Strides into a New Era with Echoes from the Old Regime

Islands of the Gods

Indonesia has just completed its quinquennial presidential election, with its usual mix of surprises, dramas, and decisions. But before examining the political landscape, let's take a moment to appreciate the vastness of Indonesia. This archipelago consists of 17,504 islands straddling the equator. Among these, five major islands stands out: Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi (Celebes), and Papua, each with distinct cultures, languages, political views, and levels of religious tolerance. Java, in particular, holds a unique status due to its centralized economic growth and development over the decades. Notably, all of Indonesia's presidents since independence have been Javanese. This imbalance has caused tension, especially in Papua, the easternmost island, where militants still fight for independence, citing unequal treatment. Papua is a land of gold, and we Indonesians often think of ourselves as a 'rich undeveloped country' because of it. Without Papua, our wealth would be significantly diminished, leaving us simply an undeveloped country.

Despite the national motto "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity), each region in Indonesia has its own ‘gods’—local leaders with significant influence and control. This regional autonomy presents a challenge in uniting the country. When the time comes for the presidential election year, all candidates will visit as many islands as they can to win people’s hearts, and arguably make deals with ‘the gods’ and 'the kings'. Because, for a big country like Indonesia, synergizing between central and local governments has always been the case, it has always been the challenge for our nation to propel forward, and it’s always been the reason why we centralized on Java.

The New Order

Officially, Indonesia has a president, but behind the scenes, political leaders, government officials, and military generals often act like kings. No single leader has managed to truly unify them all.

Historically, Indonesia has seen strong leaders. The founding fathers united the country and won independence from colonial powers. However, governing a nation proved different from winning a war. In the late 1960s, Indonesia's first president was overthrown by his trusted general, Soeharto, who used anti-communist propaganda to seize power and usher in the New Order era.

General Soeharto, arguably Indonesia’s strongest president, ruled with an iron fist, blending tyranny with economic development fueled by massive World Bank loans. After more than two decades, his dynasty seemed unchallenged until the late 1990s when people, led by student activists, rose against his regime. This tyrant-military-general president actually had a son called Tommy, but he was more of a natural-born prince rather than a future king. Fortunately, the president also had a beautiful daughter called Titiek, who married a man called Prabowo Subianto. It was a royal wedding for the nation. Prabowo had the noble blood of the founding father, and a strong military background (of course...) a perfect protégé and a proper setup to continue the dynasty.

Mental Revolution

Fast forward to 2014. We have a new kind of leader: Joko Widodo, an architect and forestry graduate who rose from the common people. For the first time in our history, we had a president with no elite background. If we don’t count the founding fathers, our leadership history includes: Soeharto, the first military general president; an intellectual scholar president (a vice president who became president due to chaos); an intellectual Islamic scholar president (who wasn’t elected by the people); the daughter of the founding father (also not elected by the people); another military general; and finally, a people’s champion. 'The King from Solo', 'Pak Lurah', 'The Thin Man': Joko Widodo.

Jokowi has ruled the nation for almost a decade. One of his most important achievements is the mental revolution of government employees. From ministers to village leaders (though village leaders still need more time), Jokowi instilled a new level of professionalism. Before Jokowi, people had little faith in the government’s ability to perform. We didn’t expect good ministers; we just hoped they weren’t corrupt. Meritocracy was unheard of, and we tolerated incompetence and underachievement. We didn’t believe Indonesia could be influential globally because we were too busy fighting among ourselves. Under President Jokowi, significant progress has been made. Transparency and professionalism have become core values. Corrupt officials, including his own ministers, are prosecuted. He raised the bar to new standards, but unfortunately, our nation takes these improvements for granted.

The Tale of Two Kings

Remember the guy who married the tyrant general’s daughter? The protégé? Prabowo Subianto, 26 years after the fall of the Soeharto family, has finally won the presidential election of Indonesia in just one round, with a total of 96.21 million votes or 58.58% of the 164 million people, the biggest votes in the history of Indonesia on the biggest single-day voting in the world.

Before finally becoming president-elect in 2024, Prabowo had been a Sasuke to Jokowi's Naruto for more than a decade. They fought in two presidential elections, both won by Jokowi. In Jokowi’s second term, they surprised the whole nation by deciding to make peace and even join forces. Because of his military background, Prabowo was then made the Minister of Defense by President Jokowi. So, after losing two presidential elections in a row, Prabowo finally succeeded with a landslide victory. What a journey to clean your family name.

But the astonishing win is not without tragedy. One of the losing sides, which was Jokowi’s previous party, felt shameful about the crushing defeat, especially after a decade of being the biggest party in the country. They contested the eligibility of Prabowo's vice-presidential candidate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s son. This accusation stemmed from a recent constitutional amendment, stirring political drama. The funny thing is, the head judge of the constitutional court was Gibran’s own uncle.

The Indonesian 2024 presidential election drama began when Megawati Soekarnoputri directly confronted Jokowi during a large-scale national party meeting, stating, 'Without the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Jokowi is nothing.' She is the daughter of the founding father Soekarno, who then became the 5th President of Indonesia without an election, and served as the supreme leader of the Party, to which Jokowi belonged at the time. This event marked as the first episode of the political K-drama of the 2024 presidential election.

Jokowi, who had chosen Ganjar Pranowo (a high rank member of the national democratic party) as his successor, now shifted his choice elsewhere. Prabowo saw this opening as an opportunity. Megawati and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle nominated Ganjar as the presidential candidate, taking one of Jokowi’s most important ministers as their vice president candidate. At first, it looked like a big blow for Prabowo’s team, while Prabowo led a significant coalition of almost 10 political parties, he remained undecided about his choice for vice president.

On the other hand, conservative Islamists in the nation nominated Anies Baswedan, a scholar who previously served as the governor of Jakarta and a minister in Jokowi’s first term. They also struck a deal with the more moderate Islamic group, Nahdathul Ulama, to nominate Muhaimin Iskandar, the leader of the largest Islamic party and a vice president of the House of Representatives of Indonesia. This agreement was made by removing one of the coalition parties led by the son of a former Indonesian president, AHY. Shortly after, AHY and his party, feeling betrayed, swiftly aligned with Prabowo’s side.

So, while the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle took the lead and the Islamic group made their choice, Prabowo was still thinking about the right person to accompany him as the vice president candidate, knowing his choice would affect everything entirely. Because of the big coalition, Prabowo knew he couldn't pick someone from within the coalition parties, as it wouldn't be fair and could potentially break the coalition. This is when Jokowi came into play. Even though not affiliated with any party, Jokowi had almost 80% of the people's approval rating, and this meant power. He offered his oldest son Gibran to Prabowo, symbolizing the continuity of Jokowi's legacy, and people bought it. They won an unprecedented mandate from 36 out of 38 provinces.

Nusantara

The development of the new capital city, Nusantara, involving the relocation of all government functions from Jakarta, will encounter numerous challenges. Geographically, Nusantara will be situated in the heart of Indonesia, symbolizing the government's commitment to fostering equality among all islands. Jokowi initiated this ambitious project, essentially playing SimCity with real resources. It will be a city nestled amidst the jungle, potentially featuring a beach and even a port. Priority is placed on constructing an international airport, along with hotels, schools, hospitals, and sports training facilities, all meeting international standards. The big vision is to build a forest city that seamlessly integrated into its natural surroundings. This includes the use of fully electric vehicles to minimize both air and even noise pollution.

a prospect that sounds too good to be true for many Indonesians. However, the two leaders have pledged not only to the nation but to the world that the project will be completed on time, starting with a conducive and peaceful political climate.

Overseeing the project as curator is Ridwan Kamil, a renowned architect and politician (but as you can probably guess, again..is coming from java). He expressed, "We have promised the world it would be the best environmental friendly, modern, and livable city the world has ever seen," indicating a desire for foreign investment. The president personally invited major companies like Apple, Starlink, and Microsoft to negotiate investment opportunities, capitalizing on the appeal of exclusive government support for business ventures in Indonesia.

Sailing Ahead

Ok, enough with the history and the drama, now what should we expect from the new government?

Just a few days ago, Prabowo had an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, where he expressed his desire to be remembered as “the one who brought alleviation to the weakest, the poorest, and the most suffering.” Multiple times he mentioned that the utmost priority for Indonesia is to achieve self-sufficiency in food, meaning not being dependent on other countries' exports. For him, that is the mark of true independence, a nation that can feed all of its own people. That being said, his famous ‘free lunch program’ is expected to be delivered within the next four years, which would also mean the rise of the local food and beverage industry.

Another thing that interests me in seeing the future of Indonesia is how open we would be as a country. Looking at Prabowo's background influenced by a global mindset, I'm sure it would translate into many policies that will make Indonesia more approachable rather than secluded. Tourism would also be one of the industries heavily impacted during his presidency.

But, the big question is: could we really become the so-called golden Indonesia in 2045? Exactly a hundred years after the independence. Can we become a developed country where there’s no suffering and no poor people? For me, a golden Indonesia is not just about the economy, but rather about the quality of the people. If anything, the COVID-19 breakout has taught us that if we want to survive on this planet for another hundred years to come, the future kind of people need to be able to think beyond the economy, beyond nationality. I imagine that these future people will have the same love and passion for their environment as much as for other people, and to do that we really need leaders that can get us there. Maybe one nation at a time, maybe one less war at a time, but we need a really good plan on how to get there.

When I look at one of our own islands, Bali, and how the people interact with each other, how they treat their environment, I bet you’ll agree with me that we have hopes. Not to be all John Lennon about it, but looking at the success of Bali as the host of the G20 and the potential it has, I honestly believe that it’s the only island in the country with the opportunity to become more open than the others. In other words, it can be more advanced, not just in the quality of human resources, but in tolerance, and especially in the way they live hand in hand with nature. I can see future Indonesian people with beautiful minds and souls. If only Bali can be the benchmark for the other islands to learn from, I think we might become a very beautiful and peaceful country to live in. So come visit us on your next vacation, you might learn something.