The WHO Pandemic Agreement shows that in a world full of division and conflicts, unity remains possible, and that multilateralism can still deliver as part of the solution to global challenges.

The free meals program has the potential to reduce poverty rates by between 1 percent and 4 percent.

Reputational damage in the digital age is swift and brutal. A single social media post can dismantle years of brand cultivation.

The Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF), formed by the government in July 1998 in response to public demand to investigate the May riots, concluded the rapes did occur.

The public have jumped to the defense of Raja Ampat in a modern-day case of David versus Goliath, where collective resistance must be mounted as the Papuan people wield everyday environmentalism to sling against the greenwashed extractive narrative of mining oligarchs.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the country’s largest Islamist party, isn’t going to change course any time soon following changes in its leadership this month, as it has chosen instead to reaffirm its loyalty to the government of President Prabowo Subianto until his term ends in 2029.

Indonesia still faces a daunting challenge to qualify for the World Cup, and questions arose about whether the team's reward was premature. 

No amount of shock-and-awe policy disruption in one country compares to the disruption caused by climate change.

There are systemic issues in the national food supply chain management. High production has not been matched by adaptive absorption and distribution capacity.

As ASEAN seeks to further economic cooperation, it must also address the lingering political and security issues in the region to avoid the emergence of a contradictory condition akin to the "Asian paradox".

There are few clear paths to an immediate end to the fighting between Israel and Iran. And what comes after the war could be even more concerning.

Raja Ampat is a litmus test for our mineral nationalism, which requires both reforming and restructuring into a social contract rooted in justice, inclusion and shared stewardship so the nation as a whole can prosper, even as it leads the globe in green minerals.

Current volatile dynamic could spiral into a black swan event, where an unforeseen escalation triggers global chaos, defying risk models.

Danantara has little choice but to rescue financially bleeding state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by channeling dividends from profitable SOEs, as government funds are no longer permitted for such purposes. The market has responded positively to the planned rescue of near-collapse SOEs, though some have warned Danantara of the potential risk of wasting valuable investment capital.

The primary motive behind the regulation is to ensure the financial sustainability of health insurers, who are struggling with rising claims amid soaring medical cost.

The US does not have the power to inflict significant economic damage on China.

It may be less turbulent than this past spring's drama, but no less worrying for investors.

The President's public pledge last month to prioritize passage of the bill on protection for domestic workers presents an unheralded opportunity to break the cycle of invisibility and injustice and recognize domestic workers as an essential force in the economy. 

The country's social security system, now over 20 years old, might need reforms for an across-the-board upgrade to reflect contemporary conditions and trends, such as an aging population and a shift from traditional, family-based elderly care, as well as inclusion of a growing informal sector.

The pattern is simple: find land, exploit it, suppress resistance, reward the cronies.

The deployment of carriers serves as a stark reminder of how easily tensions could escalate into armed conflict. Yet amid these challenges, diplomacy must remain the priority.

A Rp 9.9 trillion (US$610 million) corruption scandal involving the procurement of school laptops by the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry from 2019 to 2022, under the leadership of Nadiem Makarim, has captured national attention.

Our bureaucrats should learn to be less xenophobic in dealing with expatriates.

As it stands, the government's housing policy is essentially displacement masquerading as development, and needs a complete overhaul by shifting the focus to low-income residents and their communities as agents, equal partners and coproducers of housing solutions, not mere beneficiaries.

Sharing posts about Raja Ampat becomes a way to show that one is environmentally conscious, politically aware or simply follows the current controversy. 

Prabowo's free meals program comes packaged in the state rhetoric of love for the nation and if this is truly so, perhaps accountability should also be a key ingredient.

The Prabowo Subianto administration on May 23, 2025, launched a stimulus package aimed at sustaining household consumption and maintaining economic growth momentum amid rising global uncertainties. The package consists of five short-term measures set to be implemented from June to July 2025—one fewer than initially planned after the government scrapped a proposed electricity price discount. While the consumer-focused stimulus was introduced amid ongoing fiscal tightening, it was deemed necessary following a slowdown in household consumption and overall economic growth in the first quarter of 2025.