As part of an expanded cooperation between Jakarta and Riyadh, Indonesia has been given the green light to build a special village in Mecca to serve haj pilgrims.

The Social Affairs Ministry opened the doors of 63 Sekolah Rakyat (community school) sites across the country on Monday, with students slated to undergo orientation and assessments first before starting the regular learning process in August.

Indonesia officially wrapped up this year’s haj season late last week with the departure of the final group of pilgrims from Medina, Saudi Arabia, coinciding with a recent legislative push in Jakarta to revise the 2019 haj law.

A summary of the rule of Soeharto, who is also Prabowo's former father-in-law, only mentions how "student demonstrations... became a factor" in his resignation.

The minister said the high price of land in big cities inspired his plan to build 18-square-meter subsidized houses on 26 sq m of land to help young people become homeowners.

Relatively short preparation time for the program as well as a discrepancy about potential recipients' data have been blamed for the slow uptake of the Sekolah Rakyat (community school) program that will be launched on July 14.

Half of a million social aid recipients in Indonesia were found on a list of online gamblers, according to a recent analysis by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).

The Jakarta Post's recent trip to Raja Ampat late last month revealed the complex currents rippling and colliding beneath the mining versus tourism issue, conflated by environmental and indigenous concerns surrounding the global marine haven in the country's far-flung, easternmost region.

The Jakarta Post visited Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, to take a closer look at the recent nickel mining controversy taking place in the archipelago regency. Tensions have erupted between pro-mining inhabitants and those who have benefited from fishery and ecotourism activities.  

The Jakarta Post visits Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, to take a closer look at the recent nickel mining controversy that threatens to unravels the archipelago regency. In addition to causing irreversible damage to forest and marine ecosystems, the extractive activities have also created tensions among islanders.  

A government study in 2022 estimated that a deposit of 482 million tonnes of nickel ore can be found under the calm waters of Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua. The Jakarta Post visits the archipelago to delve into a recent mining controversy that has triggered tension among residents and damaged the environment.

The government's plan to impose a single price for subsidized LPG canisters across all regions, to be legalized via a Perpres, aims to ensure even distribution and a fair price for all eligible consumers by preventing market manipulation. 

Deadly floods triggered by unseasonable heavy rains have swept across Indonesia during what should be the peak of the dry season, prompting experts to link the extreme weather to climate change, with the meteorology agency warning that intense rainfall could persist until October.

The schools ministry has launched a new program that aims to arm vocational school dropouts with the skills they need to land a job, though some experts have cautioned that the government must address the root cause for a sustainable solution.

Religious intolerance in Indonesia is back in the spotlight after the alleged vandalism of a house hosting a Christian youth retreat in Sukabumi, West Java, with criticism mounting over the government’s perceived leniency following its plan to seek a suspended sentence for the seven suspects involved.

Following the culture minister's skepticism over the mass rapes that occurred  during the May 1998 riots, lawmakers are pushing back by suggesting that their release next month be either postponed or canceled.

A waste reduction roadmap issued by the then-environment and forestry ministry in 2019 has seen little progress in its implementation as the private sector has not adhered to the plan.

BP Haji aims to improve haj organizing in 2026 by, among other things, shortening the travel period for Indonesian haj pilgrims from 40 days to 30 days.

Indonesia continues to see a disturbing rise in femicide, the gender-based killing of women, amid a lack of legal recognition and law enforcement inaction. Advocacy group Jakarta Feminist reported at least 204 cases in 2024, up around 11 percent from 184 in 2023.

Observers are blaming technical glitches and fraudulent acts marring this year’s school admissions process on a lack of preparation from education authorities.

Once a private firm enters a small island to build its business, local residents often lose access to the island where they usually fish or dock their ships. The issue has become a complaint of local islander communities amid the brouhaha surrounding Indonesian islands being sold online.

Two groups of Indonesian pilgrims from the Surabaya embarkation point in East Java were forced to spend the night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after their return flights were delayed due to the closure of Muscat airport in Oman following an Iranian missile attack of a Qatari base.

The growing number of women involved in drug trafficking has raised alarms among rights groups, who warn that many are being exploited as couriers yet remain criminalized despite their vulnerable social and economic circumstances.

Amid the nationwide shortage of 50,000 principals for state schools, the Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry has introduced a new training program for teachers to fast-track their career advancement into school principals.

The government is set to double the number of Sekolah Rakyat (community schools) to 200 in President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship education program, which aims to provide free boarding schools for underprivileged children, despite mounting concerns about the program’s rushed implementation. 

A new ministerial regulation that allows civil servants to work remotely and manage individual work schedules has drawn criticism from public policy experts, who warn the move could compromise the quality and reliability of public services.

Syphilis infections in Indonesia have continued to rise over the past few years, with a notable upward trend being recorded among teenagers, a situation attributed by health experts to risky sexual behavior and a lack of comprehensive sex education.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Indonesia is working with the German Federal Government and the Goethe Institute cultural center to open two new centers focusing on training Indonesian migrant workers sent to Germany and other countries.

A controversial broadcasting bill seeking to ban lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) content across conventional and online media has sparked widespread criticism, with activists warning it could fuel further discrimination and endanger the rights and safety of the marginalized community.

The DNA-based testing will be combined with the acetate acid (IVA) screening that is currently widely used across the nation in order to increase the accuracy of cervical cancer screening for women.