Any sign of sectarian conflict in restive Papua, especially, should be handled swiftly yet carefully because of its extremely high sensitivity. 

In an election year, many analysts, notably opposition politicians — tend to assess the government’s economic performance and its key indicators through the prism of politics. Take for example, the detractors who have been trumpeting that the government’s debt level is already at a critical state. They point out that within the first three years of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration, government debt has nominally increased by the same amount that the previous government accumulated within five years.

Another family is grieving over the death of a migrant worker; this time, by execution. Muhammad Zaini Misrin of Madura, East Java, was beheaded on Sunday following a trial in Saudi Arabia in 2008 that found him guilty of murdering his employer, a charge he had denied. Human rights advocates have urged the government to issue a diplomatic protest against the kingdom, against which Indonesia still has a moratorium on sending migrant workers, pending a better guarantee of their welfare.

What is wrong with the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) prior notice to name more candidates contesting in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections suspects, after arresting several others? At least in the eyes of Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, the KPK is playing with fire.

The Rp 15,000 level is regarded as a psychological trigger for a crisis because it would represent a depreciation of almost 12 percent from the Rp 13,500 average exchange rate assumed for the current fiscal year.

Fathers may still be reluctant to sign up for the leave, feeling either too busy with work or embarrassed to stay for an extended period of time at home. 

The Taliban has humiliated President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s peace initiative for Afghanistan by branding the plan as engineered by infidels.

The new regulation will help track down financial crime and money laundering, catch criminals, curb tax evasion or other predatory market behavior by uncovering the true owners of assets.

In recent months, there have been talks about the possibility of having a sole ticket for the 2019 presidential election.

But increasing energy (fuel, electricity and liquefied petroleum gas) prices could be political suicide for the government in view of the general and presidential elections in April, 2019.  

Women make up around half of the 160 million eligible voters, and despite a slight increase in the number of female candidates from the previous simultaneous regional elections in 2016 and 2017, they are still hugely underrepresented. 

10 years after the establishment of the National Public Procurement Agency (NPPA) in 2008, procurement-related corruption and collusion has remained endemic and dominate graft cases handled by the KPK. 

Regional elections should serve as stepping stones for and produce a pool of the country’s future leaders. 

Inclusive growth is also vital to sustainable development. The government has succeeded in reducing inequality, but not as fast as public expectations. 

While at least 21 attacks on religious figures in different parts of the country have been confirmed, over 40,000 reports on various social media platforms were found to be hoaxes. 

Kalla will be 76 years old when the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections take place on April 19, 2019. 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made the right decision by nominating a sole candidate, Perry Warjiyo, to be the new governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) to replace Agus Martowardoyo, who will end his term in mid-May.

Indonesia’s score of 37 out of a possible 100 means the country’s anticorruption drive remained stuck in the past year, despite persistent law enforcement against graft.

Given the vital need for smooth budget implementation, Sri Mulyani made budget preparation her top priority when she took over the Finance Ministry in 2005.

The problem, though, is that most of the new jobs are in low-productivity service subsectors such as retail trade, hotels and restaurants.

Indonesia has been sending migrant workers abroad since the 1980s, but efforts to better guarantee their safety have been slow. 

If more parties competing in the elections means greater chances of vote-buying, perhaps a simplification of the political party system should be considered.

Only the United Kingdom, India and the United States have more start-up companies than Indonesia. Despite the rapid growth of e-commerce, the government is acting more as a regulator than facilitator.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla admits such politicization of religion is difficult to avoid in the regional elections as the world has started to accept it as a norm. 

The current structure puts more emphasis on general regional, multilateral and international legal affairs, and lacks specific attention on the economy.

Religious leaders can help change the game through persistent campaigning against intolerance. As the President’s special envoy for religious harmony Din Syamsuddin says, the nation is waiting for the real work of the religious figures.

A tighter banking oversight is even more imperative because many of the small banks (about 30 out of the estimated 120 banks) are subsidiaries of business groups. 

Press freedom has simply become the demarcation line between a democracy and dictatorship.

Through the regulation, the government intended to remain vigilant regarding “negative impacts that could possibly stem from research and are not the subject of research.”

After the official announcement on Tuesday that economic growth last year was only 5.07 percent, the signs have become more apparent that Indonesia is falling into a middle-income trap.