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?
Stark contrasts between rhetorics and actions
President Prabowo Subianto often talked about efficiency in government spending, but the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which manages around US$20 billion budget this year (the largest among State institutions) did completely the opposite.
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?
Political proximity builds towers—and parties merge
The reported merger talks between Gerindra Party and NasDem Party have been publicly denied. Yet in politics, denial often says less than timing. The sequence of events is difficult to ignore.
Feeding programs or funding events?
When Indonesia established the Badan Gizi Nasional (BGN), it carried a clear moral and policy mandate: to tackle one of the country’s most persistent structural problems—malnutrition. Yet the recent revelation that the agency has allocated Rp113 billion for event organizer (EO) services raises a fundamental question: Is the state feeding its people, or funding events?
Bracing for turbulence
Pretty much as predicted, market participants responded negatively the collapse of US-Iran talks over the weekend. WTI crude oil futures increased by 8% to US$104.4 per barrel this morning, while Brent returned to US$103 per barrel.
Danantara/Denera & WtE Partners
Danantara has established a new state company named PT Daya Energi Bersih Nusantara (Denera) as holding entity for all waste-to-energy (WtE) projects nationwide. Danantara, through Denera, will hold 30% shares in each project, around 33, while the balance will be owned by private partners.
China’s new project & bankruptcies of two melamine producers
Sichuan Golden Elephant Sincerity Chemical Co. Ltd, through its subsidiary PT GEABH Joint Technology, has recently conducted a groundbreaking ceremony of melamine project in Gresik, East Java, being Indonesia’s first melamine project in decades.
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.
No deal!
No deal, but no breakdown! That’s the conclusion of the US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan over the weekend. US delegation led by vice president JD Vance has left Islamabad saying about the final offer refused by Iran, while Iran said no plan for the next round of talks.