Field check: Newly installed Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan visits Klender traditional market in East Jakarta on June 22 to check the prices of basic commodities, especially cooking oil.

Cooking oil debacle ends but price volatility still looms

But since cooking oil is a basic staple food, the government should intervene to shield low-income groups and micro and small enterprises from the inflationary impact during the boom cycle.

3 years ago

Academia premium

Can a BI 'preemptive strike' stop the rupiah depreciation?

The ongoing weakening of the rupiah is an anomalous occurrence, and the central bank might want to consider expanding its market operation as a "preemptive strike" to bolster the currency. ...

3 years ago

Academia

Writing a new chapter in East Asia cooperation

The ongoing meeting between the foreign ministers of ASEAN member states and China poses a significant opportunity for the two sides to accelerate development along mutual interests. ...

3 years ago

The Latest

Internet freedom: Protesters rally outside the Communications and Information Ministry office in Jakarta on Aug. 23, 2019, demanding the government unblock internet access in Papua and West Papua.

Academia premium

The state cannot on its own govern the entire internet

The memories of the public and civil society are filled with the government’s draconian digital history of internet blockages and blackouts.

3 years ago

A doctor examines a woman infected with monkeypox at a quarantine area of the centre of the International medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans frontieres - MSF), in Zomea Kaka, in the Lobaya region, in the Central African Republic on October 18, 2018.

Academia

Step up surveillance, strengthen public health measures to prevent monkeypox transmission

A coordinated response that actively combats stigma can stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups.

3 years ago

Finance Ministrer Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers a speech during the Indonesia Fintech Summit 2021 in Bali, Saturday, 11 December 2021.

Academia

How Southeast Asian tech firms strategize in a downturn

Strong talent will do their due diligence and will gravitate towards companies who are prudent and profitable.

3 years ago

Click and buy: A Jakarta resident uses a device to shop on a local e-commerce platform on June 15. The digital market continues to thrive in Indonesia and Asia in general.

Academia

Future of e-commerce in Indonesia is conversational

In another three years, the Indonesian internet economy is expected to reach US$146 billion in value, at a growth rate of 20 percent compounded annual growth rate.

3 years ago

Under investigation: Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) philanthropy-organization employees work at their office in Menara, 165 Tower, South Jakarta, on July 6. The Social Ministry has suspended ACT’s operating license pending an investigation into alleged misappropriation of public funds the group had raised.

Academia premium

Why is Indonesia prone to charity-funds embezzlement?

We tend to believe that the people or the organizations whom we trust with our money are trustworthy.

3 years ago

Side by side: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin head to a joint press conference at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 30.

Academia premium

Indonesia’s diplomatic hat trick

President Jokowi’s mission has raised awareness that the only option is to stop, not prolong, the war.

3 years ago

Fake news, hoax, and misinformation are difficult to deal with, but there are ways to spot and fight them.

Academia

How misinformation derails free speech

Misinformation is a serious challenge for regulators, a minefield for individuals who seek the facts, and a barrier to governments and organizations wanting to disseminate important information.

3 years ago

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) ride bamboo bicycles at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on June 6.

Academia premium

New hope for Indonesian language learning in Australia

After the Bali bombings in 2002, some Australian parents forbade their children to learn Indonesian and objected to school trips to Indonesia.

3 years ago

Aiming high: Health community center (Puskesmas) volunteers measure the height of a child in Kutilang, Ampenan subdistrict, West Nusa Tenggara, on April 8, 2021. Indonesia has reduced the nationwide rate of child stunting from 31 percent in 2018 to 24 percent in 2021, with the aim of further dropping the figure to below 14 percent by 2024.

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Stunting: Lessons learned and the way forward

Further reducing the stunting rate would require local leaders and communities to innovate.

3 years ago

Academia premium

Jokowi’s East Asian trip for pineapples and railways

During the encounter with his host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on July 26, President Jokowi raised a sensitive bilateral issue, namely the Jakarta-Bandung railway project.

3 years ago

A marquee of the Arango Orillac Building lists the Mossack Fonseca law firm, in Panama City, on April 4. Panama's president says his government will cooperate.

Academia premium

Data and computational journalism key in the digital era

Thanks to the internet, anyone -- not just media that are true to journalistic ethics and standards –- can provide information accessible all over the globe anytime.

3 years ago

Money, money, money: Debt collectors have their own concerns, from welfare to security. (Unsplash/Mufid Majnun)

Academia premium

‘Hijrah’ moment: Leaving the dark side of payday loans

To overcome their indebtedness, many individuals apply for another online--payday loan, which traps them in the "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" situation.

3 years ago

Batam Health Agency head Didi Kusumajadi (left) visits the Batam Free Trade Zone Hospital, Riau Islands, on Monday to inspect its isolation and emergency rooms, following findings of a rare monkeypox case in neighboring Singapore over the weekend.

Academia premium

Don’t repeat our COVID-19 mistakes with monkeypox

Playing-with-fire behavior could be avoided with monkeypox by fully trusting in science and allowing experts to lead the process.

3 years ago

Creative work for noble cause: Students paint slogans on T-shirts about HIV/AIDS during a program organized by the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) at Hotel Indonesia Traffic Island Circle in Jakarta recently. The program was organized as part of PMI’s campaign to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among youngsters.

Academia

The HIV response is in danger—the promise of ending AIDS is under threat

New HIV infections have increased since 2015 in 38 countries. Fortunately, in Indonesia the number new infections continue to fall.

3 years ago

Members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard on a street in Yangon on July 19, 2022, on the 75th Martyrs' Day that marks the anniversary of the assassination of independence leaders including general Aung San, father of the currently deposed and imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Academia

Suspend Myanmar before the Phnom Penh ASEAN Regional Forum

More than just deploring the savagery, the ASEAN foreign ministers should take bolder measures to ensure the junta will not act as a “thorn in the flesh” of the regional bloc.

3 years ago

As hepatitis is seen as a highly transmittable infection, patients living with it face social stigma that can lead to discrimination.

Academia

Bringing hepatitis care closer to community

Viral hepatitis is a disease of the liver that is preventable, treatable and curable in most cases. It is a disease where elimination can be achieved and must be achieved!

3 years ago

The Bantar Gebang landfill in West Java.

Academia premium

Innovative solution to the perennial waste problem

Solving Jakarta’s waste problem will require the identification of new technology partners and funding sources, as well as a legal and political climate that is conducive to international investments.

3 years ago

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (center) talks to reporters during a visit to Rinca Island in the Komodo National Park, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on July 21, 2022.

Academia premium

The dark future of conservation and tourism in Komodo park

UNESCO has warned of the potential hazard of mass tourism as the government planned to bring in 500,000 visitors inside the Komodo National Park once pandemic restrictions are loosened.

3 years ago

Trucks loaded with grain wait in a line near Izmail, in the Odessa region, on June 14, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Academia

Let the ex-Dutch minister care about his government’s responsibility

It may seem that Ukrainian grain is a major — if not the only — source of food in the world. But figures don’t lie.

3 years ago

One of Manila's main thoroughfares suffers from gridlock but attempts to introduce sustainable transport were resisted.

Academia

Bus lanes are efficient and bike lanes are fair – transport messages that work

Building acceptance for sustainable initiatives can be as simple as finding the right way to frame the problem.

3 years ago

Buying drugs online is easy and convenient but people need to watch for fakes.

Academia

When shopping online is deadly

Buying medicines on the internet saves time and money, but it could be deadly. Indonesia is working to regulate online pharmacies and improve public safety.

3 years ago

An Afghan farmer with a harvest of opium sap from a poppy field in Afghanistan. Prices have soared since the Taliban said it may ban the trade.

Academia

The terrible twos: Narcotics trafficking and terrorism

The Taliban, which is currently in charge of Afghanistan's political and economic institutions, too, is expected further to increase the cultivation of poppies in their drought-ridden country to keep itself in power.

3 years ago

Members of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Network (JBMI) in Hong Kong celebrate Idul Fitri on May 16, 2021, wearing red ribbons as a symbol of their opposition Hong Kong's mandatory testing and vaccination for domestic workers, which they called discriminatory.

Academia premium

Efficient cross-border payment system can be boon to migrant workers, recovery

An efficient cross-border payment system will spur an increased movement of migrant workers, who can then contribute to economic recovery through the money they send home.

3 years ago

Center of attention: Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (on screen) speaks during a meeting at the Group of 20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on July 8.

Academia premium

G20 must focus on development despite geopolitical headwinds

This year’s G20 theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger” resonates with a world desperate for recovery from a cascade of challenges from inflation to COVID-19 and climate.

3 years ago

President Joko Widodo (left, at podium) speaks during a meeting with the president directors of state-owned enterprises on Oct. 14, 2021 at Meruorah Komodo Hotel in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.

Academia premium

Youth empowerment must not stop at the boardroom

As the country heads toward a demographic bonus, boardrooms at SOEs and private companies should look to including youths as part of the decision-making process to nurture future leaders and create jobs.

3 years ago

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo addresses the opening of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 17, 2022.

Academia premium

The G20 summit, ASEAN and Indonesia

I think now President Jokowi understands that international and domestic affairs are two sides of the same coin and must be pursued in parallel.

3 years ago

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (left) applauds next to conference chair Timur Suleimenov (2nd R) after a closing session of a World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference at the WTO headquarters in Geneva on early June 17, 2022.

Academia

A world in crisis needs both trade and aid

Preliminary research at the WTO suggests that removing tariffs and regulatory trade barriers for a set of energy-related environmental goods would reduce global CO2 emissions.

3 years ago

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