Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD says that almost 92 percent of candidate regional heads spread across all of Indonesia are funded by cukong (business tycoons).

Toyiban, Manokwari – Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has approved a program to recruit 1,000 Special Autonomy non-commissioned officers  (Bintara Otsus) which was proposed by the West Papua/Kasuari/XVIII Regional Military Command (Kodam).

Haryanti Puspa Sari, Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti says that based on Kontras’ records, there were 256 attacks against human rights defenders between January and July 2020.

Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – Amnesty International Executive Director Usman Hamid has again called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to keep his pledge to solve the 2004 assassination of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

Haryanti Puspa Sari, Jakarta – Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) Director Arif Maulana says that the government has two more years left to solve the assassination of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib before the case expires.

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Politics, Security and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD has responded to the polemic about political dynasties in the 2020 election of regional heads (Pilkada).

Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD says that democracy, which has developed rapidly in the public realm, has resulted in the government feeling that it is wrong whatever it does.

Jakarta – Arif Susanto, a political analyst from the think tank Exposit Strategic, has criticised Presidential Chief of Staff Expert Donny Gahral Adian who said recently that buzzers are an unavoidable part of democracy.

Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito has conceded that the positivity rate in Indonesia has continued to rise over time. The positivity rate is the ratio of positive cases compared with the number of tests conducted.

Jakarta – The acting director general for health services at the Health Ministry, Abdul Kadir, says that Indonesia no longer needs large scale social restrictions (PSBB), despite the fact that the corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic is not over yet.

Jakarta – The 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212), which is part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) National Anti-Communist Alliance (ANAK), plans to hold joint screenings (nobar) of the film Betrayal of the September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party (G30S/PKI).

Jakarta – The Indonesian Advocacy and Justice Action Campaign (AKSI) community admits that it is disappointed by an Agriculture Ministry (Kepmentan) decision to revise a 2020 ministerial decree that lists marijuana as a medicinal plant.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) is concerned that revisions to the Constitutional Court Law (UU MK) are being used as a tool for political barter by the government and the House of Representatives (DPR).

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Cross-Factory Labour Federation (FBLP) has spoken out in response to a request by House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani who asked workers not hold demonstrations against the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation (RUU Cipta Kerja) because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jakarta – Papuan Traditional Council (DAP) Second Secretary John Gobay is asking President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to quickly issue a government regulation on the mechanisms for establishing local political parties in the Land of the Cenderawasih as Papua is known.

Sania Mashabi, Jakarta – Association of Indonesian Public Health Experts (IAKMI) board member Hermawan Saputra says that it is not the right time for the government to reopen cinemas while the corona virus pandemic or Covid-19 is still not under control.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Committee for the Safety of Journalists (KKJ) says that the hacking of mass media websites is a new threat against the work of journalists in Indonesia.

Dian Erika Nugraheny, Jakarta – The recent hacking of the Tempo.co website has not intimidated Tempo’s editors who will continue to take a critical stand in their reporting.

Charles Maniani, Jayapura – On Wednesday August 19, officers from the Abepura sectoral police (Polsek) forcibly broke up a Papuan People’s Solidarity action collecting funds to provide financial assistance to exiled Papua activist and human rights lawyer Veronica Koman.

Jakarta – Deputy Defense Minister Wahyu Sakti Trenggono says that the wars being waged at the moment are not always in the form of military or physical attacks.