Southeast Asia is not swapping geopolitical camps—it is expanding its diplomatic toolkit to ensure it never has to choose between them.

The Finance Ministry and state asset fund Danantara are at odds over who controls dividends from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), exposing an unresolved question at the heart of Indonesia's new state-asset architecture. Before Danantara was created, SOE dividends were paid to the state and recorded as non-tax revenue. Under the new framework, Danantara manages the shares and assets transferred to it and can use returns from those assets for investment and capital injections. Part of its eventual profits is to be transferred to the state after provisions for investment risks and capital accumulation. The dispute therefore is not simply about whether the government can receive SOE dividends, but about when and through what mechanism those funds should reach the state budget.

The national standard for QR code payments has helped millions of small businesses move toward digital financial inclusion. The next step in this evolution is to use the data generated to enable access to financing.

As toxic haze blankets Southeast Asia and millions of tonnes of CO2 enter the atmosphere, the country is running out of excuses to rein in corporate polluters and honor its climate promises.

As fires rage and geopolitical tests loom, Indonesians are waiting for the President to make good on his word: that real strength begins at home.

Indonesia’s rising public anger reflects deeper structural pressures, from elite impunity to digital manipulation, eroding trust in democratic institutions.

While AI-fuelled equity gains in North Asia have hogged the spotlight this year, select ASEAN markets have quietly staged a breakout of their own.

To survive in an unstable world, Indonesia must master the delicate art of the middle way: keeping a firm hand at the center while fixing the fractured, graft-prone machinery of regional autonomy.

The grouping increasingly represents emerging and middle powers across regions that share common development priorities and seek a greater voice in institutions shaping global affairs.

From the perspective of Indonesia’s national health policy, AI is an innovation. Ensuring that innovation is safe, equitable and trustworthy is a critical issue when it comes to AI in the health sector. 

The people's fight against oligarchy, corruption and foreign dependence won't be won by sliding back into authoritarianism, but by building a democracy strong enough to hold power to account.

Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono's recent political messaging can be interpreted as an attempt to achieve a delicate balancing act: positioning himself and the Democratic Party as a critical voice within government without crossing the line into outright opposition. It is a strategy born from both opportunity and necessity. For Agus, the political challenge is obvious. While he remains one of Indonesia's most recognizable younger politicians, he has not consistently appeared among the top-tier contenders in most discussions about the 2029 presidential election.

The return of haze underscores a sobering reality: while ASEAN has policies designed to combat it, the problem continues to occur.

When environmental crises cross borders, government communication becomes crucial to managing their impacts and protecting Indonesia’s international reputation.

Middle powers are critically important in at least two spheres of influence: in the UN and in protection against mass atrocities.  

AI agents need protective layers, not a lecture about good behavior.

The future job market belongs not to those waiting for a vacancy, but to the graduates equipped to turn society’s friction into economic opportunity.

America’s inability to protect bases in the Persian Gulf and Jordan and its regional allies’ territory signals a historic blow to its imperial system.

Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa was removed as finance minister after just over a year in office, marking the second time President Prabowo Subianto has replaced the country’s finance minister in less than two years. Prabowo appointed former deputy finance minister Suahasil Nazara to replace him, making Suahasil the third person to hold the position since Prabowo took office. The abrupt change followed months of contentious reforms, fiscal policies and plans that increasingly brought Purbaya into conflict with officials within the Finance Ministry and with other institutions.

Relying solely on executive orders and administrative decrees is fundamentally insufficient for a technology this consequential.

The flames may eventually die down, but for the wildlife trapped in Indonesia’s charred forests, the real crisis of hunger, trauma and displacement has only just begun.

Indonesia is entering an era of bigger defense budgets and small budgetary visibility. Yet the institutions that allow the legislature and the public to determine where money goes have not strengthened.

The public has been handed a reform that was quietly rendered toothless months before its scheduled arrival.

Indonesia faces an unfortunate fiscal paradox: Just as the government has cut disaster-mitigation funding to the bone, disasters have struck with unforgiving regularity. President Prabowo Subianto himself has acknowledged that disasters are part and parcel of life in the archipelago. Yet his administration has slashed the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BNPB) budget to just Rp 491 billion (US$28 million) this year, raising a fundamental question: How much can Indonesia afford to save on preparing for disasters?

The 100-gigawatt solar ambition is no longer about hitting a target, it is about turning homegrown clean power into our next great economic engine.

Rebranding gig drivers as "entrepreneurs" might polish government employment data, but no administrative label can turn precarious, low-productivity survival into a genuine path to prosperity.

A regional administration that fixes flawed infrastructure after it goes viral isn't setting the standard for leadership. It's merely doing the bare minimum.