History today, eight years ago, March 10, 2018, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized that he was not an authoritarian leader. He considers himself a true democrat. A person who always accepts the differences and opinions of others.
Previously, Jokowi's leadership did not always bring satisfaction. Jokowi is considered an anti-critical leader. He is also considered to use the law to beat his political opponents. A pattern similar to the era of Suharto and the New Order (Orba).
Jokowi's leadership as President of Indonesia is full of dynamics. He is considered a simple figure who fights for the people. His policies such as infrastructure development are seen as having a major impact on all Indonesian people.
Problems arise. Policies that are considered a success by the Jokowi camp actually become a problem. The most severe criticism came from the former President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in 2016. SBY considers Jokowi's infrastructure development step to be unwise.
This step is considered by SBY to make many Indonesian people miserable because the economy is weak. This criticism is supported by many parties. Jokowi himself answered differently. He seemed not to accept criticism and began to open the cracks of the SBY era government such as the failure of the Hambalang Project.
Jokowi's leadership is also said to be anti-critical. Anyone who criticizes is often considered to be committing treason. Not to mention when Jokowi issued a new regulation regarding mass organizations. He issued the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 2 of 2017 concerning Mass Organizations.
It contains one article that makes Jokowi easily dissolve mass organizations without trial. This condition makes Jokowi considered an authoritarian leader.
Many predict the dissolution of the mass organizations as a first step, then Jokowi can silence the mass media. A thing that many people see is starting to resemble the Soeharto and Orba governments.
"He made a Perppu not a law. And he made articles that allowed the government to point fingers and dissolve an institution, eliminating freedom. Today the victim is the mass organization, tomorrow the victim could be the media, tomorrow the victim could be the political party, the victim could be the labor organization, the intellectual organization," said Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Fahri Hamzah, as quoted by lamankompas.com, August 10, 2017.
The narrative of authoritarian leaders goes to the end of President Jokowi. He has repeatedly denied the assumption that he is a dictator. Jokowi, most recently, considered the criticism to be unfounded on March 10, 2018. Jokowi said he was not an authoritarian leader.
He considers himself to have no piece of an authoritarian leader. His appearance is also ordinary, simple and cheap smile. Jokowi also calls himself a true democrat. The narrative is because Jokowi considers that he appreciates the differences and opinions of others.
"If I'm not mistaken, in August 2017, I was told on social media that I was an authoritarian leader. I'm surprised, I don't have any pieces at all. My appearance is also not good, I always smile. I'm not an authoritarian leader because I'm a democrat. "
"I more or less meet those criteria. That is, I and Mr. SBY are slightly different. If I am a democrat, if Mr. SBY adds one, the General Chair of the Democratic Party. So the difference is very thin," said Jokowi as quoted by the State Secretariat website, March 10, 2018.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
