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After a series of voting events on April 17, 2019, President Joko Widodo earned the people’s trust to become Indonesia’s president for the second time until 2024. Novranto Huntua writes
President Joko Widodo’s milestones and plans for his second term ahead
INDONESIA HAS MADE HISTORY BY CARRYING OUT ELECTIONS SIMULTANEOUSLY ON APRIL 17, 2019, TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT AND LEGISLATORS—A REFLECTION OF ITS FORM OF POPULAR DEMOCRACY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF ELECTIONS IN THE COUNTRY’S ERA OF REFORMATION, THE LEVEL OF VOTER PARTICIPATION WAS VERY HIGH COMPARED WITH PREVIOUS ELECTIONS. IN THE 2014 ELECTION, FOR EXAMPLE, VOTER PARTICIPATION REACHED AROUND 70 PER CENT; HOWEVER, IN THE 2019 ELECTION, THE VOTER TURNOUT REACHED 80.9 PER CENT, FAR BEYOND THE GOVERNMENT’S TARGET OF 77.5 PER CENT. THE NUMBER OF ABSTENTIONS (golput), OR GROUPS THAT DO NOT USE THEIR VOTING RIGHTS, ALSO FELL BELOW 20 PER CENT. THIS SHOWS THAT THE ELECTED PRESIDENT HAS A STRONG LEGITIMATE BASIS FOR CARRYING OUT THE REGULATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT.
The people have made up their minds. Joko Widodo— familiarly called Jokowi—who is paired with K.H. Ma’ruf
Amin as vice president, is once again being trusted to lead the Republic of Indonesia, this time for the period of 2019 to 2024. The election of Joko Widodo as the eighth president of the Republic of Indonesia has deep meaning. First, it is a symbol of the people’s victory over the slander, hatred, accusations, and false information that, in the months leading up to the election, dominated the political sphere in Indonesian communities.
The people have proven themselves smart enough to choose their leaders based on their track records, achievements, and dedication to the nation.
Secondly, Jokowi’s victory was a victory of Indonesia’s optimism over pessimistic narratives, threats to tolerance, and a vote for the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). It proved that people wish Indonesia to continue to exist as it is now, and even to progress even faster, and not to become extinct, disbanded, or split due to a rise in issues of the politics of identity during the campaign period.
Furthermore, Jokowi’s victory is also recognition of the high level of satisfaction and public trust in the performance and achievements of his government as a leader who was born from the people, and who has closely grown together with them, fighting for their interests. Jokowi has been a long time coming and he is the real deal—his slogan of “Work, Work, Work!”, adopted when he was elected president in 2014, has turned out not to be a gimmick but a mantra. But more than any slogan or campaign promises, Jokowi is a man of action. Entering the fifth year of his presidency, his achievements have been noted and voted for. That so much had been achieved did not just give him a strong platform from which to fight the elections but also helped Indonesians feel a sense of national pride that their country is respected and influential on the international political and economic stage.
One of Jokowi’s election promises—finally and definitively tackling Greater Jakarta’s notoriously snarly traffic—will be among his most lasting legacies. On September 9, 2015, within his first year in office, Jokowi kicked off construction of the first part of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) network that will seamlessly integrate central Jakarta with its more far-flung outskirts in the Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi areas. Just weeks later on September 21, Jokowi inaugurated the operation of the giant drill that would pierce the bowels of the capital city in preparation for the construction of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) underground rail network.
Next, Jokowi initiated construction of the Trans-java
Toll Road that now connects Merak, Cilegon, Banten, and Banyuwangi in East Java; on December 20, 2018, the government completed the construction of the Trans-java Toll Road. The existence of the toll roads, in addition to facilitating the flow of transportation, also increases the economic output in Indonesia, especially on Java Island. The road not only connects cities, but also connects and opens strategic access to the centres of industry and tourism in the major cities of Java.
Jokowi also simultaneously implemented his hard-work ethic in other infrastructure projects outside of Jakarta and even away from Java. For example, he initiated the Trans-sumatra Toll
Road project that connects key cities in Sumatera like Lampung,
Palembang, Pekanbaru, Medan, and Aceh, as well as inaugurated the construction of a steam-electric power station in Batang, Central Java, with a capacity of 2,000 megawatts, which will be among the largest power plants in Southeast Asia.
In the Kalimantan region that had suffered years of neglect, the Jokowi government has not been reluctant to siphon in Rp16 trillion (Us$1.1bn) in funds for the construction of 1,692km of road. It has also overseen construction of a port that can be accessed by medium-sized ships in Papua and the development of the Trans-papua national road project that connects the main cities in Papua at a total length of 4,331km.
Further still, on the island of Sulawesi, the government developed the Transsulawesi railway, aimed at connecting areas that have the potential of large-scale, highspeed passenger and goods transportation with low levels of energy consumption, and supporting integrated urban development. The construction of this railroad line began in 2015, targeting a 2,000km distance stretching from Makassar in South Sulawesi to Manado in North Sulawesi.
Why does infrastructure matter so much to Jokowi? By focusing on developing infrastructure, Indonesia, rich in human as well as natural resources, begins to function like a complex organism, with each area and culture connected to and feeding the others. Infrastructure also acts as a great redistribution of wealth so that dreams of social justice for all levels of society can be realised. “This is not just a matter of economy—but also creating social justice for all Indonesian citizens,” President Joko Widodo explained on merdeka. com on February 13.
Looking back over more than four years of a what is unarguably a successful presidency, the Jokowi government has ticked off much of its extensive to-do list already: it has built more than 20 dams; it has built around 3,400km of roads and 443km of toll roads; it
“This is a proof That we are sovereign. we want as much as possible for natural resources To be used for The prosperity and progress of The people of indonesia,” president Joko widodo has said.
has accelerated the construction of 15 new airports in the outer regions of Indonesia, such as Miangas, Manokwari, Berau, Tual, Palu, Maumere, Tarakan, and Wakatobi; and, back in the capital, the US$600M Terminal 3 of the city’s Soekarno-hatta International Airport will be able to accommodate around 25 million people per year when it opens. These are no ordinary achievements—jokowi apparently meant what he said by “Work, Work, Work”.
The achievements, in turn, led to a renewed sense of national identity, not least through the wrestling back of control of some of Indonesia’s precious natural resource assets.
Oil and gas giants like Chevron, Conoco, BP, and Total have withdrawn from projects in the country, and the majority of shares in the controversial Papua-based Freeport mining operation now belong to the people of Indonesia. “This is a proof that we are sovereign. We want as much as possible [for] natural resources to be used for prosperity and progress for the people of Indonesia,” President Joko Widodo said, as quoted in tribunnews.com on December 21, 2018.
Alongside the progress of the digital industry, it should also be of no surprise that the Jokowi government has also focused on telecommunications infrastructure for
the equal distribution of Internet access throughout Indonesia. Through the Palapa
Ring national fibre-optic network development project, people in 34 provinces and 440 cities and regencies across Indonesia will soon have easy access to information, and, with that, can reap the benefits of digital transactions and e-commerce, as well as other conveniences in all aspects of life. This project is also a government effort to realise Indonesia’s potential to become the centre of the digital economy in Southeast Asia by 2020.
Jokowi is a manifestation of the spirit of dedication, clearly and irrefutably. Although the years during his leadership period were characterised by insults, slander, and hatred from parties who were politically opposed to him, he did not budge but remained determined to advance and prosper the country. This is because the people’s welfare is his sole purpose.
Jokowi also didn’t spring from nowhere.
This working-class fan of Metallica and motorcycles honed his can-do skills as the mayor of Surakarta and governor of Jakarta. While still serving as mayor of Surakarta, then becoming governor of Jakarta, many people have admired his leadership style, which listens to and understands problems at the grassroots level. He hails from a modest background, in touch with the needs and will of the people.
His blusukan (impromptu visits) actions while serving as the governor of Jakarta seized the attention of the foreign media. He has even been listed by the Washington Post’s Foreign Policy magazine as one of the Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 in the Challenger category, itself citing his third-place ranking in the World Mayor Prize.
Meanwhile, at the 2018 Asian Games, the opening ceremony saw President Jokowi apparently weaving in and out of traffic on a motorcycle and into the venue, wowing a regional audience numbering in the millions. Later, in October, the 2018 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group took place in Bali. The world’s eyes were, all of a sudden, focused on Indonesia. Jokowi’s speech at this prestigious forum was spectacular and showed him to be a clean, populist, and committed leader. In fact, in various international forums,
Jokowi’s leadership role has been recognised by leaders of other countries and international institutions.
One notable achievement in shifting the position of the country into the front-andcentre is the fact that Jokowi himself has become more of a celebrity politician, albeit one at odds with Western leaders for whom the
term “populist” is now arguably derogatory. Jokowi is listed among the World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims and in the top-50 list of
The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre based in Amman, Jordan, ranked 16th sideby-side with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-saud. No wonder his waxwork in Madame Tussauds Hong Kong collection has become the second Indonesian figure added after the republic’s founder, President Soekarno.
Jokowi is not a fairy-tale hero, but he is a leader who has a sensitivity and keen instinct for the welfare of his people. However, this doesn’t mean that everything has been flawless. There are several infrastructure projects that remain to be completed, as well as reports of damaged toll road foundations at recently operated projects: but these have not diminished the performance of Jokowi’s government.
Jokowi’s personality—simple, creative, visionary, and certainly with a track record that is clean of corruption—has become a positive inspiration for the younger generation. Not surprisingly, then, that Indonesian were confident enough to vote for Jokowi again to lead the country for the next five years. Jokowi’s election as president for the 20192024 period is predicted to bring fresh air to the Indonesian economy. Market participants responded positively—this can be seen from the strengthening of the Indonesia Composite Index (ICI or IHSG) in the capital market. Likewise, the rupiah strengthened by 82 points at the level of Rp14,003 per US$ at the time of writing. Bank Indonesia also noted a swift flow of foreign capital entering Indonesia and reaching Rp73.28 trillion after the
2019 election.
This indicator may not represent everything, but at least it reflects a positive market response to the election results and the “Jokowi Effect”. Market optimism is there, especially with the hope that government programmes that are currently underway could continue and investors need not make unnecessary adjustments their decisions.
Beyond economic factors, the public saw the success of the 2019 general election as one of the largest demonstrations of the positive force of democracy in the world—one that took place safely, honestly, transparently, and which was characterised by high voter participation. It also shows the maturity and political intelligence of the Indonesian people. Together, the nation should take advantage of this momentum and track record for the progress and welfare of the country as a whole.