Conquering Protests with a ‘Protest’

The August 27 demonstration outside Indonesia’s House of Representatives appeared to channel public anger over corruption. But behind the protest, Tempo reports, party politicians may have been directing the movement themselves.

The United Pati People’s Alliance, or AMPB, called on lawmakers to pass the Asset Forfeiture Bill and impose the death penalty on corruptors. House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad has promised to resign if the bill does not pass before the end of the year. The demands have an obvious appeal in a country frustrated by corruption cases and the weakening of the Corruption Eradication Commission.

Yet the bill also carries risks, the article argues. If handled improperly, asset forfeiture could create opportunities for backroom deals between politicians, law enforcement officials and people accused of corruption before their guilt has been established. Existing laws, it says, could already support serious efforts to seize criminal assets.

A Tempo investigation found Gerindra politicians behind the mobilization of the Pati community alliance from Central Java. House leaders met the group late at night in Jakarta, and they reportedly used a House leader’s phone to communicate with President Prabowo Subianto. The alliance focused on asset forfeiture and capital punishment, while avoiding criticism of government programs that civil society and student groups have frequently opposed, including the free nutritious meal program and red-and-white village cooperatives.

The article says the asset-forfeiture issue could help soften criticism of those projects, which it describes as costly and vulnerable to abuse. Civil society groups themselves are divided: Pati Ora Sepele, which joined the alliance last year to oppose higher land and building taxes in Pati Regency, did not join the House protest.