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View all search resultsPati, Indonesian Spring and 80 years of muddling through
As Indonesia turns 80, state ceremonies are grand. But behind the performances, a deeper reality lingers: Anger is rising.
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Fed up: Members of grassroot groups stage a protest on Wednesday outside Pati Regent Sudewo's office in Central Java. Protestors called for Sudewo's immediate resignation amid a wave of controversy sparked by his widely criticized policies. (Antara/Aji Styawan)
I
s this the moment when Indonesians have finally had enough? Will the anger in Pati, Central Java, ripple across the country, becoming the spark of an “Indonesian Spring”?
Or will President Prabowo Subianto rise to the occasion and truly listen to his people, rather than remain in denial, trapped by reports from arrogant, incompetent and corrupt ministers and officials, and finally grasp the urgency of the nation’s condition?
The answer to these questions may determine the trajectory of Indonesia as it celebrates its 80th year of independence this Aug. 17.
Meet Pati Regent Sudewo, the face of what many see as Indonesia’s structural decay. A textbook example of a regional leader acting like a small king: Distant, arrogant and deaf to public sentiment.
A member of Prabowo's Gerindra Party, Sudewo rose with the backing of political dynasties, promoted by none other than former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, his son Kaesang Pangarep and the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI). Earlier this month, Sudewo unilaterally raised property taxes in the regency by up to 250 percent. When confronted, he scoffed: “Let them come. Five thousand, even fifty thousand. I will not back down.”
And so, Pati residents took to the streets. They held up inflated tax bills and homemade signs, demanding not just a rollback of the tax hike, but Sudewo’s resignation.
Their protest echoed across Indonesia. The “small regency” had become the center of national outrage.
