Indonesian President’s First State of the Nation Address

Voter’s right to reject Thursday’s Cabinet reshuffle was probably the source of the upbeat tone of the first State of the Nation address from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, presented in conjunction with Independence Day.

 For a presidential address ahead of the 70th commemoration of independence of Aug. 17, Friday’s speech was far from inspiring rhetoric.

But he said that the major reshuffle, including that of three coordinating ministers and the trade minister, was “one of the best bridges to fulfill my promise to the people”, to improve their welfare by improving the government’s performance.

Jokowi was perhaps hoping that Indonesians will relate his best intentions with those of the founding father Sukarno, who repeatedly declared independence was a mere “golden bridge” to achieve justice and prosperity for colonized people. Yet instead of the economy, the President said today’s main problem was the “thinning of decency and ethics”, and pointed out the parties he was alluding to. “The thinning of our customary mutual respect, the drying up of our culture of tolerance, both among the public and among official institutions like law enforcers, civic organizations, media and political parties, cause this nation to be trapped in each person’s respective egotistical circle.

” Like other political leaders, Jokowi blamed all but himself for the shortcomings of his 10-month administration. But the early phase of his leadership has indeed been acutely painful for citizens watching the dramatic episodes among law enforcers under a seemingly timid president, mainly the legal assault that the National Police, apparently backed by powerful politicians, carried out against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and its supporters.

The blatant and more hidden political tussles have temporarily been settled, it seems, by the Cabinet reshuffle, and earlier measures including the cooperation agreement between the Police, Attorney General and the KPK, as the President reiterated on Friday. It has been hard to differentiate the presidential political foes from his allies; thus one could understand his repeated call for patience, optimism and unity, against being “fragmented by political conflicts and short term interests”, as he evoked the spirit of unity in the early years of independence.

Jokowi went so far as venting his frustration over rowdy citizens often engaging in “public hysteria” over “sensational” issues, egged on, he added, by the media chasing rating. But as he acknowledged Indonesia’s signs of a better democracy, the President and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who has hinted at favoring a return to lèse-majesté criminal clauses, must strive to live with the risk of relatively new freedoms — mainly today’s tendency of everyone “feeling free, absolutely free in their actions and in voicing their interest”.

The seemingly green leader in Jakarta’s vicious center of power has yet to win abundant confidence, as reflected in the rupiah, which is dangling at 14,000 against the US dollar. But citizens will give him enough space to step forward, though they have little other choice. President Jokowi should continue to keep his cool and differentiate merely loud citizens from those with actual power.

Jakarta Post Editorial