West Java '98 Activists Urge Reformists to Introspect, Issue 8-Point Political Stance

Dozens of 1998 activists from Lingkar 98 West Java, alongside the 98 Resolution Network, held a movement consolidation and press conference at a restaurant in Bandung on Monday (6/7/202lar).

Exponents of the ‘98 movement are calling on actors of the Reformation era to conduct an introspection of their contributions to political democracy over the past 28 years. Lingkar 98 West Java and the Resolution Network believe that the ’98 movement still faces deficiencies, particularly as political democratisation has not progressed in tandem with economic democratisation. Consequently, they argue that what is currently occurring is essentially a ’pseudo-democracy’.

“When natural resources are controlled by a small group referred to as ‘serakahnomic’ during the Reformation, it effectively hijacks both political democracy and the livelihoods of the masses,” stated Agus Teddy Sumantri, spokesperson for the 98 Resolution Network, to the media.

As supporters of the Prabowo-Gibran administration, Lingkar 98 West Java emphasised that Indonesia’s democratic system must be based on ‘Socio-Democracy’, rather than a Western-style liberal democracy that only guarantees freedom at the ballot box. “Western-style democracy ignores the people’s access to the nation’s wealth. In reality, under Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, the nation’s natural resources must be managed by the state to increase the welfare of its people,” said Teddy, the former Chairman of the Prabowo-Gibran National Campaign Team (TKN) for West Java.

Agustin Lumban Gaol, an activist from the 98 Resolution Network, outlined eight key points of view and stances held by the group to address Indonesia’s national problems.

First, the eradication of corruption from the source. Lingkar 98 West Java and the 98 Resolution Network fully support President Prabowo’s mandate to implement the Reformation’s promise of “seizing the assets of corruptors to subsidise the people”.

This is evidenced by the seizure of Rp 13.25 trillion in corruption funds related to CPO (Wilmar Group), the seizure of Rp 11.42 trillion in administrative fines for forest area violations, and the seizure of Rp 920 billion along with 51kg of gold from the broker involved in the Zarof Ricar Supreme Court case.

Furthermore, they call for the eradication of the oil and gas mafia, specifically mentioning Riza Chalid. The seized funds, as emphasised by the President, are intended to be used for building public schools, fishing villages, and other projects for the people’s benefit. “To ensure a deterrent effect, we urge law enforcement to impose heavy sentences on corruptors, with a minimum of life imprisonment, because they have betrayed the people, the state, and the trust placed in them by President Prabowo,” concluded Agustin.