by: Denny JA– Founder of the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI)
Why do presidents in Indonesia, from Bung Karno to SBY, end in sad stories?
We can reopen history. In 1945, Bung Karno became president. He was hailed as a proclaimer and hero of the Indonesian people.
However, since 1965, 1966, the students and youth who adored him turned around, demonstrated and protested to bring him down.
Bung Karno also lost his power in sad ways.
Pak Harto came to officially become president in 1968. He was praised and revered as the Father of National Development.
However, in 1998, the people moved again, protested and demonstrated to bring him down. Pak Harto also ended with a sad story.
Then came Habibie. He brought Indonesia to transition towards democracy. But in 1999, the accountability report was rejected by the MPR. Habibie also ended in a sad story.
Then Gus Dur was elected president of Indonesia in 1999. He came from cultural circles, religionists, and thinkers.
But not long after, in 2001, Gus Dur was impeached by the MPR.
Megawati emerged as the first female president in Indonesia. That happened in 2001.
But in 2004, we saw the PDIP party he led decline in its results.
In the previous election, in 1999, PDIP, the party led by Megawati, obtained very high results: 33.7%. But in 2004, the people were dissatisfied, causing PDIP support to drop by almost half: just 18.53%.
Megawati ran for president twice (2004 and 2009). Twice he was defeated.
Then came SBY. He was the first president directly elected by the people. At first, SBY was also revered and praised.
But in 2014, the party he founded, the Democratic Party, also fell by almost half. Back in 2009, the Democratic Party received support of 20.85%. He became the party that won the 2009 election.
But in 2014, Democrats were only 10.19%. Dropped by almost half. Many top Democrat Party administrators also went to prison for corruption.
Why do Indonesian presidents end up sad? This requires in-depth research. Each presidential case has different causes.
But will Jokowi bring a different tradition, away from the sad story tradition of Indonesian Presidents?
Now Jokowi’s rating, his Approval Rating level, the percentage of the public who approves of his performance, the level of public satisfaction with him, is very high: above 78%. These are the results of the LSI Denny JA survey in August 2023.
Hopefully Jokowi will bring a different story. He brought a new tradition, a presidential tradition that did not end sadly.
anangfadhilah
