All posts tagged: Indonesias

10 hours and 1 surgeon: The quiet hero of Indonesia’s train crash tragedy

10 hours and 1 surgeon: The quiet hero of Indonesia’s train crash tragedy

Published by Sam Flores

JAKARTA: After a long shift and an evening out with his wife and two teenage daughters at a shopping mall in East Jakarta, Muhammad Iqbal El Mubarak was looking forward to going home and getting some well-deserved rest. But as his car exited the parking lot, the 41-year-old surgeon’s wife alerted him to social media posts about a train accident that had happened around an hour previously, some 30 minutes away at East Bekasi station.  There seemed to be many casualties, she said.  It was Monday, Apr 27, and the train would have been packed with commuters heading home from work, Iqbal thought. He pictured the station already descending into chaos with injured passengers, panicked families, overwhelmed paramedics and rescuers struggling to cope. Without much hesitation, he changed course. With his wife and daughters still in the car, he drove straight to the station, knowing emergency responders would need all the help they could get. “There were so many people but most were just standing there not knowing what to do,” said Iqbal. “I had to step in.” By the …

Indonesia’s Board of Peace dilemma: Prabowo caught between domestic backlash and US ties

Indonesia’s Board of Peace dilemma: Prabowo caught between domestic backlash and US ties

Published by Sam Flores

JAKARTA: When Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto accepted the United States’ invitation to join the Board of Peace (BoP) on Jan 22, he cast it as a strategic step to achieve lasting world peace and elevate Indonesia’s global standing as a middle power. But public scepticism of Indonesia’s BoP participation has grown in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the death of three Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon last month.  The board was originally established to oversee post-conflict reconstruction in Gaza. With politicians, including figures from Prabowo’s own coalition, now urging a reassessment of Indonesia’s membership, observers say the president risks being caught between domestic backlash and preserving ties with the US. “The Board of Peace has become the Board of Problems,” declared Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations lecturer at Indonesia’s President University. LATEST PUBLIC SENTIMENTS Over half of respondents in a survey conducted last month disagree with Indonesia’s decision to join the BoP.  Conducted by three Indonesian research companies, the survey found that 50.9 per cent of more than 1,000 respondents disagreed with Indonesia’s decision …

Indonesia’s Prabowo Calls for Criminal Charges Against Firms Resisting Forest Crackdown

Indonesia’s Prabowo Calls for Criminal Charges Against Firms Resisting Forest Crackdown

Published by Sam Flores

JAKARTA, April 10 (Reuters) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto ordered prosecutors ⁠on ⁠Friday to file criminal charges against ⁠companies that refuse to cooperate with a task force he launched to ​crack down on illegal activities in the country’s forests. The task force, made up of military personnel, prosecutors and ‌environmental regulators, has since early 2025 ‌been seizing areas controlled by companies and individuals, ordering them to pay fines for what they ⁠describe as ⁠illegal business operations in designated forest areas. A total of 5.88 million hectares (14.5 million ​acres) of oil palm plantations and 10,257 hectares of mining concessions have been taken over so far, according to the deputy head of the task force, Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin – nearly twice the size of Belgium. Speaking at ​a ceremony marking the task force’s efforts, Burhanuddin handed 7.23 trillion rupiah ($423.18 million) of fines paid ⁠by ⁠implicated companies over to the ⁠finance ministry. Prabowo ​praised the task force’s work and warned that anyone who refused to cooperate would be seen ​as going against the president ⁠himself. …

Indonesia’s 2025 GDP growth estimated at targeted 5.2%, finance minister says

Indonesia’s 2025 GDP growth estimated at targeted 5.2%, finance minister says

Published by Sam Flores

JAKARTA, Jan 27 : Overall GDP growth in Indonesia is expected to have met the 5.2 per cent target for 2025 despite widespread destruction caused by floods late last year, though growth was estimated to have been quicker in the fourth quarter, the finance minister said on Tuesday. The 2026 growth target of 5.4 per cent was also maintained for the $1.4 trillion economy, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said at a gathering of Indonesia’s financial stability board.     Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said his institution would continue to monitor for room to cut interest rates to support economic growth. He said rates were kept unchanged in recent months to maintain the stability of the rupiah. Indonesia’s currency has weakened this month over concerns about central bank independence. Bank Indonesia would help it remain stable, including through market interventions, Warjiyo said. “In formulating monetary policy, we will always look at inflation, exchange rates, and economic growth data,” Warjijo said. BI kept the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate IDCBRR=ECI at 4.75 per cent last week, where it has been …