Cooperatives and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now eligible to manage mining concessions over significant land areas across the country following the issuance of a revision to the Government Regulation (PP) No. 39/2025 on implementation of mineral and coal mining operations. While the government has presented this policy to boost local economic participation, particularly among communities near existing mines, it has also raised concerns over the limited technical capacity of co-ops and SMEs and the risk that they could be used as fronts for large corporations.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is facing growing backlash from regional governments after the central government decided to slash local transfers in the 2026 state budget to their lowest level since 2016. Purbaya insists the move is crucial to safeguard fiscal stability amid mounting budgetary pressure. Yet, his rationale raises a critical question: Can regional governments withstand the burden of this fiscal tightening?

The governance and controversial politics surrounding Islamic academic institutions came to a head in recent weeks after a three-story pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Sidoarjo, East Java, collapsed last month, killing 67 students and injuring over 170 others.

With Indonesia’s national soccer team failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Erick Thohir faces intense pressure as chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI). The setback may also threaten his role as Youth and Sports Minister in President Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet, a position now seen as vulnerable given his lack of formal political party backing and the apparent move to expel former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s allies from the government.

Faith in the implementation of President Prabowo Subianto ’s flagship “3 million homes” program has waned after it was recently excluded from the list of National Strategic Projects (PSN) as outlined in the Coordinating Economy Minister’s Regulation No. 16/2025. The setback comes following the annulment of the 2016 Public Housing Savings (Tapera) Law, which was expected to serve as a cornerstone of the government’s affordable housing drive by providing a sustainable funding source for the housing finance liquidity facility (FLPP), which provides low-interest mortgages for low-income households (MBR) under a subsidy scheme.

President Prabowo Subianto may have raised Indonesia’s diplomatic profile in the Middle East, but going by public sentiments, opening diplomatic ties with Israel is not in the cards. The war in Gaza has made that prospect even more remote.

The government has walked back its previous plan to raise the tobacco excise tax, a policy that had been a central pillar of its earlier crackdown on illegal cigarettes. Under the former administration, the approach was largely punitive, marked by annual excise hikes, aggressive “Gempur Rokok Ilegal” raids on small retailers, and stiff penalties for anyone caught selling untaxed products. In a major policy shift, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has now announced that the government will instead offer amnesty to illegal cigarette producers, aiming to incentivize them to register, fulfill their tax obligations, and transition into the formal, regulated market.