TNI Chief of Staff Maruli Simanjuntak and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya were condemned for their remarks on media coverage of the recent Sumatra disaster. They advised the media against reporting the government’s shortcomings in disaster relief, and to focus on boosting public morale with positive news. More than a simple advice, however, AJI Indonesia viewed it as an effort to curb the media’s role as a watchdog.

Nearly a month after floods and landslides hit three provinces in Sumatra, thousands of evacuees have yet to receive adequate assistance. 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid from our neighbor Malaysia stuck in Port Klang without approval, while 30 tonnes of rice were almost returned to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It all boils down to the uncertainty in the Indonesian government’s bureaucracy, which effectively locks foreign assistance out of the country.

The Ministry of Social Affairs is currently preparing several programs for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sumatra. One of which is the plan to distribute Rp 10,000 in social assistance per person for three months. The question is: Will this initiative set a precedent for how the state handles disasters? What are the possible implications?

The Ministry of Culture’s launch of Sejarah Indonesia: Dinamika Kebangsaan dalam Arus Global should have been a proud intellectual moment. Ten volumes, dozens of contributors, and a sweeping ambition to narrate Indonesia’s long civilizational journey—on paper, it sounds like a serious investment in national memory. Instead, it has ignited unease, skepticism, and a familiar anxiety: when the state writes history, whose truth does it serve?

Papua’s special autonomy was conceived as a constitutional commitment, not as a discretionary budget item. Yet recent developments suggest that the policy has drifted far from its original intent. Instead of functioning as a stable fiscal framework, autonomy increasingly appears conditional—adjusted, reduced, and restored depending on political convenience and fiscal pressures in Jakarta.

The controversy over a letter allegedly sent by the Aceh provincial administration to UN agencies is not merely a case of bureaucratic miscommunication. It is a stark reminder that, in Indonesia, disaster management is never purely humanitarian—it is deeply political.

President Prabowo Subianto is obsessed with self-sufficiency in food and energy. So, his lesson learnt from natural disaster killing thousands of people and millions isolated from cyclone in northern tip of Sumatra Island is the need for a local-level self sufficiency in food and energy.

The holiday season is around the corner and some schools are already closed. This, however, doesn’t mean that the MBG program also comes to a halt. SPPG kitchens will continue distributing free meals to students to ensure their nutritional needs are met. Here’s the deal: People don’t find it necessary to keep this program going during the holiday season.

In a constitutional democracy, court rulings are meant to end debates, not invite administrative creativity. Constitutional Court (MK) exists precisely to provide finality in constitutional interpretation. When its decisions are treated as suggestions rather than...

Victims of the recent Sumatra floods lost access to electricity for days, and many of them had to rely on their own resources due to the slow emergency response from the government. In stark contrast, it seems like the government institutions and elites have been busy competing for praise from Prabowo Subianto by making a momentary, yet fatal illusion out of this situation.