On Wednesday (Sep. 23), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took the oath of four 2020-2025 commissioners of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS). The four new LPS commissioners are Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Destry Damayanti, Didik Madiyono, and Luky Alfirman. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who is known as one of the closest aides of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime & Investment General (ret) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has been made chairman of LPS’ board of commissioners.

The fifth President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the chairperson of the ruling party PDIP, will campaign for Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in the 2020 Surakarta city election. It looks like Megawati is still taking matters seriously even though many believe that Gibran would easily win the election.

More and more groups are opposing the decision of the Central Government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to continue on with the 2020 simultaneous regional elections. They all call for postponement until COVID-19 pandemic passes. The problem is that we don’t know when the pandemic will end.

The Army’s Special Forces Kopassus held a blood donation event on Tuesday (Sep. 22) in cooperation with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to commemorate the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI). The General Commander (Danjen) of the Kopassus Brig. Gen. Mohamad Hasan and the Chairman of PMI Jusuf Kalla, who is also former Vice President of the Republic, were present in the said event. Hasan, as we all know, is one of the army generals worth monitoring given that he has plenty of time to climb the ranks.

The Navy Chief of Staff (Kasal) Admiral Yudo Margono recently talked about President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vision of making Indonesia the world’s maritime axis. The Admiral stated that hard work was needed to realize the President’s vision. Yudo has been mentioned as one of the potential candidates to become the next military commander to replace Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto.

The Central Government and the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II agreed to continue the 2020 simultaneous regional elections despite pressure to delay the elections. Those calling for postponement are mostly from the opposition groups. Whether we like it or not, we have to adapt. Since discipline is still a serious problem in the country, the authorities should find a way to force the people, especially those participating in the regional elections, to adapt.

Rumors of a cabinet reshuffle are still making its way around, even though the State Palace has repeatedly dismissed them. The latest rumor is that a reshuffle would happen soon with four ministers sitting in the hot seats. Who are they?

The city election of Medan, the capital city of the province of North Sumatera, is getting more, and more interesting to watch. Many national figures have joined the campaign team of the two contenders in the race. Among them are Sandiaga Uno (the running mate of Prabowo Subianto in the 2019 presidential election), and Tifatul Sembiring (a former ICT minister under the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) administration). Will the presence of these national figures effectively help their respective candidates grab more votes?