Indonesia’s president still popular in last term
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Joko Widodo’s phenomenal rise from a riverside slum, where he grew up, to the presidency of Indonesia spotlighted how far the world’s third-largest democracy had veered from a brutal authoritarian era a decade ago.
With his second and final five-year term ending in October, Mr. 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 Indonesia’s congested capital to the frontier island of Borneo.
Dismissed as a political lightweight by rivals when he first won the presidency in 2014, Mr. 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.
Mr. Widodo was the first Indonesian president to emerge outside the political and military elite. But 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.
Mr. Widodo was widely criticized when he appointed Prabowo Subianto — his main challenger in two presidential elections — as defense minister in 2019, after winning his second term.
“I am aware that there are people calling me stupid, dumb, ignorant, a pharaoh, a fool,” Mr. 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.”
A special forces general accused of committing human rights atrocities in the Suharto era, Mr. Subianto is now the frontrunner in the Feb. 14 elections. His vicepresidential running mate is Mr. Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the mayor of Surakarta, Mr. Widodo’s hometown in Central Java province.
Mr. Widodo’s son did not meet the age requirement of 40 for his candidacy but the Constitutional Court — headed by the president’s brother-in-law — made an exception in a ruling last year.
A group of critics was considering an impeachment complaint against Mr. Widodo but legal experts said the chances of it succeeding are slim. He’s still popular and parliament is dominated by his allies.
Also known as Jokowi, Mr. 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 often mingled with working-class crowds in cheap sneakers and rolledup sleeves to check on their concerns. He took selfies with hordes of journalists and is one of the biggest fans of Metallica, the American heavy metal band whose concerts in the Indonesian capital he watched when he was the Jakarta governor.
Mr. Widodo has enjoyed consistently high approval ratings of over 70% in recent months, an impressive feat in the final years of a decadelong presidency.