TheJakartaPost

Escaping the rice trap: Why our farmers need a new path

The way forward is to break free from the rice trap and move toward high-value crops, modern farming and integrated rural economies. ...

3 months ago

Analysis: Tapera law annulment exposes flaws in Indonesia’s housing strategy

The government’s ambition to secure long-term affordable housing funds through the public housing savings program, Tapera, has hit a major setback. The Constitutional Court recently annulled the 2016 Tapera Law in its entirety, declaring that the legislation must be revised within two years or risk being void altogether. The ruling has thrown the program, which was scheduled to be fully impl...

3 months ago

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Personnel of a joint team remove debris on Saturday in the search for students after a building collapsed at the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school (Pesantren) in Buduran district, Sidoarjo, East Java. The death toll from the building’s collapse rose to 40, and the search for bodies continues.

An unforgivable collapse

Instead of safeguarding education for all, we are letting our children fall victim to a system that prizes expediency over integrity.

3 months ago

A couple poses on Feb. 28, 2022, during a pre-wedding photo shoot at the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade in Singapore.

Singapore’s nationalism favors the ‘normal’ family

Singaporean nationalism assumes heterosexuality as the default familial norm, which can lead to excluding people who do not fit that baseline, beyond sexual orientation.

3 months ago

Women use their smartphones on Jan. 3, 2018, at a cafe in Jakarta.

Introducing the new cybercrime treaty

Will the cybercrime convention be an epiphany for those who seek effective legal measures?

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron inspect an honor guard on May 28, 2025, during a ceremony to welcome the European leader’s visit at Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta.

Is the France-Indonesia defense partnership faltering?

Indonesia's defense ties with France is built on shared interests and a decade-long partnership, and while cooperation might appear to have lagged in recent years, the issue at hand is one of mutuality as Prabowo aims to achieve 100 percent of the OEF goals by 2029.

3 months ago

Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends a press conference on Oct. 4 after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo. Conservative Sanae Takaichi hailed a “new era“ after winning the leadership of Japan's ruling party, putting her on course to become the country's first woman prime minister.

Japan’s first female PM and what it means for Indonesia

Sanae Takaichi marks a new era in Japanese politics with a firmer approach to security and foreign policy.

3 months ago

An activist holds a poster showing Muhammad Farhan Hamid, a protester who went missing during the string of antigovernment protests in Jakarta in late August, during a vigil on Sept. 30 in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, to commemorate the August protests which led to the death of at least 10 people and hundreds detained by the police.

Democracy on trial: Why we appeal to the United Nations

The state has resorted to intimidation, arbitrary arrests and systemic silencing of dissent.

3 months ago

University students hold posters of demands during a protest on Sept. 9, 2025, in front of the House of Representatives complex in Central Jakarta. The demonstration, dubbed Rakyat Tagih Janji (the people call in promises), was held to push for the fulfillment of public demands known as the “17+8”.

Police reform hinges on the President’s will to change

Still, if President Prabowo acts decisively, ensuring the presidential committee serves as the principal reform actor, the collaboration could become a true engine of change

3 months ago

Police officers stand in formation during a roll call at National Monument Square in Central Jakarta on May 9, 2025, ahead of a two-week operation to curb thuggery and street brawls in the city.

Analysis: Police reform must mandate a change of guard

Public demand for police reform necessitates the replacement of National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who bears ultimate responsibility for the recent wave of bloody demonstrations. Otherwise, it would be yet another example of institutional failure, with the police under Listyo’s leadership remaining entangled in serious abuses of power, a lack of accountability and persistent public distrust.

3 months ago

Environment Ministry officers seal off a factory belonging to PT PMT, which is suspected to be the source of Cesium-137 radioactive contamination in the Cikande Industrial Estate, Banten, on Sept. 11, 2025.

The toxic truth of waste neglect

The regulations about importing waste for raw industrial materials are still lenient, making Indonesia a recipient of waste materials that are not suitable for further processing.

3 months ago

A view of the United States Capitol's rotunda as the US government continues its shutdown on Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, DC.

How the Democrats can “win” the US government shutdown

Given that Democrats are confronting dilemmas that all opposition parties face when battling aspiring or practicing autocrats, a fruitful exercise is to consider the lessons of two decades of what political scientists are calling a global “democratic recession.”

4 months ago

The Indonesian Navy's KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata 331 (foreground) passes the United Kingdom Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales during a passing exercise on July 31 along the Indonesian Sea Lane of Communications (ALKI) III in the Banda Sea, southwest of Buru Island.

Aircraft carrier to boost Indonesia’s blue water Navy doctrine

The Indonesian Navy has limited experience in long-range task force or flotilla operations beyond the EEZ, the hallmark of a blue water navy.

4 months ago

Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends a press conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Oct. 4, 2025.

Is Sanae Takaichi Japan’s Margaret Thatcher – or its next Liz Truss?

Takaichi’s victory signals a party operating in crisis mode.

4 months ago

People wait for a train on the platform at Sudirman Station in Jakarta on Feb. 18, 2025.

When job hugging becomes a way of survival

The measure of development success should not stop at lower unemployment, it also must include the improvement of job quality.

4 months ago

Farmers plant rice in a paddy field on June 28 at Lambaro in Aceh.

Rice self-sufficiency and the future of Indonesia’s food sovereignty

Indonesia may have fertile land and modern technology, but lacks the human capital to sustain food sovereignty as the young generation sees farming as low-status and low-return.

4 months ago

A Bajo woman transports clean water in containers on a small boat on Oct. 3 in Bakti village, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi.

Poverty paradox: Villages hold the key to future prosperity

While cities enjoy an accelerated digital economic transformation, villages lag behind in a slower growth cycle.

4 months ago

A student shows a school meal he received as part of the free nutritious meal program on Sept. 15 at the Nurul Islam Klakah integrated Islamic elementary school (SDIT) in Lumajang, East Java.

Analysis: Humans, not numbers: Crisis poisons Prabowo’s flagship program

Upon returning from his weeklong diplomatic trip, President Prabowo Subianto was forced to quickly shift his focus from international affairs to a domestic crisis.

4 months ago

A woman and her child walk out of a subsidized house for media industry workers at Gran Harmoni Cibitung Residential Complex, Bekasi, West Java, on June 5, 2025.

Redesigning Tapera

Soaring land prices, costly construction materials, inconsistent spatial planning and stringent bank requirements for mortgages pose a challenge to house saving schemes like Tapera.

4 months ago

Rohingya men collect recyclable waste on Aug. 26, 2025, at the Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Why Bangladesh must reclaim leverage on the Rohingya

Dhaka must make a decisive shift toward a pragmatic pursuit of its own interests, primarily national security and stability, and aim to leverage its role in the Rohingya issue to bring an end to the crisis, not manage it indefinitely in relative isolation.

4 months ago

In this picture taken on October 19, 2023, former Surakarta mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of then-president Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo, attends a public hearing with members of the regional council in Surakarta, Central Java.

Dynasties still dominate Southeast Asian politics

Dynasties are central to Southeast Asian politics as parties are weak, patronage is entrenched and family names are the most durable political brands.

4 months ago

Children take a photo aboard a Hercules military aircraft on Oct. 5, 2025, during an open day at the Indonesian Air Force base at Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, West Java.

TNI modernization moves beyond procurement

The centralization of the MRO system under the Defense Ministry and the restructured Defense Logistics Agency has created strong momentum toward enhancing readiness, balancing modernization with maintenance for military capabilities that correspond to today’s volatile geopolitical environment.

4 months ago

An activist holds a poster with an image of Muhammad Farhan Hamid, a protester who went missing in late August during the string of anti-government protests in Jakarta, during a vigil on Sept. 30, 2025, in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta.

The making or breaking of democracy

An international group focusing on safeguarding our freedoms and rights, supported by dozens of Nobel laureates, shines a light of hope against the shadow of democratic backsliding that is falling over human societies across the globe.

4 months ago

(From left to right) President Prabowo Subianto, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United States President Donald Trump attend a multilateral meeting on Sept. 23 to discuss the situation in Gaza on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Indonesia can support two-state solution without recognizing Israel

Indonesia and Israel already maintain trade relations despite the absence of diplomatic ties, showing that Indonesia can treat Israel’s existence as a fait accompli.

4 months ago

A woman watches over her son on Oct. 2, at Lubuk Basung Regional General Hospital in Agam, West Sumatra, where he is receiving treatment for a foodborne illness allegedly contracted after consuming food provided through the free nutritious meal program.

MBG: When children are reduced to numbers, dehumanization follows

When thousands of sick children are dismissed as a “small number”, we are not just misrepresenting data, we are negating the very value of life itself.

4 months ago

An employee fills a customer's vehicle on March 9, 2023, with fuel at a Shell gas station in Jakarta. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)

Analysis: Shell’s rocky exit paints cloudy future for private fuel retailers

The planned exit of British energy company Shell exit from the gas station business in Indonesia, which is set to wrap up in 2026, has been marred by a troubled send-off. It comes at a time when private fuel retailers have struggled with national gasoline shortages throughout September, and Shell has been no exception to the supply crunch.

4 months ago

A plume of smoke rises in the background on Oct. 5 as Palestinians return from a food distribution point operated by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) group, near the Netzarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip.