JAKARTA: Indonesia has declared the late President Suharto a national hero which activists say is an attempt at whitewashing a long history of human rights abuses and corruption that took place during his three-decade military rule. Suharto was forced out of office in 1998 by violent protests that took place amid an economic crisis. His […]
Read MoreIndonesian President Prabowo Subianto waves at the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26. Photo: Reuters Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s public approval rating is steady at 78 per cent a year after he took office, a survey showed on Saturday, despite a challenging first year in office marked by deadly student protests. Prabowo’s approval […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia’s anti-corruption watchdog has launched a preliminary investigation into the construction of the US$7.3 billion Jakarta–Bandung High-speed Railway that analysts say could implicate senior figures in the administration of former president Joko Widodo. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) confirmed last week that it was gathering evidence related to alleged irregularities in […]
Read MoreJAKARTA: Indonesia and Brazil agreed to boost ties and struck a series of agreements on Thursday as their leaders met in Jakarta, with Southeast Asia’s biggest economy looking to make further inroads into South American markets. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was greeted by a marching band and national anthems at a ceremony […]
Read MoreBy Sam Beltran A spate of powerful earthquakes across the Philippines has triggered widespread panic, sparked a flood of misinformation and prompted officials to take decisions that experts warn could undermine long-term disaster readiness. Analysts say the anxious public reaction – from mass hysteria in schools to viral conspiracy theories about “The Big One” – […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia’s plan to join the Brics-led New Development Bank (NDB) and fulfil a payment requirement for membership has spurred a debate on whether the move is feasible given the country’s strained finances to fund President Prabowo Subianto’s priority projects. Earlier this year, Prabowo announced that Indonesia was planning to join the […]
Read MoreIndonesian President Prabowo Subianto asked US President Donald Trump on Monday if he could meet with Trump’s son Eric, an executive vice president of the Trump Organization, according to comments by the leaders picked up by a microphone after Trump had addressed a Gaza-focused summit in Egypt. Trump and Prabowo, who were also seen on […]
Read MoreIndonesia is racing to contain the fallout from a radioactive contamination scare after traces of caesium-137 were detected in shipments of cloves and frozen shrimp to the United States, prompting import blocks on two major exporters and urgent clean-up efforts in an industrial zone west of Jakarta. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first […]
Read MoreIndonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Monday defended his ambitious plan to provide free meals for children after some 6,000 cases of food poisoning, saying the percentage of those affected was small and the programme was still finding its footing. The food poisonings have sparked a public outcry with TV channels broadcasting images of children being […]
Read MoreResty Woro Yuniar Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to send tens of thousands of peacekeepers to conflict zones and said the country could recognise Israel, but only if Palestinian statehood is first acknowledged. The idea of conditional recognition for Israel drew sharp reactions at home, with critics accusing Prabowo of undermining Indonesia’s pro-Palestinian stance, […]
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