The nation’s courage to overthrow the government might have just come back to life from Suharto’s New Order regime.
On the morning of Thursday (22/08), people gathered in front of West Java’s Regional Legislative Council building to protest against the amalgamation of President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s ultimate unjust actions within the Indonesian government.
Said actions include the recent Constitutional Court’s (MK) law being put on a seesaw by the Supreme Court (MA) and The House of Representatives (DPR) in order to succeed Jokowi’s plan run his son, Kaesang Pangarep, as a candidate for governor of Central Java.
The protest was led by a mass called Rakyat Gugat Negara that consists of civilians, students, lecturers, disabled community, and blue collar workers. They voiced their concern and resentment towards the government who swerved their way out of the established law in order to serve their own needs as much as they want to.
“If we keep being silent, you might ask yourself ‘is Indonesia a stupid country? A mor**ic country? There are actually a lot of young people that are clever and progressive.”
“Now that the law has been changed by the Supreme Court and is dominated by the ruler, what else can be done if we keep being silent about it? Where are we taking this country to?” stated Ati, a Bandung citizen. She also remarked about always urging her friends to go to protests to help spread awareness and take real actions to stand against the regime.
Regardless, Ati still put her hopes on the government, “Hopefully with these protests, the political parties that are in The House of Representatives hear that the nation has grown resentful about the law being scrambled around the government itself. I’d be embarrassed if I stayed silent.”
Sony, an unemployed Bandung citizen, stated that it has been a difficult struggle to find a job in this era and that he hopes for better access to employment opportunities.
“So that we don’t get fooled by The House of Representatives,” added Sony on reasons to join the protest.
A master’s student from Telkom University Nisrina Hasna Safardianti voiced her concerns about the future–how the unfair doings of the government has affected her and other people in various aspects, including employment and economics.
“This is concerning our future, not just about Jakarta’s regional election. As a fresh graduate, it’s sorely obvious how difficult it is to get a job, not to mention the overwhelming amount of tax that keeps increasing from time to time,” said Nisrina.
She continued, “This affects the middle class the most, we’re not poor enough to get social assistance from the government but also not rich enough to be considered to have above-the-average wealth.”
Declarations of various concerns being shouted in front of the West Java’s House of Representatives building marked one of many struggles being executed all over the country. It is important to remember that this is only the beginning of the struggle and there are many more efforts that need to be made in order to reach the point of justice and fairness within the law of Indonesia.
Reporter: Naia Emmyra
Editor: Zulfa Salman
Fotografer: Naia Emmyra