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.

11 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

High-ranking officials brief the press about the new economic stimulus package intended to cushion the impact of an impending value-added tax (VAT) hike to 12 percent at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister in Jakarta on Dec. 16, 2024.

VAT hike with cashback

There is no shame in VAT hike, yet our government appears to be embarrassed by its own decision.

1 year ago

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol bows on Dec. 14, 2024, during a public address from his official residence in Seoul in this handout photo issued by the South Korean Presidential Office via Yonhap.

Lessons from Korea

Our political culture often permits leaders to evade accountability.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto arrives at the government palace to meet with Peru's President Dina Boluarte, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima on Nov. 14.

Merciful Prabowo

Barely two months into office, President Prabowo has surprised the nation with his plan to give pardon to 44,000 inmates across the nation.

1 year ago

Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and ASEAN leaders take part in the 44th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 9, 2024.

Are we abandoning ASEAN?

This is the second time since Prabowo’s inauguration that Indonesia has sent a concerning message to its regional neighbors.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto (front, third left) attends a warm-up session during a retreat with members of his Red and White Cabinet at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, on Oct. 25, 2024. (-/Prabowo’s Media Team/Handout via Reuters)

Prevention is better than cure

It’s better to prevent a public trust crisis than to patch one up afterward.

1 year ago

An aerial view of a subsidized housing complex in Puuwatu district in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, on Aug. 1, 2024.

Broken housing policy

The government should understand it has never been about the number and simply tripling the annual new housing target is not going to cut it.

1 year ago

A stock illustration of prescribed injected ketamine.

Solutions to ketamine problem

If the government decides to categorize it as a psychotropic, it should prioritize tightening the distribution rather than punishing users.

1 year ago

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia waves before the Twilight Parade at Pancasila Field, Military Academy, Magelang, Central Java, on Oct. 25, 2024.

Serious about nuclear

Nuclear may be worth pursuing at this point, not as a panacea, but to support our energy transition as a baseload power source.

1 year ago

Syrians living in Turkey celebrate after Syrian rebels announced that they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 8, 2024.

Mission to Syria

Democracy is Indonesia’s most substantial offer.

1 year ago

Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Pramono Anung (left) talks to his running mate Rano Karno during a press briefing in Cipete, South Jakarta, on Nov. 28, 2024.

Regional Elections

Narrow margin

Dragging the election through to January would certainly look like a misguided political strategy.

1 year ago

Tax assistance: An official (left) explains to a taxpayer the use of her citizenship identity number as the taxpayer identification number at Palangkaraya tax office in Central Kalimantan, on March 3.

Focus on revenue reform

We fail to understand how a new revenue agency or ministry would do anything better.

1 year ago

Democracy in action: Protesters take part in a candlelight rally calling for the ouster of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the steps of the National Assembly in Seoul, on Dec. 5.

K-drama worth watching

Democracy survived because the Korean people willed it and fought for it.

1 year ago

Women’s rights activists hold a banner reading “Eradicate sexual violence? There must be a way!” during a protest outside the Education and Culture Ministry in Jakarta on Feb. 10, 2020, against sexual harassment and violence against women on campuses.

Women’s protection crisis

Often, when victims of gender-based violence seek help from the police, they are faced with resistance, convoluted procedures or, even worse, accusations that they brought the crimes upon themselves because of the way they dressed or behaved.

1 year ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono smiles on Oct. 21, 2024, before his inauguration at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

Give the new FM time

The public should allow Sugiono to prove that the President made the right decision in appointing him despite his lack of experience in foreign affairs.

1 year ago

Protesters demonstrate in front of the Central Java Police headquarters in Semarang on Nov. 28, 2024.

Policing the police

Recent acts of brutality have hardened disturbing doubts about the accountability of the police and their ability to resolve their own problems, including their excessive use of lethal force.

1 year ago

A customer examines clothes on April 2, 2024, at a shop in Medan central market in North Sumatra.

VAT, the equitable tax

The brouhaha is overblown.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto arrives at the Modern Art Museum (MAM) on Nov. 18, 2024, to attend the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The $300b climate joke

Rich countries, with a few individual exceptions, never intended to make good on their past promises.

1 year ago

A farmer tills a plot of land using a hand-held tractor in Lumajang, East Java, on Nov. 6, 2024.

Make farming profitable again

The Indonesian agriculture sector will need massive reforms to make President Prabowo Subianto’s dream of food self-sufficiency a reality.

1 year ago

Global collaboration: (Left to right, first row) President Prabowo Subianto, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum attend the opening session of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18.

Prabowo's deliverables

President Prabowo Subianto's recent 16-day overseas trip has convincingly marked his presidency as an active global player in a bid to boost global collaboration amid increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics.

1 year ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) shows his ballot to journalists on Nov. 27, 2024, after voting in the 2024 simultaneous regional elections at a polling station in Bojong Koneng village, Bogor regency, West Java. The country is holding regional head elections in 37 provinces and more than 500 cities and regencies.

Big win

And for those who closely watched the state of the race, there was nothing from the quick count results on Wednesday afternoon that came as a surprise.

1 year ago

United States president-elect
Donald Trump gestures as he holds hands with his wife Melania during
a rally in Florida, the US, on Nov. 6, 2024.

Global trade à la Trump

United States president-elect Donald Trump played the fear card on the economy and won his second term. Now it is apparent that he intends to do the same for the world.

1 year ago

Human rights activists stage a rally in Kota Tua, West Jakarta, to commemorate World Day against the Death Penalty.

Rule of law first

Indonesia must avoid the perception of trading legal principles for diplomatic concessions.

1 year ago

Pay up: Activists hold a silent protest inside the the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) venue in Baku, on Nov. 16 to demand that rich nations provide climate financing for developing countries.

It’s never about the climate

Indonesia's determination should be shown by strong and committed work on the ground, starting by protecting forests across the archipelago, rather than clearing them for agricultural and mining purposes.

1 year ago

Indonesian national soccer team player Marselino Ferdinan celebrates his second goal for Indonesia by sitting on the official's chair during the 2026 World Cup Asian third round qualifier matcha against Saudi Arabia at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on Nov. 19, 2024. Indonesia won 2-0 over Saudi.

Long journey to the World Cup

It is possible that Indonesia will finish fourth in the group with nine points, which means it will have to play in the fourth-round qualifier against the teams from Group A and Group B of the Asian zone that also finished third or fourth.

1 year ago

A cleaner sweeps the floor of the lobby of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Oct. 21, 2024. President Prabowo Subianto has asserted his commitment to fighting corruption through system overhaul, digitalization and assertive law enforcement.

Time to end the KPK?

Prabowo has frequently said he wants a clean government and to fight against corruption. But the fact is, his administration has done very little to prove it.

1 year ago

Former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left), talks with Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil (right) at the Sumber residence in Surakarta, Central Java, on Nov. 1, 2024.

Regional Elections

Statesmanship test

Given that he is also the President, Prabowo's display of support for certain candidates runs counter to the principle of impartiality.

1 year ago

(Left to right, first row) President Prabowo Subianto, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum attend the opening session of the G20 Summit on Nov. 18, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Multilateral system in crisis

The very nations that benefited from loose regulations during their industrialization now expect others to leapfrog into sustainability without the same economic opportunities.

1 year ago

The Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) oil and gas rig is pictured in the waters off Indramayu, West Java, on April 2, 2023.

Pinning hopes on Danantara

Prabowo can start, for example, by limiting dividend payouts by the SOEs to the state budget so that these funds can be reinvested in the form of expansion and new ventures.

1 year ago

Building connections: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) visits US President Joe Biden (right) in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington DC, on Nov. 13.

Prabowo’s balancing act

The challenge now for Prabowo as president is to strike the right balance that best serves our national economic, political and security interests.

1 year ago

While it is difficult to prove allegations of plagiarism, the practice is unethical whether or not it is always deemed illegal.

Honesty always the best policy

Enforcement of the law against plagiarism will not suffice, especially in Indonesia, where legal certainty remains a challenge.

1 year ago

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