Resty Woro Yuniar – The nationwide protests in Indonesia over proposed changes to the election law are seen by analysts as a reflection of public outrage over President Joko Widodo's attempts to entrench his political influence and his family's lavish lifestyle.
The resentment has tainted Widodo's legacy before he steps down and hands power to President-elect Prabowo Subianto in October, according to analysts.
Thousands of protesters gathered on Thursday in front of the parliament building in Jakarta, with many holding banners denouncing Widodo's political dynasty. One protester even built a mock guillotine to show disdain against the leader. Protests also took place in other cities including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Medan and Semarang.
The protests followed several days of legal drama that began when the constitutional court announced its ruling in two areas of the election law on Tuesday.
The court upheld the 30-year-old minimum age requirement for regional election candidates, a move that would block Widodo's 29-year-old youngest son Kaesang Pangarep from running for deputy governor of Central Java in November.
Kaesang's political party, Indonesian Solidarity Party, told reporters on Friday he was applying for a certificate to show he has never been convicted, a document required for him to run in the Central Java election.
The court also lowered the barrier of party representation for the nomination of candidates for regional elections. Such a rule would enable Anies Baswedan, a former presidential candidate and Widodo's critic, to enter the Jakarta governorship race in November.
However, the Indonesian parliament proposed changes to the election law on Wednesday that would render the court's ruling moot.
On Thursday, parliament set aside the proposed changes – for now – following widespread street and online protests against its plan. Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told reporters that lawmakers have shelved the plan to ratify the changes.
Ray Rangkuti, a political analyst with Indonesian Civil Society Circle, said that Thursday's protests echoed the 1998 student-led protests that prompted the resignation of dictator Suharto.
Public disapproval of Widodo and his family members has increased over his political ambitions and the protests would dent his popularity, Ray said.
"It is so easy for people to see the behaviour of Jokowi's family lately. They see that Jokowi is now an ambitious [person] as he wants to place all his family in strategic positions in this nation," Ray told This Week in Asia, referring to Widodo's nickname.
According to pollster Litbang Kompas, Widodo had an approval rating of 75.6 per cent as of June.
One X user even taught users a spell to accelerate Widodo's "downfall" in a tweet that has gone viral in a country where spells and curses are often invoked to target others in all aspects of life.
Rangkuti said he and other civil activists have vowed to remain alert until Monday when officials from the General Elections Commission are scheduled to attend a parliamentary hearing.
The House of Representatives could pressure the commission's officials to ignore the court's ruling on Tuesday and align with the parliamentary's position on the election law, Rangkuti added.
Family extravagance
Several members of Widodo's family have also raised public ire with their perceived extravagant lifestyle.
Erina Gudono, Widodo's daughter-in-law, recently posted photos of her holiday with her husband Kaesang in the United States, sparking anger among online users who highlighted that the family were enjoying themselves even as demonstrations were taking place in Indonesia.
One of Gudono's photos showing the couple eating a US$25 brioche in California has led some Indonesian online users to refer to Erina as Indonesia's Marie Antoinette, the last queen consort of France who was executed by guillotine in 1793. Her other photos show the family shopping in Venice town and Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles and visiting the Philadelphia Eagles stadium.
Erina, who is in her third trimester of pregnancy, recently started her Master's degree course at the School of Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, which gave her a partial scholarship.
A tweet by user @daughterofumar says: "Do you know what makes my heart hurt even more? In the midst of all this commotion, Kaesang's wife updated her [Instagram with photos of] baby supplies shopping in California, plus eating 400,000 rupiah bread with Kaesang. Oh my God, I really don't know anymore, I'm just sure that Allah's punishment exists."
Based on a photo posted by Erina of a plane that flew the family to the US, online sleuths deduced that the couple hired a Gulfstream G650 private jet that transited in Japan before landing in Los Angeles on Tuesday. One of them, X user @ZakkiAmali, slammed Kaesang for spending a lot of money and living a luxurious lifestyle.
Ujang Komarudin, a political analyst from Al Azhar University Indonesia, said that the online animosity against Kaesang and his wife underscored the resentment of many Indonesians who were facing financial difficulties and cost of living issues. The couple's holiday is perceived by Indonesians as extravagant and could even have been one of the factors that triggered Thursday's protests, according to Ujang.
"The people are having a hard time, many are unemployed, many don't have jobs, the political elites are not on their side and this is provoking their anger, which is why it ignited the demonstrations," Ujang said.