Indonesia’s Widodo remains popular in last term
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Joko Widodo’s phenomenal rise from a riverside slum, where he grew up, to the presidency of Indonesia shows how far the world’s thirdlargest democracy has veered from a brutal authoritarian era a decade ago.
When his term ends in October, Widodo — regarded by some as Asia’s Barack Obama — is leaving a legacy of impressive economic growth and an ambitious array of infrastructure projects topped by a $33 billion plan to relocate.
Dismissed as a political lightweight by rivals when he first won the presidency in 2014, Widodo built a reputation as a soft-spoken reformer who promised to fight poverty and inequalities by exploiting Indonesia’s abundant resources and tourism draw to propel its economy, the largest in Southeast Asia.
He served as mayor of Solo city, where he was born to a working-class family in illegally built shacks along a river, then became governor of the capital, Jakarta, before clinching his first presidential term.
Critics say he thrived on political compromises, became beholden to political party supporters and accommodated ex-generals who served under the late authoritarian leader Suharto.
His pragmatic deals cushioned opposition to his leadership but also threatened Indonesia’s fragile democracy that sprang a commoner like him, the son of a wood seller, to power.
Forging political compromises in the world’s largest archipelago nation with deep religious, ethnic and economic divides has been a constant struggle even by past leaders.
Widodo was widely criticized when he appointed Prabowo Subianto — his main challenger in two presidential elections — as defense minister in 2019. “I am aware that there are people calling me stupid, dumb, ignorant, a pharaoh, a fool,” Widodo said in his state of the nation address last year.
“What breaks my heart is that the polite culture and noble character of this nation seem to have ebbed away. Freedom and democracy are used to vent malice and slander.
Widodo, now 62, nurtured an image of an Indonesian everyman with a soft spot for the underclass and down-to-earth lifestyle that resonated with a wide base of ordinary voters.
He has enjoyed consistently high approval ratings of over 70 percent in recent months, an impressive feat in the final years of a decade-long presidency. It also makes him a powerful election endorser, a kingmaker, despite legal restrictions against the practice.
Opponents have accused him of covertly using his clout to back his son and Subianto to create a new political dynasty. He has laughed off the accusations and called on Indonesians to help the next leaders press on with reforms to foster economic growth.