The Jakarta Post Editorials: Board Perspectives

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Demonstrators hold placards and raise three fingers in a salute symbolizing freedom, solidarity and equality during a protest in Jakarta on Oct. 20, 2026. The protesters called for an end to forest and land fires and demanded the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism as they marked the second anniversary of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s administration.

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No voice of authority

When a government responds to choking toxic haze with bizarre boasts about "exporting oxygen," it reveals a broken communications machine that breeds distrust while lives hang in the balance.

10 hours ago

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Anwar's Rohingya gamble

Anwar Ibrahim's high-stakes gamble to normalize ties with Myanmar's junta chief may win cheap points at home, but it threatens to shatter ASEAN's united front and abandon the Rohingya to peril. ...

1 day ago

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Power for the people

Everywhere you look, the country seems to be teetering on the brink, and whether he likes it or not President Prabowo has been seen by most people as being slow to respond to the problems, if not causing the problems themselves. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

World leaders (from left, front row) Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attend the opening session of the Group of 20 Summit 2024 on Nov. 18 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A new world disorder

Indonesia, while it has been spared from Trump's crosshairs thus far, needs to start shoring up support and getting its house in order as the world descends into a new state of disorder.

1 year ago

Riva Siahaan, the president director of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, the commercial arm of state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina, is detained after being named a suspect in a corruption case by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) in Jakarta on Feb. 25, 2025.

Monopoly harms Pertamina

Competition could prevent the kind of abuses that have been going on within the company, oftentimes unpunished. For consumers, competition will ensure they can buy the best products they deserve.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto (center) shakes hands with former president Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo on Feb. 24, 2025, during the launch of a sovereign wealth fund known as Daya Anagata Nusantara, or Danantara, in Jakarta.

Favoritism for Danantara

Relying more on SOEs has proved to be problematic because of rampant corruption and scandals.

1 year ago

The cover art for Purbalingga-based post-punk band Sukatani's debut album Gelap Gempita (Dark Excited).

Protect protest songs

But thanks to weeks of harassment from low-level police officers which culminated in the band removing the song from all streaming platforms, the song is now an instant hit and the subject of conversation of everyone who has access to the internet, inspiring dozens of covers and becoming a rallying cry for thousands of students who took to the streets in recent days to protest President Prabowo Subianto's austerity measures.

1 year ago

Jakarta's governor Pramono Anung (center) gestures on Tuesday beside other regional leaders during a week-long mountain retreat at a military academy in Magelang, Central Java.

Balancing democracy

The PDI-P has gone as far as refraining from saying it opposes the Prabowo administration, although it insists on staying outside of the government.

1 year ago

United States President Donald Trump attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019.

Decide swiftly, secure the country

We believe it is time for President Prabowo Subianto’s administration to decisively define its approach toward Washington and act without delay to safeguard our national interests.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech during a meeting of leaders of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM)-Plus in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Feb. 14, 2025.

Coalition with the people

Through their protests, the students seem to be telling Prabowo to build a coalition with the people for long-term prosperity rather than with the political elites for short-term spoils.

1 year ago

Ready to roll: The newly completed facilities of PT HLI Green Power, the first electric vehicle battery factory in Southeast Asia, is seen in this undated photo released by Karawang New Industry City (KNIC).

Extortion kills investment

The HKI says illicit payments extracted from investors have cost Indonesia hundreds of trillions of rupiah as projects are canceled and companies pull out.

1 year ago

People demonstrate against President Prabowo Subianto's government, calling for reviews of government budget cuts and the free nutritious meals program, in front of a police barricade in Jakarta on Feb. 21, 2025.

Danantara and the austerity paradox

For many Indonesians, the promise of prosperity tomorrow rings hollow as they struggle to meet their basic needs today.

1 year ago

Voices for justice: Students and activists of the Committee for the Release of Papuan Political Prisoners hold a rally on Monday at the Supreme Court in Central Jakarta. As part of Indonesia’s spin-off movement #PapuanLivesMatter, which was spurred by the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement around the world, the protesters demanded the release of the seven Papuan activists standing trial on charges of treason at the Balikpapan District Court in East Kalimantan. JP/Dhoni Setiawan

Pardon not for all

The government argues that the amnesty plan may help ease the overcrowding problem characterizing most prisons across the archipelago.

1 year ago

Elected regional heads attend the inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Feb. 20, 2025. President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated 961 regional heads consisting of 33 governors and 33 deputy governors, 363 regents, 362 deputy regents, 85 mayors and 85 deputy mayors in the ceremony.

Diversity within unity

The regional governments, and their elected leaders, represent this diversity, and they are the only political institution to do so.

1 year ago

Students hold a rally titled "Indonesia Gelap" (Dark Indonesia) on Feb. 17, 2025, to oppose budget-cutting policies by President Prabowo Subianto, in front of the East Java Regional House of Representatives building in Surabaya.

A return to the streets

This week’s protests, the fastest that any president has faced since taking office since the Reform era, are a visible sign of this renewed vigor.

1 year ago

Workers check on packages of battery cells at the Hyundai LG Indonesia (HLI) Green Power plant in Karawang, West Java, following its inauguration on July 3, 2024.

The good old days of global trade

Our government must work on the assumption that global trade is no longer what it used to be.

1 year ago

Rewired generation: Children play online games on their mobile phones along the roadside in Jakarta on Nov. 27, 2024.

Support for age limit, but

While the plan to restrict social media among minors is largely welcomed by the public, particularly parents, authorities should implement the upcoming policy with extra caution.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech at a plenary cabinet meeting on Jan. 22, 2025, at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Questioning budget cuts

President Prabowo Subianto’s recent budget cut to save over Rp 306 trillion (US$18.9 billion) to fund his administration’s priority programs is incomprehensible.

1 year ago

Long awaited embrace: Philippine drug convict and former death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso hugs her parents at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Saving Indonesians abroad?

The Foreign Ministry says there are 157 Indonesians in foreign prisons whose legal processes remain ongoing as they face the death penalty; 111 for drug trafficking and 46 for murder.

1 year ago

Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on July 9, 2024.

Democracy under threat

Prabowo and Gerindra have taken for granted the overwhelming legislative and executive powers that the people have lent them.

1 year ago

Cabinet retreat cartoon

The return of militarism

We have reasons to worry about expanding the roles of the military beyond its domain as defender of the nation against external threats.

1 year ago

Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto (center left), accompanied by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan (center right), salutes the military guard of honor on July 30, 2024, upon arriving at the Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara.

Prabowo and Erdogan’s front for Gaza

Prabowo should speak up together with Erdogan after their bilateral summit against any attempt to jeopardize the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

1 year ago

This photo illustration shows the DeepSeek app on a mobile phone in Hong Kong on Jan. 28, 2025.

DeepSeek gives us a leg up

DeepSeek gives up a leg up, but we have to take the next step by developing the human resources and infrastructure needed.

1 year ago

Contradictory statements: Businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, appointed by his brother President Prabowo Subianto as special presidential envoy on environment and climate, delivers a statement during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, on Nov. 12, 2024.

Why we should stick with Paris Agreement

Rather than withdrawing from the treaty, Indonesia should up its game in the negotiation room.

1 year ago

Power of information: National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hindayana (second right) and National Development Planning Minister Rachmat Pambudy (right) talk to journalists at a press briefing after a cabinet meeting about the free meals program with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Jan. 17, 2025.

Whither journalism, whither democracy?

The role of journalism in keeping society critically informed for people to make the right decisions, day-in and day-out, has been undermined, if not compromised.

1 year ago

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, one of Indonesia's world-renowned authors, signs one of his books on Dec. 19, 2000, during the launching of the English edition of Tales of Jakarta at a bookstore in Jakarta.

In Pramoedya's footsteps

If anything, Pramoedya was not content to just write and comment about the state of the world, but in a long tradition practiced by resistance writers like Albert Camus and Maxim Gorky, he decided to engage the world through direct action.

1 year ago

Devastated: People walk amid collapsed buildings along Saftawi street in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 5, 2025, during a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out on Feb. 5 at United States President Donald Trump's shock proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they wanted to leave or not.

Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan

As a leader who wants to bring his country to the center of global political affairs, Prabowo should be more forthright in defending the rights of Palestinians.

1 year ago

A man stands on plastic waste and other garbage washed ashore and accumulating on a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency, in Bali on Jan. 3, 2025.

Mindful host

Overtourism and overdevelopment have become serious issues, especially in the southern part of Bali.

1 year ago

Fueling the economy: Employees work at a Pertamina gas station in Tangerang, Banten, on March 1, 2022.

What's ahead for Danantara?

The result of the new rule represents a compromise, which allows for two competing centers of power within the new body instead of just one.

1 year ago

Critical dissent: Protesters hold posters that read “Dipisahkan Qunut, Disatukan Tambang“ (Separated by Qunut, United by Mining) during a protest against Islamic group Muhammadiyah's decision to accept the government's offer of coal mining concessions in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on July 27, 2024.

Mining permits for all?

National Innovation and Research Agency (BRIN) researchers have warned of the risks that arise when mining is managed by entities that are alien to the sector, such as religious organizations.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim (left) walk across the connecting bridge of the Petronas Twin Towers on Jan. 27, 2025, during the President's visit to Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur.

Bound by destiny

While Indonesia and Malaysia have had disagreements over maritime boundaries, these must be managed carefully to prevent disputes from escalating into serious diplomatic rifts.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech on Jan. 22, 2025, at a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Prudence in state budget

While the budget adjustment seems rational on paper, it is paramount that the government guides the implementation of the programs and manages any consequences that may arise from the fiscal action.

1 year ago

Health workers administer a pre-vaccination screening test for a toddler on April 24, 2024, at a medical facility in Cipondoh, Tangerang, Banten, during the Health Ministry’s free nationwide vaccination drive in observance of World Immunization Week.

Health checks for all

The Prabowo administration is planning to launch in February its next flagship program: free birthday health screenings.

1 year ago

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