With vague rules on what counts as ‘chaos,’ Indonesia’s new penal code has the public questioning their right to protest.

Judges found the defendant guilty of inciting public anger against the government and state officials through her Instagram Story telling people to burn down the National Police headquarters that was ‘deliberately’ posted when ‘the public was angry’.

People must be given as much space as possible to elect their governors, mayors or regents, says interfaith and pro-democracy group Gerakan Nurani Bangsa (GNB).

President Prabowo Subianto made his first visit to the country’s future capital city Nusantara in East Kalimantan, in what analysts deemed as an attempt to dispel doubts over his commitment to completing his predecessor's project.

Diplomacy and defense are ‘inseparable’, says Foreign Minister Sugiono in his annual address, highlighting the government’s foreign policy priority in expanding defense cooperation with key partners.

President Prabowo Subianto has turned his private Hambalang estate on the outskirts of capital Jakarta into the center of power, hosting everything from horse rides with world leaders to high-level talks and cabinet retreats.

X has reassured the government that its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, will not be able to be used for pornographic purposes and enforce accounts found of misusing the platform for illicit purposes, according to Communications and Digital Ministry.

Questions about the fate of the Nusantara capital city project have lingered since Prabowo took office in October 2024.

Google has denied any involvement in the corruption case that centered on a laptop procurement policy at the education ministry between 2019 and 2022, saying it never made use of its ties with former minister Nadiem Makarim to win any government contracts.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has become the only party to formally oppose scrapping direct regional elections in the House of Representatives, pushing back against the ruling coalition’s plan while acknowledging the need to curb soaring election costs by other effective means.

Public support has grown for comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono, who was reported to the police for incitement and blasphemy, sparking a debate on whether Indonesia is prepared for political satire.

Article 85 of the new Criminal Code stipulates that community sentences only apply for offenses with a maximum sentence of five years in prison, if the judges sentence the defendant to no more than six months in prison.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators have questioned former religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas three times since kicking off in June 2025 an investigation into alleged graft pertaining to the 2024 haj quota allocation.

Indonesia’s assumption of the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is unlikely to significantly boost its influence over global human rights issues, analysts say, even as the government hails the role as a diplomatic achievement despite mounting criticism of Jakarta’s own human rights record

Six of 10 Indonesians surveyed by the Indonesian Survey Circle disapprove of a proposal to scrap direct regional elections, with rejections consistent across regions, income levels and age groups.

A draft Presidential Regulation (Perpres) lays out the military’s responsibilities in combating terrorism, including three roles for the Indonesian Military (TNI), which activists argue should be mainly carried out by civilian institutions such as the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).

The revised Indonesian Military (TNI) Law and the 2002 National Police Law were the most frequently challenged legislation at the Constitutional Court last year, the court has reported. 

Prabowo Subianto's administration has assured that ad hoc judges will receive a pay raise after a threat of nationwide strikes by these judges across Indonesia over long-complained welfare disparities between them and career judges.

Failure to address the need for better welfare and democratic policymaking may cause people to have lower trust in the government, therefore threatening political stability in the country, according to Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) researchers.

President Prabowo Subianto has said that he welcomes criticism as a necessary part of governance. But the newly effective Criminal Code (KUHP) that makes insulting a sitting president and the government a crime has raised concern over restrictions on criticism. 

The task force, led by Home Minister Tito Karnavian, aims to strengthen coordination between the central government and local administrations in northern Sumatra that were affected by floods and landslides in late November.

Alfarisi, a 21-year-old protester who was arrested following nationwide protests against economic hardship in August 2025, died at a detention center reportedly after suffering from a seizure.

The pro-government Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind President Prabowo Subianto’s suggestion to abolish direct elections for regional heads, potentially overturning a legacy of democracy that came about under its founding figure, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

At least 10 judicial review petitions against the new Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) have been filed with the Constitutional Court within four days after the new laws came into force.

The corruption trial of former education minister Nadiem Makarim opened on Monday after weeks of delays that allowed him to recover from surgery.

Authorities are looking the other way amid increasing intimidation targeting activists and social media influencers who criticized the government and how it handles the devastating floods in northern Sumatra.

Political party leaders of the ruling coalition have begun solidifying support for President Prabowo Subianto’s proposal to scrap direct elections for regional heads, a major change that analysts and critics say could help the President centralize power in a way that risks reversing hard-won democratic reforms.

Several articles of the new Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) may erode civil liberties and freedom of expression, especially rights to criticize government policies, according to pro-democracy activists and scholars.

President Prabowo Subianto spent the final day of 2025 with hundreds of displaced people in South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, among the hundreds of thousands who welcomed the New Year at emergency shelters following the floods and landslides that devastated the island’s northern region.

"It's our own legal system [...] different from other countries," said Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas.