The Jakarta Post Editorials: Board Perspectives

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Jakarta Post
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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.

21 hours 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.   ...

1 day ago
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PLN needs more than a new boss

While the recent change at the helm of the state electricity company seems to signal continuity at first glance, given the President's urging a “comprehensive transformation”, Suroso might actually have a chance to spread his wings as PLN's former renewables director. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

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An unpatriotic proposition

Coming so soon after Indonesia drew a disapproving global eye toward its financial market and economic policymaking, perhaps the legal protections afforded to buyers of Patriot and Merah Putih bonds in the amended law demands a rethink, if not an overhaul.

3 months ago
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Urban living dangerously

As Jakarta aims for global city status, a string of fatal infrastructure failures reveals the deadly cost of government neglect and unmanaged urban growth.

3 months ago
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Justice on trial

The conviction of a prominent tech reformer exposes a deeper, more systemic crisis: it casts a doubt over whether Indonesia can truly court global investors and elite talent.

3 months ago
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Copyright and journalism

The government should focus on helping journalists and media organizations rebuild sustainable business models that enable Indonesian journalism to remain financially viable while continuing to serve democracy and the public interest.

3 months ago
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The mirage of public trust

Behind the National Police’s glowing 82 percent public approval rating lies a much darker reality of corruption, violence and a desperate need for real reform.

3 months ago
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A late apology, a longer reckoning

In the Dutch context, colonial events are known, documented, even taught, but their moral weight remains strangely muted. 

3 months ago
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Don't shoot the messengers

In trying to manage the optics of the recent student protests instead of responding to the legitimate public grievances they convey, the government is certainly not putting itself in any democratic light.

3 months ago
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Parks for all

Jakarta’s crowded new parks aren't just a sign of success, they are a stark warning that access to green space must be treated as a basic urban right, not a luxury.

3 months ago
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IDX must walk the walk

Indonesia’s temporary reprieve from an MSCI downgrade bought the market some time, but empty promises won't stop a devastating sell-off unless regulators finally stop talking and start executing real transparency reforms before the November deadline.

3 months ago
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The energy-nationalism dilemma

When populist price caps collide with soaring global markets, resource nationalism doesn't protect the public—it just leaves them in the dark.

3 months ago
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When drought breeds doubt

As El Niño intensifies, this year's dry season has already triggered severe water shortages and rampant wildfires in an emerging crisis that will serve as a high-stakes litmus test for the food security agenda and climate adaptation policies of the Prabowo administration.

3 months ago
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A welcome peace deal

A fragile US-Iran peace deal brings global relief, but it leaves Indonesia with a stark wake-up call after a distant conflict reached into its kitchens and effectively turned off the lights in Jakarta.

3 months ago
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499 years of Jakarta

For all its progress, however, Jakarta continues to struggle with the consequences of its rapid urban growth.

3 months ago
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A shifting soccer world

As soccer's old guard stumbles against a fierce new wave of global underdogs, the expanding World Cup proves that the gap between the giants and the rest is officially dead.

4 months ago
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Protest works

In the 20 months that he has been in power, the President has not only had to deal with street protests early in his administration, he has also had to face relentless demonstrations that ebbed and flowed depending on how well the public responded to his policies.

4 months ago
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Prabowo’s Myanmar initiative

Levering his unique background as a democratically elected former general, President Prabowo Subianto is uniquely positioned to break ASEAN's deadlock and rewrite history as Myanmar’s peacemaker.

4 months ago
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Another dark chapter

The acid attack against Andrie Yunus is now at risk of becoming another case of justice eluded, proving yet again that the public has nothing to expect from the justice system.

4 months ago
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Into the light, Danantara

The agency needs to keep in mind that the most effective way to build lasting trust is through transparency. 

4 months ago
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Fixing a broken food program

Success shouldn't be measured by headline-grabbing numbers, but by whether free meals actually reach the vulnerable children who need them most.

4 months ago
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The death of police reform

The newly amended Police Law betrays the spirit of the Reform era, turning the force into a political counterweight rather than a professional protector.

4 months ago
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Failed system, fake research

The case of fraudulent presenters at an international research conference exposes glaring vulnerabilities in the country's education system that stem from misplaced and misguided priorities.

4 months ago
Editorial

Our jobless youth

A national internship program won't save Indonesia’s stalling demographic bonus unless the government addresses the real crisis: a severe shortage of formal jobs.

4 months ago
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Police’s second chance

By reopening the investigation into Andrie Yunus's acid attack, the National Police have a rare, unmissable chance to tear down a culture of impunity and finally restore their shattered credibility.

4 months ago
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Waiting is not an option

If investors are pulling funds out of Indonesian assets, or are reluctant to enter the market even though there is money to be made, what does that say about their confidence in the country’s prospects?

4 months ago
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Save our children’s education

Before we can dream of producing Nobel laureates, we must first rescue an education system where high schoolers can barely pass basic math.

4 months ago
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The fewer trips, the better

As public scrutiny mounts over President Prabowo’s 51 overseas trips, the administration’s defensive reaction has failed to mask a stark reality: the resulting diplomatic promises have yet to translate into real economic gains.

4 months ago
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Who are the real ‘foreign agents’?

Fueled by the antek asing (foreign agent) rhetoric, harassment of activists and civil society organizations is sure to persist, if not escalate, in the country.

4 months ago
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Police state

As the Indonesian Military (TNI) submitted to civilian control in the first two decades of the reform era and scaled down their non-defense roles, the police have only grown in stature and clout.

4 months ago
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Mission impossible for BI

A plan to task Bank Indonesia with ensuring employment through economic growth comes at a bad time for the central bank.

4 months ago
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Haj in a new era

Indonesia's historic haj services overhaul brings shorter wait times and better safety in the desert, even as old logistical headaches and corruption shadows persist.

4 months ago

Today's ePost

Thu, October 22, 2026

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