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Public opposes new KPK Law, supports protests: Survey
A recent study conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) has revealed high public dissatisfaction over the controversial revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and indicated support for calls for the issuance of a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to revoke the revision, a rebuttal to claims made by the government and its supporters that the revision had wide support
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recent study conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) has revealed high public dissatisfaction over the controversial revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and indicated support for calls for the issuance of a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to revoke the revision, a rebuttal to claims made by the government and its supporters that the revision had wide support.
The House of Representatives passed the new KPK bill last month despite criticism from activists and academics that the revision contained articles that would weaken the antigraft body. The move ignited a wave of online and offline protests across the country, mainly staged by university students, who called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to issue a Perppu, among other demands. The protests also resulted in the deaths of at least three protesters.
The protests in Jakarta began on Sept. 24, the same day Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko claimed the government and the House had decided to approve the passage of the bill, citing a survey released by the Kompas research and development division to claim “more people support the revision of the KPK Law [than do not]”.
According to the survey, released on Sept. 16, 44.9 percent of respondents supported the revision while only 33.9 percent said they disagreed with the bill.
The hashtag #SupportKPKBill emerged on Twitter, which many believed was amplified by pro-government paid social media influencers, known as buzzers, and bot accounts in an effort to counter the #TolakRUUKPK (oppose the KPK bill) hashtag initiated by protesters.
The LSI study released on Oct. 6, however, revealed findings to the contrary. The survey, based on interviews conducted on Oct. 4 and 5 with 1,010 respondents from across the country, showed that 60.7 percent of those who were aware of the student protests and the KPK Law revision were in support of the rallies. Only 5.9 percent were against the protests, while the remaining 31 percent chose to stay neutral and the remaining declined to answer.
The support for the protests was largely driven by the fact that 70.9 percent of respondents who were aware of the KPK Law revision believed it would weaken the antigraft body. Only 18 percent of respondents believed the revised law would strengthen the KPK.
In line with the protesters' demand, 76.3 percent of residents agreed the President must issue a Perppu, while only 12.9 percent did not support the idea.
Jokowi said amid the escalating protests on Sept. 26 that he would consider issuing a Perppu, much to the dismay of a majority of political parties.
Earlier that day, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto told a press briefing that the ongoing wave of demonstrations had been "taken over" by groups whose final aim was to thwart the inauguration of the President for his second term, which is to take place on Oct. 20.
The LSI study also found that 43.9 percent of respondents did not agree with Wiranto’s claim the protests were coopted by a plot to thwart Jokowi's inauguration, while 46.8 percent believed the protests were divided into two separate groups: the student protesters and opponents of the Jokowi.
LSI executive director Djayadi Hanan said the survey was conducted to learn more about the public's views on the KPK Law revision, as the students' aspirations were in contrast to those of the party elites that backed the President.
"In the context of democracy, especially related to the government's responsiveness toward the people's aspirations, every strategic public policy needs wide public support," Djayadi said.
"The public is on the students' side in opposing the KPK Law revision," he added.
A recent study conducted by independent local pollster KedaiKOPI revealed that the protests were by the country’s youth, or those aged 19 to 38 — the demographic segment that helped propel Jokowi to victory in April’s presidential election. The protests were the biggest student rallies to protest government policies since 1998.
The KedaiKOPI survey, which saw 469 people interviewed across Indonesia on Sept. 28 and 29, found that 77 percent of respondents strongly supported the university student protests. In regard to the motivations of the protest, 55.2 percent of respondents agreed the new KPK Law could potentially weaken the institution and 62.7 percent of millennial respondents disagreed with the revision.
