Half time, and the
team is flagging
Mid last century Indonesia’s founding president
Soekarno was a dazzling demagogue, feared and loathed by the West and admired
by the East. Apart from Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), his successors’
performances at the podium have been pedestrian – till now. Suddenly Joko Widodo, the epitome of a mild-mannered
Javanese, has let loose.
In a dressing down of his ministers the President
was blunt: Covid-19 is real and they have responsibilities. But will anything change?
Widodo’s reading of the riot act would have
suited a coach’s locker-room broadside with his team floundering, ready to kick
off their boots rather than kick on the game.
The tirade was delivered on 18 June, but such is
the laziness of Jakarta journalists that it didn’t leak. After ten days of silence, frustrated palace
officials released a video of an almost ten-minute spray.
Almost two million have watched so far, not a bad
tune-in to a political lecture delivered by a poli best known for his shuffling
style. Instead, he took a splash of the
Soekarno spirit and the effect was intoxicating – a mix of anger, frustration
and emotion stirred with verve.
How powerful?
Here’s proof: No one could be seen checking smartphones. Briefly breaking into English an animated
Widodo told his colleagues they were ignoring the “sense of crisis” gripping
the Republic.
In
Indonesian, he said he’d risk his political reputation to handle the fallout from
voters upset by his policies: “I will take any extraordinary steps for our 267
million citizens. These could be disbanding institutions, or it could be a reshuffle,
I have thought of many options.
“We have
budgeted Rp 75 trillion (AUD 7.5 billion) but only 1.5 per cent has been
disbursed. All the money that’s supposed to be for the people is stuck there. The
much-anticipated social aid program should be disbursed quickly.”
His COS Moeldoko later explained to the
media the President had been telling ministers for some time they weren’t
coping with the health and economic disasters thrashing the archipelago, damaging
the lives of millions.
“The President is concerned his aides think this
is a normal situation,” he said. “They need to be reminded, and the last warning
was the latest among many.” Parents of
teens know this repetitious scene well: ‘I’m telling you to clean your room
again – this is final.’
Back in
February before a group of alleged celebrities, Widodo revealed he was
considering firing slackers. Last month
in the East Java capital Surabaya the President gave officials a fortnight to
get their act together. Nothing happened.
The
seat-polishers have yawned away the threats reckoning they’re untouchable. Many hold their jobs not through merit but inter-faction
deals which keep the six-party governing coalition intact.
There
have been critics aplenty alleging inaction during the past three months, but Widodo
kept calm.
His temper was well tested. Transportation Minister Budi Sumadi stuffed
up a ban on travel during the Islamic fasting month by handing out
dispensations for Mudik the
traditional Islamic fasting-month exodus from big cities to villages. Multiple thousands packed trains and busses.
The
AUD 7.5
billion highlighted by Widodo has been allocated for healthcare, social
protection and economic stimulus programmes to try and keep the country
breathing.
Tiny when
put against Australia’s AUD 259 billion rescue package, but that’s not all. The
Internet seethes with allegations of funds evaporating before reaching the
needy. So far no impartial investigation.
Last
month Planning
Minister Suharso Monoarfa told a parliamentary hearing an extra 5.5 million
could soon be jobless. If he’s right,
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is heading downstream fast, drowning workers
in its wake.
Monoarfa estimated
those under the poverty line could exceed 27 million, ten per cent of the total
population. Before the Covid-19 outbreak,
the line was Rp
440,538 (AUD 45) a month.
Finance
Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is a non-party economist, formerly with the
World Bank Group. She told the same hearing the GDP will shrink further in the
second quarter.
Confused
citizens have put up with more than two months of Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar
(large scale social restrictions). These
are supposed to end on 16 July. They’ve been poorly policed, often ignored and
largely ineffective as the official death toll rises.
The
Republic’s testing rates are abysmal - 3,185 per million, one of the lowest
in the world, so who knows how bad things are?
To date 60,695 cases have been confirmed and 3,036 deaths. As reported earlier NGOs and
scientists have been shouting the real figures are probably three to four times
higher.
Voters are mightily fed up with the
administration, so at one level Widodo’s rant appears to be a political tactic to
shift blame. However, there’s no doubt
his emotion was genuine. Australian traders
who’ve wallowed through the blancmange of Indonesian bureaucracy (World Bank
ease of doing business ranking: 73) will relate to his exasperation.
Here’s the
dilemma. By abandoning Javanese reserve
and showing the wong cilik (ordinary
people) he needs their support, Widodo is admitting his impotence at the top
end of town. He’s also made enemies by
shaming ministers in public. Maintaining
status is critical in Indonesian culture, particularly for the majority
Javanese.
It’s said
the authoritarian second president General Soeharto never had to raise his
voice to get things done. Wags claimed
his ministers followed a 4D code – datang,
duduk, diam, dapat duit (come, sit down, be quiet, get paid)
The
current mess is partly Widodo’s fault as he held off telling the situation was
serious for fear of causing fright. Then
he urged the sick to drink jamu, the
traditional herb medicine while Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto
prescribed prayer.
Overall
the commentariat has been unsympathetic, saying Widodo’s speech is two months
too late. Some have dismissed it as a
publicity stunt because the video was offered to the media on a Sunday ready
for Monday’s papers.
The Jakarta Post’s editorial writers, maybe miffed
because they missed a scoop, turned up the cynicism: ‘Perhaps all he (Widodo) wants
is just a change of perspective. We hope that, whether he does reshuffle his
Cabinet or not, people will feel the heat and work harder.’
No comments:
Post a Comment