As people increasingly rely on AI chatbots for news, siphoning traffic and profits from outlets often operating on a shoestring budget, good journalism is at risk of disappearing.

When populist national programs hollow out regional budgets, local governments are left fiscally paralyzed just as nationwide disasters strike—turning centralized ambition into a fatal governance failure.

The will clearly exists. The only question that matters now is whether that will reach into the president's own back pocket.

The proposed acquisition of a 30 percent stake in PT Bayan Resources (BYAN) by Jhonlin Baratama has entered a new phase after both parties signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement. The deal follows weeks of uncertainty over Bayan’s production quota, which had forced three of its subsidiaries to declare force majeure while awaiting approval of their revised 2026 mining work and budget plans (RKAB). The timing of the acquisition, Bayan’s force majeure declaration and the subsequent approval of its revised production quota raises questions about the role of regulatory intervention in corporate outcomes.

Statutory promises are meaningless without the political muscle to enforce them against deep-seated economic interests. 

The rains may put out Indonesia’s forest fires, but the real disaster begins once the smoke clears, leaving thousands of rural children to bear a hidden, long-term health crisis alone.

Returning a parcel of depleted soil does not heal generational displacement, and measuring land reform by hectares rather than restored human rights only guarantees that history will repeat itself.

As AI shifts global power into fewer hands, nations like Indonesia face a stark choice: build sovereign capability and shape the technology's direction, or become mere consumers in the next great development divide.

The government’s flagship free nutritious meal program is facing an escalating crisis of public confidence as recurring food-poisoning outbreaks sweep the country. Yet despite mounting casualties, growing demands for accountability and urgent calls for a moratorium, the government has shown no intention of pausing the rollout.

Grounded in shared values and decades of partnership, China and ASEAN are poised to turn the Global Governance Initiative into a real-world architecture for regional stability and shared prosperity.

A decarbonized future cannot be measured in megawatts alone: without the non-negotiable right to consent, the global rush for clean energy risks replicating the very exploitation it claims to leave behind.

Indonesia has commissioned its first aircraft carrier, but turning the aging Italian warship into a drone-bearing force multiplier will demand steep investments in crew, escorts and maintenance to avoid a costly white elephant.

When civilian ministries outsource governance to the barracks, democracy risks mistaking military creep for routine statecraft.

Both countries will benefit from a more meaningful, multidimensional and consistent relationship built on a historical foundation and oriented toward a forward-looking framework, as will the wider region and the world.

Long before treaties and summits, the enduring bond between China and the United States was forged in classrooms, cockpits and ballparks by ordinary people with extraordinary hearts.

As toxic smoke returns to West Kalimantan, a landmark class action is putting Indonesia's environmental governance on trial, testing whether citizens can legally force the state to protect them from preventable disaster.

The next secretary-general will fill the most prominent position in multilateral governance at a time when multilateralism is arguably at its nadir.

If the government seeks a better balance between fiscal stability and economic growth, adopting a springboard approach is the path forward.

The government’s plan to spend an estimated Rp 11 trillion (US$619 million) opening bank accounts for more than 200 million Indonesians aged 17 and above is difficult to justify when fiscal space is already tight and financial inclusion has reached 93.61 percent. If the objective is to reach the unbanked or improve the delivery of social assistance, there is little reason to give new accounts to almost every adult, including those already banked. Scarce public funds should be targeted at people who actually need them.

As global headwinds mount and leadership wavers, Indonesia's push to scrap its 3 percent deficit cap risks trading hard-won market credibility for reckless spending.

Indonesia is learning that building a dominant position in the nickel market is the easy part. Leveraging its influence over supply to control prices is proving much trickier.

A deadly Himalayan avalanche has exposed the catastrophic human toll of global climate inaction, turning Nepal’s tragedy into an urgent test of whether world leaders will finally pay climate reparations or face international legal accountability.

To protect millions in an era of subcontracting and gig platforms, Indonesia’s new labor bill must ensure that basic rights follow the worker, not just the corporate contract.

Indonesia’s long-standing ambition to build a high-speed rail network has evolved from a national prestige project into a potential fiscal burden. Whoosh’s continuing losses and mounting debt have already drawn the Finance Ministry closer to backstopping the project. Given its history of delays, cost overruns and overly optimistic projections, the question is whether Whoosh can deliver sufficient economic benefits or become a noose around Indonesia’s already stretched fiscal capacity.

Indonesia’s latest PISA performance remains below the targets, but the broader trajectory contains genuine progress.

To justify its steep price tag, Indonesia’s first aircraft carrier must balance realistic support roles against the risk of becoming a costly ceremonial white elephant.

Many advanced economies that once set the benchmark for macroeconomic discipline now struggle with problems more common to emerging markets. For emerging economies with sound policies, this creates a rare opportunity to narrow the credibility gap.