Amid growing anger over President Prabowo Subianto's so called "budget efficiency policy" and revelations that Pertamina has been adulterating non-subsidised high-grade petrol with cheap low-octane fuel, public trust in Prabowo's flagship free nutritious meals (MBG) program has also been hit by a series of health scares.

While many might aspire to having a doctorate from a prestigious academic institution, a spate of recent scandals in which doctorates have been bought or written by hired writers (as in the recent case of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia) have tainted academic titles.

Thousands of Indonesian students in major cities around the country have been taking to the streets in a series of "Dark Indonesia" (#IndonesiaGelap) actions to protest the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, which marked its first 100 days in office this week.

The government has lashed out in response to the hashtag #KaburAjaDulu (Just Run Away), which has gone viral across the country in recent weeks, with Deputy Labour Minister Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan telling those who want to migrate from Indonesia to work abroad not to come back.

President Prabowo Subianto's budget efficiency policy to save over 306 trillion rupiah (US$18.9 billion) to fund his priority programs have left many Indonesians scratching their head in confusion over the scale and seemingly indiscriminate nature of the cuts.

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has once again displayed his penchant for military figures filling strategic posts within his government with the recent appointment of Maj. Gen. Novi Helmy Prasetya as the new president director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

Putu Setia – Many issues have arisen unexpectedly from the uproar over 3 kilogram LPG canisters which are commonly called "melon gas" because of their shape and colour. The big question first of all is why the government acted so haphazardly in regulating one of the necessities of life for so many ordinary people.

The discovery of a mysterious 30.16 kilometre bamboo sea fence in the Java Sea north of Tangerang, West Java, has left many people in Indonesia disconcerted and raised concerns about the privatisation of Indonesian marine waters by private corporations.

Calls for revisions to the government regulation on protocol have gained traction following a video that went viral recently on social media involving a traffic patrol officer escorting an official black government vehicle with the number plates RI 36 on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman in Jakarta.

Amnesty International Indonesia is pushing for reform of the military justice system and a thorough evaluation of the use of firearms by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) following the fatal shooting of a car rental business owner last week by members of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL).

Jakarta – The number of citizens who did not use their right to vote, or golput, in the 2024 simultaneous regional elections was quite high. In several regions, the number of votes garnered by the winning tickets was far below the golput figure.

As of December 14, the Constitutional Court (MK) has received 283 regional election (Pilkada) dispute cases. This number is expected to rise as the registration period for election disputes remains open until December 18.

The election monitoring group the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) says it uncovered serious allegations of widespread money politics during the campaign and cooling off period prior to the November 27 election of regional heads (Pilkada) in North Sumatra, Central Java and Jakarta.

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.

Indonesian textile manufacturers are still struggling against a flood of imported goods according to the Ministry of Industry, which recently launched its monthly industrial confidence index that measures the manufacturing sectors' confidence in the economy.

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.