Ino Samsul: From DPR to the Constitutional Court In August 2025, DPR nominated him as the sole candidate to replace Justice Arief Hidayat at the Constitutional Court (MK), who will retire in 2026. Inosentius Samsul was born in Pembe, East Manggarai, East Nusa...

Amidst the suffocating land and building tax that causes misery to the people, members of the House of Representatives (DPR) get to enjoy all sorts of allowances provided to them. In addition to the increased rice and fuel allowances, they are now also given housing allowance worth Rp 50 million per person, which in turn aggravates the public even more. This doesn’t seem fair, by all accounts.

President Prabowo Subianto revealed major plans in the education sector in the annual session of the People’s Consultative Assembly last Friday (15/08), from building more People’s Schools and Garuda Schools to providing Smart TV as a learning device. As always, it received mixed reactions from the public who were partly appreciative, partly skeptical.

When 100,000 to 150,000 residents of Pati, Central Java province, filled the streets on August 13, 2025, calling for Regent Sudewo’s resignation, it looked like the perfect storm for a political reckoning. In many democracies, a leader facing that scale of opposition—after a viral public confrontation and a botched policy rollout—would be in immediate danger of losing office. Yet, in Pati, the political machinery remains conspicuously still.

President Prabowo Subianto plans to evacuate 2,000 wounded Gazans to Galang Island, where they will be provided medical treatment and temporary shelter. While the Indonesian government is waiting for approval from the Palestinian and other Middle East countries’ authorities, the public is torn between supporting the humanitarian cause and criticizing what seems to be a misplaced priority.

Over the weekend, President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated six new Regional Military Commands (Kodam) along with dozens of new territorial and operational units. The ceremony in Batujajar, West Bandung, was filled with berets, polished boots, and generals adorned with stars—reminding us that, in Indonesia, prestige is still measured by military rank.

The ongoing corruption investigation into Indonesia’s 2024 hajj quota has taken a sharp political turn. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) recently summoned Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Religious Affairs Minister from 2020 to 2024, for questioning. The case is not only significant because of his former ministerial role, but also because he is the younger brother of KH Yahya Cholil Staquf, the current chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama’s Central Board (PBNU)—the country’s largest Muslim organization.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani’s remarks at the Science, Technology, and Industry Convention earlier this August—questioning whether all teachers’ and lecturers’ salaries should be borne entirely by the state or partially supported by public participation—sparked an intense public reaction. In a political climate highly sensitive to education issues, the statement was seen as contradicting Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution, which explicitly mandates the state to finance education.

Rumor has it that the Jakarta Metropolitan Police aborted the plan to search the house of Febrie Adriansyah, a prosecutor known for handling major corruption cases in Indonesia, due to tight security by the TNI. The search itself was suspected to be a part of the ongoing legal proceedings involving Ferry Yanto Hongkiriwang (FYH) AKA Ferry Boboho, who was earlier detained for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting members of Special Detachment 88. At first glance, it looked like a conflict between law enforcement institutions, but the conflict might just be the tip of the iceberg.

Three weeks after the launch, the People’s Schools or locally known as Sekolah Rakyat (SR) have already lost many students and teachers. More than 100 students opted to drop out of school, while more than 140 teachers resigned even before the new term officially started. The Ministry of Social Affairs is reportedly preparing the replacement to ensure that this program will proceed smoothly.