After failing to pass the Phase 1 clinical trial, researchers continue to work on the Nusantara vaccine pioneered by Terawan Agus Putranto, but under a new arrangement. The Indonesian Military is said to be divided in its stance on the polemic over the vaccine. In the United States, this research is also said to be problematic. Tempo investigation found that some of the claims made by Aivita, the company that developed the dendritic cell method, did not match reality.

Politician Budiman Sudjatmiko promises to build a tech complex called the Bukit Algoritma, or Algorithm Hill. Touted to be the Silicon Valley of Indonesia, the new project means to attract investors to the currently neglected Sukabumi Special Economic Zone.

Expert staff member, Ahmad Iman Syukri, is suspected of trading echelon I and II positions at the villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration ministry. As someone placed at the ministry “on behalf” of PKB General Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Ahmad is also suspected of collecting project fees, which has negatively impacted the ministry’s budget absorption and programs.

Jamaah Ansharut Daulah is still active despite the apparent downfall of ISIS. The group is spreading propaganda on social media.

The plan to import rice turned into a controversy. Uncertain information, caused by disagreements between government officials, caused the price of unhulled rice to plummet during the harvest season.

The government’s efforts to persuade the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to release a halal (permissible by Islamic law) fatwa (edict) for the AstraZeneca vaccine have been unsuccessful. Amid lobbying, MUI officials asked to be made commissioners at state-owned enterprises. The government then enlisted religious organizations in the regions so that a halal edict can be issued for the vaccine. With the vaccine’s expiration date approaching, the government is currently mapping regions more amenable to the AstraZeneca vaccine.