Indonesia’s post-pandemic and legitimacy crisis has resulted in the country renewing its developmentalist strategies but new powerful politico-economic forces have emerged seeking to capitalise on these development agendas.
Politics
Indonesians are increasingly losing trust in the news with more than 60 percent reporting they do not trust or feel ambivalent to the news they read or watch. Further, social media use continues to grow while there has been a rapid move away from television, print and online sources.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has voiced his support for Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s call to reform the United Nations, advocating for greater representation of emerging countries on the global stage.
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia signed several deals and memos of understanding worth around $27 billion between private sector institutions in several fields including clean energy and petrochemicals.
Indonesia officially became part of the China-led BRICS bloc early this year. Southeast Asia’s largest economy now wants to secure a seat at the group’s multilateral development bank, NDB.
Indonesia’s Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar, the third speaker on the panel of the International Conference on Cohesive Societies, noted that faith communities can play a role, including to identify kalimatun sawa, an Arabic phrase that translates to “common ground”.
If Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was known for his Nawacita (nine goals), his successor Prabowo Subianto is introducing Astacita — an approach centred on eight strategic agendas, one of which focuses on eliminating corruption. However, tackling corruption cannot be achieved through national policy alone.
In September 2024, the Indonesian National Police (Polri) inaugurated eight regional Cyber Crime Directorates (Direktorat Siber). This institutional innovation represents an attempt to redistribute cybersecurity functions from the national center to the periphery, aligning with broader reforms in decentralized governance.
To cultivate a politically sophisticated generation, Indonesia must invest in civic education reform grounded in equitable and participatory political learning and digital literacy training.
In conducting foreign policy, Prabowo uses seminal nationalist rhetoric. On numerous occasions, he also talked about the need to spread awareness, as some demonstrations were conditioned by some ‘foreign powers’ to divide the society.
Despite persistent objection to China’s nine-dash line claim under the former Widodo administration, President Prabowo Subianto now risks giving in to Chinese maritime interests. Senior officials must convince Prabowo to abandon any further negotiations.
From making moves that would allow general practitioners to perform risky birth surgery, to controversial statements saying men with larger jeans sizes will “meet God sooner”, Indonesia’s health minister has come under heavy public criticism lately.
Six months into President Prabowo Subianto’s tenure, Indonesia has picked up its diplomatic game to become one of the most active players in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia sebagai negara pertama yang dikunjungi setelah Partai Buruh memenangkan pemilu menunjukkan perlunya Australia untuk memperkuat hubungannya dengan Indonesia.
The legacy of Reformasi continues to shape Indonesia’s political and economic landscape, with ongoing debates about whether its original goals of justice, transparency, and accountability have been fully realized.
The Indonesian government’s plan to release new history books has sparked concerns that some of the country’s darkest chapters could be recast to show President Prabowo Subianto and late authoritarian ruler Suharto in a favourable light.
