The bribery case also involves convicted former General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan and fugitive Harun Masiku.

Despite being the centrepiece of an election campaign that catapulted Prabowo to power last year, the scheme was rolled out with little fanfare on Monday, with no official launch and just 190 kitchens involved in preparing the first meals to school children and pregnant women in more than 20 provinces. 

PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto excused himelf from his first questioning as a graft suspect on Monday, apparently due to a prior engagement, while the KPK continued with its interrogation of other witnesses in the 2019 bribery case surrounding fugitive ex-PDI-P member Harun Masiku.

Pressure is mounting on the House of Representatives to fall in line with the recent surprise ruling by the Constitutional Court that removed the steep nomination threshold from future presidential elections.

The loyalty and allegiance of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) to President Prabowo Subianto are being put to the test following a recent court decision revoking the presidential nomination threshold, which offers every political party a chance to field a challenger in the 2029 election.

The Foreign Ministry said that it was seriously following up on the sexual harassment allegations made against the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, Usra Hendra Harahap, asserting that it would “not tolerate any violations of the principles of diplomatic ethics”. 

In a press conference jointly held with Attorney General ST Burhanuddin on Thursday, Budi Gunawan said that there was simply not enough room for prosecutors to display the evidence and that the cash was instead stored in a safe controlled by the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

The Constitutional Court's ruling that annuls the presidential nomination threshold has become a breath of fresh air for the country's democracy and electoral system, according to smaller political parties with and without seats in the national legislature.

The senior law minister has said the government will comply with the Constitutional Court's decision to eliminate the presidential nomination threshold for all future elections.

The nationalist party's call for graft busters to investigate the former president is part of a political skirmish between the PDI-P and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, according to observers.

The Constitutional Court annulled on Thursday the threshold for political parties in nominating presidential candidates, restoring hopes for more competitive polls in the future after more than a dozen attempts to open up the race.

The court has declared the presidential nomination threshold as unconstitutional in a ruling issued during its first hearing of the year, which comes after last year's decision to annul the electoral threshold for regional head elections.

Public anger has ensued after a court sentenced businessman Harvey Moeis to what many described was a lenient punishment in a case that has cost the state Rp 300 trillion (US$18.5 billion), one of Indonesia’s largest corruption cases.

President Prabowo Subianto will likely continue to have a busy international schedule in 2025, analysts predict after observing his activities over the past several months, adding that the new year will likely see increased economic and security cooperation as the President attempts to advance his domestic agenda.

The House of Representatives' ethics council summon lawmaker Rieke Diah Pitaloka from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for her alleged opposition to the government's plan to hike the value added tax to 12 percent on Jan. 1.

New leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) are facing mounting pressure to ensure its independence after it named a high-ranking politician from the only de facto opposition party in President Prabowo’s government a graft suspect, a move widely seen as politically motivated.

The curtains are closing on a big political year that saw a former army general rise to power and a “retired” president continuing to wield undue influence, setting up another year that promises to be anything but quiet.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at his private residence in Surakarta, Jokowi said that he had never made such a proposal to leaders of major political parties in the country, including PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekaroputri.

President Prabowo Subianto and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas have walked back comments they made several weeks ago suggesting that the government might pardon graft convicts.

Election observers and democracy advocates have agreed that this year’s elections have shown worrying signs of the trajectory of the country’s democracy, with the crumbling credibility and impartiality of the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Indonesia has in recent weeks released half a dozen high-profile detainees, including a Filipina mom on death row and the last five members of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug ring.

On Monday, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto a graft suspect for allegedly helping former party member Harun Masiku bribe then-General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan for a seat in the House of Representatives. 

Some 15,800 Christian convicts nationwide had their sentences reduced during Christmas, with 116 of them enjoying an early release from prison.

Speaking to reporters in Surakarta, Central Java, on Thursday, Jokowi said he no longer had the authority to influence the work of law enforcement agencies and called on Hasto to respect the ongoing legal process.

The feud between former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has spilled over into the legal sphere, after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named the party's secretary-general a suspect in a bribery case and banned another senior politician from leaving the country.

Highlighting the PDI-P senior politician’s importance in the ongoing investigation into the 2019 bribery case, the antigraft body has slapped a travel ban on Yasonna Laoly, who was law minister when key suspect and fellow PDI-P member Harun Masiku absconded.

Despite promises for reform, reports of police brutality continue to make headlines this year, raising doubts over law enforcement’s commitment to end a culture of violence that has been haunting their institution for decades.

The entrepreneur has been sentenced to 6.5 years behind bars, a Rp 1 billion fine or another six months in jail and Rp 210 billion in restitution for his role in the high-profile corruption case involving PT RBT and state tin giant PT Timah.

Jailed former leaders of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist group are being considered for parole, a senior counterterror official said Tuesday, after the network disbanded and members pledged allegiance to the country.

The KPK has opened an investigation into the PDI-P secretary-general in connection with Harun Masiku's bribery case, as indicated by a copy of the warrant leaked to the media on Tuesday.