Pribumi can also mean "aboriginal" or "native".

"In the past, we pribumi were the conquered. Now, it's time for us to be the hosts in our own land. We worked hard to get rid of colonialism and we must enjoy our freedom," Anies said in his speech.

His statement has sparked public debate on social media, with #Pribumi becoming a trending topic that had captured 92,800 tweets as of Tuesday afternoon. Many netizens responded satirically to his use of the term, while others engaged in critical discussion on the definition of pribumi.

Jeremiah Karsten (@Kars104) referenced the entire segment of the speech in his tweet: “@Metro_TV By his logic, people who ain't 'pribumi' can't be a host in their own country. #pribumi #R.I.P.CommonSense #DivisiveLeader”.

@Metro_TV By his logic, people who ain't 'pribumi' can't be a host in their own country.#pribumi #R.I.P.CommonSense #DivisiveLeader

— Jeremiah Karsten (@Kars104) October 17, 2017

Meanwhile, Fisto Riza Satianto (@fistomacho)  tweeted, "speaking about pribumi..." and posted a picture of what appeared to be a museum display of Java man replicas.

Noted author Dewi Lestari also joined the topic through her twitter account @deelestari, tweeting satirically, "Waking up and feeling so pribumi. Not."

Waking up and feeling so pribumi. Not.

— Dee Lestari (@deelestari) October 17, 2017

Many netizens, including public figures, also expressed their concerns over the governor's use of the term on social media, slamming Anies as "racist" in his first speech as the governor of Jakarta, the multicultural capital of the nation known for its slogan, "Unity in Diversity".

"Shocked! New Jakarta Governor starts his tenure with a striking tone of racism. #pribumi #aniesbaswedan," tweeted @BruceSumendap, while Jj (@pilot_id) tweeted, "#Pribumi We have a 'Trump Like' governor!"

Many comments also noted that pribumi generally excluded Indonesians of Chinese and Arabic descent while satirically pointing to Anies's own indigenousness.

Introvert Unite! (@vishnuvidya) commented: "Using the word pribumi is not wrong. Just stupid on every level. Go check your DNA. You're not a friggin pure blood."

Anies was born in Kuningan, West Java, but his grandfather was of Arab origin. Many accused him of using the indigenous word to offend his losing rival in the Jakarta election, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is of Chinese descent.

Others raised the term's connection to the country's tumultuous political history, particularly with regard to the aftermath of the nationwide 1998 riots that targeted Indonesians of Chinese descent.

Yenni Kwok (@YenniKwok) referred to a picture of the 1998 Presidential Instruction that banned the use of the term and tweeted: "In 1998, Habibie issued president's instruction: stop using terms 'pribumi' and 'non-pribumi' in policies and government."

In 1998, Habibie issued president’s instruction: stop using terms “pribumi” and “non-pribumi” in policies & government pic.twitter.com/e9d0lwHL0V

— Yenni Kwok (@yennikwok) October 17, 2017

But many others also defended the governor, who is backed by the leading opposition Gerindra Party and the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

One account belonging to Djony Edward posted several Facebook statuses that backed Anies by elaborating on his definition of pribumi as inclusive of Malays, Arabs, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, and all who work for the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, or NKRI.

"Pribumi is fair police, not those arresting ulema and critical figures as in colonialism era," he wrote, adding that "Pribumi is the military that fight together with the people, not for the foreigners."

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