• Link between Indonesia's National Education Day & International Labor Day

    The month May is a memorable month for Indonesia in terms of historic significance. On 21 May 1998 former president Suharto - who ruled the country for more than three decades through his authoritarian New Order regime - resigned after having become politically isolated after Jakarta had turned into a bloody battlefield. This was one of the largest events in the political history of Indonesia, causing structural changes in the political system. Other key days in May are International Labor Day (1 May), National Education Day (2 May), and National Awakening Day (20 May).

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  • Widodo Orders Jakarta's Land Reclamation Project to be Replanned

    Although development of the 17 artificial islands off the coast of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta has been suspended (for six months) due to alleged violations of and/or hiatuses in Indonesian law, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (known as Ahok) says he is certain that the ambitious land reclamation project will be continued after the moratorium. The construction of these 17 artificial islands is a project that is separate from (but highly integrated with) the central government's National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) plan, better known as the Great Garuda.

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  • Indonesia and Freeport Bargaining over 10.64% Stake

    The bargaining over the 10.64 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia has begun. Whereas Freeport proposed a price of USD $1.7 billion, Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources says the stake is only worth USD $630 million. Due to Government Regulation No. 77/2014 on the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities, Freeport Indonesia - the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan - has to divest a 30 percent stake (to an Indonesian party) gradually up to the year 2019. Currently, the central government already owns a 9.36 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia.

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  • Joko Widodo Visits Europe: Germany, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo kicked off his short European tour on Monday (18/04) in Berlin (Germany) where he met German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Bilateral relations between Indonesia and Germany are important because Germany is Indonesia's largest trading partner in the European continent and Indonesia's seventh-largest investor. Merkel praised Indonesia's economic development amid the complex context (having more than 255 million citizens and consisting of over 17,000 islands). Both state heads talked about strengthening existing partnership in vocational education in several sectors.

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