Dear readers,
What an eventful year 2025 has been. On behalf of The Reformist editorial desk, we would like to thank our readers for navigating this tumultuous first year of the new administration with us.
This year, The Reformist published 15 volumes from our editorial room and 15 opinion pieces sent to us from guest writers. Looking back, these writings are markers of what the nation withstood throughout the year, in one way or another.
What we wrote
Turbulent times call for structural reforms
Indonesia has been through strong turbulence this year. Demonstrations came in waves, protesting one thing after the other: from costly programs that angered taxpayers to the government’s inability to respond aptly to a crisis.
In March, The Reformist wrote about President Prabowo Subianto’s campaign centrepiece, the Free Meal Program, a.k.a ‘MBG’. The program’s rollout, launched in January, sparked controversy after the government cut approximately Rp 300 trillion from critical budgets in an ‘austerity’ measure, reportedly to fund MBG. We asked in our article: Is MBG worth the hefty budget cuts?
Then comes August, when a series of protests broke out in the capital and other regions when the people’s economic struggles were met with elite arrogance instead of empathy. Public anger reached a boiling point after a police tactical vehicle ran over and killed a young ojol (online ride-hailing) driver, Affan Kurniawan. We wrote about the prevalence of police brutality in times of protests and the impunity that followed, calling for fundamental police reforms.
A few weeks ago, an unlikely cyclone ‘Senyar’ formed near the equator and wreaked havoc in three provinces of Sumatra, causing flash floods and landslides that killed thousands and displaced millions. In our November volume, we wrote about what the government must do about the Sumatra tragedy.
On past reforms
Throughout the year, we reflected on notable past reforms such as the country’s universal health coverage BPJS, the New Order-era school expansion program ‘SD Inpres’, the capital’s public transportation breakthrough ‘Transjakarta’, and the beloved digital payment system ‘QRIS’.
With all their merits and shortcomings, we sought to find lessons about what made them work (and what didn’t) as structural reforms. Hopefully, you also learned a thing or two about how reform can be done inside an established system.
The reform hits and misses
When a window of opportunity opens, it gives way for substantial reform to take place. At The Reformist, we identified instances when reforms either could (or should) happen, or when they did happen but missed some marks.
On education, we questioned in this volume the efficacy of decentralized autonomy and whether or not we missed the opportunity to address disparity in quality education.
Speaking of opportunities: In this article, we looked back to the 1998 financial crisis—interrogating the IMF bailout that, while many saw it as ‘selling our soul to the devil’, might have provided us a push for institutional reforms in our banking system.
More recently, we wrote about a possible great reform that could change the public policy sphere: several experts and scholars are petitioning the Constitutional Court (MK) to review provisions in the corruption law that have deterred policymakers from initiating groundbreaking reforms, fearing criminalization.
In our last volume of the year, we reviewed Indonesia’s participation in the COP30 climate conference, which has tested our commitment to meaningful climate action. This was an opportunity for Prabowo’s administration to prove its seriousness in achieving our climate targets, but a few things have gone in the other direction.
Welcoming our guest writers to The Reformist Opinion
We realize our readers aren’t just observers; they are practitioners and experts shaping the fields they work in. To tap into this collective intelligence, we opened our pages to guest contributors, turning The Reformist into a collaborative forum for policy debates. We published 13 The Reformist Opinion pieces this year, including:
When sugar imports become a crime: Putting trade policy on trial, by Vid Adrison and Meuti Mohsin
Danantara’s expensive waste-to-energy plan won’t solve any problems by Donny Julius
Prabowo’s self-fulfilling disaster relief plan, patriotic or biased? by Alanda Kariza
More on our page
We thank our contributing writers for their enthusiasm and trust in our publication. In 2026, we will open more spots for guest writers to publish their articles in The Reformist. We really hope more of you would like to share your thoughts with fellow readers.
Read our terms and conditions before sending your pitch on this page.
We started a podcast!
2025 is also the year The Reformist ventured into a new medium, podcasts! In our inaugural year, we had seven meaningful conversations with guests from around the world. From senior Indonesian technocrats to neighboring countries’ young reformists, we created our Reformist podcast to bring you all closer to the necessary policy, political, and historical dialogues needed for structural change.
We talked to former Energy and Resources Minister Sudirman Said about the reforms to dismantle the oil and gas ‘mafia’. In another episode, we revisited the post-2004 tsunami reconstruction efforts in Aceh and Nias with William Sabandar (this particular episode is now more relevant than ever as we witness the government’s lackluster Sumatra disaster management efforts).
Other episodes include:
On President’s delivery unit with Yanuar Nugroho
On Jakarta’s digital service reform with Atika Nur Rahmania
Then, we went international.
We had Thailand’s (almost) Prime Minister Pita Limjaroenrat talk about what it takes for the idealist youth to build and sustain a political movement. We spoke with Belgian historian and author of Revolusi David Van Reybrouck, who shared the human stories behind Indonesia’s independence movement. We also gathered insights from Malaysia’s up-and-coming reformist politician and founder of the MUDA political party, Amira Aisya.
We are looking forward to more conversations about reforms and policy issues next year!
The Reformist in 2026
2025 has been a defining year for The Reformist.
As this year comes to a close, we would like to express our gratitude to all of you for reading, watching, and listening to our work throughout 2025.
In 2026, we are establishing “The Reformist” as the brand for all media released by Think Policy. We will continue to grow and, hopefully, be your sanctuary when you need a break from the overstimulating, bottomless short-form content ‘feed’.
Starting next year, you can expect more regular release of our long-form media:
The Reformist Insights: A weekly newsletter from our editorial desk; an analysis, editorial view, or resume of past, current, and possibly interesting policy reforms.
The Reformist Opinion: A weekly opinion column for guest writers—experts, observers, practitioners, students, you—to publish their pieces in our publication.
The Reformist Podcast: A monthly conversation with reformist figures in and outside of the system—from home and abroad.
We are excited for the year ahead and looking forward to your continued support in 2026!
See you next year,
The Reformist Editorial Team