Fusilatnews – Indonesia’s political landscape has seen its share of strongmen, opportunists, and dynasts. But few episodes in recent memory illustrate the corrosion of democratic ethics as starkly as Joko Widodo’s latest move. Barely months out of office, the former president has urged his loyalist group, Projo, to back the Prabowo–Gibran ticket for a second term.
Stripped of euphemism, Jokowi’s message was simple: “You must always be with my son, Gibran.”
In Indonesian cultural terms, this is called ujub—a conceited belief in one’s indispensability. In a religious frame, it borders on hubris: attempting to defy qadarullah, to write history as though destiny itself were a family heirloom.
The justification, predictably, is wrapped in lofty rhetoric about continuity, stability, and national progress. But the political logic is obvious: securing his son’s place in power also secures Jokowi’s own protection. It is less about the future of the republic than about insulating himself from the mounting discourse around a decade of abuses, corruption, and authoritarian drift under his rule.
That makes his maneuver not only cynical but also unnecessary. President Prabowo himself has pushed back against premature talk of a second term. In May, he told young Gerindra cadres:
“Keep that intention in your heart. Whether Prabowo will serve two terms or not will be decided by the Almighty—and by Prabowo himself.”
He added a note of conditional humility:
“If I judge that I have not achieved what I set out to do, I will not run again as President of the Republic of Indonesia.”
In other words, Prabowo—who, unlike Jokowi, is still accountable to the present—acknowledged that re-election is not a foregone conclusion. For Jokowi to instruct otherwise is not only tone-deaf but also a breach of democratic norms.
This is Jokowi at his lowest: reducing power to a family business. He once cultivated the image of a humble man of the people. Now he plays the role of a political broker, hawking his son’s future in exchange for his own immunity. Far from being the nation’s elder statesman, he risks being remembered as the man who trivialized the presidency into a dynastic bargaining chip.
Indonesia deserves better than politics dressed as inheritance. Mandates are not hereditary; they are conditional, fragile, and subject to revocation. If Jokowi insists on treating democracy as a family franchise, it falls to the public to remind him that the republic is not his to bequeath.
History has little patience for arrogance. And suppose Jokowi believes he can dictate Indonesia’s destiny even after leaving office. In that case, he may soon learn the cruel irony of power: that the more one clings to it, the faster one’s legacy decays.
