Indonesia Society News: Social Issues & Education

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Jakarta Post
Society

Indonesia forest fires burned through nearly 2.9 million hectares

The burned area figure -- 18 times the size of London -- has increased nearly a million hectares since deforestation monitoring site Nusantara Atlas's last update in September.

6 hours ago
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Latest PPPK plan leaves contract teachers in limbo

The latest agreement for PPPK left unanswered concerns of thousands of contract teachers, many of whom missed the government’s 2024 nationwide recruitment drive to absorb them into state apparatus through the PPPK scheme. ...

16 hours ago
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Firefighter safety in spotlight after deadly water bombing missions

Calls are growing for the government to ensure the safety of firefighters battling the ravaging forest and peatland fires after deadly aerial water bombing accidents killed four crew in two separate locations in Kalimantan last week. ...

1 day ago

The Latest

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From rags to rejected pads, period poverty persists in Indonesia

Frustrated by existing regulations, law student Bernita Matondang, 26, has filed a judicial review at the Constitutional Court challenging the Tax Harmonization Law that governs value-added tax.

1 day ago
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Wildfire haze sickens more children as respiratory cases hit 400,000

More than 400,000 people have suffered from acute respiratory illnesses across numerous haze-hit regions, with children accounting for the largest share, as fire risks persist in parts of Kalimantan and Papua amid a delayed onset of the rainy season.

2 days ago
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Pop culture fuels youth-led protests against govt

From The Hunger Games to K-pop, Indonesian Gen Z protesters are turning familiar pop culture references into symbols of resistance.

5 days ago
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Indonesia defends climate goals as fire emissions soar

Indonesia has defended its climate commitments ahead of the United Nations climate talks, as record-breaking emissions from wildfires at home threaten one of the main pillars of its climate strategy and fuel doubts over its ability to help curb global warming.

6 days ago
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Ministry orders firms to rewet peatlands as fires persist

The Environment Ministry has ordered more than 400 companies operating on peatlands to keep their concessions wet to prevent further fires, as the approaching rainy season offers only temporary relief from blazes amid the warming El Niño climate pattern.

1 week ago
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Extortion fears threaten govt’s drug rehabilitation drive

Despite a legal framework for rehabilitating drug users instead of imprisoning them, the process is often bypassed on the ground.

1 week ago
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Govt plan for drug rehab risks replicating prison overcrowding

A planned revision to the 2009 Narcotics Law has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts and rights groups, who warn the government’s current proposals will merely shift Indonesia's severe overcrowding crisis from prisons to state-run rehabilitation centers.

1 week ago
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Papua blazes defy rainfall relief

Recent rainfall has eased conditions in some of Indonesia’s worst fire-hit areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but continuing blazes elsewhere, particularly in Papua, show that the country’s wildfire season remains far from over and requires sustained prevention and control efforts.

1 week ago
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Vendors, musicians boycott RANS Carnival amid backlash over Youth Pledge event

Co-founded by celebrity-turned-government official Raffi Ahmad, the carnival saw vendors withdrawing from its latest edition after backlash over Raffi's involvement in a Thursday youth rally organized by the police.

1 week ago
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Ecological crisis in spotlight ahead of UN climate summit

Indonesia’s overall climate action is deemed ‘critically insufficient’ to meet the threshold to mitigate the climate crisis, prompting calls from environmentalists for the country to be more aggressive in mitigating the crisis’ impacts as well as to avoid false solutions.

1 week ago
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'Rhizomatic' movements help youth voice political messages

Alternative movements based in cultural spaces, among other places, may help young people to express their political stance and understand more about today’s politics, although experts argue more work is necessary to push for changes in the system.

1 week ago
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Wildfires threaten cave art, burn indigenous burials in Sulawesi

Heat and smoke from the burning forest and land near caves where the rock arts are located may gradually damage the physical features of the painting and accelerate their decay, while soot from the blaze may also obscure the rock structures.

1 week ago
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Govt passes buck on free meals oversight

The government has ordered regional administrations to establish their own task forces to inspect free meals kitchens and promised incentives for complying regions, which critics warn will only shift oversight responsibilities to regions already under tight fiscal constraints.

1 week ago
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Haze disrupts schooling, threatens learning outcomes

High school students across the country began taking the academic competency test (TKA) on Monday. But in Central Kalimantan, one of the provinces hardest hit by forest and peatland fires this year, students will have to wait until next month to sit the exam because of deteriorating air quality.

1 week ago
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Forest loss, wildfires put orangutans at high extinction risk

Tapanuli orangutans in North Sumatra face increasing threats as their habitat gets fragmented by forest-encroaching business activities, while Bornean orangutans in Kalimantan are choked by haze-causing forest and peatland fires.

2 weeks ago
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Govt’s defiance over wildfire disaster status faces scrutiny

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is still mulling over the technical assistance on offer from Singapore and Malaysia to put out the fires, with cooperation to be focused on closing gaps from existing efforts.

2 weeks ago
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Forum calls for ethical AI development

Amid rapid expansion of artificial intelligence worldwide, experts and business representatives are pushing for ethics and humanity values to be included as safeguards in the development of the technology.

2 weeks ago
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Fires at Papua food estate worsen haze pollution

Reports from environmental groups claim there were 807 fire hot spots with high confidence levels in the national strategic project (PSN) area, with blazes allegedly tied to land clearing for road and airport construction.

2 weeks ago
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‘I’m sorry’: Indonesians apologize, urge foreign pressure over haze

Some Indonesians have been turning to social media to voice their frustrations and apologize about the uncontrolled wildfire that causes toxic haze reaching Malaysia, Singapore and other countries, while urging them to protest the Indonesian government over their handling on the issue.

2 weeks ago
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Toxic forest fire pollution chokes children’s health

Nearly half of acute respiratory illness cases caused by wildfire in Sumatra and Kalimantan recorded in the past two months are children who are more vulnerable to wildfire haze because of their biological conditions.

3 weeks ago
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Diaspora feel ‘left out’ of dual nationality proposal

Various officials have raised ideas to give dual citizenship for people with Indonesian descent with “exceptional talents”, but some Indonesian diaspora conveyed that such a scheme should also be opened regardless of potential contribution to the country.

3 weeks ago
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Fires in Indonesia burned over 1.9 million hectares through September: monitor

The figure, an area nearly 12 times larger than London, is a conservative estimate in part because haze has complicated satellite verification, said David Gaveau, founder of deforestation monitoring site Nusantara Atlas.

3 weeks ago
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Government accused of limiting access to forestry data amid raging wildfires

The Forestry Ministry is accused of restricting data amid widespread wildfires raging the country, as it threatens criminal charges against unauthorized copy and use of geospatial data crucial for tracking deforestation and fire hot spots.

3 weeks ago
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Deadly Ciputat blast put free meals safety under scrutiny

A deadly explosion at a warehouse in Cimanggis Market in Ciputat, South Tangerang, on Wednesday has raised questions about safety oversight across the government’s free nutritious meal program, as police investigate whether the facility was part of the initiative’s supply chain.

3 weeks ago
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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.

4 weeks ago
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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.

4 weeks ago
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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.

4 weeks ago

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