Indonesia has maintained the death penalty it inherited from its former colonial master, at a time when more countries have abolished the cruel form of punishment. By the end of 2019, no less than 106 countries have completely eliminated capital punishment.

Statistics show that although the absolute number of people testing positive increased from Sept. 14, when the PSBB was reinstated, to Oct. 7, the daily number of infection cases actually dropped on 10 occasions, significantly on certain days. The record-high daily decline of 885 cases came on Sept. 20, and the second highest was on Sept. 28 with 533.

Stricter rules will hardly keep the candidates from infringing on the protocols. There is no incentive for them to comply with the rules either. Only rescheduling the elections will stop the mess. 

In view of the wide opposition by various groups of people against the omnibus law, it is most urgent and imperative for the government to accelerate the formulation of all the regulations needed to implement the legislation, especially for the controversial provisions regarding labor rights and the environment.

With so many questions left unanswered and so many aspirations unaccommodated, the noble idea of creating jobs may instead render misfortune for many.

Since the rise of fintech, Indonesia’s financial inclusion rate has dramatically increased to levels unseen in history, reaching 76.1 percent in 2019, according to an OJK survey, from less than 50 percent in 2017.

At the grass roots, corruption literacy remains a challenge, with people perceiving gratuities and bribery as routine perks.

With the COVID-19-induced recession and the changing media landscape, thanks to the arrival of news aggregator sites and social media platforms, it is not always easy for us to continue doing good journalism. Yet it is difficult to imagine Indonesia without The Jakarta Post.

Experts say the journey to a successful vaccine trial still has a long way to go and the process to secure a license will take time. 

The indictment against prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari that was read out last Wednesday at the Jakarta Corruption Court evinced the failure of many private and state banks as well as money changers in fully implementing Bank Indonesia’s Know Your Customer (KYC) principle as a preventive measure to mitigate money laundering.

To build Papua anew, Jakarta needs to listen to voices that have so far been left unheard.

Improvements to health care and the social safety net must be the top priority — not just in words, but in practice.

It is ironic, however, when government officials who lead the charge against COVID-19 have to take a tumble. Whether they fail to practice what they preach, public officials have sparked controversy after they were seen failing to uphold physical distancing rules and wear masks. It was reported that Edhy took off his mask when delivering a speech during his outings before he contracted the virus.

The irony in Indonesia’s situation is that the intensified attacks on democratic norms and institutions took place especially in the past five years, during the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who was once hailed as the new face of Indonesian democracy. Jokowi is by no means responsible for the decline of Indonesian democracy, but he did very little to arrest the regression, while some of his policies have certainly helped members of the elite that helped catapult him into the presidency.

As the ghost of the 1998 tragedy still lingers and the police remain reluctant to act against vigilante groups, the reincarnation of Pam Swakarsa may spread fear, not a sense of protection and security.

Flooding will surely aggravate the pandemic. It is feared shelters for flood victims will create new clusters of virus transmission if physical distancing is not enforced.

For the nation’s guardians of the Constitution, the chance to play honest broker with Israel is too much a cost, and this knowledge has been passed down until this day.

Our question is, what is the point of putting the 1999 BI Law amendment on top of the House legislation agenda now, while the Finance Ministry is preparing an omnibus bill to govern the whole financial sector?

The government’s population data have been used in a number of elections, at both national and regional levels, and have often sparked controversy, especially because the official data are allegedly used to give incumbent candidates an edge.

Amid the catastrophic impacts of the coronavirus, good news is coming from Indonesian forests. The government’s efforts to reduce deforestation and forest fires have paid off. Indonesia has secured a grant of US$103.8 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for avoiding 20.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from 2014 to 2016. The country has also received a $56 million grant from Norway for reducing deforestation and carbon emissions.

Suga has an unusual background compared with many of his predecessors, including his immediate predecessor Abe. The 71-year old Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician is among only a few of Japan’s political elite to come from a rural family. Suga is also an independent member of the LDP, belonging to no party faction. Suga is a self-made man, and loyal to Abe.

Doubts over whether the reinstated large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) will eventually flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission in Jakarta linger. The public has the right to express such skepticism as they have witnessed in their life many regulations go unenforced, or worse, as some believe, the regulations are created to be broken.

The exit from the tournaments that have in the past catapulted Indonesia to international fame further paints a gloomy picture of the country’s bid to excel in sports. 

As the government remains unable to keep virus transmission under control, as evinced by the steep rise in confirmed cases, it is possible that regions that elect their leaders will turn into additional red zones – areas at high risk of virus transmission.

The growing resistance to Jakarta’s plan to reinstate large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) demonstrates the tendency of many policymakers to avoid harsh measures, even if they are exactly what the country needs to win the prolonged struggled against COVID-19.

He laid the foundation for “safe journalism”, which allowed Kompas to survive and thrive during the Soeharto dictatorship and remain effective in voicing the people’s aspirations. In the coming years, Kompas will likely continue to do so.

If the central government and the Jakarta administration cannot get their acts together, the upcoming PSBB will be an even more painful period for everyone. 

The monetary board that the House is proposing in its amendment to the BI Law marks a major setback for central bank independence. The board is reminiscent of the old, government-controlled central bank in the period between the 1950s and 1999.

But the recent deaths of some 30 Rohingya refugees at sea have served as the latest sobering reminder that real lives are at stake when nations drag their feet in finding solutions to a genuinely regional challenge.

From only three sole candidate pairs in the 2015 regional elections, the number rose to nine in 2017, 16 in 2018 and now, at least provisionally, 28.