On December 30, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s government moved to ban the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI), one of the most prominent hardline Islamist groups in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
Helen Brown
With National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis set to enter retirement next month, speculation has been rife as to whom President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will handpick to lead the police force.
Onrizal Onrizal remembers hearing stories of human-like creatures living in the forest when he was growing up in Sungai Dareh, a town in western Sumatra, Indonesia. Legend had it that the creatures, called orang pendek, or “short people,” by the locals, disappeared from the forest in the 1970s.
Our children, born into this age of seemingly endless crises, also know that the future will need their labor and wherewithal if solutions are to be found. Yet, we seem to be stuck doing education to our students rather than with them.
The survival of critically endangered wildlife like Sumatran orangutans and tigers and the livelihoods of Indigenous communities might be in jeopardy as the Indonesian government plans to establish large-scale agricultural plantations overlapping with their forests, activists warn.
A successful COVID-19 vaccination drive could help the government reach its target of reducing the budget deficit to under 3 percent in three years, a state official has said. “The government target could be reached by controlling and reducing coronavirus cases,” Regional Representatives Council (DPD) speaker La Nyalla Mattalitti said in a written statement on Wednesday.
Whether it’s purchasing power parity or the Happiness Index, global comparisons require benchmarking. Sport does this well with World Cups and the Olympics, or better still the single ranking familiar to tennis and golf aficionados.
“Doom surfing” is a term used to describe those who seem unable to remove themselves from scrolling the internet, and “infodemic” another, a term adopted by the WHO for the misinformation that appears to spread online faster than the virus itself.
Indonesia may see more partnerships and mergers between start-ups operating in the country following merger talks between ride hailing firm Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia as they seek efficiencies of scale.
The Indonesian government is forging ahead with a plan to create huge national food estates in the provinces of North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan despite concern from scientists over their viability.
Indonesia underperformed in promoting human rights in 2020, according to one of the country’s leading rights groups, the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace.
Australian universities are closing the door of opportunity to the wide range of vocations open to students who have skills in Indonesian language.
Indonesia’s big bet on a Chinese vaccine could give its trillion-dollar economy a head start on the road to recovery next year – as long as the jab works.
Kevin O’Rourke of Reformasi Weekly returns to help sort through the country’s regional elections that are taking place against the backdrop of Covid-19 and the return of hardline cleric Rizieq Shihab from self-imposed exile. Never a dull moment in Indonesia.
It’s surprising how many people in positions of power and influence, who often denounce the value of humanities and social science (HASS) subjects, have themselves an arts background – anecdotally, history seems a particularly productive major.
The Indonesian government is forging ahead with a plan to create huge national food estates in two provinces despite concern from scientists over their viability.
