Indonesia Society News: Social Issues & Education

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Jakarta Post
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Breathing gets harder as haze blankets Southeast Asia

More than two months into haze crisis, worsening air quality and mounting health concerns are fueling frustration among residents and renewed calls for authorities to hold those responsible for the fires accountable.

22 hours ago
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Women turn forest foods into new livelihoods

What grows wild in Indonesia’s forests is finding a new place on the table, as women from forest communities turn overlooked ingredients into food products, delicacies and new sources of income. ...

1 day ago
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Public health measures urged amid El Niño's extreme heat

In a study aiming at quantifying the relationship between temperature and excess mortality, researchers projected that Indonesia may see almost 20,000 extra heat-related deaths during this El Niño season. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

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Government to investigate post-quake death toll among NTT evacuees

By late September, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported at least 108 people had died while taking shelter after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Flores Island in NTT on Aug. 15. The number of people who were killed directly by the disaster was 48, according to official records.

5 days ago
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Court ruling on nutrition label welcomed to promote consumer health

Health and consumer rights groups have welcomed a recent Constitutional Court ruling that called for a regulation of sugar, salt and fat labelings on food and beverage products in order to strengthen consumer health protection.

5 days ago
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Police name train driver suspect amid wider systemic factors

The National Police have named the driver of the Argo Bromo Anggrek long-distance train a suspect over a fatal collision in Bekasi, West Java, prompting questions among experts over other factors found by the transportation safety committee that pointed to more systemic failures.

6 days ago
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Water concerns triggers suspension of West Java data center project

The planned data center site, owned by Singapore-based firm BDx Data Centers, is located roughly 5 kilometers from the Jatiluhur Dam, the main source of clean water for the Greater Jakarta area and irrigation for farms in the western part of West Java.

6 days ago
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Govt to audit haj fund management to curb frauds

Efforts to improve governance on haj management done by the Haj and Umrah Ministry had resulted in the reduced waiting time for pilgrims under state-subsidized regular program from 49 years to 14 years. 

1 week ago
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Government shores up BPJS Kesehatan as gaps persist

The government’s planned Rp 20 trillion injection into national health insurance provider BPJS Kesehatan will help shore up its finances in the final months of the year, but analysts say the insurer needs broader reforms to address its cash-flow problems.

1 week ago
Society

Indonesian wildfires threaten critically-endangered orangutan: IUCN

Fires are currently burning within habitats containing 52 percent of Borneo's orangutan population, including 13 of the 20 largest remaining populations, according to the conservation body.

1 week ago
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Indonesians still have low awareness against pneumonia: Survey

Only 15 percent of Indonesians have heard about pneumococcal pneumonia and understand what it means, according to a survey by YouGov of 1,000 respondents in Indonesia.

1 week ago
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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.

1 week ago
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 week ago
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RSPO integrity tested as wildfires hit orangutan habitat

Independent monitoring and analyses found thousands of land inside oil palm concessions operated by companies certified by the global certifier group have been burned, with some fires threatening habitats of local biodiversity such as the Bornean orangutan.

1 week ago
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Crew member from missing Anak Krakatau boat identified

The crew member’s body from the missing boat of journalists covering the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau on Sept. 7 was initially found on Enggano Island in Bengkulu, around 350 kilometers west of the volcano in the Sunda Strait.

1 week ago
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Agrarian reform bill gets mixed reaction

The bill’s passage served as a gift for farmers ahead of National Farmers Day, which is commemorated every Sept. 24, said Baleg deputy chair Ahmad Iman Sukri.

2 weeks ago
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NTT earthquake death figures prompt calls for investigation

According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), at least 94 people of the total 142 casualties recorded after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolting Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) died in evacuation shelters after the disaster.

2 weeks ago
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State-led food estate blamed for wildfire in Papua

Observation by an independent forest monitoring platform shows that around 60,000 hectares of burned land is located inside the Merauke estate project, one-third of the total burn scar recorded across Indonesia’s easternmost island.

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

Calls by parents, rights groups and students to halt the government's free nutritious meals program have intensified following the series of food-poisoning incidents. Some schools have also suspended or declined to participate in the program over food-safety concerns.

2 weeks ago
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Govt prepares fines in digital child safety rules

Several tech platforms deemed to pose high risks to minor users, such as Meta apps, YouTube and TikTok, are given until the end of the year to complete their self-assessment on their apps’ potential hazards to children, as mandated by PP Tunas.

2 weeks ago
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Worsening haze delays Japan firefighting mission in West Kalimantan

Observations by various monitoring agencies showed that haze from forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan has reached as far as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, while still affecting air quality in Malaysia and Singapore.

2 weeks ago
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Ferry accident revives Indonesia’s ‘Bermuda Triangle’ myth

The waters around the Masalembu Islands between Java and Borneo Islands are known for their powerful currents, which may disrupt sailing vessels when combined with strong seasonal winds and high waves.

3 weeks ago
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Sumatran elephants run out of room as fires spread

A new report by environmental group Geopix found that about 382,778 hectares of elephant habitat were affected by fires throughout August. Further fires affected 147,550 ha between Sept. 1 and 8 across 21 population pockets on Sumatra, which accounted for around 7.06 percent of the total elephant habitat.

3 weeks ago
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No signs of journalists, boat crew missing near Anak Krakatau after a week

Journalists and boat crew members who went missing in waters near Mount Anak Krakatau have yet to be found a week later, while police work to identify a body found on the shore of Enggano Island in Bengkulu suspected to be one of the missing.

3 weeks ago
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PISA gains belie Indonesia’s persistent education crisis

Indonesia continues to struggle with the uneven distribution of teachers, both in numbers and qualifications, particularly those capable of teaching the higher-order thinking skills assessed by PISA.

3 weeks ago
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Ferry disaster renews scrutiny of vessel safety checks

As the search continues, lawmakers and transportation experts call for a thorough investigation into the incident, highlighting longstanding concerns over the adequacy of Indonesia’s sea vessel inspections.

3 weeks ago
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Haze drives surge in respiratory illnesses in Indonesia

Children accounted for around 20 percent of all wildfire-related respiratory illnesses as 12.5 million people in seven provinces were affected by the widespread forest and land fire, according to the Health Ministry.

3 weeks ago
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Wildfires cause respiratory infections to double in Indonesia

Fires have been blazing across vast stretches of forest and peatland throughout the country, causing hazardous emissions to surge, particularly in the hardest-hit provinces on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

3 weeks ago
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Indonesia presses Meta on child safety compliance after US ruling

The Communications and Digital Ministry is pushing Meta to fully comply with the country’s Child Protection in Digital Space Regulation, known as PP TUNAS, following a landmark ruling in the United States that found the company’s child safety measures lacking.

3 weeks ago
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Free meals face seven-day ultimatum, possible lawsuit

The coalition, which includes the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), urged the government to halt the program’s expansion and immediately undertake comprehensive reforms.

3 weeks ago

Today's ePost

Wed, October 7, 2026

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