Fito Akhmad Erlangga, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, along with Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, invited the Ministers of the Indonesian Cabinet to break the fast together (iftar) at the State Palace on Thursday.

Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) projects that the financial turnover during the 2024 Eid al-Fitr holiday period will reach Rp 157.3 trillion ($9.92 billion) with over 190 million people expected to travel for Eid homecoming.

Jakarta – Every five years, there is political horse-trading in Indonesia. The practice of bargaining for cabinet posts takes place between the parties and the presidential candidate that the General Election Commission (KPU) has declared the winner of the election.

Victoria Milko, Jakarta, Indonesia – Roads turned to murky brown rivers, homes were swept away by strong currents and bodies were pulled from mud during deadly flash floods and landslides after torrential rains hit West Sumatra in early March, marking one of the latest deadly natural disasters in Indonesia.

In Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World, author David Van Reybrouck reveals a fascinating history of resistance in the southeast Asian country, writes Simon Basketter.

Sella Rizky, Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto extended his appreciation to the Golkar Party, a crucial ally in the coalition supporting his presidential candidacy, during a visit to the party's headquarters in West Jakarta on Friday.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Australia sees enhancing people-to-people ties as crucial to forging stronger relations with Indonesia.

Anisa Fauziah, Jakarta – A member of the task force that is in charge of promoting the Job Creation Law recently claimed that domestic workers were actually the ones who benefited the most from the so-called omnibus law.

Singapore – Investor interest in Indonesia's proposed new capital Nusantara has been renewed, following official results that confirmed Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto will be the country's next president.

Vinnilya, Jakarta – Senior economist Chatib Basri said that the ministries as well as sub-national governments need to work together when it comes to the Job Creation Law, arguing that many regulations are still overlapping with one another.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Indonesia has seen a significant increase in cases of dengue fever and deaths from the illness as the El Nino weather phenomenon causes a warmer rainy season across the country.

The Health Ministry recorded some 35,500 dengue cases nationwide from the beginning of January to March 18, with 290 deaths.

Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto said on Wednesday that once he is in office he will make an effort to display paintings by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the new presidential palace.

Jakarta – Seven members of the Kuala Lumpur PPLN are proven to have inflated the number of voters for the 2024 elections. This should open the door to investigating other frauds.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – The Presidential Palace emphasized that the government of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi is not a party involved in the ongoing presidential election dispute at the Constitutional Court (MK). The President's Special Staff for Legal Affairs, Dini Purwono, suggested that the public follow the legal process.

Kafil Yamin – Concerned about election irregularities, academics are stepping up criticism of last month's poll which saw Minister of Defence Prabowo Subianto declared the country's president-elect on 20 March. Prabowo is to take over from outgoing President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, in October, after a transition period.

Jakarta – On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court began the hearing for the Feb. 14 presidential election dispute filed by losing candidates Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) has approved the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (DKJ) Bill, paving the way for Nusantara in East Kalimantan to become the new national capital. Jakarta will remain as the nation's capital until the President issues a decree for relocation to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.

Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews, Jakarta, Indonesia – For the second time in three months, a belligerent and resentful crowd of locals in Indonesia's Aceh province made authorities move dozens of newly arrived Rohingya refugees from their shelter by storming the facility, officials said Wednesday.

Geneva – The U.N. Human Rights Committee said on Thursday it was concerned by extrajudicial killings in Indonesia's Papua province, where separatists and Indonesian troops have been fighting for decades.

Senator the Hon Penny Wong
PO Box 6100
Senate
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

28 March 2024

Dear Foreign Minister,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Australia West Papua Association in Sydney concerning the brutal torture of a West Papuan man, Defianus Kogoyaby Indonesian troops in West Papua in early February.

The Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) has raised concerns over the denial of legal assistance to Melianus Baye and Benny Elopere, two minors detained by the Papua Regional Police (Polda Papua) on suspicion of involvement in an aircraft shooting incident in the Yahukimo Regency.

Andreas Harsono – The Indonesian military apologized to "all Papuan people" and detained 13 soldiers from an elite battalion in West Java who had tortured a Papuan man in Gome, Central Papua.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The General Election Commission (KPU) argued on Thursday that while presidential candidate Anies Baswedan is demanding a revote and the disqualification of president-elect Prabowo Subianto, he does not essentially dispute the election results.

Jakarta – As many as 303 academics have submitted an amicus curiae or friends of the court brief with the Constitutional Court (MK) so that it will rule fairly and justly on election disputes in the 2024 presidential election.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia remains attractive for foreign investors to invest in government projects amid the government's leadership transition, Antara news agency cited a Grant Thornton Indonesia report on Indonesia's economic prospects in 2024.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo revealed on Thursday the government's plan to increase its stake in mining giant Freeport Indonesia to 61 percent.

The Indonesian government currently holds a 51 percent stake in Freeport following years of negotiations initiated by the Jokowi government in order to get a fair deal with the gold and copper miner.

Jakarta (Agencies) – The legal team of losing presidential candidate Anies Baswedan on Wednesday requested the Constitutional Court order an election re-run and disqualify president-elect Prabowo Subianto, alleging state interference to sway the outcome in his favour.

Prisma Ardianto, Jakarta – The Secretary General of the Indonesia Workers' Organization (OPSI), Timboel Siregar, forecasts that overall Eid al-Fitr bonuses (THR) for this year will range from approximately Rp 129.2 trillion ($8.14 billion) to Rp 165 trillion.

Antara, Jakarta – The Jakarta Transportation Agency has set aside a massive Rp 6.3 billion ($396,281) to purchase five electric patrol motorcycles for escorting Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) and the incoming governor-deputy governor.

Jakarta – It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – The financially troubled Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI), known as Indonesia Eximbank, has suffered from another round of bad debts, resulting from fraud.

Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – Indonesia's losing presidential candidate Anies Baswedan on Wednesday laid out his challenge in court to last month's presidential election, calling it unjust and fraught with interference to sway the ballot in favor of one candidate.

Djibril Muhammad, Jakarta – According to a recent survey conducted by pollster Lingkaran Survei Indonesia (LSI) Denny Januar Ali, the majority of voters from the losing presidential candidates Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo have embraced the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election.

Jakarta – Unsuccessful presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has said that he will reject any offer of a cabinet position in the administration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto.

Jayapura, Jubi – Repeated occurrences of Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Fellowship of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) has called for a thorough and complete investigation into the alleged torture of three civilians in Puncak Regency by TNI soldiers from Raider 300/Braja Wijaya Infantry Battalion. Ronald Tapilatu, the Head of Papua Affairs Bureau of PGI, made this statement in Jakarta on Monday (25/3/2024).

Ichsan Ali, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurated the Wani Port and Pantoloan Port in Teluk Palu, Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi, on Wednesday. The ports were destroyed by liquefaction and a tsunami in 2018.

Jakarta – Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno recently called for an adaptive and responsive tourism bill.

BeritaSatu, Jakarta – The not-yet-released horror movie "Kiblat" has sparked outrage in Muslim-majority Indonesia, even drawing criticisms from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Jakarta – The government plans to accelerate the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Stop paying out budget funds for state companies.

The government's effort to consolidate state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is a rational move when many state companies are a financial burden for the government. It is time the government stopped paying out state funds to SOEs.

Hendrik Khoirul Muhid, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo disclosed that his assets surged by Rp13.4 billion between 2022 and 2023. According to the state official's wealth report (LHKPN), his assets amounted to Rp82.36 billion in 2022 and escalated to Rp95.8 billion in 2023.

Tempo.Co, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs is requiring prospective brides and grooms to undergo marriage counseling before getting married. The decision, which is expected to take effect in July, is based on the Director General of Islamic Guidance's Circular No. 2 of 2024 on Marriage Guidance for Prospective Brides and Grooms.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The legal representative of the Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar (Amin) campaign team, Bambang Widjojanto, said that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo used or allowed his cabinet ministers to assist presidential candidate pair number 02, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to secure victory in the election race.

Nabiila Azzahra, Jakarta – Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masaki Yasushi stated that his country opened numerous job opportunities for Indonesian citizens. He revealed that this is because of a labor shortage in Japan.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia is experiencing a resurgence in forest clearance due to the expansion of pulpwood and oil palm plantations, reversing years of declining deforestation associated with these two industries.

Jakarta – Dozens of Rohingya refugees saved after their boat capsized off Indonesia's westernmost coast last week have been forced from their temporary shelter due to local protests, a United Nations refugee agency official said Wednesday.

Michael Philipps – Estrella Resources has officially been granted exploration tenure of more than 500 square kilometres in Timor-Leste making history as one of the first companies to receive exploration rights in the country.

The nation is looking to build its industry in this resource-rich part of the world and ASX-listed Estrella is the first through the gate.

Jakarta – A clash broke out on Wednesday March 27 when two groups of demonstrators were protesting at the Horse Statue in Central Jakarta as the Constitutional Court (MK) was holding a hearing challenging the results of the 2024 elections.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – A prominent economist said on Wednesday that the full implementation of the job creation law could potentially elevate investments and drive economic growth to reach 7 percent.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The job creation law, which harmonizes dozens of regulations concerning investments, takes years for its full and ideal implementation and therefore must be carried on by the new government, a senior economist said on Wednesday.