Transparency Society Indonesia Warns of Shrinking Public Oversight Space
Indonesian Transparency Society (MTI) has expressed regret over President Prabowo Subianto’s use of the term “londo ireng” directed at journalists, analysts and non-governmental organisations (LSM) in his speech at the thth anniversary of PKB at JCC Senayan on Thursday (23/7/2026).
MTI Executive Director Ahmad Jilul Qurani Farid assessed that the narrative potentially delegitimises the critical voice of civil society and narrows the space for public participation in overseeing power. He stressed that the existence of criticism is an essential element in maintaining the health of a democratic polity.
“Criticism is the oxygen of democracy, not betrayal. When the head of state repeatedly labels journalists, academics and civil society organisations as ‘londo ireng’ or ‘foreign stooges’, what is happening is no longer a battle of ideas, but a systematic effort to delegitimise public oversight,” Jilul said in a statement on Saturday (25/7/2026).
According to MTI’s records, the use of the term “londo ireng” adds to a list of episodes of negative labelling or stigmatising accusations levelled by the President against critical citizens’ voices since he took office in October 2024.
Among the incidents recorded by MTI are the “foreign stooges” accusation at the Gerindra anniversary (15/2/2025), the claim that protest crowds were paid during the rejection of the TNI Law in Hambalang (6/4/2025), the “foreign forces” accusation at the Pancasila anniversary (2/6/2025), and the claim “I know who pays for the demonstrations” at the XVII Gorontalo Penas event (24/6/2026).
Jilul reminded that a democratic polity operates on principles different from a military organisational hierarchy, where diversity of views and critical voices are protected by the constitution.
“Officials must reflect: your stars and your livelihood are paid for with the people’s money. Because the entire operation of power is funded by the people’s sweat and taxes, state officials are obliged to open themselves to evaluation and criticism,” Jilul said.
Jilul further asked the government to prove its claim of not being anti-criticism through concrete action on the ground, namely by responding to the substance of policy criticism rationally using data, rather than launching verbal counter-attacks or negative labelling. He also called on all elements of civil society, the media and academics to remain consistent in keeping the public space critical in order to safeguard the accountability of power in Indonesia.
President Prabowo Subianto has asserted that the government is not anti-criticism in a democracy, but asked the public to distinguish between criticism and slander or abuse.