OPINION

The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) recommends eight criminal justice and human rights issues be proposed for the campaign of three pairs of presidential and vice-presidential candidates who will compete in the 2024 election. 

In a strong rebuke to Israel for its on-going war in Gaza, the United Nations General Assembly in a special emergency session voted overwhelmingly in favor of an immediate ceasefire. The vote also served as a stern reminder to the United States, which vetoed a similar motion inside the UN’s Security Council, that the world stands united in calls fir peace and adhemently denounces Israel’s disproportionate use of force which has so far caused 18, 000 casualties amongst Palestinians and a wide-spread humanitarian crisis that threatens to cause yet more unnecessary deaths due to starvation, disease and lack of access to medical care. 

The General Election Commission (KPU) has once again been attacked by hackers. An anonymous villain, going by the name “Jimbo,” claims to have successfully infiltrated the kpu.go.id website and obtained voter data from the site, as also claimed by hacker Bjorka in 2022, when they scooped up data on 105 million voters from the KPU website. 

The minimum wage (UM) increase has resulted in an annual controversy and ongoing concern, which has resurfaced this year. The issue has persisted for a long time and is expected to continue. A reluctant government fails to address the UM issue, which leads to a recurring controversial subject.

Cases of domestic violence (KDRT) have recently been highlighted, involving a housewife who is also a general practitioner, Qori Ulfiyah Ramayanti (37). Qori, who was six months pregnant at the time, is trending on social media after escaping her house due to domestic abuse. Qori’s husband is known to be unemployed and filming his daily activities for a YouTube channel. Another case of violence has attracted public attention: the alleged rape of a café waitress by the Regent of Southeast Maluku, M. Thaher Hanubun. The Maluku Regional Police have stated that they will not dismiss the case, despite the family’s request for case withdrawal (BBC News, September 21, 2023). 

I mentioned before that certain pundits, such as Financial Times Editor Gillian Tett, and former Advisor to President Obama David Axelrod, wrote ‘Do not discount the chance for a Trump second term’ and ‘that President Biden should reconsider his bid for re-election, due to his age’ Those, plus polling that confirms 70 percent of GOP voters do believe Trump’s lies about the 2020 election results, as well as a weakening approval rating for President Biden, and a possible renegade like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia who wants to run as a third-party candidate – which for sure will take away votes from Biden.

The world seems puzzled by the recent buzz in Indonesia’s election process. Why puzzled? Because many democracy activists questioned or rejected the Constitutional Court’s decision allowing Indonesian citizens below 40 years of age to qualify as presidential or vice-presidential candidates.

The impact of an extreme drought caused by El Niño has tended to compromise Indonesia’s staple food production. Generally, people have to bear with skyrocketing prices of rice, paying up to IDR 15,000/kg, as a result of a plunge in food production. The swelling food prices contribute to the rate of inflation and declining purchasing power. 

This article depicts the words Prabowo conveyed when I previously met him on two different occasions. They represent General Prabowo’s feelings, thoughts, ideas and compassion for the vulnerable people in Indonesia and around the world.

People who reside on Java are privileged to enjoy the convenience of public transportation, which is not the case for those living in Maluku Province. Public transportation in this province is far from decent, let alone comfortable. With the operation of Jakarta-Bandung WHOOSH high-speed rail, the gap between public transportation services on the main island and the regions has become more overwhelming.

Eliminating the superlative subjective authority of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) is tantamount to diminishing the highest power of a sovereign people. People’s power determines the direction of the nation-state and should be restored to complement the power to elect the president and the members of Parliament.