Jokowi the modern Javanese

When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo received opposition leader Prabowo Subianto for a private audience at the Bogor Palace recently, both men were wearing batik shirts. Mr Widodo looked radiant in a green shirt featuring a contemporary motif of “peksi” (birds) and vegetation. In contrast, Mr Prabowo sported a shirt with a classic motif known as “semen romo” (Father of Spring) in golden brown with peksi or aviary details woven in.

The meeting itself was hailed as a surprise move on Mr Widodo’s part, given their past rivalry for the presidential office. The President’s supporters cited it as proof that the leader was inspired by the Javanese philosophies of “rukun” (the ability to get along) and “memayu hayuning buwana” (to construct a cosmologically harmonious space around oneself) in behaving courteously towards his former adversary.

However, the meeting was also construed as a ruse on Mr Widodo’s part to increase his bargaining power with the main party in his coalition, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and its chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri. In courting Mr Prabowo, Mr Widodo may also be accused of violating another taboo in Javanese ethics, “kacang lali kulite” (the bean which denied ever coming out of its shell), meaning someone who conveniently forgets his or her own origins.

If Mr Widodo ever drops the PDI-P in favour of a new coalition, charges of disloyalty — even treachery — will no doubt be heard from the quarters of his political patron, Ms Megawati. The decade-long tenure of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saw a feud between Ms Megawati and Mr Yudhoyono, who was, in her eyes, a treacherous bean that disowned its own shell. He became one because, having served as her minister, he then proceeded to run against her in the presidential election.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Loyalty appears to be a strong motif for Ms Megawati. When Mr Widodo nominated his sole police chief candidate in Commander General Budi Gunawan, it was rumoured that the decision had been Ms Megawati’s, out of her loyalty to Mr Gunawan, who had served as her presidential adjutant.

In this scenario, Mr Widodo was a man who found it hard to say “no” to his political patron. Hence he contrived to obstruct the plan without having to refuse his patron by using a tactic known as “nabok nyilih tangan” (to hit using another’s hand). Mr Widodo allegedly told the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to name Mr Gunawan a graft suspect, so as to make him an unsuitable candidate to head the police force.

But as subsequent events proved, the scenario became implausible as the President did not try to shield the KPK from counter strikes by the police when one of its deputy chairmen was arrested. To make matters worse, PDI-P interim secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto jumped into the foray by alleging that the KPK’s move against Mr Gunawan was personal vengeance by its chairman, Mr Abraham Samad, who had wanted to run as Mr Jokowi’s vice-presidential candidate but was foiled by Mr Gunawan.

The expression “nabok nyilih tangan” seems far-fetched here. Would Mr Widodo really be so underhanded and cowardly as to try to use the KPK in this way because he could not say “no” to Ms Megawati? The term becomes even more appalling, considering it was once tweeted by the disgraced former chairman of the Democratic Party, Anas Urbaningrum, to hint that his criminalisation by the KPK was on then-President Yudhoyono’s order.

Interpreting Indonesian politics though the prism of Javanese maxims and proverbs is tricky. Javanese code of conduct is supposed to be subtle and indirect. Like the dalang (puppet master) in a shadow puppet performance, a consummate Javanese leader is “samar” (shrouded in mystery) in his conduct. To betray himself with indisputable evidence of his intent would demolish the subtlety of the Javanese way.

But, in truth, can we really expect Mr Widodo to behave according to the precepts set down by royal courtiers centuries ago? The difference in the batik shirts worn by Mr Widodo and Mr Prabowo is perhaps telling.

Mr Prabowo’s classic “semen romo” is immediately recognisable among lovers of traditional batik. The motif is usually reserved for leaders, its symbols representing the ideal qualities of traditional Javanese rulers.

Yet Mr Widodo’s contemporary “peksi” green shirt fails to conform to the old presets. In it perhaps lies the President’s truer contemporary Javanese outlook, unfettered by classical ideals. THE JAKARTA GLOBE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Johannes Nugroho is a writer and businessman from Surabaya.