The business environment in Indonesia needs political stability as well as a conducive investment climate to grow. However, if there exists a high degree of social unrest then the central government can offer as many incentives as it wants but entrepreneurs will be hesitant to engage in investment and business expansion. Currently, there is quite some unrest in the capital city of Jakarta. Ever since a manipulated video of Jakarta Governor Basuki Cahaya Purnama (Ahok) surfaced in which he allegedly insulted Islam, there has been outrage among Islamic hardliners. This brings economic costs.

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Indonesian newspaper Bisnis Indonesia printed an interesting interview with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Wednesday (19/10). Kalla is one of the few political veterans of Indonesia, having been born during the Japanese occupancy of the Dutch East Indies, before Indonesia existed. He was VP under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-2009), leader of Golkar, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare (2001-2004), and Minister of Trade & Industry (1999-2000). Before he became fully committed to politics he developed a successful business empire.

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On 16 October 2016, 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 over the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economy and political-related topics such as the new Energy minister, GDP growth, credit ratings, the food and modern retail sectors, property prices for foreign buyers, cement sales, coal price, car sales, and more.

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Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resource Minister Arcandra Tahar was dismissed (honorably) from his post by President Joko Widodo on Monday (15/08) after reports surfaced that indicated Tahar holds American citizenship. Indonesian law does not recognize dual citizenship (except for persons under the age of 18 years). Tahar had only just been appointed the country's Energy Minister in a cabinet reshuffle that took place on 27 July 2016 (Tahar replaced Sudirman Said). State Secretary Pratikno announced the Tahar's dismissal in the late hours on Monday.

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On Wednesday (27/07) Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo confirmed that he has reshuffled his cabinet, a move aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of his cabinet. Widodo also announced the names of the new ministers. Two names are very interesting: (1) Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who was Indonesia's finance minister between 2005 and 2010, and (2) retired army general Wiranto, who played a key role in handling security issues during the transition from Suharto's New Order to the Reformation era. However, his name is linked to human rights violations.

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In local media it is reported that Indonesian President Joko Widodo will announce another cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday afternoon (27/07). The three ministers that - according to speculation in media - are set to be replaced are Industry Minister Saleh Husin, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, and National Development Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil. It would be the second cabinet reshuffle that is undertaken by Widodo (in August 2015 he replaced six ministers in a cabinet reshuffle).

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A survey from Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) shows that Indonesians' confidence in the performance of President Joko Widodo's government has risen. The survey signals that some 67 percent of the Indonesian population are satisfied with the government's performance, significantly higher compared to 42 percent in 2015. Reform-minded Widodo, often called Jokowi, has been in office since October 2014. However, he has to guide the nation amid global and domestic challenges (sluggish economic growth, low commodity prices and monetary policy changes of key central banks that trigger capital inflows/outflows).

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After an international tribunal came to the conclusion earlier this week that China has no legal claims to most of the South China Sea, there exists a lack of unity among Southeast Asian nations as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to respond to the matter. Among ASEAN officials there was no agreement to issue a joint statement regarding the ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration as ASEAN member nations are split on the matter.

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There has been rising speculation in Indonesia in recent months that Indonesian President Joko Widodo will decide for another cabinet reshuffle as several ministers are held responsible for the disappointing performance of their ministries (that have reacted too slow to implement new government guidelines, for example those guidelines set in the series of economic policy packages that have been released since September 2015). On 12 August 2015, Widodo had already reshuffled his cabinet, replacing six ministers.

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Today (09/12) millions of Indonesians head to the ballot boxes to vote for new regional leaders i.e. nine provincial governors, 36 mayors, and 224 district heads. These elections are important as the process of decentralization in the post-Suharto era has transferred considerable authority and power to the regions. As such, the regions now have a larger role and greater responsibility regarding economic development. Around 100 million people are eligible to cast a vote in the world's third-largest democracy. Today, 9 December 2015, has been declared a public national holiday.

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On 20 March 2024, the General Elections Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum or KPU) officially declared Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming the winning pair of the 2024 presidential election (that had taken place on 14 February 2024).

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On Wednesday 14 February 2024, a total of around 204.8 million Indonesian voters were allowed to choose the new president for the 2024-2029 period. And while not all people will take advantage of their right to vote (and there always is a number of invalid votes), we do expect more than 80 percent of that total to have shown up on Valentine’s Day.

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With Indonesia’s legislative and presidential elections approaching (on 14 February 2024), we plan to give an update on the elections each month. As we have repeatedly emphasized, these elections are crucial as incumbent President Joko Widodo cannot compete due to the two-term cap. And so, someone else will be behind the country’s political and economic steering wheel.

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It was interesting to read that the Ethics Council of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court decided to remove Anwar Usman from his post as Chief Justice (in early November 2023) after he apparently cast a deciding vote in favour of a controversial revision that allows his nephew-by-marriage, Gibran Rakabuming, to join the upcoming 2024 presidential election as one of the three vice-presidential candidates.

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There is quite some controversial material to discuss after the Constitutional Court of Indonesia (Mahkamah Konstitusi, or MK) paved the way for incumbent President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka (henceforth Gibran), to team up with Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto in the presidential race.

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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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We plan to give an update on Indonesia’s 2024 legislative and presidential elections each quarter because these elections are quite important for the future of Indonesia. As is widely known, incumbent President Joko Widodo cannot join this 2024 race because of the two-term limit, and so – after one decade in office – Indonesia will have a new president in 2024.

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It is November, again! This means that Indonesia’s provincial governments need to determine the provincial minimum wages for next year (these new minimum wages will kick in per 1 January 2023).

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While the 2024 legislative and presidential elections are still far away, we do expect Indonesian media to increasingly cover this topic in 2022, particularly if the COVID-19 pandemic eases, before this topic will really dominate national media in 2023.

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Another year has passed, and therefore we would like to wish all of our subscribers a happy, healthy, and successful 2021! The transition to a brand new year is also typically a great occasion to look back at the year that has passed and look forward to the one that has arrived (and some may even have made a couple of New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to achieve a certain goal or change a bad habit).

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