Indonesia has seen a turbulent week of public unrest centered on the House of Representatives (DPR), as outrage over lawmakers’ high pay and allowances spiraled into a broader movement demanding accountability, justice, and reform.

As the health system grapples with the unprecedented spread of misinformation, fueling vaccine hesitancy and eroding public trust in the government’s health programs, it is more critical than ever for the government to reinvest in the foundations of public health. 

Washington's recent move to take a 10 percent share in chipmaker Intel signals the Trump administration could be experimenting with recalibrating US capitalism, possibly by incorporating elements of state-directed capitalism.

Amid a collective movement of debtors reusing to repay illegal online lenders is emerging a new model called ecosystem lending that blends digital flexibility with banking discipline, offering a way to get back on track toward realizing the aspirational goal of financial inclusion.

If mass protests intensify beyond control, the President can declare a state of emergency, if not martial law.

Prabowo’s government and its loyalists seek to redefine the protests not as genuine expressions of public frustration, but as politically orchestrated chaos.

Governments must understand that TikTok, Instagram reels, memes and livestreams are not distractions, they are the pulse of modern civic life. 

Prabowo Subianto's administration is rolling out a significant overhaul of Indonesia's education system, introducing new initiatives like Sekolah Rakyat (People's Schools), specialized science institutions and an expansion of military-style schools. While these are presented as reforms, critics worry they could neglect the root causes of the country's education problems while incurring substantial financial and social costs.

The awards no longer signify a person's dedication to the state, but rather mark their loyalty to the President.

A phenomenon known as "replacement migration" that moves upward across the economic hierarchy is growing in transnational migrant recruitment against the backdrop of Trump's tariff war, leading to the rise of global human supply chains and creating more complex labor issues in terms of hiring practices as well as workers' welfare.

Rather than cutting vaccine funding, governments should be looking at increasing funds to provide vaccines to the world's most vulnerable children, saving half a million lives and delivering millions in additional social benefits each year.

Instead of standing as an economic fortress for the nation, Danantara increasingly resembles a sovereign weak fund: fragile, unfocused and potentially a fiscal burden in the years ahead.

Every mass upheaval is the result of an accumulation of long-held dissatisfaction. 

The tragic death of gig driver Affan Kurniawan on Aug. 28 is more than a procedural failure, but a wake-up call that should be wielded as a lightning rod for reforms that embrace moral integrity in the pursuit of ethical leadership, citizen engagement and public dialogue toward a just democracy.

Markets can only function fairly and effectively if strong institutions, impartial regulation and a capable state underpin them

“Wanted! A stellar minister who’s ready to be sentenced to death if they commit corruption,” exclaimed Immanuel “Noel” Ebenezer, then-leader of the Jokowi Mania (JoMan) volunteer group loyal to former president Joko Widodo, in 2020.

What began as scattered unrest has now spilled across cities, fueled by deep economic frustration, perceived elite impunity and a rising sense that the political class has grown deaf to the people’s plight.

The global race for critical minerals like rare earth elements has descended into a geopolitical struggle, where these once-obscure resources now loom as existential threats to national survival.

Without the legislative body, the executive branch would lack a crucial check on its power, which would jeopardize the democratic framework.

The Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), launched in 2024, offers a preview of what deeper cooperation could look like.

Danantara is preparing to restructure the ballooning debt of the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed railway, better known as Whoosh, which has continued to suffer heavy operational losses. Financial problems plagued the project long before trains ever ran. During construction, costs overshot the original budget by US$1.2 billion, forcing project operator PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) to borrow more from the China Development Bank (CDB). Danantara’s intervention has triggered sharp public criticism. Many see it as yet another bailout of an ill-conceived venture, echoing the state rescues of Garuda Indonesia. Critics warn that the move entrenches a cycle in which profitable state-owned enterprises (SOEs)—whose surpluses fund Danantara—are siphoned off to prop up failing projects.

Green and sustainable sukuk can drive significant capital into large-scale carbon reduction projects and other crucial sustainability efforts.

Until thorium shows it can produce reliable electricity at scale, Indonesia’s sovereignty requires us to treat it as research, not as our energy backbone.

A major problem with Prabowo’s education road map is that the schools included in his priority programs are managed by different ministries.

China remains inextricably embedded in Indian supply chains despite the years-long stand-off between the two militaries.

Despite the country’s rapid digital adoption in recent years, a significant percentage of the banking system continues to operate on legacy infrastructure developed decades ago.

As drone warfare expands, Indonesia must decide whether its archipelagic sea lanes are open corridors or off-limits to weapons.