A brutal attack on residents of the Selamat Village in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, by soldiers from the Medan 2 Artillery Battalion/Kilap Sumagan (Armed-2/KS) has renewed calls for TNI (Indonesian Military) personnel who commit general crimes to be tried in civilian courts.

The ten years of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration (2014-2024) has notched up massive achievement in basic infrastructure development. This is believed to be important capital for Indonesia to achieve the goal of becoming a developed country.

The people who best understand the ins and outs of agriculture are the farmers themselves. Double combo. They have already been hemmed in by the impact of climate change in addition to this are being eliminated by national food barn or food estate projects.

Just look at the use of private jet facilities by the youngest son and the daughter-in-law of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Compare this with I Nyoman Sukena who raised a Javanese porcupine in Bali and Kakek (Grandfather) Priyono (61) who raised an alligator fish in Malang.

Opposition to the food estate project by the Awyu tribe in the Ilwayab Wanam district of Merauke, South Papua, is just one example of the "defeat" of local residents when faced with the dominance of business people who are working hand in hand with the government.

The celebration of the 79th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesian's Independence in the new capital city Nusantara (IKN) should be the initial milestone for the recognition and protection of indigenous peoples. The IKN region, which takes 252,660 hectares of land, must be a safe house for indigenous peoples.

The state of the nation address in the courtyard of the Merdeka Palace on August 1 was marked by a apology by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) for his shortcomings in leading Indonesia. Jokowi realised, as an ordinary human being, it was impossible to please all parties.

As a civilian authority, the House of Representatives (DPR) should examine the public criticism and opposition that has developed, especially with regard to proposed revisions that are feared could see the return of ABRI's (the Armed Forces, now called TNI) dual socio-political role or dwi-fungsi.

Since taking office in 2014 up until the end of the second period of his administration, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has showed a commitment to resolve Papua's problems through campaign promises, various different policies and 17 working visits.

The initial process in the election of regional heads (Pilkada) usually begins with the introduction of potential candidates in a variety of forms. Unfortunately, the information presented by potential candidates that litter the corners of each region often only accentuates gimmicks rather than substance.

Every year May 1 is celebrated as International Labor Day or May Day as it is commonly called internationally. In general, labourers are people who work for others by receiving a wage. However, more broadly, labourers are part of the working class. Based on this consideration, the government established labour day as a national holiday.

Is God political? Of course not. So far there no religious texts have been found that say God plays a role in politics. Moreover, why would God play politics? He is the Almighty. An authority that is not negotiable. Absolute power. No need for recognition. It is precisely humans who need to recognise God's power in the name of faith and trust.

The nation's children are now looking forward anxiously to the decision by the eight Constitutional Court judges who will determine the future of the nation-state, whether it will enter a bright dawn of civilisation or a dark uncivilised hallway.

The main base of support for the New Order regime of former president Suharto at that time was ABRI – the Indonesian Armed Forces now called the TNI. Within ABRI there were military and the police elements that were deeply involved in the socio-political life of Indonesia at that time.

The 2024 elections left behind ethical and risk issues, one of which is because social assistance (bansos) was used as an electoral political tool, instead of aiming for poverty reduction and social inequality.

Indonesia has once again been shocked by the latest findings announced by Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Centre (PPATK) head Ivan Yustiavandana on the flow of suspicious funds in the state financial system.

It is not surprising if the public suspects that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's statement that the president is allowed to campaign and take sides is loaded with political interests.

Over the last few days, we have become witness to the emergence of a phenomena that is critical and full of wisdom from various campuses in Indonesia, which have voiced concerns about the state of our nation at the moment. It is as if they are responding to each other in articulating this truth.

Election observers, civil society groups and political parties have blasted Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for potentially compromising the neutrality of the 2024 elections by saying he's allowed take sides in next month’s poll.

In 2023, Freedom House in Washington placed Indonesia in the rather red region in the democratic freedom index global map. Put simply, the watchdog institution considers Indonesia as still only half democratic, or not substantially a full democracy, with an index breakdown of 30/40 in the category of "political rights" and 28/60 for "civil freedoms".