Amy Sood – As Prabowo Subianto prepares to take over Indonesia's presidency in October, experts say efforts are already under way to ensure the incoming leader fills his cabinet with loyalists who could help him achieve some of his more ambitious campaign promises.

Jakarta – Social media has been abuzz these past weeks with examples of scores of regional government websites and programs using names that appear to objectify women and perpetuate the deeply embedded patriarchal culture in society.

Jakarta – Public order officers in Bali have seized hundreds of dog skewers and dozens of kilograms of raw dog meat, officials said on Thursday.

The resort island banned the dog meat trade last year, with offenders facing up to three months in prison or up to Rp 50 million (US$3,071) fines if found guilty, but the trade still exists in other parts of the country.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is stepping up cooperation with Chinese companies to increase the country's oil and gas reserves and production, according to Director of Upstream Oil and Gas Business Development Ariana Soemanto.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno stated that several tourist destinations have been prepared around the new capital city Nusantara, or IKN, to welcome the 79th Independence Day anniversary commemoration ceremony on August 17, 2024.

Yogyakarta – A group of people held a silent demonstration in front of the Aisyiyah University (Unisa) in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, which is to be the location of a Muhammadiyah Central Board (PP) plenary meeting on Saturday afternoon, July 27.

Ricki Putra Harahap, Agung Dharma Putra, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has raised suspicions over the Surabaya District Court's decision to acquit Gregorius Ronald Tannur, the son of a legislator, who was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Dini Sera Afrianti, leading to her death.

Maria Gabrielle, Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has uncovered alleged transactions related to child prostitution. According to PPATK head Ivan Yustiavandana, these transactions involve 24,049 children aged 10 to 18 years.

Medan – A team from the North Sumatra Committee for the Safety of Journalists (KKJ Sumut) and Kamisan (Thursday Action) activists are urging the North Sumatra regional police (Polda) to investigate First Corporal (Koptu) HB over the alleged premeditated murder of Tribrata TV journalist Rico Sempurna Pasaribu, who died along with his family in an arson attack on their home on June 27

Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua (AlDP, Democratic Alliance) are releasing their new report, titled "Treason and Political Prisoners in the Land of Papua" on 26th July 2024. This report forms a joint research output with TAPOL, a human rights organisation based in the UK.

Bella Evanglista, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo officially inaugurated the operational phase of the Batang Integrated Industrial Area (KITB) in Central Java on Friday.

In his speech, President Jokowi mentioned that KITB initially spanned 400 hectares, but due to high demand, the government decided to expand it.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has ordered a palm oil company to pay 1 billion rupiah ($61,000) in fines for shortchanging villagers by not sufficiently paying them according to a profit-sharing agreement.

Fransiska Nangoy, Jakarta – Chinese companies are in talks with potential investors to reduce their stakes in Indonesian nickel smelters amid efforts to make their products eligible for U.S. electric vehicle tax credits, an Indonesian official said on Friday.

Putu Merta Surya Putra, Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) cadres and sympathisers commemorated the Kudatuli incident (the July 27, 1996 riots) on Friday July 26 by holding a long-march from the PDI-P Central Leadership Board (DPP) office on Jalan Diponegoro to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) office on Jalan Latuarhary.

Jakarta – Indonesia is going through a limited rather than total political transition this year. Some will resent that, others will applaud it, but nobody can deny it.

Jakarta – Businesses and experts are urging the government to pay attention to the petrochemical industry, which is suffering from an influx of imported goods after the 2024 Trade Ministry regulation on imports (Permendag No 8/2024) came into force.

Wijayanti Putri, Jakarta – Vice President-Elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka said Friday that the government would be open to suggestions to make sure that the upcoming free school meal program will go smoothly.

Candra Kurnia, Cirebon – Prosecutors in the West Java town of Cirebon on Friday defended the murder convictions of eight men implicated in the 2016 deaths of teenage girl Vina Dewi Arsita and her boyfriend, Muhammad Rizky Rudiana, alias Eky.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, better known as Kadin, has warmly welcomed the freshly launched investor magnet "golden visa" program.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo launched Thursday the golden visa program that would let foreigners stay in the country for 5-10 years as long as they invest a certain amount of money.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is aiming to reduce logistics costs from 14.29 percent to 8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to encourage more efficient and competitive economic growth.

Jakarta – Rather than establishing a Supreme Advisory Council, Prabowo Subianto should form a council of critics. Its job would be to examine policies.

Ahmad Syamsudin and Pizaro Gozali Idrus, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to start official duties from the new capital on Sunday may be a move to hype his legacy project before he leaves office in October, some analysts told BenarNews.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on July 26 launched the second phase of an industrial complex in Central Java intended to attract investors looking to diversify their supply chains away from China.

Rama Sukarta, Jakarta – Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, known as Zulhas, along with the Imported Goods Monitoring Task Force, has uncovered a warehouse in North Jakarta suspected of housing illegal imported goods.

Ilham Oktafian, Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has arrested Ujang Iskandar, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) from the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Friday.

Pes Yanengga, Jayapura – The All-Papua Student Executive Council (BEM Se-Tanah Papua) Alliance has urged the Papua Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) and the Manokwari Municipal Police (Polresta) to immediately reveal the perpetrator of the shooting of the senior advocate and human rights activist Yan Christian Warinussy.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia has officially launched the golden visa program that would make the country a "second home" for foreign investors. The golden visa grants investors residency for up to 10 years.

Antara, Jakarta – The presidential secretariat has begun furnishing the new office in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, to accommodate President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who intends to spend the last few months of his presidency in the future national capital.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto met with French President Emmanuel Macron during a working visit to Europe on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The two leaders discussed a range of bilateral cooperation opportunities, with a particular focus on strengthening defense cooperation between Indonesia and France.

Ikhsan Reliubun, Jakarta – The Central Board of Muhammadiyah, a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia, stated that they had decided to take the mining business license or IUP the government offered to religious organizations.

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to launch a massive audit in all hospitals associated with the National Health Insurance (JKN) program after finding indications of phantom billing in several healthcare facilities.

Rt Hon Winston Peters
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Parliament Buildings
Wellington

25 July 2024

Kia ora Minister Peters,

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Government officials have denied plans for Indonesia to buy Russian oil but do not rule out such purchases in the future.

News agency Reuters reported on Tuesday that state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina had added Russian oil grades to its tender lists for September restocking, citing three anonymous traders.

Jakarta – The Supreme Court has ordered the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to return a house in South Jakarta that investigators seized as evidence from convict Rafael Alun Trisambodo, who is serving 14 years in prison for corruption and money laundering during his stint as a taxman, kompas.com reported.

Andreas Harsono – When the human rights lawyer Yan Christian Warinussy returned home from work on July 17, his 10-year-old son, Mario, begged for ice cream. Warinussy took off his tie, packed his three children and their cousin into the car, and they headed to downtown Manokwari in Indonesia's West Papua province.

A'an Suryana and Syafiq Hasyim – Whether they were made use of or knew what they were doing, the actions of five young Nadhlatul Ulama members during their recent trip to Israel have stirred up a hornet's nest.

Jakarta – The National Military Police Headquarters (Puspom TNI) is investigating the alleged involvement of a member of the Army in an arson attack that killed a journalist and his family in Karo regency, North Sumatra, last month.

Top leaders of Indonesia's two major Islamic organizations have expressed their enthusiasm for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to their nation, calling it a special occasion to embolden trust and harmony between religious communities.

Jakarta – Indonesia has welcomed a China-brokered accord that seeks reconciliation between Hamas and other Palestinian factions to form a national unity government in Gaza.

Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Jakarta – Communication and Information Technology Minister Budi Arie Setiadi claims his ministry has saved the state Rp 45 trillion ($2.8 billion) by blocking 2.6 million online gambling sites.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has arrested an individual posing as a KPK employee. During the arrest, authorities seized several items including a Porsche and cash.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – In a recent meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at The World Bank, lauded Indonesia's impressive economic performance and the success of various government initiatives.

Mrs Lamberti Faan, a Papuan human rights defender and internally displaced woman from the Maybrat Regency, Papua Barat Daya Province, and her relatives have been subjected to a series of intimidations following her testimony at the 56th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Jakarta – DPR Speaker Puan Maharani participated in a parliamentary dialogue with countries with Melanesian clumps that are members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) organization. In this dialogue, Puan alluded to the development of Papua which is directly adjacent to Pacific countries.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has tapped Democratic Party politician Andi Arief, a close aide of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as a new commissioner of the state-owned electricity company PLN.

Jayapura – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Jayapura, West Papua, on July 23 in the context of the commemoration of Indonesian National Children's Day at the Istora Papua Bangkit sports complex was a form of distain and insult when as many as 62,000 Papuans are still displaced.

Jakarta – Indonesia will provide longer tax exemptions and other fiscal and non-fiscal benefits to investors in its special economic zones (SEZs), a senior government official has confirmed.

Jakarta – Authorities have admitted that the government's cloud seeding operations have failed to reduce intense rains in the country's planned future capital of Nusantara over the past weeks and have hampered the construction of a VVIP airport in the East Kalimantan city to-be.

Jakarta – A joint search and rescue team is still scrambling to look for a cargo ship carrying equipment to build communication towers that has been missing since last week during its sail in Papua.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Ministers from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration have brought the topic of the subsidized fuel, Pertalite, back into the spotlight.