The new Labor Protection Law, approved by the House of Representatives on Oct. 6, promises stronger severance entitlements, tighter dismissal rules and greater employment security. But stronger legal protections mean little if employers circumvent restrictions on temporary employment or fail to pay compensation. The real test of the new law lies not in its promises but in whether its provisions translate into effective protection for workers when their livelihoods are most vulnerable.

With toxic smoke paralyzing many regions, the government's inertia is exacting a fatal toll that only decisive presidential leadership can stop.

Until a durable resolution of the United States-Israeli war with Iran is reached, Gulf shipments will be heavily curtailed, leaving the global LNG market seriously strained.

Development must focus on the best ways to help the poor, who are more vulnerable to everything, not just climate change.

By breaking ranks to cut a private fuel deal with Moscow, Washington just handed Asia an urgent lesson: Build your own energy reserves, or get priced out of the scramble.

Governments’ fiscal policies should be judged by whether they strengthen the economy’s capacity to meet public obligations over time.

Affirmative action can open the corridors of power to women, but it was never meant to be an immunity card against the corrupting machinery of Indonesian politics.

Indonesia’s path to lasting prosperity depends not on the myth of a strongman savior, but on dismantling elite capture to build institutions that are truly fair, accountable and built to outlast power.  

The inauguration of Suyudi Ario Seto as the new National Police (Polri) chief should be a chance to ask whether Polri can become a truly professional force. The early signals suggest it will not.

Before chasing air-taxi pipe dreams, Jakarta must fix the fiscal cracks beneath the 11 million commuters relying on Transjakarta every day.

Millions remain locked away in psychiatric institutions under the guise of care—it is time to replace outdated confinement with dignity, community support, and fundamental human rights.

Java’s northern coast faces severe water-catchment degradation, yet an AI center requiring massive amounts of water is planned there.

Record harvests mean little if plates stay empty: Indonesia must stop measuring food security by the tonne and start measuring it by nutrition, access and ecological sense.

Autonomy will increasingly depend on whether societies can keep essential systems functioning, respond to disruption and create new capabilities when existing ones become obsolete.

Southeast Asia has mastered moving capital across borders. Now it must stop letting corporate responsibility stall at customs while millions breathe transboundary haze.

Indonesia’s increasingly centralized economic model promises greater protection against external shocks. Yet concentrating both authority and financial risk in the state may be eroding the many shock absorbers on which the country’s resilience has long depended.

PT Nations Petroleum, an oil and gas company linked to businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, President Prabowo Subianto’s younger brother and special climate and energy envoy, has committed US$103.3 million to three years of work on the Natuna D-Alpha block, prompting questions over why the relatively new player is willing to take on such an ambitious bet.

Scapegoating train drivers and ferry captains will not save lives, only radical, systemic reform can protect the millions who rely on Indonesia’s most affordable transit.

Sweden and Indonesia’s partnership is increasingly focused on the future: supporting Indonesia’s industrial transformation while accelerating digitalization and the green transition in a rapidly changing global economy.

Behind the promise of Southeast Asia’s AI revolution lies a destructive reality: an old-school scramble for power, land and minerals that is reviving fossil fuels and pushing fragile ecosystems to the brink.

Maritime cooperation with Beijing cannot come at the expense of sovereign rights: for Indonesia, the smart play is engagement backed by unyielding legal firewalls and a fortified presence in the North Natuna Sea.

From high-profile killings and protest crackdowns to election interference, a string of scandals has pushed public trust in the National Police to a breaking point.

In the decades of their work, various challenges have arisen in relation to negative impact on human rights, and social and environmental issues.

The government should put an end to the various rules that stifle investment and instead focus on building a healthy, competitive business climate that ensures legal certainty. 

Indonesia covers nearly its entire population under national health insurance, yet relying on imports for 90 percent of its active medicine ingredients leaves the country dangerously exposed to the next global shock.

The latest ruling by the Constitutional Court has raised far more questions than it has answered regarding the educational qualifications of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Almost half of US ambassadorships remain vacant while political appointees outnumber career diplomats being put forward, creating a perceived void in Washington's global presence.