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Hello reader,

Life is certainly not sweet for Thomas Lembong right now. The former trade minister was arrested on suspicion of corruption related to sugar imports when he was minister.

The question is, why now and not nine years ago? Could his being pals with Anies Baswedan have anything to do with it?

Read on for more on that major news story, as well as today’s other top stories from the archipelago.

Cheers,

Andra

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Law/Politics

• Thomas Lembong, who served as former President Joko Widodo’s trade minister, has been apprehended by the Attorney General’s Office on allegations of corruption related to sugar imports, causing losses of up to IDR 400 billion to the state. The allegations pertained to Thomas sanctioning sugar imports despite a surplus in domestic market supply between 2015 and 2016. This begs the question as to why the AGO decided to pursue a case against Thomas now, after having launched the investigation in 2023. It must be noted that Thomas is a close ally and financier of losing presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, who remains one of the current administration’s biggest opposition figures.

• Commenting on Thomas’ arrest, Anies posted a tweet today wondering if the rule of law, not power, governs the country. Anies said that his friend of 20 years is a man full of integrity and is not one to stray from a righteous path.

• Indonesia has formally condemned Israel’s recent decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which aids Palestinian refugees, in Gaza. The Indonesian government asserted that limiting UNRWA’s operations would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and violate international norms. The ban is due to take effect in three months.

• Recently appointed Deputy Chair Soleman of the Bekasi Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) was arrested in a bribery scandal just a day after assuming office. Soleman, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician, allegedly accepted hundreds of millions of rupiah in cash and luxury cars related to local project contracts in his previous term.

• Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Dharma Pongrekun publicly proposed removing traffic lights and lane dividers as a solution to Jakarta’s chronic traffic issues. Instead, he suggested utilizing new technology that allows the construction of underpasses and overpasses in just seven days on some of the city’s busiest intersections.

• A DJ in Bogor, West Java was detained for allegedly advertising two online gambling websites on her socials. The 25-year-old earned some IDR 6 million per month from the side gig, and she is now facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of IDR 10 billion. 

Business/Economy

• The Indonesian government is planning to import one million tons of rice throughout the remainder of the year to stabilize domestic supply and prices, according to Coordinating Food Minister Zulkifi Hasan. The government has imported 2.9 million tons of rice from January to August, still some way from its projection of 3.4 million tons for the entire year. Historical data also points to domestic rice production decline from December to February.

• Indonesian authorities discovered that over 500 palm oil companies lack official land use rights (HGU), which indicates potential tax evasion worth an estimated IDR 300 trillion. The government is drawing up criminal sanctions to deter evasion. The discovery adds to the controversy around the palm oil industry’s environmental impact, corruption risks, and legal compliance issues.

• The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) is urging Pertamina, the state-owned oil and gas company, to offer fairer prices to liquified petroleum gas (LPG) investors to stimulate production and maintain domestic supply. LPG investment has, for years, been unattractive as investors can only sell their output to Pertamina for a low price. Last year, Indonesia imported 79% of the LPG sold in the domestic market.

• The Ministry of Industry has requested Tokopedia and TikTok to remove shops who sell the Apple iPhone 16 amid a domestic ban on Apple’s latest handheld device. The government recently enforced the ban, citing the device’s non-compliance with local content requirement (TKDN) standards. However, reports have also suggested that the ban was enforced over Apple’s unmet promises to establish research and development facilities in Indonesia. 

Everything Else

• The Indonesian Drinking Water Depot Entrepreneurs Association (Apdamindo) have raised alarms over the continued use of refillable water gallons, some of which are over 10-15 years old, which may pose health risks due to plastic degradation and contamination. The association estimates that 30 to 40% of Indonesian households depend on refillable water gallons.

• Online, an increasing number of Indonesians have expressed their reluctance to marry, which, though not exactly a scientific dataset, has sparked wide discussions about a possible societal shift. Minister of Family Development Wihaji said his ministry is going to look at the data to test the validity of the argument, but offered that Indonesians may be turned off by the idea of marriage and raising a family these days due to economic challenges.