Han Revanda, Jakarta – Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita denied that Indonesia has entered the deindustrialization phase. He claimed that Indonesia's manufacturing industry is still the main driver of national economic growth.

Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has extended his congratulations to Pope Leo XIV on his election as the new leader of the Catholic community. Minister of State Secretariat Prasetyo Hadi stated that President Prabowo plans to personally convey his congratulations to the Pope, whose birth name is Robert Francis Prevost.

Hammam Izzuddin, Jakarta – The Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Indonesian National Police has detained a woman identified by the initials SSS for allegedly posting a meme showing Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and former president Joko Widodo kissing.

Han Revanda, Jakarta – Dadan Hindayana, Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), acknowledged that the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal program remains uneven.

He explained that this disparity has led to President Prabowo Subianto feeling upset during his visits to various regions.

Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Jakarta – Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri openly acknowledged on Thursday that her party suffered significant setbacks in the 2024 elections, blaming what she called "low-spirited cadres" for the disappointing performance.

Jakarta – The project to rewrite Indonesian history initiated by the Ministry of Culture has attracted the attention of a number of historians. It is hoped that the rewrite will not to ignore the dark chapters of Indonesian history, especially related to gross human rights violations that have been committed by the state.

Zhulfakar, Jakarta – An analyst recently blamed the government for the waves of layoffs currently hitting the journalism industry, which led many media outlets and news stations to launch mass layoffs.

Leonard AL Cahyoputra, Jakarta – Indonesia has one of the lowest counts of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and non-tariff measures (NTMs) in the world – a reality the Industry Ministry sees as a key obstacle to boosting the competitiveness of local industries.

Maria Gabrielle Putrinda, Jakarta – Former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo submitted his university diploma to the National Police on Friday morning as part of a defamation case he filed against five individuals who falsely accused him of forging the document.

Mita Amalia Hapsari, Jakarta – Civil servants within the Jakarta Provincial Government are required to use public transportation every Wednesday. Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said strict sanctions will be imposed on employees who fail to comply with this policy.

The sanction includes a halt in the promotion process during his leadership term.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – After three straight months of decline, Indonesia's consumer confidence finally grew in April, the country's central bank announced Friday.

Heru Andriyanto, Tokyo – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has invited members of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) to deepen their involvement in Indonesia's strategic national projects, particularly in sectors like manufacturing, renewable energy, and sustainable infrastructure.

Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – Jakarta has urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint after fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors on early Wednesday broke out in response to an attack by Islamist militants that killed dozens in Indian Kashmir last month.

Jakarta – The past week has seen a series of events that, taken together, indicate a power struggle between political elites just six months into the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.

Gilang Kembara (The Conversation) – For much of April and into May, a team of Indonesian negotiators has been in Washington to discuss trading relations between the world's largest economy and another forecast to be in the top-five within a generation.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesian teenage students who skip class or play too many video games could land themselves in military bootcamp if a disciplinary pilot project rolled out in one province this month proves successful, a government minister told Agence France-Presse on Friday.

Yogi Eka Sahputra, Batam – President Prabowo Subianto has given special authority to the Head of the Batam Investment Coordinating Board or BP Batam to submit requests for the release of forest areas. This authority was granted through Presidential Regulation No. 21 of 2025 on the management of land provision in Free Trade and Free Port (KPBPB) areas.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia has criticized the arrest of a Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) student who created and uploaded a meme depicting President Prabowo Subianto and former President Jokowi kissing, asserting that the meme falls under the umbrella of freedom of expression.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Judge of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia Saldi Isra said the lawsuit against the Indonesian National Military Law (TNI Law), Law Number 3 of 2025, made history as it marked the first time numerous identical requests for formal and material review were tried at once.

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia is preparing to reduce its reliance on fuel imports from Singapore, citing high prices and geopolitical concerns, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Friday.

Anisa Fauziah, Chairul Fikri, Jakarta – Indonesia's media industry is facing a wave of layoffs and closures, driven by a combination of digital disruption, shrinking ad revenues, and shifting consumer behavior that favors fast, bite-sized content over in-depth journalism.

Wahyu Sahala Tua, Jakarta – VinFast and its charging unit, V-Green, plan to invest $300 million to deploy 63,000 electric vehicle charging stations across Indonesia by the end of 2025, marking a significant push into Southeast Asia's growing EV market.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Trade Ministry says it will carefully "monitor" Malaysia's antidumping duty imposed on Indonesian plastic goods and may bring the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO) "if necessary", while experts urge swift action to protect domestic industries.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the phase 3 clinical trial of the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine developed by the Gates Foundation, owned by Bill Gates, in Indonesia is not intended to turn the public into guinea pigs. Budi stated that the narrative claiming the program is dangerous is baseless.

Xinhua, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is developing several schemes for the construction of a giant sea wall project to attract foreign investors, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono said on Friday.

Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – A Member of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II, Muhammad Khozin, disclosed that the parliament will begin discussing the Election Bill next year. House Commission II is tasked with discussing the bill.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – Roles in artificial intelligence and environmental sustainability are among the fastest-growing career paths for university graduates in Indonesia, according to LinkedIn's Grad Guide 2025.

Anastasya Lavenia Y, Jakarta – The Director General of Indonesia's BPJS Employment, Anggoro Eko Cahyo, stated that although there are approximately 2 million registered online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers, only 250 thousand are currently enrolled in the BPJS program. This leaves 1.7 million drivers without protection.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves fell to $152.5 billion at the end of April 2025, down $4.6 billion from $157.1 billion in March, Bank Indonesia (BI) announced on Thursday.

Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) insists it retains full authority to investigate and prosecute corruption cases involving board members and supervisors of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), despite new legislation that some believe narrows the agency's powers.

Wahroni, Tangerang – Authorities at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Wednesday thwarted the departure of 34 unauthorized Indonesian pilgrims and two coordinators who were attempting to travel to Mecca using work visas instead of official Hajj permits.

Gayuh Satria Wicaksono, Ponorogo, East Java – A quiet market in Ngrupit Village, Ponorogo, East Java, hides a dark secret behind its unassuming food stalls. For decades, Njanti Market has served as a hub for street vendors, but beneath the surface, it has become a hotspot for transactional sex.

Ary Hermawan – It is not clear if Indonesia's president has thought through all the implications of his offer of humanitarian shelter for injured Palestinians. Any mishandling of the issue could potentially hurt his position, domestically and geopolitically.

Riandy Laksono – Trump's tariffs and the uncertainty around them have put the world economy in great turmoil. Raising a prohibitive tariff barrier around the world's largest consumer will surely make global economic projections bleak. But tariff escalation by trading partners, a pause, and then rounds of exemptions have made global investors even more anxious.

Andika Pratama, Jakarta – A riot broke out at the Muara Beliti Narcotics Correctional Facility in Musi Rawas, South Sumatra Province, on Thursday around 9:00 a.m.

Jakarta – The National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) has uncovered a money-laundering scheme involving Rp 530 billion (US$32 million) allegedly obtained from online gambling.

Investigators named two suspects in the case, identified only as OHW and H, the commissioner and director of PT A2Z Solusindo Teknologi (AST), respectively.

Melynda Dwi Puspita, Jakarta – Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), disclosed that the number of unemployed individuals in Indonesia has risen to 7.28 million as of February 2025.

Meanwhile, the total labor force grew by 3.67 million, reaching 153.05 million people.

Tenggara Strategics, Jakarta – Since its launch, Indonesia's newly established sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, has captured national imagination with promises so grand that they border on the unbelievable.

Sydney, Australia – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday he will travel to Indonesia next week as a "signal" of the importance Canberra places in the region in his first overseas visit since Saturday's election victory.

Aditya Hadi, Jakarta – The coconut processing industry is urging the government to impose at least a six-month moratorium on raw coconut exports or else local producers will have to lay off workers because of a supply crunch of the commodity as their main input.

Ruth Dea Juwita, Jakarta – Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates has been offered a seat on the advisory board of Danantara, the country's recently established sovereign wealth fund, as he visited President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Michelle Gabriela, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto delivered a firm directive to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and all related parties to improve accuracy and precision in the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal program.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi is confident that sending troubled children to military barracks is a viable solution to address juvenile delinquency, citing a one-hundred percent success rate of the policy.

Rizka Ardina Nugraheni, Wijayanti Putri, Solo – Former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday underscored the media's vital role in promoting optimism during times of economic uncertainty and global tension.

The message was conveyed during a visit by the leadership of B-Universe Media Holdings to Jokowi's private residence in Solo, Central Java.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai, affirmed that the West Java Regional Government's program to send children to military barracks does not violate human rights. Pigai made this statement after meeting with West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi in Jakarta on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Oyuk Ivani Siagian, Jakarta – The Chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Inspector General Karyoto, stated that they are currently intensively uncovering the drug circulation within their jurisdiction. He claimed that the Jakarta Metropolitan Police have been apprehending over a hundred drug addicts every week.

Andreas Harsono – In an important step towards protecting online speech, Indonesia's Constitutional Court on April 29 issued two rulings that provide important clarifications to the country's Electronic Information and Transaction Law, used to regulate the internet.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Experts have lambasted Indonesia's heavy push toward natural gas, saying it risks locking the country into fossil fuel dependency under the guise of clean energy, dealing immense damage to the economy, public health and the environment.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has begun to experience a sharp decline in dividend revenue from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with the Finance Ministry confirming on Thursday that tens of trillions of rupiah in expected payouts are now being redirected to the newly established sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.

Erfan Maruf, Jakarta – Trade Minister Budi Santoso on Thursday launched the "Local Thursday Movement" (Gerakan Kamis Pakai Lokal or Gaspol), a new initiative aimed at reviving public enthusiasm for Indonesian-made products. Under the new directive, civil servants at the Trade Ministry are now required to wear locally made goods every Thursday.