How comfy the throne, how rapid the change; a humble Republican from a riverbank shack is plotting to be King of Indonesia surrounded by his regal family of political courtiers.
Young Indonesians have had enough of outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s blatant nepotism, the rise of dynastic politics and a return of the oligarchs.
Furious protests in major cities last week sent the market trembling and forced Parliament to adjourn. TV news showed police firing tear gas and water cannons as the crowds surged and spot fires flared.
Less than two months before disgraced former general Prabowo Subianto takes office in the land next door, students, workers and idealists are starting to snarl.
Tens of thousands have protested against legislators’ contempt for electors; they’re demanding respect for representative government and the rule of law – and so far they’re succeeding.
The world’s third largest democracy (after India and the US) has allowed the principles of equality and equity to be slowly trampled during the leader’s past two five-year terms.
The crisis is a reminder that 19th-century British politician Lord Acton’s quote is ageless and universal: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Several universities in Indonesia have reportedly issued petitions criticising the current state of democracy and calling on Jokowi to maintain state ethics.
Indonesia is labelled a “flawed democracy” by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s World Democracy Index. This ranks the Republic at 52; the Nordic nations and NZ lead the 167 states surveyed.
Last Thursday, more than 3,000 police were hopelessly outnumbered by 10 times that number in Jakarta as masses condemned planned changes to the Republic’s regional election law in a bid to overturn a ruling by the Constitutional Court. There were no reported casualties or arrests.
Comments from the crowd would resonate with young Australians; fist-thrusters were there to protest state abuse of democracy, though also fed up with the rising cost of living, low wages, the power of elites and long delays in bureaucrats responding to complaints of inefficiency.
Once again, this highly-charged political shemozzle involves the family of the super-popular but ultra-cunning Jokowi. He is trying to cement his legacy by slipping relatives into power and, through them, maintaining his grip on the state.
After two five-year terms, Jokowi can’t legally remain in office, though pushed to stay by big business backers. They’ve argued his rule should continue because it’s led to high economic growth (now above five percent) mainly through Chinese-funded infrastructure, mining projects and loans.
Two years ago, Jakarta owed Beijing more than A$30 billion, a figure now believed to be much higher.
Last week, the court decided candidates in local elections must be at least 30 years old. That ruled out Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, 29, from having his name on a ticket in the November poll.
Jokowi rustled up backers and rapidly garnered support from eight parties already in his pocket. They whipped up new bills a week before the candidate registration period to let Kaesang stand.
Earlier this year the court, then run by Jokowi’s brother-in-law Anwar Usman, judged that citizens under 40 could stand for high office if they had prior government experience.
This allowed Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, the former mayor of Solo in Central Java, to offer himself to the public in a three-party race as sidekick to Prabowo.
In February, the pair scored 58 percent in the general election. Prabowo is now the president-elect and Gibran vice president-elect.
Chief Justice Anwar was reprimanded by his colleagues for — among other things — committing a “serious violation of the code of ethics” and failing to be impartial.
He was demoted but the court’s decision was upheld.
This month, it all got too much with Daddy’s bid to get Kaesang onto the public teat. Another princeling, son-in-law Muhammad Bobby Nasution, 31, is already suckling as mayor of Medan, the archipelago’s fourth biggest city.
The eager legislators said right-O boss, swift passage of contentious laws coming up. But after rocks were chucked and attempts on Thursday to tear down the gates of Parliament, attitudes changed.
Lawmakers remembered the 1998 riots which tore down second president Suharto after 32 years of autocracy, and suddenly discovered caution.
Jokowi sought to soothe the crowds, not in person but through a video: “We respect the authority and decisions of each state institution. This is a normal constitutional process that takes place within our state institutions.”
No one was fooled. The politicians peered out through barred windows and concluded that keeping the status quo might be safest.
Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad was reported by Reuters as ruling out changes in the law, claiming insufficient time for debate.
In an Instagram posting, former Ambassador to the US, Dr Dino Patti Djalal, who now runs a foreign policy think-tank, said attempts by politicians to bypass the Constitutional Court “have harmed the quality and credibility of Indonesian democracy”.
“This has shaken people’s trust in state institutions and damaged Indonesia’s good name in the international community.
“We are worried to see the rampant indications of politicisation of law, where legal cases are used as tools to secure the political agenda of certain parties. We must all work hard to fight corruption, collusion, conspiracy, and nepotism.”
Prabowo has a reputation for being a hard-right disciplinarian. At an investment forum this year after winning the Presidency, he complained that democracy is “really, very, very tiring … messy and costly”.
Winston Churchill was more articulate. He’s supposed to have said, “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others”.
Once in the top chair, the frustrated Prabowo might try “those others”. Instead of placatory words there may be rifle butts and mass arrests. Tense times loom.