As we have learned from the Whoosh HSR gaffe, the stakes are too high for us to realize the railway extension unless a team is assigned to comprehensively evaluate the project.

Jakarta would lose credibility if state-owned companies were shown to have peddled arms to Myanmar while Indonesian diplomats championed the immediate cessation of violence in the Five-Point Consensus regional peace plan.

Aside from looking at modernization and capacity building, perhaps this year’s TNI Day is a good occasion to reflect on the military’s role in protecting our democracy with a view to the 2024 general election.

Hoping is not good enough. Incentives and disincentives must compel polluters to engage.

ASEAN and the wider world is looking forward to the promised "dream" trilateral summit between China, Japan and South Korea, and that their leaders can reach a compromise so we can finally release the collective breath we've been holding over rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific.

It’s perhaps too early to assess the overall performance of the national team in Hangzhou, but clearly the pre-tournament target of winning 12 golds, or eight golds in the coming week, is a tall order.

The PSI has gotten a lot of flak as one of the country's youngest political parties, which is led by youths and claims to represent young voters, but its latest move to elect as its chairman Kaesang, a political novice and the President's youngest son, shows it has a ways to go to reach maturity, both politically and as an institution.

Overcrowded prisons are a result of the punitive attitude of the judiciary, prosecutors and law enforcement officers, particularly regarding drug users.

At least one third of the country’s landfills are still using the open-dumping method, according to the ministry.

TikTok seems to present an easy target for many countries, but seeing how the line between communication and trade is blurring today, especially in the retail sector, the government would do well to take a look at the broader implications of banning social commerce, lest it clamp down on homegrown start-ups that are supporting Indonesia's economic backbone: MSMEs.

At the UN forum and elsewhere, Indonesia has become a defender of the interests of developing nations through a moderate and nonconfrontational approach

The government bears the brunt of the blame for the violence that has erupted on Rempang Island over its planned eviction of local residents in the name of development, as it has again ignored its own rules on pursuing consultative dialogue toward obtaining their free, prior and informed consent.

That an important building like the National Museum could catch fire due to an electrical malfunction does not inspire confidence at all. 

Critics have said that a large investment from China in Indonesia’s nickel industry may have become a major hurdle to partnership with the US.

Public officials can easily disguise their misuse of government facilities as official trips, as has been widely practiced in the past.

As fires know no boundaries, it is paramount that landscape activities integrate fire-free elements, with the support of various levels of government.

The government was quick to expel 7,500 native people from the island and resettle them on the nearby Galang Island, despite their objections.

To get more value out of the commodity, Indonesia needs comprehensive supply chains that reach deep into the stainless steel and electronic industries, and of course into the much-touted production of batteries and electric vehicles (EVs).

There is a major commitment to boosting renewable energy use. G20 leaders agreed to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted plans to phase-down coal power.

The soaring global price of rice doesn't need a quick fix for today, but instead needs a long-term solution to protect small-scale mills and fair competition toward ensuring food security.

Vehicular emissions were the largest source of pollution in Jakarta, contributing 32 to 41 percent to air pollution during the wet season and 42 to 57 percent during the dry season. 

Many expected the regional leaders, including President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the chair, to show their courage and stand against China's unilateral claim, as silence will not change anything for the better. 

It is hard to overlook the pragmatism of the political elites in exploiting NU sentiment for their short-term electoral objectives. 

Reducing dependence on the US dollar as a means of exchange supports the goal of ASEAN centrality and the strategic autonomy of ASEAN member states.

ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific region is not merely a geographic concept, it is a political concept that requires the group to maintain tactful diplomacy for its own interests. 

The state must first right one of its biggest wrongs, which was to deny the victims of the communist purge the truth by deliberately and institutionally erasing the history of violence and discrimination against them

Both LRTs need to be extended and developed further to improve all existing lines and cater to more passengers. 

The election of business tycoon Srettha Thavision from the Phieu Party as Thailand’s 30th prime minister with the approval of the powerful military is expected to bring political stability back to the country after months of uncertainty.

Comprehensive solutions that are sustainable for the long term are what Jakarta, and the country as a whole, needs to guarantee the human right to a clean and healthy environment, not a stopgap solution ahead of a major international summit.

These are two serious accusations made in public that should not be easily dismissed. One is the destruction to the environment caused by the food estate program, and the other about possible embezzlement and other financial irregularities.