International People's Tribunal Declares Indonesia Responsible for 1965-1966 Mass Killings

The military-backed purge against Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members and their sympathizers paved the way for the rise of former President Suharto's New Order regime. (Antara/M Agung Rajasa)

Jakarta Globe, Edo Karensa, July 21, 2016

Jakarta. The International People’s Tribunal in the Hague declared on Wednesday (20/07) that Indonesia was responsible for committing crimes against humanity during the 1965-1966 mass killings which killed between 500,000 to one million suspected communists.

The military-backed purge against Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members and their sympathizers paved the way for the rise of former President Suharto's New Order regime.

The final verdict of an international panel of judges stated Indonesia must be held accountable for ten gross human rights violations that happened in 1965-1966, including genocide against members, followers and sympathizers of the PKI and supporters of President Soekarno as well as members of the Indonesian National Party, or PNI.

“The State of Indonesia is responsible for and guilty of crimes against humanity consequent upon the commission and perpetration, particularly by the military of that state through its chain of command, of the inhumane acts,” presiding judge Zak Yacoob stated in the final report released on Wednesday.

Besides mass killings, the other gross human rights violations committed by the state according to the tribunal were destruction, imprisonment, slavery, torture, forced disappearance, sexual violence, banishment, false propaganda, international complicity and genocide.

“All these acts were an integral part of a broad widespread systematic attack against the Indonesian Communist Party, its affiliate organizations, its leaders, members and supporters and their families,” Yacoob said, adding that the attacks were started with false propaganda.

According to Yacoob, the state is ultimately responsible for the inhumane actions of the military and its henchmen. “The State of Indonesia also failed to prevent the perpetration of these inhumane acts or to punish those responsible for their commission. To the extent that some crimes were committed independently of the authorities, by so-called “spontaneous” local action, this did not absolve the State from the obligation to prevent their occurrence and to punish those responsible,” he said.

Indonesia must apologize

At the end of the statement, Yacoob read a series of recommendations which called on the Indonesian government to “apologize to all victims, survivors and their families for all the crimes against humanity and other crimes committed in Indonesia in relation to the 1965 events.”

The recommendations also included a call to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes and ensure appropriate compensation and reparation to victims and survivors.

The tribunal also urged all relevant authorities to push for the government to act swiftly to resolve the longstanding problem. Specifically, the Attorney General should follow up a report released by the National Commission of Human Rights in 2012 which recommended investigations into grave violations of human rights during the Communist pogrom.

The tribunal also demanded the government rehabilitate surviving victims of the purge, prevent further persecution against them by the authorities and protect all their rights as guaranteed by international and Indonesian law.

High hopes for Indonesian author vying for Man Booker glory

Yahoo – AFP, Olivia Rondonuwu, April 13, 2016

Great expectations weigh on Eka Kurniawan, the first Indonesian ever
nominated for a Man Booker International Prize (AFP Photo/Goh Chai Hin)

Already compared to literary heavyweights Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Haruki Murakami, great expectations weigh on Eka Kurniawan, the first Indonesian ever nominated for a Man Booker International Prize.

The 40-year-old is up against revered writers like Orhan Pamuk and Kenzaburo Oe, both past recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature, but there is a growing buzz about the works of this little known author.

At home, titles of Kurniawan's novels splashed across the back of trucks, while newspapers and magazines hail him Indonesia's most exciting writer for a generation.

Author Eka Kurniawan holds his 

book "Man Tiger" - the story of a 

young man who gnaws his elderly 

neighbour to death (AFP Photo/

Goh Chai Hin)

“My friends sent me pictures of the back of trucks bearing the titles of my books – these (trucks and the lives of the drivers) were an inspiration for one of my novels -- and the fact my books are emblazoned there brought me to a state of euphoria, I got goosebumps,” he tells AFP.

Internationally, demand is such that he's already attended the acclaimed Frankfurt and Melbourne Book Fairs.

Despite this, Kurniawan says his inclusion on the longlist for the prestigious award, for "Man Tiger" -- the story of a young man who gnaws his elderly neighbour to death -- came as a "surprise".

He will find out Thursday if he has made the final six. The winning author and translator will also share 50,000 pounds (USD$71,000) in prizemoney, while all the finalists receive 1,000 pounds.

A shortlist nomination -- or better still, a victory -- will likely provide a much-needed international profile boost not just for Kurniawan, but for the nation's literary scene.

"I hope this is the case that Indonesian literature is really on the rise, because in the past 10 years I can feel the excitement," he adds.

'Free from taboos'

Indonesian writers have long struggled for appreciation at home, let alone on the world stage. Many do not have the means to translate their books into other languages and attract publishers and readers abroad.

Yet there is a passionate desire to share their stories and the profession has flourished since Indonesia embraced democracy.

Kurniawan, who is now married with a young daughter, participated in the student protests that toppled the authoritarian regime in 1998. He says the wave of openness that followed the end of Suharto's three-decade rule had an "enormous" influence on Indonesia's literary evolution.

“I feel Indonesia is more open," Kurniawan explains. "We can speak practically about many things, including politics, religion and other taboos like sex."

Kurniawan's own work is no exception: "Man Tiger" is a grisly, murderous tale, while "Beauty is a Wound" revolves around the communist massacres across Indonesia in the 1960s, a politically-sensitive topic to this day.

The vein of magic realism throughout his work has earned Kurniawan comparisons to legendary Colombian novelist Marquez, while others tout him as successor to Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

Pramoedya, who died a decade ago this month, is considered Indonesia's greatest-ever writer. His legendary "Buru Quartet" -- which he wrote behind bars during the Suharto years -- earned him several nominations for a Nobel Prize for Literature, and acclaim overseas.

Fuel global interest

For all the high praise directed at Kurniawan, who is from West Java but now lives in Jakarta, it has been slow crawl from aspiring writer to Booker nominee.

He worked as a graphic designer and jobbing writer, but when "Man Tiger" was first published in Indonesian in 2004 -- he concedes the readership really only extended to his circle of close friends.

It took a decade before it was translated into English and on bookshelves overseas.

The respected Southeast Asian scholar, Benedict Anderson stumbled on Kurniawan's work and, impressed, urged him to translate his works and meet with a UK publisher later describing him as "Indonesia’s most original living writer of novels and short stories".

For many writers - language is a challenge. Indonesian is often second choice after local dialects. This limits exposure in a country where only 1 in 1,000 spends time reading, according to research by UNESCO.

Publishing in English is the only avenue for global recognition and readership but for many the cost of quality translation remains too high, ensuring they remain off the radar of major international publishers.

But interest is growing -- last year Indonesia was guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, an opportunity to showcase the literary culture and traditions at the largest publishing event in the world.

There's a sense Kurniawan could encourage further interest. Barbara Epler, the head of his US publisher New Directions, predicted that if Kurniawan took off overseas he would be a "prime force" in getting more publishers interested in Indonesia, a sentiment echoed in his homeland.

"I hope he wins so that authors will rush to translate their books into other languages, promoting them to the world,” respected Indonesian poet Sapardi Djoko Damono told AFP.

The shortlist for the Man Booker International Prize will be announced Thursday and the winner on May 16.

Suharto Family Ordered to Pay Back $324m in Embezzled Funds

Jakarta Globe, Aug 11, 2015

Siti Hediati Hariyadi, popularly known as Titiek Suharto, is the late
Indonesian president's fourth child. (AFP Photo/Rahmat Pribadi)

Jakarta. The Supreme Court has ordered the family of former president Suharto to pay back to the state Rp. 4.4 trillion ($324 million) in funds misappropriated during the late strongman’s lengthy reign.

The court ruled in favor of the prosecution in a civil case against the now-defunct Supersemar Foundation, controlled by the Suharto family. The ruling, made on July 8 but not announced on the court’s website until Monday, revised an earlier ruling in 2010 which ordered the family to pay just a tiny fraction of the losses to the state.

The court repealed a 1976 government regulation issued by the former president ordering all state-owned banks to set aside 2.5 percent of their profits for the foundation. The court ruled that the funds accumulated since the foundation was established — a total sum of $420 million and Rp 185 billion — were largely embezzled and never used for their stated purpose: education.

The court has now ordered the foundation to pay 75 percent of the funds it had amassed over the years, while the 2010 ruling had ordered the Suharto family to pay $315,000 and Rp 185 million — a small sum for the once-powerful family — instead of the $315 million and Rp 185 billion the Attorney General’s Office had sought. The court claimed this was due to a typo.

The AGO only filed for a case review in 2013, around the same time the Suharto family filed a separate motion looking to reverse the order.

The court “granted the case review filed by the state [the AGO] and rejected the case review filed by the Supersemar Foundation,” the latest ruling states.

Hearing the case were Supreme Court judges Suwardi, Soltony Mohdally and Mahdi Soroinda Nasution.

Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Monday that his office would follow up on the ruling.

“I haven’t read the ruling. I will read it first and then we will know what to do next,” he said, as quoted by Gatra magazine.

Voicing Indonesia’s Silence on 1965 in The Hague

Jakarta Globe, Sie Yoe Lien, Jun 07, 2015

Leila S. Chudori speaking with historian Martijn Eickhoff, left, and Aboeprijadi
Santoso of the International People’s Tribunal 1965, in The Hague. (Photo
courtesy of Tong Tong Foundation)

The music and happy chatter next door seem to be a world away as Indonesian author and Tempo journalist Leila S. Chudori speaks about her novel “Pulang” (“Going Home”). In front of a hushed audience, Leila recalls that she had only heard that there was such a thing as Indonesian political exiles when she visited Paris in the 1980s.

“There are thousands of Indonesian exiles in Europe, many in the Netherlands. And that’s not even counting their families,” Leila said. “That’s why I felt I should write about those exiled abroad and the political prisoners in Indonesia. They are closely related to one another.”

Her bestseller Pulang tells the story of Dimas, who was stranded in Paris and unable to return to Indonesia after the failed coup of September 1965, blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In the months following the coup attempt, hundreds of thousands of people — some say over a million — accused of being communists were brutally tortured and killed, while many others were jailed without trial. 

Dimas’ character, Leila said, was based on real exiles in Paris who could not obtain Indonesian passports until after the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime, more than three decades later.

Cisca Pattipilohy, 89, who was in the audience that afternoon, was emotional when she said that the 1965 events “have wounded our whole nation, not just those directly victimized.” Cisca, a former journalist, had to leave Indonesia with her four young children after her husband, also a journalist, was arrested following the failed coup. He died in jail without ever seeing his family again.

‘1965’ at the Tong Tong Fair

Literature, history and social issues have always been an integral part of the Tong Tong Fair, says programmer Leslie Boon. “While the Fair is a celebration, it should also be a venue where heavier subjects can be discussed,” says Boon, who is also the granddaughter of Tong Tong founder Jan Boon, better known under his pseudonym Tjalie Robinson.

This year’s main themes include ‘1945’ and ‘1965,’ to commemorate the 70th and 50th anniversaries of key events in Indonesian history.

The fair is held from May 27 till June 7 this year.

“Each country has dark pages in its history,” Boon says. “For the Netherlands, 1945 marked not only the end of World War II but also the imminent loss of its biggest colony, and the wars it fought there. For Indonesia, meanwhile, it was 1965.”

The issue of 1965 is presented at the Fair through different perspectives, as Boon explains: “From the literary side we have Leila, and from the activists’ side we have IPT 1965 [International People’s Tribunal]. We also have an academic from NIOD [the Dutch Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies].”

Boon tried to get US filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer to speak, “but unfortunately he already had an engagement in Japan.” Oppenheimer’s controversial documentaries “The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence” show how, decades after 1965, the perpetrators of the killings still walk free while many of the victims live in anger and fear.

Decades of silence

Leila, who took part in three discussions during the 12-day festival, spoke of how effectively the New Order regime presented its version of what happened in 1965 as the only truth. “My father [Muhammad Buchori] was a journalist, but even I grew up largely uninformed about 1965,” she said. “Traveling and studying abroad has given me new glasses to look at my country.”

Even after the fall of Suharto in 1998, the silence about 1965 has been far from broken. In 2005, Leila recalls, Tempo magazine founder Goenawan Mohamad urged the weekly to do a special edition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. “At first I thought: why do this old story? But then I started interviewing the families of the victims, and was stunned at all the untold stories that came out. Since then, we’ve decided to do a special edition on the subject every year.”

People’s Tribunal

Leiden University lecturer Ratna Saptari also shared the Tong Tong podium as part of the Holland-based IPT 1965, which was formed in 2012 by a group of human rights activists, artists, intellectuals and academics in Europe and Indonesia. “It is so important that 1965 is discussed in a platform with a general audience like the Tong Tong,” she said.

IPT 1965 plans to organize a people’s tribunal in The Hague later this year for the atrocities of 1965, based on similar tribunals held in countries like Japan or the former Yugoslavia. The charges prepared for the tribunal range from torture and deportation to mass murder. While the court’s outcome would not be legally binding, Saptari explains, the tribunal would be able to hear witnesses and examine evidence. “We have been gathering evidence, and we have collected data from some 13 provinces in Indonesia.”

Breaking the silence

NIOD historian Martijn Eickhoff, who has done research in Indonesia, is optimistic that the frozen subject is slowly thawing. “I have seen changes in the past few years. The younger generation, especially university students, are getting curious about their past, and are starting to look more critically at the state’s official version of the country’s history.”

Eickhoff spoke of the so-called Oppenheimer effect: that the documentaries have sparked many Indonesians, including those who did not grow up under Suharto’s rule, to seriously question what really happened in 1965. “And books like Pulang also contribute to this. Maybe we can now also mention the Chudori effect.”

But the author — whose book has been translated into English, French, German and Dutch — remains somewhat pessimistic about the future.

“Take the novel Bumi Manusia [The Earth of Mankind],” she said, referring to the classic work of literature by writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was jailed for 14 years following the failed coup. “For years, Indonesian filmmakers have been trying to adapt this novel to the screen. But every time the investors hear the name of the author, they back out. Even now.”

About the Tong Tong Fair:

During the colonial rule in Indonesia, many Dutch civil servants and merchants ended up living in the archipelago, marrying locals and raising families. After Indonesia became independent, hundreds of thousands of Indos – those of mixed Indonesian and Dutch heritage — migrated to the Netherlands.

In the 1950s, Indo writer and intellectual Tjalie Robinson set up a group to organize events to celebrate Indo culture and make it wider known in the Netherlands.

In order to raise money, they organized the first Pasar Malam. It was held in The Hague’s city zoo for three days and attracted some 3,000 visitors.

Since then the Pasar Malam — renamed the Tong Tong Fair in 2009 — has grown into a two-week event with over 100,000 visitors. The festival is one of the largest annual fairs in the Netherlands, and features cultural events such as music, dance, theater and literary discussions. And, very importantly for most visitors: an abundance of Indonesian and Asian food.

Women’s Rights Chief: Never Forget May ’98

Jakarta Globe, Ari Susanto, Mar 15, 2015

Families of victims scatter flower petals on Monday at a mall in Klender, East
Jakarta, that was burned down on May 13, 1998. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya).

Yogyakarta/Solo. The national commission for women’s protection has called on the government to acknowledge as a national tragedy the mass rape of ethnic Chinese women during the May 1998 riots that preceded the downfall of the late strongman Suharto.

“The victims and families just need the government’s affirmation that rape and violence against women on a massive scale occurred 17 years ago, and that most of the victims never got justice,” Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, the chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, or Komnas Perempuan, told the Jakarta Globe in Yogyakarta over the weekend.

“Let the people today know and recognize it. Never conceal or forget, as we need to learn from the past.”

Yuniyanti said she supported Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s plan to build a memorial in the Pondok Rangon cemetery, as well as a move by Mayor F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo of Solo, Central Java, to conserve Purwoloyo cemetery. Both sites are the final resting places of victims of the outbreak of violence that tore mainly through Jakarta, Solo and Medan, North Sumatra, in early and mid-May 1998 and that targeted primarily Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese community.

The rights commissioner said she was worried that this dark chapter in the country’s part would eventually be glossed over as part of the price that had to be paid to force Suharto from power, and not as a series of serious human rights violations that warranted its own investigation.

A fact-finding team set up by the government later recorded at least 85 instances of sexual violence targeting ethnic Chinese women during the episode, although independent observers have put the true figure at closer to 500.

The mobs responsible also looted and torched ethnic-Chinese-owned businesses and homes.

Thousands of Chinese-Indonesians fled the country in the wake of the violence, and while many returned, it was to a life that was markedly subdued than before.

Sumartono Hadinoto, a prominent Solo resident and community organizer whose businesses were targeted in the rioting, said that he and other families preferred to forget the tragedy, but acknowledged the need to recognize what happened.

“I and most of the other victims wish we could erase our memory of the tragedy. Remembering the rape and violence will mire the families in misery and despair, and won’t give them back their previous lives,” he said.

Related Article:

In Indonesia, 1998 violence against ethnic Chinese remains unaddressed

Syncretist Celebrations of Imlek, Lent and Tolerance

Red-Letter Day: Catholics and Confucians join in shared celebrations across Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Novianti Setuningsih & Carlos Paath, Feb 20, 2015

In Malang, East Java, a model in Chinese costume celebrates Lunar New Year,
which starts the Year of the Goat. (AFP Photo/Aman Rochman)

Jakarta. With the Chinese New Year coinciding with the second day of Lent, Chinese Catholics and Confucians in several cities across Indonesia staged joint ceremonies on Thursday in a show of religious tolerance.

Joint prayer ceremonies were observed at the Hallowed Cross Catholic Church in Cilincing, North Jakarta, where parishioners say the church has staged Chinese New Year celebrations for the past 10 years.

“This year’s celebration is much simpler because it coincides with our pre-Easter rituals,” said Widiyoko, the church’s Chinese New Year chief organizer.

Celebrations at the church, where 25 percent of its 6,000 members are ethnic Chinese, began at 8 a.m. with a mass and ended with a lion dance performance.

The church also gave alms to hundreds of impoverished locals, mainly Muslims.

“Events like this add to the spirit of togetherness. It makes us appreciate one another and not differentiate people based on their ethnicity or religion,” churchgoer Florentina Ninie said.

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin wished Indonesians a prosperous Chinese New Year on Thursday, urging that celebrations be allowed to take place with tolerance.

“I think our society has already been shown to be tolerant, even though there are many religious communities who do not accustom themselves to Imlek,” said Lukman, referring to the Lunar New Year by its Indonesian name.

A similar joint celebration was also observed at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Cibinong, Bogor, according to Bogor’s bishop, Paskalis Bruno Syukur, who presided over the mass.

The Jakarta Police deployed more than 3,000 officers to boost security in the city ahead of the festivities.

The festivities at the start of the Lunar New Year are most commonly associated with ethnic Chinese, but are also celebrated by other communities, including those who identify as Korean (who call it Seollal) and Vietnamese (who speak of Tet).

During the 32-year rule of the late strongman Suharto, the festivities for the start of the Lunar New Year, as well as other expressions of Chinese cultural identity, were banned.

In 2001, then-president Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, revoked the discriminatory regulations and in 2002, then-president Megawati Soekarnoputri declared Chinese New Year a national holiday; it was celebrated as such for the first time in 2003.

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caught the eye of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who praised

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(Photo by leon Neal, AFP file)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

Widodo Promises to Act on Police Chief Spat as Popularity Hit

Jakarta Globe, Neil Chatterjee and Yudith Ho, Feb 03, 2015

President Joko Widodo welcomed a Japanese business delegation at the
palace on Monday. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo will decide this week whether to stick with a controversial pick for police chief, an episode that has undermined his political support and put his graft-fighting credentials in question.

“I hope this week I will decide,” Widodo, known as Jokowi, said Monday in an interview in his office at his Dutch- colonial era residence in Jakarta. Asked which way he was leaning, Jokowi laughed and replied “you’ll know after I decide.”

Just days after Jokowi, 53, announced Budi Gunawan as his choice for police chief, the anti-graft agency named the three- star general a corruption suspect. Jokowi said Jan. 16 he had “postponed but not canceled” the nomination while the agency investigated Gunawan, prompting criticism from anti-graft activists.

Jokowi, a former small businessman who rose through the ranks of local government without the support of the major parties, became president after a campaign pledging zero tolerance on corruption and staking his reputation as a reformer.

Three months into his term the furor over his police chief pick threatens to become a distraction from his broader policy agenda in a parliament where he lacks a majority.

Faced with a public backlash if he proceeds with Gunawan, and with spiking tensions between the anti-graft agency known as the KPK and the police, as the police retaliate by moving against two senior KPK officials, Jokowi said he would uphold the rule of law. “I must respect the legal process,” he said.

The rupiah gained 0.4 percent, the most in two weeks, as investors look for a quick conclusion to the dispute following Jokowi’s comments, said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore.

Police Investigations

As the KPK investigates Gunawan, police have begun probes into senior officers at the anti-graft body.

Police are examining a complaint against KPK chairman Abraham Samad related to the issuance of a passport, said Ronny Sompie, a spokesman for the national police, and are looking at his meetings with politicians from Jokowi’s party. Samad was touted as a potential vice-presidential candidate for Jokowi last year.

Relations between the police and corruption fighters were once so marred by acrimony that dozens of officers barged into the KPK to try and arrest an agent investigating the chief traffic cop. Transparency International has described the police force as the nation’s most corrupt institution.

Ratings Slide

Gunawan’s ties to former President Megawati Soekarnoputri could complicate the decision-making process for Jokowi as he seeks to show he’s free from influence. Gunawan was a personal adjutant of Megawati, who was president from 2001 to 2004 and heads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, the party that backed Jokowi. Jokowi appointed Megawati’s daughter to a post in the Cabinet.

With his popularity sliding, former Jakarta governor Jokowi dismissed the possibility of impeachment, which would need the support of more than three-quarters of parliament. “There is still support from our party, our coalition,” he said, sitting at a desk at Istana Merdeka — or Freedom Palace — in front of a bust of India independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur and Indonesia’s first elected leader after the downfall of dictator Suharto, was impeached in 2001 after less than two years in power, following claims of involvement in financial scandals.

Fallen Popularity

Public satisfaction with Jokowi fell from 71.7 percent in August to 42.3 percent 100 days into his term, a poll late last month by Lingkaran Survei Indonesia showed. Of the 1,200 respondents, 53.1% were unhappy with his nomination of Gunawan for police chief.

“This sort of episode reminds us that he still needs to maintain a tight balancing act between the interests of his own party while maintaining his popularity in the public,” said Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore. “The longer Jokowi allows this to drag on, the more difficult it will be for him” to restore credibility on tackling graft, he said.

Jokowi downplayed the prospect of an alliance with opposition parties, having met last week with opposition leader Prabowo Subianto. Former army general Prabowo, Jokowi’s rival in last year’s presidential race, heads the Gerindra Party and his coalition has a parliamentary majority. Prabowo said in October he’d support Jokowi while being a critic on policies that would harm the nation.

Asked if the meeting could pave the way for an alliance, Jokowi said “there is no talk about that.”

Economics, Politics

“Last week when I met Pak Prabowo we discussed about economics and also about politics,” said Jokowi, who takes a break while in his car by playing phone games and listening to Megadeth, Metallica and Queen.

As Jokowi nears his decision, Gunawan missed an appearance at the KPK last week for scheduled questioning. A hearing where he will seek to have the case dismissed has been delayed to Feb. 9, Kompas reported on its website. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The KPK was set up in 2003 to put teeth into anti-graft efforts across the world’s fourth-most populous nation. It has a 100 percent conviction rate and prosecuted 72 members of parliament, six central bankers and dozens of chief executives in the decade since it was formed in 2003, earning it the support of ordinary Indonesians.

‘Save KPK’

KPK Commissioner Bambang Widjojanto submitted his resignation Jan. 26 after police arrested him for allegedly ordering witnesses to give false testimony to judges ruling in a local election dispute in 2010. Widjojanto will be summoned for police questioning Tuesday, Sompie said.

The KPK, citing Widjojanto, said on Twitter that its fight against corruption would not be silenced. After Widjojanto’s arrest, protesters gathered outside the agency’s offices, shouting “save KPK”. Jokowi now needs to restore trust, said Paul Rowland, a political consultant in Jakarta.

“Indonesians are pretty forgiving in the end, but it depends on whether he takes enough action on the things they care about,” said Rowland.

Whatever his decision on Gunawan, Jokowi will seek to return focus to his planned reforms, including changes to tax collection.

“As a president I must make sure everything must be on track,” he said. “It’s only been 100 days. My work is for five years, so there’s still a lot that hasn’t been done.”

Bloomberg

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100 days in power - Has Indonesia's Jokowi shaken things up?

100 days in power - Has Indonesia's Jokowi shaken things up?

Joko Widodo came to power on pledges of ushering in an era of change and a new leadership style. But while many praise the Indonesian President for economic reforms, analysts say his 'Mr. Clean' image has been dented.

Deutsche Welle, 26 Jan 2015

For many Indonesians, October 20, 2014 seemed like the beginning of a new chapter in the country's recent democratic history. 53-year-old Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, was sworn in as president of the world's fourth most populous country, after narrowly defeating ex-general Prabowo Subianto in a hotly contested election in July.

The move symbolized not only the culmination of the remarkable career of a man who started off as a furniture seller on the island of Java and quickly rose through the ranks of government. It also indicated a generational change as Jokowi became the first president without links to the government of former dictator Suharto, who was overthrown in 1998 after more than three decades in power.

High hopes

Expectations were high when Jokowi came to power. His reputation for being corruption-free, direct and down-to-earth as governor of Jakarta had appealed to many voters, some of whom even compared the 53-year-old to US President Barack Obama who spent part of his childhood in the Southeast Asian nation.

Many say Jokowi's cabinet makeup
 reflects the strong influence exerted
by Megawati Sukarnoputri

Three months into his presidency, the Indonesian leader has been facing a host of major challenges inherited from previous governments, ranging from fighting the country's endemic corruption and rising inequality, to revitalizing the sluggish economy and improving the infrastructure.

In addition, Jokowi has had to deal with a hostile parliament, given that most of its members are aligned with losing candidate Prabowo.

Given the difficult task ahead and Jokowi's lack of experience in regional and international affairs, many had warned against expecting sensational developments in the first 100 days of his term. But has Jokowi laid the groundwork for a successful presidency? The results are mixed.

Jokowi's team

An early test for the new leader came with the formation of his cabinet. While Jokowi's outsider credentials made him appealing to the electorate during the campaign, they also meant that he lacked the political and patronage networks that other national politicians in Indonesia enjoy.

So he appointed a total of 18 technocrats and newcomers to lead several ministries to implement some of the country's much-needed reforms - a move welcomed both at home and abroad.

However, the other posts of his 34-strong cabinet went to members of his ruling coalition, a move criticized by many as reflecting the strong influence of his party's chairwoman and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

"The political mandate from the PDI-P and its party coalition for his presidency created an apparent headache for Jokowi when selecting his ministers. The new Cabinet is obviously not all the president's men," Wahyudi Kumorotomo, professor of Public Administration at Indonesia's Gadjah Mada University wrote on the academic site "The Conversation."

Even more controversial has been his choice for national police chief, Budi Gunawan, suspected by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of receiving bribes - an appointment that has cast doubts on Jokowi's campaign promise to deliver clean governance.

The issue of corruption has been plaguing the country for years now, with Indonesia ranking 107th out of 174 nations in Transparency International's 2014 Corruption Perception Index. The president has therefore been under mounting pressure to replace his pick, but has so far refused.

But more than just graft, analysts argue the issue also reflects Jokowi's struggle with consolidating power. Budi is seen as close to Megawati and many in the country consider his nomination a political maneuver aimed at further appeasing the PDI-P.

Yohanes Sulaiman, political analyst and lecturer at the Indonesian Defense University, argues that by nominating Budi as police chief, the president has squandered a lot of the goodwill from people: "Many saw this as proof of Jokowi deferring too much to Megawati at the expense of his principles," he said.

Reducing fuel subsidies

As for the economy, one of the president's top priorities, Jokowi has shown decisiveness in taking on the task of reducing government fuel subsidies, which for years had been a major drain on government fiscal resources, earning him international praise.

Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank, said: "With the extra budget funds resulting from fuel subsidy cuts, the government can now allocate more resources for infrastructure, which are needed to revive and diversify sources of economic growth." In fact, many multinational companies were encouraged by Jokowi's "clean image" and announced plans to expand operations in Indonesia.

Jokowi earned international praise by acting decisively on
curbing fuel subsidies

"The move to cut fuel subsidies is encouraging since it suggests that Jokowi is serious about economic reform in Indonesia, and is even prepared to take steps that may prove unpopular in the short run," Gareth Leather, Asia Economist at Capital Economics told DW.

But while the cuts were welcomed by economists, they also partly dented his popularity as the price of petrol and diesel across the archipelago went up by more than 30 percent in mid-November.

The impact, however, was partly cushioned by the recent fall in global oil prices.

Helping the poorest

The president has also made good on his campaign promise to help the nation's poorest by diverting some of the extra funds to areas such as health and education. Just days after his inauguration, the government launched the Indonesia Smart Card and Indonesia Heath Card, guaranteeing free medical treatment for the poor as well free schooling.

Analyst Sulaiman argues this gesture towards the country's low and middle-classes certainly offset the impact of the fuel price hike. "Jokowi's biggest political capital comes from the impression among many that he genuinely cares about people and that he is one of them, which to some degree may come from his humble background," Sulaiman said.

And it seems that Jokowi has kept this personal connection with the people as seen in his reaction to the loss of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 where he met with the victims' families and organized a swift response.

Dealing with the opposition

A somewhat unexpected positive aspect of Jokowi's first three months in office has been the apparent improvement of relations with the opposition, which initially seemed bent on making his life very difficult in parliament.

"There have been internal squabbles within Golkar, one of the biggest parties within the opposition, which have led them to tone down the rhetoric," said Sulaiman.

Jokowi's relations with the opposition in
Parliament have apparently improved.
But how long will this last?

If Golkar as an organization were to switch sides, or if a large enough number of individual lawmakers was to defect to Jokowi, he could gain the legislative majority he now lacks.

On top of that, in an apparent concession to the president, the opposition-dominated parliament recently approved direct elections for governors and mayors, overturning controversial legislation passed in September under Jokowi's predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which had led to protests and criticism amongst many Indonesians.

'No clemency for drug traffickers'

Despite the signs of progress in parliament, one of Jokowi's latest decisions has led many outside the country to slam his stance on human rights and tarnish his image. Indonesia brushed aside last-minute appeals by foreign leaders and, on January 18, executed a total of six people convicted of drug trafficking, including five foreigners from Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria, Brazil and the Netherlands.

President Jokowi not only rejected clemency requests, but also refused a last-minute appeal by Brasilia and Den Haag to spare their countrymen. Instead, he defended the executions, saying those convicted of drug trafficking would not receive a presidential pardon since Indonesia is facing an "emergency" over drug use.

The incident didn't only heighten diplomatic tensions, but also triggered international criticism from human rights groups. Amnesty International said the first executions under Indonesia's new president were "a retrograde step" for human rights. Jakarta had an unofficial four-year moratorium on executions until 2013, when five people were put before the firing squad. There were no executions last year.

Jokowi rejected clemency for
drug trafficking convicts

Another controversial issue, especially among Indonesia's neighbors, has been Jakarta's decision to sink foreign boats caught illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. While the new administration has defended the policy as a "necessary deterrent," others argue the issue is not one of legality but propriety.

"If any Malaysian fishermen accidentally enter into Indonesian waters, there is no need to sink their boats. Just escort them back to the Malaysian waters," Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Ad was quoted as saying by the "The Rakyat Post."

The road ahead

It's been 100 days since Jokowi assumed office, and the so-called "Jokowi-effect" seems to have been replaced by realism. The new leader has offered Indonesia the prospect of a fresh start, but he also has his work cut out for him. Analyst Gregory Poling, Indonesia expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies says Jokowi has passed through the period of post-election euphoria and into the gritty realm of day-to-day governing.

"For every step taken toward necessary reforms, his administration seems to take another backward," Poling underlines. Moving forward, he argues, the electorate will be looking to see whether his pledges of good governance will outweigh patronage politics within his coalition, and especially whether he can step out of Megawati's shadow.

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Editorial: 100 Days In, Jokowi Has Yet to Prove Himself