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.

This obscure member of the rare earths family is going to be high on the agenda when China's President Xi Jinping meets with United States President Donald Trump later this month in Washington.

The more useful question for Indonesia is why its students fall behind, and what can be done about it.

The new finance minister may reassure nervous markets, but the real test begins when fiscal discipline inevitably collides with President Prabowo’s expansive political ambitions.

At the United Nations' 81st General Assembly, member states will be close to choosing the next secretary-general, who will immediately be confronted not only by many global crises, but also by the UN’s diminished finances.

From the poisoning of Munir to an acid attack left unpunished, Indonesia’s military justice system reveals a chilling truth: impunity isn’t a breakdown of the law, but a calculated display of power.

Closer relations present a moment to revisit whether the partnership has mutually benefited our peoples and contributed to the greater global public good amid such an unpredictable international environment. 

At the 11th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, President Prabowo Subianto announced plans by Russian aluminum producer Rusal to invest in an Indonesian processing plant, part of broader efforts to deepen bilateral economic ties. Yet the planned investment comes amid intensifying geoeconomic rivalry among major powers, raising questions over whether Indonesia can deepen ties with Russia without compromising its strategic flexibility. The test is whether Indonesia can remain both bebas (free) and aktif (active).

When soldiers target civilians and keep their badges, the military court doesn't just shield its own, it suffocates our democracy.

The Ukraine war certainly featured in conversations. Tellingly, however, Putin steered many talks with leaders towards fuel, trade and transit.

Restoring our degraded lands is no longer optional: It is a proven, high-return investment in our climate, economies and survival.

Once built, trust has to be continuously nurtured to enable the two countries to contribute fully to the maintenance of peace and security in the region.

Smoke doesn’t stop at national borders, and accountability shouldn’t stop at the person holding the match.

As youth violence shifts from organized terrorist dogma to decentralized digital subcultures, Southeast Asia must confront a new reality: how do you stop an impending attack when there is no ideology to deradicalize and no network to map?

Three finance ministers in less than two years proves Indonesia’s fiscal challenge isn’t about who manages the budget, but whether political ambition has finally outpaced economic reality.

Indonesia’s recurring wildfires have once again spiraled into a crisis that reaches far beyond its forests and peatlands. As dense haze shuts down schools, endangers public health, and chokes local economies at home, smoke from fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan has drifted across national borders, blanketing parts of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines. What has long been treated as an unfortunate, seasonal environmental headache is morphing into a thorny test of governance, and an escalating diplomatic liability for Jakarta.

The sudden shake-up at the Finance Ministry has rattled markets, leaving Indonesia’s new fiscal chief with the precarious task of funding Prabowo’s ambitious growth targets without driving the nation into a deficit ditch.

From Central Asia to the Pacific, sovereign states are proving that global rules cannot remain the exclusive playground of great powers.

Rapid expansion of the bloc means that its 21 members have deeply divergent interests, particularly in the Middle East.

Amid shifting global power dynamics and emerging economies seeking a stronger voice, a central issue for BRICS today is whether it should continue as an informal group or take steps toward becoming a formal organization.

As agile Chinese SMEs rapidly plant roots across Southeast Asia, Malaysia faces a high-stakes choice: harness their momentum to build a regional powerhouse, or watch its own businesses get crowded out.

As Communist-led Vietnam laps Southeast Asia's sluggish democracies in growth and foreign capital, ordinary citizens in Jakarta and Manila are left asking an uncomfortable question: Does democracy actually hinder prosperity?

The new finance minister brings steady hands and deep institutional memory, but restoring fiscal credibility will mean making the hard choices his predecessor avoided.

The corruption investigation into the Banjarmasin Medium Tax Office (KPP Madya) has taken an unexpected turn, with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) examining senior tax officials linked to Adaro, one of Indonesia’s largest business groups. The development has brought renewed attention to Adaro’s long and complicated ownership history, including a past dispute involving businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the younger brother of President Prabowo Subianto.