The bigness of Indonesia鈥檚 little guy
In countries ruled by a powerful political elite, the daily struggles of ordinary people are often overlooked. Not so in Indonesia over recent days. Street protests that began Aug. 25 in the capital against excessive perks for lawmakers spread nationwide a few days later. The cause of the new outrage: A police vehicle ran over a motorbike delivery rider caught up in one of the protests.
People in the world鈥檚 fourth-most-populous nation rely heavily on nearly 3 million ride-hailing drivers to deliver packages and passengers. Known as ojol, they are visible symbols of the urban lower class. They are often seen hanging together in green jackets near roadside food stalls, waiting for their next online trip request.
The reaction to the killing, in a country already distrustful of the police and the elite, was both swift and unusual.
The protests became the largest in decades. The color green was adopted by demonstrators. Both President Prabowo Subianto and the chief of police apologized for the death of the driver, Affan Kurniawan. His family was given a home. Many reforms, such as rolling back the lawmakers鈥� perks, were promised.
鈥淎ffan conveys an image of great emotional strength,鈥� Yoes Kenawas, a researcher at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta, told Le Monde. 鈥淗e embodies the daily life of Indonesians: a young man who delivers their meals, drives them, and struggles to make ends meet.鈥�
A number of ojols received online gifts from people in nearby Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. The hashtag #SEAblings, a wordplay on 鈥渟iblings鈥� and 鈥淪outh East Asia,鈥� went viral in support of these vital workers.
鈥淭he struggle for democracy belongs not only to activists, not only to students, but also to us, the motorcycle taxi drivers who face the harsh realities every day,鈥� one driver, Beni Aulia Syaputra, said in a speech.
鈥淒emocracy isn鈥檛 just about parliament buildings or seats of power. Democracy is when we, the common people, have a voice, the opportunity to prosper, and the protection of the state,鈥� he added.
Indonesia鈥檚 democracy, restored in 1998 after the last big protests, remains shaky. But the events with ordinary people since late August show where real power lies.
