February 24, 2025
Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto It is facing a major test of his leadership as his signs of opposition to the new government appear in the form of student protests and the possible opposition parties.
The Prabowo administration’s frustration with austerity measures made a promise for his ambitious campaign, pouring into the streets last week when thousands of students opposed budget cuts, and other policies they said were “not loved ones.”
The protests, known as Indonesian gel (Dark Indonesia), began last Monday and were initially planned to end in front of the presidential palace of Jakarta last Thursday. But on Friday, students continued to hold rally in some major cities, with activists and workers joining expensive plans against Prabowo.
Tensions were high on Friday night when a rally in Jakarta and McCasar fell into violence, protesters threw firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at police, who threw cocktails at police, who fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
The week-long protests marked the first major opposition from Prabowo and his government in a four-month presidency, making him the first president in Indonesia's post-reform era history, aiming to witness the fastest protests since his tenure. Activity.
They demanded the immediate repeal of the presidential directive issued on January 22, which required the reduction of Rs 306.7 trillion (US$18.7 billion) to government spending, including education, to fund his plans, such as free nutritional meal plans, and to establish a A new sovereign wealth fund called Danantara.
Protesters also called for a comprehensive assessment of the free catering program, which ended the growing military involvement in civilian affairs and cabinet reduction. They also rejected former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's participation in the government.
Public dissatisfaction seems to be gone outside the archipelago, with overseas students expressing their support for protesters at home and asking Prabowo to “stop relying on virus policymaking” and he “prioritizes the public before any policy is formulated , please consider the socioeconomic situation of the public”.
“Policies implemented by President Prabowo-Vice within 100 days of inauguration gibran rakabuming raka The government has shown a massive return, which has the potential to bring pain and is harmful to the welfare of the people.
Public distrust
Nicky Fahrizal, a political researcher at the Think Tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said on Saturday that extended protests showed that Prabowo’s large cabinet was “growing public distrust”, largely due to its poor calibration. policy and huge policies and boasts are driven by. Cabinet members were in the early days of their presidency.
Nick added that the protests could pose a danger to Prabowo’s presidency as it could “make” his new administration “authorize” his new administration, which marked the first 100 days in January, according to several Pollers have a high approval rate of more than 80%.
“If not resolved, these protests could expand to other sectors of other populations,” Nick said, including members of low-income groups that supported Prabowo in the presidential election last year.
Lili Romli, a senior political researcher at the National Institute of Innovation and Research (BRIN), said Prabowo will need to move forward with caution, stressing that including free nutritional dining programs, “all need to be based on thorough research.” ”.
He noted, for example, how to launch a free meal plan for the first time in an urban environment where residents have relatively good nutritional intakes rather than in remote areas.
“The government still needs to conduct public exchanges […] Lily said: “Some government officials played a key role in creating mistakes.
The return of the opposition?
Analysts say those who are upset with the Prabowo government can find an ally among the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI-P), which has the largest seat in the House and the only party that has not yet joined the ruling coalition. Dedi Kurnia Syah.
PDI-P Matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri ordered last week to elect regional heads from her party to withdraw from Prabowo’s retreat in Magelang in central Java, amid students protesting against the Prabowo government, indicating the party’s long-awaited transformation into Sole opposition party.
Dedi said that if Prabowo is not careful, PDI-P can seize the momentum of “mobilizing its grassroots” and “guiding party representatives of the state legislature” with distrust, in order to further undermine Prabowo’s leadership.
“So Prabowo needs to relieve public pressure by carefully evaluating policy directions and avoiding impulsive implementation of populist movement commitments. [He needs to] Prioritize the interests of the country rather than simply fulfilling campaign commitments,” Dedi added.
