Yet more promising is that Jokowi will be better able to accelerate the implementation of these programs because he will have more political courage to implement bolder, though painful, reforms for the long-term good of the economy.

In the next five years, Jokowi wants his men to do more than just “work, work, work”; he wants them to work as efficiently as possible by developing “new work values” and abandoning “old methods”.

Since its inauguration in March, Jakarta’s MRT had not gained as much prominence as it did on Saturday, when reelected President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo finally met with his archrival Prabowo Subianto. The MRT provided them the perfect stage: an open, public and more importantly, iconic space.

Water efficiency and rainwater catchment, for instance, should become an endless national movement, apart from environmental protection.

We know young people are essential to economic development and growth, but if they are unemployed due to lack of marketable skills or trade, they contribute nothing to growth and instead add to the dependency ratio

The Supreme Court is not exactly known as the standard-bearer for integrity and good, clean governance, but until very recently it had at least regularly lent its hand in the fight against graft spearheaded by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

While some victims are willing to report physical and nonphysical sexual abuse, most still face a lost cause, with the lack of emphatic and trained law enforcement officials, including police and judges.

The US$3.5 billion boost to Bank Indonesia’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves in June that was a sharp contrast to the $3.9 billion fall in May should be attributed to the virtuous cycle in the economy generated by the strengthening of macroeconomic and political stability.

For millions of Indonesians, he was a source of inspiration, courage and extraordinary moral strength as he struggled through what he described as extreme pain to work tirelessly to serve his country and its people.

As our Special Report today reveals, people are eagerly debating who will run in the 2024 presidential election, as Jokowi’s reelection has leveled the playing field.

Thanks to advancements in technology, gone now is the chance of monkey business on the street between motorists and officers, which for so many years undermined the enforcement of — and thus discouraged compliance with — the Traffic Law.

Indonesia tends to speak and act on behalf of developing countries in the face of much richer and more advanced nations. These efforts have often been effective and workable, but they have not resulted in changes on many occasions.

Winning a second term should allow any president to make an independent decision without having to bow to political pressure either from partners within the coalition or the opposition.

The top priority programs of the Jokowi administration are familiar to the business community: physical infrastructure, institutional capacity building to develop a clean, efficient and competent system of governance and business licensing, as well as a better-targeted vocational training system. 

The police should not take advantage of the growing public support for the use of violence in the name of law enforcement.

The effectiveness of any policies adopted by the national government depends how these policies are enforced or implemented in the regions.

It is time for Jakartans to wake up and smell the pollution and do something about it.

There is no more room to argue the legitimacy of more than 85 million votes that catapulted Jokowi and Ma’ruf to the highest and second-highest office, respectively.

Indonesia is in the Group of 20 because of its real economic power. Although it may seem like a cliché, Indonesia’s population, the fourth-largest in the world, its moderate Muslim ethos and its thriving democracy mean that the country stands out.

The NU and Muhammadiyah represent Islam a la democratic Indonesia. However, with religious conservatism said to be creeping into the country, the road to the Nobel Prize remains bumpy for the two Islamic groups.

Improving schools and teaching is the task of the government and a requirement to apply the zoning policy.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha will hopefully be able and also willing to use the major diplomatic endorsement he received from the leaders of the 10-member ASEAN to unite the divided nation.

Better traffic congestion levels obviously is an achievement for a metropolitan city like Jakarta, but it is far from enough. When celebrating its 492nd birthday, Jakarta must double down on its efforts to make the city a better place to travel.

The government should be very careful in providing the other fiscal incentives if they are designed primarily to maintain tax system competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world, especially in the ASEAN region.

A true friend provides good advice at the right time and in the right way, an old saying goes. That’s what outgoing British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik did when he conveyed a five-point farewell message to Indonesia right before his four-year posting ends on June 21.

It is regrettable that Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi refused to allow a decent funeral service for Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president.

But given the fact that the fight against graft appears to have gone nowhere, creeping conservatism should be the least of our concerns. 

The signing on Sunday of the heads of agreement (HoA) between Japan’s Inpex oil company and Indonesia’s Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) for the development of the US$20 billion Masela natural gas liquefaction plant project in the eastern region of Maluku will go a long way in improving the market perception of the future of the country’s hydrocarbon industry.

Treading softly and ever so cautiously is the hallmark of our policy on tobacco, the livelihood for millions of farmers and their families. The industry, among the country’s largest taxpayers, has been identified as a major contributor to heart disease and stroke, adding pressure to a bleeding national health insurance program.

Without urbanization, Jakarta would not have grown as fast as it has. Indonesian leaders since Sukarno have encouraged urbanization to support industrialization.