{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1819287,
        "msgid": "haris-azhar-1998-redux-narrative-orchestrated-by-oligarchs-to-plunder-indonesia-1782215775",
        "date": "2026-06-23 18:13:43",
        "title": "Haris Azhar: '1998 Redux' Narrative Orchestrated by Oligarchs to Plunder Indonesia",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Indonesian politics and economy",
        "summary": "Human rights activist Haris Azhar claims the '1998 Redux' narrative circulating on social media is not a grassroots student movement but a top-down orchestration by oligarchs. He argues these elites aim to replicate the 1998 crisis to commit large-scale financial plunder, similar to the BLBI scandal. Azhar contends that President Prabowo's efforts to enforce Article 33 of the Constitution and combat corruption threaten these oligarchs, prompting them to destabilise the nation.",
        "content": "<p>Human rights activist and Lokataru founder Haris Azhar assessed that\nthe narrative or hashtag \u20181998 Redux\u2019 is being orchestrated by\noligarchic groups aiming to create a crisis similar to what occurred in\n1998. \u201cThe narrative or hashtag \u20181998 Redux\u2019, repeating 1998, did not\nemerge bottom-up from social movements and student movements. If we\nobserve, the \u20181998 Redux\u2019 narrative is being orchestrated top-down by\n\u2018serakahnomics\u2019 oligarchs through social media proxy accounts,\u201d Haris\nsaid in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday. Haris believes the parties\nspreading \u20181998 Redux\u2019 intend to repeat the events of 1998 to reap\nfinancial profits by exploiting the chaos, as happened during that\nperiod. \u201cThey, the \u2018serakahnomics\u2019 oligarchs, are obsessed with\nrepeating the mega-plunder they previously committed by riding on the\nmonetary crisis and student movement of 1998,\u201d he stated. Haris recalled\nthe Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) and Bank Indonesia Liquidity\nCredit (KLBI) scandals as the largest mega-corruption in Indonesia\u2019s\nhistory. The BLBI and KLBI mega-plunder occurred by exploiting the\nmonetary crisis and student movement of 1998. \u201cState losses from that\nplunder reached hundreds of trillions of rupiah due to the misuse of\nemergency bailout funds from Bank Indonesia. Our neighbouring country,\nSingapore, was awash with fresh BLBI money parked there by the\nplunderers,\u201d Haris said. He stressed that the motivation behind the\n\u20181998 Redux\u2019 and \u2018sale Indonesia\u2019 narratives is not to bring about\nchange that benefits the state and the people. These \u2018serakahnomics\u2019\noligarchs, according to Haris, are instead obsessed with recreating a\nsituation of destabilisation and multidimensional crisis like 1998 to\nplunder Indonesia\u2019s wealth. Haris noted that according to foreign\nintelligence analysis, Indonesia during the 1998 era and the reform\nperiod was considered an empty space between China and Australia. The\nIndonesian state was likened to an empty space or no-man\u2019s-land between\nChina and Australia. Indonesia during the reform era was precisely a\ncountry without a system and without a master. \u201cWhen the economic and\npolitical situation is chaotic, and the law and constitution are not\nupheld, that situation is like an empty space or no-man\u2019s-land that\ngives them the freedom to plunder as they please,\u201d Haris said.\nTherefore, he stated that genuine social and student movements would not\npromote narratives such as \u2018Indonesia gelap\u2019 (Dark Indonesia),\n\u2018Indonesia bangkrut\u2019 (Indonesia bankrupt), \u2018sale Indonesia\u2019, \u2018Kabur dari\nIndonesia\u2019 (Flee from Indonesia), \u2018buang rupiah\u2019 (dump the rupiah),\n\u20181998 Redux\u2019, and \u2018Indonesia hancur total\u2019 (Indonesia totally\ndestroyed). According to Haris, narratives or hashtags that disparage\nthe Indonesian state do not originate from the deep feelings of the\nstudent movement and the Indonesian people. \u201cI actually see these\nhashtags and narratives as a reflection of the threatened situation\ncurrently faced by national and multinational \u2018serakahnomics\u2019\noligarchs,\u201d he said. \u201cI say this because what is actually facing a dark\nand bankrupt fate is not the Indonesian state, but the \u2018serakahnomics\u2019\noligarchs. Their opportunities to accumulate wealth sourced from\nplundering state finances and Indonesia\u2019s natural resources are being\nlocked down,\u201d Haris continued. Haris stated that these \u2018serakahnomics\u2019\noligarchs are greatly disadvantaged by President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s\nsteps to re-implement Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, accompanied\nby preventing sources of state wealth leakage, eradicating corruption,\nand confiscating money and assets resulting from corruption. \u201cIn my\nview, those who have the capability to carry out \u2018sale Indonesia\u2019, \u2018dump\nrupiah\u2019, and \u2018flee from Indonesia\u2019 are the \u2018serakahnomics\u2019 oligarchs who\npossess abundant wealth obtained from plundering Indonesia\u2019s natural\nresources and riches,\u201d Haris concluded.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/haris-azhar-1998-redux-narrative-orchestrated-by-oligarchs-to-plunder-indonesia-1782215775",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}