Eramuslim.com – IN an extraordinary turn of events, with less than six months after being re-elected and only weeks away from being sworn into office for a second term, President Jokowi now finds himself under fire and harsh criticism by the average Indonesian. Over the past week scores of students have clashed with police in cities across the archipelago, and there are signs the demonstrations will only grow in size and numbers in the near future.
Much of the ire directed towards the president can explained by elementary economics. Not long after his re-election, Jokowi and his economics team unwisely introduced a hike in the national health insurance premium and electricity prices. Middle- and lower-income classes, already finding it difficult to cope with food inflation and a lack of employment opportunities, suddenly discovered that their pocketbooks were being strained yet again.
This economic discontent was the tinder for what finally sparked the demonstrations, which was when the president stayed silent as the National House of Representatives, or DPR, passed legislation that effectively disempowers the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK. WIth Jokowi barely protesting the DPR’s play against the KPK or exerting his moral authority to condemn lawmakers, both the president and the DPR have now become the focal point of a growing student activist movement demanding the KPK law be rescinded.
