Indonesia
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Indonesia

Indonesia
Indonesia
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion from Indonesia.
Capital
Jakarta
Head of State
President Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto
Head of Government
President Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto
Screens display the logo of Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, and its founder Elon Musk. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Indonesia blocks Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot over AI porn concerns

Becoming the first government to bar access to Musk’s AI tool, Indonesia condemned non-consensual deepfakes as a human rights violation.

Tourism

Bali’s toughest tourism proposal yet: checking foreign visitors’ bank accounts

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Crime

Is 12 too young? Rare matricide case tests Indonesia’s juvenile justice system

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US-Venezuela conflict

Letters | What US military action in Venezuela looks like to Southeast Asia

Readers discuss the possible repercussions of the Venezuela raid, and water supplies management in Hong Kong.

Motorcyclists queue at a petrol station in Caracas on January 3, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela remains an important energy producer and instability could add volatility to global oil markets. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong society

Man found with son after going missing in Hong Kong arrested for child neglect

Baby was given preliminary check and no superficial injuries were found, but he will be admitted to hospital for further examination, insider says.

Crime in Hong Kong

2 Hong Kong eatery owners arrested for hiring 5 illegal workers in food factory

Foreign workers, who processed food that supplied owners’ restaurant and local food fairs, also arrested by authorities in citywide crackdown.

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Social media

Indonesian beauty doctor under police probe as row with influencer turns ugly

Police say there is enough preliminary evidence to investigate Richard Lee for possible violations under health and consumer laws.

Doctor Richard Lee (left) and Samira Farahnaz, known online as Dokter Detektif or Doktif (right). Photos: Instagram/dr.richard_lee/ dokterdetektifreal
Law

Indonesia’s criminal law overhaul prompts fears of rights erosion

Observers say the new Criminal Code and revised Criminal Procedure Code entrench provisions that undermine democracy.

SCMP Highlights

AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads

From China’s reaction to Maduro’s capture to another AI scientist leaving the US, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Prabowo Subianto

New ‘command economy’? Indonesia seizes land the size of Switzerland

Prabowo Subianto’s government has taken over 4 million hectares of plantations and mines since last January.

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A truck loaded with oil palm drives on an unpaved road at a plantation in Langsa, Aceh province. Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

‘Straddle the middle ground’: Europe’s hard choice over US attacks on Venezuela

Although they do not agree with Trump’s way of doing things, they seem to agree with his ultimate objectives, analyst in China says.

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US President Donald Trump, flanked by his top officials, addresses a press conference following the capture of the Venezuelan first couple, in Florida on January 3. Photo: Reuters
Marine safety

Body of Spanish football coach found after Indonesian boat tragedy

Fernando Martin, his wife and their 4 children were on a tour boat that sank in the Komodo National Park area on Boxing Day.

China’s military drills

China to lead joint naval drills with Brics nations in South African waters

It is the first defence cooperation under the Brics framework, with the Russian and Iranian navies reportedly taking part.

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Human rights

Ageing Asia needs domestic helpers, but can it keep them safe?

While the region cries out for care, top source nations the Philippines and Indonesia have tightened controls to curb exploitation and abuse.

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Filipino domestic workers gather on a street in Hong Kong. Indonesia and the Philippines have provided millions of helpers to the rest of Asia over the decades. Photo: Dickson Lee
Malaysia

Malaysia’s new year revelry sees less waste as tougher littering laws kick in

Some 42 litterbugs caught in a nationwide operation face fines and community service amid stringent enforcement of waste laws.

Fireworks explode near the Petronas Twin Towers during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Xinhua
Switzerland

Explainer | Swiss bar inferno joins long list of world’s worst club fires

A look at some of the worst fires in bars, nightclubs and music venues in past decades, where celebrations turned to tragedy in seconds.

Malaysia

No Wi-fi or Grab: Malaysian woman’s kindness saves family’s Hong Kong trip

‘Kindness is still around. It’s just quieter now. It wears hoodies, headphones and tired faces,’ the visitor says of the woman who saved the day.

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War and conflict

Letters | May 2026 bring more peace and more jobs

Readers discuss hopes for the new year, the prospect of an EU-like Asian union, and the cult of ‘result-oriented’.

A Palestinian woman walks along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Sheikh Radwan, a residential district of Gaza City, on December 30. Photo: AP
Australia

‘Not cowed’: Australia sees defiant start to 2026 after mass shooting

Many police officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the popular annual fireworks display over Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.

Australia

Opinion | Australia is losing its ability to engage Asia on its own terms

With security increasingly tied to regional developments, Australia’s eroding Asia literacy risks shutting Canberra out of crucial decisions.

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SCMP Highlights

Rise of Peranakan Chinese networks, Malaysian ex-PM jailed: 7 Asia highlights

From Indonesia fuming over flag stunt to Duterte’s drug war verdict upheld, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

The Long San Tong Khoo Kongsi clanhouse in Penang. Photo: Ushar Daniele
Environment

Opinion | Forest conservation must be long-term priority for Southeast Asia

The region’s challenges are primarily political as underfunding and business interests create fragmented institutions, weak enforcement and poor data.

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The Angkola Protestant Church stands amid flood devastation at Aek Ngadol village in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra province, Indonesia on December 25. Photo: AFP

Fire at Indonesia retirement home kills 16 elderly residents

Fast-moving blaze engulfed facility on the island of Sulawesi as residents were sleeping, police said.

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Indonesian helper battles trauma, faces job insecurity after Hong Kong fire

NGOs say they are bracing for more terminations among helpers as families begin to count the cost of their losses.

Weather

Spanish father, 3 children missing in Indonesia after tourist boat sinks

High waves are believed to have caused the sightseeing boat to capsize en route to popular tourist destination Labuan Bajo.

Indonesian rescuers prepare to look for missing foreign tourists in the Padar Island Strait on Saturday. Photo: Basarnas/AFP
Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Can AI deliver the economic goods and high returns? Don’t count on it

The dash towards AI might become a rout as the public rebels against the environmental costs while investors worry about the returns.

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A construction worker stands outside a data centre being built in Sedenak Tech Park in Johor, Malaysia, on September 27, 2024. Emerging AI data centres are giving the region’s main data centre hubs, Japan and Singapore, a run for their money. Photo: AP
Malaysia

How the Peranakan Chinese built one of Southeast Asia’s most powerful networks

Born of trade and migration, the Peranakan community has forged a distinct identity that has bridged China and Southeast Asia for centuries.

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Prabowo Subianto

Power, protests and policy shake-ups shape Indonesia’s 2025

President Prabowo Subianto asserts his authority as he navigates the global stage and domestic challenges in his first full year in office.

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