Isabel Esterman, Jakarta – Indonesia closed 2025 facing an uncomfortable reality: climate disasters are escalating while policy direction has remained largely unchanged during President Prabowo Subianto's first year in office, with the country still heavily dependent on fossil fuels and extractive industries such as palm oil and mining.

Adhyasta Dirgantara, Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Adi Prayitno, a political observer from the Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University (UIN) in Jakarta, says there is an impression that the political elite are afraid of the ordinary people, which is why they are floating the idea of electing regional heads (Pilkada) through Regional Representative Councils (DPRD).

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo on Tuesday acknowledged significant shortcomings in the force's performance throughout 2025 and issued a public apology, while urging citizens to continue providing feedback and oversight.

Jakarta – When the Constitutional Court ruled to ban active police officers from holding concurrent civilian positions and the police chief responded with a regulation allowing the practice to stand, rational observers called this act disrespectful of the rule of law.

Akmalal Hamdhi, Jakarta – The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) expects Indonesia's economic growth to remain under pressure in 2026, hovering around 5%, amid mounting global and domestic headwinds.

Antara, Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – Bali Governor I Wayan Koster recently attributed the decline in the year-end domestic travelers to a shortage of planes.

Koster said that some planes had to undergo their regular maintenance work, thereby prompting Indonesian airlines to operate at a smaller capacity during the year-end holidays.

Ni Made Tasyarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's textile products will not be exempt from United States tariffs despite earlier talks seeking exemptions for several key commodities, according to Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who also heads the team for negotiating a reciprocal tariff agreement with Washington.

Sekadau, Indonesia – Children's laughter skimmed over water the color of mud as mothers wrung laundry over banks where the Sekadau joins the Kapuas, the longest river in Indonesia.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – The Central Administrator of the Indonesian Association of Agricultural Economics, Khudori, considers the government's decision to halt sugar imports in 2026 to be potentially causing price fluctuations. "It's highly risky if there's no import," he said in a written statement on Sunday, December 28, 2025.

Candle Heiner Rogaga, Manado – A fire tore through a nursing home in Manado, North Sulawesi, late Sunday, killing 16 elderly residents, authorities said. The death toll represents half of the facility's occupants at the time of the incident.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – Indonesia is considering easing restrictions on live cattle imports to secure domestic meat supplies, while moving to tighten controls on frozen beef imports to balance prices and support local value creation.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Those who criticized the way floods were handled in Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra reportedly faced various forms of digital repression. The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) mentioned that several activists and influencers who voiced criticism experienced doxing, hacking, and cyberattacks after revealing the post-disaster conditions.

Alfida Rizky Febrianna, Jakarta – Research firm Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) estimates that the cost of restoring physical infrastructure across three disaster-hit provinces in Sumatra will exceed Rp 77 trillion ($4.6 billion), significantly higher than the government's current allocation.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – The government has granted special sentence reductions to 16,078 prisoners, including juvenile inmates, during the Christmas season, a move officials said would help reduce state spending.

The remissions are expected to save the state Rp 9.47 billion (US$610,000) in prison-related costs, according to the Immigration and Corrections Ministry.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, plans to set a single highest retail price (HET) for rice nationwide. "Later, rice can have the same price throughout Indonesia," he said in a limited coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday, December 29, 2025.

Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – Indonesia's economic resilience is currently low, edging towards fragile, the Bright Institute reported. This is evident from the weak macroeconomic conditions, narrow-spaced fiscal policies, and a restricted monetary approach. The think tank also warns of sluggish economic growth for the next two years.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The death toll from floods and landslides that hit Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra at the tail-end of November continues to rise. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported 1,140 people have been killed as of Monday, December 29, an increase of two from the previous day's count.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Said Iqbal, Labor Party President, claimed police obstructed the access for hundreds of workers to rally in front of the State Palace on Monday, December 29. The workers eventually decided to demonstrate near Horse Statue area in Central Jakarta.

Grace Gandhi, Jakarta – The exchange rate of the Indonesian rupiah against the U.S. dollar on Monday afternoon, December 29, 2025, closed weaker, down 43 points or about 0.26 percent to Rp16,788 per U.S. dollar.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia's electric vehicle penetration has surpassed that of the United States for the first time, marking a major milestone in the country's clean-energy transition, according to new research by Ember Energy.

Sui-Lee Wee – In a remote corner of the island of Borneo on a recent Monday, a runner breezed down the middle of a freshly paved six-lane road. There was no traffic. Nearby, a gigantic eagle-like bird, made of thousands of copper bars, was perched on a hill.

This is the heart of Nusantara, a new, green metropolis rising from scratch from a forest in Indonesia.

Wahyu Wilopo, Indonesia – In 2004, Aceh was hardest hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami. In 2025, Indonesia's most disaster-aware province was among the worst hit by floods. The failure was not forecasting, but what happened – or didn't – after the alarms were raised.

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) will hold a protest to reject the determination of the 2026 provincial minimum wage (UMP). Thousands of workers will carry out the demonstration for two consecutive days on December 29 and 30, 2025, at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta.

Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has transferred 1,882 high-risk inmates from prisons across the country to the maximum-security correctional complex on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, by the end of 2025, officials said.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – The floods and landslides that swept northern Sumatra last month serve as important lessons on the vital role of climate science in handling hydrometeorological disasters. This was conveyed by Putu Santikayasa, an agrometeorology expert from the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at IPB University.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – PT Pertamina Internasional EP (PIEP), a subsidiary of Pertamina Hulu Energi's upstream subholding, has shipped 1 million barrels of crude oil from Algeria to Indonesia, marking the first such delivery under its operations in the country.

The shipment departed from the Port of Arzew in Oran, Algeria, on December 24, 2025.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – A total of 36 governors have announced the 2026 provincial minimum wage (UMP) as of Saturday, December 26, 2025. Two remaining provinces, namely Aceh and Highland Papua, are still in the process of calculating and determining next year's UMP.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – Lecturer of the Master of Disaster Science program at Syiah Kuala University in Aceh, Teuku Alvisyahrin, has warned that the recent disasters affecting three provinces in Sumatra could trigger further tragedies.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – Activists in Indonesia's Aceh province have alleged that security forces assaulted members of a humanitarian convoy in North Aceh on Thursday night, December 25, 2025, as they called on the central government to declare a national disaster status for the region.

Jakarta – A number of civil society groups and organisations have criticised the alleged violence and repressive actions by Indonesian Military (TNI) officers against a demonstration by people in North Aceh over the government's handling of the flood and landslide disaster.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – The Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority recorded a surge in public visits to the Nusantara central government district (KIPP) during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Around 37,000 people visited the area on December 25.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – A coalition of Indonesian civil society groups has condemned what it described as repressive actions and the use of violence by Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) personnel against civilians in North Aceh, warning that the incident risks undermining constitutional rights and reviving past trauma in the conflict-prone region.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – Personnel from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) have been accused of using violence against civilians involved in a humanitarian aid convoy to Aceh Tamiang, an area affected by flooding.

Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, confirmed that Indonesia's textile products are not exempt from U.S. import tariffs. Indonesia has proposed several flagship commodities to be exempted from the 19 percent duties.

Amroe, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra – At a church in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas service, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the province and its neighboring regions of Aceh and West Sumatra.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has reached a breakthrough in its internal leadership dispute, with rival camps agreeing to hold an early congress next year to elect a chairman.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Indonesia's long-running tax holiday incentive is facing renewed scrutiny as economists question its effectiveness in driving investment beyond government-backed downstream industries, even as authorities move to extend the policy into 2026.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf has officially extended the disaster emergency response status for all regencies and cities hit by floods and landslides last November. The emergency status, originally set to end on December 25, 2025, will now continue until January 8, 2026.

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the police dispersed a group of people flying the banned Free Aceh Movement (GAM) flag in Meunasah Mee Village, Muara Dua District, Lhokseumawe, on Thursday afternoon, December 25, 2025.

Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – Professor Syartinilia, a landscape management expert at IPB University, stated that Sumatra has the highest trend of biodiversity loss in Indonesia. Recent data confirms this decline is sharper than in any other region.

Jakarta – An Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) patrol vessel arrived safely in North Aceh carrying 92.2 tonnes of disaster relief aid on Tuesday.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – The Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, has called for an independent investigation into violence by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) against Acehnese civilians displaying the symbols of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Eva Fitriani, Jakarta – Palm oil issuers are expected to enjoy a good year in 2026, according to analysts, amid a likely uptrend in production and prices.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump are expected to sign a landmark reciprocal trade agreement within the next month, a deal welcomed by Indonesian businesses but seen as falling short of broader tariff relief.

Jakarta – The national car is a recurring dream of the Indonesian government. Appearing in every regime, proposals for a national car end in uncertainty and then fade away. During Prabowo Subianto's administration, the plan to develop a national car raised many questions because people without experience managed it, and it had deep roots in cronyism.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – Indonesia has deployed 1,500 additional police personnel to strengthen disaster response efforts in flood- and landslide-hit areas of Sumatra, as senior officials warn that frontline officers are facing severe physical and psychological fatigue after nearly a month on duty.

Bangun Santoso and Faqih Fathurrahman – Repressive actions by the authorities against a convoy of humanitarian volunteers who wanted to distribute aid for flood victims in Krueng Mane, North Aceh, on Thursday evening December 25 has attracted strong criticism.

Ilham Oktafian, Jakarta – A parliamentary commission is drafting a proposal to establish a new disaster management ministry, aiming to address coordination failures exposed by recent floods and landslides across Sumatra, a legislator said on Friday.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The Indonesian Trade Union Confederation, or KSPI, has expressed disappointment over Jakarta's 2026 minimum wage hike, as workers feel that Rp 5.73 million (around $340) is not enough to make a decent living.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – The Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) predicts that economic growth targets for this year and 2026 will be difficult to achieve due to floods in Sumatra.