Echa Wa’ode (center), an activist from LGBTQ rights organization Arus Pelangi, marches with other participants on March 8, 2025, during a protest organized by the Indonesian Women's Alliance (API) on the 50th International Women's Day demanding labor rights, gender equality and protections in Jakarta.`

Rights groups oppose calls to criminalize LGBTQ people

Civil society groups have condemned growing calls from religious leaders and lawmakers to criminalize LGBTQ people and advocacy, warning that such proposals would violate fundamental rights and further marginalize an already vulnerable minority.

4 hours ago

Politics

Government to halt free meal scheme during holidays

The multi-billion dollar meal scheme is one of President Prabowo Subianto's signature policies, but has been widely criticised for its high costs, with hundreds demonstrating in Jakarta last week to call for it to be scrapped.

6 hours ago

Archipelago premium

KSP summons all parties in alleged ilmenite, rare earth minerals smuggling

Private tin mining company PT Putraprima Mineral Mandiri (PMM) said the export of 390 tonnes of ilmenite was worth some US$195,000 and not in the trillions of rupiah, or millions of US dollars, as estimated by the Indonesian Navy and Forest Enforcement (PKH) Task Force.

9 hours ago

The Latest

Suspect in the alleged corruption case involving the governance of the free nutritious meal program, Andri Mulyono (second left), walks toward a detention vehicle at the Attorney General’s Office in Jakarta, on June 12, 2026.

Archipelago premium

AGO starts seizing electric motorcycles tied to free meals corruption case

BGN procured more than 21,000 electric motorcycles for kitchen heads under its free meals program last year, at an estimated cost exceeding Rp 1 trillion.

11 hours ago

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (center) talks with student protesters after receiving them in a meeting at the Vice Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on June 15, 2026. In the meeting, Gibran reportedly took notes of their concerns in a small notebook.

Politics premium

Gibran’s outreach to student protesters prompts scrutiny over his political motives

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s decision to engage with student protesters amid waves of demonstrations against President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs has raised questions about whether the move is aimed at increasing his political visibility and the possibility of a meaningful policy response.

14 hours ago

Women carry kitchen utensils and display posters, one of which reads “Life is already hard, taxes are used as they please,“ during a protest demanding the government review the free meal program, lower fuel prices, and open more job opportunities for women, in Jakarta on June 18, 2026. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP)

Society premium

Beneficiaries willing to forgo free meals to improve quality

As controversy and pressure mount over President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meal program, some beneficiaries say they are willing to forgo the assistance intended to combat stunting if it allows the government to address the initiative’s shortcomings, even as operators and other stakeholders voice concerns over its continuity.

14 hours ago

Subsidy addicts: Motorists line up for subsidized RON-90 Pertalite fuel at a gas station in Bogor city, West Java on Aug. 9. The government has begun discussions on whether to increase the price of Pertalite soon.

Archipelago premium

Protests erupt in North Sumatra amid subsidized fuel shortage

In North Sumatra’s capital Medan, hundreds of ojol (online motorcycle transportation) drivers protested outside Pertamina's office on Thursday, demanding a solution to fuel shortages that have led to long queues at gas stations across the city.

14 hours ago

In this file photo dated Oct. 10, 2025, stacks of cash totaling Rp 13 trillion (US$785 million) are displayed in the lobby of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in Jakarta during the handover of assets recovered from a corruption case involving crude palm oil export permits.

Politics premium

AGO confiscates billions in assets, cash linked to fugitive convict Eddy Tansil

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has confiscated assets worth around Rp 30 billion (US$1.68 million) belonging to convicted corruption fugitive Eddy Tansil, in addition to Rp 51.68 billion in cash, as part of the government’s broader push to recover state losses from corruption cases.

1 day ago