Farid Nurhakim, Jakarta – Not only have they come from inside the country, but statements of support for the Dark Indonesia (#IndonesiaGelap) actions have also come from Indonesian students studying overseas.
The Canberra Indonesian Student Forum (FMI) in Australia is in solidarity with the actions of students, civil society organisations, non-government organisations (NGOs), workers and K-Pop lovers who are still demonstrating in the homeland as of Friday February 21.
"Our bodies are in Canberra, but our souls and spirits are with those in various cities and regions of the homeland supporting #DarkIndonesia as part of the nation's journey. A strong government is a government that is accountable, open and ready to carry out the mandate of power from its voters", wrote the Canberra FMI in a statement on Friday.
They also believe that the hashtag Indonesia Gelap or #IndonesiaGelap represents the public's concern over government policies and the attitudes and actions of public officials. Members of the public who pay attention, actively respond and reject passively are one of the sweetest fruits of Indonesia's proclamation of independence 80 years ago.
Incompetent state administrators
The FMI Canberra then said that in a period of less than six months, the public has been shown the incompetence of state administrators. Starting from the chaotic management of the free nutritious meals program (MBG), the chaotic policy of restricting sales of 3-kilogram LPG gas canisters, the Tangerang sea fence case, to the tightening of the 2025 state budget (APBN), which resulted in the violation of the rights of many parties, including the disbursement of performance allowances (tukin) for university lecturers.
"In our opinion, all these policies and statements do not follow the principles of good governance and betray the country's values contained in the Constitution", they asserted.
FMI highlights #KaburAjaDulu hashtag
The FMI also highlighted the issue of the #KaburAjaDulu (#JustRunAway) hashtag. They are of the view that that the demands of the #IndonesiaGelap hashtag are directly proportional to the hopes of some groups in society to #KaburAjaDulu or "just run away".
"The public also witnessed the poor management of the state, such as the development of the IKN [new capital city Nusantara in East Kalimantan], a legacy of the Joko [Jokowi] Widodo administration in the previous period, which used the ordinary people's money as a totem for the failure of the promise of continued development in the campaign promises of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka", they continued.
DPR should respond to public's concerns
The FMI Canberra also said that the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), which should carry out its function of checks and balances in balancing the executive, has become unable to move or oppose anything. For example, it is reluctant to launch an interpellation or right of inquiry even though it is capable doing so. Meanwhile, the DPR should be able to better respond to all of this public anxiety.
"But what we all see is the betrayal of the values of state administration", said the FMI Canberra.
Highlighting freedom of expression
Meanwhile, they also responded to the Sukatani music group that pulled the song titled Pay Pay Pay from all music player platforms. The punk genre music group from Purbalingga, Central Java, ended up apologising to National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo and the police as an institution through an upload on their official Instagram account on Thursday February 20.
"The climax was yesterday on February 20, when the authorities instead showed their despotism by suppressing the song Pay Pay Pay by punk artists Sukatani – a work of social criticism of officials who often ask for payment to smooth matters", said FMI Canberra.
"The circulation of an apology video by Sukatani shows that the failure of the country in managing freedom of expression in works that show support for the difficulties of citizens", they said.
FMI Canberra demands
The FMI Canberra issued a number of demands:
- The Prabowo and Gibran's administration must respond officially to the demands of the #DarkIndonesia actions bearing in mind that Indonesia is a democratic country that is responsible for realising the welfare of its people.
- The DPR should carry out its supervisory function by launching an interpellation or right of inquiry asking the Prabowo-Gibran administration to fulfill the #DarkIndonesia demands.
- The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Indonesian Police (Polri) should show their support for the ordinary people, primarily by not criminalising people who hold demonstrations, as well as those who are vulnerable to power.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Indonesia di Canberra Dukung 'Indonesia Gelap'".]
