Decentralizing truth: When data becomes power in villages
Lawmakers are once again attempting to fix a chronic governance problem: unreliable data. Through the proposed Satu Data Indonesia Bill (RUU SDI), the House of Representatives—particularly the Badan Legislasi DPR(Baleg)—seeks to elevate villages from passive data objects into active data producers, managers and even interpreters.
Fuel shortage or market engineering?
Recent findings by the Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU) suggest a more troubling possibility: what if scarcity is not merely an accident of the market, but a byproduct of how the market itself is designed?
Expanding protection, or diluting justice?
Government’s revision of the Law on the Protection of Witnesses and Victims (RUU PSdK) promises a long-overdue shift in the country’s criminal justice system. By expanding protection beyond witnesses and victims to include whistleblowers, experts and other parties involved in legal proceedings, lawmakers claim to be strengthening justice. But, does broader protection necessarily mean better justice?
When the Hajj becomes a competition
Thousands of people rush to access an online ticketing portal at the same time, hoping to secure a seat at their favorite artist’s upcoming concert. This is the familiar scene of a so-called “ticket war”; a cut-throat competition where speed determines success. So when the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah floated the idea of a similar “ticket war” to shorten the ever-growing Hajj queue, one can’t help but wonder. What would the mechanism look like? And would it truly solve the existing problem?
Fiscal squeeze or a new corruption model?
The corruption case surrounding Tulungagung Regent Gatut Sunu Wibowo raises a deeper question than individual wrongdoing. Is this scandal a symptom of tightening fiscal space in regional governments? Or does it signal something more troubling — the emergence of a new model of corruption in Indonesia’s decentralized system?
Fuel, power and timing
For over a decade, the shadow of Pertamina Energy Trading Limited has loomed over Indonesia’s oil imports—whispered about in audits, debated in Parliament, and quietly buried in reform narratives. The decision by the Attorney General’s Office to finally name Riza Chalid as a suspect should be read not only as a legal milestone, but as a political signal shaped by today’s energy realities.
Concrete, contracts and silence
Jakarta High Prosecutor’s Office entered the offices of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing this week, they were not just searching for documents. For over a decade, infrastructure has been the crown jewel of development policy under Joko Widodo. Toll roads, dams, irrigation systems, and urban infrastructure projects have reshaped the country’s physical landscape. But behind the concrete and ribbon cuttings lies a more uncomfortable question: who really benefits from Indonesia’s infrastructure boom?
Regulating platform workers
Digital economy has created millions of jobs—but it has also exposed a regulatory vacuum that the state can no longer ignore. At the center of this contradiction are platform workers—especially ride-hailing and delivery drivers—who are officially labeled as “partners,” yet function in ways that closely resemble employees.
Anwar Usman’s replacement
Following Anwar Usman’s retirement, the Presidential Palace has reportedly received the name of the new judge who will replace him, proposed by the Supreme Court. The official inauguration by President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled for this week, although the exact date has not been disclosed. What we do know is that three candidates who passed the selection process had previously been announced. Who are they? Let’s take a closer look at their profiles and track records.
Justice in Papua: Equal before the law, or equal in rhetoric?
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 taken at face value.