The government and the parliament are adopting a policy package seen by many to be a betrayal of Widodo`s professed commitment to fight corruption and to protect labour rights and the environment. This is manifested most clearly in the Omnibus Bill now being presented to parliament.

The Omnibus Bill, following on from other controversial bills held over from 2019, is provoking opposition from labour movements, civil society organisations and university students. Some elements of the media have also started taking a more oppositionist approach. There is therefore more potential for common purpose and collective action among oppositionist media elements, students and civil society organisations.

With the dissolution of the Widodo-Prabowo contestation, some Widodo supporters are now focussing on the Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan as their new political foe. Baswedan is already described by some political figures as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, and has been attracting increasing criticism from Widodo supporters.

These trends are currently being dampened by the pandemic crisis but can be expected to resume thereafter.

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Max Lane

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