Latest Indonesia News & Current Events in English

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

LOG IN / REGISTER

LOG IN

Don’t have an account? Register here Give your organization full access to The Jakarta Post. Register here

Sjamsul Kahar, veteran Aceh journalist, founder and former editor-in-chief of Serambi Indonesia, gestures in this undated photo. Kahar died on Sept. 24, 2026, at the age of 80. — Sjamsul Kahar, veteran Aceh journalist, founder and former editor-in-chief of Serambi Indonesia, gestures in this undated photo. Kahar died on Sept. 24, 2026, at the age of 80.`

Archipelago premium

Veteran Aceh journalist and Serambi Indonesia founder Sjamsul Kahar dies at 80

Born on Oct. 9, 1945, Sjamsul began his journalism career as a reporter for national daily Kompas in Aceh. After gaining experience in the profession, he and his colleague M. Nourhalidyn founded Serambi Indonesia on Feb. 9, 1989.

6 hours ago

Archipelago premium

Discharged policeman sentenced to death penalty for killing sister-in-law

The death penalty verdict against the dishonorably discharged police officer was tougher than the life sentence demanded by the prosecution.

13 hours ago

Archipelago premium

East Java prepares for long dry season

The province faces double ecological crisis in 2026, consisting of floods and landslides during rainy season and forest and land fires as well as expanding extreme drought during dry season.

15 hours ago

The Latest

Police officers conduct a security check at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral Church, known locally as the “Hati Kudus Yesus“ church, on Christmas Eve in Surabaya, East Java, on Dec. 24, 2025.

Society premium

Tangerang church disruption rekindles fears among minorities

Kinari, a Protestant from South Tangerang, feared that allowing intimidation to end with an apology could encourage more serious acts in the future. She also pointed to what she saw as a double standard in the treatment of religious minorities.

17 hours ago

Former education minister and cofounder of tech firm Gojek, Nadiem Makarim, poses ahead of the verdict hearing against him at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Central Jakarta on June 30, 2026. The judges sentenced him to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of abusing his authority in the procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools nationwide between 2020 and 2022.

Politics premium

Court cuts Nadiem’s sentence but he seeks another appeal

An appeals court in Jakarta has reduced the sentence of former education minister Nadiem Makarim convicted of corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops for school nationwide during his term in office.

17 hours ago

Students attend a class on Sept. 23 beside a collapsed wall at SDN 3 Sukajadi
elementary school in Sukakarya, Bekasi regency, West Java. According to the
school, three classrooms have been damaged for the past three years because of
the aging building, disrupting lessons and posing safety risks to students.

Politics premium

Prabowo’s universal free education plan raises feasibility questions

Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said there would be no additional allocation for free state schools, with the government instead reviewing how the existing education budget is distributed among the central and regional governments, ministries and agencies.

18 hours ago

Students eat meal packages distributed under the free nutritious meal program on Aug. 4 at SDN 106162 state elementary school in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra.

Archipelago premium

Calls grow for tighter food safety in free meal program after child’s death

A nine-year-old boy in Lampung recently died after choking on a longan fruit distributed as part of the initiative, marking the first reported death linked to the program.

19 hours ago

Workers set a whiteboard in a classroom at a Sekolah Rakyat (community school) site in Medan, North Sumatra, on July 11, 2025.

Archipelago premium

Dozens of homesick students leave North Sumatra community schools

Presidential chief of staff Dudung Abdurrahman said 30 students from Integrated Community School 1 in Serdang Bedagai regency returned to their homes because they were unable to settle in the boarding school.

1 day ago

Popular

politics

Students attend a class on Sept. 23 beside a collapsed wall at SDN 3 Sukajadi
elementary school in Sukakarya, Bekasi regency, West Java. According to the
school, three classrooms have been damaged for the past three years because of
the aging building, disrupting lessons and posing safety risks to students.

premium

politics premium

Prabowo’s universal free education plan raises feasibility questions

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka gestures before President Prabowo Subianto delivers his annual State of the Nation address during the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary meeting on Aug. 15, 2025, at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Jakarta ahead of the country's 80th Independence Day.

premium

politics premium

Gibran faces fresh challenge over eligibility as VP

Culture Minister Fadli Zon speaks during a media briefing on the launch of Sejarah Indonesia: Dinamika Kebangsaan dalam Arus Global (Indonesian History: National Dynamics in Global Currents) in Jakarta on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. The Culture Ministry launched the first five volumes of the 10-volume series, which are available for free download through its digital platform, pustakabudaya.id.

premium

politics premium

Inconsistencies mar Indonesia-centric history books

President Prabowo Subianto (fourth right) walks along Darussalam Gontor Modern Islamic boarding school leader Hasan Abdullah Sahal (fifth right) after a speech at Gontor’s centennial celebration on Sept. 19 in Ponorogo, East Java.

premium

politics premium

Gontor leader’s blunt remarks highlight ‘pesantren’ political independence

Badui tribe members play traditional Sundanese angklung during the annual Ngaseuk ceremony on Oct. 5, 2025, in Lebak, Banten, to celebrate the planting of rice on dry land to fulfill their daily needs.

premium

politics premium

Indigenous peoples bill in limbo as House rushes agrarian reform

Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Nusron Wahid flashed a thumbs-up following a Legislative Body (Baleg) plenary meeting at the Parliamentary Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Sept. 21, 2026.

premium

politics premium

Nusron leaves Golkar post months before Agrarian Ministry graft probe

President Prabowo Subianto gestures on Friday while speaking at the 28th anniversary event of National Mandate Party (PAN) in Jakarta. PAN is a member of Prabowo’s ruling coalition.

premium

politics premium

Prabowo’s latest swipe at experts draws backlash

jakarta

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (left) poses with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a bilateral meeting at Civic Hall in New York in the United States on Sept. 20, 2026, on the sidelines of the Urban 20 Mayors Summit.

premium

jakarta premium

New York offers Jakarta assistance on municipal bond plan

South Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) personnel fill residents’ buckets with water on Sept. 16 in West Cilandak, South Jakarta. BPBD South Jakarta, in collaboration with city-owned water company PAM Jaya, distributed free clean water to residents affected by water shortages caused by drought, which has left water supplies cloudy and reduced availability.

premium

jakarta premium

Jakarta water shortages worsen as dry season drags on

President Prabowo Subianto (second left) and Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (second
right) test the Jakarta light rapid transit (LRT)’s extension from North Jakarta to Manggarai,
South Jakarta, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026.

premium

jakarta premium

Prabowo opens new LRT link, backs Jakarta’s expansion push

Extra lesson: Children in fourth to sixth grade do coloring activities with volunteers during the noon session at Rumah Belajar Senen in Senen, Central Jakarta, on July 18, 2026.

premium

jakarta premium

Jakarta’s makeshift classrooms under sweltering threat

Director of the Jakarta Police Criminal Investigation Department, Sr. Comr. Iman Imanuddin,(left) and spokesperson Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto (right) show face sketches of alleged perpetrators of unrest that led to the killing of 60-year-old mirror vendor Bambang Setiyawan in Pejompongan, Central Jakarta, during a press briefing at the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Sept. 2, 2026. The police also named 47 suspects allegedly involved in the damaging of public facilities and other violent acts during the unrest.

premium

jakarta premium

Calls mount for police to hunt down mastermind behind deadly Jakarta unrest

Firefighters spray water along Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on Sept. 9, 2026 to clear volcanic ash spewed from Mount Anak Krakatau's eruption.

premium

jakarta premium

Jakarta quick fixes become rare bright spot amid disasters, government shortcomings

Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) personnel sit in the agency's patrol car on Jan. 10, 2024, in Jakarta.

premium

jakarta premium

Jakarta to expand Satpol PP amid staffing gaps

archipelago

Students eat meal packages distributed under the free nutritious meal program on Aug. 4 at SDN 106162 state elementary school in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra.

premium

archipelago premium

Calls grow for tighter food safety in free meal program after child’s death

Workers set a whiteboard in a classroom at a Sekolah Rakyat (community school) site in Medan, North Sumatra, on July 11, 2025.

premium

archipelago premium

Dozens of homesick students leave North Sumatra community schools

Firefighters extinguish forest and peatland fires on Monday in Banjar regency, South Kalimantan. Toxic haze has shrouded parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for weeks as authorities struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Kalimantan and Sumatra, with the smoke drifting across the region.

premium

archipelago premium

167 psychiatric patients evacuated as haze worsens in South Kalimantan

People walk near DayOne data center at Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) in Batam city, Riau Islands, on July 20. Batam has attracted at least 16 new data centers in various stages, despite limited utility infrastrucutre of clean water and electricity.

premium

archipelago premium

Batam residents protest data centers amid water crisis

Suspended Pati Regent Sudewo greets supporters after attending the opening trial in his corruption case on June 15 at the Corruption Court in Semarang, Central Java. Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission accused Sudewo of accepting bribes and gratuities totaling 3.8 billion rupiah (about $233,000) related to railway projects at the Transportation Ministry while serving as a member of parliament from 2021 to 2023, and of allegedly extorting 2.6 billion rupiah (about $160,000) in the recruitment of village officials in Pati regency from 2025 to 2026 while serving as regent.

premium

archipelago premium

Prosecutors demand 8.5-year prison sentence for suspended Pati regent Sudewo

A resident walks past debris following a flash flood in, Solok regency, West Sumatra, on Sept 22, 2026. The flash flood, which struck a day prior, killed one, and injured four others.

premium

archipelago premium

One killed, another missing after flash floods hit West Sumatra

Members of the Indonesian Army gather near a line of Brazilian-made Astros II self-propelled multiple rocket launchers on Nov. 14, 2019, in Central Pian, Natuna regency, the Riau Islands.

premium

archipelago premium

Army to establish Riau Islands command on TNI Day

society

Respiratory problems climb past 170,000 cases in Indonesia

Blazes in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua have blanketed parts of the country, as well as neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, sending air quality indices plummeting.

1 day ago

Smoke billows from burning oil palm and areca palm plantations on Aug. 25 in East Tanjung Jabung regency, Jambi.

premium

society premium

RSPO integrity tested as wildfires hit orangutan habitat

A journalist takes photo of a picture showing Surakman, a crewmember of the boat Arupadhatu 1 that went missing while carrying journalists covering the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, during a press briefing on Sept. 23 at the Banten Police headquarters in Serang, Banten. The police identified a body found on Enggano Island, Bengkulu, as Surakman following DNA identification.

premium

society premium

Crew member from missing Anak Krakatau boat identified

Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Nusron Wahid (left) hands over a copy of the government's response to the agrarian reform bill to House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad (right) during a plenary session at the House on Sept. 22, 2026.

premium

society premium

Agrarian reform bill gets mixed reaction

Several evacuees sit in an evacuation shelter on Aug. 28 in Lape, Aesesa district, Nagekeo regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

premium

society premium

NTT earthquake death figures prompt calls for investigation

A deforested area to be converted into a sugar cane plantation by PT Murni Nusantara Abadi, directly threatening the adjacent customary forest protected by the Kwipalo Clan, scars the landscape on March 17, 2025, in Mandiri Jagebob, Merauke regency, South Papua.

premium

society premium

State-led food estate blamed for wildfire in Papua

Students rest Sept. 2 while receiving treatment for food poisoning at the regional general hospital after eating government-sponsored free school meals in Sidoarjo, East Java.

premium

society premium

Mass food poisoning strikes again as opposition to free meals program grows

Today's ePost

Sat, September 26, 2026

Deepdive Highlights

Legacy, landscapes and lives: The tales of Nusantara

Legacy, landscapes and lives: The tales of Nusantara

Black and White of RI Fiesta of Democracy

Black and White of RI Fiesta of Democracy

Silent, invisible danger on Cirebon coast

Silent, invisible danger on Cirebon coast

Halls of Time

Community

Travels in the land of Gen Z (Part 2)

Travels in the land of Gen Z (Part 2)

By Pallavi Aiyar

Travels in the land of Gen Z

Travels in the land of Gen Z

By Pallavi Aiyar

The app life

By Pallavi Aiyar

Of cats and writers

Of cats and writers

By Pallavi Aiyar

A fair national exam is radical politics

A fair national exam is radical politics

By Pallavi Aiyar

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Let us know what you think:

Enter at least 30 characters

0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.