Malaysia needs to adopt and implement an access to information act if it wants to uphold the democratic rights of the nation.

Malaysia’s digital ambition and law are misaligned

Malaysia’s digital transformation efforts look good on paper but an access to information act is still nowhere in sight.

3 years ago

Academia

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

Academia

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

Farmers harvest corns in Kretek farming fields in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Oct.17.

Academia

Non-food crops are eating up our food

The world’s farmers grow crops for food as well as other uses. Those other uses threaten to crowd out our chance to feed the world’s hungry.

3 years ago

Academia

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

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

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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.

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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

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.

Academia

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.

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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.

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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.

Academia

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

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.

Academia

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.

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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.

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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 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.

Academia

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.

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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.

Academia premium

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.

Academia

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.

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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.

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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

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

Academia

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

Academia

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

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.

Academia

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.

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Make Indonesia’s EV metals truly green

The obvious market response has been to seek emissions reductions through plant efficiencies, buying carbon offsets or sourcing from smelters powered by renewables.

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.

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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

Digital assets:Indonesia’s leading regulated cryptocurrency exchange,Tokocrypto,has securedinvestment from global blockchain company Binance.

Academia

Financial opportunity starts with access

When people say “digital disruption” those being disrupted are incumbent—often complacent—market players.

3 years ago

Baby care: Family welfare movement volunteers measure the height of a girl below five years old in an integrated health post in the Bougenvile area of Depok, West Java on Sept. 7. The government has set a target of reducing the rate of child stunting from the current 27.4 to 14 percent by 2024.

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Nutrition, stunting and gender equality: Intimate trajectories

Gender disparities in nutrition for women and girls of reproductive age are still a serious problem in Indonesia.

3 years ago

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What Personal Data Protection Law means to companies

A company can no longer negligently process – by among other methods collecting, storing and disclosing – personal data. Further, the company must ensure that the subject of the data can exercise their rights pertaining to their personal data.

3 years ago

A woman (left) reacts while receiving a Pfizer booster vaccine for the COVID-19 in Jakarta, on March 29, 2022. The government has accelerated vaccination programs ahead of Idul Fitri in May, when many people leave the capital and return back to their hometowns.

Academia

A shared vision for global health security, pandemic readiness

Governments and the private sector must cooperate to ensure that capabilities to develop and produce countermeasure are widely distributed, robust, and scalable in the event of a public health emergency.

3 years ago

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right) reads notes during a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers with representatives of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in Singapore on Aug. 1, 2018.

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Imagining Southeast Asia that cared about human rights

Improving human rights in the ASEAN community will only happen if the new generations feel the urgency to have a better and fairer legal framework in place to protect their freedom.

3 years ago

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