Whether Tegal has harvested what it has sown, it has nevertheless taught us a lesson that a tough response is the only option in dealing with COVID-19; giving even little room to compromise will only put many lives at stake.

In Indonesia as millions become deeply fearful about how to feed their families in the coming weeks, hopes are high that the economy can slowly resume.

In this critical juncture, the race to find medicines can easily turn into a competition to control access to the drugs.

As demand for online shopping increases, users are well aware of the risks in the digital sphere when they agree to the terms and conditions, but this does not mean digital platforms and the government can evade responsibility.

Initiatives by local communities, civil society and faith-based groups have filled the gap the government has failed to cover.

Garuda Indonesia deserves not only government but also lender support because it is a state-owned company and Indonesia’s largest carrier. It is encouraging that the new management installed earlier this year was doing a demonstrably good job before the pandemic hit the country in March.

People urgently need help, but officials in charge of social assistance risk criminal charges if the aid distribution does not follow particular rules.

It appears that President Jokowi could live up to his reputation as a popularly elected leader of a burgeoning democracy. Yet in the past few days, many have expressed concern if authoritarian tendencies have begun to creep in.

Profitability and asset quality have been adversely affected by the COVID-19-induced economic downturn and probably even economic recession.

Indonesians are optimists and will likely spend more when they emerge out of the crisis, market surveys show. 

Inconsistency has typified the government’s responses to COVID-19, including in its ban on the decades-old mudik tradition.

Age is nothing but a number and people are as old as they feel. Today, The Jakarta Post is celebrating its 37th anniversary, an age that many consider mature. 

The fatwas by the NU and Muhammadiyah, the faces of Indonesian Islam with millions of followers, are crucial to ensure Muslims follow social distancing rules set by the government during the fasting month.

The message from one of the country’s biggest Islamic organizations, Muhammadiyah, that forgoing mudik is part of a “humanitarian jihad” in the “test of faith” that is the pandemic will take some getting used to, and much persuasion.

Jakarta remains the country’s epicenter of the pandemic and addressing the city’s health crisis will significantly help the country win the battle against COVID-19.

The news that the House of Representatives would soon restart deliberations over the omnibus bill was shocking.

The government’s selection of partners to run programs to contain the COVID-19 pandemic deserves extra attention.

In this time of crisis, the government must remember that none of us is more special than the other.

The lack of transparency has compromised the government’s own effort to cope with the pandemic. 

At a time when skills may probably be the last thing on the minds of vulnerable workers as they focus on staples and bare necessities, there needs to be a strong monitoring system for relief efforts.

President Jokowi must have a clear strategy to fight the virus and must get his ministers to work together to implement the agreed-upon strategy — not whatever springs to their mind.  

As all eyes are glued to the emergency ASEAN Summit on Tuesday, collective efforts must be sped up and all underutilized potential mobilized.

This pandemic could write a new chapter in history in which we, together as communities and countries, stand together to become healthier and stronger to overcome the virus.

With the Holy Week, including Good Friday and incoming Easter, celebrated in seclusion, the grandiosity of rituals to remember the divine salvation of humankind this year is sorely missed.  

If the number of cases and deaths continues to climb after the first period of the PSBB, the government and Jakarta should take bolder measures.

Jokowi is now facing the worst health crisis in decades, and we understand that he has to make an extremely difficult choice: saving the people, saving the economy or doing the virtually impossible: saving both. But the President is making a mistake in sidelining scientists.

Taking back power from the local governments but then imposing more stringent restrictions on them is a recipe for a new disaster on top of an existing emergency. It is simply a power grab.

The deeper concern is about managing the health crisis with limited medical facilities and an estimated national average of four doctors per 10,000 people.

The House has been very quiet about how to respond to COVID-19. 

We are truly in a crisis now and, like in most other countries, the Jokowi administration must act decisively while expanding its economic role because right now only the government can save the economy and maintain stability to prevent a total collapse.