Shoes for People’s School students
Students at the People’s School (Sekolah Rakyat/SR) are exempt from all costs, including tuition fees, dormitory charges, daily meals, and essential school supplies such as uniforms and shoes. However, when rumors emerged that the Ministry of Social Affairs had allocated Rp 700,000 for a pair of shoes, the public once again questioned how the government manages procurement for its priority programs.
Questioning the MBG National Command Center
The Coordinating Ministry for Food is set to launch the MBG National Command Center this month. Reportedly, the facility does not require a large budget–only an LED screen and a fast internet connection to support its operations. The stated goal is to streamline coordination between ministries, agencies, and all relevant stakeholders.
Why TMMD persists in a tightening fiscal state
TNI Manunggal Membangun Desa (TMMD) is often celebrated for delivering what many government programs cannot: speed. In a matter of weeks, rural roads appear, houses are repaired and drainage systems installed. For villages long neglected by bureaucratic inertia, TMMD offers tangible change. But why is civilian development increasingly executed by the military—especially when the funding comes from tightening public budgets?
How labor demands are absorbed, not resolved
In the days surrounding May Day, the government floated a plan to push down ride-hailing commissions—reportedly to 8%—while bringing in a prominent labor figure, Jumhur Hidayat, into the policy orbit. The message was unmistakable: the state hears workers. The question is whether it is actually fixing their problem—or merely absorbing their demands.
The future of MBG
President Prabowo Subianto, in his speech at the groundbreaking event for the downstreaming projects yesterday (29/04), reaffirmed his commitment to “continue MBG until completion.” The phrasing left one wondering. What does “completion” mean for a program that is supposed to run every school day? More importantly, what happens to MBG when Prabowo is no longer in office?
The hidden risk in KPK leadership reform
The Constitutional Court of Indonesia (MK) partially granted a judicial review on the eligibility requirements for leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission, it appeared to offer a pragmatic fix. By reinterpreting the requirement from “resigning” to merely “becoming inactive” from prior positions, the Court arguably lowered the barrier for qualified candidates to step forward. But beneath this seemingly technical adjustment lies a deeper institutional risk—one that may quietly erode the very independence the KPK was designed to protect.
Threshold politics and power in next election law
The debate over parliamentary threshold is returning—not as a technical tweak, but as a contest over how power in the legislature should be designed.
Cabinet Reshuffle: No one falls, everyone rotates
Prabowo Subianto closed April without removing a single minister. The message was unmistakable: stability of the ruling coalition outweighs performance-based accountability. Yet the absence of dismissals did not mean inaction. Instead, the President quietly recalibrated power by installing a set of figures in strategic posts—revealing how today’s cabinet works less as a technocratic team and more as a managed network of loyalists, operators and survivors.
Free private schools
The Jakarta Provincial Government will make tuition free at 103 private schools this year, spanning elementary, middle, and high school levels. The initiative requires no new buildings and no large-scale teacher recruitment, but it will significantly expand access to education for children from low-income families.
Fiscal rescue—or fiscal control?
The Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian announced Rp1 trillion in incentives for high-performing regional governments. The policy was framed as a reward for innovation and discipline. But beneath the surface, is this really fiscal support—or a new mechanism of control?