Trust is earned through action, not words. Unfortunately, Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo and Gerindra Party deputy chairman Sufmi Ahmad Dasco tried hard to earn trust with words, that ’Tommy Djiwandono (the President’s nephew) is nominated not by Prabowo, but Perry himself’  and that ‘BI’s decisions are made by the board of governor, a collegial one’.

Some major plantation groups, including Salim, Harita, Best Agro, and Astra Agro, have reportedly paid administrative fine to the Satgas PKH. Companies under GoodHope Asia Holdings, however, are listed among those yet to make payments. Satgas PKH, a task force established by President Prabowo, for the enforcement of law within forest area, promised to mount more pressures. 

Oil palm plantation companies have slowly responded to demands for public disclosures related to administrative fines charged by the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH). Yesterday, IDX-listed Astra Agro Lestari (AALI), member of Astra International (ASII), confirmed that it had made Rp571 billion of payments for administrative fines to Satgas PKH.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa publicly warned that civil servants colluding with foreign companies to evade taxes could be sidelined or dismissed, it marked a sharp escalation in the government’s fiscal posture. The immediate target: companies from China operating in Indonesia, particularly in the steel sector, long suspected of exploiting loopholes in value-added tax reporting.

President Prabowo Subianto has revoked the forestry permits for 28 companies due to environmental violations that caused deadly floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra between November – December 2025. The violations included illegal logging, forest encroachment, and land clearing that led to massive land degradation in the Batang Toru ecosystem and surrounding areas.

Indonesia’s proposed overhaul of cigarette excise policy is no longer just a technocratic debate inside the Finance Ministry. It has become a political and social flashpoint. What began as a fiscal strategy to “draw illegal cigarettes into the system” is now facing open resistance from small and medium-scale cigarette producers themselves—ironically, the very group the policy claims to accommodate.

It is undeniable that Indonesia still lags far behind in overall digital competitiveness and technological advancement, even among ASEAN countries. Over the past few years, the government has undertaken numerous initiatives to address this issue, from increasing the quota for STEM scholarships to encouraging domestic universities to expand their STEM study programs. The question remains: is the problem rooted solely in the lack of quotas and availability? A little spoiler: no. Not really.

Permit of the controversial pulp producer PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (INRU) has reportedly been revoked by President Prabowo alongside 27 companies operating in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, three provinces hit by landslide and floods killing over 1,000 people in late November 2025.

Martabe is the third largest gold mine in Indonesia behind Grasberg (PT Freeport Indonesia) and Batu Hijau (PT Amman Mineral). It is operated by PT Agincourt Resources, subsidiary of United Tractors (UNTR), member of Astra International (ASII). PT Agincourt is one of 28 companies, whose permits have reportedly been revoked by President Prabowo Subianto.