Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) passed a controversial bill in the early morning of Friday (26/09) that is widely criticized by media and analysts. After a walk out of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party (the largest party in parliament having 148 out of 560 seats) in the plenary session, parliament agreed that direct voting in the regions will be scrapped, thus leaving it to the regional legislatures to elect mayors, district heads and governors. Critics say this bill is a setback for democracy.

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Former Chairman of the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat, PD) Anas Urbaningrum was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/09). Urbaningrum was found guilty of sustained corruption and repeated money laundering. He was also given a fine of IDR 300 million (USD $25,000). The sentence is much lower than the prosecution’s demand for 15-years imprisonment and therefore it is likely that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will appeal.

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J Trust, a Japan-based company engaged in the finance, real estate, IT system, as well as amusement sectors, is reportedly buying Indonesia’s Bank Mutiara (formerly known as Bank Century). Bank Century made headlines due to a controversial government bail-out in 2008 amid the economic crisis when the bank was said to be on the brink of collapse (the impact of which would spread to other local banks). Bank Century then obtained a capital injection of IDR 6.7 trillion (USD $573 million) from the country's Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS).

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On 14 September 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic topics such Indonesia’s fuel subsidies, economic growth in 2015, monetary policy of Bank Indonesia, the Anas Urbaningrum corruption case, emerging Indonesian companies on a global scale, and more.

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Former Chairman of the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat, PD) Anas Urbaningrum could face 15 years in prison and a fine of IDR 500 million (USD $42,372), or an additional five-month imprisonment, as the Indonesian prosecution finds him guilty of accepting bribes related to several government projects that are (partly) financed by the state budget. In addition to the above, the prosecutor also demands that Urbaningrum compensates the state by reimbursing the IDR 94.2 billion and USD $5.3 million he obtained unlawfully.

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On 7 September 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic topics such Indonesia’s fuel subsidies, August inflation, July trade balance, the conflict between the government and Nusa Tenggara Newmont, Jero Wacik’s possible involvement in a corruption case, and more.

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Indonesia has jumped four places in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2014-2015. In the latest edition Southeast Asia’s largest economy is ranked 34th (from 38th in last year’s edition of the index). Since the 2012-2013 edition, when Indonesia was ranked 50th, the country has risen steadily. The Global Competitiveness Index measures the institutions, policies, as well as factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity among 144 countries around the world.

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Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik has been named a suspect in a corruption case by the country’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Allegedly, Jero Wacik was involved in the case that led to a seven-year prison sentence for former Head of Indonesia's oil & gas regulator SKKMigas Rudi Rubiandini (for money laundering as well as accepting bribes from Singapore-based Kernel Oil Pte Ltd and Indonesia-based Kaltim Parna Industri in return for awarding a lucrative tender to sell oil).

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It took about six hours for Indonesia’s Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) to read out the lengthy 300-page verdict in the case that was filed by defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who claimed that the result of Indonesia’s July 2014 presidential election was invalid due to large-scale violations and fraud that allegedly occurred during the voting and counting processes. During the read out it became increasingly clear that the Constitutional Court would reject Subianto’s claims due to a lack of evidence.

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The security status in Jakarta has been raised one day ahead of the ruling of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) on Thursday (21/08) as the Jakarta administration anticipates public protests. The Constitutional Court will decide on defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s claims that the election result of Indonesia’s July presidential election was influenced by massive fraud and violations (in both the voting and counting process). According to the official result Joko Widodo won with 53.15 percent of the votes.

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The month of August is typically a month of celebration because every 17th of August Indonesia celebrates its Independence Day. Indeed, the country commemorated and celebrated this day (as usual) on 17 August 2025. However, by the end of the month matters had changed drastically. In fact, Indonesia was on fire amid widespread civil disturbance.

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For Indonesia August is typically a month in which politics are on the foreground as the country commemorates its Independence Day on each 17th of August. This is an important day in Indonesian history as well as an occasion for many festivities and celebrations around the country.

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As is widely known, corruption is a widespread problem in Indonesia. Often we read about new corruption cases being unveiled that (typically) involve Indonesian state officials joining hands with the private sector in a (supposedly) win-win deal related to public procurement.

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On 17 May 2023 the Attorney General’s Office of Indonesia officially named Johnny G. Plate, Minister of Communication and Information, a suspect in a corruption case that involves the construction of base transceivers stations across the Archipelago. Plate was also immediately arrested in Jakarta.

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Throughout my life in Indonesia I have noticed that when dealing with government institutions, for example when arranging a residence permit (KITAS/KITAP), a work permit (IMTA) or a building permit (IMB), there are two options: (1) do everything according to official guidelines (based on laws, regulations, and policies) but expect to see a delay, or (2) pay a higher price at the start but ‘get things done quickly’.

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On 9 August 2021, Indonesian President Joko Widodo witnessed the launch of the new Online Single Submission (OSS) system at the Investment Ministry (also known as the Investment Coordinating Board, abbreviated as BKPM).

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One characteristic of the Indonesian economy is that the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play an important role in this USD $1.0 trillion economy. They not only play an important role because some of them rank among Indonesia’s biggest companies (in terms of profit, sales and assets), thereby generating plenty of money for the government (in the form of tax revenue or dividend) while at the same time creating jobs for millions of Indonesians.

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In Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’ (CPI), Indonesia is rising slowly, yet continuously. In the latest edition, which was released in January 2019, Indonesia ranked 89th with a score of 38 points (the CPI uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is fully corrupt and 100 is completely clean).

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Those consumers and investors who purchased one or more apartment units in the Meikarta megacity project in Bekasi (West Java) are currently facing uncertain times. A new corruption scandal has put the future of the Meikarta project in jeopardy and therefore those who have already bought a Meikarta apartment fear that their money and apartment unit is lost. Those who are still making monthly mortgage payments to the bank, are confused whether they need to continue these payments (hence risking losing more money) or stop the monthly payment.

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Although Indonesia's score was unchanged, the nation's ranking fell in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Berlin-based Transparency International. In the 2017 edition, Southeast Asia's largest economy Indonesia ranks 96th, down from 90th in last year's edition. The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption (based on input from experts and businessmen), uses a scale from 0.0 (highly corrupt) to 1.0 (very clean).

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