A meeting between leaders of Hajj Working Committee (Panja Haji) of House Commission VIII and President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace on Tuesday (Jan 7) is an alarming development in the context of checks-and-balances. The Committee is an internal institution of the House of Representatives (DPR) that should only reporting to the leaders of the parliament. 

So, BYD, which gained popularity in Indonesia, has taken over Tesla in volume of EV sold last year. BYD, which will soon open assembling facility in the country, sold 4.27 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) last year, jumped 41.3% from 2023.

The fast grown nickel and copper processing has led to substantial rise in production of tailings. Some have tried to pouring huge money to process tailings into various products including ceramics and construction materials.

Some are caught by surprises with announcement from finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati about the 2024 State Budget, where revenues grew 2.1% from 2023 or 1.4% above target. Some have earlier predicted that the revenue target would be missed. 

Extreme cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere lifted natural gas price by nearly 11% on Monday (Jan 6), but thermal coal slipped 0.9% to its lowest level in ten months due to ample supply, higher output in China and bigger inventories in importing countries. 

PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (INRU), controlled by the family of Sukanto Tanoto (RGE Group), decided to shutdown the pulp mill operation in North Sumatra province due to shortage of raw materials (wood) from the company’s operational areas.

Shares of Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGAS), subsidiary of state oil and gas company Pertamina involved in distribution and transmission of natural gas, ended at Rp1,595 last Friday (Jan 3). At the last quoted price, PGN was worth Rp39 trillion, way below equity (Rp57.8 trillion as at Sept 30, 2024).

Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs through the Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) has recently confirmed that they will continue the studies for developing the Indonesia Raya Satellite Multifunction Satellite (SATRIA-2) throughout 2025.

The city of Surabaya, the second largest city in the country, has actually tried a system where the local administration will order food from the existing restaurants and use delivery services like Gojek and Grab. Politicians, however, see a brand new dedicated kitchen is a better option. 

Prabowo administration officially kick off the free ‘nutritious’ meal program today, January 6, 2025. The program aims to feed 82 million children and pregnant women by 2029, but the first phase will target 3 million children/pregnant women, served by 190 kitchens ‘prepared’ by the National Nutrition Agency (BGN).