Natalie Sambhi – Originally touted as a reformer when elected, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has presided over a period of democratic regression and increasing illiberalism.

Adrian Wail Akhlas, Jakarta – The government plans to issue sukuk (sharia-compliant bonds) worth Rp 27.58 trillion (US$1.96 billion) this year to finance the country's costly infrastructure projects and spur economic growth, a Finance Ministry official has announced.

Indonesia may open up COVID-19 vaccine procurement and distribution to the private sector, President Joko Widodo implied, while the country debates the faults and merits of such a policy.

The president touched on the subject this morning when he gave a virtual opening speech at a CEO forum.

Arip Tirta and Prasanti W. Sarli – Pak Iyus is a hijab producer in Bandung, Indonesia. At the height of his business between 2015 and 2017, he was able to produce 150,000 garments per day; however, his production has declined by 80%, resulting in a massive reduction in income for his employees.

Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank kept key interest rates unchanged at a record low on Thursday, as expected, holding fire after providing a bout of monetary stimulus last year to support the coronavirus-hit economy.

Novy Lumanauw, Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo congratulates 46th US President Joe Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris for their new roles via social media.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration is attempting to broaden the role of civilians in the nation's military defense by issuing the president's regulation (PP) No. 3/2021 on implementing rules of Law No. 23/2019 on national resources management for national defense.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko has asked members of the public to back the President's Regulation No. 7/2021 on 'the national prevention against violence-based extremism leading to terrorism' valid until 2024.

Dyaning Pangestika, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has asked the central government to take over the COVID-19 response in Greater Jakarta – which comprises Jakarta and its neighboring cities – as the capital is running out of hospital beds as a result of the overwhelming number of patients from the nearby cities over which Jakarta has no jurisdiction.

Jakarta – Indigenous people in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province are protesting against a company that's preparing to raze their ancestral forest for a plantation megaproject plagued by allegations of irregularities and wrongdoing.

Carlos Roy Fajarta & Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have officially ended the search and rescue operation for the downed Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 on Thursday after 13 days of combing the crash site in the waters of Thousand Islands.

Vindry Florentin, Jakarta – The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) announced that it is relying on the national food estate program to increase agriculture productivity in 2021 despite having the Covid-19 pandemic hamper the program's progress.

Bisnis, Jakarta – Beef traders in the capital city of Jakarta and its satellite cities; Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi, announced a mass-strike following the recent rise in beef prices. The strike is said to start from today on January 20 up to January 22.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, argued that Covid-19 referral hospitals across Jakarta and its surrounding regions have already collapsed.

"Patients die before they get health care because hospitals are full. This means, our health facilities have collapsed," said Pandu on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Jakarta – Indonesia will rebuild homes and buildings ravaged by a powerful earthquake that struck Sulawesi island last week, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday, as the death toll reached 90 and thousands more people were displaced.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The actions committed by the Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto by not openly announcing that he had contracted the Covid-19 virus was met with various criticism.

After numerous reported incidents of foreigners in Bali refusing to follow COVID-19 health protocols over the past few months, an official from immigration warned yesterday that visitors may be deported if they continue to violate the rules.

Sheany – What happens when you carelessly label a place as queer-friendly without considering the bigger picture? In the case of an American digital nomad named Kristen Gray, highlighting Bali as such turned into one of the justifications for homophobic officials to deport her from Indonesia.

Grace Sihombing – Indonesia is set to remove energy, communications and tourism from a list of sectors restricted to foreigners in a bid to boost investments and create jobs.

An American woman is being deported from Bali over suspected immigration violations after her tweets that celebrated the Indonesian resort island as a low-cost, queer-friendly place for foreigners to live went viral.

The government is set to extend the Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM) policy, an official said today, as infection rates of COVID-19 in the country's worst affected regions have not slowed down significantly.

Imam Hamdi, Jakarta – There are 12,638 burials under the Covid-19 health protocol conducted by the Jakarta Administration up to Tuesday, January 19, with 3,836 of those that are confirmed to be positive.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The advocacy team for the police shooting and deaths of six members of the recently defunct group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) on December 7, 2020, has taken the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which was confirmed by the organization's former secretary Munarman on Tuesday, January 19.

Paul Kenny and Eve Warburton – Corruption is a pervasive feature of Indonesia's contemporary political economy. In-depth studies and cross-national surveys alike emphasise that illicit fees and bribery are widespread across the public and private sectors, and in the everyday lives of Indonesians.

Farouk Arnaz, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' commission on legal and political affairs approved Comr. Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo as the president's pick for the next national police chief in a hearing on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Greenpeace Indonesia has expressed it regret over government regulations which make it easier to extend mining permits when South Kalimantan is being inundated by horrendous floods as a result of damage to the environmental.

Balinese musician I Gede Ari Astina, most popularly known as Jerinx, had his sentence reduced to 10 months following an appeal, an official from the Denpasar District Court confirmed today.

Jerinx was found guilty of hate speech last November after a controversial trial, after which he was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Indonesia recorded 308 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday to set a new record for the highest number of fatality in a day since the outbreak began and take the total death toll to 26,590, according to Health Ministry data.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) confirmed that at least 900 people were affected by flash floods in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java, which occurred at 10:00 today, Jan. 19. The agency said it was triggered by a heavy downpour.

Jakarta may soon run out of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, the provincial government said, as it announced the latest data on medical treatment capacity in the capital.

Such is Indonesians' love for malls that it was only a matter of time before somebody floated the idea of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at the shopping center.

Such a proposal has come from the Indonesian Shopping Centers Management Association (APPBI), which they say may prove beneficial to both the public and business owners.

Koh Ewe – Flashing a big thumbs-up in a video to his nearly 50 million Instagram followers, Indonesian actor and social media influencer Raffi Ahmad received a COVID-19 jab last week and encouraged others to do the same."Don't be afraid of vaccines," reads the caption on the post, which went live Wednesday and has been viewed over 3 million times.

Aisyah Llewellyn, Medan, Indonesia – Villagers in Indonesia's West Sulawesi are running short of food and water after taking refuge in the hills following a deadly earthquake in the early hours of Friday morning, and fears of aftershocks that could trigger tsunamis.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) is urging President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to summon companies which have business permits covering forest areas and land in South Kalimantan.

Should a top government official make it known to the public if they test positive for COVID-19? The topic is being widely discussed in Indonesia after one of the country's top ministers revealed that he was diagnosed with the viral disease... in 2020.

Fana Suparman, Jakarta – Immigration officials in Bali on Tuesday summoned American citizen Kristen Gray who has been living in the resort island for more than a year for allegedly misusing her visa.

Diananta P. Sumedi (Contributor), Banjar – The Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI) of South Kalimantan reported that 209,884 hectares of agricultural lands in 12 districts/cities were destroyed by the flood.

Jakarta – Civil society organisations in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta which are part of the Yogyakarta People's Alliance for Democracy (ARDY) have sent a subpoena to Yogyakarta (DIY) Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X over a ban on expressing opinions in public.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Covid-19 Task Force asserted that issues circulating in the public about microchips that could be contained in the Covid-19 vaccine are false or hoaxes.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – The Indonesia government is pushing back against violent extremism by introducing a presidential regulation to allow civil societies and communities to get empowerment training to help their neighbourhoods.

Jakarta – Natural disasters have hit several parts of Indonesia at the start of 2021. The series of distressing calamities began on Saturday January 9 when landslide claimed 32 lives in Sumedang, West Java.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – As Indonesia grapples with the impact of COVID-19, terrorism cells in the country continue to spread radical messages, actively seeking new recruits and plotting their next attacks, a senior counterterrorism official said.

Jakarta – Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Asfinawati says that Presidential Regulation Number 7/2021 which was signed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo earlier this month has the potential to give rise to conflicts in society.

Jakarta – Deutsche Bank Indonesia projects that investors will be lured back to the country's domestic capital market, given the stronger rupiah and supportive interest rates.

Dina Manafe & Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government repeated the call for all hospitals across the country to increase quota for Covid-19 patients after the total number of cases surpassed the 900,000 mark on Sunday.

Experts and the general public alike have pretty much known all along that Indonesia's official COVID-19 cases count, however worrying it is, does not reflect the even more grim reality of the outbreak in the country. And now, once again, we have confirmation for this straight from officials.

Following the announcement of a Provisional Government of West Papua and rejection of Jakarta's 'Special Autonomy' renewal, the Indonesian state has pursued its strategy of aggressive arrests and violence against peaceful demonstrations for independence.

Andi Hajramurni and Dessy Sagita, Mamuju, West Sulawesi – Medics battled exhaustion and the risk of Covid-19 as they raced Monday to treat scores of people injured by a devastating earthquake in West Sulawesi.

At least 6 people were killed and 500 others were evacuated from their homes in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado, which was hit with a deadly extreme weather combo over the weekend.

Torrential monsoon rains have hampered the hunt for survivors of Friday's powerful earthquake on Indonesia's Sulawesi island, as the death toll rose to at least 81, with thousands left homeless.