As the government pursues deeper economic ties with the United States, particularly through a series of proposed digital trade concessions and reciprocal tariff agreements, the public must ask: are we willing to rewrite our national laws—and sacrifice our digital sovereignty—in exchange for short-term trade gains?

Indonesia and China have recently signed a strategic partnership agreement focusing on blue carbon research during Hainan Blue Carbon Forum 2025, highlighting a growing bilateral commitment to marine and coastal ecosystem conservation. The deal was signed between the Hainan International Blue Carbon Research Center (HiBC) and Indonesia’s Research Center for Oceanography under the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

So, Indonesia’s sixth president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has returned home after one week of medical treatment at Gatot Soebroto hospital in Jakarta. While he was at the hospital, Prabowo government, where SBY’s Democrat Party is key member of the ruling coalition, banned Gunawan Yusuf and Purwanti Lee from overseas travel.

The most interesting case implicating Gunawan Yusuf is his decades of dispute with Salim Group, former owner of sugar plantation and factories currently under Gunawan’s Sugar Group of Companies (SGC). The assets are only among few that Salim Group failed to recover from Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to settle debts related to restructuring of Bank Central Asia (BCA). 

In today’s geopolitical landscape, defined by the dominance of digital technology and economic globalization, personal data has become a strategic asset—arguably more valuable than oil or coal. Amid growing cooperation between Indonesia and the United States, including negotiations over zero-tariff agreements for digital products, one important question emerges: Is Indonesia quietly surrendering its digital sovereignty by allowing foreign access to its citizens’ personal data?

When allegations of fraud shook Indonesia’s aquaculture unicorn eFishery earlier this year, the fallout was not limited to one company. It triggered wider concerns about governance across the country’s booming startup sector—long fueled by optimism, foreign capital, and charismatic founders. The incident was a reminder that Indonesia’s digital economy can no longer rely on growth alone; it needs guardrails.

Far from media coverage, Gunawan Yusuf actually entered into a business dispute against Bambang Trihatmodjo, long-time friend and business partner of Anthoni Salim (Salim Group), and former brother-in-law of President Prabowo Subianto. On December 5, 2017, the South Jakarta District Court registered a pre-trial lawsuit against the General Crimes Directorate of the Bareskrim. 

For more than two decades, Gunawan Yusuf (owner of Makindo and Sugar Group of Companies/SGC) has faced series of legal cases related to his fund management company Makindo and SGC, one of the largest players in domestic sugar industry. The most notable cases are against Tong Keng Siong, Bambang Trihatmodjo, and, of course, Salim Group/Marubeni. Let’s review them.

Gunawan Yusuf and his sister Purwanti Lee or Dr Lee Purwati Couhault have been examined several times by prosecutors in the past few months as a follow-up of testimony from corrupt Supreme Court official Zarof that he received Rp50 billion for his service in helping Sugar Group of Companies (SGC) in the case against Marubeni Corporation and Salim Group. 

President Prabowo Subianto has promised to deliver economic justice through inclusive downstreaming, rural development, and pro-people industrialization. But as several flagship national strategic projects (PSN) unfold in Mempawah, Fakfak, and Merauke, one question emerges: to whom are these projects really for?