TheJakartaPost

A common currency in ASEAN will benefit citizens

Under floating exchange rate regimes, currencies tend to be more volatile than is warranted by the economic fundamentals of an economy. ...

3 years ago

Indonesia’s stance on China-Taiwan conflict more about dependency on Beijing

Indonesia’s reluctance to respond to the conflict is actually based on the fact that its economy is still very dependent on China. ...

3 years ago

The Latest

Sugar tax could boost both health and economy

Taxes on sugary drinks can often improve a nation’s economy, rather than having the devastating impact industry has claimed.

3 years ago

SURYA PANEL: Officers check the installation of solar panels in Terminal Tirtonadi, Surakarta, Central Java, Monday (7/31). The Ministry of Transportation project is capable of producing 500 kilo volt amperes (kVA) or 500,000 watts of electricity as an effort to save electricity in terminal operations.

Opinion

Analysis: Jokowi issues renewable energy regulation with unattractive pricing scheme

Presidential regulation (Perpres) No. 112/2022 on renewable energy, which had been teased since last year, is finally out. However, the reaction to the regulation has been bleak.

3 years ago

A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on September 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators burning a rubbish bin in the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody.

Another Iranian revolution?

The protests are a culmination of the frustration and disappointment of the people with the state’s control of private affairs like clothing but its neglect of more fundamental needs.

3 years ago

Making the headline: A man views a newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic Republic's

Mahsa Amini, Azyumardi Azra, the hijab and Wasathiyah Islam

Amini’s death was the spark that blew up the powder keg, just as the assassination of the archduke Frans Ferdinand of Austria sparked off World War I.

3 years ago

Breathing free: People walk near the Colosseum without wearing face masks on the day Italy's government lifted the obligation to wear masks outdoor following a decline in COVID-19 cases, in Rome, Feb. 11, 2022.

Rome, new cities and World Expo 2030

Rome’s vision for the expo stems from the capacity to harness its past heritage and accurately assess its current needs with a view to creating a sustainable future.

3 years ago

What Google and other Big Tech players should remember is that while Google has been growing its business, it has grown authoritarian, taking away people’s choices and requiring them to play by all of its rules.

3 years ago

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Puan Maharani (left) and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto meet at Prabowo's mansion in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java on Sept. 4, 2022.

Survey says: Prabowo, Ganjar or Anies. Where is Puan?

A two-horse race pitting Puan against Prabowo may boil down to the size of negative votes, meaning people vote against the candidate they do not want to become president.

3 years ago

One woman one vote: Iranian women wait to cast their ballots for the 11th parliamentary elections at a polling station in Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine in Tehran on Feb. 21, 2020.

Reading Mahsa Amini death from Indonesian perspective

We need to recognize that hijab is not a matter of religious obligation, but rather a religious political identity.

3 years ago

With all heart: A cardiologist performs an echocardiography test during the launch of the cardiovascular center at Metropolitan Medical Center Hospital in South Jakarta on Jan. 23, 2020.

Indonesia can be regional leader in cardiovascular genomics

Cardiovascular genomics research has so far been dominated by Western studies on Caucasian populations, so Indonesia has an opportunity to pioneer this growing field relative to the genetic diversity represented in Southeast Asia.

3 years ago

A judge speaks during a virtual hearing against former Central Lampung regent Mustafa at the Tanjungkarang Corruption Court in Bandar Lampung, Lampung on Jan. 18, 2021. During the hearing, prosecutors read an indictment letter against Mustafa for an alleged bribery pertaining to goods and service procurement projects in the regency.

The quest for research-based policy in Indonesia

Many leaders are unaware that they have fallen into the so-called cognitive near-sightedness; taking an instant policy to solve the problem without calculating the holistic implication.

3 years ago

President Joko Widodo opens the National Development Planning Conference (Musrenbangnas) National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024 at the State Palace, Jakarta, Monday (16/12/2019). The President conveyed the things that the government will do in the next five years, namely the development of human resources, infrastructure development, simplification of regulations, simplification of bureaucracy and economic transformation.

Opinion

Analysis: Constitutional and ethical issues with Jokowi running for VP

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s supporters have figured out another way to extend his political career beyond 2024, namely by having him run as vice president.

3 years ago

Participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit pose for a picture before an extended-format meeting of heads of SCO member states in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Sept. 16, 2022.

SCO manifests Indian strategic autonomy

India is treating the SCO much like it does its relationship with East Asia Summit (EAS).

3 years ago

Security first: A Taliban fighter stands guard as people gather at the venue for a flag hoisting ceremony of the Taliban flag on the Wazir Akbar Khan hill in Kabul on March 31, 2022.

China’s expanding role in Afghanistan

China has certainly augmented its presence in Afghanistan but with no apparent intention or haste to replace the US.

3 years ago

Beware of hackers: Recent data breach scandals have become a concern for many people in Indonesia.

Bringing the people into digital transformation

The digital transformation is often confused with the digitizing process in Indonesia and therefore the people are often excluded.

3 years ago

Center of attention: Papua Governor Lukas Enembe speaks to journalists after his inauguration at the State Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 5, 2018.

Justice for Papua governor

The graft case involving the governor with an allegedly hedonistic lifestyle, run counter to the fact that the province he leads has remained the poorest in the country.

3 years ago

Center stage: Foreign tourists take pictures of an orangutan at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Putting National Park in Central Kalimantan on July 27, 2016. The orangutan is an endangered species.

Forestry Ministry responds

Field monitoring found a rise in the population of orangutans in 24 monitoring sites in Sumatra and Kalimantan from 1,441 in 2014 to 2,431 orangutans in 2022.

3 years ago

Last tribute: A mourner fills in the guest book at the house of the late Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten, on Sept. 18. Azyumardi died in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and will be buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery on Sept. 20.

The passing of my dear friend Azyumardi Azra

My friendship with Buya Syafi’i, Pak Azyumardi and many more Muslim scholars and leaders of Muslim organizations has enlightened me about Islam and its role in the struggle for the common good in Indonesia.

3 years ago

The Supreme Court building in Central Jakarta.

Sentence justice Sudrajad to life imprisonment

Many, if not most, Indonesians believe the Sudradjad bribery case is just the tip of the iceberg at the country’s highest court.

3 years ago

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) talks with his South Korean counterpart President Yoon Suk-yeol, at the Presidential Office in Seoul on July 28.

Benefitting from South Korea's soft power

In the last few years, we have yet to hear South Korea offer its Southeast Asian neighbors to collaborate by sharing its know-how that will allow the 10-member ASEAN to benefit from South Korean soft power.

3 years ago

Open wounds: The chairman of the Foundation of Victims of the 1965/1966 Killings (YPKP65), Bedjo Untung, (center) and colleagues visit the National Commission on Human Rights in Jakarta on Dec. 13, 2019, to submit their findings on 346 mass graves located in Java and Sumatra that they believe are related to the state-sponsored anticommunist purge.

Better revealing the truth than offering compensation

Such non-judicial settlements look pressing following the failed attempt to resolve past serious crimes in court.

3 years ago

A serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine inspects destroyed military equipment abandoned at a position once held by the Russian army in the north of the Kharkiv region, on Sept. 20.

ASEAN must be doubly alert when the bear cannot hug the dragon

According to polls conducted by the Pew Research Center in June, the number of Ukrainians who have refused to yield to Russia stands at an astounding 90 percent if not more since the war started.

3 years ago

Inhibited: Members of the Rogate Sepatan Church use their priest’s house to follow a sermon after they were banned from celebrating Christmas at their church by residents and members of an Islamic organization in Sepatan, Tangerang, Banten, on Dec. 25, 2016.

Steel town needs its churches

Setara Institute runs a periodic survey of the most tolerant cities around the country, which includes measuring the relationship between majority and minority religious communities. Cilegon has consistently ranked low in the survey in recent years.

3 years ago

At the confluence of the Zanskar (middle) and Indus (left) rivers.

India and Pakistan can future-proof their threatened rivers

A shift in perspective can future-proof the Indus Water Treaty.

3 years ago

Top view of Mekong river at Chiang Saen city, Thailand

The world is making the Mekong its dump

Mounting marine pollution is choking the world’s oceans and rivers, especially in Southeast Asia — and it’ll only get worse unless something changes.

3 years ago

Hot topic: A furnace operates at the nickel smelting facility belonging to PT VDNI on the Morosi industrial estate in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi on Sept. 9. The company processes nickel to produce stainless steel.

The worst-case scenario of RI-EU dispute on nickel ore export ban

Imposing taxes on nickel ore exports is the most WTO-compatible option if the export ban must be revoked.

3 years ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before an extended-format meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit (SCO) member states in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Sept. 16, 2022.

Openness and inclusiveness key to successful regional cooperation

ASEAN countries have created and led the East Asia regional cooperation mechanism, and also promoted the formation of the ASEAN development philosophy.

3 years ago

Shift to electric: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inspects an electric car and battery charging device on the sidelines of the groundbreaking of South Korean EV-battery plant in Karawang, West Java, on Sept. 15, 2021.