Wayne Palmer – In August 2022, there were 104,230 foreign workers in Indonesia. But foreign participation in Indonesia's labour market is frequently susceptible to nationalist backlash.

Yudono Yanuar (Free Malaysia Today), Jakarta – Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir Mohamad praised Indonesia's political stability that it could beat the neighboring country in attracting foreign investors. He also lauded Indonesian President Jokowi for successfully leading the country since winning the 2014 election.

Sydney Allen – Indonesia's parliament unanimously passed revisions to its penal code (RKUHP) on December 6, 2022, which many activists are calling draconian and undemocratic.

Chris Barrett, Karuni Rompies and Amilia Rosa, Singapore/Jakarta – The Indonesian government has cancelled a company's licence to develop an untouched coral atoll that was to be the subject of a high-profile and controversial auction run out of New York.

Jayapura, Jubi – Roy Marthen Howai, one of the suspects in the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents in Mimika, testified in a trial held at the Jayapura Military Court III-19 on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. Roy's testimony revealed many things, including the fact that two victims tried to escape and Roy's involvement in the mutilation of the four bodies.

Jayapura, Jubi – Head of Sinak District Petrus Kogoya informed about a shooting allegedly carried out by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) led by Kalenak Murib against an employee of the Sinak Branch Office of the Papua Regional Development Bank (BPD) named Darius Yumame. The victim died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Jayapura, Jubi – Spokesperson for the Papua Peace Network (JDP) Cristian Yan Warinussy said he was concerned about the arson of 53 kiosks in Waghete Market, Deiyai Regency, Central Papua Province on Monday, December 12, 2022. He hopes that residents will not be easily provoked by unclear issues.

Ronald Tundang, Jakarta – Indonesia successfully hosted the Indonesia-Pacific Forum for Development in Bali last week. Pacific countries were the focus of the forum, which resulted in the Bali Message for Development Cooperation in the Pacific.

Jakarta – Indonesia recorded a surplus of $5.16 billion in its international trade in November to extend a run of surpluses to the 31st consecutive month, the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, announced on Thursday.

The latest monthly figure brings the overall international trade surplus to top $50 billion year to date.

Aliyyu Medyati/Magang_Merdeka, Jakarta – The commissioner of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Alimatul Qibtiyah, stated that solving a sexual harassment case cannot be done in an amicable approach, such as what happened at the Gunadarma University case.

Henry Jom – East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta has urged Australian PM Anthony Albanese to publicly support the development of a gas pipeline in the Timor Sea following Woodside Energy's new position on the project.

Reza Agustian, Jakarta – Protesters from the Labour Party and other trade unions held a demonstration near the Arjuna Wijaya or Horse Statue in Central Jakarta on Thursday December 15.

Based on Kompas.com's observations at around 12.40 pm, the workers began arriving at the Horse Statue after holding a long march from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Ryan Dagur – The Catholic Church joined tourist operators in Indonesia's Catholic-majority Flores Island to welcome a government decision to revoke a drastic increase in ticket prices to enter the famed Komodo national park.

The decision came months after tourism operators on the island protested the hike calling it unfair to the local community and businesses.

Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) has officially declared that 17 political parties will contest the 2024 legislative and presidential elections based on the results of a provincial level verification and recapitulation which was conducted on Wednesday December 14.

Yamin Kogoya – "We are part of them and they are part of us," declared politician Augustine Rapa, founder and president of the PNG Liberal Democratic Party, on the 61st anniversary of the struggle for West Papuan independence earlier this month.

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament on Thursday voted to approve financial legislation that widens the central bank's mandate to include supporting sustainable economic growth and formalize its debt monetization operations.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – General Election Commission (KPU) Chairman Hasyim Asyari on Thursday indicated that he won't be so rigid about political parties seeking publicity before the campaign season for the 2024 general elections begins.

Whisnu Bagus Prasetya, Jakarta – Indonesia's external debt stood at $390.2 billion as of October, down slightly by 7.6 percent from the same month last year, Bank Indonesia reported on Thursday.

The October foreign debt is also $5 billion lower than the amount in September.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told the recent European Union-ASEAN Summit that no one should dictate over others as the two trading blocs marked their 45th year of partnership.

Kadek Melda Luxiana, Jakarta – The sole defendant in the Paniai gross human rights violation case trial being heard in the Makassar District Court in South Sulawesi, retired Infantry Major Isak Sattu, has been found not guilty.

Jakarta – The Bandung Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has revealed that scores of demonstrators protesting against the recently enacted Criminal Code (KUHP) in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung were arrested by police on Thursday afternoon, December 15.

Aloysius L, Fardah, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – The number of people crossing the border between Indonesia and Timor Leste has increased to an average of 200 people per day, according to the Atambua Immigration Office in Belu District, East Nusa Tenggara Province.

Kerry Smith, Brisbane – Community members gathered on December 1 to raise the West Papuan flag in the lobby of weapons company Thales' Brisbane office. The action was held to protest Thales' weapons exports to Indonesia and call upon the company to recall its weapons from West Papua, where they are used by Indonesian forces to contain the movement for independence.

Trisnadi and Niniek Karmini, Tenggulun – Umar Patek – the Indonesian militant who was paroled last week after serving about half of his original 20-year prison sentence for making the explosives used in the 2002 Bali bombings – has apologised to victims' families.

The US$490 million-Tibar Bay Deepwater Port, in Timor-Leste was inaugurated last week by the President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta and high-ranking officials from the government.

BTV, Jakarta – The government on Wednesday handed the list of more than 205 million potential voters to the General Election Commission, of KPU, for Indonesia's historic elections in 2024 when eligible citizens for the first time ever will elect leaders from mayors to the president and legislative members from the district level to the national legislature in the same year.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – YouTube personality Deddy Corbuzier must be stripped of his civilian privileges now that he has been recruited by the Army as an honorary service member, a senior lawmaker warned on Tuesday.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Thresa Sandra Desfika, Jakarta – The latest round of layoffs has hit the Indonesian startup industry with JD.ID, the local arm of Chinese JD.com, confirmed that around 30 percent of its employees, or 200 people, have been let go, the company said on Tuesday.

Nesa Aqila, Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD acknowledged the public discourse regarding alleged high-ranking law enforcers who actively protect illegal mining corporations.

Febriyan, Jakarta – The Indonesian government through the Government Regulation in lieu of the General Election Law or Perppu Pemilu increased the number of seats for the House of Representatives (DPR) from 575 to 580. The change was because of the four new provinces.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Minister Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej stated that the ministry along with the Foreign Affairs Ministry has introduced the country's new criminal code to the foreign press, especially related to the article on cohabitation.

We've seen plenty of stories about vigilante mobs in Indonesia taking the law into their own hands, with the targets often being members of the LGBT community or unmarried couples, but we can't recall another case like this in which the target of anger was an alleged sexual harasser.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The government and state-owned enterprises, or SOEs, have spent a total of Rp 651.8 trillion or about $41.8 billion worth of local products for their procurement needs so far this year, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Investment and Maritime Affairs.

Jakarta – A new political party founded by former People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais fails to qualify for the 2024 general election, which will see as many as 17 parties competing.

Tri S, Kenzu, Manokwari, West Papua – West Papua needs more forest rangers due to its expansive forest area, reaching 8.39 million hectares, while currently, the number of forest rangers reaches only 98.

Maeve McGregor – The quiet appointment of Indonesia's defence chief to the military division of the Order of Australia has been criticised by human rights organisations, who say the decision effectively "aids and rewards" ongoing human rights violations committed by Indonesia's armed forces in West Papua.

Christopher Warren – Look up. Look north. The hard-won democracy in Australia's most important neighbour is facing its most serious threat since independence.

Indonesia's new criminal code is making changes that threaten to jerk the country back to its more dangerous authoritarian past. The third largest democracy in the world. One of the fastest-growing economies.

Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta – A protest action by members and sympathisers of the People's Justice and Prosperity Party (Prima) in front of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Central Jakarta on Wednesday December 14 became heated.

Jayapura, Jubi – Head of the Papua Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) Frits Ramandey said the Makassar Human Rights Court's decision to acquit the defendant of the Bloody Paniai case, Maj. Inf. Ret. Isak Sattu was a bad precedent for law enforcement in gross human rights violations in Indonesia, especially in Papua.

Sebastian Strangio – Indonesian police and soldiers have carried out at least 72 extrajudicial killings over the past year, in the context of a broader narrowing of the country's political space, a local rights group claimed in a report last week.

Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, Kyra Jasper and Natalie Longmire-Kulis – Eight years after a deadly incident in Paniai, Papua, the Indonesian Human Rights Court in the Makassar District Court on 8 December found retired military liaison officer Isak Sattu not guilty of crimes against humanity.

Jakarta (Antara) – Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej has said that a statement letter from the United Nations (UN) regarding the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) has come too late.

The letter offers inputs, especially with regard to articles related to freedom of expression and human rights (HAM) issues, he informed.

After years or decades of living in Indonesia, thousands of foreign retirees have just days before they expect to find out whether they can remain in the country.

The government launched in late October a new type of stay permit, the second-home visa, with the stated goal "to attract foreign tourists to come to Bali and diverse other destinations".

Agencies – Indonesia on Monday filed an expected appeal against a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruling that was in favour of the European Union (EU) in a dispute over Jakarta's ban on nickel ore exports, the WTO said.

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – Setelah Lewat Djam Malam recontextualizes the story of a man disillusioned by Indonesia's post-revolution society with gender sensitivity and compelling performances.

Pizaro Gozali Idrus (Benar News) – Rights activists in Indonesia have welcomed Washington's sanctions of Chinese companies accused of illicit fishing and labor abuses, which according to the most recent data allegedly caused most of the 40 Indonesian workers' deaths over the last three years.

Stefanno Sulaiman, Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament is expected to pass a bill this week that will allow former politicians to head Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, and expand its mandate to include supporting economic growth, moves that critics say could weaken its independence.

A planned auction to award exclusive license rights for more than 100 protected islands in eastern Indonesia was postponed until the end of January following protests from environmental groups.

Jayapura, Jubi – Head of the Papua Office of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM Papua) Frits Ramandey said violence against children allegedly committed by Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers in Papua increased throughout 2022. He said it was a bad precedent and had the potential to disrupt efforts to fulfill and protect children's rights.

Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has blasted a district head in the province of Riau for making verbal threats against the central government over dissatisfaction with the amount of oil revenue sharing and state funding.