The Onset of ‘De-Jokowi-sation’ in Indonesian Politics?

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (left), who also serves as the chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), and former President Joko Widodo greet each other on stage during the party's 17th anniversary in West Java on 15 February 2025 | Photo by ADITYA AJI / AFP

In an article by Fulcrum, Made Supriatma asserts that President Prabowo Subianto appears to have started trimming the sails of his powerful predecessor eight months after taking office.

The FPP’s push to impeach Gibran appears to be part of a broader effort to reduce Jokowi’s lingering influence. Early in his presidency, Prabowo seemed to allow Jokowi significant influence over government affairs. Without much fanfare that would attract controversy, however, Prabowo has gradually begun to roll back many of Jokowi’s signature initiatives — most notably, large-scale infrastructure projects like the new capital city, Nusantara. In their place, Prabowo is introducing his own flagship programmes, such as the sovereign wealth fund Danantara, free nutritious meals for students, food estates in Papua and other regions, the Red and White Village Cooperatives, and “People’s Schools”.

Eight months into his term, Prabowo is showing an approach that is distinct from Jokowi’s. The latter sought to introduce laws that strengthened the government’s control of the bureaucracy of local governments. Prabowo has gone a step further by showing a stronger preference for a command economy and state capitalism — an outlook he articulated in his two books, Kepemimpinan Militer (Military Leadership) and Paradoks Indonesia(Indonesian Paradox). Like Jokowi, Prabowo brought most of Indonesia’s major political parties into his coalition. But in Prabowo’s case, he did so arguably not to empower them but to neutralise opposition and consolidate control. Unlike Jokowi, Prabowo has been quietly building up a powerful institution, the military.

Through a steady consolidation of power, Prabowo has made significant strides in what appears to be a deliberate process of de-Jokowi-sation. This effort has also triggered a broader realignment among the political elite, with many of Jokowi’s key allies gradually sidelined and replaced by figures loyal to Prabowo.