Workers prepare meal packages under the free nutritious meal program at the Plaju Ulu II nutrition fulfillment service unit (SPPG) in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 10, 2025. The kitchen distributes over 3,000 meal packages for eight schools in the area.

Prabowo prioritizes human development, so why isn't Indonesia happy?

While investments in human capital are essential for long-term growth, they do not address Indonesia’s pressing short-term challenges: Low productivity, a weak job market and the lack of formal employment.

6 months ago

Academia

Civil society under pressure after August protests

Nearly 1,000 suspects have been named in the riots, including high school students. Police have seized books they claim are subversive to justify the arrests. ...

6 months ago

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The hidden reality of informal employment statistics

Jobs are being created, but many remain unprotected and unworthy of the term “decent work.” ...

6 months ago

The Latest

A general view of the city skyline of Jakarta on Oct. 30, 2021.

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How facility management can drive green transition

Inefficient energy use in buildings represents a substantial obstacle toward national climate objectives, thus underlining the importance of effective facility management.

6 months ago

Members of the Kasepuhan Cisungsang indigenous community carry newly harvested rice to be placed in a leuit or rice barn during a Seren Taun traditional ceremony in Cisungsang, Lebak, Banten, on Sept. 29, 2025.

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Better together: Building 'Four Betters' in agrifood systems

Threats to agrifood systems, ranging from climate shocks to conflict, can unwind years of progress against hunger.

6 months ago

People carry placards on Oct. 2, 2025 during a protest against the government’s free nutritious meal program, in Jakarta. Increasing numbers of people are questioning the program’s efficacy and safety following mounting food-poisoning incidents.

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Safer food for a better future: Lessons from the free meals program

There can be no better food without safer food, and no better future if the health of our people is compromised.

6 months ago

Police officers from the Operation Cartenz Peace conduct a patrol in Bintang Highlands regency, Papua Highlands on Sept. 21, 2023.

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The politics of labeling in Papua: How narrative control perpetuates conflict

In Papua's conflict dynamics, civilian victims frequently become subjects of competing labels depending on which party controls the narrative.

6 months ago

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks to supporters while holding up electoral records during a rally in Caracas on Aug. 28, 2024.

Academia

Machado’s peace Nobel revives the prize’s old dilemmas

The Venezuelan opposition leader is the latest in a long list of controversial Nobel peace laureates that illustrate the committee's complex reasoning behind whether to choose a model of change or a model for change.

6 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto speaks on Sept. 23, during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City.

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Prabowo’s second year and the changing economic landscape

Prabowo’s populist, project-driven, fiscally expansionary approach has been unfolding in a fragile institutional setting.

6 months ago

China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang (from left), President Prabowo Subianto, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Bahrain's National Security Advisor Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile attend a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 20, 2025.

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Why the Eurasian security architecture is important for Indonesia

A secure Eurasian continent will inevitably radiate waves of stability to other parts of the world.

6 months ago

Traders arrange their textiles in Cipadu, Tangerang, Banten, on Oct. 7, 2025

Academia

The world’s $600 trillion balancing act

Global wealth accumulation this century has far outstripped economic growth, and the performance of that US$600 trillion of savings over the next decade rests heavily on how the gap is closed, a productivity boost or sustained inflation.

6 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya walk through a narrow alley in the Gerenceng community of Denpasar on Sept. 13, 2025, to meet residents affected by severe flooding in Bali’s provincial capital.

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Climate finance beyond paper: Can Bali turn promises into actions?

The recently launched Bali Climate Financing Platform introduces a new model for translating road maps into implementation and if successful, it could be emulated in other provinces to safeguard regional economies toward building climate resilience.

6 months ago

Pramoedya Ananta Toer's childhood home is filled with rows of books and various illustrations on several bookshelves.

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From Jakarta to Florida: Why democracies still fear books

Democracies like Indonesia and the US treat books as potential dangers, especially those that question dominant narratives.

6 months ago

Protesters demonstrate demanding justice for drug war victims, after the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, in Quezon City on March 11, 2025.

Academia

Two political forces and the Philippines’ future

For the 2028 election option, the anti-Duterte forces lag behind the pro-Duterte group in preparations because of the absence of a clear successor candidate that they can collectively rally behind.

6 months ago

This aerial handout photo taken on Dec. 22, 2024, and released on Jan. 31 by Auriga Nusantara shows deforestation at an area on Gag Island in Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua province.

Academia

Alleged British links in Papua’s crisis

UK banks, energy giants and arms exporters are at the heart of one of the world’s least-known human rights and environmental crises, research has revealed.

6 months ago

The app icons of six Indonesian unicorns (clockwise from top left), e-commerce platform Tokopedia, on-demand transportation company Gojek, digital wallet OVO, parcel and courier service company J&T Express, e-commerce platform Bukalapak and online travel agency Traveloka, are displayed on a smartphone menu, in this illustration created on Aug. 3, 2021.

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The maturing of Indonesia’s tech scene

Over the past decade, Indonesia’s digital landscape has evolved beyond its initial premise as "dinosaur" corporations slowly caught up with nascent disruptors, pointing to a future that will be defined by those that possess both youthful agility and mature resilience.

6 months ago

This handout picture released by the Israeli Foreign Ministry shows Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (center) and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila (right), along with other activists, after the Israeli navy intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Oct. 1, 2025, as stated by the ministry.

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Indonesia’s diplomatic test after interception of civilian flotilla

Indonesia should initiate a multilateral humanitarian platform to develop international protocols for the protection of maritime humanitarian missions.

6 months ago

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Provincial Governments (APPSI) and Jambi Governor Al Haris talks to the media after a meeting with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa at the Finance Ministry in Jakarta on Oct. 7, 2025.

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Long live the governors, regional voice and resilience

The governors’ challenge to the regional transfer fund cuts reflects a deeper call for participation in shaping the fiscal framework that defines their capacity to govern.

6 months ago

United States President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (left) after agreeing on a trade deal between the two economies following their meeting, in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27, 2025.

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The EU must stand up to Trump

Whatever their views on existing regulations, Europeans must decide whether to surrender sovereignty and democratic processes to a bullying authoritarian populist.

6 months ago

People walk amid the destruction in Gaza City, Palestine, on Saturday, a day after a ceasefire took effect.

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A pause in violence is neither peace nor justice

So severe and devastating have the actions of the Israeli government and military been that they have managed to elicit sympathy merely for pausing the slaughter.

6 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto salutes the crowd from his vehicle on July 21 ahead of inaugurating 80,081 cooperatives under the Red and White Village Cooperative initiative in a national rollout ceremony held in Bentangan village, Klaten, Central Java.

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Chasing high growth: Indonesia’s risky economic leap

Chasing high growth without structural reform, institutional strength and sound fundamentals risks imbalances, rising inequality and eroded credibility.

6 months ago

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) reacts as Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape speaks on Dec. 12, 2024, during a press conference in Sydney.

Academia

Old lessons for a new Australia-PNG treaty

Australia has a long history of not only working with PNG on defense, but also of Papua New Guineans being an integral part of Australia’s armed forces.

6 months ago

A man carries belongings from his damaged shop in Banda Aceh, Aceh on Dec. 31, 2004 after the 9.1-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami hit the area.

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Turning disaster into opportunity

Asia and the Pacific is the world’s most disaster-exposed region, yet pre-arranged financing, including insurance, remains strikingly low with coverage below 1 percent in many developing countries.

6 months ago

Basarnas personnel evacuate victims who died due to flash floods in Pelabuhanratu, Sukabumi, West Java, on March 7, 2025. The Sukabumi City BPBD said that hydrometeorological disasters such as floods and landslides that hit the area on March 6-7, 2025 reached 18 points and affected 91,000 people.

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Stop funding disasters, start financing resilience

Every dollar spent on disaster preparedness multiplies in value by reducing future losses and safeguarding development gains.

6 months ago

A person walks on a cracked seawall on May 7, 2024, in Kalibaru, Cilincing, North Jakarta. Residents of the
area fear that the wall, which was built to protect the area from waves and tides, could collapse at any time.

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The lucrative Giant Sea Wall: A megaproject worth questioning

The Giant Sea Wall would be a perfect disaster, destroying fish spawning grounds and local and migratory waterbird habitats.

6 months ago

Nature lesson: Cimahi Mandiri 1 state elementary school students attend a natural science class on Sept. 22, 2025 in the city of Cimahi, West Java.

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From chalkboards to chatbots: Teachers' agency at the crossroads

Teachers need to have the intellectual freedom to decide what and how to teach beyond algorithmic nudges.

6 months ago

Indonesian women's basketball players celebrate after defeating Singapore's national basketball team on May 14, 2023 during the Basket 5X5 SEA Games 2023 competition at Elephant Hall 2, Morodok Techo Indoor Sports Center, Phnom Penh. The Indonesian women's basketball national team got a gold medal after beating Singapore 86-39.

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Can sports forge a shared destiny for Southeast Asia?

Beyond identity, we know that sports are a powerful element for promoting peace, development and social inclusion, creating new connections and friendships.

6 months ago

Former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) welcomes visiting Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on Sept. 29, 2025 at his private residence in Surakarta, Central Java.

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More than a handshake: Decoding the Ba’asyir-Jokowi encounter

For Jokowi, the meeting with Ba'asyir reinforced his identity as a unifying figure, even in retirement.

6 months ago

Curbing carbon: The Tambak Lorok gas-fired power plant in Semarang, Central Java, is among several power plants where state electricity company PLN is studying the implementation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce carbon emissions.

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Indonesia at COP30: Powerhouse or empty promise?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is no ordinary infrastructure, it involves cross-sectoral coordination, long-term liability management and public trust. None of which can be assumed to function automatically.

6 months ago

The Euro currency sign is seen in front of the former European Central Bank (ECB) building on Dec. 11, 2024, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany.

Academia

Time for Germany's 'sugar rush' to hit

One of the most transformative economic policy shifts in a turbulent year is about to kick in, but there is some trepidation about how all this spending and reform will actually pan out.

6 months ago

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