The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, maintains its leadership of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) with its Rais A’am (supreme leader) KH Miftachul Akhyar as the new 2020-2025 MUI Chairman. Interestingly, the new MUI lineup has politicians and/or those with crystal clear connections to political parties.

After Police Insp. Gen. Petrus Reinhard Golose was removed from the position of chief of the Bali Police, many wondered where he’d go next. His name has since been mentioned as the strongest candidate to become the next chief of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). If President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo were to appoint Petrus Golose as the new BNN chief, the two-star Police general would replace Comr. Gen. Heru Winarko, who is entering his mandatory retirement age today (Dec. 1). Winarko would thus earn his third star.

In the previous instalments of this series, we covered Insp. Gen. Muhammad Fadil Imran, the new chief of the Metro Jaya Police; Insp. Gen. Nico Afinta, the new chief of the East Java Police, Insp. Gen. Rikwanto, the new chief of the South Kalimantan Police; and Insp. Gen. Petrus Reinhard Golose. Today, we cover Insp. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi, the former chief of the West Java Police, and his successor Insp. Gen. Ahmad Dofiri.

The opposition party PKS has set the target of collecting at least 15 percent of the votes in the 2024 legislative election. It’s very unrealistic. PKS Chairman Ahmad Syaikhu was the one who disclosed the Party’s target. He said that it was the mandate of the Party’s Supreme Council (Majelis Syuro). Syaikhu delivered the statement in his speech at the PKS’ national meeting (Munas) held in Bandung, West Java over the weekend.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appointed the Coordinating Minister for Maritime & Investment General (ret) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as the Ad Interim Minister of Marine & Fisheries to fill in the void after Edhy Prabowo was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in a sting operation (OTT) on Wednesday (Nov. 25). Edhy was immediately named a suspect of corruption and bribery related to the export of lobster seeds. The question now is whether this event would lead to a cabinet reshuffle.

The  Coalition to Save Indonesia (KAMI), an opposition group led by the former Military (TNI) Commander General (retired) Gatot Nurmantyo, stated that the Government could not handle the COVID-19 pandemic, given that Indonesia has not shown a downtrend with no sign of when the pandemic will end. Look who’s talking.

The Ministry of Marine & Fisheries is a strategic portfolio. Gerindra would want to maintain the said portfolio. Many believe that the Chairman of Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto, who is also the Minister of Defense, would propose another Gerindra politician or...

The two Islamic political parties in the House of Representatives (DPR), PKB and PPP, responded to the latest statement of former Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Kalla recently talked about a vacuum of leadership—among Islamic parties and organizations— that he believed...

Some believe that the recent security issue related to Rizieq Shihab and his hardline Muslim group FPI might influence the succession in the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (POLRI). Some generals have emerged while others disappeared from the latest job rotation instituted by the Military Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and the Police Chief General Idham Azis. The question is whether the succession of the Military Commander and the Police Chief will happen in the near future.