During their televised debate on the weekend, the two presidential candidates contesting the April 17 election, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, displayed equal commitment to strengthening the Indonesian Military (TNI) as a defense force capable of protecting the nation from external threats.

The plethora of awards — both international and domestic — that have been bestowed upon Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini are an obvious testament to her achievements in transforming the neglected East Java capital into a world class city, as is apparent from its first-class public parks and great and comfortable environment.

We are confused by the mind-boggling stubbornness of Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister and National Land Agency head Sofyan Djalil in refusing to execute the 2017 Supreme Court order to publicly disclose data on Right to Cultivate (HGU) land permits of oil palm plantation companies.

Political analysts agree that Jokowi took advantage of the MRT to bolster his electability, while Anies’ responses were a much-needed investment as he sets his sights on the 2024 presidential race and a second gubernatorial term in 2022.  

Whether election polls are a good predictor of election results is up for debate. Not all pollsters are created equal: Some are more credible than others. However, since reformasi political surveys have become such an integral part of our electoral democracy that even those who claim to no longer trust the pollsters are still taking them seriously.

Too much politics, especially in an election year as we are in right now, could distort economic policies. This is the risk we see in incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s obsession with his policy recommendation for a lower corporate income tax, which he has been promoting apparently in a bid to gain votes from businesspeople.

Smear campaigns against the KPU are on the rise as tensions prevail among supporters of the two presidential tickets competing in the election.

It is encouraging to learn that the House of Representatives will start deliberating the long-awaited oil and natural gas bill after the April presidential and legislative elections. Hopefully this is not another false signal in the political process to amend the 2001 Oil and Gas Law, which became imperative after the dissolution of upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas by the Constitutional Court in November 2012.

After a lengthy delay, voters in Thailand went to the polls on Sunday. Political watchers waited with bated breath as the Thai people delivered their verdict on the military junta. Judging on the provisional results from Sunday’s ballot, a substantial number of voters prefer stability over improvement in the country’s economy.

"We are a nation of more than 250 million people, but why is it so difficult to get a pool of 11 players to form a national soccer team that is unbeatable in Southeast Asia and even Asia?”

In the midst of the noise surrounding the launch of the country’s first MRT on Sunday, you could be forgiven for missing the news about the start of the three-week open campaign period. After all, why should people pay attention to open air rallies staged by political candidates, when the battle to win the hearts and minds of voters takes place somewhere else?

Sunday’s inauguration marks another breakthrough in Indonesia’s transportation history. It is the beginning of a journey of an advanced means of public transportation. Though dreadfully belated, it’s an exciting one.

Our current research about children’s involvement in radicalization and terrorist acts confirms patterns related to the involvement of women, as mothers, in the radicalization of their children.

The government has again demonstrated how pathetic it has been in coping with the environmental problems caused by abandoned coal-mine pits, which have increasingly become death traps for children and polluted food crops with acidic water in Kalimantan.

Last week’s arrest of United Development Party (PPP) chairman Muhammad “Romy” Romahurmuziy — who has since resigned from the post — for allegedly accepting bribes for promotions at the Religious Affairs Ministry shows once again the vulnerability of the bureaucracy to fraudulent practices, regardless of reforms aimed at transforming the public service sector into a merit-based system to realize clean government and good governance.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and between two continental plates so we can only accept our fate and be prepared for the worst: earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. We are destined to live with disasters.

The concepts and programs of action to bridge the gap between supply and demand for skilled workers elaborated on by both vice-presidential candidates during their debate on Sunday night were by and large similar.

The arrest of United Development Party (PPP) chairman Muhammad “Romy” Romahurmuziy just a few weeks before the elections has surprised many.

Shock over a suicide bombing on Wednesday in North Sumatra had barely dissipated when news broke over shootings at mosques during Friday prayers in the peaceful city of Christchurch, New Zealand. We join our neighbors in grieving for the devastating loss of lives in incidents in which so many were wounded, including two Indonesians.

We need to remember that the MRT was built with a spirit of transit-oriented development (TOD) in mind. This means the MRT will have to commercialize its assets, such as the stations and the trains, to earn some revenue.

High commendation should go to the Directorate General of Taxation for its vigorous campaign to reach out to taxpayers through better administration and information services in a concerted bid to enhance voluntary tax compliance.

The surprise release of migrant worker Siti Aisyah from Malaysian custody and her escape from a murder charge seem to count as a definite win for the government in its efforts to protect Indonesian citizens abroad.

The Indonesian civil aviation regulator has taken the precaution of grounding some Boeing 737 aircraft following Sunday’s deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 just outside Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board — including an Indonesian.

This is not easy because licensing procedures are notorious for corruption. No wonder there has been strong resistance to the OSS implementation.

The more attempts there are to silence critics, the less credible the debate is over the amendment.

Roughly half of the 192 million eligible voters in the upcoming general elections are female, which provides much potential for presidential and legislative candidates to make their campaigns sound as good as possible for women.

Even for those who subscribed to minority faiths recognized by the government, the bureaucracy could find ways to discriminate against these people, especially when they set out to build a place of worship.

Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Australia, which was estimated at US$12 billion last year, will be able to expand significantly as the two countries will exempt duties for virtually all goods traded between them.

After 20 years of democracy, the potential return of the military into civilian affairs is an issue the country has yet to settle. 

With a population of 260 million largely composed of young people with over 100 million smartphones, the number of start-ups vying to capitalize on that huge potential has mushroomed.