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From Twitter to the streets: Indonesian students make political comeback
Over the weekend, hashtags #semuabisakena (#allcanbevictims), #tolakRKUHP (#rejectRKUHP), #ReformasiDikorupsi (DemocracyCorrupted), #MahasiswaBergerak (#StudentsStir) and #GejayanMemanggil (#GejayanCalling) went viral, calling on the government and the House to scrap the problematic articles in the bill and for students and others to take to the streets for further protests. But despite the oft-repeated stereotype that members of the younger generation are merely keyboard warriors, the protests did not end there.
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Students protest against the Criminal Code bill and the revised Corruption Eradication Commission Law in front of the House of Representatives compound in Senayan, Jakarta, on Sept. 24. (JP/Narabeto Korohama)
T
wo weeks - that was all it took for the famously lethargic House of Representatives to pass the new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law, with the blessing of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
But while the law, which contains articles that will severely weaken the antigraft body, sailed through the House with little to no resistance, it has triggered the largest student demonstrations since the protests preceding the fall of the New Order regime in 1998.
"The students' discontent started with the KPK Law, which was passed in a procedurally flawed manner, without public participation, in just two weeks," Trisakti University student leader Edmund Seko told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. "What's worse is that the law will weaken the KPK, a state entity that has highest public trust."
Last Thursday, two days after the KPK Law was passed, hundreds of university students gathered in front of the House compound in Senayan, South Jakarta, to voice rejection of both the KPK Law and the pending Criminal Code bill (RKUHP) as anti-democratic measures. Protests continued on Friday, with even more students joining the fray.
Over the weekend, hashtags #semuabisakena (#allcanbevictims), #tolakRKUHP (#rejectRKUHP), #ReformasiDikorupsi (DemocracyCorrupted), #MahasiswaBergerak (#StudentsStir) and #GejayanMemanggil (#GejayanCalling) went viral, calling on the government and the House to scrap the problematic articles in the bill and for students and others to take to the streets for further protests. But despite the oft-repeated stereotype that members of the younger generation are merely keyboard warriors, the protests did not end there.
On Monday and Tuesday, protests broke out in cities across the country, with thousands of students taking to the streets, chanting and holding up banners with slogans ranging from Reformasi Dikorupsi (Reform Corrupted) to Mosi Tidak Percaya (Motion of No Confidence), which reflected their dwindling faith in lawmakers and the government.
