Suryo Wiyono (360info), Bogor – By 2063 there will be no professional farmers in Indonesia, according to the country's National Development Planning Agency. Young people are not joining the industry, farming is becoming more expensive, and farmers are not being treated fairly in food production's long supply chain.

Tim Lindsey (The Conversation), Melbourne, Australia – Indonesia's next general elections are not until Valentine's Day 2024. But in Indonesian politics, that is not far away. The country's oligarchic political elites are already manoeuvring to maintain their grip on power, and some don't want to face the polls in two years.

Dion Bisara, Jakarta – Crypto assets ownership in Indonesia was among the highest globally as many investors in the country look at digital assets as a protection against future inflation, according to a study by crypto exchange Gemini published on Monday.

Moh Khory Alfarizi, Jakarta – The West Papua National Liberation Army and Free Papua Movement (TPNPB – OPM), which are considered as separatist organizations by the Indonesian government, claims the Indonesian army and police had commenced an attack at Keneyam, Nduga District city in Papua.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named the former Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi as a suspect of money laundering after investigators found leads strongly suggesting Rahmat had spent and hid his wealth he generated from alleged corruption.

Antara, Jakarta – A member of the working committee (panja) for the Sexual Crimes Bill (RUU TPKS) Christina Aryani on Sunday is optimistic that members of the panja and government will finish discussing the Bill in the following week.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Cartel practices have been blamed for a scarcity of cooking oil in the world's top producer of palm oil – but government policies seen as coddling the industry have also come under scrutiny.

An interview with Michael G. Vann by Daniel Finn

After the fall of Indonesia's US-backed tyrant Suharto in 1998, many Indonesians hoped that their country was on a path to genuine democracy. Two decades later, wealthy crooks and war criminals from the Suharto era are still deeply entrenched in power.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government confirmed on Monday that it will reinstate visa exemption for citizens of fellow ASEAN member countries as the country begins to relax international travel restrictions amid a steady decline in new Covid-19 cases.

Jakarta – Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan with a mass prayer at Jakarta's Istiqlal mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for eased restrictions this year.

Antara, Jakarta – Head of the Research Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) Felippa Ann Amanta accentuated the importance of directing policies to optimize diversification of the national food system in order to boost the people's nutrition.

Antara, Jakarta – The government and relevant authorities must be firm in imposing sanctions against industrial actors who continue to use subsidized fuel despite being ineligible for utilizing it, a House of Representatives (DPR RI) lawmaker said.

Hellena Souisa – When social media influencers Indra Kesuma and Doni Salmanan appeared on an Indonesian television program to show off their wealth in January, the studio audience laughed and applauded hearing about their "flexing".

In April last year, heavy rainfalls from Cyclone Seroja caused flash flooding and landslides across Timor-Leste, destroying tens of thousands of homes and killing 48 people, with 14 still unaccounted for.

Zulmira Alves dos Reis and her husband Luis da Costa told SBS News they will never forget the moment they watched their family home swallowed by floodwaters.

Anne Barker – Juliana dos Santos says she had been a "war trophy" for 22 years when she decided it was time to escape the man she claims kept her a prisoner and a slave.

Days after Timor Leste's independence ballot in 1999, Juliana was kidnapped at 15 by a pro-Indonesia militia leader and taken across the border to Indonesian West Timor.

Jakarta – The families of victims of the 1997-98 forced disappearance have sued TNI (Indonesian military) commander General Andika Perkasa over the appointment of Major General Untung Budiharto as Jakarta military commander (Panglima Kodam Jaya).

Jakarta – The government's decision to delay carbon tax implementation by three months has come as a relief to Indonesia's economy, which already had to cope with rising fuel, cooking oil, and soybean prices as well as a value-added tax rate that increased by one percentage point this month.

Jakarta – Fasting is an act of deep self-control, and as Ramadan comes not only in the midst of the prolonged pandemic but also as the world faces dire crises stemming from the war in Ukraine, self-restraint is key for life to go on.

Mathias Hariyadi, Jakarta – According to the latest Intolerant City Index (IKT) by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, the city of Depok, home to 2.5 million people just 20 kilometres from Jakarta, is one of the 10 most intolerant cities in the country.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Community (MAKI) reported nine companies exporting crude palm oil (CPO) and cooking oil, as well as one foreign company buying CPO, to the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU).

Jakarta (Antara) – Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has called on Russia to immediately cease the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine out of respect to international law and the United Nations Charter.

Francisca Christy Rosana, Jakarta – The government officially raised the value-added tax (VAT) from 10 percent to 11 percent starting April 1, 2022, as mandated in Article 7 of Law No. 7 of 2021 concerning the Harmonization of Tax Regulations (UU HPP).

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – Every month, with no introductions or discussions, total strangers go online and spend an hour of their time reading in front of their cameras.

The clock strikes 3 p.m. one day a month and the people will stop what they are doing, open their laptops, join a Zoom meeting, and just read the book they have to hand together with the others.

Jakarta – A number of observers believe that the intellectual actors behind the discourse on postponing the 2024 legislative and presidential elections or for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to serve a third term in office are currently trying to change public opinion by garnering mass support from certain groups, not just through political elite channels.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – A survey organised by Saiful Mujani Research & Consulting (SMRC) shows that the public's satisfaction with the performance of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has declined over the last year.

Antara, Jakarta – The Mount Rinjani National Park Agency put 5,000 hikers on the blacklist and barred them from climbing up the mountain in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) for two years.

"There are 5,000 people who are on the blacklist from 2020-2021," said the agency head Dedy Asriady on Thursday, March 31.

Yamin Kogoya – Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe had an hour-long meeting with Russian Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobyeva, accompanied by the director of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Jakarta this week. On the table, an invitation for President Vladimir Putin to visit Papua later this year.

IDR5 million (US$348) was up for grabs when 32 gravediggers from Bogor Regency, West Java came together in celebration of the pandemic's unsung heroes.

On Tuesday, the Bogor Regency Administration held a grave-digging contest, calling on the region's finest shovelers to vie for the ultimate prize money.

Police in Tarakan, North Kalimantan have arrested a 22-year-old man suspected of molesting 48 girls from an Islamic boarding school.

The suspect, 22-year-old RD, is not an employee at the school but would often assist and partake in activities there, earning the school's trust to look after their children.

Jakarta – Indonesia's anti-trust agency is investigating eight cooking oil producers on suspicion of cartel practices amid high retail prices, its chief Ukay Karyadi said on Thursday.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Nuns, priests and lay activists in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province have called on the national police to help trace four young girls who went missing after the owners of four nightclubs were busted for human trafficking.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape had confirmed his government will finalise up to nine agreements with Jakarta to strengthen its relationship with Indonesia.

Marape is in Indonesia with a delegation of more than 70 people – mainly representing the business sector – to meet with his counterpart President Joko Widodo.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – The Catholic-majority nation of Timor-Leste is still battling a dengue outbreak that has killed dozens of people, with the number of cases soaring to more than 3,700 this year despite the government's preventive measures.

Jakarta – State oil and gas company Pertamina is considering buying Russian crude oil at hugely discounted prices to help ease the current supply shortages at home caused by high world oil prices.

At a hearing with the House of Representatives on Monday, Pertamina CEO Nicke Widyawati said the plan was being coordinated with the Foreign Ministry and Bank Indonesia.

Jakarta – Nineteen million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Indonesia's national stockpile have expired this year and 1.5 million more are set to expire next month, as donated shots arrive with a short shelf life, a health official said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has enjoyed a 64.6 percent approval rating in March, thanks to improving economic conditions and the Covid-19 handling pandemic, a recent survey from Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting, or SMRC, showed on Wednesday.

Joniansyah Hardjono, Tangerang – State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II (AP II) recorded a significant spike in the air passengers' movement at Soekarno-Hatta Airport over the past week ahead of Ramadan.

The company's spokesman M. Holik Muwardi said the international airport served more than 100,000 passengers, both arriving and departing, in the past week.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) Deputy Director Ardi Manto Adiputra hopes that the decision by TNI (Indonesian military) commander General Andika Perkasa which allows decedents of former Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members to join the TNI will become a momentum for national reconciliation.

Jakarta – Institute for the Study of the 1965-1966 Massacres (YPKP 65) Chairperson Bedjo Untung believes that the move by TNI (Indonesian military) commander General Andika Perkasa to allow the descendants of former Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members to register to join the TNI is a relief for the victims of the 1965 violence and the families of those labeled as PKI.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape and President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo discussed ways to further deepen the bilateral trade ties during the former's visit to Indonesia on Thursday.

Alfian Kartono – A government soldier, his wife and an independence fighter have been killed in two separate attacks in Indonesia's restive Papua province, security officers and a rebel spokesperson say.

Hendrik Rewapatara, Jayapura (Tribune-Papua) – A demonstration in Nabire regency against the creation of new special autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua ended in chaos on Thursday March 31.

Protesters from Papuan People and Student Solidarity (SMRP) held the action in front of the Nabire Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) offices.

Krisna Gupta – The Indonesian government has claimed that its raw nickel export ban, which started in January 2021, has shown positive impacts after seeing increases in mining investments and exports of nickel-derived products.

This statement seems to be premature, considering that the government has failed to disclose the data that can support this argument.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) representative on Wednesday responded to the declaration plan of support for President Jokowi's presidential term extension by the Indonesian Village Government Association (APDESI) after Eid.

Jakarta – Pulp and paper producer APRIL Group on Tuesday announced it is investing Rp 33.4 trillion, equivalent to more than $2 billion, in the construction of a new sustainable paperboard production facility located within the company's operations in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, Sumatra.

Rimar Andhika, Jakarta – A video showing an unidentified man in Palembang being questioned by police after reporting having been sold fake marijuana went viral on Tuesday. The video made the rounds on social media after being uploaded on Instagram by the account @palembang_bedesau according to Kompas. The Instagram account no longer exists.

Indonesians may have to maximize their spending allocation towards fuel, as popular gasoline variant Pertamax looks set to almost double in price.

According to reports, starting April 1, Pertamax may be priced at IDR16,000 per liter. The 92 octane-rated unleaded fuel is currently priced at IDR9,000 per liter.

Ahmad Fikri, Bandung – West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil inaugurated reinvented toilet dubbed Torang (toilet daur ulang) that is developed near Citarum River, in Pasirluyu, Bandung City.

Vento Saudale, Bogor, West Java – The mayor of Bogor in West Java has been denied participation in a conference organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after it was learned that the city government has passed a law that calls transgender and gays "sexual deviation".

Arrijal Rachman, Jakarta – The Women's Rights and Victims of Sexual Violence Defenders Network representative Ratna Batara Munti on Wednesday criticized the provision on abortion contained in the Sexual Violence Bill (RUU TPKS).