Fachri Hamzah, Jakarta – Victims of the devastating floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra filed a lawsuit against the central government at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) on Thursday, May 7, 2026. The case is registered under case number 167/G/LH/2026/PTUN.JKT.

Larius Kogoya, Jayapura, Jubi – Seven students from National High School (SMA) 1 Kobakma in Mamberamo Tengah were reportedly shot on Tuesday (May 5, 2026). The Head of the Law and Human Rights Department of Gereja Injili di Indonesia, Rev.

Jakarta – Sixteen people were killed on Wednesday after a passenger bus collided with a fuel truck on the Trans-Sumatra Highway in North Musi Rawas regency, South Sumatra, just 10 days after a double train crash in Greater Jakarta also claimed 16 lives, renewing concerns over national transportation safety standards.

Jakarta – The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) says that the trial hearing a case against four Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers over their involvement in an acid attack on Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Deputy Coordinator Andrie Yunus reinforces the view that military justice is full of theatre.

M. Raihan Muzzaki, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) found indications of price inflation in the procurement of halal certification services at the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). According to ICW, these indications have the potential to harm the state finances by Rp49.5 billion.

Antara, Jakarta – Currency swap agreements being pursued by the Indonesian government and Bank Indonesia may help stabilize the rupiah in the short term, but they are not a sustainable long-term solution for strengthening the currency, a financial analyst said on Thursday.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – Yusuf Rendy from the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) said Indonesia's declining open unemployment rate (TPT) to 4.68 percent does not necessarily reflect an improvement in the labor market. Instead, he described it as a paradox amid ongoing layoffs across multiple industries.

Tempo.co, Jakarta – The United Nations has launched a campaign in Indonesia to strengthen the role of women farmers in climate resilience and food security, as global agencies push for greater recognition of women's contributions to agriculture and rural economies.

Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura, Jubi – Central Papua Governor Meki Nawipa said he will instruct authorities to take action against the growing number of illegal gold mining operations in the province. The move comes in response to concerns that such activities are causing environmental damage and harming Indigenous communities in Central Papua.

Vientiane – The governments of Laos and Indonesia have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening long-standing bilateral relations and expanding cooperation across key sectors over the years ahead.

Jakarta – After fuel shortages disrupted several areas in Riau last week, the impact has since spread to Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, where long lines have formed at gas stations as motorists scramble to secure fuel.

Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura, Jubi – Indigenous communities in Central Papua province will have the opportunity to manage natural resource potential in their territories through the People's Mining Permit (Izin Pertambangan Rakyat/IPR).

Vidya Pinandhita, Jakarta – Jakarta now requires households to sort their trash for composting and recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills in an effort to ease pressure on the overloaded Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, as it heads toward a waste tipping point driven by more than 9,000 tonnes of garbage per day.

James Guild – The Indonesian rupiah is currently trading at around 17,400 to one U.S. dollar. The currency, which has been steadily weakening against the dollar for many years, pushed past the 17,000 mark last week and is now at its weakest point in history.

Yuni Rohmawati, Jakarta – A deadly accident occurred on Sumatra's National Road in the Karang Jaya area of North Musi Rawas on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at approximately 12:00 p.m. The incident involved an Inter-Provincial Bus (ALS) and an oil tanker truck traveling in the opposite direction. The impact triggered a powerful explosion and a fire that engulfed both vehicles.

Corruption in the education sector is more than simply a matter of losses to the state, it could deprive millions of students of the right to a proper education. If the case is mishandled, the same thing could happen again.

Nasori, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia has reduced the amount of US dollars individuals can purchase in the domestic market without supporting documentation to $50,000 per month, as authorities step up efforts to stabilize the rupiah amid mounting global pressures.

Priyatno, Parigi – Indonesia's elite counterterrorism unit has arrested eight suspected militants believed to be linked to a sleeper cell of Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (MIT) in Central Sulawesi, police said on Wednesday.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Former Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan asserted that the prerequisite for leadership is the ability to earn the trust of followers. However, he warned that this trust can erode when personal or group interests are prioritized over the public good.

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – The concern came on the heels of the Army's successful establishment of 155 of so-called territorial development battalions as of April, a program which the government outlined in November last year, to have one unit in each of 514 regencies and cities across Indonesia.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesia's Commission for the Acceleration of Police Reform has submitted a comprehensive ten-volume final report to President Prabowo Subianto, outlining six key recommendations aimed at overhauling the country's police institution.

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have escalated their handling of last week's fatal train collision at Bekasi Timur Station in West Java, moving from a preliminary inquiry to a full investigation amid renewed scrutiny over railway crossing safety following another deadly crash in Central Java.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – The Indonesian economy exceeded expectations in the first quarter as the country posted the strongest gross domestic product growth in years, but the performance is clouded by the Iran war that might change the growth story for the rest of the year.

Endang Mulyani, Jakarta – The number of slum areas in Jakarta has fallen by more than half over the past nine years, declining from 445 neighborhood units in 2017 to 211 in 2026, city officials said on Wednesday.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto approved seven Bank Indonesia (BI) strategies to strengthen the rupiah exchange rate, especially after it weakened (undervalued) in recent days.

A'an Suryana and Ary Hermawan – Most Indonesian Muslims are against the US-Israeli war against Iran. But some of them evince anti-Iran sentiment stemming from their belief that Shi'a Islam is a heretical sect.

Amelia Rahima Sari, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has formally written to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) regarding the absence of State Officials' Wealth Reports (LHKPN) for President Prabowo Subianto and 38 members of his Red and White Cabinet.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The National Food and Nutrition Agency (BGN) has received formal test results from the Natuna District Health Office following a mass poisoning linked to the Free Nutritious Food (MBG) program. According to the findings, the distributed meals were contaminated with borax and E. coli bacteria.

On 5 May 2026, police officers opened fire at protesters and injured at least seven civilians with bullets (see photos and victim table below, source: independent HRDs), most of them senior high school students conducting a parade to celebrate their school graduation in Kobakma, Mamberamo Tengah Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy expanded 5.61% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, but the gains have yet to be fully reflected in business activity, according to a business association.

Shinta Kamdani, chairwoman of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo), said companies are facing rising cost pressures despite signs of resilient domestic demand.

President Prabowo Subianto seems reluctant to admit that his pledge to build three million homes per year is a difficult goal to achieve. It was an overambitious target to begin with, and the government's persistence in pursuing the project could actually create new problems down the road.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Danantara has acquired less than 1% stake in GoTo, the tech giant confirmed on Tuesday night, amid the government's plans to slash ride-hailing commission fees.

Indonesia's economy grew 5.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, the national statistics agency said Tuesday, topping the government's own forecast despite pressures of the Middle East war.

The reading exceeded the 5.4 percent recorded in the final three months of 2025, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti told reporters in Jakarta.

Gembong Hanung, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration is expanding its free private school program this year by funding more than 100 schools across the capital, as the number of out-of-school children remains high.

Mutia Yuantisya – The Head of the Monetary and Asset Management Department at Bank Indonesia (BI), Erwin Gunawan Hutapea, stated that the rupiah's exchange rate fluctuations since the onset of the Middle East conflict remain in line with the performance of most other emerging market currencies.

Antara, Endang Mulyani, Jakarta – The Jakarta provincial government will continue to offer full tax incentives for electric vehicles, maintaining exemptions on both annual vehicle tax and ownership transfer fees as part of efforts to accelerate the city's transition to cleaner energy.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Human Rights (HAM) has inserted a specific clause regarding the right to be forgotten in the Revision of the Human Rights Law.

Nikita Grace Panggabean, Jakarta – One day before International Labor Day 2026, the government signed a long-awaited regulation on outsourced work. Manpower Minister Regulation (Permenaker) No. 7/2026 restores limits on the types of work that can be outsourced, reversing the broad flexibility introduced by the Job Creation Law five years earlier.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has decided that the Indonesian National Police (Polri) will remain directly under the president rather than be placed under a ministry.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – Researcher of the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Tubagus Solihuddin, revealed the erosion occurring in the coastal areas of the Northern Coast of Java (Pantura) has reached 65.8 percent of the coastline.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Indonesia's Minister of Human Rights and Justice, Natalius Pigai, stated that the government has no right to determine the status of human rights defenders, or activists. The determination of who qualifies as a human rights activist will be decided by civil society alongside independent commissions with authority.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – The Commission for the Acceleration of Police Reform proposed the limitation of positions for police officers outside the structure of the Indonesian National Police. The Chairperson of the Police Reform Commission, Jimly Asshiddiqie, stated that President Prabowo has approved the proposal.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia's unemployed population is shrinking, but the average monthly wage of the country's workers stands at only Rp 3.29 million (roughly $189), according to government data.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – Indonesia recorded its highest number of malaria cases in 2025 mainly driven by population mobility and climate change that hamper elimination efforts to reduce patients, especially in high-burden regions such as Papua.

Hanin Marwah, Jakarta – To exercise greater discretion on social media and ensure focus, Indonesian police officers are now barred from live streaming while carrying out their duties.

Populism can make leaders resort to some absurd tactics to gain public support. On a stage at the May Day commemoration in Jakarta's National Monument (Monas) area on May 1, 2026, President Prabowo Subianto joined in singing The Internationale – a hymn synonymous with socialism and communism worldwide.

Fathimah Fildzah Izzati – The passing of the Domestic Workers Protection Bill (PPRT Law) on 21 April 2026 is a major victory that should be celebrated. After more than two decades, the struggle of domestic workers has at last paid off – they are finally recognised as workers.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Indonesian Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai addressed concerns over the growing presence of Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) personnel in civilian posts, saying the practice stems from initiatives by individual ministries and agencies rather than directives from the national leadership.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), is reviewing a Rp 27 billion ($1.55 million) procurement plan for student shoes under the government's People's School program following public scrutiny over a reported price of Rp 700,000 ($40) per pair.

A formal criminal file accusing Myanmar regime leader Min Aung Hlaing of war crimes and crimes against humanity has been submitted to Court of First Instance in the Timor-Leste capital Dili, marking a significant escalation in international legal efforts to hold him accountable for alleged crimes committed since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.