This picture taken on August 4, 2021 shows a housing complex in Jakarta, near the border with a neighboring province.

Housing for whom?

What is missing from the housing agenda is the important conversation about design, access and equity.

5 hours ago

Singapore's moment of truth

Despite high optimism among Indonesian officials, public suspicion persists regarding Singapore's sincerity, particularly concerning the extradition treaty. ...

1 day ago

Editorial

Acknowledging our dark past

Removing violent accounts from history books will not "right a wrong" but rather would whitewash our past. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

Jakarta's governor Pramono Anung (center) gestures on Tuesday beside other regional leaders during a week-long mountain retreat at a military academy in Magelang, Central Java.

Editorial

Balancing democracy

The PDI-P has gone as far as refraining from saying it opposes the Prabowo administration, although it insists on staying outside of the government.

3 months ago

United States President Donald Trump attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019.

Editorial

Decide swiftly, secure the country

We believe it is time for President Prabowo Subianto’s administration to decisively define its approach toward Washington and act without delay to safeguard our national interests.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech during a meeting of leaders of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM)-Plus in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Feb. 14, 2025.

Editorial

Coalition with the people

Through their protests, the students seem to be telling Prabowo to build a coalition with the people for long-term prosperity rather than with the political elites for short-term spoils.

3 months ago

Ready to roll: The newly completed facilities of PT HLI Green Power, the first electric vehicle battery factory in Southeast Asia, is seen in this undated photo released by Karawang New Industry City (KNIC).

Editorial

Extortion kills investment

The HKI says illicit payments extracted from investors have cost Indonesia hundreds of trillions of rupiah as projects are canceled and companies pull out.

4 months ago

People demonstrate against President Prabowo Subianto's government, calling for reviews of government budget cuts and the free nutritious meals program, in front of a police barricade in Jakarta on Feb. 21, 2025.

Editorial

Danantara and the austerity paradox

For many Indonesians, the promise of prosperity tomorrow rings hollow as they struggle to meet their basic needs today.

4 months ago

Voices for justice: Students and activists of the Committee for the Release of Papuan Political Prisoners hold a rally on Monday at the Supreme Court in Central Jakarta. As part of Indonesia’s spin-off movement #PapuanLivesMatter, which was spurred by the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement around the world, the protesters demanded the release of the seven Papuan activists standing trial on charges of treason at the Balikpapan District Court in East Kalimantan. JP/Dhoni Setiawan

Editorial

Pardon not for all

The government argues that the amnesty plan may help ease the overcrowding problem characterizing most prisons across the archipelago.

4 months ago

Elected regional heads attend the inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Feb. 20, 2025. President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated 961 regional heads consisting of 33 governors and 33 deputy governors, 363 regents, 362 deputy regents, 85 mayors and 85 deputy mayors in the ceremony.

Editorial

Diversity within unity

The regional governments, and their elected leaders, represent this diversity, and they are the only political institution to do so.

4 months ago

Students hold a rally titled "Indonesia Gelap" (Dark Indonesia) on Feb. 17, 2025, to oppose budget-cutting policies by President Prabowo Subianto, in front of the East Java Regional House of Representatives building in Surabaya.

Editorial

A return to the streets

This week’s protests, the fastest that any president has faced since taking office since the Reform era, are a visible sign of this renewed vigor.

4 months ago

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.

Editorial

The good old days of global trade

Our government must work on the assumption that global trade is no longer what it used to be.

4 months ago

Rewired generation: Children play online games on their mobile phones along the roadside in Jakarta on Nov. 27, 2024.

Editorial

Support for age limit, but

While the plan to restrict social media among minors is largely welcomed by the public, particularly parents, authorities should implement the upcoming policy with extra caution.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech at a plenary cabinet meeting on Jan. 22, 2025, at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Editorial

Questioning budget cuts

President Prabowo Subianto’s recent budget cut to save over Rp 306 trillion (US$18.9 billion) to fund his administration’s priority programs is incomprehensible.

4 months ago

Long awaited embrace: Philippine drug convict and former death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso hugs her parents at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Editorial

Saving Indonesians abroad?

The Foreign Ministry says there are 157 Indonesians in foreign prisons whose legal processes remain ongoing as they face the death penalty; 111 for drug trafficking and 46 for murder.

4 months ago

Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on July 9, 2024.

Editorial

Democracy under threat

Prabowo and Gerindra have taken for granted the overwhelming legislative and executive powers that the people have lent them.

4 months ago

Editorial

The return of militarism

We have reasons to worry about expanding the roles of the military beyond its domain as defender of the nation against external threats.

4 months ago

Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto (center left), accompanied by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan (center right), salutes the military guard of honor on July 30, 2024, upon arriving at the Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara.

Editorial

Prabowo and Erdogan’s front for Gaza

Prabowo should speak up together with Erdogan after their bilateral summit against any attempt to jeopardize the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

4 months ago

This photo illustration shows the DeepSeek app on a mobile phone in Hong Kong on Jan. 28, 2025.

Editorial

DeepSeek gives us a leg up

DeepSeek gives up a leg up, but we have to take the next step by developing the human resources and infrastructure needed.

4 months ago

Contradictory statements: Businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, appointed by his brother President Prabowo Subianto as special presidential envoy on environment and climate, delivers a statement during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, on Nov. 12, 2024.

Editorial

Why we should stick with Paris Agreement

Rather than withdrawing from the treaty, Indonesia should up its game in the negotiation room.

4 months ago

Power of information: National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hindayana (second right) and National Development Planning Minister Rachmat Pambudy (right) talk to journalists at a press briefing after a cabinet meeting about the free meals program with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Jan. 17, 2025.

Editorial

Whither journalism, whither democracy?

The role of journalism in keeping society critically informed for people to make the right decisions, day-in and day-out, has been undermined, if not compromised.

4 months ago

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, one of Indonesia's world-renowned authors, signs one of his books on Dec. 19, 2000, during the launching of the English edition of Tales of Jakarta at a bookstore in Jakarta.

Editorial

If anything, Pramoedya was not content to just write and comment about the state of the world, but in a long tradition practiced by resistance writers like Albert Camus and Maxim Gorky, he decided to engage the world through direct action.

4 months ago

Devastated: People walk amid collapsed buildings along Saftawi street in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 5, 2025, during a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out on Feb. 5 at United States President Donald Trump's shock proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they wanted to leave or not.

Editorial

Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan

As a leader who wants to bring his country to the center of global political affairs, Prabowo should be more forthright in defending the rights of Palestinians.

4 months ago

A man stands on plastic waste and other garbage washed ashore and accumulating on a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency, in Bali on Jan. 3, 2025.

Editorial

Mindful host

Overtourism and overdevelopment have become serious issues, especially in the southern part of Bali.

4 months ago

Fueling the economy: Employees work at a Pertamina gas station in Tangerang, Banten, on March 1, 2022.

Editorial

What's ahead for Danantara?

The result of the new rule represents a compromise, which allows for two competing centers of power within the new body instead of just one.

4 months ago

Critical dissent: Protesters hold posters that read “Dipisahkan Qunut, Disatukan Tambang“ (Separated by Qunut, United by Mining) during a protest against Islamic group Muhammadiyah's decision to accept the government's offer of coal mining concessions in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on July 27, 2024.

Editorial

Mining permits for all?

National Innovation and Research Agency (BRIN) researchers have warned of the risks that arise when mining is managed by entities that are alien to the sector, such as religious organizations.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim (left) walk across the connecting bridge of the Petronas Twin Towers on Jan. 27, 2025, during the President's visit to Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur.

Editorial

Bound by destiny

While Indonesia and Malaysia have had disagreements over maritime boundaries, these must be managed carefully to prevent disputes from escalating into serious diplomatic rifts.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech on Jan. 22, 2025, at a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Editorial

Prudence in state budget

While the budget adjustment seems rational on paper, it is paramount that the government guides the implementation of the programs and manages any consequences that may arise from the fiscal action.

4 months ago

Health workers administer a pre-vaccination screening test for a toddler on April 24, 2024, at a medical facility in Cipondoh, Tangerang, Banten, during the Health Ministry’s free nationwide vaccination drive in observance of World Immunization Week.

Editorial

Health checks for all

The Prabowo administration is planning to launch in February its next flagship program: free birthday health screenings.

4 months ago

Slashing assistance: Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by United States Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2025.

Editorial

Making America weak again

Foreign aid was one reason why the US was once regarded as one of the greatest nations, if not the greatest.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a photo opportunity ahead of their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, on Jan. 25, 2025.

Editorial

Lessons from India's foreign policy

Prabowo's meeting last week with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely be among the most relevant to his ambition to become a global player while remaining independent in facing a more multipolar world.

4 months ago