With national unity in mind, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said he is open to the idea of the opposition Gerindra Party under long-time rival Prabowo Subianto joining his Cabinet when he takes office for the second and final term in October. Every leader is by nature a champion of unity and will do what it takes to keep his or her nation from disintegration.

The macroeconomic framework and fiscal management guidelines for the 2020 fiscal year that Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati presented at the plenary session of the House of Representatives on Tuesday is by and large similar to those the government is already following.

An exposé by Tempo weekly published this week detailed the alleged roles of retired Kopassus personnel under Tim Mawar — which was also involved in the disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1998 — in recruiting “professional” hoodlums and mobilizing them to wreak havoc during rallies to protest the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) announcement of incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” as the winner of the 2019 presidential election.

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) upgraded Indonesia’s sovereign credit rating late last month from BBB minus, the lowest rank of its investment grade classification, to BBB, citing strong economic growth prospects, stable policy and a prudent fiscal framework as the main factors in its latest assessment.

Westbound traffic congestion on the trans-Java toll road on the weekend marked the return flow of Idul Fitri holiday revelers leaving for their places of residence. Their week-long holiday has come to a close and their daily routines await them.

To all our readers, Mohon maaf lahir dan batin, “Forgive me for my physical and emotional wrongdoings.” Happy Idul Fitri.

This is expected to become a busy time for the country as the annual homeward exodus for Idul Fitri, locally known as mudik, gets into full swing.

Bank Indonesia (BI) has put banknotes worth Rp 300 trillion (US$20.68 billion) in circulation over the past two weeks specifically to meet the needs of consumers for the Idul Fitri holiday season, which starts next week in the Muslim-majority country.

A week after the General Elections Commission (KPU) confirmed his reelection through the official vote count, incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo received an extra boost in confidence from the stream of congratulatory messages from world leaders near and far.

The government finally decided recently to lift the cigarette and alcohol excise tax exemption for the free trade zones of Batam, Bintan and Karimun in the Riau Islands and the free port of Sabang at the northern tip of Sumatra, because it turned out that the fiscal facility was abused.

This is a disheartening trend. The police must respect due process. No one should be punished, let alone tortured, before undergoing a fair trial.

A court settlement will never suffice, as evident in the long-lasting acrimony between supporters of Jokowi and Prabowo. A political solution, we believe, will.

Internet users have had difficulty seamlessly surfing the web since Wednesday, when they found themselves dealing with slower speeds and access issues on various social media platforms. “To prevent false news from spreading to the wider public, we are temporarily limiting access to certain features on social media,” Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said.

There must be déjà vu among the many Jakartans who witnessed and endured the horror of the May 1998 riots, after seeing the wave of acts of violence that shrouded the city since Tuesday evening. What happened in the past two days could hardly rival the tragedy 21 years ago, but the two events have much in common, particularly in spreading fear.

But elections, just like history in general, are interested only with winners. The focus now is on Jokowi and what he will do in his second term.

Barring no unforeseeable injuries, Lalu Muhammad Zohri will don Indonesia’s colors in the 100-meter race at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year, if not steal the thunder from a pool of the fastest men on the planet.

It is destiny that Indonesia lies in a menacing geographical location. As a consequence, Indonesia is prone to natural disasters like tectonic and volcanic earthquakes, tsunamis, as well as man-made disasters.

It appears that for many, politics has become a family business. At the national level, political dynasties are alive and well.

The policy will be effective from May 30 to June 2, affecting more than 230 kilometers between Cikarang in Bekasi, West Java, and the West Brebes exit gate in Central Java. 

The revelation of the first human case of monkeypox in Singapore has rung alarm bells for Indonesia, which has a record of outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.

Monday was the first anniversary of the Surabaya bombings. The perpetrators had engaged their wives and children in the shocking terror attacks that killed 25 and injured many others on May 13, 2018.

Whoever wins Australia’s May 18 federal election will be all right for Indonesia.

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, they say. So, is Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia’s trash Indonesia’s treasure?

As the death toll of poll workers and security personnel reached 583 as of last Friday, speculation has been rife as to why so many officials lost their lives during and after the performance of their state duties.

Jason Greenblatt, a senior adviser to United States President Donald Trump and close confidante of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, fiercely defended Israel, which he described as the only real democracy in the Middle East during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Palestine at the UN headquarters last week.

Reuter’s report on Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to quit the US$15 billion Masela Block development, though flatly denied by the oil regulatory body and not yet confirmed by the giant energy company, only made the long-delayed giant gas project in the eastern region even more uncertain.

One reason for this failure to protect followers of all faiths is that we have lacked strong signals from the top, the presidency.

Tension is understandably simmering ahead of May 22, when the General Elections Commission (KPU) will announce the result of the April 17 polls, but the government’s response to the political dynamics is feared to aggravate animosity between supporters of the two rival presidential candidates.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi kicked off on Tuesday Indonesia’s first high-level engagement as president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the world’s premier authority for maintaining global peace and security.

The Transportation Ministry has finally agreed to revise the domestic airfare ceiling to force airlines to lower their ticket prices. According to the coordinating economic minister and various business associations, the high prices have upset the public, caused a 30 percent decline in domestic travel and significantly decreased the occupancy rates of star-rated hotels.