President Prabowo Subianto plans to hold a military-style retreat for incoming regional heads elected in last November’s elections, garnering mixed reactions from the public, with some critics raising concerns over the possible recentralization of governance.

The Defense Ministry and the Indonesian Military are working to increase defense budget from 0.8 percent to 1 percent and towards 1.5 percent of the country's GDP.

Budi Arie, who currently serves as cooperatives minister under President Prabowo Subianto, told reporters on Friday morning that the two politicians had in fact discussed ways to improve national unity.

Prabowo said his government was committed to paying for the free meals program itself and that he would ensure the funding for the program was disbursed efficiently.

Should the former Jakarta governor see through his plan to establish a mass organization, it may help provide him with a platform to run in the 2029 presidential election, political analysts have said.

Former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said his recent meeting with Yogyakarta Governor Hamengku Buwono X was not politically motivated, despite the Sultan having previously offered help in mending Jokowi’s relations with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which recently stooped to an all time low.

Golkar's mass organization has said it is open to welcoming the former president and his son Gibran as members, ahead of this weekend’s anniversary event that the latter is expected to attend.

Rivals pushing for a snap election to oust Yahya Cholil Staquf from the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairmanship have continued their efforts ahead of the anniversary of the country’s largest Muslim organization.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has said investigators are wrapping up the investigation into former trade minister Thomas Lembong in regard to sugar imports he authorized nearly a decade ago.

Former Surabaya District Court head Rudi Suparmono allegedly accepted at least S$60,000 for his roles in the acquittal of a murder charge against defendant Gregorius Ronald Tannur in a high-profile murder case in the East Java capital city.

The complainants argue in their report to the Bangka Belitung Police that the expert, forestry professor Bambang Hero Saharjo of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), lacks the competency to estimate state losses from a corruption case.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will play the role of “strategic partner” to the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and will work in support of its programs, party politicians have said, dashing hopes for a strong opposition.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Andika Perkasa, who lost in a two-way race for governor in the party’s home turf of Central Java two months ago, has filed a request with the Constitutional Court to retract his petition challenging the results of the election.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) interrogated Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto on Monday for the first time since he was named a bribery suspect, as the party prepares to go on the offensive in a pretrial hearing later this month.

Amid mounting pressure on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri seems to have softened her stance toward President Prabowo Subianto, saying her relations with the Gerindra Party chairman remain fine.

Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said that the planned retreat would be a forum for President Prabowo to brief the local heads on his agenda and how to implement it at the local level.

Meutya on Monday inaugurated Raline for the new position in a ceremony which also saw the induction of former television anchor Fifi Aleyda Yahya as the ministry's director general for public information and communications.

In keeping with the ongoing narrative of turncoats attempting to undermine her leadership and reelection bid at the upcoming national congress, the PDI-P matriarch has called on any disillusioned members to simply leave the party.

The first hearing of the motion, in which the PDI-P secretary-general is challenging the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) naming him as a suspect, is scheduled for Jan. 21.

He claimed the incident, which occurred at a Tangerang rest stop, was a “kill or be killed” situation.

The regional offices of the General Elections Commission (KPU) formally announced the winners of the 2024 simultaneous regional elections in 21 provinces.

The House of Representatives will decide whether to press ahead with a plan to overhaul the electoral system altogether using a sweeping omnibus legislative method later this month, following a court order to introduce a new way to regulate how political parties nominate presidential candidates.

Rini said the current priority for the government was to renew its database on civil servants, especially following the decision by President Prabowo Subianto to spin off ministries under his administration, as well as the formation of new ministries and government agencies.

Policymakers plan to start drafting a General Elections Law revision to comply with last week's court order that scrapped the presidential threshold, though it remains unknown when this might happen and whether the revision would be part of a broader process of combining all prevailing legislation on elections into a sweeping omnibus law.

The bribery case also involves convicted former General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan and fugitive Harun Masiku.

Despite being the centrepiece of an election campaign that catapulted Prabowo to power last year, the scheme was rolled out with little fanfare on Monday, with no official launch and just 190 kitchens involved in preparing the first meals to school children and pregnant women in more than 20 provinces. 

PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto excused himelf from his first questioning as a graft suspect on Monday, apparently due to a prior engagement, while the KPK continued with its interrogation of other witnesses in the 2019 bribery case surrounding fugitive ex-PDI-P member Harun Masiku.

Pressure is mounting on the House of Representatives to fall in line with the recent surprise ruling by the Constitutional Court that removed the steep nomination threshold from future presidential elections.

The loyalty and allegiance of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) to President Prabowo Subianto are being put to the test following a recent court decision revoking the presidential nomination threshold, which offers every political party a chance to field a challenger in the 2029 election.

The Foreign Ministry said that it was seriously following up on the sexual harassment allegations made against the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, Usra Hendra Harahap, asserting that it would “not tolerate any violations of the principles of diplomatic ethics”.