Bakrie is back?

Apr 9, 2026 | Market, Politics

President Prabowo Subianto jokingly asked, “Why isn’t he here?” in reference to Aburizal Bakrie at a recent public event, it sounded like harmless banter. But in political economy, visibility is rarely accidental. It is curated, and often consequential. To be named in...

From Mahindra cars to MBG bikes

Apr 9, 2026 | Market

Flagship welfare initiatives are increasingly shadowed by a familiar pattern: ambitious social goals followed by large-scale procurement of physical assets. The controversy surrounding the purchase of Mahindra vehicles has barely subsided, yet a new debate has emerged...

Justice in Papua: Equal before the law, or equal in rhetoric?

Apr 9, 2026 | Law, Politics

Recent remarks by Papua Police Chief Mathius D. Fakhiri, assuring that the legal process in the Dogiyai case will proceed “without discrimination,” may sound reassuring on the surface. Yet in Papua, such statements are not new—and more importantly, they are rarely...

Magdalena’s case: Public Order of Censorship?

Apr 9, 2026 | Law, Politics

Recently, the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) blocked one of Magdalene’s Instagram posts featuring an investigative report on the acid attack against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus. Komdigi argued that Magdalene is not a verified press institution...

Ceasefire on shaky ground

Apr 9, 2026 | Market

WTI crude oil futures climbed 7.4% to US$101.4 per barrel Thursday (Apr 9), while Brent futures increased by 4.4% to US$99 as market participants witnessed growing uncertainty in the US-Iran ceasefire.  Israel’s attack on Lebanon, which killed more than 200 people,...

Methanol: Talk the Talk

Apr 8, 2026 | Industries

The country’s leaders have talked about building new methanol plants for more than three decades now, but none has been materialized. The existing methanol plants are those built during the Soeharto regime. Five years ago, a delegation led by ministry of industry...

MBG & The procurement of electric motorcycles

Apr 8, 2026 | Market, Politics

The lack of transparency in the government’s flagship program has once again fueled public suspicion. Out of nowhere, no less than 20,000 electric motorcycles appeared ready for distribution to support the operations of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program,...

Banning harm reduction

Apr 8, 2026 | Law, Market

Indonesia may be heading toward a striking policy contradiction: taxing vape products on one hand while considering criminalizing them under narcotics law on the other. The proposal by the Badan Narkotika Nasional (BNN) to include vape in the draft Narcotics and...

Security at what cost?

Apr 8, 2026 | Market, Politics

At a time when the government urges efficiency, trims budgets and warns of fiscal pressure, a new defense procurement has quietly entered the spotlight: the planned purchase of 12 aircraft from Pilatus Aircraft. The timing could not be more politically charged. Across...

Indonesia in the path of China’s e-commerce surge

Apr 8, 2026 | Market

China’s latest e-commerce regulation may appear technical—another bureaucratic adjustment to balance growth and oversight. But beneath the surface, it signals something far more consequential: a coordinated push to expand China’s digital trade footprint globally. And...