In the past year alone, the Indonesian people have gone through three cycles of protests: the Peringatan Darurat movement (August ’24), Indonesia Gelap (Feb ’25), and the Violent Thursday a couple of days ago.
Each time, three consistent elements were there:
- Act I. The fuck up
- Act II. The demand
- Act III. Resolution (somewhat)
In Darurat Demokrasi, the parliament was going to rig the local election law, stifling competition and allowing the President’s kid to run for Jakarta governor’s office (Act I). In response, students and civil society came together, storming the parliament’s building (Act II). For the first time, ‘non-traditional’ actors (influencers, middle class at large) participated, because we all had enough. We still remember that image of Reza Rahadian on top of the truck. At the end of it, Sufmi Dasco saved the day, stopping RUU Pilkada from being passed (Act III).
Things went back to normal quite sometime after.
Indonesia Gelap did encompass more requests, but it revolved mainly around the problematic RUU TNI which would allow the military to take over more seats in what otherwise should’ve been filled by civil representation (Act I). It wasn’t as glorious as Peringatan Darurat (perhaps people were still recovering), but the students got together (and mothers, and labors—I was there) and took up Medan Merdeka (Act II). The revised UU TNI was still passed, but the final version that was made public seemed to have comparatively more limited authority (Act III).
The bad aftertaste lingered, but we moved on.
What about now?
This time, we are going completely off script.
What started as the labor’s protest to demand for social security laws protecting jobs and minimum wage (among others) became…something else completely, something no structure could quite contain, and now we’re all over the place. We are scared, confused, and angry—oh so angry.
The movement is now firmly anchored in our collective memories of Affan Kurniawan, the innocent martyr who was murd*red for simply doing his job.
The movement has evolved into a deep-seated frustration about police brutality, and the lack of serious reforms in the past decade.
The movement grew to be about holding our supposed representations accountable; the ones who called us stupid, who ran away abroad.
What it should NOT turn into, is a senseless horizontal violence amongst the people, looting unattended businesses and civilian houses, leading to more unnecessary deaths.
At this point, we are faced with two options of ‘scenarios’ moving forward.
- Best-case scenario: Prabowo steps in as the usual hero, pushing for transformative reforms in the police force (and perhaps even DPR)
- Worst-case scenario (I hope and think we’re still FAR from this though, hopefully): things get so out of hand, Prabowo called for the military to step in
How we act in the next few days (and what’s going on in the President’s mind) will determine which scenario is more likely.
But even in this somberness, I hope that the remaining members of parliament who still has some sense in them (I know there are many) will carry this message to their colleagues and party leadership:
Every time the government fucks up, we civil society rise.
That you politicians only has power because we give it to you, perhaps in our ignorance, perhaps in taking things for granted, perhaps in disillusionment, but WE GAVE IT TO YOU and we can and will take it back when we have to. Our founding fathers and the 1998 students have fought—and died—for this right.
As for us the civilians: I hope we remember that we’re all in this together, fighting against the same enemy of corrupt and evil men (and women, unfortunately) in power. We are fighting for a ‘bare minimum’ government that ensures our freedom, that works to bring a fair economic system, and actually things about improving their people’s future and not just their cronies.
If Boedi Oetomo planted the idea that led to a ‘national awakening’ in 1908 and only 20 years later we came together with Sumpah Pemuda (1928), we might still barely be at the beginning of what we’re trying to achieve.
So here’s my ask from all of us:
- If you have influence, help others make sense of what’s happening. Deescalate the anger to a ‘productive’ level—one that pressures the government for reform, not just further destructions.
- If you have resources, go donate where you can; help the communities who are organizing movements or further collective actions.
- If you have energy and time, next time there’s a peaceful protest for something you believe in, maybe try and attend. You might be surprised that it’s not as scary as you think.
- If nothing else, share our stories on your social media or dinner tables.
Either way, there is an awfully long way ahead of us, that we need all hands on deck in this fight, across class, race, and geographies.
Let’s pray for Affan Kurniawan, for democracy, for the ideals that this country should one day be.
#SipilJagaSipil #WargaJagaWarga
Afu's Conundrum Journal 