Jakarta – Marine safety oversight at Indonesia's tourist destinations is under renewed scrutiny following a boat accident in Labuan Bajo last week that killed a Spanish tourist and left three others missing, intensifying calls for a comprehensive improvement of maritime safety standards.

Ahmad Novindri Aji Sukma – During the last weeks of 2025, Indonesia faced one of the deadliest environmental disasters in its recent history. Torrential rains swept across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, submerging whole districts, collapsing bridges, and sweeping away houses in waves of mud, logs and debris.

The Civil Society Coalition for Legal Reform officially declared an "Indonesian legal emergency" during a press conference held on New Year's Day, Thursday January 1.

Antara, Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said Friday that his decision to backtrack the Rp 75 trillion ($4.5 billion) injection to state lenders would not disrupt the economy.

Alfitria Nefi Pratiwi, Jakarta – The physical construction of the judicial, legislative, and office buildings in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) has simultaneously kicked off in December 2025, as confirmed by the IKN Authority head, Basuki Hadimuljono. The construction is carried out through a multiple-year contract scheme worth Rp20 trillion.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Greenpeace Indonesia is preparing to report an alleged act of intimidation against one of its senior campaigners, following what the organization described as a pattern of terror targeting critics of the government's handling of a recent ecological disaster in Sumatra.

Sukarjito, Jakarta – Indonesia experienced a high level of seismic activity throughout 2025, with more than 43,000 earthquakes recorded across the archipelago, according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Despite the high frequency of earthquakes, the human toll from seismic events remained relatively low.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto gets candid about why he rarely gives interviews to the media. According to the head of state, he prefers to prove his worth through tangible results.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has reiterated that the government is handling the floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra in November 2025 seriously, despite not declaring the disasters a national emergency.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, said that a series of attacks on activists and social media influencers have a common motive. He stated that the attacks are aimed at silencing citizens who criticize the government's performance in handling ecological disasters in Sumatra.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said the government is open to receiving public and private donations to support disaster response efforts in Sumatra, stressing that any assistance must follow clear and transparent distribution mechanisms.

Agencies, Jakarta – The new Criminal Code (KUHP), which will make crimes of premarital sex and insulting the state when it takes effect on Jan. 2, will need public oversight to help prevent abuse of the law, a minister told Reuters.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – Efforts to combat climate change are often translated into everyday actions, such as reducing the use of private cars, conserving energy at home, or altering dietary habits. Many individuals have consciously and voluntarily adopted these habits as a form of their support for environmental sustainability.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has expressed openness to public criticism, including regarding the government's handling of the recent disasters in Sumatra, while noting that not all criticisms are accurate.

Winda Nelfira, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia has highlighted the series of terror attacks at the end of 2025 that befell Greenpeace Indonesia activist Iqbal Damanik and influencers DJ Donny, Virdian Aurellio and Sherly Annavita.

Tempo, Jakarta – The Governor of Indonesia's West Java Province, Dedi Mulyadi, has imposed a ban on the establishment of new oil palm plantations and ordered the gradual replacement of existing oil palm crops with other commodities better suited to the region's environmental conditions.

M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – Achieving 6 percent economic growth in 2026 may not be out of reach for Indonesia, according to economic analysts.

Antara, Jayapura – Sporadic attacks by separatist groups across Papua have killed at least 94 people throughout 2025, according to data released by local police on Thursday.

The fatalities stemmed from 104 recorded attacks across three provinces in the Papua region, Papua Police Chief Patrige Renwarin said.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto spent New Year's Eve 2026 at a temporary shelter with residents affected by recent disasters in South Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra, delivering a message on resilience and the need to protect the environment.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – PT Pertamina (Persero) will decrease the price of non-subsidized fuel starting January 1, 2026. This adjustment includes Pertamax and several other fuel variants marketed by Pertamina Patra Niaga.

Wahyu Majiah, Reza Hery Pamungkas, Jakarta – Cities across Indonesia welcomed the start of 2026 with subdued New Year's Eve observances, scaling back festivities and cancelling fireworks as a gesture of solidarity with victims of floods and landslides in Sumatra, where disasters have killed more than 1,100 people.

Singgih Wiryono, Ambaranie Nadia Kemala Movanita, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid says that the new Criminal Code (KUHP) and the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), which will come into force tomorrow on Friday December 2, will make it easier to criminalise citizens who criticise the government.

Andrew Tito, Jakarta – The number of motor vehicles registered across Greater Jakarta surged in 2025, adding pressure to traffic flow, parking availability, and road safety in Indonesia's largest urban area.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – Indonesia's Attorney General's Office has imposed disciplinary sanctions on 101 prosecutors and 56 non-prosecutorial staff throughout 2025, as authorities step up internal oversight, an official said on Wednesday.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) seized 70,000 tons of illegal coal in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. Officials confiscated the coal during a three-day operation from December 28 to 30, 2025.

Suherdjoko, Rizal Harahap, Semarang/Pekanbaru – Several regions across the country have decided to scrap their planned New Year's Eve celebrations, opting instead for more subdued events in a show of solidarity with millions of people affected by recent catastrophic flooding and landslides in Sumatra.

Muktita Suhartono – The river rose as high as a coconut tree one November morning, depositing a 10-foot-high pile of logs that crushed almost every structure in the village of Sekumur on Indonesia's Sumatra island. "My house is buried under these logs," said Fauzi, one of many in similar straits.

Gembong Hanung, Jakarta – From 24-hour city parks to libraries extending their evening hours, Jakarta closed the year with a series of public space initiatives. Yet these expansions remain concentrated around economic hubs, reinforcing the spatial inequality that has long shaped the capital.

At the end of 2025 as we welcome the New Year, grief and sorrow have added to the lengthy kaleidoscope of evils and incompetence inflicted by the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating allegations that about Rp 3 billion ($180,000) was paid to interfere with its probe into the misuse of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds from Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK), officials said.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs at Kontras, warns of a growing pattern to silence critics through terror under President Prabowo Subianto. This terror targets journalists, activists, and influencers. The methods range from verbal threats to the delivery of animal carcasses.

Intan Setiawanty, Jakarta – Indonesia experiences the most severe human rights setback in 2025, according to Amnesty International Indonesia. The human rights watchdog describes this year as a "national human rights catastrophe," as state policies sacrifice citizens' rights for economic agendas, including deforestation-based development.

Intan Setiawanty, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia reported that at least 5,538 people were arbitrarily arrested, subjected to violence, or exposed to tear gas in 2025 while exercising their right to express opinions in public, amid what the organization described as a growing repressive approach by the state toward public protests."Throughout this year alone, 5,538 people

Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa admitted that the impact of injecting Rp200 trillion into state-owned banks (Himbara) did not meet his expectations. The liquidity boost for the banking system has not yet optimally moved the economy.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Addin Anugrah Siwi, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra – President Prabowo Subianto spent New Year's Eve in South Tapanuli Regency, one of the areas hardest hit by floods and landslides in Sumatra, choosing to welcome the year alongside affected residents, officials said on Wednesday.

Hammam Izzuddin, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Police's Special Detachment 88 Anti-Terror Group (Densus 88) is mentoring 68 children across 18 provinces who are suspected of being exposed to extremist ideology and planning acts of violence. These children are part of the True Crime Community group which spreads Neo-Nazi ideology and white supremacy.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Constitutional law lecturer Herdiansyah Hamzah of Mulawarman University has warned that a recent wave of threats and intimidation targeting activists, content creators, and public figures in Indonesia points to growing authoritarian tendencies under President Prabowo Subianto's administration, particularly a low tolerance for criticism.

On 23 December 2025, forty-year-old Papuan civilian, Mr Agus Magayang, suffered fatal blast injuries after allegedly stepping on a victim-activated explosive device placed on a civilian path used for daily movement between gardens and homes in the Jalan Gunung area of Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Pegunungan province.

Antara, Denpasar – Bali Governor Wayan Koster said the cancellation of New Year's Eve fireworks will not deter tourists, citing rising visitor arrivals even as the island scales back celebrations in solidarity with disaster-hit regions in Sumatra.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported 13 more deaths from the Sumatra disasters. Abdul Muhari, Head of the BNPB Data and Information Center, said the total death toll from floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra reached 1,154 by Wednesday evening, December 31, 2025.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – As 2025 draws to a close, a troubling pattern of intimidation has emerged in Indonesia, targeting activists, influencers, artists, and journalists who have publicly voiced criticism over the government's response to a series of major national issues and crises.

Prisma Ardianto, Jambi – Indonesia on Wednesday marked a milestone in formalizing community-run oil production as state energy company Pertamina completed its first-ever purchase of crude produced from community-managed oil wells, or sumur rakyat, in Jambi.The inaugural transaction was officiated by Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung, marking the on-the-grou

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.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – Protections for indigenous people's rights in Indonesia have seen little progress throughout 2025, with legislation in favor of local communities stalled and repression persisting despite promises made by the government on the global stage.

Indonesia, West Papua – On 16 December 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced plans to expand palm oil plantations across West Papua as part of a broader strategy to achieve energy self-sufficiency within five years.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The Campaign Manager for Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Indonesia, Iqbal Damanik, received terror threats from an unknown person on Tuesday morning, December 30, 2025. The environmental activist's house was sent a chicken carcass.

Andrew Tito, Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Jakarta authorities will close the capital's main thoroughfares, Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin, from 6 p.m. on Wednesday to accommodate New Year's Eve celebrations, the city government said.

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.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – Labor unions on Monday staged a protest near the National Monument in Jakarta against the newly announced provincial minimum wage, warning that the demonstrations could escalate nationwide and continue throughout next year unless the decision is revised.

Akmalal Hamdhi, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Customs and Excise has dismissed 27 employees over the past two years for fraud and serious disciplinary violations, while disciplinary proceedings are underway against another 33 staff members, the agency said on Tuesday.