Most viewers have dismissed Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's video monolog on youth's crucial role in realising the government's much touted vision of Golden Indonesia 2045 as overly flowery, lacking substance and an exercise in attention seeking.

While there has been considerable public discussion about the problem of online debt (pinjol) and the related problem of online gambling, there has been little said about the level of debt incurred by ordinary households who survive through credit from local shops (pintok), food stalls (pinwar) and neighbours (pintangga).

Sandro Gatra – When things are silent, the state should work. In an uproar, the state must explain. In an echoing silence however, the figure of 984 trillion rupiah revealed by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) as the value of transactions indicated as being corrupt throughout 2024, actually just leaves an irony: the state is silent.

Responding to a series of high-profile cases where judges have been bribed to acquit defendants, the Supreme Court (MA) has announced it will implement a Smart Panel for the automated appointment of judges using a robot or artificial intelligence (AI) system.

President Prabowo Subianto has again highlighted the "Indonesia Gelap" (Dark Indonesia) campaign that has gone viral on social media and was taken up by mass student protests across Indonesia in March. Prabowo claimed to be confused by people who call Indonesia dark saying he believes the opposite, that "Indonesia is bright".

Responding to growing public concern that the proposed revisions to the Indonesian Military law will herald a return to the military's dwi-fungsi that it enjoyed under the New Order dictatorship of former president Suharto, the TNI has tried to reassure the public by saying it does not want a return to dwi-fungsi because it's already "multi-functional".

There are widespread concerns over proposed revisions to the Indonesian Military Law (UU TNI) that could allow active TNI officers to become involved in business activities. Trade unions for example say that many employers already use the military to provide security for businesses and the direct involvement of active military officers will further threaten workers' rights.

A surprise inspection at the Lenteng Agung Market in South Jakarta earlier this month led to the discovery that one-litre government subsidised Minyakita cooking oil containers did not in fact contain one litre of oil.

Analysts have warned that the new Danantara sovereign wealth fund – which was launched with much fanfare by President Prabowo Subianto on Monday February 24 – faces challenges in winning investor trust given its governance structure.

Indonesia's corrupt government officials and politicians have good reason to cheer President Prabowo Subianto's latest call to crack down on graft given his conflicting statements and lack of any real action on fighting corruption since taking office in October.

According to the Labour Ministry, some 60,000 workers from around 50 companies were laid off (PHK) across a wide range of industries in the manufacturing sector in the first two months of 2025. Trade unions are warning that this figure could rise to as high as 150,000 by July.

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.