Indonesia Society News: Social Issues & Education

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
Society premium

Bocelli concerts face uncertainty after MUI opposition

The Indonesian Ulema Council’s (MUI) objection to Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s planned concerts, given his past activities linked to Israel, has put the events under a cloud, with the Tourism Ministry signaling it would respect the council’s position.

1 hour ago
Society premium

Teachers push for better pay in education bill

Teachers have urged the House of Representatives to revise the national education law to strengthen teacher governance, including by guaranteeing minimum salaries and better welfare regardless of employment status. ...

1 day ago
Society premium

People with mental illness need greater say in care

While Indonesia grapples with gaps in mental health services, people with mental illness should have a greater say in their care and be involved in treatment decisions to better support recovery, a media briefing held to mark World Mental Health Day has said. ...

2 days ago

The Latest

Society premium

Free-meal buffet trial leaves safety risks unresolved

A buffet-style system currently being tested under President Prabowo Subianto’s free meals program does not eliminate the risk of food contamination, as meals are still prepared at kitchens outside school complexes and must be transported to schools. 

4 days ago
Society premium

Indonesia flags Meta’s gaps in child safety compliance

Indonesia has again urged Meta to comply with the country’s Child Protection in Digital Space Regulation, known as PP TUNAS, singling out its Threads platform for failing to report any action against underage users more than six months after the regulation took effect.

5 days ago
Society

Indonesian teachers need a say in school AI policies, Cambridge says

Teaching the use of artificial intelligence at schools has become the quiet responsibility of teachers in Indonesia and worldwide to develop the practical knowledge of what responsible AI integration actually looks like.

5 days ago
Society premium

BGN tests buffet-style free school meals, citing Japan model

National Nutrition Agency (BGN) chairman Sudaryono said that the trial was aimed at assessing whether the system could improve food quality and safety by shortening the time between cooking and consumption.

6 days ago
Society premium

Filling the void: Mothers, volunteers step up to fight wildfire

Local volunteers are eager to help put out forest fires across the country, but some have received little to no support or resources necessary to perform their duty.

6 days ago
Society premium

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.

1 week ago
Society premium

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 week ago
Society premium

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.

1 week ago
Society premium

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.

1 week ago
Society premium

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.

1 week ago
Society premium

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.

1 week ago
Society premium

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.

1 week ago
Society premium

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. 

2 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

2 weeks 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.

2 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

2 weeks ago
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.

2 weeks 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.

2 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

2 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

2 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

3 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

3 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

3 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

3 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

3 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

3 weeks ago
Society premium

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.

4 weeks ago

Today's ePost

Wed, October 14, 2026

Your Opinion Matters

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

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank you

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