A fireman of the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s Manggala Agni fire brigade works to extinguish a forest fire on Feb. 9, 2026, in the protected forest area of Taman Lestari in Batam, Riau Islands.

A new framework for climate displacement

While some people remain to preserve cultural traditions and livelihoods despite mounting risks, others feel that they have no choice but to leave their homes.

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What might government overlook in the DHE regulation?

By shifting the focus from rigid gross export receipts to true, economically retainable value, this analysis challenges the structural assumptions underlying Indonesia's aggressive 100 percent natural resource repatriation policy. ...

18 hours ago

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Homelessness: A growing challenge in an aging Malaysia

Rising living costs, increasing healthcare expenses and the absence of regular income can quickly push vulnerable elderly individuals into poverty. ...

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The Latest

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pose for photographs ahead of their bilateral meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, on June 10, 2026.

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Beyond 'look East': Japan, Malaysia build partnership for uncertain age

Beyond formal military alliances, the evolving Japan-Malaysia partnership proves that decades of accumulated trust can be just as strategically valuable as a defense pact in an uncertain Indo-Pacific.

15 hours ago

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on June 1, vessels sail past Suru Beach in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

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The 5Es of economic growth and its impact on exchange rates

As geopolitical crises bring the global economy to its knees, tinkering with interest rates won't save failing currencies—only a structural overhaul of a nation’s foundational "5Es," starting with energy self-sufficiency, can weather the storm.

16 hours ago

Officers from the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) of the Indonesian Military (from left) Second Sgt. Edi Sudarko, First Lt. Budhi Hariyanto Cahyono, Capt. Nandala Dwi Prasetya and First Lt. Sami Lakka attend a verdict hearing at the Jakarta Military Court II-08 in East Jakarta on June 8, 2026, when they were convicted for perpetrating an acid attack on human rights activist Andrie Yunus and sentenced to prison terms between 18 months and three years.

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Silencing human rights defenders: Southeast Asia’s accountability crisis

Across Southeast Asia, human rights defenders face a tightening noose of physical violence and high-tech digital repression, threatening the very future of the rule of law and civic space in the region.

1 day ago

Motorists line up at a gas station on Jl. Radio Dalam in South Jakarta on June 10, 2026, when the government hiked the price of nonsubsidized Pertamax gasoline 32 percent to Rp 16,250 per liter amid the rupiah depreciation against the United States dollar.

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When the dollar tests Indonesia’s energy security

Energy and foreign exchange are intrinsically linked, and Indonesia risks falling into a dangerous energy-dollar trap where currency volatility and import dependence directly threaten its long-term economic sovereignty.

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A teller counts Rp 100,000 banknotes on Oct. 27, 2025 at BNI’s Pasar Baru branch in Central Jakarta.

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Indonesia’s weakening currency and possible hidden fiscal bill

Whether Rp 18,000 per dollar is the crisis line is not the question. The real danger is the deficit, Danantara, oil and the Fed sitting off the visible balance sheet.

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A porter carries supplies on Feb. 12, 2026, past the damaged Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, following clashes between the two countries, in Preah Vihear, Cambodia.

Academia

Why third parties matter in the Cambodia–Thailand border conflict

Under such tense conditions, neutral and trusted actors can play a vital role in facilitating dialogue, rebuilding confidence, reducing tensions and helping both countries move toward lasting peace.

1 day ago

A man charges an electric vehicle on April 21, 2026 at a public electric vehicle charging station in Banda Aceh, Aceh.

Academia

Is the Iran war just an energy shock, or a turning point?

Much will depend on the view taken by both consumers and governments, especially in energy-hungry Asia, the fastest-growing region.

1 day ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) takes a selfie with a member of the Indonesian diaspora on May 27, 2026, during an Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) celebration at Wisma Indonesia, the Indonesian Embassy Residence in Paris.

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Harnessing diaspora potential for sharia economy advancement

Indonesia is sitting on a trillion-dollar opportunity to turn its global diaspora into a powerhouse for the domestic sharia economy. By strategically leveraging knowledge, networks and Islamic financial instruments, the nation can transform this untapped potential into a definitive engine for long-term growth.

1 day ago

University students take part in a protest against government policies on Friday in Jakarta, Indonesia. Demonstrators criticized state budget spending, fuel prices, the government's free nutritious meal program and the expanded role of the military in civilian affairs.

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Student protests and the quiet militarization of the civilian sphere

When a peaceful student protest over fuel prices is met with 500 soldiers and hidden legal maneuvers, it signals a quiet, dangerous shift from democratic policing to increasing militarization.

3 days ago

A 100,000 rupiah banknote is pictured next to a 100 United States dollar banknote at a currency exchange office in Jakarta on June 4, 2026, after the rupiah weakened beyond 18,000 per US dollar for the first time.

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Is Indonesia safe if the rupiah reaches Rp 20,000?

Replacing officials to save a falling rupiah is empty political theater; Indonesia’s true economic safety depends on fixing deep-seated structural issues like oil deficits, agricultural productivity and policy execution.

3 days ago

An electronic display board inside the main hall of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in South Jakarta shows an overall downward movement across most stocks during the lunch break on Jan. 29, 2026, when the IDX Composite index fell 6.3 percent after MSCI raised concerns about its free float and trading transparency.

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Market-friendly income boost, refocused spending: The keys to stable Rupiah

Stabilizing the rupiah at Rp 18,000 requires Indonesia to look past trailing GDP growth and actively rebuild market confidence by enforcing strict resource export repatriation, maintaining clean fiscal governance and speaking to global capital with a single, clear technocratic voice.

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A cyclist rides past the building headquarters of OPEC (Organization of The Petroleum Exporting Countries) in Vienna, Austria on May 28, 2025.

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Hormuz reopening could be OPEC’s undoing

Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf producers will cheer the eventual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but the ensuing flood of oil risks eroding OPEC’s already fragile grip on the market.

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Indonesian nationals line up during questioning at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, upon returning from Cambodia on commercial airliners. The largest group of returning citizens entangled in online scam operations in Cambodia undergo questioning by a joint team that includes law enforcement officers.

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Why Southeast Asia must unite against online scams

Southeast Asia risks becoming the global epicenter of cyber-fraud, but a powerful new partnership between Indonesia and South Korea could finally dismantle the region’s most predatory digital syndicates.

3 days ago

Passers-by walks past a building boarded up with graffiti-covered wooden panels on June 12, 2026 ahead of demonstrations against the nearby G7 summit in Evian, France.

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Learning to govern a fragmented world

Today’s world is too multipolar, too digitally interconnected and too politically heterogeneous for broad consensus alone to serve as the primary mechanism for managing global affairs.

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Students munch on snacks and sip bottled water or cups of tea on June 8, 2026, in the canteen at SMPN 12 Batam junior high school in Batam, the Riau Islands, after local nutrition fulfillment service units (SPPG) halted operations for the free nutritious meal program due to alleged funding stoppage by the National Nutrition Agency (BGN).

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'Sell Indonesia' is the market's verdict on the ‘ompreng’ project

From mass food poisoning to institutionalized plunder, Indonesia’s multibillion-dollar feeding program has triggered a fierce market backlash and an impending student-led "Reform Part 2."

5 days ago

Temporary test: Students of SDN Alue Lhok elementary school in Jambak village, Pante Ceureumen district, West Aceh, take an exam inside a portable structure on June 5, 2026 due to a shortage of classrooms.

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When schools become secondary to political agendas

When schools are bulldozed for glossy programs, education starts looking like collateral damage.

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A woman picks up a carton of eggs as a toddler watches on Oct. 14, 2025, during an anti-stunting food distribution activity organized by the municipal administration of Palu, Central Sulawesi.

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Better coordination is key to solving the stunting crisis

Indonesia too often loses its recurring war on stunting despite ambitious policy documents, primarily due to a lack of integrated coordination across sectors and stakeholders.

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Health workers take blood samples from students on March 2, 2023, during a screening for noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes, at SMP 21 junior high school in Bandung, West Java.

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Revisiting Indonesia’s fight against diabetes

To halt Indonesia’s skyrocketing diabetes crisis, we must stop treating communities as passive targets of health interventions and start engaging them as the ultimate cocreators of their own health solutions.

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How (not) to fight the globalization trilemma

Political economy explains why some economies thrive in a hostile world while others are punished by it.

6 days ago

A demonstrator during a protest in front of the East Java Police headquarters in Surabaya, East Java, on Aug. 30, 2025, holds a portrait of Affan Kurniawan, an online motorcycle transportation driver who was run over by a police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) armored vehicle.

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Why visual evidence matters in Indonesian activism

Today in Indonesia, graphic, violent images and videos often function as political evidence.

6 days ago

Police officers evacuate players and officials of Adhyaksa FC Banten during unrest following a playoff match against Persipura Jayapura in the 2025-2026 Pegadaian Championship, Indonesia’s second-tier soccer league, at Lukas Enembe Stadium in Jayapura, Papua, on May 8, 2026.

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Long-sought police reform stalled at the institutional gate

When a state's police force expands its institutional power faster than the civilian mechanisms designed to oversee it, what grows stronger is not the rule of law, it is simply the apparatus itself.

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A nickel smelter of PT Vale Indonesia in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, operates on Aug. 2, 2024.

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Nickel's recovery hopes tempered by growing stock overhang

A growing mountain of surplus metal accumulating in warehouses is a reminder that this could be a slow-fuse process.

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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin greets Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, April 13, 2026.

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Russia Day: Celebrating unity at home and abroad

On Russia Day, Moscow celebrates its rich heritage and strengthens its strategic bonds with Indonesia and ASEAN to build a fairer, multipolar world.

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A deforested area to be converted into a sugar cane plantation by PT Murni Nusantara Abadi, encroaches upon the adjacent customary forest protected by the Kwipalo Clan on March 17, 2025, in Mandiri Jagebob, Merauke regency, South Papua.

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PSN in Papua needs more indigenous entrepreneurs

True economic acceleration in Papua won’t come from pouring trillions into mega-projects—it requires building an army of local indigenous entrepreneurs to own them.

6 days ago

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Three fault lines in Indonesia’s financial governance

The amendments reveal a broader shift toward a more coordinated and state-directed model of financial governance.

1 week ago

Police fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators during a protest against the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in front of the East Java gubernatorial residence in Surabaya, East Java on Aug. 29, 2025, following the death of 21-year-old motorcycle transportation driver Affan Kurniawan, who was killed after being struck by a police tactical vehicle amid a protest against lavish allowances for lawmakers in Jakarta on Aug. 28.

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Reforming the police without reforming police power

By prioritizing organizational strength over independent oversight, the new Police Law delivers mere administrative updates instead of genuine democratic reform.

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Members of the All-Indonesia Alliance of Student Executive Boards (BEM SI) scatter flower petals during a demonstration outside the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta on Sept. 4, 2025, expressing support for the “17+8” reform demands presented by the Tuntutan Rakyat (people’s demands) movement during nationwide protests from August to September.

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The theater of democracy: Indonesia's unresolved Reformasi

As Indonesia drifts toward oligarchy and political decay, a new generation of students is ditching street protests for the courtroom, using the Constitution to finish the reform movement started in 1998.

1 week ago

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