The Jakarta Post Editorials: Board Perspectives

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Jakarta Post
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The state's new muscle

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

3 hours ago
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To build NU anew

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. ...

1 day ago
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Cost of recentralization

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. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

Editorial

Targeting the PDI-P?

The subject is predictable, and the pattern is familiar. The case that was left untouched for four years until Jokowi and the PDI-P, the party that catapulted him to power, parted ways. 

2 years ago
Editorial

Prudence for rupiah

Concerns about the incoming government’s fiscal sustainability have weighed on the rupiah exchange rate over the past month.

2 years ago
Editorial

Embracing Indonesian diaspora

The growing number of Indonesians working and living overseas, and some who are changing their nationalities, have disproved claims that their loyalty lies elsewhere.

2 years ago
Editorial

Jakarta's new chapter

For many years to come, Jakarta will continue to play a strategic role in the national economy.

2 years ago
Editorial

Gambling with lives

We demand that authorities take the recent gambling-related suicides as a further indication that our security forces may be infiltrated by gambling rings.

2 years ago
Editorial

Cabinet reshuffle, why not?

Jokowi has to make sure he runs an effective government, which is unlikely to happen without the support of his entire Cabinet throughout the coming four months.

2 years ago
Editorial

Dividing the spoils

It is a classic patron-client relationship for a patron to grant favors in return for political services, loyalty and allegiance shown by the client.

2 years ago
Editorial

Rising to the haj challenge

Due to the limited number of spots, high public interest and the rising costs of the haj, someone who registers this year for the “regular” state-subsidized haj scheme would have to wait between 11 and 47 years for their turn to make the pilgrimage.

2 years ago
Editorial

Let’s all work less!

Once we get to the point where enough is enough, it makes sense to decrease working hours at the same rate that hourly productivity increases, so as to keep output constant.

2 years ago
Editorial

Everyone loves a soldier

History shows Soeharto’s New Order could cling on to power for more than 30 years, largely due to the support of the then Armed Forces (ABRI), which also included the police, through the use of coercion, intimidation and even violence to silence dissent.

2 years ago
Editorial

An affront to democracy

ASEAN has shown it's willing to punish Myanmar's military for committing a coup against democracy, but cannot do the same to the Thai military.

2 years ago
Editorial

Prabowo’s Gaza diplomacy

Prabowo’s Gaza initiatives indicate the incoming administration’s intention of getting actively involved in global efforts to maintain peace and security in the Middle East and beyond.

2 years ago
Editorial

Can’t all be local

For businesses, imports are a reasonable option if raw materials and components are not sufficiently available in the country, whether in terms of quality or scale.

2 years ago
Editorial

Tell us more, Prabowo

Prabowo's foreign policy approach will diverge from the current practices, yet fundamental principles will remain, such as a free and active foreign policy and the prioritization of ASEAN as the primary focus of Indonesia.

2 years ago
Editorial

State-sponsored pork barrel

With Jokowi apparently emulating Soeharto by parceling out mining concessions to fulfill a long-standing promise to NU as other religious organizations resisting the temptation, it’s now up to the country’s largest Muslim organization to back out on moral grounds.

2 years ago
Editorial

Fostering minds

With literature, we can offer students various conceptions of a good life, skills of rational reflection and comparison, and windows to narrative imaginations.

2 years ago
Regional Elections

Law of the jungle

Whatever excuse politicians come up with, it is becoming increasingly hard to dispute that there is one clear beneficiary of the current changes: Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep.

2 years ago
Editorial

Live up to your name, Nusantara

We can safely assume that all is not well at the IKN Authority, and whatever the issue is, it needs to be addressed in a public way to ensure confidence among all parties.

2 years ago
Editorial

Jobless Gen-Z and demographic disaster

One of the big challenges for the government at the moment is to create jobs fast enough for the young population as their population keeps growing.

2 years ago
Editorial

Saving social media

Social media, despite its drawbacks, offers a space for the public to voice opinions that can drive changes in public policy.

2 years ago
Editorial

Passing the buck

There simply aren’t enough college seats in the country, free or otherwise, to meet the demands of the 2045 vision and its calls for the establishment of a "golden generation" by the time the nation turns 100.

2 years ago
Editorial

Let us, not Tapera, decide

We are proud of the value of gotong royong (mutual assistance) that has long characterized our society, but what the government is doing with Tapera constitutes an abuse of the principle.

2 years ago
Editorial

Soul-soothing summit

The three-way summit between South Korea, Japan and China on Tuesday spelled a big win for Northeast Asia as well as its southeastern neighbors, even if the three leaders made progress in various sectors without touching on the major issues.

2 years ago
Editorial

‘Cicak’ vs. ‘buaya’ redux

The lack of transparency surrounding recent tensions between the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office has only raised suspicions that there is something fishy that the government wants to keep from the public.

2 years ago
Editorial

No winners in trade wars

While Vietnam stands ready to jump into the breach when China is confronted with US trade curbs, we must worry about Chinese demand for our materials.

2 years ago
Editorial

Wanted: An opposition

In President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s first term, from 2014 to 2019, he had the support of a coalition that held just over 60 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives. With this majority, his still faced some stumbling blocks to implementing his campaign pledges, impediments that were all but eliminated when he expanded his ruling coalition in the beginning of his second term, allowing him to advance signature policy aims such as infrastructure development and commodities downstreaming. 

2 years ago
Editorial

For everyone’s glory

State universities need to remember their public service imperative even as they pursue commercial viability, especially nowadays when higher education credentials no longer seem to be a strong guarantee for employment.

2 years ago
Editorial

The shameless Netanyahu

There is always a limit for Netanyahu to withstand global pressure, and the domestic audience is growing unhappy with his government.

2 years ago
Editorial

Don’t get sick, or else

With growing challenges in health care post-pandemic, the government must support the right to health through good policymaking.

2 years ago
Editorial

Act now or many more will die

Despite previous galodo occurrences, neither authorities nor local residents appeared to understand the danger that lay ahead or what measures should be taken to mitigate loss of life and property.

2 years ago
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