Within the first weeks of 2021, Indonesia has had to deal with a new spike in coronavirus cases across Java, deadly earthquakes in Mamuju and Majene, both in West Sulawesi, and the worst flooding to hit South Kalimantan in decades. It is as if 2021 were saying “hold my beer” to us after being compared to the annus horribilis that is 2020.

Strong leadership that inspires confidence is requisite in a time of crisis. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, described by some scholars as a “technocratic populist”, has clearly tried to exude the aura of an able, rational and pragmatic leader. In many of his social media posts, the President has told the people that his government has things under control and that all this will pass. But his recent statements regarding the pandemic and the flooding in Kalimantan have shattered any illusions.

The great flood controversy

In the latest example of science denial within the government, President Jokowi and his officials have argued that the big flood that submerged a large part of South Kalimantan a few weeks ago was triggered by a rare case of extreme rainfall. This statement could be seen as partly true, if only government officials had not chosen to publicly deny any links between the flooding— which killed at least 15 people and displaced tens of thousands—and deforestation in the province, particularly in the Barito watershed.

There is no doubt that heavy rainfall played a part in the flooding (let’s put aside how obvious this statement is). However, it is wrong to prematurely dismiss suggestions offered by environmentalists and scientists that environmental destruction in South Kalimantan is also a causal factor in the massive flooding. 

On her Twitter account, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said there was “misleading information” regarding the causes of the South Kalimantan flooding that was “deliberately spread by some parties”. “[The cause] is weather anomaly,” she said, “and not about the size of forests in the Barito River’s watershed area in South Kalimantan.”