The Idul Fitri celebrations (also known as Lebaran) in Indonesia appear to take place in a safe and orderly manner. Idul Fitri is an important religious holiday for Muslims as it stresses the importance of unity for the Islamic community, and marks the end of the holy fasting month (Ramadan). Business comes to a near stand-still in Indonesia during these days, and Jakarta, the political and economic center of Indonesia, has become empty after millions of people went back to their hometowns ahead of Idul Fitri (this is known as the annual mudik tradition).

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The annual mudik tradition has started in Indonesia. The term mudik refers to the exodus of Indonesian workers from the cities back to their hometowns ahead of Lebaran (the Indonesian name for Idul Fitri) which starts on 28 July 2014. Lebaran, a national holiday (from 28 July to 1 August), marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and is usually celebrated at people’s places of origin, implying that Indonesian cities become more-or-less deserted for one week. In the week up to Lebaran people start to mudik.

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Global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle expects condominium sales in Indonesia to post a record-breaking figure in 2014, particularly supported by the current trend in Jakarta (Indonesia’s capital city) where people continue to shift to apartment living instead of detached or attached single-unit housing. Anton Sitorus, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said that despite the weaker outlook for Indonesia’s property market, both developers and buyers have shown increased interest in developing and buying property.

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Since 07:00 am local time, Indonesians have been able to cast their votes for the country’s presidential election; a tight race between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. Despite the narrow gap between both presidential candidates (based on various surveys), the election has been conducted in good order so far. The polling stations will close at 13:00 pm local time. Hereafter, live quick count scores, which are traditionally quite accurate, will be presented. By approximately 17:00 pm local time, the quick counts are expected to be finalized.

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After seeing foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia reach 752,363 in May 2014, Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu stated that it is highly likely for Indonesia to achieve its target of 9.5 million foreign tourist arrivals this year. In the first five months of 2014, 3.70 million foreign tourists visited the world’s largest archipelago, a 9.96 percentage point growth compared to the same period in 2013 (which was 3.36 million). As usual, most foreign visitors entered Indonesia in Bali.

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Bayu Krisnamurthi, Indonesian Deputy Trade Minister, expects that domestic consumption will rise by approximately 40 percent during the holy Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on 28 June 2014, and subsequent Idul Fitri (Lebaran) celebrations. Traditionally, this period of festivities brings along inflationary pressures as consumers spend more money on food, transportation, clothes and souvenirs. Moreover, Krisnamurthi stated that the center of consumption will shift to the regions.

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Colliers International, a leading global commercial real estate firm, expects West and South Jakarta to become promising locations for the development of high-rise (office) buildings. Associate Director for Research at Colliers International Ferry Salanto explained that Jakarta's infrastructure development plans - in particular new road construction - are the main reason why prospects of property development have become more promising in the Kebon Jeruk (West Jakarta) and T.B. Simatupang (South Jakarta) areas.

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Lately, concerns have arisen that Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, and its immediate surroundings are threatened to experience a clean water crisis by 2025. Clean water, which is produced by two private operators - PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and Aetra Air Jakarta - currently totals 18.7 m3 per second. However, by 2025, demand for clean water will reach 41.3 m3/second as the population of Jakarta is estimated to grow to 14.6 million people from 9.6 million currently (the unofficial figure is possibly much higher).

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At the end of last week, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (better known as Jokowi) inaugurated the Kota Tua revitalization program in North Jakarta. Kota Tua (Old Batavia) is the oldest part of Jakarta, spanning 1.3 square kilometres, and used to be the center of Dutch colonial rule in the 17th and 18th century (in the 19th century the Dutch moved its administrative center to the south). Today, Kota Tua still breathes a colonial atmosphere through the old architecture and museums, attracting tourists on a daily basis.

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The number of foreign tourists that visited Indonesia in January 2014 surged 22.6 percent to 753,079 from the same month last year. As usual, most tourists entered Indonesia through the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, the most popular tourist destination of foreigners, followed by Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Batam. A remarkable growth was detected in foreign visitor arrivals in Lombok, growing by 374 percent (yoy). However, this development was not explained by Statistics Indonesia in its press conference.

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Better late than never! On 10 April 2020 large-scale social restrictions were imposed in the capital city of Jakarta through Jakarta Gubernatorial Regulation No. 33/2020, and Jakarta Gubernatorial Decree No. 380/2020. The regulation and decree, which both aim at curtailing the further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Jakarta, were imposed around five weeks after the very first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Indonesia (namely in Depok, a city located within the Jakarta metropolitan area).

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Back in late-August 2019 Indonesian President Joko Widodo had already made an official announcement that Indonesia’s capital city is to be moved from Jakarta to two regencies in the province of East Kalimantan, namely (1) the North Penajam Paser regency and (2) the Kutai Kertanegara regency. The news came as a surprise to us.

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It was reported in media around the globe near the end of July 2019 that Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta has been constantly ranked in the top 10 of the world's most polluted cities over the past two months (based on AirVisual’s World Air Quality Index, AQI). And, for several days in July 2019 this mega-city was even ranked as the world's smoggiest city.

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On Wednesday 26 September 2018 the local Jakarta administration decided to revoke private developers’ principle permits for the development of 13 artificial islands (reclaimed islands) in the bay north of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. The decision was hardly a surprise. After Anies Baswedan was elected Governor of Jakarta in 2017 it was assumed that the end of the grand project was near.

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The local Jakarta administration has officially revoked principle permits for the development of 13 artificial islands (reclaimed islands) in the bay of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. For now, the decision means a complete stop to all activities related to the ambitious land reclamation project north of Jakarta.

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In his quest to improve infrastructure in Indonesia, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the railway service that links the capital city of Jakarta to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia's busiest airport, on Tuesday (02/01). With the new train, called Railink, people can reach the airport - located about 30 kilometers to the northwest of Jakarta - in about one hour.

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The Indonesian government is still studying the possibility of building a new capital city in Indonesia, thus replacing Jakarta that has become overcrowded with approximately 10 million official residents (the real figure may be much higher as many unregistered Indonesians live in the capital). Moreover, every morning there is a huge inflow of people (originating from the satellite cities around Jakarta) who are heading to their office or place of work. This causes great pressure on the city's fragile infrastructure.

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The future of the ambitious land reclamation project in the bay of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta is highly uncertain now Anies Baswedan has been elected as next Jakarta governor. Baswedan and his running mate Sandiago Uno have repeatedly expressed their objection to the reclamation project, while defeated Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) was a major supporter of the project.

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Jakarta's gubernatorial election is important for two reasons: (1) it is an important test case to determine the current state of religious and ethnic tolerance (pluralism) within Indonesia, and (2) it forms a prelude to Indonesia's 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. Today, the second round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election is held, a tight race between incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) and former education minister Anies Baswedan.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared Wednesday 19 April 2017 a public holiday for citizens in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. This decision, made through a presidential decree, will make it easier for locals to cast their votes in the second round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election, a tight race between incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as Ahok) and former education minister Anies Baswedan.

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