Jakarta – Over 5 thousand people have signed an online petition opposing Indonesia's 2nd president Suharto being awarded the title of national hero. The petition on the Change.org website titled "Reject the National Hero Title for Suharto!", had 5,480 verified signatures as of 1.03 pm West Indonesia Time (WIB) and was continuing to grow.

Muslimin Emba, Makassar – On Thursday May 1, labour groups began to throng into the fly over area at the intersection of Jalan AP Pettarani and Arip Sumoharjo in Panakkukang sub-district, Makassar city, South Sulawesi. They were holding a demonstration to commemorate International Labour Day.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has written off Rp 486.1 billion ($29.2 million) in debt owed by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to state-owned banks as of April, an official announced on Thursday.

Every May, the public is trapped in the romanticism of the 1998 reformasi (reform) movement – a moment that is considered as a milestone in the reform of the political and legal system after the resignation of Suharto from the New Order's reins of power.

Commemorating May Day or International Labour Day in West Java, dozens of workers ranging from factory workers to media workers along with other elements of society throughout Greater Bandung demonstrated at the Cikapayang Park in Bandung city on Thursday May 1.

Hanaa Septiana, Kukuh S. Wibowo, Surabaya – The commemoration of International Labour Day or May Day in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday May 1 was marked by two separate actions. One of the actions was attended by the governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa.

Miftahul Huda, Yogya – Thousands of workers from various labour alliances, as well as students in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, took to the streets to commemorate May Day or International Labour Day on Thursday May 1.

Kartika Sari, Medan – Hundreds of workers in Medan held a peaceful action commemorating International Labour Day or May Day at the North Sumatra (Sumut) governor's office. During the action, they conveyed a number of demands, one of which was abolishing outsourcing.

Nurhalim, Banda Aceh – The commemoration of International Labour Day (May Day) 2025 has again reverberated in the Acehnese provincial capital of Banda Aceh, where hundreds of workers and journalists took to the streets to voice their aspirations. The action was cantered in front of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, with various demands that reflect the labour struggle.

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has expressed his commitment to promptly form the Employment Termination Task Force in response to laborers' concerns about rampant wrongful firings. Prabowo pledged this during his speech on International May Day at the National Monument (Monas) area, Jakarta, on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – Former presidents Soeharto and Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, are likely to be posthumously awarded the title of National Hero by President Prabowo Subianto's administration, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf said on Wednesday.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – Civil groups from all walks of life commemorate May Day by staging a rally in front of the House of Representatives building in Senayan, Jakarta, on May 1, 2025.

Dani Aswara, Jakarta – President Prabowo and several high-ranking state officials attend the International Labor Day commemoration at the National Monument (Monas) square on Thursday, May 1, 2025, appearing to stand on the main stage with labor union leaders and worker representatives from various regions.

Antara, Jakarta – Thousands of workers from various labor unions began to fill the area around the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Thursday, May 1, 2025, to commemorate International Labor Day or May Day.

Ilham Oktafian, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto welcomed the International Workers' Day, or May Day, on Thursday with a political address, pledging to fight poverty, expand access to public services, and root out corruption in Indonesia.

Agencies, Jakarta – The government has spent Rp 2.3 trillion rupiah ($138.55 million) so far in President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program to provide free school meals for students and expecting mothers, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – Indonesia's anti-corruption watchdog is pressing ahead with its investigation into the alleged misuse of Bank Indonesia's corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, with no suspects named nearly four months after the probe was first made public.

Beritasatu Team, Nisrina Zahrani, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto voiced his support for slain labor activist Marsinah to be named a national hero, responding to a proposal from Indonesian labor leaders during his speech commemorating International Workers' Day at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta on Thursday.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A deadly landslide in an Indonesian industrial park has reignited concerns over poor safety and environmental standards in the country's booming nickel sector, a key supplier of battery metals for electric vehicles.

Dani Aswara, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto responded to the demand to erase the outsourcing system with a serious yet relaxed tone during his speech at the International May Day commemoration at the National Monument (Monas), Central Jakarta, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. It is one of the workers' demands this May Day.

Rifky Pratama Wicaksono – Feeding millions is the easy part. Ensuring it changes lives is the real challenge. That is the core obstacle facing the Indonesian government's ambitious Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program, which has been running since January 2025.

Oyuk Ivani Siagian, Jakarta – A total of 13,252 joint personnel from the military (TNI) and Indonesian National Police (Polri) have been deployed to safeguard the International Labor Day celebration on Thursday, May 1, 2025. The labor day commemoration today will be centered around the National Monument (Monas) area in Central Jakarta.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – Thousands of workers crowded the area around the Parliament Complex, Central Jakarta, during the commemoration of May Day 2025.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.