Zahid calls for stronger people-to-people ties with Indonesia

JAKARTA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has proposed that relations between Malaysians and Indonesians should not be limited to government-to-government and business-to-business ties, but rather be focused on people-to-people relations. He added that he believes that strengthened and enhanced people-to-people relations could bring political dividends as well as business and trade returns for...

Indonesia and Malaysia coordinate response to US tariffs, emphasising Asean unity

JAKARTA,(Xinhua): Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has announced that Indonesia was working closely with Malaysia to respond to new reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States. According to a press release issued by the ministry Friday, the announcement came following a series of high-level meetings between Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and senior...

16 international flights cancelled at Bali airport due to yet another Mt. Lewotobi eruption

BALI (Vietnam News/ANN): Bali island’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport reported the cancellation of 16 international flights in a single day following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in East Flores district, East Nusa Tenggara of Indonesia. According to General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, as of 4pm on March 21...

Tremors felt in Malaysia after quake strikes off North Sumatra

KUALA LUMPUR: Tremors were felt in Malaysia after a moderate earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale struck off the west coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia at 6.22am on Tuesday (March 18) The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), in a statement, reported that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres (km) and was located 41 km...

Bankruptcies, layoffs hit Indonesia: Over 60,000 jobs lost in two months

JAKARTA: (Bernama) Mass layoffs have affected more than 60,000 workers across 50 companies in Indonesia between January and February 2025, according to the Labour Party and the Indonesian Workers’ Confederation (KSPI). KSPI President Said Iqbal said its research has indicated that 30 per cent of these companies, including the renowned textile firm Sritex, have gone bankrupt, emphasising the...

Indonesia posts rare, early Budget deficit as revenues slump 21%

JAKARTA (Bloomberg): Indonesia posted an unlikely budget deficit as of February due to a double-digit drop in state revenues, adding to concerns about the health of government finances this year. The shortfall stood at 31.2 trillion rupiah in the first two months of 2025, equivalent to 0.13% of gross domestic product, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati...

Indonesia anti-graft panel waits for Singapore court ruling on Paulus Tannos extradition

JAKARTA: The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is still waiting for a Singaporean court to finish an ongoing legal process that implicates businessman and graft suspect Paulus Tannos (pic) before taking the next step in returning him to Indonesia. The antigraft body chairman Setyo Budiyanto said that the legal proceedings in Singapore were different from those in...

Thai court denies Thaksin request to attend Asean meeting in Indonesia

BANGKOK: Thailand’s criminal court has denied former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s (pic) request to leave the country to attend the Asean meeting in Indonesia on March 7, following an invitation from the Indonesian president. Thaksin, who is facing charges under Article 112 of the Criminal Code (lese-majeste law), submitted his request at the criminal court on...

Syariah court in Indonesia sentences two men to up to 85 lashes for having gay sex

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP): An Islamic Syariah court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning for having gay sex. The couple, aged 24 and 18, were arrested on Nov 7, after neighborhood vigilantes in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, suspected them of being gay and broke into their rented room...

Indonesia begins talks with Britain to repatriate UK’s ‘most prolific rapist’

JAKARTA (Reuters): Indonesia has begun talks with Britain to repatriate the most prolific rapist in British history, a senior minister said, following its move to also seek the return of a Guantanamo Bay detainee accused of being one of the Bali bomb plotters. Reynhard Sinaga, 41, was found guilty in Manchester in 2020 of assaulting 48...