Latest news with #GoldenIndonesia
Korea Herald
23-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
ISSEI 2025: Strategic Planning of The National Steel Industry For A Greener and More Competitive Future
JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The national iron and steel industry marks another significant milestone with the official opening of the Iron-Steel Summit & Exhibition Indonesia 2025 (ISSEI), organized by PT Debindo Mega Promo, held from today until May 23, 2025, at Hall A-B, Jakarta International Convention Center (JICC). This event is a collaboration between the Indonesian Iron & Steel Industry Association (IISIA) and the South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute (SEAISI), with strong support from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. Carrying the theme "Together with the National Steel Industry, Building the Foundation Towards Golden Indonesia," ISSEI 2025 serves as a strategic forum that brings together stakeholders from the entire iron and steel industry value chain, government officials, associations, and the education sector. Through this synergy, the event aims to foster cross-sector collaboration to strengthen the steel industry's role as a key pillar in national economic development towards the vision of Golden Indonesia 2045. The opening ceremony was attended by government officials, association leaders, industry figures, and international delegates. In his remarks, IISIA Chairman and President Director of PT Krakatau Steel, Muhamad Akbar Djohan, emphasized the importance of collaboration and innovation to enhance the competitiveness of the national steel industry at both regional and global levels. "This event marks a historic moment of collaboration between SEAISI and IISIA, strengthening our shared vision for a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable ASEAN steel industry," said Akbar. Meanwhile, SEAISI Chairman Dato Lim Hong Thye highlighted Indonesia's strategic role in the Southeast Asian steel industry landscape and the importance of adopting environmentally friendly technologies to support sustainable development. "This event is highly important and holds even greater potential for the steel industry in ASEAN," he added. Over the course of three days, ISSEI 2025 features a series of main events, including a national seminar, panel discussions, talk shows with industry experts, exhibitions of the latest steel technologies and products, business matching sessions, and the Green Steel Building Competition. These activities are expected to strengthen the roadmap for the resilience of the national steel industry and accelerate the sector's role as a main pillar of the economy towards Golden Indonesia 2045. This event also serves as a key platform to showcase innovative steel products that support national infrastructure development, including strategic national projects. In addition, ISSEI 2025 highlights various environmentally friendly technologies that contribute to carbon emission reduction and energy efficiency in the steel sector. The opening ceremony was also attended by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Airlangga Hartarto. In his speech, Mr. Airlangga stated, "This is the time for major producers in the iron industry to become stronger, more structured, and better planned." For more information about ISSEI 2025, please visit and follow Instagram @ironsteelsummitexhibindo. Don't miss the Iron-Steel Summit & Exhibition Indonesia 2025 (ISSEI), taking place from May 21–23, 2025, at Hall A-B, Jakarta International Convention Center (JICC).
Sydney Morning Herald
12-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Albanese set to land in a changed and changing Indonesia
Another target is funding for schools and universities, and this galvanised the first Dark Indonesia protests in February. The student-led movement claims that Prabowo is using the pretext of austerity to suffocate higher education. Their suspicions only grew when the president tried to allow granting of coal and mineral mining royalty rights to universities. Dark Indonesia – Indonesia Gelap – claimed that this was intended to subvert university independence and undercut climate-related research. The protesters' No.1 demand is that the austerity program be revoked. Prabowo's decision to widen the scope of the military's involvement in civilian affairs has aroused deep fears. One of his first acts was to dress his cabinet ministers in combat fatigues and lead them on a three-day military boot camp. More seriously, Prabowo has allowed serving members of the military to occupy senior government jobs, breaking through one of the guardrails designed to stop backsliding towards the military dictatorship of the Suharto years. The concern in Indonesia today is that Prabowo might be seeking to reverse-engineer a military takeover of the government. 'Don't give a blank check where soldiers could be placed at any posts. It will ruin the system,' a retired general who helped shape the post-Suharto system, Agus Widjojo, told Reuters. ANU professor emeritus Greg Fealy says that the concerns of Dark Indonesia are sincerely held: 'There is genuine substance to the critique that he's increasing the role of the military in public life. The risk is overstated, but it's heading in the wrong direction for democratic Indonesia.' Loading And prospects for Golden Indonesia? 'It's looking far less in prospect for Prabowo, not because of things he's done but because of things that have happened,' says Fealy. 'The Trump tariffs could hit Indonesia quite hard directly, and also indirectly because they will hit China, which is Indonesia's main trading economic relationship.' Trump has announced a 42 per cent total tariff on Indonesian imports to the US, although 32 of those 42 percentage points are suspended while being reviewed. Prabowo's predecessor, Joko Widodo, promised annual economic growth of 6 per cent but rarely got above 5, so Prabowo's growth target is heroic: 'It would take a whole lot of things to align favourably to hit 8 per cent,' says Fealy, 'but he's doing everything he can to achieve it and to claw in foreign investment and increase exports.' This brings us to Albanese's visit. 'More than anything else Prabowo will want to talk to Albanese about, he will want to talk trade and investment,' Fealy says. So it's no coincidence that Albanese has exactly these topics on his list for his summit with Prabowo. Australia and Indonesia already have a free trade agreement. But Albanese sees scope for much more trade liberalisation with Jakarta. Now that the US has erected a tariff wall around itself, the nations that make up the other 85 per cent of the global economy are busily talking to each other about new trade arrangements. Albanese also intends to discuss the prospects for the Sun Cable project to deliver renewable power to Indonesia. The $30 billion project will collect solar energy from northern Australia and run it through an undersea cable to Singapore. But it must transit Indonesian waters, and there could be scope for some of its electricity to be sold to Jakarta in an offtake. The director of the Lowy Institute's South-East Asia program, Susannah Patton, dismisses an Australian commentary that the Albanese visit was 'symbolic diplomacy'. Loading 'It's hugely important,' she says. 'Prabowo has centralised a lot of power' in the Istana presidential palace. Australian ministers previously had good access in Jakarta through Indonesian foreign affairs ministers and defence ministers. But Patton points out that there is only one avenue to power that counts today. With China and Russia both seeking more influence over Indonesia while the US metes out hostile trade treatment, the Australian connection to Jakarta is more vital than ever: 'Albanese needs to find a way of establishing strategic dialogue, talking regularly with Prabowo by phone; it's the only way we are able to have any influence.'
The Age
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Albanese set to land in a changed and changing Indonesia
Another target is funding for schools and universities, and this galvanised the first Dark Indonesia protests in February. The student-led movement claims that Prabowo is using the pretext of austerity to suffocate higher education. Their suspicions only grew when the president tried to allow granting of coal and mineral mining royalty rights to universities. Dark Indonesia – Indonesia Gelap – claimed that this was intended to subvert university independence and undercut climate-related research. The protesters' No.1 demand is that the austerity program be revoked. Prabowo's decision to widen the scope of the military's involvement in civilian affairs has aroused deep fears. One of his first acts was to dress his cabinet ministers in combat fatigues and lead them on a three-day military boot camp. More seriously, Prabowo has allowed serving members of the military to occupy senior government jobs, breaking through one of the guardrails designed to stop backsliding towards the military dictatorship of the Suharto years. The concern in Indonesia today is that Prabowo might be seeking to reverse-engineer a military takeover of the government. 'Don't give a blank check where soldiers could be placed at any posts. It will ruin the system,' a retired general who helped shape the post-Suharto system, Agus Widjojo, told Reuters. ANU professor emeritus Greg Fealy says that the concerns of Dark Indonesia are sincerely held: 'There is genuine substance to the critique that he's increasing the role of the military in public life. The risk is overstated, but it's heading in the wrong direction for democratic Indonesia.' Loading And prospects for Golden Indonesia? 'It's looking far less in prospect for Prabowo, not because of things he's done but because of things that have happened,' says Fealy. 'The Trump tariffs could hit Indonesia quite hard directly, and also indirectly because they will hit China, which is Indonesia's main trading economic relationship.' Trump has announced a 42 per cent total tariff on Indonesian imports to the US, although 32 of those 42 percentage points are suspended while being reviewed. Prabowo's predecessor, Joko Widodo, promised annual economic growth of 6 per cent but rarely got above 5, so Prabowo's growth target is heroic: 'It would take a whole lot of things to align favourably to hit 8 per cent,' says Fealy, 'but he's doing everything he can to achieve it and to claw in foreign investment and increase exports.' This brings us to Albanese's visit. 'More than anything else Prabowo will want to talk to Albanese about, he will want to talk trade and investment,' Fealy says. So it's no coincidence that Albanese has exactly these topics on his list for his summit with Prabowo. Australia and Indonesia already have a free trade agreement. But Albanese sees scope for much more trade liberalisation with Jakarta. Now that the US has erected a tariff wall around itself, the nations that make up the other 85 per cent of the global economy are busily talking to each other about new trade arrangements. Albanese also intends to discuss the prospects for the Sun Cable project to deliver renewable power to Indonesia. The $30 billion project will collect solar energy from northern Australia and run it through an undersea cable to Singapore. But it must transit Indonesian waters, and there could be scope for some of its electricity to be sold to Jakarta in an offtake. The director of the Lowy Institute's South-East Asia program, Susannah Patton, dismisses an Australian commentary that the Albanese visit was 'symbolic diplomacy'. Loading 'It's hugely important,' she says. 'Prabowo has centralised a lot of power' in the Istana presidential palace. Australian ministers previously had good access in Jakarta through Indonesian foreign affairs ministers and defence ministers. But Patton points out that there is only one avenue to power that counts today. With China and Russia both seeking more influence over Indonesia while the US metes out hostile trade treatment, the Australian connection to Jakarta is more vital than ever: 'Albanese needs to find a way of establishing strategic dialogue, talking regularly with Prabowo by phone; it's the only way we are able to have any influence.'
The Star
06-05-2025
- Health
- The Star
Indonesian Defence Ministry's plan to jump into pharma draws ire
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Defence Ministry's plan to establish a pharmaceutical factory to produce and distribute medicine through pharmacy cooperatives in villages across the country has been met with concern. It is feared that the initiative may violate the military's professionalism and do little to solve problems plaguing Indonesia's pharmaceutical sector. The plan was first announced by Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defence and foreign affairs in Jakarta on April 30. Also attending the meeting was Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen Agus Subiyanto. Sjafrie said at the meeting that the plan was raised after hearing complaints about high medicine prices in Indonesia compared to other countries. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin claimed last year that certain medicines in Indonesia sometimes cost up to five times more than in Singapore or Malaysia. 'We have revitalised the pharmaceutical laboratories within the armed forces into a single factory assigned to support the national defence of medicine,' the minister said during the recorded meeting. The military's pharmaceutical factory was developed to create a more inclusive pharmaceutical ecosystem, according to Defence Ministry spokesperson Brig Gen Frega Wenas Inkiriwang. 'For the plan, we will prioritise essential, widely beneficial and accessible health needs, while supporting grassroots-level pharmacy cooperatives,' Frega told The Jakarta Post on Saturday (May 3). The initial steps toward the plan, he added, included mapping and utilising the TNI's existing laboratory infrastructure across its three branches: the Army, Navy and Air Force. The plan will focus on synchronising and optimising these resources, 'with an emphasis on efficiency and sustainability without the need for new infrastructure,' Frega went on to say. Sjafrie said at the House Commission I meeting that the Defence Ministry would work with the Health Ministry to supply medicines produced by the military laboratory through cooperatives across villages. The said cooperatives were the ones established under the Red and White Village Cooperative Programme, in which President Prabowo Subianto ordered the creation of 80,000 cooperatives across the country as part of his national development strategy. The instruction was stipulated in a presidential instruction (Inpres) issued in March. Among the programme's aims were to strengthen food self-sufficiency, promote economic equality and push for self-reliant villages in pursuit of the Indonesia Emas (Golden Indonesia) 2045 vision, the nation's aim to become an advanced and prosperous one by its centennial. The village cooperative initiative, projected to cost Rp 400 trillion (US$24 billion), will be financed through state, regional and village budgets. Each unit is then expected to provide essential goods, savings and loans, clinics, pharmacies, cold storage, warehousing and logistics services. Military observer Khairul Fahmi from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) said that the plan for the Defence Ministry and TNI to be involved in drug production could be strategic intervention by the state to solve the issue of high prices and unequal distribution of medicines. However, the plan should focus on public service instead of profit making so that it does not compromise the TNI's professionalism, he warned. Khairul questioned product distribution through cooperatives, which could open room for commercialisation. 'Don't let the TNI's goodwill in producing and distributing the drugs kill business firms that must adhere to strict regulations and market mechanisms,' Khairul said. 'State intervention should correct and complement the system, not replace the old and legitimate firms.' Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), concurred, saying that the military could breach its main duty and function should it seek profit from the drug plan. He added that issues plaguing the national pharmaceutical industry are, among others, high credit interest rates for technology purchases and patent monopoly by multinational pharmaceutical companies that hinder local manufacturers to compete. Another issue is the national industry's heavy reliance on imported raw materials, which made up to 90 per cent of components used in domestic drug production. The imported materials, whose price is affected by the state of rupiah, have put local medicine manufacturers such as private firm PT Kalbe Farma and state-owned PT Kimia Farma under pressure. 'If the government wants to help the local pharmaceutical industry, it should focus on solving these fundamental issues, not replacing the existing firms,' Bhima said. Also in the April 30 meeting, the Defence Ministry raised a plan to improve military hospital services by increasing the number of specialist doctors. The ministry sought to recruit professionals from abroad in addition to relying on 75 graduates of the first cohort of the military medical undergraduate programme in the Indonesia Defense University's (Unhan) medical school. Sjafrie also emphasised the importance of improving soldiers' welfare, proposing to increase daily food and operational allowances for troopers, especially those stationed in high-risk areas. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
The Star
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Gibran grapples with shrinking influence six months into vice presidency
JAKARTA: Gibran Rakabuming Raka is the youngest vice president in Indonesia's history after rising to power last year with strong political backing following a boost from his father, former president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo. But just six months into office, Gibran has already faced a groundswell of public discontent, with critics persistently seeing him as a symbol of dynastic privilege, while opponents cast doubts on his legitimacy and public image. The most recent sign of his struggling public image came last month, when he posted his first monologue video on YouTube addressing the crucial role of the younger generation in realising the nation's goal toward the Golden Indonesia vision, in which the country aims to become an advanced and prosperous nation by 2045. The monologue is part of his newly launched video series, in which he discusses national issues and public policies in a direct-to-camera style, a move analysts see as an effort to bolster his image among younger Indonesians. But instead of inspiring hope, the six-minute video titled 'Young Generation, Demographic Bonus and the Future of Indonesia' has triggered a wave of criticism, with netizens calling Gibran's monologue superficial and inauthentic and questioning his qualifications to talk about the subject. Analyst Yoes Kenawas from Atma Jaya University said the negative sentiment reflects mounting disapproval, particularly from the middle class, of what Gibran has and could offer during his vice presidency following his controversial election nomination. 'There seems to be persistent perception that he didn't earn his position through competence or experience, but rather that it was handed to him through backroom deals and legal manipulation,' Yoes said, adding that 'this is a tough image to shake off'. Gibran's rise to vice presidency at the age of 37 is widely seen to be orchestrated by his father Jokowi. He became eligible to run in last year's election alongside President Prabowo Subianto only after the Constitutional Court, then led by chief justice Anwar Usman who is Jokowi's brother-in-law, created an exception to the minimum age of 40 years for presidential and vice presidential candidates. Even in the government, Gibran appears to be struggling to play a meaningful role despite holding the nation's second-highest office, as seen in his lack of substantial duties beyond ceremonial appearances, exclusion from strategic meetings and minimal engagement in policy decisions. 'Prabowo's inner circle doesn't see Gibran as a serious power player,' Yoes said. 'He was included on the election ticket primarily to secure Jokowi's backing and ensure support from his loyal voter base. But now that the election is over, there's little incentive to give Gibran a meaningful role.' State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, who now doubles as presidential spokesperson, did not comment when asked by The Jakarta Post. Gibran is now also facing calls for replacement from a group of retired military generals, including former vice president Try Sutrisno, who argued that his nomination as a vice presidential candidate in the last election was unconstitutional. The group also demanded the removal of ministers linked to his father Jokowi. '[Calls for Gibran's removal] are part of a broader post-presidency wave of attack toward Jokowi and his family. The moment Jokowi's term began winding down, scrutiny over his political legacy intensified,' analyst Adi Prayitno said. 'People started questioning whether the efforts to keep the family's political influence crossed ethical lines. Gibran's rapid rise, from Surakarta mayor to vice president, only amplified these concerns,' he added. Prabowo, through Special Presidential Advisor on Political and Security Affairs Wiranto, has responded cautiously to the demands, saying that he respected perspectives shared by the fellow veterans, but stressed that there are constitutional boundaries that need to be upheld. Gibran has not issued any statement regarding the calls for his impeachment. But his younger brother Kaesang Pangarep, who leads the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), a pro-government party that has no representatives in the legislature, has come to his defence, saying 'the President and the Vice President were elected in accordance with the Constitution'. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
