Elderly people fill out forms and wait in line on Nov. 23, 2025, to register or renew their Free Service Card (KLG) during Car Free Day at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. The event provides an opportunity for seniors aged 60 and above to obtain free access to public transportation services such as TransJakarta, MRT Jakarta and LRT Jakarta, offered by the Jakarta administration.

Demographic bonus: Who pays the price tomorrow?

With only 5 percent pension inclusion, the demographic bonus is on a collision course with an aging reality. It is time to stop blaming individual financial planning and start fixing a system that leaves 120 million workers behind.

3 weeks ago

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The hidden footprint and opportunity of AI’s economic promise

If artificial intelligence remains concentrated in a small number of advanced economies, firms and platforms, it risks reinforcing global inequality rather than narrowing it. ...

3 weeks ago

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‘Kampung haji’ and the challenge of building a sustainable pilgrimage hub

By serving the broader Southeast Asian Muslim community, the year-round demand base would become sufficiently large for kampung haji to stabilize occupancy and smooth seasonal fluctuations. ...

3 weeks ago

The Latest

Employees stand near a screen showing the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) down 8 percent on Jan. 28, 2026, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta.

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Power, trust and Indonesia’s stock crash

The crash of Indonesian stock prices last week is less about market technicalities and more about a profound collapse of political trust.

3 weeks ago

President Prabowo Subianto wipes his face on Aug. 15, 2025, moments before delivering his annual State of the Nation Address at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta.

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Prabowo’s presidency: Promises, power and constraints

Entering into the second year of his presidency, the public will be watching his policies and programs closely with regard to his campaign promises, ultimately judging whether his administration delivers tangible economic and welfare outcomes.

3 weeks ago

An employee places an old uniform into a bin provided by Pertamina for its sustainability program, which recycles uniforms into eco-friendly clothing and encourages all Pertamina employees to become sustainability agents to contribute to achieving Indonesia's net-zero goals.

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The net zero revolt has begun

Even if all rich countries were to cut to zero emissions by mid-century, the climate models clearly show that the impact would avert less than 0.1 degree Celsius.

3 weeks ago

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The MSCI's ‘nuclear option’ is a bluff. The coming haircut is not

While Indonesia is too big to be kicked out of the emerging market club, a new "governance penalty" could still shake up the market.

3 weeks ago

Red alert: 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 global investment firm MSCI raised concerns about free float and trading transparency.

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MSCI, IDX and the long shadow of institutional credibility

Legibility is key to building the credibility of the Indonesian bourse so it can develop beyond a mere "conjecture" toward institutional maturity and certainty.

3 weeks ago

Members of Myanmar's Union Election Commission (UEC) count ballots on Jan. 25 at a polling station in Yangon after the closing of polls in the third phase of Myanmar's general election.

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Myanmar at 5: Regional responsibility and the price of impunity

Five years on, the 5PC has become a procedural shield rather than a protection mechanism, a failure reflected in consultations that multiply without delivering results.

3 weeks ago

Lunch break: A student shows his free nutritious meal on Jan. 28, 2026 at SDN 18 state elementary school in Tukka, Central Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra. The program has resumed after floods hit the regency in November last year.

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Children’s well-being begins with their parents’ decent work

While free meal programs offer a vital safety net, true child welfare is only sustainable when anchored by the dignity and security of a parent's decent work.

3 weeks ago

Business hours: An employee arranges on Jan. 22, 2026 premium rice products for sale at a Red and White rural cooperative in Metuk village, Boyolali regency, Central Java.

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Turning 80,000 new cooperatives into real engines of change

By adopting cooperatives as 'value-chain partners', corporate actors can provide the technical mentorship and quality standardizations that professionalize rural operations.

3 weeks ago

Workers and soldiers complete a Bailey bridge in Beutong Ateuh Banggalang district, Nagan Raya regency, Aceh on Jan 5, 2026 that would connect Central Aceh regency and Nagan Raya regency.

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Weaving resilience into the fabric of the ASEAN Community

In 2026, Indonesia is in the position to recalibrate the region’s preparedness and response toward disasters and strengthen the region’s blueprint for a resilient future.

3 weeks ago

US President Donald Trump adjusts his jacket as he leaves the Congress Centre during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026.

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American or Chinese exceptionalism?

A big question for American exceptionalism is whether Trump is an aberration or a sign of where the US is headed.

3 weeks ago

President Prabowo Subianto gestures as he speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026.

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To Lam’s Vietnam: An economic growth lesson for Prabowo

For years, Indonesia has looked toward Thailand as a model for agriculture and tourism. It is time we apply that same humility to Vietnam.

3 weeks ago

Employees stand near a screen showing the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)Composite index down 8 percent in Jakarta on Jan. 28, 2026. The IDX temporarily halted trading that afternoon as the benchmark index dropped to 8,261.79 points following an announcement from Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) that it would temporarily suspend the index rebalancing process for Indonesian stocks.

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What the recent IDX stock drop reveals about market structure

Beyond the headlines of the IDX's sudden plunge lies a deeper story of thin tradable supply, where market mechanics and global index rules have turned low-float stocks into dangerous volatility amplifiers.

3 weeks ago

Family members and colleagues carry the bodies of Palestinian journalists killed in an Israeli strike, as they leave the Nasser Hospital for burial on Jan. 21, 2026, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

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Board of Peace offers NU a chance to play a global role

The Board of Peace can become either a procedural pause before larger conflicts erupt or a genuine multilateral platform rooted in justice, inclusion and shared responsibility.

3 weeks ago

Investment Minister and CEO of state asset fund Danantara, Rosan Roeslani (left), talks with President Prabowo Subianto during a meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Dec. 17, 2025 about the progress of land acquisition for the haj village project in Mecca. The project is expected to provide better services for Indonesians going on the haj and 'umrah' (minor haj).

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When costs crush performance: Danantara’s test for SOEs

In many SOEs, leakages persist because decisions live in gray zones: exceptions become routine, documentation becomes negotiable and accountability becomes diffuse.

3 weeks ago

Members of the Union Election Commission (UEC) count ballots at a polling station in Yangon on Jan. 25, 2026, after polls closed in the third phase of Myanmar’s general election.

Academia

Sham elections can’t save a fracturing Myanmar

The prospects for the people of Myanmar look grim after the multistage elections ended on Sunday, as their country is dominated by the military junta and hemmed in by competing great power interests and a softening stance among some ASEAN members.

3 weeks ago

(left to the right) Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Foreign Minister Sugiono, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attend a joint press announcement on Nov. 17, 2025 after their meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo.

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Can Indonesia-Japan ties keep regional peace?

Jakarta’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Japan and its analogous agreement with Australia are important examples of the responsible exercise of middle-power status.

3 weeks ago

A Whoosh high-speed train passes through the Ngamprah tunnel in West Bandung regency, West Java, on July 31, 2025.

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Why Whoosh and Malaysia’s ETS both make sense

Indonesia’s expensive bet may ultimately prove the more strategic choice for a nation building the infrastructure of its urban future.

3 weeks ago

(Courtesy of Sarana Multi Infrastruktur)

Academia

Insight: The strategic role of PT SMI in fiscal policy and economic expansion

Indonesia’s future economic growth will not be determined solely by the size of government spending, but also by how effectively development financing is managed.

3 weeks ago

A buyer pays his bill using Quick Response Indonesia Standard (QRIS) code on Feb. 6, 2021 at a street food stall on Jl. Ampera Raya in South Jakarta.

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Second best policy and the danger of doing too much

When the government tends to do something rather than do nothing, we must be more cautious about the dangers of doing too much.

3 weeks ago

Peace gambit: President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Board of Peace launch event during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

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Trump’s Board of Peace and Sukarno’s CONEFO: Two visions, two worlds

As a nation born of anticolonial struggle, Indonesia cannot afford moral complacency or strategic naïveté.

3 weeks ago

People stand in front of the Peace statue on Aug. 9, 2025 after the annual memorial ceremony that marked the 80th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing in Nagasaki, Japan.

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An unwavering pledge for peace

Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are extremely important for the stability of the region, including Indonesia, and the entire international community.

3 weeks ago

A green shoot sprouts from a patch of soil in this undated picture. Scientists say that planting trees are only part of the solution to overcoming land degradation.

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Degraded lands matter for food, energy and climate goals

The use of degraded lands decouples economic development from deforestation, strengthens rural livelihoods and positions Indonesia as a global leader in nature-positive development.

3 weeks ago

An employee holds up packets of gold bullion on Oct. 15, 2025, at an outlet of Butik Emas LM Antam, a public gold vendor operated by state-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), located inside the Setiabudi One shopping mall in South Jakarta.

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Gold ETFs: Democratizing wealth amid price surges

Gold ETFs offer a modern solution to the strucutural hurdles of accessibility and liquidity as regards traditional gold investment in Indonesia, ensuring securty for all investors as they turn to safe-haven assets amid ongoing economic fragility.

3 weeks ago

Activists rally at the South Jakarta District Court on Oct. 27, 2025, after the court rejected fellow activist Delpedro Marhaen’s pretrial motion against the police for naming him a suspect of inciting riots during the August protests without due process.

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The information monopoly: Why the disinformation bill threatens human rights

The President's recent instruction to formulate a bill to combat disinformation and "foreign propaganda" walks a fine line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and ratified international agreements stipulating the standards that must be met before basic rights can be legislatively curtailed.

3 weeks ago

Prepared for it: Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor nominee Thomas “Tommy” Djiwandono attends a confirmation hearing on Jan. 26, 2026 at House of Representatives Commission XI overseeing financial affairs at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta. Tommy, who currently serves as deputy finance minister, was one of three candidates proposed by President Prabowo Subianto for the post.

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BLBI and the test of central bank’s independence under Prabowo

The failure to settle the BLBI scandal beyond doubt shows that the state has opted for accommodation over confrontation, appearing more fearful of unsetting entrenched economic elites than of losing public funds.

3 weeks ago

Frozen gambit: A man walks a dog in this aerial photo from Jan. 18, 2026 of Nuuk’s old harbor in Greenland. In escalated efforts to acquire Greenland, United States President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent on several European countries.

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Greenland and raw geopolitics, Indonesia’s strategic wake-up call

The Greenland saga shows that the post-Cold War assumption that alliances and international norms would reliably restrain power politics is eroding.

3 weeks ago

Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives on Jan. 5, 2026, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport as he heads toward the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse for an initial appearance to face US federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others in New York City, the US.

Academia

Why power makes leaders see threats everywhere

Increased power, perhaps counterintuitively, appears to breed increased fear of weaker competitors. This can trigger preventive action such as foreign interventions that, to outsiders, may look illogical.

3 weeks ago

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