HEADLINE

The European Union (EU) is one of Indonesia’s third largest export destination for palm oil after India and China. Historically, a European country even played a key role in the development of Indonesia’s palm oil industry in its infancy. The first oil palm plantation in Indonesia was established by a Belgian company Socfin Group in North Sumatra over a hundred years ago, and is still in business today. Because of this special historical relationship, it isn’t surprising that EU is one of the largest consumers of palm oil.

The government, since Megawati administration in 2001, has pledged to achieve sugar self-sufficiency but after two presidents (and four administrations) it appears that this remains a distant dream. In the intervening years, annual domestic sugar production has been stuck at between 2.1 to 2.4 million tons while the demand for both consumption and industrial sugar has hit 7 million tons. 

As 2022 has come to an end, the Government gave the Indonesian legal sector a surprise “end of year gift” in the form of the polemical Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) 2/2022 dated December 30, 2022 pertaining to Law 11/2020 on Job Creation. The Government claimed its issuance has met the “compelling emergencies” criteria. 

“There is a possibility, I dare not speculate yet, to return to a closed-list proportional electoral system,” said General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Hasyim Asyari at the 2022 end-of-year review at KPU office, Jakarta, Thursday (29/12/2022). 

The global economic recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is facing a “stumbling block” as the Russia-Ukraine war, which started on February 24, continues to rage. The war has sparked soaring energy and food commodity prices and hindered economic recovery. Before the war, global crude prices had been on the rise, as the global economy began to rebound from the pandemic, pushing up demand. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove prices even higher with Brent crude zooming past US$105 per barrel on February 24, shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine, while WTI hit US$103 per barrel on March 1. 

Indonesia has not imported rice (medium grade) for three years (2019- 21). This is an achievement in itself, as the recognition from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on August 14 showed. But now Indonesia has turned into an object of ridicule, due to the government’s decision to import 500,000 tons of rice at the end of 2022. It’s easy to see why this policy sparked controversy. Many parties now even doubt the claim that Indonesia has been self-sufficient in rice. There are also those who suspected the import decision may be a covert attempt to raise fresh funds for the upcoming elections. 

On several occasions, the Coordinating Economic Ministry has expressed its intention to create a “bullion bank”, a facility offering all types of gold or silver transactions, including services for exporting and importing as well as serving as a depository for precious metals. The Bank is expected to manage the ever-increasing transactions of gold and gold derivatives in Indonesia. This potential can be appreciated from the gold consumption trend and Indonesia’s gold mines, among the largest in the world. 

The reform era created momentum that led to four amendments to the 1945 Constitution. In the second amendment, healthcare is provisioned for as a constitutional right of all Indonesian people. Article 28H(1) stipulates that every citizen has the right to live healthily and receive healthcare services. 

“Today, the world’s eye is on us. Will we manage to achieve success? Or will we add one more failure? For me, the G20 must be successful, it must not fail.” That’s the powerful remarks delivered by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in an opening speech of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Tuesday (15/11). 

Being young and educated in 2022 is not easy. For instance, a young guy out of college in his productive age who is currently seeking employment has competition from 3.5 million other “new workers” each year. At least until the “Indonesian demographic bonus” comes to an end, this sustained expansion of the labor force is expected to continue. The issue is that the enormous supply of domestic employees exceeds the capacity of the labor market. Mass layoff reports from businesses in the processing sector have been common for months. 

Indonesia is currently facing a growing public health crisis. As of October 21, the Health Ministry have recorded 241 cases of atypical progressive acute kidney injury (AKI), also known as acute renal failure (ARF), among children – most of who were aged under five – in 22 provinces. Tragically, 133 (55 percent) of them have died.