The Promotion of Four Police Generals
The National Police (Polri) has promoted four senior officers to the rank of Commissioner General (Komjen), a three-star rank reserved for the institution’s highest leadership circle. The promotions went to Winarto, Rudi Darmoko, Asep Edi Suheri and Agung Setya Imam Effendi. While the ceremony itself was routine, the careers of these four officers offer a revealing snapshot of the next generation of Indonesia’s police leadership.
Political party involvement in MBG
Recently, the PDIP Central Leadership Council sent an official letter to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), requesting data on the involvement of its cadres in managing SPPG kitchens. The request was presented as part of the party’s internal discipline efforts, following an earlier warning to its members against using the MBG program as a means of financial gain.
Risk mitigation coming too late
The Ministry of Defense has further revised the training program for prospective KDMP/KNMP managers. Thirty-two pregnant participants have now been sent home and will be allowed to join a subsequent batch. More significantly, the program itself has reportedly been redefined from “Latsarmil” (basic military training) to “Pembekalan Bela Negara dan Manajerial”, with less emphasis on physical drills and the removal of live-fire shooting practice.
Stop military training for KDMP/KNMP managers!
Basic military training for KDMP/KNMP managers has once again come under public scrutiny. The deaths of two participants during the program have now been followed by three more fatalities in recent days. As before, the Ministry of Defense has pledged to conduct a comprehensive evaluation. Yet the recurring incidents make one wonder whether participant safety was ever a central consideration in the program’s design.
Lampung: The Moment Jokowi Stopped Pretending
For months after leaving office, Joko Widodo carefully maintained the image of a former president above day-to-day party politics. He spoke sparingly about electoral contests, insisted he was simply enjoying retirement in Solo, and avoided explicitly endorsing any political party—even as his youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, rose to lead the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI). That ambiguity ended in Lampung.
Rewriting emergency powers law
For nearly seven decades, Law on the State of Emergency has remained largely untouched. Enacted in 1959 during President Soekarno’s Guided Democracy, the legislation was designed for a vastly different political era—one in which executive authority faced few institutional constraints. Today, however, House of Representatives has opened the possibility of revising the law as it undergoes judicial review in the Constitutional Court.
Prabowo & Sjafrie-Dasco
The arrest of Silmy Karim, former vice minister of immigration, in a corruption case is interpreted by some as part of competition between key influencers close to President Prabowo Subianto, simply because of Silmy’s close relationship with Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, defence minister and one of trusted aides of Prabowo. Really?
Jokowi’s next move
For much of post-election transition, the relationship between former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and President Prabowo Subianto appeared remarkably smooth. There were no visible rivalries, no competing power centers and no public disputes over policy.
The UBK bribery case
Abdimaludin, head of the Student Executive Board of Bung Karno University’s Faculty of Law, has admitted to receiving Rp 20 million to redirect a recent student protest he led. According to latest reports, the money was allegedly funneled through an unidentified police officer, fueling suspicions of efforts to steer and suppress student dissent.
Miiltary training for KDMP and KNMP managers
The Red-White Village Cooperative (KDMP) and the Red-White Fishermen’s Village (KNMP) are being promoted as instruments to strengthen economic independence in rural communities. Curiously, their managers are also required to undergo basic military training in addition to managerial training. It makes one wonder. What is the government trying to produce? Capable managers, or program implementers trained to obey orders?