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".

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Supervisory Board began a series of ethics hearings on January 17 into 93 employees who are accused of soliciting illegal payments from detainees at the KPK's detention centre in exchange for prison perks.

Ahead of the 2024 legislative and presidential elections, the problem of high political costs in Indonesia has again come to the fore. The February 14 elections will see some 9,917 candidates vying for seats in the national House of Representatives (DPR) from the 18 political parties who will be contesting 84 electoral districts across the country.

Most observers expect that that the upcoming 2024 presidential debate will offer little in terms of substance or insight into the candidates programs and policies. "If the public believed the 2019 presidential debate lacked substances, the 2024 debate would be just the same", constitutional law expert Bivitri Susant told Tempo on December 10.

The Constitutional Court (MK) ruling on October 16 allowing candidates under the current age limit of 40 years to run as presidential and vice presidential candidates has not only triggered outrage over the obvious conflict of interest, but may also cast a long tentacle of illegitimacy over the February 14 presidential election next year.

On November 13, the General Elections Commission (KPU) announced that all three presidential candidates and their running mates, including the 36-year-old son of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, had fulfilled the administrative requirements to participate in the February 14, 2024 presidential election.