This archive report was first published on 20 October 2019.
Published on October 20, 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, has begun his second and final term amidst growing criticism and concerns over the country's democratic reforms.
Widodo, a former businessman and heavy-metal-music lover, was hailed as Indonesia's answer to Barack Obama when he was first elected in 2014. However, his leadership has been under mounting criticism due to a string of challenges, including nationwide anti-government demonstrations, smog-belching forest fires, deadly unrest in Papua, and an economic slowdown.
Recent protests across the archipelago of 260 million were among the biggest student rallies since mass demonstrations toppled the Suharto dictatorship in 1998. The protests were sparked by a raft of divisive reforms, including banning pre-marital sex and weakening the anti-graft agency.
Just months after scoring a thumping re-election victory against a former military general, Widodo's leadership is facing a stark reversal of fortune. The inauguration of his second term comes a little over a week after his chief security minister, Wiranto, was stabbed in an attack by two members of a local extremist group allied to the Islamic State group.
Authorities have banned mass demonstrations for fear the inauguration might be used as cover for another attack as militancy continues to plague the world's biggest Muslim majority nation.
