With many senior government officials – including several members of President Joko Widodo’s so called “Working Cabinet” – totally preoccupied with getting themselves reelected in next year’s legislative elections, little attention is being paid to rising food prices, which place a massive financial burden on Indonesia’s poor.

According to a report by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) on its latest study on the public’s perception of corruption, 52 percent of respondents in 2018 agreed that corruption levels have increased in some way.

On November 19 a team from Wakatobi National Park found 5.9 kilograms of plastic garbage inside the stomach of a dead sperm whale that had beached on Kapota Island, Southeast Sulawesi.

Electoral observers say that one of the reasons that it will be difficult for the public to make educated choices in the 2019 elections will be because of the limited information available to voters on legislative candidate’s (caleg) profiles and backgrounds.

The Indonesian Medical Association has recommended a medical audit as an option to solve a perpetual deficit in the national health insurance scheme which is expected to reach over Rp 10 trillion this year.

President Joko Widodo (left) announced Saturday that all vehicles will be free to use the 5.4 kilometre Suramadu (Surabaya-Madura) toll bridge connecting the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya and Madura Island without charge claiming the move would help spur economic development on the island.

A polemic has erupted over the importation of rice verses self-sufficiency with supporters of presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto using the issue to attack incumbent President Joko Widodo.

While President Joko Widodo was applauded for his remarks at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) annual meeting in Bali after he compared the global economic situation to the TV series Game of Thrones, protesters outside the meeting venue received a far from warm welcome.

Frog under a coconut shell (kodok dalam tempurung) – an Indonesian proverb referring to a frog which lives under a coconut shell and refuses to venture out so they have no knowledge of the outside world but remain happy in their ignorance.

The tsunami that hit Central Sulawesi on Friday – where walls of water up to 6 metres and a magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed at least 832 people in the cities of Palu and Donggala – has highlighting the weaknesses of the existing warning system and low public awareness about how to respond to warnings.

The campaign period for the 2019 presidential and legislative elections officially kicked off Sunday with participants signing a declaration pledging a “peaceful campaign” at the National Monument Central Jakarta.

After months of heated debate, the General Elections Commission (KPU) decided on Thursday that the 38 politicians who had challenged their disqualification at the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) would be eligible to run in the 2019 legislative election.

With many of the country’s lawmakers preoccupied with campaigning for the 2019 presidential and legislative elections or trying to use legislative issues to boost their image among voters, this year is shaping up to be a repeat of previous years...

Incumbent presidential candidate President Joko Widodo and his rival former General Prabowo Subianto are both trying to woo the much converted “millennial vote” – the 20-35 year age bracket which they hope could swing the election in their favour.

A seven-day state of emergency has been declared following a magnitude 7 earthquake (gempa) that hit the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday.

According to the latest data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the poverty rate in Indonesia has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has requested access to the closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in all Indonesian prisons to monitor malpractice following the recent discovery that graft convicts in Sukamiskin prison in Bandung, West Java, were living in upgraded luxury prison cells.

In its rush to acquire a 51% majority ownership in the PT Freeport mine in West Papua before next year’s presidential election – driven by President Widodo’s desire to tout his success in wresting control of the nation’s prized natural resources from foreign ownership – the government is now fending off criticism over the US$3.85 billion price t

Much to the consternation of the political parties – many of which have fielded former corruption convicts or candidates under investigation for graft – the General Elections Commission (KPU) Saturday issued a regulation which, among other things, bans former graft convicts from running in next year’s legislative elections.

Electoral observers say that one of the reasons the 2019 legislative elections will be undemocratic is because of the limited information available to voters on candidate’s profiles and backgrounds.