of strategic maturity, as their ties bear significance far beyond either bilateral or regional dimensions.

The Prabowo administration's sudden, vague overhaul of commodity exports is the latest policy whiplash rattling investor confidence, proving once again that ad hoc governance comes at a steep economic price.

President Prabowo Subianto was marketed as a bold foreign policy visionary, but his record reveals an administration driven by reactive damage control rather than strategic global leadership.

Indonesians confront mounting economic hardship despite official assurances that all is well. Many are confused: the reassurances from officials do not match the reality of their daily lives.

As millions choke on toxic air, the real threat to Indonesia’s lungs isn't just distant wildfires—it's the coal plants and industrial polluters running unchecked right next door.

From million-rupiah shallots to unverified nuclear claims, President Prabowo Subianto's off-script habits are turning presidential rhetoric into viral punchlines - and putting the nation’s credibility on the line.

What started as a presidential complaint about tiny font sizes has spiraled into an alarming, state-driven overhaul to rewrite Indonesian history.

As Flores reels from a devastating earthquake on the eve of Independence Day, the government’s swift aid cannot hide the urgent need to trade performative crisis management for real, life-saving disaster governance.

Facing tumbling approval ratings and economic pushback, President Prabowo Subianto pivots to fiscal discipline in his latest budget—but delivering on his ambitious promises will be the real test.

As Indonesia marks 81 years of independence, a familiar pull toward state centralization risks unraveling decades of hard-won democracy and regional unity.

Recent failures can be attributed to years of mismanagement of the national team by the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), whose officials are apparently more focused on politics off the pitch rather than the advancement of the sport itself.

Citizenship is not a favor the state dispenses to useful people. It should be a recognition of a bond that does not expire when it becomes inconvenient.