Beyond a spiritual ritual, Ramadhan offers a powerful economic blueprint for bridging Indonesia’s wealth gap and securing a just, prosperous future by 2045.

As global oil prices soar and the rupiah weakens, the government is responding with a display of military hardware that masks, but cannot fix, a deepening economic crisis.

By choking off the Strait of Hormuz to oil flowing from pro-US Persian Gulf countries, while still shipping a substantial amount of its own oil to China, Iran has slapped painful sanctions on the US.

In an economy still heavily skewed toward urban concentration, where capital accumulates disproportionately in Jakarta and major cities, the annual Idul Fitri migration serves as a release valve, channeling economic “lifeblood” back into rural capillaries.

As Indonesia’s 2026 budget faces an oil-fueled collision between campaign promises and market reality, the government must choose: protect its signature projects or save its fiscal credibility.

The first batch of Indonesians evacuated from war-besieged Iran landed back home on March 11, after an overland journey that took them through Azerbaijan and Turkey before they were flown to Jakarta. Following this group of 22 people will be a few more batches in the coming days and weeks as citizens flee the ongoing United States-Israelis attacks.

Indonesia has the capacity and potential to achieve resilience across the economic board, especially at this tough time; all it need do is stand up and take the bull by the horns.

The meeting of the best of the East and the West is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a substantive step toward reimagining the future of global intellectual engagement.

If the US continues to view NATO and its Pacific alliances through a purely transactional lens, it risks hollowing out the very institutions that have underpinned global stability for eight decades.

The Iran crisis makes clear that a restoration spearheaded by middle powers is crucial for steering geopolitics away from a world governed by power alone. 

Official warnings ahead of Nowruz in Iran have been explicit: Dissent will be treated not as protest but as insurrection. 

As India navigates the volatile West Asian landscape, New Delhi’s masterclass in strategic autonomy proves that dialogue, not division, is the ultimate currency of power.

The plan to train thousands of civil servants as military reservists raise risks of militarizing the bureaucracy.

Framing returnees as potential criminals is politically convenient but counterproductive. It discourages victims from seeking help from authorities.

As ride-hailing drivers report increasing scarcity and pay-to-participate barriers, the invisible hand of the algorithm is reshaping our digital economy. We must ask whether platform innovation is expanding opportunity or quietly redefining the terms of fairness for millions.

Catholics and Muslims, together with all people of goodwill, are called to envision and open new paths through which life can be renewed. 

Learning from the ongoing war in the Middle East, it is essential for TNI-AL to consider increasing capacities for mine hunting in particular and underwater warfare in general.

While Bali’s quiet compromise proves that faiths can flourish together, a rising tide of state-backed intolerance threatens to unravel Indonesia’s fragile tapestry of unity in diversity..

Producing food is not the same as ensuring people can eat. The difference lies not in production but in income levels, logistics, market integration and purchasing power.

Budget allocations for the free nutritious meal (MBG) program now dominate the education budget. A school feeding program that does not fundamentally serve a core educational purpose has instead become a primary focus within the government’s education spending framework. This shift raises significant questions about fiscal priorities and the long-term health of the nation’s pedagogical infrastructure.

We are honored that many citizens and friends of Ireland will commemorate St Patrick's Day across Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

For waqf to play a meaningful role in post-disaster recovery, governance must be strengthened through clear asset mapping, professional management, transparency and integration with broader development and disaster-risk strategies.

True police reform is more than a change in regulation; it is a living social contract where legitimacy is earned daily and security is co-produced by the police and the public.

When the "warmth" of the Idul Fitri living room becomes a cold interrogation, a woman’s Ivy League degree and global achievements are often reduced to a single, stinging metric: her marital status.

When a state uses acid to silence its critics, it ceases to be a protector and becomes a perpetrator of terrorism.

The pulse of Indonesian democracy has moved to three arenas of contention: the asphalt of the streets, the viral volatility of social media and the high-stakes theater of the courtroom.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the escalating Middle East war has disrupted global oil and gas shipments, driving up prices and exposing Indonesia to serious energy and financial risks. Around 25 percent of the country's oil imports originate from the Middle East and pass through the strait, while domestic fuel reserves can only last for around 20 days. With oil prices recently surpassing US$100 per barrel and the rupiah weakening to around Rp 17,000 per United States dollar, Indonesia now faces an additional layer of economic and energy security risk. The administration of President Prabowo Subianto is therefore under pressure to secure alternative supplies and stabilize domestic markets.