Arlina Arshad, Jakarta – The recently concluded Leaders Retreat has opened a fresh chapter in bilateral ties between Singapore and Indonesia, with climate action and the green economy at the heart of their future cooperation.

Vinnilya Huanggrio, Muhammad Farhan, Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The government's plan to shrink the size of subsidized landed houses has drawn sharp criticism from urban planners, lawmakers, and civil society, with opponents warning that the policy risks undermining citizens' dignity and violating housing regulations.

Haura Hamidah, Jakarta – One of the clusters in Indonesia's Thousand Islands, Pari Island, is now under serious scrutiny due to the activities of PT Central Pondok Sejahtera (CPS) suspected of damaging the mangrove and coastal ecosystem in the area.

Jakarta – The revelation of extortion of foreign workers at the Manpower Ministry shows the poor support for the investment climate in Indonesia. Those recruiting staff are usually foreign companies investing capital in a number of sectors. Government officials should be supporting these investments, not turning it into a cash cow.

Addin Anugrah Siwi, Jakarta – Government borrowing surged to Rp 349.3 trillion ($21.4 billion) in the first five months of 2025, marking a 164 percent increase from Rp 132.2 trillion in the same period last year. The spike reflects intensifying fiscal pressure as the government tries to maintain budgetary health under growing spending demands.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.5 percent following its June 17 18 Board of Governors Meeting, maintaining the Deposit Facility rate at 4.75 percent and the Lending Facility rate at 6.25 percent.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday sentenced Meirizka Widjaja to three years in prison for bribing judges to secure the acquittal of her son, Ronald Tannur, in a controversial murder case.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Former senior Supreme Court official Zarof Ricar was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Wednesday for accepting bribes in exchange for helping secure an acquittal in a high-profile murder case and amassing an enormous fortune from unexplained sources during his tenure on the bench.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) revealed that it has purchased Government Bonds (SBN) worth Rp124.33 trillion throughout the current year, 2025. This was stated by BI Governor Perry Warjiyo during a virtual press conference to announce the results of the BI Board of Governors Meeting on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.

Daniel Ahmad Fajri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Labor Party and the Workers' Union Coalition are planning to stage a rally to protest the war and genocide in Palestine on Friday, June 18, 2025. Protesters will move from the United Nations' office, then proceed with a long march to the United States Embassy, and end at the Egyptian Embassy in Jakarta.

Ichsan Ali, Jakarta – The number of student applicants for public schools in Jakarta for the 2025/2026 academic year soared to 277,231 as of the 8:00 a.m. cut-off on Wednesday, June 18, according to the Jakarta Education Agency.

An advocate for victims of sexual violence against ethnic Chinese women during the May 1998 tragedy, Ita Fatia Nadia, says she has suffered repeated incidents of intimidation after criticising a statement by the Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, in which he said there was no evidence of mass rapes during the 1998 riots.

Testriono and Firda Amalia Putri – West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has risen to become one of the most popular politicians in Indonesia after short videos of his antics went viral online, garnering 'likes' from social media users within and beyond his constituency.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Iran wants Indonesia and other Muslim nations to stop buying Israeli goods in hopes of putting pressure on the Zionist regime, according to its diplomat.

Jeff Hutton – Indonesia's state-owned power utility has backed away from promises to rapidly expand its use of renewable energy, opting to focus instead on building more power stations that burn fossil fuels.

Deni Ghifari, Jakarta – The government plans to push up the poverty line in a move that would bring Indonesia's measure closer to that of the World Bank, even though that could be politically risky, as it would categorize more people as poor.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) asserts that the mass rape of Chinese-descent women during the May 1998 tragedy is a serious human rights violation acknowledged by the state.

Nandito Putra, Jakarta – Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Energy, Mineral, and Coal Suppliers (Aspebindo), Fathul Nugroho, views the conflict between Israel and Iran, which has triggered a surge in global oil prices, as a potential opportunity for Indonesia to accelerate its efforts towards energy self-sufficiency.

Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – The Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, responded to a statement by Fadli Zon who considered the mass rape incident in May 1998 as a rumor. He assessed that the Minister of Culture had no authority whatsoever to draw conclusions about past violence against women.

Roy Adriansyah, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has seized more than Rp 11.88 trillion (around $728 million) from five subsidiaries of Singapore-based agribusiness giant Wilmar Group in connection with a corruption case involving crude palm oil (CPO) export permits.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon has called on the public to interpret the dark history of human rights violations including the mass rapes of 1998 with maturity and a non-emotional approach.

Raden Putri Alpadillah Ginanjar, Jakarta – Minister of Culture Fadli Zon's recent remarks, in which he dismissed the mass rapes that occurred during the May 1998 riots as nothing more than rumors, have sparked widespread public outrage.

Fersianus Waku, Jakarta – Hundreds of people held a demonstration in front of the Egyptian Embassy located on Jalan Teuku Umar in the Menteng suburb of Central Jakarta on Tuesday June17. They were urging the Egyptian government to open access to the Rafah border so that humanitarian aid for Gaza can be distributed immediately.

Antara, Banjarbaru, S – Kalimantan. A navy sailor has been sentenced to life in prison and dishonorably discharged for the premeditated murder of 23-year-old female journalist Juwita in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – The Central Board of Women of the Nation, an organization under the National Awakening Party or PKB, criticized the statement made by the Minister of Culture Fadli Zon who claimed that the mass rape cases during the May 1998 riots did not have enough evidence to be included in Indonesia's official history.

Max Lane – It was good to see the Teater Kecil so packed. Standing room only, so at least 400 people and a couple of hundred more outside. I later learned probably 5000 people watched the event on YouTube or on one of the sponsoring organisations' social media streams. In fact, bookings for the event had filled up within a few hours of the publicity going online.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Chairul Fikri, Jakarta – Indonesian officials and activists have pushed back against recent remarks by Culture Minister Fadli Zon suggesting the mass rapes during the May 1998 riots were merely "rumors," saying such comments risk erasing painful historical truths and marginalizing victims.

Jakarta – The government has many reasons to make it difficult, but not impossible, for foreigners to work in the country. One of these is to protect employment and limit foreign workers to jobs that Indonesians cannot fill. It is what most other countries do too. But this is no reason for the government to extort expatriates intending to work in Indonesia.

Duncan Graham – P&I readers don't need to be told that Defence Minister Richard Marles is floundering when trying to make security links with Indonesia seem as though they've "never been in better shape".

Elisa Valenta, Jakarta – The World Bank has approved two major investment packages worth a combined US$2.1 billion to support job creation, economic growth, and the expansion of clean energy access across Indonesia.

Julianus Palermo, Surabaya, E – Java. Police in Surabaya in East Java, have arrested two men connected to a private Facebook group called "Gay Surabaya," accusing them of facilitating same-sex meetups through the platform. The admin, identified as MFK, 24, and a group member, GR, 36, were taken into custody by the Tanjung Perak Port Police.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – The government defended its plan to introduce smaller subsidized housing units in urban areas, following public backlash over proposals for homes as small as 14 square meters, smaller than a typical hotel room. Officials say the concept is still in its early stages and aimed at addressing the specific needs of young, low-income urban dwellers.

Shinta Maharani, Yogyakarta – Ita Fatia Nadia, an advocate for the victims of mass rape against Chinese women during the May 1998 riots, began receiving a series of threats shortly after criticizing a statement made by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, who claimed there was no evidence of the 1998 mass rape.

Antara, Jakarta – President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto has set a target to build one million units of affordable vertical housing in the first year of his presidency.

He announced this commitment during a state address at Parliament House in Singapore on Monday, witnessed by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and senior officials from both countries.

Surabaya – Police have again arrested two people suspected of being involved in a gay network on social media. They are being charged under the anti-pornography law.

Taufiq Syarifudin, Jakarta – A group of people held a Defend Palestine solidarity action on Car Free Day (CFD) in Central Jakarta on Sunday June 15 in which they called for Palestinian independence.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia has officially removed import quotas on live cattle in a bid to secure long-term supplies of beef and dairy, the government announced over the weekend.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has reminded the public that the state has officially acknowledged the mass rapes that occurred during the May 1998 Tragedy.

This reminder came in response to a recent statement by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, who denied that sexual violence took place during the unrest.

Ayu Cipta, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Corrections of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights sent 100 high-risk drug convicts to the Super Maximum Security Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island, Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung reaffirmed on Sunday his administration's commitment to continue the construction of a giant seawall along the northern coast of Java, a long-delayed project aimed at protecting the capital from coastal erosion, tidal flooding, and land subsidence.

Anastasya Lavenia Y, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's (BI) Consumer Survey for May 2025 shows that the Job Availability Index has fallen into the pessimistic zone, reaching a level of 95.7. This marks a drop from April 2025's figure of 101.6, which was still in the optimistic territory (above 100).

Ananda Ridho Sulistya, Jakarta – Structural poverty is one of the forms of poverty that exists in Indonesia. Structural poverty is the poverty caused by the imbalance of access of a society to opportunities for a more decent life.

Intan Setiawanty, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto's recent statement, which opened the possibility of reducing the budgets of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to raise judges' salaries, is being interpreted as a pointed critique of the Polri's performance.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – The Indonesian Women's Alliance has urged Minister of Culture Fadli Zon to apologize for his brisk dismissal of the legitimacy of the 1998 mass rape tragedy in Indonesia. The alliance slammed Fadli's remark as a denial of the grim truth that leaves longstanding trauma for the deceased victims of sexual violence and their families.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon has once again drawn sharp criticism for his statement dismissing the 1998 mass rapes as mere rumors. Fadli made these comments during an interview with senior IDN Times journalist, Uni Zulfiani Lubis, concerning the rewriting of Indonesian history.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – The Indonesian House Speaker Puan Maharani speaks up about the recent wave of layoffs in Bali, urging the central government to take anticipatory measures in the face of a larger wave of worker terminations.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Barzan Holdings, the strategic investment arm of Qatar's Defense Ministry, considers Indonesia as a big market for arms producers.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Indonesia Clearing House (ICH) has been officially registered by Bank Indonesia (BI) as a Clearing House for Foreign Exchange and Money Market Derivatives (PUVA). This designation is formalized under BI Letter Number 27/301/DPPK/Str/B.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – The Jakarta Provincial Government has announced a waiver of late payment penalties for Motor Vehicle Tax (PKB) and Motor Vehicle Ownership Transfer Fees (BBNKB). This tax exemption policy is effective from Saturday, June 14, until Sunday, August 31, 2025.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto received a phone call from United States President Donald Trump on Thursday night, June 12, 2025.

According to the Presidential Secretariat, both leaders inquired about each other's well-being and the latest developments in America and Indonesia.