Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has criticized Indonesia's medical specialty training and certification system, calling it excessively expensive and overly bureaucratic – making it accessible only to those from wealthy families.

He called for an overhaul of the expensive and lengthy specialist certification system.

Joniansyah, Jakarta – Ten labor unions within the Aliansi Serikat Pekerja Bandara Soekarno-Hatta (Soekarno-Hatta Airport Workers Union Alliance) have confirmed that they will mobilize thousands of people to Jakarta for the commemoration of Labor Day or May Day tomorrow, May 1.

Responding to the Constitutional Court's (MK) ruling that exempts government agencies, institutions and corporations as parties that can file defamation lawsuits, and stated that disturbances/riots in digital space are not criminal offenses under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (UU ITE), Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director, Usman Hamid, said:

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia's national human rights commission has found a slew of legal and rights violations in a government-backed project to establish large-scale plantations in the eastern region of Papua.

Jakarta – A non-governmental organisation (NGO) that focuses on human rights issues, Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), has strongly criticised a plan by West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi who wants to send troublesome students to Indonesian Military (TNI) barracks for guidance.

Hangga Fathana – Indonesia's low-key rejection of reported Russian interest in military basing in Papua says more than it appears to. While Jakarta's response was measured, it was deliberate – a calculated expression of Indonesia's foreign policy doctrine of non-alignment, domestic political caution and regional diplomatic restraint.

Kasper Nollet – Indonesia has been in turmoil in recent weeks due to ongoing protests against a reform of a law relating to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). The reform was approved by the House of Representatives in Jakarta on 20 March and allows senior army officers to combine up to as many as 15 civil service positions with their role in the army.

Badung – Dozens of workers from various industrial sectors in Bali who are members of the Bali People's Struggle Alliance held a peaceful demonstration titled "Fight Union Busting, Demand Real Protection of Balinese Workers' Rights" at the Wantilan Hall in the Badung Government Centre (Puspem) on Wednesday morning April 30.

"May Day or Labour Day for us, the organisations that are members of GEBRAK, is a day of momentum for the workers' struggle, we must always promote it. [...] There is no reason that is adequate for people who have up until now suffered bad policies and repressive treatment from the state to then become close to and unite with oppressive power.

Fika Nurul Ulya, Jessi Carina, Jakarta – Ahead of National Labour Day which falls tomorrow, House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad together with officials from the Presidential Palace gathered with trade union leaders during an event at the Nusantara IV Building in the parliamentary complex in Central Jakarta on Wednesday April 30.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – World's largest palm oil producer Indonesia reported Tuesday that it had attracted investment worth hundreds of millions of American dollars in the first quarter of 2025 to capture more value out of its top commodity.

Ilham Oktafian, Jakarta – Former Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has filed a formal police complaint over long-standing allegations that he used a fake university diploma to run as president, taking the issue to the legal arena after more than a decade of controversy.

Irfandi, Gowa, South Sulawesi – Four defendants went on trial Tuesday for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated money counterfeiting syndicate that operated out of an Islamic university in South Sulawesi.

Tom Levitt – One of Indonesia's largest nickel-mining companies, which supplies a mineral critical to the global electric car industry, did not tell the public that local drinking water was polluted, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Bella Evangelista, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto is set to attend the International Workers' Day (May Day) commemoration at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said the president had received an invitation from labor union representatives and had confirmed his attendance.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry has released Rp 86.6 trillion ($5.22 billion) in previously frozen ministry and agency budgets to jumpstart spending on priority government programs.

Jakarta – West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has unveiled a controversial plan to send "delinquent" students from across the province to military barracks for a six-month training program aimed at instilling "discipline and responsibility" through intensive character education.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, North Sumatra – The North Sumatra Police announced they will soon summon local councilor Megawati Zebua for questioning over allegations that she assaulted a Wings Air flight attendant in an incident that recently went viral on social media.

Jakarta – Non-aligned Indonesia has navigated through the complexity of the big power rivalry by forging closer economic ties with China while building more intensive relations on security and defense with the United States. But the geopolitical landscape is constantly changing, necessitating that Indonesia always adapt to maintain and protect its national interests.

Yerica Lai and Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – Six months after stepping down from the nation's top post, former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been the target of a barrage of lawsuits, which analysts say underscores the accumulated disapproval over his presidency.

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM) claimed responsibility for the recent attack against Indonesian military (TNI) and the Chairperson of the Papua National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), Fritz Ramandey.

Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – The status of the Rempang Eco City project has become a topic of discussion in a public hearing held by Commission VI with the residents of Pulau Rempang on Monday, April 28, 2025. It turns out that the project is not included in the list of 77 National Strategic Projects of President Prabowo Subianto as stipulated in Presidential Regulation No.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu'ti has voiced concerns regarding the current state of literacy among Indonesian children. He revealed that while 75 percent of 15-year-olds possess the ability to read, they lack an understanding of what they are reading.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia reported that it had attracted Rp 465.2 trillion (approximately $27.7 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, and over half of the money came from domestic investors, the government announced Tuesday.

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) claimed to have shot dead two Indonesian National Army (TNI) soldiers in an armed attack in the Maybrat Regency, South West Papua, some time ago.

Public protests were met with excessive and unnecessary force by police. Journalists were targeted. Freedom of expression continued to be repressed under problematic laws. Unlawful killings, torture and impunity continued in Papua. Development projects affecting Indigenous Peoples lacked free, prior and informed consent.

Defara Dhanya, Jakarta – A South Korean consortium led by LG Energy Solution has officially withdrawn from the electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem development project in Indonesia. The total investment was valued at 11 trillion won, or around US$7.7 billion (approximately Rp129 trillion).

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, stated that Indonesia is experiencing human rights protection degradation. In fact, Indonesia is cited as a prominent example.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta -The President of the Association of All-Indonesian Workers' Union (Aspirasi), Mirah Sumirat, has urged companies to stop unfair and exploitative internship practices that harm Generation Z (Gen Z).

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – Several law students from Padjadjaran University (Unpad) have formally requested a judicial review of Law Number 3 of 2025 concerning Amendments to Law Number 34 of 2004 regarding the Indonesian Military or TNI Law with the Constitutional Court. Their application has been registered under number 73/PUU/PAN.MK/AP3/04/2025.

Fahri Ali, Depok, West Java – West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi is urging men from low-income households to undergo vasectomies as part of a new birth control initiative aimed at reducing poverty in the province.

Solidarity greetings! The Indonesian Poor People's Union (SPRI) conveys its respectful greetings and revolutionary solidarity to all workers, farmers, fishers, urban poor, oppressed women, students, indigenous peoples and all elements of working people who will commemorate International Labour Day (May Day) on May 1, 2025.

Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) believes that the involvement of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the distribution and implementation of the free nutritious meals (MBG) program in schools is evidence of the absence of a clear separation between civilian and military space.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali revealed that the Navy (TNI AL) is grappling with a Rp 3.2 trillion (approximately $191 million) fuel debt to state energy company Pertamina, a burden that he says is disrupting naval operations across the archipelago.

Han Revanda, Jakarta – Arief Prasetyo Adi, Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), has voiced his support for President Prabowo Subianto's suggestion that families plant at least five chili pepper plants at home to help stabilize prices. He affirmed that there was nothing amiss with the President's statement.

Jakarta – The Higher Education, Science and Technology Ministry has downplayed public concerns that the Indonesian Military's (TNI) involvement in university teaching could stifle academic freedom and student expression.

Jakarta – Public trust in hospitals as a safe place for the sick to find treatment has been tested after a student of the anesthesiology program at the Padjadjaran University's School of Medicine allegedly committed sexual assaults on at least two patients and a relative of another patient at the Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital in Bandung, West Java.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A palm oil company is gearing up to expand into critical orangutan habitat in Indonesian Borneo, raising alarms over the survival of the critically endangered great apes.

More than 50,000 Catholics gathered on April 26 for a requiem Mass for Pope Francis at the Esplanade of Tasi Tolu on the coast of Timor-Leste, where the pope celebrated Mass during his visit to this Catholic-majority nation last September.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – When Resty Kinanthi arrived at a gold shop in South Jakarta at 8am on a recent weekday eager to buy a few grams of the precious metal, she was quickly turned away.

The 24-year-old, who is currently unemployed, had heard of the growing gold trend gripping the country in recent weeks so she turned up early, an hour before the shop opened.

Jakarta – Authorities are probing two cases of food poisoning outbreaks that have affected over 170 students under Indonesia's ambitious free nutritious meal programme, the latest of at least six known cases since the programme was launched in January.

Antara, Jakarta – Ride-hailing platforms Maxim Indonesia and Grab Indonesia have rejected a proposal to classify online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers as full-time employees, arguing that the existing partnership model provides greater flexibility and economic opportunity.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto is planning to assemble a team to deal with Indonesia's unemployment, which could rise as US tariffs loom. A senior economist said Tuesday the task force should make sure that the displaced workers get their severance checks.

Antara, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court (MK) on Tuesday issued a pair of landmark rulings that narrowed the scope of the country's controversial Electronic Information and Transactions Law (UU ITE), reinforcing protections for freedom of speech and clarifying conditions under which digital misinformation can be prosecuted.

Oyuk Ivani Siagian, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia has raised concerns over the persistent violence and intimidation targeting human rights defenders in the country, recording at least 123 cases involving physical assaults, digital attacks, threats, and other retaliatory actions against 288 individuals throughout 2024.

Yohanes Seo, Kupang – Suratmi Hamida, head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP3MI) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), revealed that between January and April this year, 49 Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) from NTT were repatriated deceased.

Yudono Yanuar, Jakarta – In a surprising move, the previously quiet Forum of Retired Indonesian Military (TNI) Members has formally requested the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to replace Gibran Rakabuming Raka as Vice President.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – The West Papua National Liberation Army – Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM) has alleged that Indonesian military forces recently carried out an airstrike involving bomb drops. The incident reportedly took place on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Puncak Regency, Papua.

Jakarta – If he were still alive, the father of cooperatives, Mohammad Hatta, would be unhappy seeing the Red-and-White Village Cooperatives. Without the principles of togetherness, fairness, and collective endeavor, President Prabowo Subianto's 80,000 cooperatives have been established from the top down.

Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – As many as 95 percent of Indonesian workers are claimed to support President Prabowo Subianto's policies on International Labour Day or May Day on May 1. The claim was made by the president of the Labour Party, who is also the president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), Said Iqbal.