Once thugs, clad in the outfits of their mass organization, escape justice after extorting a business owner or street food seller, they will look for other opportunities to bully their way into wads of cash.

For decades, the nation’s extractive industries have been plagued by issues such as corruption and regulatory inconsistency, as well as unfair profit-sharing mechanisms with local governments.

The last time we wrote about the fragile Gaza truce, we questioned how long it might last. And now that we know the answer, we must pick up where we last left off.

Sending alley cats to a designated island in Thousand Islands regency is a sure way of destroying their lives, especially if the human population is too small.

With a former Army general in the highest office, the country will likely experience a bolder, brasher TNI in the years to come.

In a way, a country’s stock market performance is like a report card for the national economy, and by extension for the government, and in Indonesia’s case right now, the report is not pretty.

Nepotism, as well as corruption and collusion, has proven to be deeply rooted in our society, with even the reforms in 1998 unable to eradicate it.

The recent developments surrounding the extradition order for fugitive businessman Paulus Tannos have cast a spotlight on the efficacy of the Indonesia-Singapore Extradition Treaty.

President Prabowo Subianto’s goal of establishing between 70,000 and 80,000 new cooperatives using loans from state-run lenders is problematic and could pose a serious financial risk.

In commemoration of National Music Day on March 9, the Culture Ministry released an “Indonesia Raya” vinyl record, featuring eight versions of the national anthem.

The government's short-sighted decision to delay the start date of 1.2 million new civil servants and contract employees could trigger a chain reaction of adverse impacts on public services, the economy and other areas, not least the Prabowo administration's approval ratings.

Many say Duterte’s arrest is not enough, as there are figures who remain untouchable despite the blood on their hands, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There is a growing perception that the current administration is merely replacing old power brokers with new ones, without enacting substantive reforms.

The syndicates employ the "member gets member" strategy of recruitment, leveraging threats rather than bonuses to coerce members into deceiving friends and relatives.

Given all the other shortfalls in our manufacturing industries, wages play a relatively small role, while electricity costs and the availability of renewable energy are increasingly important.

Several languages, particularly in the eastern regions, including Papua, Maluku and North Maluku, are on the brink of extinction. 

Complacency is at the root of perennial flooding in Greater Jakarta, which essentially stems from unchecked urbanization and poor urban planning, and normalizing the disaster as an expected annual occurrence is akin to throwing in the towel.

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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