Last month, the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority unveiled a plan to offer tax breaks to private companies willing to rehabilitate damaged forests around the planned capital city.

While we must express regret that this sort of violence is even happening at the height of the campaigning season, it is reassuring that at least some institutions can still be relied on to take immediate steps to remedy such a situation.

Laos helms the regional bloc this year under the theme "Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience", through which ASEAN aims to tackle more complicated challenges within Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific while carving out a bigger niche on the global stage.

The verdict is in and now 2023 is the hottest year in history. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced in early December that global average temperatures between January and November were the highest on record – 1.46 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.

The problem with the new regulation is that it will allow cheaper EV car imports without any clear linkage to the local production chain and human resources. 

The loss of the lives of 19 workers in a smelter explosion on Sunday is a wake-up call to review our regulations on occupational safety and health, as well as the related rules and standards for the mining industry.

BI deserves praise for its careful recalibration of monetary policy in recent years, from the stimulus needed after COVID-19 had strangled economic activity in 2021 to anti-inflation measures. 

And as usual, in the wake of the debate, each camp declared victory, with the candidates' social media teams hyping their respective candidate’s performances into overdrive, slicing and dicing clips from the debate long after the performance was over.

Regardless of faith, creed or denomination, the international community is praying for peace in Gaza, while Indonesia remains vigilant in view of the 2024 general election.

Even within limitations, there is ample room for ASEAN and Japan to enhance security cooperation, including in maritime security.

Signs of trouble at WIKA could be observed as early as 2020, when the company saw its net profit plummet by 92 percent to Rp 185 billion.

With the official elections watchdog appearing noncommittal about addressing the financial oversight agency’s findings, the onus is on law enforcement to prove Indonesians wrong in their growing distrust of the state apparatus.

The best course of action for Indonesia is to stay out of it when the US and China vie for influence.

As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international laws, Indonesia is obliged to rescue people in distress at sea, including Rohingya, and help them to the nearest place of safety.

The Health Ministry has urged people to postpone traveling to countries currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, such as Singapore, Malaysia and China.

It remains to be seen if a Kennedy moment will happen in Indonesia and define the outcome of the presidential election on Feb. 14, 2024.

Developed countries have been the main source of the carbon emissions present in our atmosphere today, produced from the fossil fuels they burn to maintain their economies and lifestyles.

Despite TikTok being restricted from the virtual market in the past two months, SME players, such as vendors in Tanah Abang market in Jakarta, hardly saw changes in their sales.

Marapi’s deadly eruption should serve as a wake-up call for the government not to leave volcano disaster mitigation up to mere luck.

Even though domestic consumption, the main driver of Indonesia's growth, will likely remain fairly robust next year, investors will, predictably, be in “wait and see” mode until the new government comes into power in October.

We should all be alert to the possibility of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection now that the first recent cases have been discovered in the country, but we have no reason to be consumed by fear.

While the Prabowo-Gibran camp frames Gibran’s candidacy as an attempt to bring young people to politics, critics have lashed out at his nomination as symptomatic of the entrenched culture of political nepotism. 

As existing tensions linger and continue to rise over disputed territories and the growing power rivalry in the South China Sea, the regional grouping needs to up its game – and clout – by presenting a united front.

For more than a decade, the ITE Law has been a major threat to our civil liberties; it is the digital incarnation of the colonial defamation law.

On climate change, looking at what can only be described as modest targets, Indonesia is a follower, not a leader. 

Like security, climate change and public health, AI requires international cooperation and global rules.

The government’s persistence is certainly key to progress toward achieving its zero dengue death target by 2030

Firli’s arrest serves as yet another grim reminder that the system we have been relying on to combat corruption may itself be corrupt.

As we prepare for next year’s presidential and legislative elections, there are real concerns that the nation is turning its back on its democratic and pluralistic achievements over the past two and a half decades.

We can no longer take for granted that we will have another successful election that is free, open and, more importantly, peaceful.