In partnership with

Hello reader,

Welcome to another weekly free edition of Nusantara Notes. The main order of the day is the latest in the Kaesang Pangarep private jet saga, as people are beginning to ask: just where is he? There’s even an official missing person report for him.

Plus, a Filipino fugitive’s run ends in Tangerang, the Islamic call to prayer is being asked to take a back seat for tomorrow’s Holy Mass, and much more.

Enjoy!

Andra

Real-time, Accurate, and Unbiased Election Forecasts

• The World's largest prediction market 

• Trade politics, news, culture, and tech 

• Get live, unbiased 2024 election forecast

See the latest odds

Law/Politics

Where is Kaesang?

He seemed to have been everywhere, then he was nowhere. The whereabouts of Kaesang Pangarep is a question Indonesians would love answered.

Some background: Jokowi’s youngest son may face questioning by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over his recent alleged lavish trip to the US. Instagram posts by his wife, Erina Gudono, provided insights into their trip and their means of transportation: a private jet.

Amid accusations that President Joko Widodo is solidifying his political dynasty ahead of leaving office in October, as well as recent mass protests against planned legislation that would have paved the way for Kaesang to run for governor despite his youth, the people seemingly really want to hear an explanation from him.

A group of human rights activists today filed a missing person report for Kaesang with the Jakarta Metro Police. With some cheek, they said they would like the police to locate the 29-year-old in order to aid KPK’s investigation, while suggesting that the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) need their young leader’s guidance ahead of the November regional elections.

One person who’s not finding any of this amusing is Kaesang’s brother-in-law, Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution. In defense of Kaesang’s private jet use, Bobby retorted, “Is Kaesang even a public official?” The big bro went on to say that Kaesang has not gone missing nor is he evading anything.

Bobby, who is running for governor of North Sumatra in November, also addressed recently circulating footage that he and his wife also took a private jet in 2023, raising concerns on whether he had received perks as a public official. In response, Bobby merely challenged reporters to dig deep into the financials involved in the chartering of the plane.

In Other News

• The National Police on Tuesday arrested Alice Guo, the fugitive former mayor of Bamban in the Philippines, over her alleged links to Chinese criminal syndicates. The arrest in Tangerang was the fruit of cooperation between Indonesian and Filipino authorities. Guo reportedly fled her country in July, making stops in Malaysia and Singapore before landing in Indonesia in August.

• A 26-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her 30-year-old husband following a row in their South Jakarta home early this morning. According to the police, the conflict arose from the husband’s suspicion that his wife was unfaithful, and that he stabbed her with a knife after she demanded a divorce.

Business/Economy

• President Joko Widodo has issued new regulations regarding franchise businesses in Indonesia. Under these regulations, a franchise can only be granted if the business has proven to be profitable, ensuring the sustainability and reliability of franchise operations in the country.

• Civil servant candidates (CPNS) took to social media in droves to complain about being unable to purchase electronic duty stamps (e-meterai) required for their job applications. State-owned securities paper and bill printing company Peruri explained that e-meterai servers had been overloaded due to high traffic in the final days of CPNS registration. Peruri says it is increasing the service’s capacity to handle the high demand.

• Interim Bali Governor Sang Made Mahendra Jaya is appealing to the central government to enact a moratorium on the construction of villas and hotels in Sarbatiga (Denpasar, Gianyar, Badung, and Tabanan) amid numerous instances of foreign travelers’ misbehaviour on the island. 

• India's proposed increase in palm oil import taxes could negatively impact Indonesia's palm oil exports. India is Indonesia’s second-largest export destination for vegetable oils, and the planned tax hike may reduce demand for Indonesian palm oil.

Everything Else

• Complying with a request from the apostolic visit committee, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has asked national TV broadcasters to air tomorrow’s Holy Mass, led by Pope Francis in Jakarta, in full and without interruption from adhan (Islamic call to prayer) broadcasts. The ministry suggested that, just for tomorrow, the adhan video broadcast is replaced with a text announcement. Major Islamic organizations are not opposed to the idea, as long as mosques can still perform the adhan.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is certain that the clade 1b variant of the mpox virus is already in Indonesia even though it has not yet been detected in the country. WHO praised Indonesia’s readiness to prevent the spread of the relatively dangerous variant, be it through early detection and treatment of mpox.