The Dalang Behind the Wayang: Identifying the Actors and Agents behind the anti-Malaysian Demos in Indonesia

Countries do not behave in a hostile manner against other countries for no apparent reason; and they do not engage in hate campaigns without someone orchestrating them. The downturn in Malaysian-Indonesian relations today has taken place over a series of related incidents, many of which were sparked by news reports of ill-treatment and abuse of Indonesian workers at the hands of Malaysians. Needless to say, the fact that Malaysia’s own record when it comes to the treatment of foreigners is appalling has given substance to much of the hate-mongering that is taking place in Indonesia today.

But at the same time we need to understand the current goings-on in Indonesia from a more nuanced and detailed perspective, and to identify who are the real actors and agents behind the rise of the newly-minted self-appointed militias and vigilante groups such as the Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat (Bendera) that are currently on the prowl in Jakarta and other cities, looking for Malaysians to ‘sweep’ out of their country.

Let us remember that this year Indonesia witnessed the re-election of President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono (SBY), and the victory of his Partai Demokrat (PD). SBY’s victory comes as an unprecedented and welcomed surprise for the other countries of Southeast Asia, as it demonstrated the maturity of the Indonesian electorate and the development of perhaps the biggest real democracy in the ASEAN region. The growth of democracy in Indonesia can only be good news for the rest of ASEAN, and for the region’s pro-democracy movements as well.


Yet as soon as the results were announced, dissenting voices could be heard from SBY’s competitors and other political parties such as the PDI-P under the leadership of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Since then, the heated discussions about the election results and procedures have continued unabated.

It is widely known in Indonesia that SBY and the PD’s victory has been contested from the start till now. Furthermore there are those who wish to use every opportunity to weaken his stand and to discredit him both domestically and internationally. Even during the election campaign, SBY was attacked by Megawati and the PDI-P for not doing enough to protect Indonesian workers in Malaysia and other countries; and SBY was painted as being too ‘soft’ on Malaysia. These are the very same allegations being made against him by the right-wing militias and vigilantes today.

So who are the ones who have been at the forefront of this campaign to demonise Malaysia and discredit SBY and the PD at the same time? Well, for a start, one has to look at the role of the Indonesian media, which happens to be the freest in ASEAN at the moment. Responsible newspapers and magazines such as the Jakarta Post, Tempo and Republika have been giving objective coverage of the issue, and different voices have been heard in their editorials, giving a balanced coverage of the Malaysia-Indonesia spat.

However one private TV channel – Metro TV – has been at the front of the campaign to highlight the issue, and it was Metro TV ‘that first blew up the story of the Pendet dance ad used by the Malaysian tourist agency’, according to veteran journalist Yoebal Rasyid. ‘For me, this is an instance where the TV station was using the issue to give the impression that SBY is weak’. It should be noted that the man behind Metro TV is Surya Paloh, a prominent member of the Golkar Party and who had once put himself forward for the post of President of Indonesia. Paloh is also known as one of the more vocal critics of SBY, and his hugely popular Metro TV remains his most powerful assent in the political landscape of Indonesia today.

Its is also interesting to note that the anti-Malaysian demonstrations have taken on the historically loaded semiotics of the Konfrontasi between Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 1960s. ‘There are Sukarnoist elements behind the rhetoric’, notes Prof Bambang Setiaji, rector of Muhamadiyah University Surakarta (UMS), who also notes that the dominant theme of the vigilante groups is the ‘defence of a united Indonesia’, harking back to the nationalist rhetoric of the Sukarno era.

So what seems to be happening at the moment is the conjunction of a range of unconnected but related agendas on the part of a myriad of actors and agents: ‘Islamic Youth groups that were formerly close to Golkar have also joined in the anti-Malaysian campaign; the PDI of Megawati is cashing in on the issue to rekindle the faded nostalgia of Sukarno, Megawati’s father; and local preman gangsters and thugs are jumping on the bandwagon just to make some quick money too’, noted another prominent Indonesian journalist.

But perhaps the saddest aspect of this latest wayang in Indonesia politics is that SBY and the PD-led government are not the only victims, but more so the people of Indonesia and the image of the country. As Dr Yusron Razak of the Sharif Hidayatullah Islamic University of Jakarta ‘as a result of this, now all Indonesians look bad, and Indonesia’s image is that of an unstable society’. In the days and weeks to come President Yudhoyono will have to bite the bullet and take the militias head-on to demonstrate that it is he, and not them, who was elected to serve as the President of the country. But in the meantime the dalangs behind the wayang to discredit SBY will also be doing their best to destroy him reputation and image, and that of Indonesia’s too.