High-end bags and accessories are displayed at a luxury outlet in this undated stock photo.

VAT hike sparks criminal risks for entrepreneurs

The recent VAT hike has created a dual rate system that presents liabilities to both entrepreneurs and consumers, pointing to a need for accountability on the part of the public in understanding regulations as well as on the part of government in terms of outreach to ensure effective implementation and to avoid penalizing potential errors resulting from regulatory missteps.

7 months ago

Academia

Aspirations for democracy, human rights and civilian rule must shape Myanmar’s future

ASEAN’s credibility hinges on adopting a principled, people-centered approach to Myanmar. ...

7 months ago

Academia

Social media as it should be

“Open social media” provides the opportunity to realize the internet’s original promise: user agency, not billionaire control. ...

7 months ago

The Latest

Nickel smelters spew emissions into the skies above Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park and a nearby residential area on Jan. 26, 2024, in Bahodopi district, Morowali regency, Central Sulawesi.

Academia

How nickel mining impacts forests and local communities

Indonesia has an opportunity to reform nickel mining practices by ensuring stronger standards, community participation and robust monitoring, and thereby take the lead in balancing economic prosperity, environmental protection and social equity toward a just and sustainable low-carbon future.

7 months ago

Ekalak Paenoi (center), a suspect in the alleged killing of Lim Kimya, a former lawmaker of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), is escorted by police officers upon his return from Cambodia on Jan. 11, 2025, at the police airport in Bangkok.

Academia

Thailand lets autocratic neighbors hunt down opponents on its soil

Whether through complicity or ignorance, Thailand is increasingly at the heart of foreign security operations targeting dissidents that have been deployed on its soil by authoritarian Southeast Asian regimes.

7 months ago

Academia

Leaders must adapt to a new era of communications under Trump 2.0

Given the free speech absolutism of X, formerly Twitter, and Meta’s turn in that direction, leaders must be vigilant of the ever-increasing risk of social media disinformation.

7 months ago

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (second left) addresses the media on Jan. 8 at the Industry Ministry office in Jakarta following a meeting with Apple Inc. executives. He was joined by the ministry’s director general for metals, machinery, transportation equipment and electronics (Ilmate) Setia Diarta (left), Golkar Party lawmaker ilham Permana from House Commission VII overseeing industry, medium, small and mirco enterprises (MSMEs), creative economy, tourism and publication facilities, as well as the ministry’s special staff member Wandi Wanandi.

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Beyond iPhone sales ban: How Indonesia can foster sustainable growth

Relying solely on protectionist policies may bring quick wins but at the expense of long-term sustainability.

7 months ago

Money, money, money: Debt collectors have their own concerns, from welfare to security. (Unsplash/Mufid Majnun)

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Fintech P2P lending benefit limits: The good deed that backfires

The decline in P2P lending practices is attributed to a variety of social issues. A problem commonly brought up is the debt collection methods, which sometimes involve prohibited measures such as intimidation and violence. Moreover, there is growing concern over high interest rates that affect consumers.

7 months ago

Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration photo taken on Nov. 25, 2024.

Academia

Reimagining crypto: Indonesia’s path to a secure and thriving financial future

The OJK regulation creates space for banks to explore services such as crypto custody, blockchain-based solutions, and crypto-backed lending.

7 months ago

Participants are seen during a session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 17, 2023.

Academia

AI alone won't save the planet

We must ensure that AI complements, rather than replaces, human capabilities to realize its full potential.

7 months ago

An map showing the Indonesian archipelago

Academia

Beyond evolution: Alfred Russel Wallace’s critique of the 19th century world

The world is industrializing at breakneck speed, intensifying the environmental damage Wallace warned about.

7 months ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono (left) places flowers on the grave of senior diplomat Hasjim Djalal at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery, Jakarta, on Jan. 13, 2025. Hasjim passed away at the age of 90.

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Ambassador Hasjim Djalal’s lasting global legacy

Hasjim Djalal's role in shaping the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982 was crucial.

7 months ago

Government officials attend a plenary session in the outreach/BRICS Plus format on Oct. 24, 2024, at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

Academia

Letter to editor: Russian ambassador responds

We would like to object to the distorted understanding of the essence of BRICS.

7 months ago

Speaking out: Workers take part in a rally in Jakarta on Oct. 24, 2024, as they demand higher wages and the repeal of certain provisions of the Job Creation Law

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Indonesia must implement mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

With no consequences faced by corporations for failing to comply with HRDD obligations, they are able to benefit from social washing.

7 months ago

An official explains to a taxpayer the use of the citizenship identity number as their taxpayer identification number at Palangka Raya tax office in the Central Kalimantan provincial capital on March 3, 2024.

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Digitalization key to transforming core tax system

Indonesia’s core tax system is still far from the expected standard, reflecting the government's awkwardness and inability to effectively implement government digitalization.

7 months ago

A child who fled the ongoing battles between Turkish-backed groups and Syrian Kurdish forces in the northern Aleppo province stands behind laundry hanging in the yard of a school on Jan. 5, 2025, in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, where families took refuge.

Academia

The “new Syria”: Should Turkey be repatriating Syrians?

Turkey’s refugee repatriation policy clashes with international law as Syria remains volatile and unsafe

7 months ago

Motorists pass 2024 election campaign banners in Jakarta on Dec. 19, 2023.

Academia

Citizens can lead change despite democratic backsliding

Deliberative democracy is not a panacea. It is a dynamic process and there can be ups and downs.

7 months ago

A customer picks a bottled beverage from a refrigerated display at a supermarket in South Tangerang, Banten, on July 5, 2024.

Academia

Getting rich without getting fat: The challenge of developing countries

As developing countries, Indonesia and Mexico face double problems since hunger and obesity exist like two sides of a coin.

7 months ago

Hasjim Djalal is pictured in this undated file photo.

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Hasjim Djalal, the consummate diplomat who tripled Indonesia’s territorial size

Leading the Indonesian delegation at UNCLOS, Hasjim fought vehemently to ensure Indonesia gain control over the maritime territory connecting all its islands.

8 months ago

A woman takes notes during an Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (formerly known as CAIR Coalition) presentation on immigration enforcement at a school in Washington, DC on Jan. 10, 2025.

Academia

Are highly skilled immigrants a problem?

While economic research makes it clear that immigrants bring sought-after skills, creative dynamism and useful knowledge that also helps domestic innovators, that doesn’t mean there is no downside to heavy reliance on H-1B visas.

8 months ago

All about money: Dozens of workers rally outside the Manpower Ministry on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta on Feb. 18, 2022, to demand the cancellation of a ministerial regulation that postpones the retirement age.

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Indonesia’s pension age hike: Who is paying the price?

While the current pension benefits (JP) program maintains ample cash flow and a strong balance sheet, it could face a deficit as early as 2038.

8 months ago

Energy transition: Workers check on packages of battery cells at the Hyundai LG Indonesia (HLI) Green Power plant in Karawang, West Java, following its inauguration on July 3, 2024. The plant is Indonesia's first electric vehicle battery factory.

Academia

Cooperate, not compete: ASEAN's critical mineral strategy for energy transition

Each ASEAN country has its own critical mineral and downstreaming strategies, but these have intensified competition rather than fostering cooperation.

8 months ago

Oil palm belt: An oil palm plantation in Pangkalan Banteng in the Central Kalimantan regency of West Kotawaringin is seen from the air on Nov. 7, 2022. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil.

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Palm oil dilemma: Why soil health must lead Indonesia’s ambition

From a business perspective, without a sustained focus on soil health, expansion of oil palm plantations may become more liability than opportunity.

8 months ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono speaks on Jan.10, 2025, during the Foreign Minister's Annual Press Statement (PPTM) at the Foreign Ministry building in Jakarta.

Academia

Development, free and active foreign policy will be FM Sugiono’s priorities

While reiterating Indonesia’s basic principle of free and active foreign policy, the foreign minister delivered subtle messages indicating that Indonesia would actively pursue domestic goals through foreign policy.

8 months ago

All together now: Members of the European council pose for a family picture following a meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 19, 2024.

Academia

Europe needs a defense production act

The war in Ukraine has underscored the urgent need to establish processes for fast-tracking infrastructure and, when relevant, defense spending.

8 months ago

A logged area in Lhoong, Aceh, on March 21, 2024.

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Energy plantations are driving social and environmental inequality

Energy transition policies risk enabling environmental destruction and deepening social inequities, particularly within the forestry sector.

8 months ago

Critical assistance: Rescue workers are seen at the site of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Academia

Earthquake aftershocks expose high cost of Vanuatu’s democracy

Vanuatu’s self-sabotaging political class has left the country struggling to deal with social and economic shocks of recent natural disasters.

8 months ago

Sitting pretty: Leaders of ASEAN and China pose for a group photo after the ASEAN-China Summit as part of the 45th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, on Oct. 10, 2024.

Academia

Preparing the ASEAN Economic Community for increased securitization

ASEAN member countries with overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea might face greater vulnerability to China’s potential use of economic statecraft.

8 months ago

Rain water pools around the tents housing displaced Palestinians at a makeshift camp housing displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on January 1, 2025, amid the continuing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group.

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A New Year’s resolution for peace

The prospects for peace agreements remained elusive in 2024.

8 months ago

Pearly whites: A dentist (left) provides free dental services at the Gadjah Mada University dentistry school in Yogyakarta on Dec. 12, 2024, during National Dental Health Month.

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Recruiting more doctors: A solution, or creating new problems?

Before rushing to create policies based on the "doctor emergency" narrative, the government should verify and streamline data on physician numbers and other relevant factors as well as involve medical organizations to identify the actual issues for effective solutions.

8 months ago

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