Indonesia in 2017: Jokowi's Supremacy and His Next Political Battles

Summary

After successfully consolidating his power in his second year in office (2016), 2017 saw President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) gradually and consistently expand his power base to strengthen his political authority in Indonesia to the point that he was able to weaken opposition forces both in and outside parliament. Against predictions, he successfully reduced political tensions arising from the two highprofile events that occurred in early 2017: first, the defeat of the ethnic Chinese, Christian Governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) in the Jakarta election and, second, the two-year prison sentence handed to Ahok for blasphemy. Jokowi responded to these events decisively, with constitutional initiatives and political manoeuvres aimed at outlawing social and religious organizations deemed to be anti-Pancasila1 and moving to limit the impact of outspoken critics in Jakarta and the countryside. At the grass-roots level, Jokowi visited and consulted with religious and community leaders across Indonesia to gain support for his efforts to reduce what threatened to become an increasing level of religious intolerance and hatred in Indonesian communities.

The Indonesian economy did not improve much, with growth remaining at around 5.1 per cent per annum. This was not enough to fully support Jokowi's ambitious infrastructure programmes, leading him to deploy available resources and funding inside and outside the country to ensure those programmes stayed on track. In terms of foreign policy, Jokowi continued to attract prominent international state visitors to Indonesia, and participated actively on the world stage in forums such as the G20, ASEAN and APEC meetings, and a visit to China to participate in the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) gathering organized by President Xi Jinping. The highlight of Jokowi's regional engagement was his quick response to domestic pressure to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees who became stranded along the Myanmar–Bangladesh border. Towards the end of 2017, his third year in office, Jokowi harvested the fruits of his efforts, with independent public opinion polls showing him to have an unprecedented level of support, making him, at this time, the most powerful and popular political leader in Indonesia.

This chapter will highlight key trends in Indonesia in 2017 in the areas of domestic politics, the economy and foreign policy. It will discuss the ways in which Jokowi navigated the complex Indonesian political landscape and stayed on top of the game.