ASEAN has fallen far from its original purpose, as has Indonesia from its role as the organization's natural leader, but all is not yet lost, so long as its current leaders can buck up and transform the grouping into a truly regional community.

The forfeiture mechanism should apply within a specified timeframe, to ensure the law complements, rather than weakens, criminal enforcement commitments.

The real challenge for modern armed forces lies in making these systems fully operational: equipping them with trained crews, effective maintenance, full armament and doctrinal integration.

Cooperatives and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now eligible to manage mining concessions over significant land areas across the country following the issuance of a revision to the Government Regulation (PP) No. 39/2025 on implementation of mineral and coal mining operations. While the government has presented this policy to boost local economic participation, particularly among communities near existing mines, it has also raised concerns over the limited technical capacity of co-ops and SMEs and the risk that they could be used as fronts for large corporations.

Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu'ti reflects on a year of his and his ministry's achivement since taking office in October 2024, and underlines his plan for the future of elementary education in Indonesia.

It is a moment to look ahead and chart a path toward an even stronger partnership for peace and prosperity.

President Prabowo needs to realize that, although Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN, ignoring its neighbors is a significant blunder. 

Events have also shown enormous capacity gaps when it comes to wider air defense, including antiaircraft rockets to shoot down incoming missiles.

Trump’s presence at the ASEAN Summit is not about endorsement or approval of his policies. It is, instead, a moment of strategic diplomacy.

Daily conversation in ASEAN now revolves around how to walk a fine line between avoiding overdependence and co-optation by any major power for their own agenda.

As populist strongmen rise across democracies, Camus’ warnings against the corruption of truth and language feel newly relevant.

A policy that should be as uncontroversial as “feed children well” has been turned into a stage for point-scoring, institutional turf wars and media skirmishes.

Indonesia has tried, and failed, to develop a native car brand over the decades, and attempting to revive this developmental model in the current era of energy transition with a globally connected supply chain risks ending in the same fate: merely a flag-waving vanity project.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is facing growing backlash from regional governments after the central government decided to slash local transfers in the 2026 state budget to their lowest level since 2016. Purbaya insists the move is crucial to safeguard fiscal stability amid mounting budgetary pressure. Yet, his rationale raises a critical question: Can regional governments withstand the burden of this fiscal tightening?

Asset recovery must be part of a comprehensive fiscal strategy, not a photo opportunity. 

Uniting science and diplomacy is needed to create lasting global impact.

At Cocoyoc, postcolonial nations challenged the West’s obsession with growth. Fifty years later, Brazil’s forest initiative revives that original call for justice and survival.

Ahead of the 47th ASEAN Summit on Oct. 26 in Kuala Lumpur, the Brazilian president shares his views about areas in which his country and the regional grouping can cooperate toward building a sustainable future of prosperity and peace.

What could pass to history as the “Anwar Doctrine” could be a reminder that the Asia Pacific is a true engine of multipolarism, not a disruptor of it.

Financial bubbles are notoriously difficult to define in real time – until the moment they burst.

The world needs development banks and financial institutions to move from post-disaster reimbursement to pre-disaster readiness.

Every regime born of electoral democracy proclaims its faith in meritocracy, a system that values competence over connection, and professionalism over political convenience, but Indonesia tells a different story. 

The governance and controversial politics surrounding Islamic academic institutions came to a head in recent weeks after a three-story pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Sidoarjo, East Java, collapsed last month, killing 67 students and injuring over 170 others.

The bill will only change the method of suppression; whereas in the past silencing was achieved through military intelligence operations, it can now be done via cyber patrols.

President Prabowo’s focus - on food and energy security, defense modernization and economic sovereignty - instinctively recognizes the challenge to transform its founding philosophy, Pancasila, into a living force for competitiveness.

How Indonesia and Brazil have cut down on deforestation.

Many young people today grow up surrounded by misleading narratives, both online and in public discourse, that frame religion through the lens of fear or hostility.