TheJakartaPost

Reimagining crypto: Indonesia’s path to a secure and thriving financial future

The OJK regulation creates space for banks to explore services such as crypto custody, blockchain-based solutions, and crypto-backed lending. ...

3 months ago

Analysis: Govt issues RUKN to achieve NZE 2060 as court alters Job Creation Law

The government issued the National Electricity General Plans (RUKN) 2024 – 2060 to align with the country’s net-zero emissions (NZE) target on Nov. 29, 2024, without consulting the House of Representatives. On the same day, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit challenging the omnibus law on Job Creation, requiring the government to consult with the House in drafting the...

3 months ago

The Latest

A visitor stands next to a module of an electric vehicle on July 18, 2024, during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show 2024 in Tangerang, Banten.

Car sales plunge. So what?

Car sales have been plummeting in Indonesia lately, but maybe that is not all bad news.

3 months ago

A child who fled the ongoing battles between Turkish-backed groups and Syrian Kurdish forces in the northern Aleppo province stands behind laundry hanging in the yard of a school on Jan. 5, 2025, in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, where families took refuge.

The “new Syria”: Should Turkey be repatriating Syrians?

Turkey’s refugee repatriation policy clashes with international law as Syria remains volatile and unsafe

3 months ago

Motorists pass 2024 election campaign banners in Jakarta on Dec. 19, 2023.

Citizens can lead change despite democratic backsliding

Deliberative democracy is not a panacea. It is a dynamic process and there can be ups and downs.

3 months ago

Government officials attend a plenary session in the outreach/BRICS Plus format on Oct. 24, 2024, at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

Letter to editor: Russian ambassador responds

We would like to object to the distorted understanding of the essence of BRICS.

3 months ago

A customer picks a bottled beverage from a refrigerated display at a supermarket in South Tangerang, Banten, on July 5, 2024.

Getting rich without getting fat: The challenge of developing countries

As developing countries, Indonesia and Mexico face double problems since hunger and obesity exist like two sides of a coin.

3 months ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono (left) places flowers on the grave of senior diplomat Hasjim Djalal at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery, Jakarta, on Jan. 13, 2025. Hasjim passed away at the age of 90.

Ambassador Hasjim Djalal’s lasting global legacy

Hasjim Djalal's role in shaping the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982 was crucial.

3 months ago

An official explains to a taxpayer the use of the citizenship identity number as their taxpayer identification number at Palangka Raya tax office in the Central Kalimantan provincial capital on March 3, 2024.

Digitalization key to transforming core tax system

Indonesia’s core tax system is still far from the expected standard, reflecting the government's awkwardness and inability to effectively implement government digitalization.

3 months ago

President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo speaks with the media after the departure ceremony of the National Disaster Management Agency's (BNPB) mission to deliver humanitarian aid, 60 tonnes of medical and hygiene supplies on two planes, to Egypt for Palestinian refugees and Sudan at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta on April 3, 2024.

Analysis: Corruption watchdog puts Jokowi's reputation in jeopardy

The widely accepted perception of former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a clean figure has begun to crumble after the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) nominated him as the 2024 Most Corrupt Person of the Year. Jokowi joined other world leaders known for their corruption track records in the “hall of shame”, with the humiliating title going to the deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

3 months ago

Speaking out: Workers take part in a rally in Jakarta on Oct. 24, 2024, as they demand higher wages and the repeal of certain provisions of the Job Creation Law

Indonesia must implement mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

With no consequences faced by corporations for failing to comply with HRDD obligations, they are able to benefit from social washing.

3 months ago

Bald patch: Large swaths of cleared land divide a smallholder oil palm plantation on April 29, 2023, during a tree regeneration program in Mesuji Raya district, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra.

Facing palm oil nonsense

There are still many sustainable ways in store to enhance palm oil output, especially through long-neglected replanting efforts rather than opening new plantations by clearing forests.

3 months ago

Energy transition: Workers check on packages of battery cells at the Hyundai LG Indonesia (HLI) Green Power plant in Karawang, West Java, following its inauguration on July 3, 2024. The plant is Indonesia's first electric vehicle battery factory.

Cooperate, not compete: ASEAN's critical mineral strategy for energy transition

Each ASEAN country has its own critical mineral and downstreaming strategies, but these have intensified competition rather than fostering cooperation.

3 months ago

Oil palm belt: An oil palm plantation in Pangkalan Banteng in the Central Kalimantan regency of West Kotawaringin is seen from the air on Nov. 7, 2022. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil.

Palm oil dilemma: Why soil health must lead Indonesia’s ambition

From a business perspective, without a sustained focus on soil health, expansion of oil palm plantations may become more liability than opportunity.

3 months ago

A woman takes notes during an Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (formerly known as CAIR Coalition) presentation on immigration enforcement at a school in Washington, DC on Jan. 10, 2025.

Are highly skilled immigrants a problem?

While economic research makes it clear that immigrants bring sought-after skills, creative dynamism and useful knowledge that also helps domestic innovators, that doesn’t mean there is no downside to heavy reliance on H-1B visas.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto arrives at the government palace to meet with Peru's President Dina Boluarte, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima on Nov. 14. (Reuters/Agustin Marcarian)

Analysis: Prabowo’s commitment to fighting corruption in question

Just a few months into his term, President Prabowo Subianto faced a test of his commitment to integrity after he proposed a form of amnesty for corrupt individuals and to keep their crimes a secret as long as they returned their ill-gotten wealth to the state. After mounting criticism, however, he displayed his intention to assertively deal with graft, saying those found guilty of stealing state money should serve 50 years in prison.

3 months ago

Hasjim Djalal is pictured in this undated file photo.

Hasjim Djalal, the consummate diplomat who tripled Indonesia’s territorial size

Leading the Indonesian delegation at UNCLOS, Hasjim fought vehemently to ensure Indonesia gain control over the maritime territory connecting all its islands.

3 months ago

All about money: Dozens of workers rally outside the Manpower Ministry on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta on Feb. 18, 2022, to demand the cancellation of a ministerial regulation that postpones the retirement age.

Indonesia’s pension age hike: Who is paying the price?

While the current pension benefits (JP) program maintains ample cash flow and a strong balance sheet, it could face a deficit as early as 2038.

3 months ago

Civil society activists and university students hold banners that read “Police reform“ (left) and “People's killer” during a protest in front of the Central Java Police in Semarang on Nov. 28, 2024.

Man behind the gun

One of the primary drivers of Indonesia's growing gun violence is the culture of impunity within its military and police forces.

3 months ago

Interview

Driving growth: Diageo Indonesia's vision for responsible business and sustainable impacts

Rajesh said Diageo not only wanted to be the best performing company, but also the most trusted and most respected company to achieve sustainable growth.

4 months ago

Critical assistance: Rescue workers are seen at the site of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Earthquake aftershocks expose high cost of Vanuatu’s democracy

Vanuatu’s self-sabotaging political class has left the country struggling to deal with social and economic shocks of recent natural disasters.

4 months ago

Sitting pretty: Leaders of ASEAN and China pose for a group photo after the ASEAN-China Summit as part of the 45th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Preparing the ASEAN Economic Community for increased securitization

ASEAN member countries with overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea might face greater vulnerability to China’s potential use of economic statecraft.

4 months ago

All together now: Members of the European council pose for a family picture following a meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 19, 2024.

Europe needs a defense production act

The war in Ukraine has underscored the urgent need to establish processes for fast-tracking infrastructure and, when relevant, defense spending.

4 months ago

A logged area in Lhoong, Aceh, on March 21, 2024.

Energy plantations are driving social and environmental inequality

Energy transition policies risk enabling environmental destruction and deepening social inequities, particularly within the forestry sector.

4 months ago

Game changer: Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo (center), accompanied by his deputy, Justice Saldi Isra (second left), Justice Enny Nurbaningsih (left), Justice Arief Hidayat (second right) and Justice Guntur Hamzah, presides over a hearing in Jakarta on Jan. 2, 2025.

Analysis: Court ruling on presidential election mechanism may not be a milestone

The Constitutional Court’s decision to remove the electoral threshold to allow any political party to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates is not quite the milestone in the country’s democratic journey that many activists are making it out to be. The next election is not until 2029, and a lot of things can happen before then that will make their elation in welcoming the Jan. 2 court ruling appear overboard, if not premature.

4 months ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono speaks on Jan.10, 2025, during the Foreign Minister's Annual Press Statement (PPTM) at the Foreign Ministry building in Jakarta.

Development, free and active foreign policy will be FM Sugiono’s priorities

While reiterating Indonesia’s basic principle of free and active foreign policy, the foreign minister delivered subtle messages indicating that Indonesia would actively pursue domestic goals through foreign policy.

4 months ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono speaks on Jan. 10, 2025, during his annual foreign policy speech at the ministry's office in Jakarta.

Assertive foreign policy

For those attending the speech, one of the most memorable scenes was when the image of Sukarno with global south leaders like then-Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then-Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser during the Bandung Asia-Africa conference in 1955 was projected on stage.

4 months ago

Rain water pools around the tents housing displaced Palestinians at a makeshift camp housing displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on January 1, 2025, amid the continuing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group.

A New Year’s resolution for peace

The prospects for peace agreements remained elusive in 2024.

4 months ago

Devastated heritage: Kedonganan Beach in Badung, Bali, is covered with trash on March 20, 2024. Comprised of mostly plastic materials, the waste has disrupted the activities of tourists and fishermen alike.