Antara, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is likely to delay the planned increase in the Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate to 12 percent, which was initially scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025, according to Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Chair of the National Economic Committee (DEN).

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Association for Elections and Democracy, Perludem, has uncovered serious allegations of widespread money politics during the campaign and quiet period of the 2024 regional elections in North Sumatra, Central Java, and Jakarta.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has announced a salary increase for teachers in 2025. He emphasized the pivotal role of education and teachers in the nation's progress.

M. Rizki Yusrial, Jakarta – Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, said that online ojek or online motorcycle taxis are not the target for fuel subsidy.

"Motorcycle taxis are used for business, why must businesses be subsidized?" he said when met at his residence after casting his vote in South Jakarta on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

Negar Mohtashami Khojasteh – For over two decades, domestic workers in Indonesia, the vast majority of them women, have been advocating for their rights to no avail. Millions of Indonesian women and girls work in private households as domestic workers, but despite their critical role in the economy, they remain unprotected under Indonesian labor laws.

Mong Palatino – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who assumed office on October 20, 2024, has announced the revival of the transmigration program, which encourages citizens to populate the country's eastern region, including Papua – a province on the Easternmost side of the archipelago that has been fighting for independence from Java for decades.

Jakarta – Last week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on social media that Indonesia had agreed to allow Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row for drug trafficking, to serve her sentence in her home country after 14 years languishing in an Indonesian prison.

Rizka Ardina Nugraheni, Solo – Joko "Jokowi" Widodo urged elected regional leaders in the 2024 Regional Head Election to maintain a positive and respectful atmosphere after the announcement of the results.

Jakarta – Indonesians vote on Wednesday to pick local leaders in the country's biggest simultaneous regional election, in which President Prabowo Subianto seeks to consolidate his party's gains.

Bella Evanglista Mikaputri, Bogor – President Prabowo Subianto called for unity as he cast his vote in the 2024 Regional Elections on Wednesday at polling station 008 in Bojong Koneng, Bogor, West Java. Prabowo said that election outcomes should bring people together, with winners leading inclusively and losers collaborating for the nation's progress.

Ihsan Syahreza, Panji Satrio, Medan – Heavy rains and floods have severely impacted the 2024 Regional Elections in North Sumatra on Wednesday. Many polling stations (TPS) across the region were either submerged or damaged by landslides, preventing voters from casting their ballots.

Beritasatu Team, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) called on candidates and campaign teams to avoid vote-buying practices, commonly known as "dawn raids," ahead of the 2024 regional elections on Wednesday. Despite this warning, allegations of money politics have surfaced in multiple regions.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – Chair of the National Economic Council Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has responded to the public outcry over the planned implementation of a 12% Value Added Tax (VAT) on January 1, 2025. He emphasized that President Prabowo Subianto is committed to avoiding additional burdens on the people.

Harry Suhartono and Haslinda Amin – Indonesia's largest taxi operator expects an upcoming BYD Co. plant will bring electric vehicle prices down as it seeks to expand its fleet.

Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo warned of possible chaos after the vote-counting process for the regional head elections on Wednesday.

The National Police's Security Intelligence Agency (Baintelkam) and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) said they had identified areas at high security risk.

Jakarta – Two motorists died in a multi-vehicle accident in Slipi, West Jakarta, on Tuesday morning at around 7 a.m., adding to a long list of such fatal pileups in the country in the past month.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – AUS$100 million investment bid from Apple Inc. has failed to convince the government to revoke a ban on sales of the new iPhone 16 in Indonesia.

Yudono Yanuar, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo's administration is currently formulating the 2025 Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) to adjust to the Constitutional Court's Decision that annulled parts of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation, including regarding the determination of workers' wages.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – A freshly launched report shows that American businesses have invested $67 billion in Indonesia over the past decade, but Jakarta's local content rules, among others, still remain a major deterrent to US investments.

Widy Wicaksono, Semarang – A 16-year-old student from SMK Negeri 4 Semarang, identified as GRO, was fatally shot by police early Sunday during a gang clash in West Semarang. Authorities allege the vocational school student attacked an officer attempting to intervene in the brawl.

Jakarta – Jokowi is backing a number of candidates in the regional elections, including in Jakarta and Central Java. It is time Prabowo drew a line under his relationship with the former president.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) predicts a rising trend in intimate partner femicide.

The term intimate femicide, or intimate partner/family member femicide, refers to gender-motivated killings of women, committed by their partner or former partner, including husband or boyfriend.

Irsyan Hasyim (Kontributor), Jakarta – Ministry of Environment said it has received approval from President Prabowo Subianto to halt plastic waste imports.

Reuters, Jakarta – Indonesian rescuers are searching for 7 people still missing four days after torrential rain hit North Sumatra province, causing flash flooding and landslides that killed 15 people, an official said on Tuesday.

Irsyan Hasyim (Kontributor), Jakarta – Indonesian Ministry of Forestry will prepare a social forestry program to support the food self-sufficiency program and the free nutritious meal program initiated by President Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta – Coordinating Politics and Security Minister Budi Gunawan guaranteed that people affected by natural disasters can still exercise their voting rights in the upcoming regional elections on Wednesday.

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – The Public Prosecutor (JPU) from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) demanded 10 former employees of the KPK detention center to be sentenced to four years in prison. The charges was read out during the trial of the corruption case involving illegal levies or extortion against KPK detainees.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Labor unions are urging the government to increase the minimum wage in tandem with its plan to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate to 12 percent. They argue that without a corresponding wage hike, workers' purchasing power will decline, worsening economic conditions and potentially leading to a crisis.

Duncan Graham – Why volunteer for the military? Academics have some answers. A benign reason is that pay and training opportunities attract, so a return to civilian life carries a qualification unrelated to combat. Family tradition is another factor.

BeritaBali.com, Denpasar – Underneath its beautiful landscape, Bali is grappling with a mental health crisis, recording the highest suicide rate in Indonesia.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The online gambling epidemic in Indonesia has little to no direct impact on Indonesia's investment climate, according to a deputy minister.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has set an ambitious target for Indonesia's rice production, aiming to reach 32 million tons by 2025. He is confident that the country will no longer need to import rice starting next year.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman announced on Tuesday that his office has filed a police complaint against four fertilizer companies accused of supplying farmers with counterfeit products.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have inked several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) following President Prabowo Subianto's work visit to Abu Dhabi on Saturday, during which he met his counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, popularly known as MBZ.

Jakarta – The Indonesian agriculture sector will need massive reforms to make President Prabowo Subianto's dream of food self-sufficiency a reality.

Prabowo could start with ensuring that no more Indonesian farmers work with poor equipment and inputs, which they often purchase on their own with whatever funds they can pull together from past harvests.

Damien Gayle – Uncontacted hunter-gatherers in Indonesia "are facing a severe and immediate threat of genocide" because of mining for minerals on their lands for use in electric vehicles, a report claims.

RFA and Benar News staff – Indonesia's defense ministry has not signed any new documents to purchase weapons from Russia, it said in a statement.

Last week, Russian media reported that Jakarta sent an official request for weapons and military equipment from Russia over the 2025-2030 period and that the request was under review.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court jailed for four years a former government official accused of human trafficking, reversing a lower court decision to acquit him after people were found in cages in his palm oil plantation.

Jakarta – Rescue workers in North Sumatra used heavy equipment on Tuesday to dig out from weekend flooding and landslides that have killed at least 20 people, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.

In North Sumatra, the bodies of five people listed as missing had been pulled from under a mountain of mud and debris, agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is deploying 169,369 personnel to safeguard the 2024 regional elections scheduled for November 27.

Hendro D – Situmorang, Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta. The Information Commission on Monday urged the government to reconsider its plan to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT) to 12 percent, which will take effect in January 2025.

Antara, Jakarta – Shell Indonesia, which runs the local operations of the British oil company, has denied closing all of its gas stations in the country.

Ricki Putra Harahap, Jakarta – The government's plan to raise the value-added tax, or VAT, is raising concerns from Indonesian car buyers, some even choosing to make their purchase before the policy enters into force.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – National Economic Council (DEN) chairman Luhut Pandjaitan has raised concerns about foreign firms operating in Bali, citing that many of them have violated rules and did not comply with business regulations.

Luhut cited those findings from audits prepared by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), stressing they are "serious problems".

Antara, Jakarta – Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah was arrested on Sunday for allegedly extorting subordinates in the provincial government to fund his reelection campaign, according to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Endy Bayuni, Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto reached the country's top job by winning the February presidential election in his third attempt. No one can question his faith in the democratic process. But now that he is the president, the question has become will he continue to abide by democratic principles and respect freedom and human rights?

Jakarta – It is that time of the year again when the United Nations climate change conference runs longer than scheduled only to produce an inadequate deal about how the world, especially rich nations, fund efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Tiza Mafira Khalifa Akbar – The 2022 G20 Summit marked a turning point for Indonesia's energy transition with the signing of an agreement to explore the early retirement of Cirebon-1 coal-fired power plant.

Aqida Salma – Indonesia's democracy faces the threat of digital authoritarianism. However, there are ways to mitigate the risks, even as state-driven propaganda floods digital public spaces.

Ayat S. Karokaro, Langkat, Indonesia – Syafi'i has spent three decades picking up the crabs scurrying along the coast here in Langkat district on Sumatra Island's northeastern coast, a reliable trade that provided first for his children, then his grandchildren.