Hans Nicholas Jong, Sarjan Lahay, Jakarta – The Indonesian government plans to establish 2 million hectares, or nearly 5 million acres, of sugarcane plantations in the eastern region of Papua, home to the last great expanse of rainforest in Southeast Asia.

Desty Luthfiani, Jakarta – Public policy observer from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahadiansah, commented on the latest policy of the Jakarta Provincial Government regarding the urban and rural land and building tax (PBB).

Reuters, Jakarta – Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that hundreds of visitors have died during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca amid scorching heat. At least 550 Hajj pilgrims have died while performing the fifth pillar of Islam.

Han Revanda Putra, Ilona Estherina, Jakarta – Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan or Zulhas has proposed an increase in the highest retail price (HET) of government-subsidized packaged cooking oil, MinyaKita, by Rp1,500 to Rp15,500.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Indonesia has advanced to the 27th position in the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR), a significant improvement from 34th place in 2023. This places Indonesia third in Southeast Asia, following Singapore and Thailand, with Singapore maintaining its global lead.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – The weakening rupiah, now significantly deviating from the 2024 state budget assumption, poses risks to Indonesia's trade performance. Bank Indonesia (BI) needs to intervene across short, medium, and long-term strategies.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – The Golkar Party on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution for the upcoming North Sumatra gubernatorial election.

The endorsement was announced by Golkar Party Chairman Airlangga Hartarto after he received Bobby at his official residence in Jakarta.

Jakarta – Indonesia reported on Wednesday that it had recorded a trade surplus for 49 months in a row since May 2020, as the country booked a $2.93 billion surplus last month.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – As President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's term nears its end, several ministers in his cabinet are aiming to appeal to the next president, Prabowo Subianto.

Chandra Adi Nurwidya, Yogyakarta – Ganjar Pranowo, the former presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has commented on the potential candidacy of Anies Baswedan in his party's deliberations for the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election.

Caleb Fotheringham – West Papua pro-independence supporters are calling Indonesia's condemnation of Israel hypocritical considering its occupation in Papua for 61-years.

The Indonesian government, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President, has condemned the Israeli government's handling of the conflict in Gaza.

Tria Dianti – Environmentalists are expressing deep concerns about Indonesia's ecological future because of President-elect Prabowo Subianto signaling a strong preference for boosting mining industries and sectors that exploit natural resources.

Abdul C, Jakarta – Every year around the world, June 16 is commonly celebrated as International Domestic Workers Day (IDWD).

Not being left behind, the National Network for Domestic Worker Advocacy (Jala PRT) also commemorated the day in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta on Sunday June 16.

AWPA condemns the latest Indonesian security force operation in the Bibida District, Paniai Regency which has resulted in more than 5,000 people from 15 villages in Bibida and Paniai fleeing their villages.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – After dropping the idea of setting up a transition team, president-elect Prabowo Subianto has come up with a so-called synchronization task force comprising entirely of elites from his Gerindra Party. Its job: To synchronize the moves of the incoming and outgoing governments.

Jakarta – Every year, Indonesia contends with one of the most complex logistical feats in the world: the haj. Home to approximately 231 million Muslims, the country regularly sends the biggest groups of citizens to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia.

Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – Indonesia may lose thousands of hospital beds once standardized inpatient care for National Health Insurance (JKN) policyholders goes into full effect starting next year, raising concerns over longer hospital admission waiting times for millions of patients.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – Outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's reported plan for cabinet reshuffle, one that might see his former party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), ousted, is unlikely to happen as analysts warn it would destabilize the transition to his successor's incoming government.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Chairman of the Hajj Oversight Team of the House of Representatives (DPR) Muhaimin Iskandar revealed several reports highlighting various issues in the 2024 Hajj operations. One major problem, according to Muhaimin, is the widespread malfunctioning of air conditioners.

Antara, AP, Jakarta – The Indonesian government explained its decision to abstain from signing a document calling for the territorial integrity of Ukraine to be the basis of any agreement to end the ongoing war, citing Russia's absence from the Swiss conference.

Teguh Adi Prasetyo, Jakarta – Public policy analyst Trubus Radiansyah recently advised the government against launching new strategic policies as the end of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's term is close approaching.

According to Trubus, it is best for the current government to now focus on finishing the existing tasks at hand.

Hendro D Situmorang, Jakarta – Ahmad Doli Kurnia, the deputy chairman of the Golkar Party, recently said the existing cabinet would remain united until the end of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's term.

The reason? Jokowi's ministers were often seen accompanying the president whenever the latter made business trips around the Indonesian archipelago, according to Ahmad Doli.

Antara, Jakarta – Economist Gunawan Benjamin said recently that the Kualanamu International Airport could provide a major impetus to North Sumatra's economic growth.

Tri Listiyarini, Jakarta – The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) is proactively addressing the anti-dumping case affecting Indonesian frozen shrimp export to the United States (US).

To mitigate the impact, the ministry is diversifying export markets to several potential countries, including China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Some top government officials are split over how much Indonesia should set its state budget deficit for next year, although senior minister Airlangga Hartarto said Monday that the House of Representatives was still discussing the exact cap.

Djibril Muhammad, Timika, Papua – An army deserter who became a mercenary for a rebel group in Papua has been shot to death during a recent security operation, authorities said on Monday.

Denis Murib was killed after a joint operation of the military and the police raided a rebel stronghold in the Papua regency of Paniai.

Vinnilya Huanggrio, Jakarta – Members of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet are anticipating a smooth transition of power five months into his retirement, a senior minister said on Monday.

Ikhsan Reliubun, Jakarta – Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association or PHRI in Bali, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, urged the local government to carry out strict supervision of foreign investors entering the resort island.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) volcano, Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, erupted again on Tuesday, June 18 at 07:46 local time, spewing a 700-meter-high column of ash from the summit. The seismograph recorded that it had a maximum amplitude of 37 millimeters in 4 minutes and 7 seconds.

Jakarta – President Jokowi is plotting for his youngest son to run for the deputy governor of Jakarta. This is a repeat of the presidential election.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A project to revive zebra shark numbers in Indonesia's Raja Ampat archipelago has welcomed the successful hatching of 24 pups so far this year, including five most recently in April.

Yustinus Patris Paat, Jakarta – A prominent Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) figure said Tuesday the party would nominate Anies Baswedan for the Jakarta gubernatorial election if he appoints a party executive as his running mate.

Jakarta – Indonesia's President Joko Widodo plans to speed up the installation of water pumps across the country to protect food crops from the impact of extreme weather.

Mr Widodo urged the government to get 20,000 water pumps in place and use water more efficiently to safeguard the country's food security in the face of climate change.

Duncan Graham – At the end of 2023, there were three clear signs that Indonesia's new capital city project on Borneo island – personally driven by President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo – was not going well.

Pribadi, Sukma Kanthi Nurani, Jakarta – Several ministries and agencies have requested additional budgets for 2025, including costs for relocating to the new capital city, Nusantara (IKN). Who are they?

Cabinet Secretariat

Antara, Jakarta – Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted again on Sunday night, June 16, 2024. The eruption, recorded at 7:29 PM local time, produced the strongest tremors of any eruption so far this June.

"Yes, this is the strongest eruption this month," said Ahmad Rifandi, a volcano monitoring officer at Mount Marapi in Bukittinggi, on Sunday night.

Eka Yudha Saputra, Ikhsan Reliubun (Antara), Jakarta – The idea of providing social assistance to victims of online gambling was initially proposed by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy. He stated that the ministry has been offering considerable advocacy to online gambling victims.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Ombudsman of South Sumatra Province has discovered alleged fraud in the merit-based selection process for new student admissions (PPDB) for high schools (SMA) in 2024.

M. Adrian, the Head of the South Sumatra Ombudsman, reported that dozens of prospective students who should have been accepted were instead rejected by schools.

Antara, Jakarta – Chief Cultural Affairs Minister Muhadjir Effendy has clarified his statement regarding the provision of social assistance (bansos) to online gambling victims.

Muhadjir emphasized that the recipients of the social assistance will be the family members of the victims, not the perpetrators.

Rizky Ramadhan, Jakarta – Vice President Ma'ruf Amin praised non-Muslim communities for participating in Eid al-Adha celebrations by donating sacrificial animals on Monday.

Antara, Jakarta – The Katedral Church in Jakarta has donated a sacrificial cow to the nearby Istiqlal Mosque ahead of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays, also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, which falls on Monday.

Antara, Palu, Central Sulawesi – The Central Sulawesi Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has reported that floods have left 171 houses inundated in Banggai Laut District as of Thursday, June 13, 2024.

Antara, Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has blocked 5,000 bank accounts, both individual and group, linked to online gambling cases.

Public relations group coordinator for PPATK, Natsir Kongah, said on Saturday, June 15, 2024, that he could not confirm the exact value of transactions made via the bank accounts.

Jakarta – Plastic waste produced during Eid al-Adha could reach around 608 tons, most of which is contributed by single-use plastic bags in the distribution of sacrificial meat, according to an official at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Former presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has secured the backing of leaders from Indonesia's largest party in Parliament, sources say, in a major boost for his chances at the local government elections in November.

Stefanno Sulaiman and Stanley Widianto, Jakarta – The government has shut down more than 2 million websites offering illegal online gambling services, the communications minister said on Friday, saying the activity was "sucking the people's blood dry".

Fitria Chusna Farisa, Jakarta – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SafeNET) Executive Director Nenden Sekar Arum believes that blocking the social media platform X (Twitter) is not the solution to stopping the spread of pornographic content in Indonesia.

Monique Handa Shafira, Jakarta – The upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas revealed that Indonesia hosted two of last year's largest global natural gas discoveries, highlighting its significant role in the energy transition.

Vinnilya, Jakarta – The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has reported the capture of 80 vessels involved in illegal fishing, both domestic and foreign, in the first half of 2024.