TheJakartaPost

Has Indonesia forsaken the Bandung Spirit?

The way the government responded to the recent kidnapping of Venezuela’s president by the United States and its claim to now run that country, may have put the final nail in the Bandung coffin, as far as Indonesia is concerned. ...

2 months ago

Opinion premium

Analysis: Disaster response tests government's openness to criticism

The protracted disaster response in parts of Sumatra has increasingly become a focal point of public criticism, testing not only the state's operational capacity but also its willingness to engage with dissent. Rather than treating criticism as an essential component of democratic accountability, the government has often responded defensively, a posture that risks deepening public distrust at ...

2 months ago

The Latest

Activists hold a protest against the new Criminal Code (KUHP) outside the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta on Dec. 5, 2022.

KUHP must be challenged

A key test will come soon when the Constitutional Court hears a challenge to bans on insulting the president and the government — two provisions that fly in the face of decades-old precedents set by the same court.

2 months ago

Reach the heights: Tourists capture the moment of the first sunrise of the year on Jan. 1, 2026 at the top of Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java.

Taming unruly tourists with code of conduct

Social media addiction and the hyperconsumptive lifestyles of the 21st century often mean tourists forget the real purpose of their visit.

2 months ago

A child receives a vaccine to prevent polio on Aug. 10, 2023, as part of a monthly medical checkup program for children at an integrated services post in Banda Aceh.

Turning online conversations into child protection

In a country as diverse as Indonesia, decisions about immunization are shaped within families and communities and influenced by local social norms, religious guidance and lived experience.

2 months ago

A woman waves a Venezuelan flag among members of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces during a rally on Jan. 6, 2026, in support of seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas. United States forces reportedly killed 55 Venezuelan and Cuban military personnel in the raid to capture Maduro.

The grandeur and misery of international law

Too often, international law fails to prevent stronger states from acting as they please, as in the case of the US attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Maduro.

2 months ago

It’s all about the cloud: Streaming television services accessible at Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube are hosted and powered by online data centers.

Transforming IT without turbulence: How AI and service discipline can build trust

The benefits of combining IT service management and AI are often visible in measurable outcomes, such as faster incident resolution, reduced downtime and more efficient use of resources.

2 months ago

Two weeks on: Relatives of Spanish victims of the KM Putri Sakinah sinking pray on Jan. 8, 2026, at a dock in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on the 14th day of the search operation for the missing. After previously locating three Spanish nationals who had been reported missing, a joint search and rescue team extended the operation at the request of the Spanish Embassy.

Sinking trust in tourism

As an archipelagic nation, Indonesia relies heavily on sea transport for visitors, yet enforcement of safety standards remains uneven.

2 months ago

People cross the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge on the border with Venezuela on Jan. 6, 2026, in Cucuta, Colombia.

Trump's Venezuela oil grab revives petrodollar debate

The United States’ moves against Venezuela and its leader could be part of Washington's broader efforts to maintain the greenback's global dominance.

2 months ago

An employee (left, front) of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) distributes information about the National Health Insurance (JKN) as part of the agency’s Mobile Customer Service initiative in Ternate, North Maluku, during Car Free Day on Aug. 10, 2025.

A year of historic global health milestones and challenges

Reflecting on last year's achievements and challenges in public health, ensuring a healthier world through universal coverage remains the overarching goal for 2026.

2 months ago

Personnel from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) escort Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (fourth right, in tan shirt) to an armored van on Jan. 5, 2026, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City.

Preventing further derailment of the international order

Given the overall deterioration of the international order and climate commitments we all witnessed last year, diplomatic actors across the globe, including Indonesia, must prevent further backsliding in both areas in 2026.

2 months ago

Greenpeace Indonesia activists protest on Nov. 18, 2025, in front of the Muara Karang gas-fired power plant in North Jakarta. The protest had been against the inconsistency of national energy policies, calling for an end to dependence on fossil fuels ahead of the COP30 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil.

The ocean has finally entered the global climate debate

The ocean increasingly suffers the effects of absorbing over 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse-gases and about one-quarter of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

2 months ago

Bold operation: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives on Jan. 05, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport as he heads toward the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse for an initial appearance to face US federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others in New York City, the US.

Venezuela and the dangerous return of might makes right

Learning from the Venezuela invasion, Indonesia should continue to position itself as pro-law, pro-stability, pro-development and firmly opposed to military interventions, or worse, a new form of colonialism.

2 months ago

Workers leave a PT Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) factory, on Oct. 24, 2024, in Sukoharjo, Central Java.

Caught upstream: Saving Indonesia’s dying textile industry

For Indonesia, protectionism does not generate the jobs the country needs, while damaging the competitiveness of its exports.

2 months ago

University students carry flags that read Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia) on Sept. 1, 2025, during a demonstration in Yogyakarta.

New criticism, old terror

We are again reminded that the space for government critics to express their opinions is shrinking, with a series of terror and intimidation.

2 months ago

An Indonesian Air Force plane from the Jupiter aerobatic team flies past the National Monument (Monas) during a parade on Oct. 5, 2025, held as part of celebrations marking the Indonesian Military's (TNI) 80th anniversary at Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta.

Amid disasters, worsening geopolitics, Indonesia’s ‘theater state’ could reach its limit

There are democratic there are practices that are deployed to bind a nation together, whereas in an authoritarian society, rituals and theater are imposed upon the masses, to instill fear and submission.

2 months ago

A worker monitors production on Aug. 2, 2024, at the nickel smelter of PT Vale Indonesia in Sorowako, South Sulawesi. Nickel is a key component in the batteries of electric vehicles, and Indonesia is both the world’s largest producer and home to the biggest known reserves globally.

Leveraging rare earths: A pathway to national resilience

Despite its abundance of strategic minerals, the country still relies on imports to meet domestic demand for processed rare earth products.

2 months ago

A generation under surveillance is rising up

The recent protests show that youths around the world are taking action today to secure pathways to their aspirations toward a better tomorrow, for themselves and their countries, and that the powers that be are simply dismissing them instead of regarding their demands as "the future".

2 months ago

Tree carnage: Logs swept in by flash floods weeks earlier lie piled on Dec. 14, 2025, where homes once stood along a river in Aceh Tamiang, North Sumatra.

The desacralization of nature and disaster

The transition from traditional belief systems toward formal religiosity has brought an unintended side effect: a reckless desacralization of nature

2 months ago

Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (left) and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet shake hands and hold up a document during the Oct. 26, 2025, signing of a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

How should ASEAN address the 2025 mess?

What 2025 ultimately revealed is how far the Indo-Pacific has drifted from the visions ASEAN and its partners once championed.

2 months ago

Sign of “GOJEK” and “GRAB” are seen on the helmets of an online motorcycle taxi driver and their passenger on Nov. 12 at Jl. Basuki Rachmat in Jakarta.

The hidden costs of a GoTo–Grab merger

In the context of a GoTo-Grab merger, the participation of Danantara introduces a fundamental conflict of interest that cannot be resolved through rhetoric alone.

2 months ago

Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto (right) shakes hand with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer following a meeting on Dec. 23, 2025, at the USTR office in Washington, DC. Indonesia is preparing to seal a reciprocal trade agreement (ART) with the US in at the end of January next year after resolving all substantial issues in negotiations that had earlier risked stalling.

Why Indonesia’s US deal could cost more than it delivers

For Indonesia, which is deeply embedded in East Asian production networks and heavily exposed to Chinese trade and investment, a reciprocal trade agreement with the US could trigger chaotic and costly supply chain realignments.

2 months ago

People check election candidate profiles on a signboard before casting their ballots on Nov. 27, 2024, during the 2024 regional head elections in Banda Aceh, Aceh. Indonesians voted on Nov. 27 to pick local leaders in the country's biggest simultaneous regional elections.

Undoing democratic reform

Indirect elections through local councils offer no guarantee of cleaner or cheaper politics, if they go ahead they may be composed of political party representatives who are often no less corrupt than elected officials.

2 months ago

A farmer plants rice on Oct. 26, 2025 in Nagari Padang Laweh Malalo, Tanah Datar regency, West Sumatra.

Gene editing in Indonesia: Can new biotechnology solve old agricultural problems?

Can gene editing truly support smallholder farmers and help Indonesia achieve food sovereignty, or will it simply revive the old controversies surrounding genetically modified crops?

2 months ago

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (right) and his deputy Rano Karno (center) talk on May 8, 2025 with a prospective resident of low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa) Jagakarsa in South Jakarta.

Building Jakarta from the ground up: A year under Pramono Anung and Rano Karno

Pramono Anung and Rano Karno’s first year in office focused on rebuilding Jakarta by prioritizing people and basic services.

2 months ago

Personnel from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) escort Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to an armored van at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City on Jan. 5, 2026, for transporting to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse to face federal charges including narco-terrorism and money laundering.

Venezuela, Taiwan and the return of power politics

The US invasion of Venezuela is a worrying sign of the world to come, one that will be defined by multilayered, regional systemic conflict against which internal national strength is the only defense.

2 months ago

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport om Jan. 5, as he heads towards the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse for an initial appearance to face US federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others in New York, the United States.

The precedents to Trump's Venezuela operation

While shocking, nothing about this calamity is new: it recalls four precedents that can help us see elements of the present that otherwise may be shrouded by propaganda or emotion.

2 months ago

Lokataru executive director Delpedro Marhaen gestures after attending the reading of charges on Dec. 16 at the Central Jakarta District Court. Delpedro and three other co-defendants, Muzaffar Salim, Syahdan Husein and Khariq Anhar, have been charged with incitement for allegedly posting social media content related to demonstrations in August that turned violent after a delivery driver was ran over and killed by police.