Powerful solution: A technician inspects a rooftop solar power plant (PLTS) on Sept. 8, 2025 at Trans Studio Mall in Bandung, West Java. Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show that as of July 2025, rooftop PLTS have reached a combined installed capacity of 538 megawatt peak across 10,882 customers.

When Washington denies, Jakarta commits

Prabowo and Trump are populist leaders, yet their positions on the issue of climate crisis could not be more sharply opposed.

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Academia

How the world can resolve the Rohingya crisis

Myanmar is fractured, the Arakan Army has little incentive to compromise without external guarantees, and the scars between communities run deep. ...

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Civilian police, public trust and the Brimob paradox

The new police reform efforts underway since the August-September protests must clearly delineate the steps toward rebuilding a civilian policing institution, in particular redefining the role and functions of the National Police’s paramilitary Brimob unit. ...

4 months ago

The Latest

Israeli soldiers patrol the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border on Sept. 30, 2025.

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The 5 big problems with Trump’s Gaza peace plan

There are many outstanding questions about the feasibility of the plan and to what extent it is likely to be successful.

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The office building of Bank Indonesia (BI) stands out in Jakarta’s forest of concrete on Feb. 26, 2020.

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Why the President must shake up the financial sector

The revised Financial Sector Development and Strengthening (P2SK) Law must expand BI’s KPIs to include productive lending, employment and money supply relative to GDP.

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President Prabowo Subianto and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold hands on Jan. 25, 2025, as they arrive for a pre-meeting photo-op at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

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The unbreakable Indonesia-India bond

With their shared history and values, collaboration in higher education and research is the next pivotal step in strengthening the long-established bridge between the two countries.

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Cargo ships and shipping containers are seen at the Port Jersey Container Terminal, with the Manhattan skyline and the One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower) in the distance, in New Jersey, United States, on Sept. 22, 2025.

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How to explain US’ 4 percent growth and no jobs

As we enter the final quarter of a turbulent 2025, one of the biggest puzzles of the moment is how the US economy is growing at almost 4 percent without creating any jobs.

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Faith and corruption: Why morality starts in early childhood

One way to tackle the country's endemic corruption is investing in early childhood, when fairness and empathy are wired in the brain.

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Workers carry sacks of rice at a wholesale market in Jakarta, on Sept. 22, 2025.

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The rice obsession: Why Indonesia must break the cycle

Rice is politically central but economically stagnant, consuming vast fiscal resources while failing to deliver prosperity for farmers or affordable food for consumers.

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A general view shows Thai MPs and members of the government at the Thai Parliament in Bangkok on March 26, 2025.

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Letter to Editor: Thai ambassador responds

Thailand’s ambassador to Indonesia rebuts The Jakarta Post’s Sept. 15 editorial, arguing it oversimplifies the nation’s politics, stressing the resilience of Thai democracy, the non-political role of the monarchy, the independence of its institutions and Thailand’s constructive role in ASEAN.

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Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution by Russia and China to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City, the United States, on Sept. 26, 2025.

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Do or die for the United Nations

The organization is marking its anniversary in a world scarred by brutal and widespread conflicts, deep inequalities and injustice, flagrant violations of human rights and looming existential threats.

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People visit the Pancasila Sakti Monument in East Jakarta on Oct. 1, 2018 to commemorate Pancasila Sanctity Day.

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Pancasila in the digital age: Reclaiming Indonesia’s ethical compass

Pancasila acts as a moral guidance to make sure development serves humanity, unity honors diversity, and democracy is guided by wisdom.

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Masayoshi Son (left), chairman and president of SoftBank Group, talks on July 16 with CEO of United States company OpenAI Sam Altman (right) via video chat at a SoftBank World 2025 lecture in Tokyo.

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Has Japan already capitulated in the great global AI race?

Japan, long proud of its status as a science and technology leader, is lagging behind its competition so much that it is poised to suffer its greatest defeat since World War II.

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A house is inundated by floodwaters on Sept. 10 following heavy rain in Denpasar, Bali.

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Bali’s sustainability paradox: From overtourism to net zero

Bali projects an image of sustainability while its economy rests heavily on over-tourism, straining land, water and energy, depending on fossil-fueled generators.

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President Prabowo Subianto addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 at UN headquarters in New York, the United States.

Academia

How Indonesia can navigate the new world order in the making

Indonesia must preserve its strategic autonomy to balance relations among major powers, mitigate potential risks and safeguard its national interests amid growing uncertainty.

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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.

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Mass food poisoning a momentum to overhaul MBG program

From a human rights perspective, the free nutritious meal program is part of the state's obligation to uphold people's right to food, rather than a charity activity.

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A statue of Raminten is displayed on Sept. 16, 2025, during the screening of Nia Dinata’s documentary ‘Raminten Universe: Life is a Cabaret’ at Institut Français Indonésie (IFI Jakarta) in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

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Raminten Cabaret: An oasis of diversity and creativity

Nia Dinata's documentary Raminten Universe offers a moment to reflect on how we, as a people and a nation, could realize our motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika by embracing an inclusive community that provides a safe space for all.

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Students affected by food poisoning after consuming the free nutritious meal undergo medical treatment on Sept. 23, at Cipongkor District Office, West Bandung Regency, West Java.

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MBG: Rushed policy, preventable tragedy

A well-intentioned policy has devolved into a public health tragedy because it was rolled out hastily, without a solid foundation.

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Protesters rally in Quezon City on March 11, 2025, to demand justice for the victims of Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, after the arrest of the former Philippine president.

Academia

The criminal charges against Rodrigo Duterte

While heavily redacted, the ICC has publicly released the charges it plans to bring against the former president over three separate criminal incidents, signaling that the Philippine people might finally learn of their country's most violent contemporary period.

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The container terminal at Tanjung Priok Port is seen on Feb. 12, 2025, in Jakarta. Trade Minister Budi Santoso has said Indonesia is ready to face the potential impact of a trade war between the United States and China.

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Celebrating success, embracing challenges: The future of AEC

The elimination of tariffs on 98 percent of goods under ATIGA, coupled with greater free trade agreement utilization, further improved competitiveness for regional producers and exporters.

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Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (right) and his Singaporean counterpart S. Iswaran show the documents of Jakarta-Singapore Flight Information Region (FIR) Realignment Agreement on Jan. 25, 2022, as former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second right) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong watch, on Bintan Island, Riau Islands.

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Questioning Indonesia’s sovereign airspace delegation

The FIR agreement between Indonesia and Singapore reflects a bureaucratic compromise and diplomatic bargaining chip, particularly since its discussions were tied to unrelated issues such as extradition and defense cooperation treaties.

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Journalists, student press members and members of the Koalisi Anti Pembungkaman Demokrasi civil movement hold a silent protest on Sept. 17 while carrying posters emblazoned with pro-democracy messages at the Jambi Police headquarters in Jambi.

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Reclaiming democracy, digital journalism from the clickbait crisis

Digital journalism practices today more than just annoy readers, they corrode democracy by replacing nuanced, fact-based reporting with emotionally charged content that leaves citizens less informed and more polarized.

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In this file photo taken on Nov.8, 2017, United States President Donald Trump (left) and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands during a business event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

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China plans, the United States reacts

While China has a strategic planning process, the US has neither a plan nor a strategy.

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Women surround a child connected to an intravenous drip on Sept. 23, 2025, during a mass treatment of students suffering from food poisoning at the Cipongkor District Office in West Bandung regency, West Java. According to official data, 352 students and parents were diagnosed with food poisoning, likely from consuming food provided via the free nutritious meal program the previous day.

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Indonesia’s fiscal trap: Four pillars of a coming crisis

While the official spin on debt and deficit ratios sound reassuring, the reality is that state revenues are shrinking, debt service is rising and institutions are bending under political pressure.

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Online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers arrive in the rain to protest on Sept. 17, demanding better welfare protection and a full investigation into the death of a driver during an August rally, at the main entrance of the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta.

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Rights on demand: Asia’s gig economy gets a legal upgrade

The initiatives in Singapore and Malaysia to protect gig workers can act as a model for emerging economies to regulate platform labor.

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A woman confronts riot police during clash on Aug. 28 at a protest outside the Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta.

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National Police: Guardians of the people or protectors of power?

Once seen as protectors of the people, the police now increasingly appear aligned with elite interests.

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People take part in a vigil ahead of the planned executions of Malaysians Nagaenthran Dharmalingam and Datchinamurthy Kataiah at Hong Lim Park in Singapore, April 25, 2022. Drug smuggling convict Datchinamurthy was executed on Sept. 25, 2025.

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After 11 executions, will Singapore embrace a more humane policy?

Singapore can retain its top spot in world safety rankings even if it reduces its use of capital punishment.

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Fed up: Civil society activists and university students hold a banner that reads “Police reform“ (left) and “People's killer“ during a protest on Nov. 28, 2024, in front of the Central Java Police station in Semarang.

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Police, democracy, and the paradox of delayed reform

Public surveys confirm that the majority of respondents believed bribery existed within the police force, with many reporting direct experience or knowledge of the practice.

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President Prabowo Subianto speaks on Sept. 23 during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City.

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Excellent UN speech, but poor text muddles the message

If there is clear proof of the incompetence surrounding President Prabowo Subianto, it lies in the poor structure and wording of his speech at the United Nations General Assembly just last week.

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