An aerial photo shows an oil palm plantation (right) and a peatland forest in Bangsal village, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra, on June 10, 2025.

Forests depend on leadership, law and advocacy

How Indonesia and Brazil have cut down on deforestation.

12 hours ago

Rethinking Pancasila’s ideological power for the future

President Prabowo’s focus - on food and energy security, defense modernization and economic sovereignty - instinctively recognizes the challenge to transform its founding philosophy, Pancasila, into a living force for competitiveness. ...

11 hours ago

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As the world's grabby geezers unite, Gen Z is left in the dust

The anger is mostly directed against corruption and incompetence displayed by members of the ruling elite who seem to be oblivious to problems affecting these young people; from a lack of stable jobs to unaffordable housing, to a rising cost of living, genocide and the looming climate crisis. ...

1 day ago

The Latest

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri welcomes secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto on Aug. 2 before the closing session of party congress in Nusa Dua, Bali. Just days before his appearance at the congress, Hasto, who was convicted of bribery on July 25, received an amnesty from President Prabowo Subianto.

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Indonesia’s anticorruption fight: Serving politics, not justice

Instead of strengthening the law, lawmakers are now seeking to weaken it, as indicated in the move to revise the Anticorruption Law, which will shield powerful decision-makers from accountability as long as they avoid direct bribery.

1 day ago

President Prabowo Subianto addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Sept. 23, 2025, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

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Indonesia’s UNGA climate pledge faces real test at home

While the President's address at the 80th UNGS signaled ambition, implementing the 2025-2034 RUPTL with de-risking mechanisms, clear financing solutions, a decisive move away from coal and other detailed steps is the real test.

1 day ago

Dayah Darul Quran Aceh 'pesantren' (Islamic boarding school) students attend a Quran recital at Gampong Tumbo Baro in Kuta Malaka, Aceh, on March 29, 2023. More than 220 students took part in the Quran Camping program, where they were trained to memorize portions of the holy text during Ramadan.

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Rediscovering ‘pesantren’ subculture amid public scrutiny

Most pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) are evolving organically, seeking to balance their heritage with the demands of contemporary education and regulation.

1 day ago

Workers prepare meal packages on Oct. 10 under the free nutritious meal program at the Plaju Ulu II nutrition fulfillment service unit (SPPG) in Palembang, South Sumatra.

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Seeing the world through ‘unimportant things’

Disputes and wars are not the only threats to stability. There are issues that are not limited to one against another, but that affect large swaths of humanity.

1 day ago

Palestinians ride on an animal-drawn cart on Oct. 16 past the rubble of destroyed buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Palestine.

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How an international security force in post-war Gaza could work

An international stabilization force is a central plank in the plans for post-war Gaza that have been put forward by US president Donald Trump.

1 day ago

An Indonesian military officer ('center') stands beside a truck carrying multivitamins to be used in the government's free nutritious meal program in Jakarta on Oct. 1, 2025.

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Prabowo's securitization regime, how far will it go?

The provisions regarding military operations other than war are ambiguous, with implementation regulated by government or presidential regulations.

1 day ago

A becak (pedicab) driver delivers fish packed in plastic bags at a traditional fish market on Oct. 9 in Surabaya, East Java.

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'Juiced out' bonds pushing money elsewhere?

The market mood of the moment is whether bubbles are being blown in riskier markets by loose fiscal and monetary policies that lift the inflation horizon for years to come.

1 day ago

President Prabowo Subianto (on stage, second left) applauds as United States President Donald Trump (on stage, eighth right) address the summit on Gaza peace process on Oct. 13 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

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Prabowo's high-speed diplomacy and Indonesia’s global ambition

For Prabowo, victory is measured not by contracts, but by Indonesia's position at the global negotiating table.

2 days ago

A deforested area that will be converted into a sugar cane plantation is seen on March 17 in this photo taken in Mandiri Jagebob, Merauke regency, South Papua.

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The self-sufficiency agenda and the ecological paradox

After one year, Prabowo’s natural resource policies stand in the shadow of an ecological paradox.

2 days ago

Protestors wave the national flag and the Straw Hat Pirates flag from Japanese manga ‘One Piece’ during a violent protest outside the Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Aug. 29, 2025, the day after ‘ojol’ (online motorcycle transportation) driver Affan Kurniawan was killed by a Jakarta Police Mobile Brigade vehicle.

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The police are not even the biggest elephant in the room

One year into his presidency, Prabowo's broader agenda is evoking echoes of the "Smiling General".

2 days ago

Students use plastic bottles as pots to grow vegetables as part of the Ecolitera recycling and literacy program at SDN Papela elementary school in Rote Ndao regency, East Nusa Tenggara, in this undated handout photo.

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Beyond the treaty table: Advancing action on plastic pollution

The lack of a global plastics treaty does not mean that people are standing idly by: communities, businesses and governments are already moving forward with national plans to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution.

2 days ago

Silhouettes of figurines with computers and smartphones appear in this illustration of artificial intelligence, created on Feb. 19, 2024.

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AI is hollowing out higher education

Rather than a new technology, companies are promoting artificial intelligence by repackaging it again, this time by anthropomorphizing it and by default, dehumanizing our very ability to think for ourselves.

2 days ago

Government employees take part in a ceremony to mark the start of the work year on Jan. 2, 2024, at Tegar Beriman Square in Cibinong, Bogor regency, West Java.

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Fiscal sandbox and community transfers: A new path amid the regional transfer cut

Following the furor over the recent cut to the regional transfers scheme, the government could turn crisis into opportunity by trialing its fiscal decentralization move as a managed, monitored and measurable policy lab.

2 days ago

Fans hold up a banner in support of the Indonesia soccer team at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Oct. 8, 2025, ahead of the team’s match against Saudi Arabia during the fourth round of the men’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifier.

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Lose, laugh, move on: Turning World Cup defeat into a national habit

While losing gracefully shows strength of character, it must not become habit, lest we lose out on the lessons of defeat and let go of our ambitious dreams for chronic acceptance instead.

4 days ago

Battery power: An electric car recharges Sept. 17, 2025 at a charging station inside an apartment complex in Jakarta.

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From commitment to real execution of the green transition

Good regulation must be matched with consistent execution and solid institutions.

4 days ago

Feb. 6 is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

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Midwives caught between law and tradition on female genital mutilation

Studies indicate that the tendency toward medicalization in Indonesia is driven by people’s belief that there is a social and religious obligation to circumcise girls.

4 days ago

Students at the University of Ankatso in Antananarivo, gather to discuss their role in the future government and the way forward following a military takeover in Madagascar. The Madagascar Army's CAPSAT unit announced it had seized power in Antananarivo on Wednesday.

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Gen Z mobilized, protests spread across the world

Young people across the world, who appear to be inspired by the Gen Z movements in Indonesia and Nepal, have continued demonstrations against their governments in recent weeks.

4 days ago

Two wrongs: A person carries looted goods past a burning police station targeted by violent protests on Aug.31, 2025 in Surabaya, East Java.

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The narrative battle of youths for Indonesia’s future

On social media, the riots were remembered less for their casualties or property damage than for the narratives that crystallized around them.

4 days ago

John Hassler, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Science in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren and Kerstin Enflo, member of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (left to right) sit in front of a screen displaying the portraits of the 2025 prize winners (left to right) Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt, as they addresses journalists on Oct. 13 during the announcement of the winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

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What the Nobel Prize says about Indonesia’s future growth

Prosperity depends less on how much capital you pour in, and more on whether societies can generate and spread “useful knowledge.”

5 days ago

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In defense of encryption

Encryption is under unprecedented threat from established democracies, which are inadvertently paving a dangerous path that the world’s autocrats are only too eager to follow.

5 days ago

William Wallace Molyneaux (center, left) of the United States attends a press conference on June 5 at the Bali National Narcotics Agency (BNN) office after being arrested on drug related crimes in Denpasar. Molyneaux was arrested on May 23, allegedly carrying seven packages containing 99 pills of amphetamine, Bali's narcotics agency told reporters in Denpasar. Molyneaux has multiple charges leveled against him including distributing drugs, which carries a maximum penalty of death by execution.

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Indonesia’s draconian, irrational and inhuman drug laws

Reality shows that killing drug traffickers does not really save the lives of Indonesian drug addicts or reduce drug trafficking.

5 days ago

A message reading “AI artificial intelligence“, a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken on Jan. 27.

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ASEAN firms can’t afford to ignore EU’s AI Act

Brussels’ landmark AI ruling has a global reach. For ASEAN businesses, early compliance is the key to turning regulation into advantage.

5 days ago

Safe plates: A staff member displays a free nutritious meal program meal platter on Sept. 30 during the launch of the nutritional fulfillment service unit (SPPG), at Al Amien Islamic Boarding School in Kediri, East Java.

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MBG and the moral test of nourishing a nation

Implementation must strengthen existing MSMEs—the warung, food sellers and canteen operators who understand local taste and hygiene.

5 days ago

A man unloads palm oil seeds from a pickup truck on July 10, 2024, after bringing them from a plantation to sell at a market in Sepaku, East Kalimantan.

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IEU-CEPA: A chance to reform Indonesia’s business and human rights governance

Indonesia needs a binding national standard for human rights due diligence, ensuring that companies operating in forestry, energy and extractive sectors identify, prevent, and remediate human rights violations and environmental harm.

5 days ago

Workers prepare meal packages under the free nutritious meal program at the Plaju Ulu II nutrition fulfillment service unit (SPPG) in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 10, 2025. The kitchen distributes over 3,000 meal packages for eight schools in the area.

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Prabowo prioritizes human development, so why isn't Indonesia happy?

While investments in human capital are essential for long-term growth, they do not address Indonesia’s pressing short-term challenges: Low productivity, a weak job market and the lack of formal employment.

6 days ago

Protesters attend a demonstration on Sept. 1 in front of the Balikpapan Representative Council in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

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Civil society under pressure after August protests

Nearly 1,000 suspects have been named in the riots, including high school students. Police have seized books they claim are subversive to justify the arrests.

6 days ago