Catholic leaders have warned against the transmigration program of new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in conflict-stricken Papua, saying bringing in non-Papuans to the easternmost region will result in problems for the ethnic people.

Jakarta – Village heads who fail to maintain neutrality in regional elections can be dismissed from their positions, the Home Ministry's village governance director general, La Ode Ahmad Pidana Bolombo, has warned.

This rule is outlined in Law No. 4/2014 on villages and Home Ministerial Regulation No. 82/2015 on the dismissal and appointment of village heads.

Gusty da Costa – An indigenous human rights activist has asked Jakarta to reconsider the transmigration program in Papua region as bringing in non-Papuans to the country's easternmost region will only create new problems and challenges for the native inhabitants.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – The Betawi Bangkit society organization has filed a complaint against Jakarta deputy governor candidate number 1, Suswono, alleging blasphemy. However, the Jakarta Metro Police directed the group to the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Gakumdu) at the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The government has asked the state-owned defense company Pindad to produce 5,000 units of its SUV model, Maung, for cabinet members and echelon-1 officials.

AM Putranto, head of the Presidential Staff Office, said on Wednesday the production of 5,000 Maung SUVs should be completed within 100 work days.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Deputy Finance Minister Anggito Abimanyu faces criticism following his recent suggestion to tax revenues from the underground economy, including online gambling and gaming. Anggito argued that this sector represents untapped tax potential, citing online sports betting popular among Indonesians as an example of economic activity that goes unreported.

Novan Gustaf Firyan, Jakarta – The Red and White Cabinet's lineup of ministers and deputy ministers was unveiled on Sunday, October 20, 2024, and officially sworn in on Monday, October 21, 2024, by President Prabowo Subianto.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Indonesia could face an overheating economy if President Prabowo Subianto goes ahead with his plan to push the country's gross domestic product growth to 8 percent per year, analysts have warned, suggesting that the archipelago does not have enough capacity to handle that surge in output, which would come with consequences.

Jakarta – This country has seen a number of cases that call the integrity of its higher education system into question, but the doctoral degree awarded to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia earlier this month by the University of Indonesia's School of Global and Strategic Studies (SKSG) gets top marks for its divisiveness.

Jack Moore, Jakarta – When riots broke out in Indonesia's capital in 1998 leading to dictator Soeharto's downfall, activists were detained, women raped, and stores owned by ethnic Chinese ransacked in unrest many say was stoked by the army.

Vedro Imanuel G, Jakarta – Minister of Transmigration, Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanegara, reveals the possibility for transmigrants to participate in food estate management. According to him, this will support Prabowo's food self-sufficiency goal.

Indonesia, West Papua – On 09 October 2024, members of the Yonif Maleo 509/BY command arbitrarily arrested and tortured, Mr Alex Sondegau, 30, inside the military post in the Mamba Village, Intan Jaya Regency, Indonesia. According to human rights defenders from Intan Jaya, Mr Sondegau suffered from a mental disorder.

Douglas Kammen – For Timor-Leste, the 20th century was a century of repeated mass violence.

Harry Suhartono and Faris Mokhtar – Days after taking charge of Southeast Asia's biggest economy, Indonesia's president needs a plan to deal with rising borrowing costs for key state-owned enterprises carrying $186 billion of debt.

Carmen Molina Acosta – Former employees of a string of secretive companies accused of clearing swathes of Borneo rainforest claim the group is controlled by Royal Golden Eagle, one of the world's largest producers of wood pulp and paper, a new investigation by ICIJ partner The Gecko Project and Bloomberg reveals.

Hendrik Yaputra, Amirullah, Jakarta – Budiman Sudjatmiko, The Head of the National Team for Accelerating Poverty Reduction (BP Taskin), stated that President Prabowo Subianto wants to eradicate poverty completely. Therefore, it is necessary to know the actual data regarding the poverty rate in Indonesia so that the poverty reduction programs can be targeted effectively.

Meaghan Tobin and Hasya Nindita, Jakarta and South Sumatra, Indonesia – A year ago, TikTok's e-commerce business in Indonesia was thriving. With its viral videos, TikTok had become a worldwide phenomenon, and it was translating its influence into a powerful new revenue stream by letting users buy and sell things while its videos played.

Meaghan Tobin and Hasya Nindita – Iksan knows the roads around his hometown on the Indonesian island of Sumatra like the back of his hand. He runs a package sorting center from his garage, a small but essential piece of a sprawling network delivering goods bought on Tokopedia, the country's biggest homegrown e-commerce company.

As a largely patriarchal society, the bar is quite low for gender equality in Indonesia, especially in politics.

Out of the 48 ministers in President Prabowo Subianto's newly inaugurated Red and White Cabinet, there are only five women, and only eight female deputy ministers out of a total of 56. The same trend exists for other public offices in the country.

Jakarta – Apresidential spokesperson said on Monday that President Prabowo Subianto used his own money to pay for organizing of a mountain retreat in Central Java last week for his newly inaugurated ministers in the cabinet.

Jakarta – Indonesia and Russia will hold their first joint naval drills next month, Jakarta's navy said Tuesday, as the Southeast Asian archipelago's new leader seeks to boost ties with Moscow.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy maintains a neutral foreign policy, refusing to take sides in the Ukraine conflict or in great power competition between Washington and Beijing.

Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Jakarta – Housing and Settlement Minister Maruarar "Ara" Sirait announced that four prominent business tycoons have pledged support to advance the government's ambitious 3-million-homes initiative.

Jakarta – Iran's ambassador to Indonesia, Mohammad Boroujerdi, said that Iran and Indonesia can expand their economic cooperation, particularly in energy and food security, under President Prabowo Subianto's leadership.

Jakarta – Iran's ambassador to Indonesia, Mohammad Boroujerdi, has called on Indonesia, as the world's largest Muslim-majority country, to play a crucial role in promoting peace in the Middle East by uniting Islamic nations against Israel's military aggression and advocating for solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Palestine.

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – The Manpower Ministry has assured that no employees at Indonesia's largest textile company, Sri Rejeki Isman, better known as Sritex, will face layoffs, despite the company being declared bankrupt by the Semarang Commercial Court.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Only one percent of Indonesia's population, or approximately 77,753 individuals, hold doctoral degrees, revealed the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – President of the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI) and the Labor Party, Said Iqbal, said that thousands of workers planned to stage a rally at the Constitutional Court (MK) on October 31, 2024, to protest against the Job Creation Law. The workers aim to influence the Court's decision on the material review of the law.

Vedro Imanuel G, Jakarta – Economist Eliza Mardian from the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) has criticized the government's food estate project, arguing that it has yet to deliver substantial economic benefits and has instead become a financial burden on the state.

M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – Muhammad Aminullah, a campaigner at Walhi (Indonesian Forum for the Environment) Jakarta, said there are six major environmental issues that require resolution by the future Jakartan governor and deputy governor. The gubernatorial candidates for the upcoming regional election, however, only cover about half of these problems.

Anastasya Lavenia Y, Jakarta – Deputy Chair of the Gerindra Party, Rahayu Saraswati, said the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program is currently still in the trial stage before being implemented in 2025.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Army (TNI) signed a memorandum of understanding or MoU with Komnas HAM regarding the advancement and protection of human rights within the TNI. The MoU was signed by TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto and Chairperson of Komnas HAM, Atnike Nova Sigiro, at the Komnas HAM Office in Jakarta on Monday, October 28, 2024.

Roy Adriansyah, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Tuesday named former Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong as a suspect in a corruption case involving alleged fraudulent sugar imports in 2015.

AGO's Director of Criminal Investigation, Abdul Qohar, said Thomas was detained along with another suspect, a businessman identified by the initials DS.

Hanaa Septiana, Jakarta – President of the Student Executive Board or BEM of FISIP Unair Tuffahati Ulayyah admitted to receiving terror and threats through messaging applications on WhatsApp and messages on his social media accounts.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Committee for the Safety of Journalists (KKJ) has reported the recent firebomb attack on the Jubi media editorial offices in Jayapura, Papua, to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM). The KKJ wants Komnas HAM to take part in monitoring the case.

Haryanti Puspa Sari, Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says that the House of Representative's (DPR) move to not include the Draft Law on Asset Seizures (RUU Perampasan Aset) in the proposed National Legislation Programs (Prolegnas) for 2025-2029 is very disappointing for the public.

An exiled West Papuan leader has praised Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape for his "brave ambush" in questioning new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto over West Papua.

Prabowo offered an "amnesty" for West Papuan pro-independence activists during Marape's revent meeting with Prabowo on the fringes of the inauguration, the PNG leader revealed.

Najwa Abdullah – Indonesia has pushed ahead with initiatives to promote religious moderation. Such programmes, however, need to address deeper issues.

Jakarta – The fact that President Prabowo Subianto made no mention of Nusantara in his inauguration speech on Oct. 20 has caused some concern about his commitment to the planned new capital city.

Esti Widiyana, Surabaya – The Airlangga University (Unair) Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Student Executive Council (BEM) criticised the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka in a satirical congratulatory flower board. This however turned into a polemic and three BEM management board members were suspended.

Sarjan Lahay, Pohuwato, Indonesia – Heavy trucks roll toward a semiremote coastline here on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island before idling alongside a waiting barge, which will later make a vast shipment of wood pellets to Japan and South Korea.

Kennedy Muslim and Burhanuddin Muhtadi – Indonesia's new president might have squandered an opportunity to start with a lean, efficient Cabinet instead of appeasing supporters and partners to form the largest Cabinet since Sukarno.

Jakarta, Indonesia – A major labor group in Indonesia has called on the government to bail out troubled textile giant Sritex, after President Prabowo Subianto ordered his ministers to save the firm from bankruptcy.

Jakarta – Pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia has released new findings regarding public expectations for Prabowo Subianto's administration, showing that 85.3 percent of respondents believe he could lead Indonesia toward a better future.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a researcher at the pollster, noted that the public had high expectations and trust for Prabowo.

Alfi Dinilhaq, Jakarta – The Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) has revised its vehicle sales target for 2024 from 1.1 million units to 850,000 units.

Gaikindo Chairman Jongkie Sugiarto explained that the automotive market, particularly for passenger vehicles, has been sluggish throughout 2024, prompting the downward revision.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – A police officer in East Nusa Tenggara was dishonorably discharged after being caught having a karaoke party with three colleagues during work hours. However, the decision has drawn the attention of lawmakers, who have summoned the local police chief to reconsider the dismissal.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has charged businessman Budi Said with corruption related to gold transactions. Prosecutors allege that Budi colluded to purchase state-owned Antam gold at prices below official rates, causing state losses of Rp 1.1 trillion ($69.98 million).

Chandra Adi Nurwidya, Yogyakarta – President Prabowo Subianto called on his ministers and echelon-1 state officials to replace their imported vehicles with domestically produced cars from the state-owned defense company Pindad, a senior official said on Monday.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Pramono Anung questioned his rival Ridwan Kamil on Sunday evening about his repeated promises to bring a Disneyland theme park to the capital, which resurface with every election cycle.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has signaled that regular retreats will be held for his cabinet, Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has revealed.

"President Prabowo indicated that retreat activities like this are not only carried out for now but also regularly," Sjafrie said in a written statement on Monday, October 28.

Anastasya Lavenia Y, Jakarta – Member of the Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA), Rina Mardiana, drew parallels between the recent suspension of the Student Executive Body (BEM) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at Airlangga University (Unair) and the authoritarian era of Soeharto.