A general view of Karet Bivak Public Cemetery in Jakarta is seen on Aug. 29, 2025

Grave matters ahead

In a sinking metropolis where land prices are among the nation’s highest, even the dead are now competing for space.

54 minutes ago

Editorial premium

Remote work dilemma

Remote working can be done and has its benefits, but is it good for the Indonesian public service? ...

1 day ago

Editorial premium

Beware of microplastics in rain

Forget traffic snarls, flooding and catching a chill: It turns out that at least for the past three years, if not longer, rainy season brings with it the risk that Jakartans could inhale microplastics that can harm our health for the long term. ...

1 day ago

The Latest

A father and child enjoy the sunset on Sept. 6, 2021, at Kuta beach near Denpasar, Bali.

Editorial

In fathers we trust

Paternal presence helps children fare better academically, demonstrate enhanced problem-solving and adaptive skills and improve emotional resilience, creativity and attentiveness in the face of challenges.

3 months ago

Singaporean low-cost carrier Scoot's Embraer E190-E2 regional jet receives the customary water cannon salute on Sept. 28, 2024, at the Kertajati International Airport on its inaugural flight. Scoot flies to Kertajati on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Editorial

Kertajati’s hard lesson

The top-down approach of building a massive airport in the middle of nowhere while hoping economic activity will follow without real strategic effort is doomed to fail.

3 months ago

Rescuers search for missing victims of a ferry accident on July 5 in the waters off the Bali Strait near Jembrana, Bali. Hundreds of rescuers were involved in the search for missing passengers.

Editorial

No more business as usual

Sea transportation accidents remain rampant as vessels are routinely overloaded, aging fleets are poorly maintained and passenger manifests often bear little resemblance to reality.

3 months ago

Tariff free: Workers load fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) onto a truck on May 23, 2024, at Sungai Mesjid Port in Dumai, Riau.

Editorial

Prabowo’s EU triumph

The IEU-CEPA is projected to significantly reduce import duties, with up to 80 percent of Indonesian exports to the EU set to enjoy zero tariffs within the first two years of the agreement's implementation.

3 months ago

Former coordinating maritime affairs minister Indroyono Soesilo (center), who is touted to be the next Indonesian ambassador to the United States, leave the House of Representatives Commission I meeting room at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta after attending a confirmation hearing for ambassadorial candidates nominated by President Prabowo Subianto on July 5.

Editorial

Envoys matter

Diplomacy under the Trump administration requires grit and resolve and we are not that sure if and when Indroyono is confirmed, he will bring much to the table.

3 months ago

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivers a speech on July 9 during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Editorial

Beyond ASEAN centrality

A lack of unity may be what is wrong with ASEAN today

3 months ago

Residents walk through floodwater in South Tangerang, Banten, on July 8, 2025. Heavy rainfall on Monday triggered flooding in several parts of Jakarta and its surrounding areas, including South Tangerang.

Editorial

Rainy days in July

The unseasonal heavy rains and the hydrometeorological disasters that followed were just more evidence that the climate crisis is real and affecting our lives.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva listen to their national anthems on July 9, 2025, during a welcome ceremony at Planalto Palace in Brasilia.

Editorial

Prabowo’s diplomatic temptation

Prabowo should adhere to Indonesia's constitutional mandate of a "free and active" foreign policy and exercise caution and wisdom.

3 months ago

Trucks haul freight on Feb. 26 at the container terminal of Batu Ampar Port on Batam Island, Riau Islands province.

Editorial

RI cannot solve US deficit

Washington needs to entice Indonesian investors to their country, but the threatening tone is likely to achieve the opposite.

3 months ago

Wooden boats used by residents of the remote Pulo Aceh district to cross to Banda Aceh in mainland Sumatra are seen on June 26 in Aceh Besar, Aceh.

Editorial

Small islands, big issue

The illegal sale of small islands is not always a matter of regulatory loopholes, but rather the result of a lack of awareness or even outright ignorance among locals as well as the government.

3 months ago

A sign for sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia is seen in front of its headquarters in Jakarta on Feb. 28.

Editorial

Quick-handed Danantara

Danantara was not created just to hand out lifelines, it was established to generate long-term returns for the country.

3 months ago

Attendees stand at the entrance to the BRICS Business Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5.

Editorial

Not just another ‘BRICS’ in the wall

We should take this as recognition of Indonesia’s position as a middle power, and hence its clout in influencing global development.

3 months ago

Treacherous descent: Rescue workers on June 23 attempt to evacuate Juliana Marins, a Brazilian national who fell into a ravine on Mount Rinjani, Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, after going missing on June 21.

Editorial

Climbing should never kill

In the aftermath of the Rinjani tragedy, many hikers have criticized Indonesia’s tourism system for prioritizing commercial interests over the safety of its visitors.

3 months ago

People check candidates before casting their ballots during the 2024 regional head elections in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Nov. 27, 2024.

Editorial

Reforming the electoral system

The Constitutional Court’s recent ruling that splits national and regional elections starting in 2029 comes as a relief.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a press conference following a bilateral meeting at the Merdeka Palace, in Jakarta, on June 27.

Editorial

The RCEP summit matters

An RCEP summit is critical now more than ever, as the global economic landscape is increasingly fragmented and marked by rising protectionism and inward-looking trends.

3 months ago

A girl stands in the wake of a ‘bajaj’ on June 25, 2025, as its driver plows through a flooded street in Muara Angke, North Jakarta.

Editorial

To rescue or abandon Java?

The lessons of the previous administration's IKN megaproject do not bode well for the revived "Giant Sea Wall" project, which could find itself and the coastal communities it is supposed to protect at sea, even before it breaks ground.

3 months ago

Officers prepare free meals on Wednesday at a Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) in Palmerah, Jakarta. The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) emphasized that there had never been a policy to distribute raw ingredients or snacks as part of the program.

Editorial

Fixing the free meals program

The month-long school holiday is the perfect time for the government to evaluate what is not working with the free nutritious meal program.

4 months ago

Visitors look at a mock up of a “mini“ subsidized house measuring 14 square meters on June 12, in Jakarta.

Editorial

Homes unbought or unbuilt

If the properties are too expensive, they will not be bought, but if they are too inexpensive, they will not be built.

4 months ago

Remote work: A civil servant works during his in-office shift at the Riau Communication, Information and Statistics Agency in Pekanbaru on April 20, 2020, as his colleagues work from home.

Editorial

Remote work? Not now

For a civil service often criticized for its slow pace and a traditional emphasis on physical presence, transitioning to a less supervised environment could exacerbate existing inefficiencies.

4 months ago

Photos depicting the May 1998 riot in Surakarta, Central Java, are exhibited in 'Refleksi Peristiwa Mei 1998' (A Reflection on May 1998).

Editorial

Acknowledging our dark past

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

4 months ago

A satellite view shows an overview of the Fordow complex, after the United States struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, on June 22, 2025.

Editorial

Speak up, Indonesia

Prabowo's hesitation could undermine Indonesia's credibility as a middle-power player, leading many Indonesians to conclude that the government fears confronting President Trump.

4 months ago

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

Editorial

Housing for whom?

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

4 months ago

Under investigation: Sandipala Arthaputra president director Paulus Tannos (on-screen) gives a testimony on May 18 during the e-ID hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

Editorial

Singapore's moment of truth

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

4 months ago

People wade through a flooded street on March 4, 2025, in Kebon Pala, Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, where 59 neighborhood units (RT) and four roads were inundated by floodwaters reaching 30-300 centimeters when the Ciliwung River overflowed.

Editorial

Beyond celebrations

The common thread tying together Jakarta's perennial flooding, choking pollution and constant congestion is weak political will, and unless the local administration addresses this underlying factor starting now, these issues will continue to plague this historic city for the next half century.

4 months ago

North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution (left) and Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf (center) approach House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad to address a press briefing at the Bina Graha presidential office in Central Jakarta on June 17, 2025, following a limited meeting with President Prabowo Subianto.

Editorial

A test of trust

The short-lived dispute between Aceh and North Sumatra over four outlying islands serves as a reminder that a nation as vast and diverse as Indonesia requires continuous political will and efforts, as well as sensitivity, to maintain our hard-fought, hard-won national unity.

4 months ago

Dubious tactics: West Java governor Dedi Mulyadi (third left) talks with students on May 5 while inspecting a character and discipline training session at a military education center in West Bandung regency, West Java. Hundreds of students from various regions across West Java who have been involved in street brawls, motorbike gangs and addicted to online gaming have been sent to undergo intensive training led by Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel for at least 14 days.

Editorial

Early school a new burden

Several studies in developed countries such as Singapore and England have shown that delaying school start times actually improves students’ well-being and academic performance.

4 months ago

Israeli air defense systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on June 18.

Editorial

Quagmire anyone?

The Trump administration still has the leverage to change the equation, if not the outcome, in the Israel-Iranian conflict.

4 months ago

All smiles: President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian men’s soccer team players sing together before their lunch at the head of state’s private residence on Jl. Kertanegara, South Jakarta, on June 6.

Editorial

Achievement vs. popularity

Indonesia still faces a daunting challenge to qualify for the World Cup, and questions arose about whether the team's reward was premature.

4 months ago

People enter the Denpasar Immigration Office building in Bali on Aug. 2, 2024.

Editorial

Love our expats

Our bureaucrats should learn to be less xenophobic in dealing with expatriates.

4 months ago

A screen at the lobby of Cipto Mangunkusumo Central General Hospital (RSCM) in Jakarta shows pictures of the telerobotic surgery to remove cyst from a patient's kidney on Aug. 30, 2024. The lead doctor in the procedure, urological surgeon Ponco Birowo, led the surgery from Denpasar, Bali, while the patient was in the surgical theater in Jakarta.

Editorial

Risky insurance reform

The primary motive behind the regulation is to ensure the financial sustainability of health insurers, who are struggling with rising claims amid soaring medical cost.

4 months ago

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