Although Indonesia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2011 and in 2016 passed Law Number 8/2016 which acknowledges the rights of people with disabilities, disabled people continue to be discriminated against in the job market and few public facilities accommodate the needs of disabled people.
Drunken Republic Cartoons 2019
December 2019
On November 12, 11 ministries and state institutions signed a Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB Radikalisme) prohibiting civil servants from expressing opinions on social media that contain “hate speech” against the state ideology of Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the country’s motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) and the government.
November 2019
The Finance Ministry has announced that it will freeze regional government accounts that have been channeling rural development funds (dana desa) to bogus villages, an official said on Tuesday.
Commander General Mochamad Iriawan (pictured) was elected Saturday as the new chief of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) for 2019-2023, making him the first police general to lead the country’s soccer association.
In his state of the nation address in August, President Joko Widodo outlined his vision to develop Indonesia’s human capital in the face of fierce international competition.
October 2019
On September 30 President Joko Widodo passed a presidential regulation (Perpres) on the use of the Indonesian language which makes it mandatory for government officials to speak in Bahasa Indonesia when delivering formal speeches domestically or abroad.
On October 28, 1928, Indonesian students and youth gathered in Jakarta to declare the Youth Pledge – generally accepted as the first open declaration of Indonesian independence – which called for a united independent Indonesia under the theme of “One Nation, One People, One Language”.
Indonesians have expressed disappointment after President Joko Widodo (left) and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin (right) announced their new so-called “Working Cabinet 2” (Kabinet Kerja 2) lineup which included Widodo’s presidential election rival Prabowo Subianto (climbing rope ladder) – an ex-army general accused of human rights abuses – as defense minister.
Only days after country witnessed a massive wave of student-led protests against the weakening of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and a slew of anti-democratic legislation, the newly inaugurated members of the House of Representatives (DPR) now say they will prioritise the very laws that the students were protesting against.
September 2019
Indonesia’s political parties have revived a proposal to reinstate the GBHN – the Broad Outlines of State Policy – which used to be issued by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to guide and direct national development during the New Order dictatorship of former president Suharto.
Anti-corruption activists say that President Joko Widodo (pictured centre) has ignored public input by going ahead and submitting the 10 names proposed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leadership selection committee to the House of Representatives for the final selection process.
August 2019
A massive power failure hit the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and surrounding cities on Sunday affecting millions of people.The state electricity company PLN said the outage occurred when one of the gas turbines at its Suralaya plant shut down causing seven other turbines to trip followed by a shutdown of its gas turbine plant at Cilegon.
Concern has been expressed in both the Indonesian and foreign mainstream media that President Joko Widodo’s ruling coalition – which now holds around 60 percent of the seats in parliament – has become too “fat”.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) says that eighty percent of the land destroyed by forest fires in Indonesia this year will be converted into plantations, pointing the blame for the fires at unsustainable practices in the country’s agriculture industry.
July 2019
According to the aid group Humanity Volunteer Team of Nduga – which has been helping communities displaced by armed conflict in Papua’s Nduga regency with food, health and education needs in Wamena – 182 civilians have died fleeing violence in the highlands.
Jakarta’s notorious air pollution has again been thrust into the spotlight this week thanks to a trending social media hashtag in which people shared photos of the capital’s smog blanked skyline.
Anti-corruption activists and legal advocates are concerned that there is a plot to “tame” the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) through the selection of new batch of KPK leaders for 2019.
Following the June 27 the Constitutional Court ruling which rejected losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s electoral challenge, President and Vice President elect Joko Widodo (left) and Ma’ruf Amin (right) have now been confirmed as the winners of the April presidential elections.
June 2019
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says there are 1,466 state civil servants (PNS) who have been found guilty of corruption but have yet to be dismissed and are still receiving wages.
According to the Ministry of Health, while Indonesia has seen a gradual decline in stunting from 37.2 percent in 2013 to 30.8 percent in 2018, other reports confirm a far higher prevalence of malnutrition among children in eastern Indonesia with some area reporting figures as high as 40 percent.