Politics: The United Development Party (PPP) is considering the governors of Java’s four largest provinces for its potential presidential nominee.  Three accepted invitations to address a party event in Semarang.  Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo cited a scheduling conflict, presumably to avoid irking the chair of his own party, PDI‑Perjuangan’s Megawati.  Although the Islamic PPP is parliament’s smallest party, its role in a nominating alliance could be pivotal.  West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil affirmed that he is amenable to allying with assorted parties for a nomina­tion and he cited “sometime next year” for a decision (Page 2). 

Surveys: Corroborating an earlier SMRC poll, findings from an in‑person Kompas poll depict a tie between Prabowo Subianto and Ganjar, with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan in third (p. 4). 

Policy News: An investigative report on a food estate project in Central Kalimantan shed light on the aims and implementation practices of the Defense Ministry, which is operating (according to local officials) through a Prabowo linked company, PT Agrinas.  (p. 5). 

Jakarta: Gov Anies Baswedan encountered criticism for issuing a recommendation to expand no‑smoking areas in public spaces (p. 11).

Health: Case detections continued to dwindle, falling by 25 percent week‑on‑week nationwide.  In Jakarta, cases had been on a plateau since late September but this week they finally fell by 23 percent week-on-week.  Because of a change in how cities undergo assessment for mobility restrictions (either as urban agglomerations or as stand-alone regions), Jakarta Province attained Level II status, allowing for more re‑opening and increased capacity.  But the nationwide vaccination rate slipped again to 1.6 million per day.  A health official cited misperceptions among some of the elderly as a reason for hesitancy (p. 11).