Papua’s special autonomy was conceived as a constitutional commitment, not as a discretionary budget item. Yet recent developments suggest that the policy has drifted far from its original intent. Instead of functioning as a stable fiscal framework, autonomy...
The controversy over a letter allegedly sent by the Aceh provincial administration to UN agencies is not merely a case of bureaucratic miscommunication. It is a stark reminder that, in Indonesia, disaster management is never purely humanitarian—it is deeply political....
President Prabowo Subianto is obsessed with self-sufficiency in food and energy. So, his lesson learnt from natural disaster killing thousands of people and millions isolated from cyclone in northern tip of Sumatra Island is the need for a local-level self sufficiency...
The holiday season is around the corner and some schools are already closed. This, however, doesn’t mean that the MBG program also comes to a halt. SPPG kitchens will continue distributing free meals to students to ensure their nutritional needs are met. Here’s the...
In a constitutional democracy, court rulings are meant to end debates, not invite administrative creativity. Constitutional Court (MK) exists precisely to provide finality in constitutional interpretation. When its decisions are treated as suggestions rather than...
Victims of the recent Sumatra floods lost access to electricity for days, and many of them had to rely on their own resources due to the slow emergency response from the government. In stark contrast, it seems like the government institutions and elites have been busy...
In moments of national crisis, accuracy is not merely a technical requirement—it is the foundation of public trust. Indonesia witnessed a stark reminder of this when Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia told President Prabowo Subianto that...
An MBG delivery van broke through a gate and crashed into students in the schoolyard of SDN 01 Kalibaru, Cilincing, North Jakarta. The police have detained the driver and a helper, who was also in the van during the accident, and are currently investigating. There is...
One could say that student organizations, along with other civil society groups, are the only hope for checks and balances given no formal opposition in the parliament. They keep resistance against injustice alive through social movements. But several student...
Indonesia’s political landscape is shifting, and for the first time since the Helsinki peace agreement, Aceh’s influence is extending beyond regional politics. At the center of this phenomenon is Muzakir Manaf, popularly known as Mualem, the former commander of the...
