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Workers from a Nutrition Service Unit (SPPG) distribute boxed meals to residents affected by flooding at the Pekalongan Social Affairs Agency in Central Java, on Jan 20, 2026.

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How priority programs risk eroding meritocracy in bureaucracy

Indonesia’s pursuit of "fast-tracked" priority programs risks breaking the moral contract at the heart of its bureaucracy. When new initiatives jump the queue, the state doesn't just bypass a backlog of honorary workers, it threatens to replace meritocracy with programmatic proximity.

1 day ago

Underfunding threatens Asia’s cervical cancer elimination promise

Without sufficient investment, many Asian nations risk perpetuating disparities in cervical cancer prevention and care, leaving women in low-resource settings at highest risk. ...

5 days ago

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The promise of a middle-power alliance

A united middle-power alliance would have considerable leverage, as its members would each wield outsize influence over specific domains. ...

23 hours ago

The Latest

A technician inspects a rooftop solar power plant (PLTS) on Sept. 8, 2025 at Trans Studio Mall in Bandung, West Java.

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From subsidies to signals: Making Indonesia’s power market investable

The current setup asks PLN to be planner, procurer and operator. That was useful in the past decades, but today it blurs incentives, slows competitive procurement and makes it hard for investors to price risk.

1 day ago

Employees watch a digital screen displaying stock movements on Jan. 28, 2026, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta.

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National economic resilience faces a test of public transparency

Within MSCI’s methodology, a shift from emerging to frontier status is not merely symbolic; it reflects an assessment that a market has become less accessible or less safe for international capital.

20 hours ago

United States President Donald Trump (center) gestures toward President Prabowo Subianto (right) and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as they take part in a charter announcement for his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026.

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Board of Peace and the dilemma of Indonesia’s involvement

If ending occupation is not established as a non-negotiable prerequisite, then the destiny of Gaza and Palestine will not be shaped by the Palestinian people themselves, but by global geopolitical interests.

21 hours ago

National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo attends a hearing on Jan. 26, 2026, with House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta.

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Police reform: When the instrument rejects its frame

Civic space is narrowing in Indonesia, not through explicit bans, but through the routine presence of security forces across social life.

22 hours ago

Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) president director Iman Rachman (center) announces his resignation to reporters on Jan. 30, 2026 at the IDX media center in South Jakarta. Iman stepped down after the IDX Composite index fell by up to 8 percent over the past two days.

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The risks of reordering Indonesia’s financial governance

The push to "align" Indonesia’s financial regulators with political objectives marks a fundamental paradigm shift from stability to short-termism. While these moves may sustain growth today, they defer systemic costs to a future where institutional safeguards may no longer exist to catch the fall.

2 days ago

United States President Donald Trump (center) gestures toward President Prabowo Subianto (right) and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as they take part in a charter announcement on Jan. 22 for his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland.

Academia premium

Indonesia’s realist bet on Trump’s Board of Peace

Joining the BoP may seem like a betrayal of our values. But not joining may mean total irrelevance in decisions that will affect Palestine’s future.

2 days ago

Elderly people fill out forms and wait in line on Nov. 23, 2025, to register or renew their Free Service Card (KLG) during Car Free Day at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. The event provides an opportunity for seniors aged 60 and above to obtain free access to public transportation services such as TransJakarta, MRT Jakarta and LRT Jakarta, offered by the Jakarta administration.

Academia premium

Demographic bonus: Who pays the price tomorrow?

With only 5 percent pension inclusion, the demographic bonus is on a collision course with an aging reality. It is time to stop blaming individual financial planning and start fixing a system that leaves 120 million workers behind.

1 day ago

Words reading “Artificial intelligence AI“, a miniature robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration created on Dec. 14, 2023.

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The hidden footprint and opportunity of AI’s economic promise

If artificial intelligence remains concentrated in a small number of advanced economies, firms and platforms, it risks reinforcing global inequality rather than narrowing it.

1 day ago

Muslim pilgrims pray at dawn on June 5, 2025, on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the haj, as Saudi officials called on participants to refrain from being outside during the hottest hours of the day.

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‘Kampung haji’ and the challenge of building a sustainable pilgrimage hub

By serving the broader Southeast Asian Muslim community, the year-round demand base would become sufficiently large for kampung haji to stabilize occupancy and smooth seasonal fluctuations.

1 day ago

Employees stand near a screen showing the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) down 8 percent on Jan. 28, 2026, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta.

Academia premium

Power, trust and Indonesia’s stock crash

The crash of Indonesian stock prices last week is less about market technicalities and more about a profound collapse of political trust.

3 days ago

President Prabowo Subianto wipes his face on Aug. 15, 2025, moments before delivering his annual State of the Nation Address at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta.

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Prabowo’s presidency: Promises, power and constraints

Entering into the second year of his presidency, the public will be watching his policies and programs closely with regard to his campaign promises, ultimately judging whether his administration delivers tangible economic and welfare outcomes.

2 days ago

An employee places an old uniform into a bin provided by Pertamina for its sustainability program, which recycles uniforms into eco-friendly clothing and encourages all Pertamina employees to become sustainability agents to contribute to achieving Indonesia's net-zero goals.

Academia premium

The net zero revolt has begun

Even if all rich countries were to cut to zero emissions by mid-century, the climate models clearly show that the impact would avert less than 0.1 degree Celsius.

2 days ago

Academia premium

The MSCI's ‘nuclear option’ is a bluff. The coming haircut is not

While Indonesia is too big to be kicked out of the emerging market club, a new "governance penalty" could still shake up the market.

2 days ago

Red alert: An electronic display board inside the main hall of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in South Jakarta shows an overall downward movement across most stocks during the lunch break on Jan. 29, 2026, when the IDX Composite index fell 6.3 percent after global investment firm MSCI raised concerns about free float and trading transparency.

Academia premium

MSCI, IDX and the long shadow of institutional credibility

Legibility is key to building the credibility of the Indonesian bourse so it can develop beyond a mere "conjecture" toward institutional maturity and certainty.

2 days ago

Members of Myanmar's Union Election Commission (UEC) count ballots on Jan. 25 at a polling station in Yangon after the closing of polls in the third phase of Myanmar's general election.

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Myanmar at 5: Regional responsibility and the price of impunity

Five years on, the 5PC has become a procedural shield rather than a protection mechanism, a failure reflected in consultations that multiply without delivering results.

4 days ago

Lunch break: A student shows his free nutritious meal on Jan. 28, 2026 at SDN 18 state elementary school in Tukka, Central Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra. The program has resumed after floods hit the regency in November last year.

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Children’s well-being begins with their parents’ decent work

While free meal programs offer a vital safety net, true child welfare is only sustainable when anchored by the dignity and security of a parent's decent work.

5 days ago

Business hours: An employee arranges on Jan. 22, 2026 premium rice products for sale at a Red and White rural cooperative in Metuk village, Boyolali regency, Central Java.

Academia premium

Turning 80,000 new cooperatives into real engines of change

By adopting cooperatives as 'value-chain partners', corporate actors can provide the technical mentorship and quality standardizations that professionalize rural operations.

5 days ago

Workers and soldiers complete a Bailey bridge in Beutong Ateuh Banggalang district, Nagan Raya regency, Aceh on Jan 5, 2026 that would connect Central Aceh regency and Nagan Raya regency.

Academia premium

Weaving resilience into the fabric of the ASEAN Community

In 2026, Indonesia is in the position to recalibrate the region’s preparedness and response toward disasters and strengthen the region’s blueprint for a resilient future.

5 days ago

US President Donald Trump adjusts his jacket as he leaves the Congress Centre during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026.

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American or Chinese exceptionalism?

A big question for American exceptionalism is whether Trump is an aberration or a sign of where the US is headed.

5 days ago

President Prabowo Subianto gestures as he speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026.

Academia premium

To Lam’s Vietnam: An economic growth lesson for Prabowo

For years, Indonesia has looked toward Thailand as a model for agriculture and tourism. It is time we apply that same humility to Vietnam.

5 days ago

Employees stand near a screen showing the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)Composite index down 8 percent in Jakarta on Jan. 28, 2026. The IDX temporarily halted trading that afternoon as the benchmark index dropped to 8,261.79 points following an announcement from Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) that it would temporarily suspend the index rebalancing process for Indonesian stocks.

Academia premium

What the recent IDX stock drop reveals about market structure

Beyond the headlines of the IDX's sudden plunge lies a deeper story of thin tradable supply, where market mechanics and global index rules have turned low-float stocks into dangerous volatility amplifiers.

6 days ago

Family members and colleagues carry the bodies of Palestinian journalists killed in an Israeli strike, as they leave the Nasser Hospital for burial on Jan. 21, 2026, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Academia premium

Board of Peace offers NU a chance to play a global role

The Board of Peace can become either a procedural pause before larger conflicts erupt or a genuine multilateral platform rooted in justice, inclusion and shared responsibility.

5 days ago

Investment Minister and CEO of state asset fund Danantara, Rosan Roeslani (left), talks with President Prabowo Subianto during a meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Dec. 17, 2025 about the progress of land acquisition for the haj village project in Mecca. The project is expected to provide better services for Indonesians going on the haj and 'umrah' (minor haj).

Academia premium

When costs crush performance: Danantara’s test for SOEs

In many SOEs, leakages persist because decisions live in gray zones: exceptions become routine, documentation becomes negotiable and accountability becomes diffuse.

6 days ago

Members of the Union Election Commission (UEC) count ballots at a polling station in Yangon on Jan. 25, 2026, after polls closed in the third phase of Myanmar’s general election.

Sham elections can’t save a fracturing Myanmar

The prospects for the people of Myanmar look grim after the multistage elections ended on Sunday, as their country is dominated by the military junta and hemmed in by competing great power interests and a softening stance among some ASEAN members.

5 days ago

(left to the right) Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Foreign Minister Sugiono, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attend a joint press announcement on Nov. 17, 2025 after their meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo.

Academia premium

Can Indonesia-Japan ties keep regional peace?

Jakarta’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Japan and its analogous agreement with Australia are important examples of the responsible exercise of middle-power status.

5 days ago

A Whoosh high-speed train passes through the Ngamprah tunnel in West Bandung regency, West Java, on July 31, 2025.

Academia premium

Why Whoosh and Malaysia’s ETS both make sense

Indonesia’s expensive bet may ultimately prove the more strategic choice for a nation building the infrastructure of its urban future.

5 days ago

(Courtesy of Sarana Multi Infrastruktur)

Insight: The strategic role of PT SMI in fiscal policy and economic expansion

Indonesia’s future economic growth will not be determined solely by the size of government spending, but also by how effectively development financing is managed.

1 week ago

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