As of 10 p.m. Wednesday night, the screen grab of the national emblem against a blue background with the words "Peringatan Darurat" (emergency warning) has been shared more than 231,000 times on social media platform X.
ocial media users across different platforms have been sharing a mock-up of an emergency alert system to express concerns over a possible constitutional crisis following the House of Representatives’ move to subvert a Constitutional Court ruling that lowers the electoral threshold for the November regional head elections.
The picture, showing the national emblem Garuda Pancasila against a blue background with the words “Peringatan Darurat” (emergency warning), was taken from a video of a made-up emergency system uploaded by YouTube channel EAS Indonesia Concept in 2022.
The video was reportedly uploaded as part of an analog horror movie project.
But since Wednesday, the mock-up has gone viral as a symbol of criticism of the lawmakers’ move, with social media personalities posting the picture on their accounts.
The picture is often accompanied by messages claiming that Indonesia’s democracy is in a state of emergency.
“The country’s democracy is really in a state of emergency,” wrote former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad on social media platform X on Wednesday. “We’re witnessing a constitutional robbery at the House.”
On X, the screen grab had been shared more than 231,000 times as of Thursday afternoon.
Television personality Najwa Shihab shared the picture on her Instagram account, and it had been reshared by 53,000 accounts on the platform. On Thursday afternoon, the post had received more than 3.8 million likes.
A post from the lead singer of Efek Rumah Kaca, Cholil Mahmud, one of the first people to upload the image, has been shared more than 8,000 times.
Writer Okky Madasari said the image had become a symbol of resistance against efforts to violate the Constitution.
"The country is in an emergency. A country led by criminals, who are laughing on their way to tear up the Constitution," Okky wrote in an Instagram post.
In three back-to-back meetings on Wednesday, the House Legislation Body (Baleg) rushed to revise the prevailing 2016 Regional Elections Law, just a week before the three-day registration period for candidates backed by political parties, which opens on Aug. 27.
The revision, supported by eight party factions at the House, lowers the nomination threshold, but it only applies to small political parties with no seats in the local legislature.
Such a provision is in contrast with the Constitutional Court ruling, issued on Tuesday, that mandated the lower threshold for all parties. The ruling was seen by many as potentially opening the door for popular former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and others proposed by opposition political parties to run.
The Baleg also declared the minimum age of candidacy applied at the time of inauguration, not registration, potentially paving the way for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep to run in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections.
The decision was also in contravention of the court’s legal opinion that asserted that a candidate should meet all requirements, including the minimum age, at the time they register with the General Elections Commission (KPU).
The Baleg meeting sparked widespread criticism among the public and protests at the Senayan legislative complex and the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta, urging lawmakers to cancel the move to revise the Regional Elections Law. Protests also erupted in other cities, including Bandung, West Java; Semarang, Central Java and Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Aside from the mock-up emergency alert, hashtag #KawalPutusanMK (protect the Constitutional Court ruling) also gained traction on social media. On X, more than 1.6 million posts containing the tagline were made as of Thursday.
Civil groups have also used social media to spread awareness regarding the House’s subversion of the Constitutional Court ruling.
On Wednesday, graft watchdog Transparency International Indonesia defended the court on X, asserting the Constitutional Court’s role as “the Constitution’s main interpreter”; therefore, its ruling should become a basis for all state institutions.
“Those who are working to annul the court ruling are trying to violate the Constitution,” the group wrote. (nal/kuk)
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with civil group’s posts on social media
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