Extending Listyo?
The debate over revising Police Law has been framed as a bureaucratic adjustment. Officials say the retirement age of police officers should be extended because many citizens live longer, while the police deserve parity with the military and civil service. Who controls the succession of the most powerful security institution?
MBG: High Ambition, High Risk
Beyond its goal of improving nutritional outcomes, the MBG program was also expected to boost regional economies by involving MSMEs and local suppliers. However, behind this ambitious vision, the National Corruption Prevention Strategy (Stranas PK) team has identified several governance vulnerabilities that, if left unaddressed, could develop into serious problems.
Safety or surveillance
The Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) plans to require users to provide mobile phone numbers when creating social media accounts. The objective is clear: to strengthen identity verification and enhance accountability for the content users share online. Yet the implications may extend far beyond its stated goals.
Reassessing the MBG Budget
In the latest “APBN KITa” press conference held on Tuesday (19/05), Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa signaled a readjustment of the 2026 budget for the MBG program. He noted that President Prabowo Subianto had previously instructed the government to reduce the program’s allocation from Rp 335 trillion to Rp 268 trillion, and hinted that further cuts remain under consideration.
Redemption, privilege and the Sambo theology debate
The revelation that former police general Ferdy Sambo is pursuing a Master’s degree in theology from prison has reopened an uncomfortable debate. Where exactly is the line between rehabilitation and privilege?
POLRI’s blurred institutional boundaries
Prabowo Subianto recently praised the Indonesian National Police (Polri) for reporting that it had cultivated corn on 661,112 hectares of land, yielding an estimated 3.9 million tons by 2025. But since when did food production become a benchmark for evaluating police performance? This shift suggests a redefinition of Polri’s achievements, moving away from its core legal mandate toward alignment with the government’s political agenda.
Crime, economics and the return of military expansion
Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin recently defended the government’s plan to establish 750 new military battalions by arguing that their presence would help reduce crime and stimulate local economies. The statement may sound practical on the surface, but it exposes a deeper and more troubling question: Why is the military increasingly being positioned to perform functions already assigned to civilian institutions?
Digital state still depends on outsiders
The latest experiment with digital social assistance for 36 million citizens reflects a larger ambition within President Prabowo Subianto’s administration: transforming the state into a fully digital government. Officials speak confidently about integrated databases, AI governance, national data centers and digital public services. Yet behind this ambitious narrative lies a fundamental contradiction. Indonesia is becoming increasingly digital without becoming technologically sovereign.
Journalists caught in Gaza’s expanding conflict
Journalist Andre Prasetyo Nugroho recorded a video saying that if it reached the public he had likely been “intercepted or kidnapped” by Israeli forces, the message sounded like a warning from the edge of a war zone. Hours later, contact was reportedly lost with members of the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0, including journalists from TV Tempo and Republika aboard a humanitarian convoy headed toward Gaza.
The latest reshuffle in Polri guards nickel business
The latest reshuffle inside the National Police was officially presented as routine institutional rotation. Yet the appointment of five new regional police chiefs across resource-rich provinces reveals something much larger: the growing fusion of security power, economic interests and political consolidation under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.