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Hello reader,

Welcome to another free edition of Nusantara Notes. If you missed yesterday’s announcement about the Nusantara Notes Buzzer referral program, get in on it right below (viewable in email only).

In today’s edition, we celebrate National Children’s Day by wondering what, if anything, can be done to ensure education is accessible to all. One idea involves a whole lotta money, which is absolutely worthwhile if the state truly believes that children are the future.

Elsewhere, a group of silat fighters ganged up on a cop (obviously not for self-defense), NasDem continues to show love for Anies, and Indonesia is reportedly eyeing Russian oil.

Happy reading!

Cheers,

Andra

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Law/Politics

• Just like in the 2024 Presidential Election, the National Democrats (NasDem) became the first party to officially endorse Anies Baswedan to once again run for Jakarta governor. Though Anies is widely seen as the strongest candidate, President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s coalition of parties say they are ready to challenge him with their own candidate.

• A monitor lizard was devouring the dead body of a 53-year-old man in Bekasi, West Java when the victim was discovered near a canal on July 17 with his arms and legs tied up. Local police today said they are treating the case as a homicide, and are looking into the possibility that the victim was poisoned before he was ditched.

• Police in Jember, East Java arrested eight silat fighters from the Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate (PSHT) school and believe up to 15 were responsible for the assault on a cop early on Monday morning, causing severe injuries. Prior to the assault, officers were deployed to disperse a convoy of PSHT fighters, whose large numbers blocked a main road access at around 1am.

• A West Jakarta resident worked with an Australian national in a sex trafficking case, police said, which saw some 50 Indonesians sent to Sydney to become sex workers. The suspect’s accomplice, an Australian national who goes by the alias Batman, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police on July 10.

• Authorities uncovered a foreigner-run clandestine drug lab in Gianyar, Bali, which produced DMT and fentanyl, among other things. Three Filipino men connected to the lab have been arrested, while one Jordanian man is still on the run. 

Business/Economy

• Indonesia is expected to gain IDR 10 trillion from the inclusion of tin and nickel into the Coal Management Information System (Simbara) app, which monitors and regulates mineral and coal mining activities. The inclusion aims to prevent revenue losses from illegal mining and tax evasion, ensuring better compliance among business operators.

• Indonesia is reportedly seeking to purchase oil from Russia for the first time in several years, driven by the need to secure more affordable energy supplies amidst rising global oil prices. The potential deal is being considered despite Western sanctions on Russian oil, reflecting Indonesia's priority on economic considerations over geopolitical pressures.

• PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is currently testing B40 biodiesel fuel for its trains, aiming for full implementation by 2025. The B40 fuel is a blend of 40% biodiesel and 60% petroleum diesel, and its usage in trains is expected to significantly lower carbon emissions.

• Indonesian workers paid thousands of pounds to secure employment as fruit pickers on UK farms, only to be dismissed within weeks of arriving. These workers incurred significant debts to pay the recruitment fees, and were laid off after they were told they picked fruit too slowly. The allegations of illegal fees raised questions about the seasonal work scheme in Britain. 

Everything Else

Happy National Children’s Day

A society’s future is only as bright as its children, as public officials like to recite annually when National Children’s Day comes around.

Beyond the rhetoric, the hope is that the state does right by the country’s children when it comes to fulfilling one of their constitutional needs: education. Yet official data from 2022 showed that more than 4 million children aged 7-18 don’t go to school, mostly due to financial hurdles. 

Free education has been touted as a solution for years, and it’s become quite apparent that it could be a reality if the government deems it a priority. 

The key to achieving this, as well as other improvements in the education sector, is through a bill to revise the 2003 National Education System (Sisdiknas) Law. At a judicial review of the law at the Constitutional Court (MK) today, the Network for Education Watch Indonesia (JPPI) called for the law to mandate free schooling for children in the primary (SD) and junior high school (SMP) levels at both public and private schools.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, the government would require a budget of IDR 655.2 trillion to hypothetically make it happen. That’s IDR 418.1 trillion more than the ministry’s current budget allocation for operating SD and SMP schools nationwide. Kompas pointed out in their article that the difference is smaller than the IDR 496 trillion budget for the government’s social aid programs in 2024, and is dwarfed by the reported IDR 566 trillion spent on the construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, in 2021.

Education sounds like the smartest investment. Will the government see it that way?

In Other News

• A fire broke out at around noon today at the SDN 01 Pondok Bambu primary school in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta from a suspected electrical short circuit. Thankfully, students and faculty members were safely evacuated. The blaze reportedly destroyed 18 classrooms.

• X users in Indonesia are aghast by the seemingly increasing prevalence of joki, a catchall term for individuals who do your work for you for a fee. With the topic being hotly discussed at the moment, users have pointed out that these services have become so normalized, particularly in the academic sphere, that they operate in the open and are promoted by some of the country’s top influencers.

• A young firefighter in Depok, West Java is facing disciplinary action over his viral video in which he took viewers on a tour of his fire station and pointed out all of its run-down vehicles and equipments. Though the fire department has come under criticism, the city’s deputy mayor regretted that the firefighter chose to make a viral video instead of taking up the matter internally.

• The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are teaming up with Naruto in an upcoming crossover comic. Illustrating the characters to life is celebrated Indonesian visual artist Hendry Prasetya, who had worked with publishers such as BOOM!, Marvel, and DC.