In the latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Transparency International (a Germany-based politically non-partisan institution), Indonesia's ranking improved to 88th (from 107th in last year's edition). As such, Indonesia continues to rise through the ranks of the index. Although this is a very encouraging development, it needs to be emphasized that the nation is still plagued by a high degree of corruption. Transparency International's index measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.

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The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) will complete its investigation into the alleged fictitious trading of coal mining firm Sekawan Intipratama's shares later this week. Results will be presented to the Financial Services Authority (OJK). The case led to the one-day suspension of trading activity of three Indonesian brokerages (Danareksa Sekuritas, Reliance Securities, and Millenium Danatama Sekuritas) on Wednesday 11 November on claims that they manipulated the miner's shares. Trading in shares of Sekawan Intipratama has been suspended since 9 November after the firm's shares tumbled 64.68 percent in a two-week period.

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Trading activity of three brokerages - Danareksa Sekuritas, Reliance Securities, and Millenium Danatama Sekuritas - have been reactivated by the Indonesia Stock Exchange on Thursday (12/11). One day earlier, these brokers' trading activity had been suspended on claims that the firms are involved in fictitious trading, worth around IDR 350 billion (approx. USD $26 million), related to shares of publicly-listed coal mining firm Sekawan Intipratama. Allegedly, the three brokers have manipulated the miner's shares.

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The ongoing forest fires on parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, brought about by people's slash-and-burn practices to clear land for palm oil and paper industries, are now labelled a crime against humanity by global media while Indonesia has turned into the world's largest daily carbon dioxide emissions surpassing China and the USA. The severe haze that has been plaguing parts of Southeast Asia brings health problems, economic costs and bad publicity amid a time when most countries are teaming up to combat global warming.

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Over the past two days more than 900 migrants (believed to be Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladesh) have been rescued from overcrowded wooden boats near the coastal area of Indonesia’s Aceh province at the northern tip of Sumatra. After being spotted by local fishermen, these boats were towed to Acehnese shore. Meanwhile, in Malaysia more than 1,000 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh were found in shallow waters near Langkawi after being abandoned by human traffickers.

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This week Indonesia’s police arrested a foreign national in Jakarta in connection to the discovery of 2.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (meth) in a boarding house in Srengseng (West Jakarta). Jakarta Police spokesman Budi Widjanarko said that police action was taken based on intelligence about a syndicate that smuggles crystal meth into Indonesia from Nigeria. Reportedly, this syndicate is led by a Jakarta prison inmate. Recent history shows that Indonesian authorities are very strict on drug-related crimes.

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The recently exposed case that involves illegal fishery, abuse and even alleged slavery on and near the remote island of Benjina (East Indonesia) has taken another turn after a key witness in the case was found dead in a hotel in Central Jakarta over the weekend. Yoseph Sairlela, adviser at Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, was beaten to death according to local media. Indonesia's National Police stated that it suspects the murder is related to the ‘Benjina-case’. The ministry requested police protection for other key witnesses.

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Shares of Kalbe Farma, Indonesia’s largest pharmaceutical company, have been under pressure over the past couple of days due to the deaths of two hospital patients after they had taken a medicine manufactured by Kalbe Farma. According to the Indonesian Pharmacy Association (GP Farmasi Indonesia) Buvanest Spinal, an anesthetic, was wrongly packaged and hence did not contain bupivacaine but instead tranexamic acid, which aims to stop or reduce heavy bleeding (usually used during surgery).

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Indonesian authorities said that divers have located the black box recorders of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 on Sunday (11/01). Ships involved in the search operation picked up strong ping signals less than 0.6 miles from the location where the tail of the AirAsia aircraft was found. However, divers have not been able yet to collect the black box (which contains crucial flight data) due to the strong undercurrent. Moreover, the black box is stuck under debris at about 30 to 35 meters below sea level.

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Although Indonesian rescuers are still searching for the black boxes, casualties and other remains of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 that crashed tragically in the Java Sea on 28 December 2014 en route from Surabaya (East Java) to Singapore, some preliminary findings have already been presented to the media. These findings do not involve the accident itself but rather involve massive violations that were exposed as a consequence of the AirAsia tragedy. Apparently, 61 flights (involving five Indonesian airlines) lack the necessary permits.

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Shares of food manufacturer Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food fell almost 25 percent on Friday (21/07) after one of its subsidiaries is suspected of fraud. Allegedly, subsidiary Indo Beras Unggul (a rice trader) sold rice under the premium label, while it actually was the cheaper government-subsidized rice that was sold to consumers. Police raided a warehouse of Indo Beras Unggul in Bekasi (West Java) on Thursday evening (20/07), confiscating more than 1,000 tons of rice.

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The latest survey of Berlin-based Transparency International confirms that Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) is perceived - among Indonesians - as the most corrupt institution in the country. This outcome is no surprise because the DPR, the elected national legislative assembly that draws up and passes laws and budgets as well as monitors the performance of the government, has for long been perceived by the Indonesian people as the most corrupt institution within the country.

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Rudiantara, Indonesia's Minister for Communications and Information, urges social media platform Facebook to upgrade its existing representative office in Indonesia into a proper company (PT PMA). Earlier this week Rudiantara met a Facebook delegation, led by the head of global policy management Monika Bickert, in Jakarta. Indonesian authorities believe that by having a proper company in Indonesia, Facebook would be in a better position to tackle negative content and fake news (hoaxes), while communication with the government would improve.

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After CEO Dwi Soetjipto and Deputy CEO Ahmad Bambang were removed from their posts at Indonesia's state-owned energy company Pertamina there was some confusion what the real reasons behind this move were. In some local media it was even speculated that the removal of both men was related to a corruption case (something that would not be unimaginable in the case of Indonesia, especially when it involves the government and natural resources). However, the real reason for the removal of Soetjipto and Bambang is, seemingly, simply because they couldn't get along with each other and their poor relationship started to impact on Pertamina's operations.

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Despite being a hot topic in Indonesia since the start of the year, we ignored the murder case of Mirna Salihin. However, we decided to devote one article on the topic because on Thursday (27/10) Mirna's friend, 27-year old Jessica Kumala Wongso, was sentenced to 20 years in prison having been found guilty - by the Central Jakarta District Court - of murdering Mirna by putting cyanide in her Vietnamese iced coffee. The whole case and trial bear resemblance to the O.J. Simpson murder case in Los Angeles (USA) in 1995 in terms of public attention and media coverage.

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In early 2016 Ford Motor Indonesia, the local unit of American car-maker Ford Motor Company, announced it will have completed its exit from Indonesia (and Japan) by the start of 2017. This decision was made because Ford has been unable to compete with its Japanese counterparts on the markets of Indonesia and Japan. The sudden move to exit Indonesia was not warmly welcomed by Ford Motor Co's dealers in Indonesia. The 31 Ford local dealerships demanded USD $75 million in compensation. More recently, Ford Motor Indonesia has become the center of a tax scandal.

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Relatively frequently Indonesia is shocked by major scandals; usually it is a high-profile corruption case involving politicians or big businessmen but since Friday (24/06) a new scandal arose that has been keeping local media busy. This scandal is more sensitive as it involves the health of little children. Apparently, fake vaccines have been given to children - primarily to babies under one year old - across Java for the past 13 years. Police arrested a total of 16 people on grounds that they have been involved in the production and distribution of fake counterfeit vaccines.

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Last week it was announced that the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) agreed to a USD $3.4 billion loan for the construction of the controversial Batang power plant in Central Java. This power plant project is controversial as it met fierce resistance from the local community (triggering concerns about human rights violations related to the land acquisition process) as well as criticism from environmental groups, saying this power plant - set to become Indonesia's largest coal-fired power plant - runs counter to Indonesia's earlier commitment to reduce carbon emissions.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo has signed a controversial decree that introduces tougher penalties for child sex offenders in Indonesia. By replacing a 2002 law, Indonesia now introduces various new consequences for those who have been found guilty of sex offenses against children. The new penalties comprise the death penalty, chemical castration, life-long prison sentences, electronic monitoring (after release from prison), and the publicly announcement of the identity of the child molester.

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The spotlights are again turned on low-cost carrier Lion Air, Indonesia's largest privately-held airline that controls about 40 percent of the air passenger market in Indonesia. The airline, owned by Rusdi Kirana (one of the richest Indonesians), has again disappointed thousands of passengers due to delayed flights. This time flight delays were caused by Lion Air pilots going on strike. It is worth to zoom in on this case and to take a look at which Indonesian airlines are most reliable in terms of departure punctuality.

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