Illegal settlements around public facilities have long been a challenge in Indonesia, particularly in dense urban centers like Jakarta. Evictions have become necessary measures to improve public safety and urban planning. But what happens when they are carried out...

Child-protection regulation for digital platforms—popularly known as PP Tunas—came into force this week, it was framed as a long-overdue intervention. Children under 16 should not be freely exposed to high-risk online environments; platforms must verify age, enable parental controls and redesign features that amplify harm. Few would dispute the intent. The friction begins with execution—and with power.

Satgas PKH has imposed administrative fines of Rp4.2  trillion against PT Asmin Koalindo Tuhup, a coking coal producer controlled by Samin Tan (Borneo Lumbung Energi/BORN). Samin himself has been named corruption suspect by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) for the alleged illegal mining operations for nine years.

Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has recently fined 97 peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms due to operating the alleged interest rate cartel practices. The lenders violated Article 5 of Law No. 5 of 1999 by coordinating interest rates far above market equilibrium, effectively stifling price competition. Consequently, the commission imposed collective fines totaling Rp755 billion, with 52 firms receiving the minimum penalty of Rp1 billion each. The verdict was read out at the Commission’s Panel hearing last week.

PT Agincourt Resources, subsidiary of IDX-listed United Tractors (UNTR, member of Astra Group), was allowed to resume operations at the Martabe gold mine, the government framed it as a pragmatic decision—one that balanced enforcement with economic reality. What does this reversal say about the credibility of mining reform agenda?

The latest draft regulation on economic crimes, reportedly being prepared in the form of a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu), arrives with a familiar justification: the need for speed, strength and coordination in tackling increasingly complex financial offenses. In a country long plagued by corruption, illicit financial flows and regulatory fragmentation, the argument may sound compelling. But beneath the urgency lies a far more consequential question—whether this policy is truly about strengthening law enforcement, or quietly concentrating power.

The Constitutional Court (MK) has quietly issued a ruling that could reshape one of the most entrenched privileges in the country’s political system: lifetime pensions for former state officials. By declaring key provisions of Law No. 12/1980 outdated and partially unconstitutional, the Court has effectively opened the door to a fundamental question that has long gone unasked—why should political elites receive benefits that far exceed those available to ordinary citizens?