‘Little Suharto’? Indonesian leader Widodo’s places Twitter personalities, allies in key posts, sparking backlash

At least 17 of the president’s supporters, some with large social media followings, have been installed at large state-owned firms in the past year

Amid increasing anxiety over Indonesia’s economy, critics are asking why Widodo’s election allies are getting cushy roles without relevant experience

Reading Time:4 minutes

Joko Widodo, right, with his rival Prabowo Subianto on the presidential campaign trail in July 2019. Widodo later appointed Prabowo as defence minister after Prabowo’s party joined Widodo’s coalition government. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:00am, 10 Nov 2020Updated: 5:31pm, 10 Nov 2020

Indonesian social media influencer Kristia Budhyarto has an army of nearly 100,000 followers on Twitter, and in the run-up to Joko Widodo’s re-election last year he repeatedly tweeted praise of the president’s proposed programmes and policies. Last week, when he was appointed an independent commissioner of Pelni, the country’s largest state-owned shipping firm, it sparked a debate on whether the administration of Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, was rewarding supporters with plum posts even when they did not have relevant backgrounds.

The grumbling was also fuelled when minister for state-owned enterprises Erick Thohir, a former campaign manager of the president, appointed three other social media personalities and Widodo allies to top roles in October.

Former journalist Ulin Ni’am Yusron, who sports flowing black hair and was an avid online fan of Widodo during the last two elections, became a commissioner for the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation. Dyah Kartika Rini, who helped Widodo establish a social media volunteers network when he was running for Jakarta governor in 2012 and now runs a political consultancy called SpinDoctor Indonesia, is a commissioner for tollway operator Jasa Raharja.

Eko Sulistyo, who helped Widodo when he first transitioned from being a former furniture businessman to politics in the 2005 mayoral election in his hometown of Solo, Central Java, is a commissioner for the country’s sole electricity provider, PLN.

For Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises, the role of boards of commissioners is to supervise and provide input on the management of the companies. The boards themselves do not have the power to make decisions. There are 142 SOEs in Indonesia, and an SOE commissioner’s monthly salary ranges from at least 80 million rupiah (US$5,600) to around 3 billion rupiah ($213,000).

Overall, at least 17 Widodo supporters, who were largely part of his official presidential campaign team last year, have been installed in the past year, according to news reports. They include the president’s current spokesman, Fadjroel Rachman, who is also a commissioner at construction company Waskita Karya.

Alamsyah Saragih, a member of the country’s Ombudsman, the government watchdog, told This Week in Asia: “This is a form of cronyism, which the government sees as something legal, but it actually shows a regression of statesmanship in Indonesia.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x