Ika Ningtyas and Nuurrianti Jalli – Virtual and physical resistance to the ruling elite's attempts to trample on democracy last week in Indonesia became a powerful reminder of how social media can be a force multiplier in democracy.
On 22 August 2024, Indonesia witnessed a surge of political activism as thousands of university students and other demonstrators stormed the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta. This dramatic scene was mirrored by large-scale protests on university campuses and at legislative buildings in major cities including Yogyakarta, Semarang, Makassar, Bandung, Surabaya, and Bali. These demonstrations were among the largest since the 2019 rallies against the revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and the Criminal Code.
The trigger was a contentious proposal by the DPR to rush passage of a revised bill on regional elections, which if passed would have effectively overturned two Constitutional Court rulings. The first would have lowered the nomination threshold for regional election candidacy while the second would have changed the age requirement for candidates contesting in regional elections to 30 years old at the time of nomination instead of at inauguration. Among the implications of the first proposal is that parties with smaller vote-shares would find it easier to field candidates in the upcoming November regional elections (pilkada); for the second, the gubernatorial candidacy of President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo's younger son, Kaesang Pangerap, who turns 30 in December, was at stake.
A social media sentiment analysis by Drone Emprit between 20-21 August revealed strong public approval of the two court rulings, made on 20 August. Of 16,753 conversations on X (formerly Twitter) analysed, 71 per cent expressed positive sentiments, while 27 per cent were neutral and only 2 per cent were negative. This underscores the widespread support for the Court's decision, seen as a step towards more inclusive regional elections.
However, just a day after the Court's decision, the DPR met to discuss revising the Regional Election Bill. Eight out of nine political parties in the ruling coalition agreed to two crucial revisions that would essentially overturn the Court's decision. First, they proposed that the lowering of the voting threshold would apply to only parties that did not have seats in the relevant local legislative body. Second, they proposed that the minimum age threshold would apply at inauguration (for this pilkada, in February 2025), not nomination. The DPR's actions further ignited concerns about Jokowi's blatant attempts to secure his family's political future.
The public's reaction to this manoeuvring was swift and innovative, in the form of a massive social media campaign. Centred on the phrase "Peringatan Darurat" (Emergency Warning) and featuring a blue Garuda icon, the virtual movement began on 21 August, when media outlets aired the DPR's decision. An anonymous X account, @BudiBukanIntel, first posted the "PeringatanDarurat" symbol at 8:12 AM, which quickly went viral. It was viewed two million times, liked 26,000 times, and re-shared 6,000 times within hours.
Two main hashtags drove the campaign: #KawalPutusanMK ("guard the Constitutional Court decision") and #PeringatanDarurat. The impact was significant across various social media platforms. On X, #KawalPutusanMK was the top trending topic with 2.1 million posts by 4 PM (Figure 1) on 21 August, while #PeringatanDarurat reached more than 200,000 posts. The movement's reach extended beyond X, with 24,400 Instagram posts under #KawalPutusanMK and similar trends on Facebook and TikTok.
The rapid growth of the online "PeringatanDarurat" movement was fuelled by its adoption by influential voices. Popular accounts such as media outlet @narasinewsroom, civil society organisations and leaders including the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), academics, celebrities, journalists, writers, and student clubs all shared the message, amplifying its reach exponentially. This virtual activism quickly translated into real-world action. By 8 PM on 21 August, YLBHI initiated an online consolidation through Twitter Space, which was joined by more than 20,000 netizens. This digital gathering set the stage for the street protests that would unfold the next day, aimed at blocking the DPR from holding a plenary session to approve the amendment of the Regional Election Bill.
The power of social media to mobilise masses and coordinate mass rallies became evident on 22 August, when thousands stormed the DPR building in Jakarta and simultaneous protests in other cities occurred. The scale of these demonstrations was so significant that by 11 AM, the DPR announced that the plenary was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum, with only 86 of the 500 DPR members in attendance.
The symbol that united this movement was taken from an old video uploaded by the Emergency Alert System's (EAS) EAS Indonesia Concept YouTube account on 22 October 2022. This channel posts videos mimicking the American national emergency alert system. Inspired by an old style of video shown on the national television broadcast channel, TVRI, in 1991, the symbol features an image of the Garuda, Indonesia's national emblem, accompanied by an ominous emergency alarm. The video clip announces an emergency warning of anomalous activity, presented as entertainment with a horror analog theme, including the text (in Bahasa): "Emergency warning to civilians against anomalous activities that have just been detected by the government of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia." This symbolic imagery resonated strongly with the protestors, amplifying their sense of urgency.
While the immediate success of the "Peringatan Darurat" movement is clear, as the DPR has declared it will follow the Court's earlier rulings and Kaesang's party has said that he will not contest in the pilkada, it is important to view these events within the broader context of Jokowi's leadership. These protests were part of a series of disappointments at the end of his two-term presidency. Despite his purported popularity, Jokowi's decade in office was characterised by declining civil liberties, the weakening of democratic institutions, human rights violations, and the use of laws and other legal tools to repress or block dissenters while raising his own kin into public office.
The "Peringatan Darurat" movement represents a significant moment in Indonesian politics, demonstrating the power of social media to rapidly mobilise mass protests amidst the public's growing frustration with Jokowi's attempts to consolidate power within his family. The tension between entrenched political interests and the Indonesian public's demand for fair and inclusive governance is likely to remain a central issue in the nation's political landscape. The events of 20-23 August 2024 may well be remembered as a turning point in the ongoing struggle for democratic integrity.
The authors
Ika Ningtyas is the fact-checking coordinator at Tempo, a Jakarta-based news organization. She is also an advisory member of Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), and former Secretary-General of the Alliance of Independent Journalist.
Nuurrianti Jalli is a Visiting Fellow at the Media, Technology and Society Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. She is also a Research Affiliate at the Data and Democracy Research Hub at Monash University, Indonesia, and an Assistant Professor at the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University.
Source: https://fulcrum.sg/indonesias-emergency-warning-movement-against-jokowis-political-dynasty