Indonesia Society News: Social Issues & Education

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Jakarta Post
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Mitigation budget under scrutiny as Indonesia grapples with disasters

Simultaneous volcano eruptions and a string of other disasters have put the government’s mitigation efforts under renewed scrutiny, as questions mount over whether Indonesia has invested enough in prevention despite its long history of natural disasters.

2 hours ago
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Airspace reopens as Krakatau’s activity subsides

While the easing in activity allowed the eight airports near Anak Krakatau to reopen, Wunopito Airport in Lewoleba, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), remained closed, with its suspension extended until Wednesday morning as ashfall from Mount Ile Lewotolok continued. ...

14 hours ago
Society

Jakarta airport and others reopen after volcanic ash crisis

Airlines now face the daunting task of getting all the stranded passengers onto planes and to their intended destinations after days of chaos at the airports. ...

1 day ago

The Latest

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Travelers scramble as Anak Krakatau ash exposes gaps in contingency plans

Transportation Ministry data showed that more than 2,300 flights had been disrupted since Sunday, affecting 270,337 passengers. That was a sharp increase from a day earlier, when more than 450 flights affecting 170,000 passengers were disrupted.

1 day ago
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Anak Krakatau eruption grounds flights, blankets vast region

Ashfall from Mount Anak Krakatau’s eruption has disrupted hundreds of flights over the weekend, sending volcanic ash across parts of Java and Sumatra and adding pressure on a country already grappling with a series of disasters.

2 days ago
Society

Soekarno-Hatta airport suspends operations after volcanic eruption

Mount Anak Krakatau erupted on Saturday, producing a fountain of lava and booming sounds that could be heard up to 700 kilometres (435 miles) away, the geology agency said in a statement.

2 days ago
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One orangutan dies, more rescued as wildfire rages

Sempurna, an adult male Bornean orangutan previously found weak in a community oil palm plantation in West Kalimantan’s Ketapang, died after suffering from low blood oxygen level from inhaling too much wildfire smoke, as confirmed by authorities.

4 days ago
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Civil groups seek better recognition for indigenous peoples in new bill

Civil society groups have presented their own draft bill on indigenous peoples to the House of Representatives, seeking legislation that would provide legal standing for the underserved and dispossessed.

5 days ago
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Unchecked businesses blamed for raging wildfires

Lands within business concessions of a size roughly equivalent to the total area of Jakarta have been burned since January, with most fire coming from areas earmarked for oil palm plantations, according to a recent analysis from an environmental group.

5 days ago
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House moves on agrarian reform legislation

Baleg chair Bob Hasan asserted the bill should be aimed at promoting public welfare by ensuring legal protection for communities who possess land but lack legal certainty to back their claims, leaving them vulnerable to land grabbing.

6 days ago
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As forests fragment, arboreal bridges offer orangutans a lifeline

Habitat fragmentation limits orangutan movement between populations, potentially reducing genetic exchange and raising the risk of inbreeding, with implications for the species’ long-term survival.

1 week ago
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UIII marks first commencement ceremony for doctoral graduates

The graduating class came from UIII’s four schools of Islamic studies, social sciences, economics and education sciences, including 99 international graduates from 22 countries.

1 week ago
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Forestry reform critical as wildfires threatens health, ecosystems

The plan to revise the 1999 Forestry Law may fail to address decades-long poor governance in the sector that has resulted in wildfires in large parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua throughout this year’s dry season, civil groups say.

1 week ago
Society

Ex-foreign minister Retno becomes one of first SUAR award recipients

Former foreign minister Retno LP Marsudi, who currently is the UN secretary-general’s special envoy on water, has received an award from SUAR, a business news site established a year ago, in the first edition of SUAR Prize.

1 week ago
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Pressure piles on Indonesia to contain wildfire haze

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the Transportation Ministry’s civil aviation director general, Lukman Laisa, said his office had not received a flight clearance request for Malaysian aircraft to carry out a waterbombing mission in areas hit by wildfires.

1 week ago
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Teacher hiring plan draws regional autonomy concerns

Top government officials in Jakarta have called the plan to transfer nonpermanent teachers' contracts under regional administrations to the central government a solution to regional fiscal pressure and underpaid contract teachers.

2 weeks ago
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Power must match responsibility, Yudhoyono tells conference

Yudhoyono told the conference that no nation should be too powerful to respect the rules and no nation should be too small to shape the future.

2 weeks ago
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Behind the white coat: The human cost of being an intern doctor in Indonesia

Six deaths in six months have put the country’s medical internship program under scrutiny, exposing concerns over workloads, supervision and protection for those who speak up.

2 weeks ago
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Govt urged to expedite NTT earthquake recovery

Nearly 60,000 people are still taking shelter across the quake-hit regions, with the province facing potential threats from aftershocks that can crumble buildings and other structures already damaged in the initial earthquake on Aug. 15, according to seismologists.

2 weeks ago
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Wildfire smoke drives surge in respiratory infections

Indonesia is seeing a sharp increase in respiratory illnesses as a prolonged dry season fuels widespread land and forest fires, with health facilities in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra reporting thousands of additional cases in recent weeks amid worsening air quality.

3 weeks ago
Society

Make it rain: Indonesia chases clouds to stem El Nino fires

Indonesia believes cloud seeding can help it tackle a wildfire season that experts say is on track to be among the worst in years, driven by a strong El Nino.

3 weeks ago
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Economic woes, disasters dim Independence Day celebrations

Indonesia’s 81st Independence Day celebrations took on a subdued tone in parts of the country this year, with some communities scaling back festivities or opting out altogether amid economic pressures, political discontent and a series of devastating natural disasters.

3 weeks ago
Society

Free meals drive leaves remote kitchen investors deep in debt

Mounting debts are the latest blow for an initiative that has struggled with governance issues, supply chains problems, mass food poisoning cases and financial cutbacks since it was launched last year, leaving kitchens idle, children unfed and investors owing tens of millions of dollars.

3 weeks ago
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Inequality worsens as wealth gap widens

The economic disparity is most apparent in the eastern part of Indonesia, such as Sulawesi and Papua, where extractive industries, which are done by businesses led by wealthy people and driven by Jakarta-centered development, have exacerbated the wealth rift.

3 weeks ago
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Free meal expiry labels criticized as inadequate

The government’s plan to put expiration date labels on free nutritious meal packages has drawn criticism that it could shift responsibility for food poisoning onto beneficiaries while leaving deeper food safety problems unaddressed.

3 weeks ago
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Indonesia ramps up efforts to fight forest fires

With more than 107,000 hectares already ravaged by land and forest fires this year, the government is scrambling to strengthen its response as a prolonged dry spell and worsening climate conditions threaten to fuel a wider fire season.

4 weeks ago
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MUI warns against men in dresses for Independence festivities

Amid a rising tide of anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Indonesia, the council said in a statement such behavior was "haram" or forbidden.

4 weeks ago
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Patient death, doctors' mockery expose healthcare cracks

The death of a National Health Insurance (JKN) patient after waiting hours for a hospital bed, coupled with insensitive social media remarks by healthcare workers responding to his earlier complaint, has intensified scrutiny of Indonesia's strained healthcare system and professional ethics.

1 month ago
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Food waste issue looms over free meals rollout

An assessment issued in April by Jakarta-based think-tank Center for Economic and Law Studies (Celious) estimated that between 62 million and 120 million packages of meals prepared and disbursed under the program were wasted each week. 

1 month ago
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Child vape livestream sparks exploitation concerns

A YouTube livestream showing children promoting vape products has drawn condemnation from child protection advocates, who say the incident exposes weak enforcement against online nicotine advertising and the growing exploitation of children in digital marketing.

1 month ago

Today's ePost

Wed, September 9, 2026

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