Jakarta – Civil society activists have provided a number of notes in response to a desire expressed by President Prabowo Subianto to meet with figures or initiators of the hashtags Dark Indonesia (#IndonesiaGelap) and Just Run Away (#KaburAjaDulu) which have been very noisy of late.
Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) Chairperson Julius Ibrani welcomed Prabowo's quick initiative to open space for discussion and a desire to understand the complete construction of the public movement in question. Nevertheless, he made a number of critical notes.
"The first note is about when it was asked that the forum be closed, not in a public space, then it changes President Prabowo's position which previously belonged to the public and discussed issues publicly into the private, personal realm. This is not allowed and is not good", Ibrani told CNN Indonesia on Tuesday April 8.
He explained that open dialogue is important to provide an understanding to the public who may not fully understand the meaning of the Dark Indonesia and Just Run Away movements.
The second note is that before making a clarification, Ibrani asked Prabowo to coordinate with the ministries under him to obtain information from the movement.
"This is the first thing that he should ask, so when he makes a clarification about the initiators of Dark Indonesia and Just Run Away, he has already received a textualisation from his own internal [sources], namely the executive or government under the presidency that he leads. That's what he should do", he said.
"Ask the ministries, for example, Dark Indonesia talks about civil society that continues to experience repression, public spaces that are filled with soldiers and all kinds of things. Ask first why this is so, is there really no space to absorb aspirations, to consider the public's aspirations, to find common ground", he added.
Ibrani specifically highlighted Prabowo's statement, "Come on, don't run away, let's build Indonesia together". He emphasised that participation is the key to achieving this goal.
"This is what is not there yet and must be strengthened by President Prabowo in the future. Because if not, it will be useless if he has a discussion with the initiators of Dark Indonesia and Just Run Away, the problem will not be resolved", he said.
Just a gimmick
Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA) and the Constitutional and Administrative Law Society (CALS) member Herdiansyah Hamzah believes that Prabowo just wants to give the impression that he is a responsive individual. For Hamzah, Prabowo's plan is just a gimmick.
"If Prabowo is serious about the demands, then he must be serious, for example, in evaluating programs and policies that are not pro-people: regarding budget efficiency, for example, education which is not a priority now, the free nutritious meals [program] which is unclear, for example, regarding corruption, there are many kinds of things. Regarding the dwi-fungsi [dual function of the Indonesian Military] issue the other day, the formation of reckless laws and regulations, if he is serious, then do the work on this", said Castro as he is known.
"There's no need to give the impression of being open, responsive, wanting to invite dialogue and so on", he added, noting that this assessment is based on Prabowo's desire to have a dialogue, but in private.
"Wanting dialogue but saying it has to be closed. This is strange. And closed meetings in political calculations means wanting to talk about things that he doesn't want the public to know about, while we do the exact opposite, right? The civil society movement wants all processes of negotiation, dialogue, policy-making, to be done openly and transparently", said Castro.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) believes that it is actually simple if Prabowo wants to understand the public's aspirations. In this case, YLBHI Chairperson Muhammad Isnur asked Prabowo to seek information from the administration's intelligence services.
"He should have intelligence data, if he provides the right data he will get the right data. I am worried that the government's intelligence isn't providing the right data so that he gets the wrong information", said Isnur.
"Most recently there's been the assumption or stigma that [the movement] is paid, foreign [funded], this means the government does not have good eyes, ears and the heart to listen to the public's aspirations. How is it possible to mobilise in more than 60 cities if it's all paid, and students know very well who they are. The government does not have the tools to listen to the public because it is closed by buzzers, subordinates who provide the wrong information", he said.
Earlier, in an interview with seven senior journalists at his private residence Hambalang, Bogor, on Friday April 6, Prabowo expressed a desire to meet figures or community groups who have voiced issues related to "Dark Indonesia" and "Just Run Away" which have been in the news recently.
However, Prabowo has admitted that he wants the meeting to be held behind closed doors. "I also want a dialogue. I'm willing to meet with whoever. Let's discuss it, right? Maybe it doesn't have to be in public. The figures from Dark Indonesia", Prabowo said.
"Meaning it's okay if indeed Indonesia is dark, let's work [together] so that Indonesia is not dark. Right. Why is Indonesia dark. Just run away. Just run away for now. After that Jokowi [former president Joko Widodo] is wrong. Prabowo is stupid. This doesn't solve it", he added. (ryn/gil)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Masyarakat Sipil Respons Prabowo Mau Bertemu Tokoh 'Indonesia Gelap'".]
