Jakarta – Culture Minister Fadli Zon's plan to launch a newly rewritten history of Indonesia by Aug. 17, in time for the nation's 80th Independence Day, is sparking both anticipation and controversy.

Tim Lindsey (The Conversation) – Making Jakarta their first overseas destination has become a set piece for newly elected Australian prime ministers dating back to John Howard in 1996.

Iim Halimatusa'diyah – It is not clear that some of Indonesia's renewable energy projects are designed with the people in mind. Some local communities and traditional Islamic boarding schools are pushing back.

Adhyasta Dirgantara, Dani Prabowo, Jakarta – 98 activist and Central Tapanuli Regent Masinton Pasaribu says that labour figure Marsinah is more deserving of the title of national hero than the 2nd president of Indonesia Suharto. "Yes, of course", said Pasaribu at the JS Luwansa Hotel in South Jakarta on Wednesday May 21.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – For years, Mikael Ane, an Indigenous farmer from the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, has faced prison not for harming the environment, but for trying to protect his ancestral land.

Wahyu Chandra – Hundreds of protesters, including young and Indigenous peoples from three coastal villages, have demanded the closure of sand dredging in Indonesia's West Sulawesi over environmental concerns and permit violations.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Chinese nickel material manufacturer Huayou is set to break ground on its Indonesian electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem project by August, thus officially replacing South Korea's LG Energy Solution.

Amelia Rahima Sari, Jakarta – Representatives of online motorcycle taxi drivers, or ojol, held a meeting with the Ministry of Human Rights, during which a dozen members of the National Ride-Hailing Coalition (KON) voiced their concerns.

Septia Ryanthie, Sukoharjo – Around 1,300 former employees of PT Sri Rejeki Isman Textile Tbk. (Sritex) have been rehired by a company leasing Sritex's assets. The new investor reportedly began operations in early May 2025.

M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – The Ministry of Indonesian Communication and Digital (Komdigi) has blocked the PeduliLindungi website, which was suspected of being hacked for online gambling content. The Director General of Digital Space Supervision, Alexander Sabar, stated that this action was taken following reports that the website had been used for online gambling promotion.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – A total of 93 individuals were arrested by the police during a demonstration commemorating the 27th anniversary of the reformation in front of Jakarta City Hall.

Amnesty Indonesia Director Usman Hamid said that all of those arrested were Trisakti University students.

Ichsan Ali, Jakarta – Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed on Thursday that it was his decision to remove South Korea's LG Energy Solution from a high-profile consortium developing an integrated electric vehicle (EV) battery industry in the country.

Wawan Kurniawan, Tangerang – Indonesian authorities have seized millions of illegally imported tools and hardware products from China, with an estimated value of Rp 18 billion (approx. $1.1 million), following a tip-off triggered by TikTok advertisements, Trade Minister Budi Santoso announced on Thursday.

Jakarta – Ten cities in Indonesia received Climate Action Plans (CAP) to mark the completion of the Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities (CRIC) program on Wednesday, which was funded by the European Union.

The cities receiving the CAPs were Bandar Lampung, Cirebon, Samarinda, Pekanbaru, Banjarmasin, Pangkalpinang, Gorontalo, Kupang, Mataram and Ternate.

Resty Woro Yuniar – Calls are growing for the Indonesian government to formally acknowledge the mass rapes of the country's ethnic Chinese women during the May 1998 riots, as members of the minority community commemorate the tragedy with a vow to "resist forgetting" even as justice remains elusive.

Responding to the arrests of dozens of students who held a demonstration in front of the Jakarta City Hall commemorating 27 years of reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998 – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid, said:

Ervana Trikarinaputri, Devy Ernis, Jakarta – A number of '98 activists gathered at the JS Luwansa Hotel in South Jakarta on Wednesday May 21 for a cross-generation activist workshop titled "From political democracy to the transformation of economic democracy".

Radhiyya Indra, Jakarta – Rights activists and historians gathered at the House of Representatives complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday to demand lawmakers reject the government's controversial bid to rewrite Indonesian history, warning it could whitewash the nation's darkest chapters and serve the political interests of President Prabowo Subianto and past regimes.

Hanif Musyaffa, Jakarta – Transmigration Minister Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanegara on Monday pitched the Prabowo Subianto administration's revamped transmigration agenda during a visit to the B-Universe media group office at Tokyo Hub in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2, Tangerang.

Anisa Fauziah, Jakarta – Former investigator of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Yudi Purnomo, warned that threats and terror against anti-corruption officers are becoming more frequent and brutal. Yudi made the statement following President Prabowo Subianto's recent remarks about the dangers faced by law enforcers in corruption crackdowns.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.5 percent during its Board of Governors Meeting held on May 20-21, marking its first rate cut since January. The central bank also cut the Deposit Facility rate to 4.75 percent and the Lending Facility rate to 6.25 percent.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia has revised down its economic growth projection for 2025 to a range of 4.6 to 5.4 percent, citing weaker global growth and slower-than-expected performance in the first quarter of the year. The central bank had previously forecast growth between 4.7 and 5.5 percent.

Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – The research group, Institute for Demographic and Affluence Studies (IDEAS), has estimated that the nationwide strike by online motorcycle taxi drivers or online ojek on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, led to a loss of up to Rp188 billion in daily transactions.

Yovanda Noni, Jakarta – A severe shortage of non-subsidized fuels, specifically Pertamax and Pertamax Turbo, has hit several public gas stations (SPBUs) in Balikpapan since Sunday, May 18, forcing residents to queue overnight for fuel.

Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has discovered a number of drawbacks in the discipline program initiated by West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi by sending adolescents to military barracks.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk (IDX: TLKM) has addressed the alleged fictitious financing case from the 2016 to 2018 period, which is currently under investigation by the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office. The state's financial loss from the case is estimated at Rp431 billion.

Oyuk Ivani Siagian, Jakarta – The Jakarta Metro Police have arrested 12 members of mass organizations (ormas) for engaging in thuggery. Jakarta Metro Police Public Relations Chief, Ade Ary Syam Indradi, stated that the dozen ormas members have been detained for legal proceedings.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – The board of supervisors of the Social Security Agency (BPJS) for Employment predicts that 280 thousand workers will face layoffs in Indonesia throughout this year. The board mentioned that 24,360 workers have been terminated as of April 2025.

Linda Trianita, Jakarta – The Health Ministry has addressed recent claims that the PeduliLindungi website was hacked and redirected to an online gambling site. Aji Muhawarman, Head of the Health Ministry's Communication and Public Information Bureau, clarified that the website pedulilindungi.id has not been managed by the Health Ministry since March 2023.

Jakarta – Migrant Workers Protection Minister Abdul Kadir Karding warned prospective interns to be cautious of Japan's so-called "cheap labor" schemes.

Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto's recent visits to Southeast Asian neighbors have yet to dispel concerns over his lack of engagement with ASEAN as an institution, analysts say, warning that Indonesia risks drifting from its historic leadership role in the region in favor of bilateral diplomacy.

Simone Galimberti, Kathmandu – Indonesia's democracy is in crisis after 27 years of reform. The threat is not an overt challenge to its liberal, election-based rule of law. Rather, it is the government's prevailing mindset and approach that are subtly weakening the nation's democratic social structure.

Jakarta – Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani has warned Culture Minister Fadli Zon, who currently leads the job of rewriting Indonesia's national history, against what she called promoting a distorted version of the country's past.

Jakarta – Despite initially aiming to cut costs, the 2024 simultaneous elections turned out to be highly expensive, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto has revealed.

Jakarta – Manpower Minister Yassierli said on Tuesday that he had dismissed several officials who were implicated in a bribery case involving the foreign workers utilization plan (RPTKA).

Yassierly said the dismissals took place in February and March, without providing details on the number of affected officials.

Creative Desk, Jakarta – Labor and worker unions under the Forum for Social Security (Jamsos) have strongly opposed the government's plan to implement a single-tier inpatient care system under the Standard Inpatient Class (KRIS) scheme, scheduled to take effect on July 1.

Jakarta – The president director of bankrupt textile giant Sritex has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, the Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday.

Evi Mariani – Every World Press Freedom Day, journalists in Indonesia hold celebrations and reflect n their profession. But recent political and economic developments in the country have made this year's commemoration the most anxiety-inducing one for a long time.

The commemoration of 27 years of reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998 – was marked by the erosion of human rights through the ignoring of past human rights violations and their repetition in the present due to authoritarian policies and practices that undermine civil liberties, political and social justice, Amnesty International Indonesia said today.

Jakarta – Around 50 Trisakti University students were arrested by police in Jakarta on Wednesday May 21 while holding a demonstration to commemorate the 27th anniversary of reformasi and the Trisakti student shootings in May 1998.

Jamal Abdun Nashr, Demak – Floods have inundated 12 villages in Demak Regency, Central Java, since Sunday, May 18, 2025. The surge of water occurred after the embankment of the Tuntang River breached in Karangrejo and Kembangan Villages, Bonang District.

Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Deputy Chair of the Gerindra Party, Habiburokhman, jokingly remarked that President Prabowo Subianto possesses a "sixth sense" that most people lack. This so-called sixth sense, he explained, grants Prabowo insight into individuals attempting betrayal.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Indonesia's state revenue dropped by 12.4 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2025, reflecting weaker collections from both tax and non-tax sources, the government announced Tuesday.

Nur Janti, Jakarta – A 13th-century statue of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist goddess of wisdom, welcomes visitors to a new exhibition at the National Museum in Central Jakarta titled Sunting: Jejak Perempuan Indonesia Penggerak Perubahan (Sunting: Footprints of Indonesian women as drivers of change).

Thomas Rizal, Jakarta – Indonesia is trying to be a haven for investors from home and abroad, but the resource-rich country has a ticking time bomb: preman or "thugs".

Hendrik Khoirul Muhid, S. Dian Andryanto, Jakarta – The realisation of the 1998 reforms did not happen suddenly. Efforts to overthrow the authoritarian New Order regime of President Suharto had to be paid for with gross human rights violations. One of them was the abduction of pro-reform activists between 1997 and 1998.

Maretha Uli, Jakarta – An ongoing clinical trial for a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate in Indonesia has been met with rising public criticism, especially on social media, which experts attribute to unclear communication from health authorities surrounding the program.

Arnoldus Kristianus, Speaking at a parliamentary session in Jakarta, Sri Mulyani stressed the need for national unity and collaboration to navigate ongoing global economic challenges, including heightened geopolitical risks and declining global demand.

Ricki Putra Harahap, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has appointed two new top officials to lead Indonesia's tax and customs agencies amid a sharp decline in state revenue during the first four months of 2025.

Hendrik Khoirul Muhid, S. Dian Andryanto – The monetary crisis in 1997 and the people's weariness with the New Order government made activists speak out for reform. These vocal efforts however were silenced repressively for the sake of maintaining president Suharto's position. Of the 23 activists abducted in 1998, on nine were returned. The rest remain missing to this day.