In removing Indonesia’s finance minister and U-turning on protester demands, the leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is scrambling to restore public trust while seizing a chance to install loyalists after deadly riots last month, experts say.
Demonstrations that were sparked by low wages, unemployment and anger over lawmakers’ lavish perks grew after footage spread of a paramilitary police vehicle running over a delivery motorcycle driver.
The ensuing riots, which rights groups say left at least 10 dead and hundreds detained, were the biggest of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s term, and the ex-general is now calling on the public to restore their confidence in his government.
Photo: AFP
He vowed tough action on the officers who ran over 21-year-old Affan Kurniawan, backtracked on lawmaker housing allowances, and on Monday removed five ministers, including respected finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
“We can read this as damage control after the wave of public anger, especially at... the misdirected budget efficiency,” said Rani Septyarini, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies.
Prabowo has focused on expensive social mega-projects funded by widespread budget cuts that already roused protests in February. His flagship policies include a free meal program and a new sovereign wealth fund.
New Indonesian Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on Wednesday said he would inject an unprecedented US$12 billion into the economy to spur growth and calm simmering public anger.
“Prabowo sees this problem as something that needs to be anticipated seriously,” said Airlangga Pribadi Kusman, political analyst at Airlangga University. “He wants to prevent further social damage.”
Prabowo surged to victory in last year’s election and maintained a high approval rating of more than 80 percent 100 days after entering office in October last year, according to polls.
However, the protests turned increasingly angry against the country’s political elite, with mobs burning buildings and looting politicians’ homes.
“This shows that the public has a real, legitimate problem with this administration,” Airlangga said.
Yet the Indonesian leader has used the reshuffle to replace officials linked to popular former Indonesian president Joko Widodo, more commonly known as Jokowi, with his own people.
Sri Mulyani served for eight years under Jokowi, while Purbaya is close to key government economic adviser Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan — an ex-military colleague of Prabowo.
“Prabowo is using the moment to slowly consolidate his political power by erasing Jokowi’s influence,” said Virdika Rizky Utama, a political researcher at think tank PARA Syndicate.
Indonesian State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi on Monday last week said the replacements were the right people for the job.
The presidential palace did not respond to an AFP comment request.
To win back public trust, experts say Prabowo — former son-in-law of late dictator Suharto — needs to address an expanding wealth gap and weakening democracy in a nation long known for dynastic politics which only emerged from autocracy in the 1990s.
“What we need is the determination from the president, a political will, and real progress,” Airlangga said.
In installing loyalists to oversee budget and security, Prabowo appears to be trying to uphold his flagship programs, rather than change course.
“Putting trust in people who are well-known becomes key to securing [his] policies,” said Wasisto Raharjo Jati, political analyst at the National Research and Innovation Agency, adding that those hired were from Prabowo’s “closest circles.”
“Prabowo will be more comfortable moving forward if his flagship programmes are handled by trusted figures,” he added.
It is still unclear if Prabowo’s new hires are up to the job of making life better for Indonesians.
While Sri Mulyani had stints at the World Bank and IMF, Purbaya is a relatively unknown finance professional who immediately lauded Prabowo’s ambitious growth goal of eight percent annually as achievable.
“Their competence, experience, and technological skills must still be demonstrated,” Wasisto said.
Some say Prabowo should change course on his social projects as the country grapples with stagnant wages and rising unemployment.
“If the corrections are half-hearted... the perception of justice will worsen, and the social pressure will continue,” Rani said.
The conciliatory moves and a call for calm appear to have bought Prabowo time, but without addressing the root of the public’s anger, analysts say another inflammatory incident could ignite bigger protests.
“This will be a time bomb,” said Virdika. “If things pile up, it will blow up.”
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
RSS