Jokowi Under Fire

In the realm of legislative affairs, a safer path forward for the president is within reach, as well.  Jokowi should seek legal counsel and craft a presidential decree that would restore the effectiveness of KPK in combating corruption.  He should use the powers of his presidency as well when the new DPR takes office and call for meetings with key legislators to discuss and strike a deal on a revised Criminal Code bill that is less intrusive and more aligned with majority opinions.

In the case of handling student protestors and discontented Papuans, Jokowi needs to use the powers of the office of the presidency to order a moratorium on the use of lethal force in order to avoid any bloodshed.  And for Papua in particular, the president should call for a unity dialogue with Papuan leaders and civil society.

Finally, when it comes to his China policy, Jokowi should take an example from the playbook of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir.  Rather than blindly taking on investments being offered by Beijing, Jokowi must not only think about the potential long-run benefits of a modernized infrastructure.  He must also have around him a team of technocrats who can assess the shorter-term economic and security risks before any deals with Beijing are allowed to move forward.

What happens next is anybody’s guess, but so so far the prospects don’t look promising.  We have seen the president and his men looking for excuses, not solutions.   For example, when asked about the KPK, one close advisor to the president was quoted as saying the KPK acts as a deterrent on investment.  Officials have blamed hoaxes and “intellectual actors” for being behind the unrest in Papua.  A similar argument, that some unseen hand is behind the latest student demonstrations, can also be heard.  And more recently, Jokowi has refused students’ demands for him to issue a presidential decree to restore the KPK’s powers.

Hopefully the president will display more wisdom in October, which is when he needs to make final selections for his new cabinet.  To make it through this difficult period he will need men and women to present him with the hard truths and more viable solutions.  He can regain the trust of the electorate, and his legitimacy, if he addresses the fact that Indonesians from across the country want a more prosperous future for themselves and their families.  Neither do they don’t want to move backwards in their politics– they want to preserve their basic democratic rights, not to have them undermined by their government. [rmol]

By: DR. Rizal Ramli