Now that the 18 political parties contesting the legislative elections have submitted their candidates to the General Elections Commission (KPU), it is time for the public to directly and personally examine the candidates.

With the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) announcing Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo (pictured centre) as its presidential candidate on April 21, the other political parties are now readjusting their positions with regard to their own nominations ahead of the 2024 elections.

Pro-government political parties are moving to build a grand alliance for the 2024 presidential election that will, if it materialises, turn the race into a three-way ticket – as has been widely predicted.

According to the Indonesian Traditional Markets Trader Association (IKAPPI), meat imports have failed to drive down soaring beef prices amid the Ramadan holy fasting month, with IKAPPI Chairperson Abdullah Mansuri saying prices had risen to as high as 150,000 rupiah ($9.56) per kilogram.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has come under fire over allegations of massive corruption or fraud, not by her, but by staffers in her ministry. The charges are not only hurting her personal reputation, but they also undermine the credibility and public trust in the Finance Ministry.

In what seems to have become an all too familiar occurrence, on February 3 yet another fire broke out at a facility owned by the state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina. This time round it was at the company's Plumpang depot in North Jakarta, with the ensuring explosion and fire killing 20 people and injuring scores of others.

Jakarta – The ramifications of a recent assault involving a Jakarta university student have extended far beyond what anyone could have expected, with the case eliciting public calls to boycott this year's income taxes because the suspect was the wealth-flexing son of a high-level tax officer.

Out of the 215 hectares of agricultural land plots opened for the government's food estate program in North Sumatra's Humbang Hasundutan regency, the Ministry of Agriculture claims 146 hectares have successfully been planted with crops by local farmers.

So far, words do indeed continue to have their own place in the public's attention. By using words, politicians can communicate their political ideas and concepts. But when it's excessive, it is not good.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has officially declared that 17 political parties will contest the 2024 legislative and presidential elections based on the results of a provincial level verification and recapitulation which was concluded on December 14.

Civil society activists, trade unions and legal experts have reacted angrily to a move by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to issue Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) Number 2/2022 to replace the 2020 Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

Dens Saputra – Ahead of the 2024 legislative and presidential elections, the political elite have begun to descend on the regions. Sometimes just accompanying the national elite who they support or to conduct working visits with campaign propaganda.

Jakarta – The legislation of the revised Criminal Code (KUHP) has been expedited for passing as soon as possible. Despite its revisions, the newer KUHP is no better than its previous iteration, so we have no qualms about calling on the House of Representatives to reconsider its passage.

It is claimed that the direct election of regional heads does indeed still have many deficiencies, one of which is the many elected regional heads who are caught up in corruption cases.

Just recently, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has declared another regional head a suspect in a corruption case, namely Papua Governor Lukas Enembe. In 2022, at least nine regional heads have been caught up in corruption cases.

Morpheus: Choose the blue pill and you will continue to believe the police's good image as presented in the TV series The Police and the film Broken Wing. Choose the red pill and you will know the actual reality of the police.

Currently, the political situation in Indonesia feels like it is empty of things that smack of ideological idealism, particularly from groups of political actors (the political parties). Yet when observed historically, it is from the politics of ideology that everything begins.

According to the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), the Communication and Information Ministry’s (Kominfo) move to block a number of websites and applications on July 30 amounts to digital authoritarianism.

Press Council Chairperson Pers Azyumardi Azra says that there is an article in the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) which threatens the press if it criticises the government. The threat is contained in Article 218 on attacking the values and dignity of the president and vice president.

Former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is also the long-serving chair of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has been widely criticised for comments she made at the party's 2022 National Meeting on June 21.