President Prabowo Subianto thanked on Thursday Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) for their support of his administration, saying the country’s largest Islamic organization played a significant role in maintaining the nation’s unity and stability.

The former cooperatives minister has backtracked remarks he made at a forum organized by the pro-Jokowi group Projo, which he cofounded, suggesting that the next regime change might arrive sooner than 2029.

Hundreds of protesters from Pati, Central Java, pressed the House of Representatives on Thursday to pass the long-delayed asset forfeiture bill to eradicate corruption, as thousands gathered the Senayan Legislative Complex to voice broader frustration over the country’s worsening economic conditions.

Since early Thursday, authorities have implemented traffic diversions around areas expected to be crowded with protesters. Police blocked several roads in the capital, including both lanes of Jl. Gatot Subroto from the Senayan Park area to the front of the legislative complex.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has found himself at the center of fresh scrutiny over his political future after speculation emerged that he may leave President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party to join the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI).

Hundreds of people from Pati, Central Java, are set to stage a protest at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Thursday to demand the swift passage of an asset forfeiture bill and stronger anticorruption efforts from authorities.

Civil groups said the timing of Bank Mandiri’s freezing of a protest coordinator’s account raised concerns that banking powers were being used to restrict citizens’ right to protest.

Bank Mandiri’s freezing of a protest coordinator’s account has drawn strong criticism from civil society groups, which have warned the move restricts civic freedoms and could erode public trust in the state-owned lender.

Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is slated to hold a leadership contest to pick its next chair in its upcoming national congress (Muktamar) in Jombang, East Java in late August.

The House of Representatives is aiming to pass a long-delayed asset forfeiture bill by the end of this year, as lawmakers plan to intensify consultations with civil groups and legal experts on legislation seen as a potential tool in the fight against corruption.

Some remarks made by President Prabowo Subianto in his State of the Nation address, including statistics on job creation and school renovation, have been met with criticism for alleged inconsistency with realities on the ground. 

Constitutional experts have pushed back against efforts to revive long-defunct state policy guidelines, warning that the proposal risks restoring the total political authority that the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) had during the New Order era.

President Prabowo Subianto, his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka sit together during the Independence Day ceremony, in what observers saw as a show of unity amid speculation of strained relations among the three. 

Despite the barricades, students remained defiant, with a protester on the front line shouting that Prabowo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka had failed, followed by echoes from the crowd in the back.

A clash between a group of people and security personnel erupted in Banda Aceh following the raising of a flag associated with a former separatist movement crescent in place of the national flag over the weekend, fueling tensions ahead of Indonesia’s Independence Day.

Among topics discussed in the gathering of political parties’ senior officials hosted by Gerindra Party secretary-general Sugiono was the 2029 general election and the revision of elections-related regulations.

President Prabowo Subianto led the 81st Independence Day ceremony in Jakarta on Monday, as the country marked the occasion amid the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and unrest during an Aceh peace anniversary event over the weekend.

The Constitutional Court’s recent ruling that alleged insults against the president or vice president can only be prosecuted upon their complaint has not quieted fears for free speech amid growing intimidation of critics.

President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated nearly 3,400 bridges built by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police in villages across the nation amid a target to construct a total of 5,000 bridges by the end of 2026.

President Prabowo Subianto offered a triumphant assessment of his administration’s first two years on Friday, touting food self-sufficiency and flagship programs despite mounting public discontent and skepticism over whether their benefits have been widely felt.

President Prabowo Subianto has invoked the economic philosophy of Marhaenism, associated with the quasi-opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as he seeks broad political support for his new plan to establish a mineral exchange.

The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) has said that more research is needed before pushing for the revival of the now-defunct state policy guidelines, a controversial proposal critics fear can snowball into wider constitutional changes.

President Prabowo Subianto has called on law enforcement officers to make use of their positions and powers to crack down on illegal mining, during his State of the Nation address on Friday.

Former presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Megawati Soekarnoputri were notably absent from the annual People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary meeting on Friday, to hear President Prabowo Subianto deliver his second State of the Nation address as the country’s president.

A women’s rights group and a number of individual petitioners have filed a legal challenge to the Job Creation Law, saying the law contains discriminatory provisions that impoverish women and undermine their rights.

Intellectuals call for the government to restore the independence of key state institutions to support the rule of law and end misallocation of state funds for initiatives including President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs.

The growing consolidation of mass organizations under a group cofounded by President Prabowo Subianto’s younger brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo to support government programs has raised concerns over the potential narrowing of space for criticism and the weakening of independent voices.