TheJakartaPost

Stages of resistance

For years, the state’s approach aligned more closely with regimes that repress rather than protect free speech. ...

4 months ago

Europe could escape the bond ‘doom loop’, US not so much

Unlike European countries, the US appears to have no interest in decreasing its deficits. ...

4 months ago

The Latest

Deadly Nepal protests reflect Gen Z activism across Asia

Nepal's so-called Gen Z protests, which resemble similar youth-led protests in the region, have managed to create a historic opportunity for their active participation in charting the country's future course in governance, though this presents new challenges that require a whole other set of skills and experiences.

4 months ago

Newly appointed Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa waves to journalists on Sept. 8 following his inauguration at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

Purbaya’s thankless task

Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa begins his job as the country’s new finance minister at a tough moment, as the 2026 budget plan comes with lots of open questions but little time to find the answers.

4 months ago

Street food carts are seen under a railway bridge after the rain on Feb. 5, 2024, in Jakarta.

Cracking the shadow economy to meet 2026 revenue goals

The World Bank has estimated that Indonesia’s underground economy, a vast, hidden reservoir flowing beneath the surface, accounts for around 22 percent of GDP.

4 months ago

A resident harvests okra pods on April 9 from a crop on a communal patch of land where villagers from Milore village grow food crops due to its proximity to a nearby dam in Kilifi County, Kenya.

Fighting poverty must not stop

Combating poverty is not just a moral imperative, it is also crucial for economic stability, conflict prevention and long-term development.

4 months ago

University students hold a poster at a rally on Sept. 4 outside the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta that reads #WargaJagaWarga (Citizens guarding citizens) and a picture depicting Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old motorcycle ride-hailing driver who was run over and killed on Aug. 28 by a police armored vehicle during protests over lawmakers' lavish pay and allowances.

Digital sovereignty or digital chaos? Lessons from the unrest

Digital amplification forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth about freedom of expression in the internet age.

4 months ago

The trading floor of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

Opinion premium

Analysis: Short-selling in limbo as public unrest hits Indonesian stocks

Indonesia’s stock market took a heavy blow in late August during nationwide riots and protests. On Aug. 29, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) Composite index fell to 7,830.49 from 7,952.09 the day before, a 1.53 percent drop.

4 months ago

Students display posters with a tweet of President Prabowo Subianto reading “Rallies are part of democracy guaranteed by law“ during a protest against a revision to the Indonesian Military (TNI) Law in Surabaya, East Java, on March 24, 2025.

AI governance: Harnessing potential without losing control

Democratization through AI may be inevitable, but it could still be interesting to observe how one-party regimes may evolve and open up space for participation in political spaces through AI.

4 months ago

An Asia far beyond China

The most populous continent in the world goes beyond China and even Japan.

4 months ago

Online motorcycle transportation drivers pray for late fellow driver Affan Kurniawan during a peace declaration at the South Tangerang Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) office in Banten, on Sept. 1, 2025.

SEAblings: When sending food turns into a gesture of solidarity among Southeast Asians

At least three factors underpin the emergence of this phenomenon: Grab’s platform features, a shared sense of fate and the socio-cultural fabric of Southeast Asia.

4 months ago

An Israeli police patrol boat moves near the aid sailboat Madleen as it is moored at the southern port of Ashdod on June 10, 2025 after being intercepted the previous day by Israeli forces.

Indonesia’s Gaza flotilla and the law of naval blockade

Under blockade law, Israel has the right to intercept neutral merchant vessels attempting to breach the blockade and may lawfully use force, even to the point of destroying the vessels if they resist capture.

4 months ago

Burden sharing: A short-term remedy, a long-term risk for BI

What does the policy mean for the future of Indonesia’s monetary credibility and institutions?

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) inaugurates Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa (center) as finance minister at the State Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 8, 2025.

New finance minister: A fresh hope or silent menace for the economy

The new finance minister should advise the President against pursuing priority programs that risk widening the fiscal deficit, and instead focus on strategic steps in the short and medium term.

4 months ago

Nine justices of the Constitutional Court during a hearing session at the courtroom.

Opinion premium

Analysis: Constitutional Court ends deputy ministers’ moonlighting

The controversy over double jobs for deputy ministers should now end after the Constitutional Court prohibited them from serving as commissioners in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), reinforcing its previous ruling that barred ministers and other high-ranking officials from holding such positions.

4 months ago

This frame grab taken from AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after explosions in Qatar's capital Doha on Sept. 9, 2025. An Israeli military official told AFP that the military had carried out air strikes on Doha on Sept. 9 in an operation targeting senior leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel’s defiance of peace

The attack on Tuesday is a blatant breach of international law and a stumbling block to the ongoing efforts to end the violence that has claimed thousands of innocent lives in the past two years.

4 months ago

Agustini, 30 (center) sits in front of her hut as a forest fire approaches in Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra on Oct. 10, 2023.

Save the forest

Deforestation often benefits a few political and business elites in Jakarta, leaving rural communities with limited resources to protect themselves from environmental degradation.

4 months ago

US President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after agreeing on a trade deal between the two economies following their meeting, in Turnberry south west Scotland, on July 27, 2025.

Europe must use its economic ‘bazooka’ against the US

The trade deal reached with the United States at the end of July, though unbalanced and asymmetric, has not brought back stability and predictability.

4 months ago

China's President Xi Jinping inspects the troops during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Sept. 3, 2025.

Xi Jinping is in a race against time to secure his legacy

The Chinese military parade was a declaration that Chinese leader Xi Jinping sees himself in a race against time to secure his place in history.

4 months ago

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right, front row) poses with the heads of foreign delegations, including President Prabowo Subianto (left, front) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (center, front), for a family photo on Sept. 3, 2025, prior to the 80th Victory Day parade in Beijing.

China’s military parade: Power, geopolitics and Indonesia’s strategic stakes

President Prabowo Subianto’s attendance at the parade in Beijing signals awareness that the world is shifting to a multipolar order, and that Indonesia is navigating its positioning amid uncertain currents.

4 months ago

University students from the Indonesian Student Executive Board Alliance (SOBSI) scatter flower petals on Sept. 4 during a demonstration to reiterate the “17+8 People’s Demands”, a platform of short-term and long-term reform demands raised during recent protests in front of the House of Representatives complex in Central Jakarta.

Hashtags hurt, hashtags heal too

The arrests of activists, the influence of algorithms and the surge of public frustration reveal how social media is actively fueling Indonesia’s ongoing democratic reckoning.

4 months ago

Two men work on the flooring of a floating house in Timbulsloko village, Sayung district, Demak regency, Central Java, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. The Central Java provincial administration is building floating houses for villagers affected by tidal floods.

A giant sea wall, a giant mistake the government opts to ignore?

The Giant Sea Wall project shows confusion in policy, poor problem diagnosis and the risk of spending billions on the wrong solution.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto inaugurates (from left to right) Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, head of the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) Muktaruddin, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Ferry Juliantono, Haj and Umroh Affairs Minister Mochamad Irfan Yusuf and Deputy Haj and Umroh Affairs Minister Dahnil Azhar Simanjuntak at the State Palace on Sept. 8, 2025.

Cabinet reshuffle: Power consolidation or confidence crisis

The most recent cabinet reshuffle constitutes not only a cabinet refresh, but also a reflection of the consolidation of power and a test of confidence among the market and the public.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (center) addresses a cabinet meeting on Aug. 6 in the State Palace, Jakarta. (Courtesy of/BPMI Sekretariat Presiden)

Opinion premium

Analysis: Mass protests fuel Prabowo’s conspiratorial narrative

As nationwide protests have subsided, a new power struggle has emerged among Indonesia's political elite, centering on who was behind the widespread unrest last week.

4 months ago

Former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati attended the handover ceremony with her successor Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on Sept. 9 at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta.