Regardless of the motives behind the latest major reshuffle within the National Police, there is a pressing need for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to stamp his authority over the law enforcement a

John McBeth – It took 24 hours – and apparently an angry call from a blindsided President Joko Widodo – for Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo to revoke a raft of new restrictions on visiting fore

More than six months after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration launched the one-stop integrated investment services (PTSP) in Jakarta, business-licensing processes remain lengthy and co

Margareth Aritonang – The relationship between Indonesia and Timor Leste has improved steadily in the last few years.

On Aug. 26, President Joko Widodo revoked a new regulation that would have imposed onerous restrictions on foreign media in Indonesia.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – Publicly listed PT Multi Bintang Indonesia, the country's largest brewery, has put on hold its US$42 million plant expansion projects in East Java after the ban on alcohol

Kristio Wahyono, Yogyakarta – Timor Leste on Aug. 30 celebrates the anniversary of a historic referendum that resulted in a landslide vote for separation from Indonesia 16 years ago.

Back in May both national and international media greeted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to lift decades-long restrictions on foreign media access in Papua, calling the move a step in th

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Endy Bayuni – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo came up with a short and catchy slogan, Ayo Kerja (Let's Work), to mark Indonesia's 70th Independence Day anniversary on Aug. 17.

Mong Palatino – Timor-Leste's Ministry of Finance issued a press statement claiming that the small Southeast Asian nation is already among the richest countries in the world.

If only Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama had been eager to listen to a proposal on the kampung susun (elevated village) development in Kampung Pulo, violence would not have marred the

Bhatara Ibnu Reza, Sydney – Ten years ago at the end of summer in Helsinki, the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a memorandum of understanding to end more than 30 years of the con

Anne-Sophie Gindroz, Denpasar, Bali – "Why are you leaving now? Come back here! I have told the truth but you do not believe me.

Thursday's Cabinet reshuffle was probably the source of the upbeat tone of the first State of the Nation address from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, presented in conjunction with Independence Day.

Param-Preet Singh, Bangkok – Indonesia's government is preparing to lift the lid on decades of gross human rights violations whose victims have gone without redress and whose perpetrators have neve

Our democracy has remained a work in progress since the beginning of reformasi more than 17 years ago.

The final and binding ruling by the Supreme Court against the Supersemar Foundation led by former president Suharto is historic and crucial because it is the first legal decision against the former

Johannes Nugroho – In late 1945 the first prime minister of Indonesia, Sutan Sjahrir (1909-66), made a radio broadcast to the people of Australia, thanking them for their support at the onset of In

Soe Tjen Marching – This month, it will be 70 years since Indonesia declared its independence from Dutch colonial rule. But what has Indonesia been best known for internationally in recent years?

It's typical Indonesia – or more precisely, it's becoming typical of President Joko Widodo's administration.

William Pesek – Indonesia has come a long way since Oct. 20, when Joko Widodo was sworn in as president. Unfortunately, the distance the country has traveled has been in the wrong direction.

Indonesia made a step forward in its democracy when in 2006 the Constitutional Court annulled clauses in the Criminal Code on defamation of the president and vice president – while many other count

Amid recent criticism, the police, especially the Jakarta Police, deserve credit for their quick move to unveil corrupt practices behind the lengthy dwelling times at Tanjung Priok seaport, which i

Nick Xenophon – East Timor is one of the world's youngest and poorest countries located just off our north-west coast.

Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner & Dirk Tomsa, Guest Contributors – Under 'moderating president' Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's democracy suffered no reverses – but it didn't move forwar

Marking the anniversary of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Wednesday, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo warned state prosecutors against extorting individuals under investigation, a practice th

One death was too many.

As a nation, Indonesia has one major piece of unfinished business: providing a solid, unshaken and irreversible foundation for pluralism to flourish across the archipelago.

Johannes Nugroho – Ditching initial plans for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Indonesian government has instead opted for a mere Reconciliation Committee to deal with past state-sponsore

One of the main foundations of modern Indonesia was the awareness that the nation could only survive if it would accept, respect and accommodate differences.

In yet another incident that many fear marks a setback for Indonesian democracy, Judicial Commission chief Suparman Marzuki and his deputy Taufiqurrohman Syahuri will have to undergo a criminal inv

The business community should not be surprised, nor inordinately worried, about the March regulation of the Environment and Forestry Ministry regarding the reallocation of up to 30 percent of indus

Because the Rp 255 trillion (US$19 billion) entrusted to regional administrations has hardly been spent, let's, for the sake of the public, including the poor and needy, protect officials who fear

Gregory B. Poling, Jayapura, Jubi – Ongoing troubles in the West Papua region, and the unwanted attention they have garnered, are a sore spot for Indonesian authorities.

David Robie – The Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders' summit in Honiara this week must go down as the most shameful since the organisation was founded two decades ago.

The Constitutional Court on June 18 announced its ruling on the 1974 Marriage Law, rejecting requests to change the marriageable age for girls from 16 to 18 and to make it possible to legalize inte

Richard Bennett, Hong Kong – As far as Indonesia has come on human rights since the repressive Soeharto years, the authorities have stubbornly refused to deal with crimes of the past.

Jenny Munro, Guest Contributor – Jokowi's actions, whether those of the powerless or duplicitous, could lead to disaster in Papua.

Benny Wenda – For more than half a century, my people have suffered under a repressive military occupation that is estimated to have claimed 500,000 West Papuan lives.

It is under the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo that the campaign against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has gained the most momentum and looks to have reached the poi

Rosalia Sciortino, Bangkok – The judicial review of the proposed change to the marriageable age stated in Article 7(1) of the 1974 Marriage Law, which was filed by the Women's Health Foundation (Ya

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The country's president constitutionally has the prerogative and the liberty to nominate and appoint candidates for top posts in the government and the military, includin

No matter how we slice and dice the issue of West Papuan independence, it always comes down to this: Do the indigenous peoples of a distinct and discrete land mass have the democratic right to self

Leong Tsu Quin, Bangkok – From June 4 to 5, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) held a workshop with Indonesian lawyers that we would much rather not have had at all.

As if to show their defense of people's interests, House of Representatives members have proposed a whopping budget of Rp 11.2 trillion (US$842 million) for next year to be spent on development pro

Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka – West Papua will be the highest-profile issue at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) leaders' summit in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on 24-26 June 2015.

Iwan Dzulvan Amir, Jakarta – Once again, Aceh has become a national laughingstock and an international embarrassment.

The Corruption Eradication Commission is on the verge of becoming merely a place where proxy wars between the National Police, Attorney General's Office and Indonesian Military take place.

Women in Banda Aceh are now banned from being outside their homes after 11 p.m., with exceptions for those in humanitarian work, such as nurses and medical practitioners, and if they are accompanie