The National Police's counterterrorism unit Densus 88 has announced a plan to repatriate 26 former members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) from Syria and the Philippines after the terror group's leaders announced its disbandment in June.

President Prabowo Subianto has signed Presidential Regulation No. 202/2024 to establish the National Defense Council (DPN), which will formulate strategic policies covering geostrategy, geopolitics and geoeconomics, as well as the deployment of state defense components.

The President has reportedly bowed out of a meeting with the Malaysian prime minister for health reasons, and it is unknown if the leaders will reschedule their talks before Prabowo's upcoming visit in January 2025.

Simmering tensions between Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appeared to have reached a new height, with her loyalists accusing him of seeking to divide and take over the party.

Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) chair Jusuf Kalla inaugurates the leadership board for the humanitarian organization after the Law Ministry announces its recognition of his chairmanship, amid disputes with a Red Cross camp led by fellow Golkar Party politician Agung Laksono.

The party matriarch's call for increased vigilance against external interference comes after the appearance of banners across Jakarta attempting to smear her, including some attacking her legitimacy as PDI-P chair.

The police's newly formed antigraft corps has grilled Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi over his previous role as communications minister in relation to an ongoing illegal gambling probe.

Budi Arie Setiadi and the police gave different accounts of his questioning related to a corruption case on Thursday, without divulging more about the case.

Observers have said that a suggestion from President Prabowo Subianto to pardon graft suspects and convicts as long as they pay the evaded taxes conflicts the prevailing Anticorruption Law.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Yahya Staquf Cholil is facing calls to step down from the top post of the country’s largest Muslim organization as discontent over his leadership grows.

Following the recent repatriation of foreign convicts, the government is mulling over legislating new rules on prisoner amnesty and transfers as part of a wider aim to ease congestion in the country's overcrowded prisons.

Speaking before hundreds of Indonesian university students in Cairo on Wednesday during his visit to Egypt, Prabowo said he would implement a plan to retrieve ill-gotten gains in the coming weeks or months.

A deputy minister suggested that the country still has time until the next simultaneous regional head elections in 2029, while a lawmaker stressed that now is the best time to look for alternative systems.

A Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) official said that the antigraft body had named at least two individuals suspects in the alleged misuse of the the central bank's social program funding, but declined to disclose their identities.

Chair of the House of Representative’s Commission III overseeing law enforcement Habiburokhman has defended National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo amid growing calls for his removal and widespread reform within the institution as police brutality and extrajudicial killings become rampant.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) urges parties not to rush their decision and calls for a thorough study on whether such a proposal would represent the will of the people.

The recent repatriation of foreign convicts on death row for drug-related cases should serve as the first step for Indonesia to abolish capital punishment entirely, law and human rights activists have said.

The simmering conflict that has defined national-level politics for over a year has come to a head, with the country’s largest political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), officially expelling former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his sons.

There was no breakdown of or details about the use of the funds.

At least four potential names for the next chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) have emerged, including former tourism minister Sandiaga Uno, as the party seeks to reform after its first big election blow.

Mother of two Mary Jane Veloso, 39, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin, in a case that sparked uproar in the Philippines.

Members of the ruling coalition have signaled support for President Prabowo Subianto’s suggestion to roll back direct regional head elections to cut costs, despite heavy criticism from pro-democracy advocates who believe that would be a setback to democracy.

Both the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) dismiss concerns about potential overlapping authorities in investigating corruption cases with the National Police's newly formed Corruption Eradication Corps.

Some 44,000 prisoners nationwide might get an amnesty on humanitarian grounds and to help relieve the country's overcrowded jails.

Allowing local councilors to elect regional heads like during Soeharto's New Order could save money that could be used to feed children and other programs that would better serve the public welfare, President Prabowo Subianto has suggested.

Activists are calling for a thorough evaluation of the police through the perspective of protecting human rights, urging the police to be open to stronger oversight from external bodies and civil society groups.

President Prabowo Subianto has said that if the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chooses to officially assume the role of opposition to his government, he would respect the party’s decision.

Party chairman Bahlil Lahadalia said Golkar had sent invitations to Jokowi, President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is also the former president’s eldest son, among other party leaders.

"Mas Bowo, please listen to me," the PDI-P chairwoman said. 

Sandiaga, who served as tourism minister in Jokowi's administration, also said there was no plan to invite the former president to join the Islam-based party.