An election staffer counts ballots at a polling station on Nov. 27, 2024, in Banda Aceh, Aceh. More than 200 million people voted to choose dozens of governors, mayors and regents in the simultaneous regional elections.

Direct elections safe, for now

Massive political education is crucial to educate the public of the risks of restoring indirect elections.

18 hours ago

No more plastic promises

It is upsetting that the government has once again prioritized short-term economic achievements from potential money coming from the plastic industry’s investment in the country. ...

1 day ago

Editorial

Talking clean energy into existence

The best place to start realizing clean energy would be to finally pass a long-delayed bill on new and renewable energy. ...

3 days ago

The Latest

Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf (eighth right) and Aceh wali nanggroe (traditional leader) Malik Mahmud (center) release doves with former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) officials and incumbent Aceh Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) officials during the 20th anniversary ceremony of the Aceh Peace Agreement in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Aug. 15, 2025.

Editorial

The last peace accord?

As a key player behind the Helsinki Agreement, Indonesia has the credibility, and perhaps the responsibility, to become a global peace mediator.

4 days ago

A protester holds a sign that reads “Pati united. Down with arrogant regent who oppresses the people“ during a protest in Pati, Central Java on Aug. 13, 2025.

Editorial

People power in Pati

The uprising in Pati serves as a powerful message to leaders at all levels of government about the importance of public trust and consultation.

5 days ago

Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) training vessel KRI Bima Suci sails past a border marker with Malaysia in Ambalat waters on Aug. 13, 2021, near Nunukan regency, North Kalimantan.

Editorial

Ending the spat over Ambalat

Ambiguous joint arrangements over Ambalat will only allow China to dilute the legal foundations of maritime governance in the region.

6 days ago

David Baszucki, founder and CEO of Roblox, presents at the Roblox Developer Conference on Aug. 10, 2019, in Burlingame, California.

Editorial

Much tech, less protection

Roblox has been accused of prioritizing user growth, revenue and profit over child safety.

1 week ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) greets People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Ahmad Muzani (second left), House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani (second right) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Speaker Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin (right) before he delivers his annual State of the Nation address during the plenary meeting at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Aug. 15, 2025, ahead of the country's 80th Independence Day.

Editorial

Centralization by budget

The conservative budget requires greater capability to generate revenue to finance the flagship programs, and even greater capacity to ensure their implementation in regions.

1 week ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers his annual State of the Nation address on Aug. 15, ahead of the country's Independence Day in Jakarta.

Editorial

To make the state great again

Prabowo's tough talk of economic nationalism included his poise to combat "greednomics", a term he used to describe the exploitative practices of powerful conglomerates and "mafias" in key sectors,

1 week ago

Human rights activists participate in the 873rd Kamisan rally on Aug. 14, 2025, in front of a banner celebrating the 80th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence near the State Palace in Central Jakarta. Held every Thursday since 2007, the Kamisan highlights past human rights violations, such as those that occurred during then-president Soeharto’s New Order regime.

Editorial

The age of nationalism

As Indonesia celebrates its 80th year of Independence this week, it is high time for everyone in the country to reflect on the state of its nationalism.

1 week ago

President Prabowo Subianto (center left, in tan suit) salutes troops on Aug. 10, 2025, during the Operational Troops and Military Honours ceremony to mark National Veterans Day at the airfield of the Suparlan Special Forces Education and Training Center in Bandung, West Java.

Editorial

The ostentatious ceremony at an airfield in Bandung on National Veterans Day has only reinforced the military buildup policy of the current administration, sounding the alarm on the feared return of militarism to Indonesia amid a perceived democratic decline.

1 week ago

Employees arrange fruits and vegetables on Aug. 16, 2019, at the TaniHub distribution center in Kedung Halang, Bogor, West Java.

Editorial

Clean up, but don’t give up

We cannot let fraud scandals blind us to the importance of technological progress, especially in fields like artificial intelligence.

1 week ago

Editorial

Music should not be free

Not only that, for the first time in the history, all albums, singles and EPs, from the biggest masterpieces to the most ephemeral bubblegum pop songs, are now available essentially for free.

2 weeks ago

A woman chooses clothes to purchase from a street vendor on April 2, 2024, at a traditional market in Jakarta.

Editorial

A startling GDP report

Many would characterize the current state of our economy as neither normal, nor healthy.

2 weeks ago

A pirate flag from the Japanese anime One Piece is installed on a house on August 7, following an internet trend using the symbol to criticize government policies, in Solo, Central Java.

Editorial

One piece of mind

Rather than acting like an authoritarian regime, the government should have looked into why people are “protesting” with the pirate flag.

2 weeks ago

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

Editorial

PDI-P is just a symptom

Political parties have become effective tools for the elite—whether civilians, military or business tycoons—to maintain and expand their influence.

2 weeks ago

Palestinians wait to receive food on August 4 from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

Editorial

Speak boldly, Indonesia

President Prabowo Subianto must seize his upcoming address at the United Nations General Assembly next month to make Indonesia’s stance on Palestine unambiguous.

2 weeks ago

Eroding public trust?: Former trade minister Thomas Lembong waves on Friday as he exits Cipinang Penitentiary in Jakarta.

Editorial

Pardons and power plays

The President's decision could have serious implications not only for the country’s anti-corruption drive but also for the reputation of the judiciary.

3 weeks ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono delivers his annual foreign policy speech on Jan. 10 at the ministry's office in Jakarta.

Editorial

Protect our diplomats

Details shared by police investigators could point to homicide.

3 weeks ago

A scavenger ties up used cardboard boxes he salvaged on Feb. 22, 2022, to sell for recycling in Jakarta.

Editorial

Less poverty but little relief

The drop in Indonesia’s poverty rate to yet another historic low should be cause for celebration, but nobody feels in the mood.

2 weeks ago

A prototype of data center project SMX01 from a joint venture between Sinar Mas digital infrastructure and services company SM+ and Korea Investment Real Asset Management (KIRA) that is set to be completed in the second half of 2026.

Editorial

Data center meltdown

The government must be transparent with the public and local investors about the US deal’s implications, particularly around data storage.

3 weeks ago

A police officer stands guard on July 28 in front of a Christian prayer house following a violent disruption of religious activities in Padang Sarai, Padang, West Sumatra. A group of residents vandalized the property that belongs to the Indonesian Faithful Christian Church (GKSI) Anugerah Padang on July 27, leading to the arrest of nine individuals.

Editorial

Act more, regret less

The attacks on minority religious groups are manifestations of a broken, biased system that fails to protect the rights of all citizens equally.

3 weeks ago

Workers of the Dumai Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) strive to put out fires that engulf plantations on March 19, 2024, in Tanjung Sari village, East Dumai district, Dumai, Riau. The fires destroyed about 100 hectares of plantations and peatland in Dumai in four districts—East Dumai, West Dumai, Medang Kampai and Bukit Kapur.

Editorial

Sumatra is burning

The peak of the dry season next month is expected to bring even less rainfall and drier weather to several Sumatran provinces, including Riau, indicating a potential escalation of the forest fires.

4 weeks ago

People put up election campaign posters at the candidate bulletin board July 3, the official campaign kick-off day for the July 20 upper house election, in Tokyo.

Editorial

Prabowo's East Asia outlook

President Prabowo needs to abandon his take-it-for-granted stance on East Asia, which represents Indonesia's top trading partners and investment sources.

1 month ago

People rest at an evacuation center on Monday in the Thai border province of Surin. Thailand and Cambodia's leaders agreed to an “unconditional“ ceasefire on Monday after five days of fighting along their jungle-clad frontier that has killed at least 36 people.

Editorial

ASEAN diplomacy delivers

What ASEAN needs is a lasting political commitment, supported by trusted civilian institutions, to make peace not just possible, but permanent.

3 weeks ago

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto exits the courtroom on July 25 after his trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

Editorial

Rule by the law

Over the last few weeks, the nation has witnessed how the weaponization of law operates in a country that claims to champion rule of law as a foundational element of democracy.

3 weeks ago

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Oval Office at the White House on July 22, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Editorial

The age of unfair trade

After all, given that exorbitant new US import tariffs formed the basis for negotiations, the best-case scenario was to maintain the status quo of normal trade.

4 weeks ago

A clerk serves a customer at the stall of a pharmacy cooperative in Banten’s Serang regency on July 21, 2025, when a massive launch event was held simultaneously in selected regions nationwide to inaugurate more than 80,000 co-ops under President Prabowo Subianto’s Red and White Rural Cooperative (KDMP) initiative.

Editorial

Give cooperatives a chance

The newly launched KDMP initiative must have a strategy as equally grand as its scale to not just revive co-ops, but to lift them so they become an active economic pillar.

1 month ago

People are seen at the square of Garut, West Java, on July 18 after a deadly stampede at a public event to celebrate the wedding of Garut deputy regent Putri Karlina and Maula Akbar, the eldest son of West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi.

Editorial

Casualties of power

Events like the Garut wedding become a political theater, where popularity is mistaken for legitimacy, and where large crowds are not managed but invited for optics.

1 month ago

Former trade minister and graft convict Thomas Lembong (center) waves to journalists after the verdict hearing against him at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Jakarta on July 18. A panel of judges sentence Lembong to four-and-a-half years in prison and a Rp 750 million (US$45,871) after finding him guilty in a corruption case pertaining to the import of raw sugar.

Editorial

Bitter justice over sugar import

The legal definition of corruption is so broad that it can be stretched, as the court did in this case, to criminalize a government official for making the wrong policy choices.

1 month ago

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