An election staffer counts ballots at a polling station on Nov. 27, 2024, in Banda Aceh, Aceh. More than 200 million people voted to choose dozens of governors, mayors and regents in the simultaneous regional elections.

Direct elections safe, for now

Massive political education is crucial to educate the public of the risks of restoring indirect elections.

8 hours ago

No more plastic promises

It is upsetting that the government has once again prioritized short-term economic achievements from potential money coming from the plastic industry’s investment in the country. ...

1 day ago

Editorial

Talking clean energy into existence

The best place to start realizing clean energy would be to finally pass a long-delayed bill on new and renewable energy. ...

3 days ago

The Latest

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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 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.

6 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (center) and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (third right) greet Red and White Cabinet ministers before a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Dec. 2, 2024.

Editorial

Prabowo’s 100 tough days

We cannot deny the fact that the first three months of the Prabowo administration have not been free of controversy.

6 months ago

This elevated view shows mounds of rubble from collapsed buildings along Saftawi Street in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Jan. 20, 2025 a day after a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas went into effect.

Editorial

Indonesia’s active role in Gaza

Accepting some Palestinians to relocate temporarily would be a gesture to show that Indonesia is willing to put its money where its mouth is.

7 months ago

United States President Donald Trump (center) gestures alongside US First Lady Melania Trump and US Vice President JD Vance during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025.

Editorial

The power of options

The “other options” card is crucial to strengthen our hand in future negotiations.

7 months ago

A flotilla of boats with Indonesian Navy personnel on board travels to take down a mysterious sea fence in Tangerang, Banten, on Jan. 23, 2025.

Editorial

Priceless waters

Our seas and coasts should remain open to ensure the livelihoods of coastal communities and protect marine biodiversity.

7 months ago

Retirees line up in Jakarta on Feb. 15, 2011, to receive their monthly pension payments.

Editorial

Underlying pension problems

It is worthwhile to look at the underlying problems with the pension system in Indonesia.

7 months ago

Then United States Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump attends a campaign rally, in Salem, Virginia, U.S. Nov. 2, 2024.

Editorial

It's Trump's world

In a recent interview, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he was pleased that the Chinese leader "respects me because he knows I am [expletive] crazy."

7 months ago

A disused open-pit mining site in Nyogan, Jambi, is seen filled with water.

Editorial

Protect the planet, its experts

The work of environmental experts has been increasingly criminalized in Indonesia in recent years, jeopardizing not only individual freedoms but also the nation’s ability to address its most pressing ecological challenges.

7 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) visits US President Joe Biden (right) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 13, 2024.

Editorial

Prabowo’s US envoy

To show Trump that Indonesia considers the US an important partner, Prabowo must quickly appoint an envoy to Washington, DC.

7 months ago

A bamboo fence stretching several kilometers stands on Jan. 11, 2025, in the coastal waters of Tangerang, Banten.

Editorial

Bamboo barrier brouhaha

The government's response to the "mysterious" bamboo fence installed off the coast of Tangerang has left the public wanting and sets a bad precedent in protecting our coastal communities and marine ecosystems.

7 months ago

Bald patch: Large swaths of cleared land divide a smallholder oil palm plantation on April 29, 2023, during a tree regeneration program in Mesuji Raya district, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra.

Editorial

Facing palm oil nonsense

There are still many sustainable ways in store to enhance palm oil output, especially through long-neglected replanting efforts rather than opening new plantations by clearing forests.

7 months ago

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