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.

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.

20 hours ago

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. ...

1 day ago

Editorial

Much tech, less protection

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

2 days ago

The Latest

Medical workers prepare to administer the COVID-19 vaccine during a drive-through vaccination service in Nusa Dua, Bali, on March 1.

Editorial

Supply now, punish later

Anti-vaxxers notwithstanding, the reality today is that there are just so many people who want to get the vaccination.

4 years ago

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo speaks at the closing ceremony of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) leadership meeting in Jakarta on Nov. 28, 2018.

Editorial

Kadin’s unusual race

Reports have it that Anindya was a clear frontrunner before the election was postponed.

4 years ago

Cyclists from Anak Haram Jalanan Ibukota ride their bikes through the bicycle lane on Jl. Jend. Sudirman on April 24.

Editorial

No backpedaling the revolution

It boggles the mind that the likes of Listyo and Ahmad Sahroni, the Commission III vice chair, should feel that the bike lanes are depriving other road users.

4 years ago

Top brass: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center) talks to Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel in a virtual event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the TNI at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday. The President was accompanied by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko and Army chief of staff Gen. Andika Perkasa, among others.

Editorial

Sukarno, Soeharto no more

In this style of subtle Indonesian politics, repeated denial can also mean confirmation.

4 years ago

Last respects: Wearing protective gear, relatives visit the new grave of a COVID-19 victim at the Pondok Ranggon cemetery in East
Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Editorial

Jokowi’s pandemic gamble

While it is too early to judge the President’s strategy, the conventional wisdom among doctors and epidemiologists is that it is far from enough to protect the people.

4 years ago

Gotcha! (finally): Corruption convict Adelin Lis appears at a press conference held at the Attorney General’s Office on June 19, 2021, after state prosecutors repatriated the fugitive from Singapore. Adeline spent 13 years on the lam since fleeing Indonesia in 2008.

Editorial

Our unwanted wanted list

Indonesia prides itself on its post-Soeharto democratic reform, but the regime's legacy of corruption still exists today, in no small part because of our unscrupulous, lackluster law enforcement.

4 years ago

A Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officer puts up a warning sign on the window of a restaurant in Jakarta on June 13. The agency closed down the restaurant after it was found to be violating the COVID-19 health protocols.

Editorial

Jakarta's delayed party

COVID-19 is the chief challenge the city has to address now, rather than later.

4 years ago

Budget talks: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo unveils the draft state budget for the 2021 fiscal year in a plenary session of the House of Representatives on Aug. 14. The session was held in compliance with COVID-19 health protocols.

Editorial

The big fiscal dilemma

The fiscal deficit increased from 2.2 percent in 2019 to 6 percent in 2020.

4 years ago

Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group D football match between Scotland and the Czech Republic at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, the United Kingdom, on June 14.

Editorial

Let’s play the game

The French Open can be considered a success. Hopes abound that the 2020 UEFA European Championship will follow suit.

4 years ago

Police shoot water cannons to disperse protesters in front of the House of Representative compound on Sept. 24, 2019. Students from various universities gathered in front of the legislature to protest a bill that would revise the Criminal Code (KUHP) to curtail civil liberties.

Editorial

Speak up now on Criminal Code

As a republic and a democracy, it would be absurd for us to have a lèse-majesté law.

4 years ago

COVID-19 patients get on a school bus in Kudus, Central Java on June 7, 2021 to be transported to the Donohudan haj dormitory in Boyolali.

Editorial

Back to square one

Different strategies are a must as we are now facing more dangerous, easier to transmit, strains of the virus.

4 years ago

Israeli political veterans and a record number of female lawmakers, a motley coalition including two left, two center, one Arab Islamist and three right-wing parties came to power in an eight-party alliance united by animosity for outgoing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Editorial

Less noise post-Netanyahu

Palestinians will continue enduring the mercilessness of their neighbor while their leaders fight each other, and Arab countries will be more interested in engaging with Israel’s new government.

4 years ago

Residents distribute staple foods to their neighbors in Tengah, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Sept. 25, 2020. JP/PJ Leo

Editorial

Let them eat cake?

A proposed tax on staple foods would add insult to injury for those who have already been struggling during the prolonged economic slowdown.

4 years ago

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Firli Bahuri announces South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah as a bribery suspect in a press conference on Feb. 28.

Editorial

Firli’s defiance knows no bounds

If he defies this too, that will make him the most powerful person in the country, and one who is accountable to no one.

4 years ago

Helping hand: A registration officer at the Menteng Dua tax office in Jakarta helps a taxpayer on March 3. The Taxation Directorate General reported that 3.82 million taxpayers had submitted their tax receipts as of March 1.

Editorial

Taxing the richest – why not?

Even at 35 percent, the country’s highest personal income tax (PIT) rate would still be among the lowest in the world.

4 years ago

Coal addiction: The Cirebon Unit Two coal-fired power plant in Cirebon, West Java, is pictured on Nov. 30, 2019. The plant is slated to begin operations in 2022.

Editorial

Coaling it quits

Government officials have sent mixed messages about the country’s net-zero emissions pledge and the future of coal.

4 years ago

This handout from the Myanmar News Agency (MNA) taken and released on June 4 shows Myanmar armed forces chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (right) meeting with Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof (left) in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

Editorial

Brunei’s disastrous mission

The priority for resolving this diplomatic gaffe is for ASEAN to announce its special envoy to Myanmar as agreed upon by the block’s leaders and Gen. Hlaing.

4 years ago

Garuda Indonesia's 'masked' Airbus A330-900 Neo.

Editorial

Too important to fail

The government should tie whatever forms of additional financial aid to Garuda to strict terms and conditions, imposing tough performance indicators for any disbursement of bailout funds.

4 years ago

A handout picture provided by Saudi Ministry of Media on August 2, 2020 shows Muslim pilgrims circling around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the center of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca.

Editorial

A safe pilgrimage

All things considered, there is no way the government would be able to guarantee a certain level of safety for the pilgrims.

4 years ago

Students wear masks and face shields while studying at a local elementary school in Garut village, Darul Imara district, Aceh Besar regency, Aceh on Dec. 2, 2020.

Editorial

Cautious school year

Reopening schools is a difficult choice, but a bold decision must be made for the greater good of children.

4 years ago

Children ride their bicycles in a narrow alley near Jl. Palmerah Barat, West Jakarta, on Monday. Local residents have organized a local project to beautify their alleyway with plants and murals.

Editorial

Get ready for a bike revolution

The city needs to provide other facilities and conveniences to encourage people to take up biking to work.

4 years ago

Tax campaign: People pass a banner promoting the government's tax amnesty at Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta.

Editorial

Opposing new tax amnesty

Once again pardoning tax evaders, including those who have committed corruption, illegal miners and loggers and drug syndicates, seems to be a blank check for money laundering.

4 years ago

$Antique arms: Soldiers stand with 50-year-old guns during the Indonesian military’s (TNI) 66th anniversary celebration in Jayapura, Papua, in this file photo. Inefficient budget management has left soldiers with\ obsolete equipment.$

Editorial

Transparency the best policy

Many therefore have suggested that the Nanggala 402 accident is the right moment for strengthening the national defense system to a desired deterrence level. In fact Indonesia once was billed as a key regional player thanks to its strong military.

4 years ago

Unity: Protesters hold up posters in support of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) during a demonstration against the military coup on Global Myanmar Spring Revolution Day in Taunggyi, Shan state, Myanmar, on May 2.

Editorial

Half-hearted ASEAN

ASEAN could have avoided such humiliation had it managed to show evidence of significant progress in restoring the situation in Myanmar.

4 years ago

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Choirul Anam (second left) talks to journalists in Jakarta on May 24 after receiving a report from senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan (left) and other employees pertaining to the civic knowledge test for KPK employees.

Editorial

A president’s words matter

President Jokowi did issue a statement asking for the 75 investigators to be reinstated, yet he did not take concrete steps to save the KPK personnel.

4 years ago

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani (center) together with Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo (right) give directives to Central Java provincial government officials, in Semarang on Feb. 14, 2020.

Editorial

The elections arrive early

The political elites and major parties seem to have little empathy with the people’s suffering as they have already begun to flex their muscles in the scramble for entitlement to tickets in 2024.

4 years ago

Papuan students grouped under Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) hold a protest in front of Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, Aug. 28,. 2019. In the protests, they reject racial abuse and demand the government to retract the internet blackout in West Papua and Papua.

Editorial

The Papua question

Since an internet shutdown in Papua is not unprecedented, many are skeptical that a technical issue is really behind the current outage.

4 years ago

Trading hub: A woman walks past a large screen displaying Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) data in Jakarta on March 9, 2020.

Editorial

Speeding up SOE reform

More IPOs of state-owned enterprises could improve transparency and accountability, but the minister's plan for more firms to go public may run up against vested interests.

4 years ago

Handling a crisis: An employee of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) serves a customer at the agency’s branch office in Jakarta on July 1.

Editorial

Getting it right first time

It is important to underline the scale of this undertaking, and the potential failings that, if left unaddressed, will prevent Indonesia from enjoying a world-class digital ecosystem and data privacy rights.

4 years ago