Retailers will not comply with future government-led cheap food programs until the government pays up for a previous program.

Fatty acids which use palm oil as a key raw ingredient are found in both consumer products like cosmetics and medicine and industrial lubricants.

Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo Adi said the agency together with Bulog and other relevant ministries had received the order from the President to deal with rice scarcity both in traditional and modern markets around the country.

A recent revision to the energy ministry's regulation for on-grid solar systems and energy distribution businesses will slow solar adoption in the country due to provisions that make installation less attractive and getting on-grid more difficult, users say.

Social Affairs Ministry appears to be sidelined as President and other ministers take charge of disbursing social assistance (Bansos) during run-up to election.

Critics have suggested the purchase of the Chinese Commuter Line trains, saying it may be linked to ongoing liabilities that Indonesia owes to China for financing the construction and operation of Whoosh.

Experts and businesses are skeptical about the demand from industries abroad to store CO2 in Indonesia, while the scheme alone is unlikely to be helpful from an environmental standpoint.

Last year, Jakarta experienced some of its worst congestion and pollution in years. 

Despite being an outgoing president, Jokowi has spent his time on an extensive tour across Java to distribute social aid (Bansos) in the past two months, which coincided with the election campaign season.

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) on Tuesday claimed that airline ticket prices remained high due to costly aviation fuel.

“Hefty social aid in the middle of an election, far bigger than the amount during COVID-19, is a peculiarity or irregularity that arouses suspicion,” UI Faculty of Economics dean Teguh Dartanto told the Post on Tuesday.

Indonesia has been interested in becoming part of the OECD since 2022 to accelerate its transition into a developed country.

The comptrolled pointed to projects where the main infrastructure had been built but without proper accessibility for the public.

The energy ministry has called for regional restraint after Jakarta and Banten unveiled last month separate plans to raise the local fuel tax, especially ahead of the general election on Feb. 14.

The plan was proposed by the Public Works and Housing Ministry in December of last year, and a pilot project is set to launch this year.

"We will not continue that," said Prabowo-Gibran campaign spokesperson Eddy Soeparno during an event staged by Bloomberg.

The southeast Asian nation, which is highly reliant on foreign investment, dropped to a rank of 83 last year in the index of 180 countries from 77 in 2022, and its score fell to 41 from 42, according to a 0-100 scale where 0 means highly corrupt.

The presidential candidate camps do not see eye to eye on Indonesia’s stance on geopolitical tension, particularly regarding the strategic rivalry between the United States and China.

The government is facing fresh calls to evaluate the public health and socioeconomic impacts of the country’s widespread use of coal-fired power plants as it moves to implement the landmark Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

The number of daily passengers for the high-speed rail service is currently between 14,000 and 16,000, less than some 21,000 people recorded during Christmas and New Year.

Two ministers have leapt to the defense of the Jokowi administration's nickel policy with public jabs at the Anies campaign's cocaptain, following Sunday's heated vice presidential debate.

Experts have warned against carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) deployment in the power sector, pointing to scarce options for financing the construction of the complex facilities required.

The unprecedented decision looked set to deepen turmoil at Boeing even as the FAA also agreed to allow the 737 MAX 9, which was grounded after a mid-air blowout on an Alaska Airlines jet on Jan. 5, to resume flying once inspections were completed.

Shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration announced inspection protocols on the Boeing 737 MAX 9, United Airlines said it expects grounded aircraft to return to service starting Sunday.

The government is set to appoint the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) to regulate carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, including those outside the oil and gas sector.

Fu told Bloomberg that China is cooperating with the EU's probe "because we do want to avoid a situation that the two sides will have to resort to trade measures against each other". 

CORE research associate Dwi Andreas Santosa says more rice imports will hurt domestic producers by pushing down farmgate prices.

A comment from vice-presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka in Sunday’s election debate has sparked questions about Indonesia’s strategy as it vies for a central role in the global electric vehicle (EV) industry, with some experts saying the government’s nickel policy jeopardizes the material’s future in battery production.

Critics say the three candidates for the post of vice president only scratched the surface of environmental and governance issues in Indonesia’s mineral-processing industry during Sunday’s debate.

Indonesia is calling for clarification of the WTO's CDET moratorium and is prepared to challenge the related 1998 declaration at next month’s MC13, although the reason behind the government's stance is not clear.