Backgrounder

Surya Paloh, a case of having his cake and eating it too

A few people can defy President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and get away with it. One of which is Surya Paloh, the media baron and chairman of the National Democratic Party (NasDem) as he pushes ahead with nominating former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan for next year’s presidential election, against the incumbent’s wishes.

MIND ID prepares to increase stake in Vale Indonesia

State-owned mining holding Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) is preparing to acquire a larger stake in Vale Indonesia as the government concluded that the state should take the 11-percent divestment of the subsidiary of Brazil-based mining and logistics firm Vale Group. MIND ID previously acquired 20 percent of the firm’s stock in the ongoing 51-percent share divestment to Indonesian shareholders as a requirement for the nickel miner to extend its expiring work contract into a special mining permit (IUPK).

Edition

February 3, 2023

Authoritarianism begins in villages

Village heads hold a lot of power and influence over their limited jurisdictions, but when they join forces at the national level, they can become formidable. On Jan. 16, thousands of village heads from all corners of the archipelago converged outside the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta with a single demand: that their term of office be extended from six years under to nine years.

IKN offers 'oversubscribing' as part of business gambling

The Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority has claimed huge investment interest from the private sector to invest in the capital city within the next two years, but businesses said they were actually taking a gamble by grabbing land in the capital city and would not really invest until a new government was formed after next year’s elections. Until then, investment will come mainly from the government – and state-owned enterprises.

Edition

January 27, 2023

Ridwan Kamil joins Golkar. Who benefits?

The Golkar Party is looking to receive a boost of power ahead of the 2024 elections with the arrival of West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil as a new member. Chairman Airlangga Hartarto announced Ridwan’s entry to the Golkar fold on Jan. 18, saying the move had allowed the party to look toward the elections with guarded optimism amid the increasingly fierce competition.

Buwas claims “rice mafia” behind high prices despite market operation

Rice prices at the Cipinang Central Rice Market (PIBC) have continued to rise despite ongoing rice imports. State-owned logistics agency (Bulog) president director Budi “Buwas” Waseso said his team had distributed 100,000 tons of rice in a market operation to control price, but the impact of this intervention was limited because of oligopolistic practices by market players he referred to as the “rice mafia”.

Edition

January 20, 2023

Ghosts of victims of human rights violations still haunting Indonesia

The government has finally admitted that 12 incidents or tragedies that happened in the past amounted to gross violations of human rights, but short of offering an apology, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last week expressed regret and promised restitutions for the victims. This is a startling development for a nation that has been in denial about the many horrible things that have happened in the past. But we can forget about the prosecution of the perpetrators. It is not on the cards.

Agrarian reform below target, land conflicts persists

Agrarian reform, one of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s landmark programs to achieve equality and reduce land conflicts, is still far from achieving the target of land redistribution and has still not reduced conflicts pitting small farmers against corporations.