(Bloomberg) — The recent unrest in Indonesia shows that people want their fledgling democracy protected, former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said, as he assured a smooth transition from outgoing leader Joko Widodo to his successor, Prabowo Subianto.
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“People hope that this country, this government and the leaders can really protect and uphold our democracy,” Yudhoyono said in an interview in Jakarta, when asked about recent pro-democracy protests in the archipelago.
Last month, massive street demonstrations successfully derailed a perceived power grab by Indonesia’s largest parties. Lawmakers have abandoned attempts to amend electoral laws to both allow Jokowi’s youngest son to run and undermine the ability of smaller parties to field candidates.
The episode highlighted widespread public anger over the backsliding of democracy in a country that had regained free and fair elections in 1999 after decades of dictatorship. There are also concerns about dynastic politics, as Jokowi’s eldest son has already been elected vice president.
“As a young democracy, after Indonesia was hit by the crisis in 1998, our journey is not over yet,” Yudhoyono said, referring to the Asian financial crisis that led to the fall of the late dictator Suharto. “We will continue to make our democracy more relevant to the hopes and aspirations of the Indonesian people.”
As president from 2004 to 2014, Yudhoyono stabilized the economy, oversaw the response to the 2004 tsunami and brokered a peace deal in the troubled province of Aceh. And despite concerns about his military background, he oversaw a peaceful transition of power to current President Jokowi.
Speaking at the Bloomberg CEO Forum in Jakarta, Yudhoyono said Prabowo, who was elected in February and will be inaugurated in October, will benefit from the long transition period, comparing the situation to his own election, in which he was confirmed just weeks before formally taking office.
“Prabowo has enough time to prepare everything and I know that the relationship between Prabowo and Jokowi is good,” Yudhoyono said. He added that Prabowo is well positioned to continue the economic achievements of his predecessor and that, with much infrastructure now built, the new leader can focus on human capital by addressing health, education and environmental issues.
Jokowi has said the legacy of his decade in office includes reducing poverty and, despite the pandemic, around 5% annual economic growth. Prabowo wants even faster growth of 8% and has pledged to spend billions of dollars on free meals for children to alleviate poverty and improve education.
“Infrastructure is very important, but building human capital is also important,” Yudhoyono said. “We need to combine those two things to make our economy grow higher and stronger.”
Former military man Prabowo, who currently serves as the country’s defense minister, will be a “foreign policy president” who must deftly manage Indonesia’s position amid rising US-China tensions and disputes in the South China Sea, Yudhoyono said.
“If there is no way out of the South China Sea dispute, Indonesia or ASEAN can appeal that everyone should sit at the negotiating table, respect international law and avoid military force to resolve the issue,” he said, referring to the Political and Economic Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“We are the largest country in ASEAN and we are also a member of the G-20. Indonesia is a regional power and, to some extent, a global player,” he said. “We should have a say in how we deal with regional problems in a good, sensible and correct way.”
–With assistance from Grace Sihombing and Adrian Kennedy.
(Updates with foreign policy commentary from the 11th paragraph.)
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