Indonesia Intelligencer's 2020 Year in Review
From pandemics to floods to deep-fried arowana fish, 2020 was never boring in Indonesia.
Hello Coconauts!
With the holiday season in full swing (against our better judgments) in Indonesia, it is now time to look back at the strange yet historic year that was 2020. Of course, COVID-19 overwhelmingly dominated the news cycle across the archipelago, and the pandemic had massive impacts on the economy and on politics.
This free and public 2020 Year in Review is the last edition of Indonesia Intelligencer for 2020. We’ll return to our regular schedule of weekly newsletters sent to paid subscribers every Friday beginning Jan. 8, 2021. Stay safe, and we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Before we dive in, take note that we are offering a special 60-day free trial to Indonesia Intelligencer to all who sign up by Dec. 25.
COVID-19
The timeline
In early 2020, the Indonesian government actively played down concerns that a novel coronavirus from Wuhan would spread to the archipelago. Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto infamously claimed that Indonesia was protected from the virus thanks to the power of prayer.
The first Indonesian case was actually recorded abroad, when a domestic worker in Singapore tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 5. Among other high profile first cases at the time include the nine crew members on the Diamond Princess, which had docked in Japan following a localized outbreak onboard.
The first two confirmed local cases were recorded on March 2. President Joko Widodo himself then announced that two women from Depok, West Java had tested positive for the viral disease after they met with an infected Japanese national in Jakarta some days prior.
Based on official records, the first person to die from COVID-19 on Indonesian soil was a middle-aged British woman, who died during her visit to Bali. She was identified as Case 25 in Indonesia.
Indonesia’s caseload rose steadily during the first couple of months of the pandemic. By June, Indonesia regularly recorded over 1,000 new cases daily. By September, daily counts of over 3,000 and 4,000 cases were the norm.
There was a dip in cases in the first couple of days of November, but that was later attributed to poor data keeping during a long weekend at the end of October. Indonesia’s caseload continues to climb since, with the highest daily count thus far of 8,369 recorded on Dec. 3. Indonesia has yet to clear the first wave hurdle nine months since the outbreak officially began.
As of Dec. 22, Indonesia has recorded 678,125 cases, including 552,722 recoveries and 20.257 deaths. Jakarta has been the worst hit province thus far with 164,577 cases, followed by East Java with 76,111 cases, West Java with 74,664 cases, and Central Java with 72,528 cases.
Pandemic handling
Savee for a restriction on flights from China imposed in February, the government was hardly proactive in its handling of the pandemic. It wasn’t until March 31 that President Joko Widodo declared the outbreak a public health emergency and instructed regional governments to impose the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) policy tailored to each locale, which ended up amounting to partial lockdowns, at best.
Amid disagreements between the central government and the Jakarta provincial government, PSBB was finally imposed in the capital on April 10. The most notable restrictions outlined in the PSBB include a work from home mandate for non-essential sectors, the shift to online schooling, and a ban on crowds. Other densely populated cities and provinces followed suit in the coming days and weeks.
After bi-weekly extensions of PSBB, Jakarta became the only province to transition into a “new normal” by relaxing restrictions in June as cases in the capital began to flatten. The policy turned out to be a misstep as Jakarta returned to strict PSBB on Sept. 14 amid an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases.
While regional governments were tasked with limiting social interactions, the central government prepared an IDR695.2 trillion (US$49.1 billion) stimulus package as the pandemic battered the country’s economy. As of Dec. 14, the government had disbursed 70 percent of the package.
Unable to suppress the country’s caseload, the government’s main focus turned to vaccine procurement. It most notably allowed Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac to carry out advanced clinical trials of a promising vaccine candidate on 1,600 participants in Bandung, West Java starting in August. The trial, and, by extension, the vaccine’s regulatory approval, may go on until May or June 2021, much later than the government’s January target.
Despite the absence of a regulatory approval, Indonesia received a shipment of 1.2 million doses of Sinovac’s vaccine on Dec. 6, with 1.8 million more to follow in January along with the raw materials for Indonesia to independently produce 45 million doses.
On Dec. 16, President Joko Widodo announced that Indonesians will not have to pay a single rupiah to get the COVID-19 vaccine once it’s available. The president will also be the first person in the country to get the jab in order to dispel doubts surrounding the program.
Aside from Sinovac, the government has approved the future use of five other vaccines, namely those produced by Bio Farma, Astra Zeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, and Pfizer.
Business and the economy
Recession
Pandemic-ravaged Indonesia plunged into inevitable recession after the country recorded negative growths for two successive quarters. Indonesia’s GDP growth slowed down sharply to 2.97 percent in Q1 2020 before contracting by 5.32 percent in Q2 and by 3.49 percent in Q3 2020. Having recorded negative growths for two consecutive quarters, Indonesia officially entered recession for the first time since the 1998 economic crisis.
Economists are predicting Indonesia to leave recession behind in 2021, spurred by household spending and potential good news regarding COVID-19 vaccination. However, unemployment and poverty may rise in 2021 as economic activity is expected to remain sluggish. Indonesia’s unemployment rate rose to 7.07 percent in August — the highest level since 2011 — and its poverty rate rose to 9.78 percent in March, up from 9.22 percent in September 2020.
Bank Indonesia (BI) has pledged to extend monetary stimulus into 2021, agreeing to President Joko Widodo’s request that the central bank play a greater role in boosting economic recovery. BI says it expects Indonesia’s economic growth to rebound to a range of 4.8 percent to 5.8 percent in 2021, compared with a contraction of 1 percent to 2 percent in this pandemic-ravaged year.
Tourism
Tourism-dependent Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) were the two provinces that suffered the deepest GDP contractions during the pandemic, official data up to Q3 2020 showed. Bali’s economy shrank 12.28 percent on year-on-year in Q3 after it contracted by 10.98 percent in the second quarter.
On the whole, 13 million jobs were lost in the tourism sector as of August. Bali’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.63 percent after more than 105,000 tourism workers lost their jobs.
The central government has been stuck between a rock and a hard place in its attempt to restart domestic tourism to boost the economy. In general, government policies were made with public health in mind, such as shortening the year-end holiday, but responsible traveling has been encouraged. That said, last-minute policy changes have been costly to the sector, such as the mass refunds after the government imposed new testing requirements for the year-end holiday.
Jobs creation law
The government and House of Parliament (DPR) rushed through an omnibus bill on job creation in October that is expected to boost the economy by cutting red tape, attract investment, and create new jobs. However, it has been roundly condemned for its potential to heavily infringe on labor rights and harm the environment.
Key revisions were made to laws relating to business. The ‘negative investment list,’ a list of industries banned from receiving private investment, dropped from around 300 sectors to just six. Small and medium enterprises are longer forced to meet minimum wage requirements, while severance pay and other packages have been reformed dramatically. Corporate taxes will be slowly dropped to 20 percent and the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund will begin in 2021.
Protests led by workers erupted across the country for several weeks prior to and after the bill’s passage. Some protests, like in Jakarta, turned violent, leading to damage to public property and hundreds of arrests.
Startups on the up
Indonesia’s largest startups continue to have growth in their sights despite the pandemic. Tokopedia, the country’s largest e-commerce platform, has set sights on going public or a merger with a blank check company. The startup, which is valued at US$8-10 billion, has hired Morgan Stanley and Citigroup as advisers to accelerate its public listing plan.
Superapp Gojek has been strongly rumored for a merger with rival Singapore-based superapp Grab. Details about the possible merger have been kept under wraps but rideshare drivers of both companies have expressed concerns that the union would entail job losses.
Politics
House of Jokowi
Against public health concerns, nine provinces, 37 cities, and 224 regencies went to the polls on Dec. 9 for the annual simultaneous regional elections (Pilkada) in Indonesia. The elections were initially scheduled to take place in September.
President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, crushed his competitor in the race for mayor in Solo, Central Java, amassing 86.5 percent of the votes. Jokowi notably led the city before making the step up as Jakarta governor and eventually to the presidency.
Jokowi’s son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, also won with 53.5 percent of the votes in the North Sumatra capital of Medan. Despite their insistence otherwise, Bobby and Gibran’s victories have signaled the birth of a new political dynasty in Indonesia. Neither had any political experience prior to the elections.
Other high-profile victories include Danny Pomanto in Makassar, Benyamin Davnie in South Tangerang, and Eri Cahyadi in Surabaya.
Corrupt cabinet
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had a strong end to the year, nabbing Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo in October and Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara in November.
Edhy was arrested in connection to a bribery scandal involving lobster larvae export. Exporters allegedly paid IDR9.8 billion (US$696,886) in bribes to ministry officials in the scandal, at least IDR3.4 billion (US$241,777) of which went to Edhy. Shortly after his appointment last year, the minister infamously rolled back a ban on export of the commodity instituted by his predecessor, Susi Pudjiastuti.
Juliari has been accused of skimming IDR10,000 (US$0.71) from every COVID-19 aid package, containing basic foods, from a private company that has won a contract for their distribution to those affected by the pandemic. Juliari may face life imprisonment if convicted, but there have been calls to enact a law punishing those who steal from disaster aid with the death penalty.
Edhy and Juliari were the third and fourth cabinet ministers, respectively, under President Joko Widodo to be arrested for corruption. From Jokowi’s previous term, KPK nabbed former Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi and former Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham.
Year-end reshuffle
Following the corruption busts and public displeasure over the government’s handling of the pandemic, particularly directed towards Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, President Joko Widodo on Dec. 22 announced a cabinet reshuffle replacing six ministers.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who headed the National Economic Recovery Task Force established during the pandemic, is now Indonesia’s Health Minister. Budi, who is not a doctor, has been tapped for his managerial experience, having also previously served as CEO of state-owned Bank Mandiri. His deputy, Dante Saksono Harbuwono, is a molecular biologist.
Tri Rismaharini, the popular mayor of Surabaya, has been chosen as the new social affairs minister, while Deputy Minister of Defense Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has been appointed as Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Sandiaga Uno, who ran with Prabowo Subianto against President Joko Widodo in 2019, is now the tourism and creative economy minister. Prabowo was appointed defense minister in 2019.
Political Islam waning?
Politically influential Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab returned to Indonesia in October after spending more than three years in self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia escaping charges related to pornography. He was greeted at the airport by thousands of his followers before mass gatherings were held in his honor in subsequent days, flexing the strength of conservative Islam in Indonesian politics.
But with his key political allies no longer by his side (most notably former presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto), authorities pushed back to contain Rizieq’s expected rise to even greater power by charging him with incitement to commit crime over the mass gatherings, for which he may face up to six years in prison.
Rising tension between law enforcement and hardline Islam boiled over into a deadly shootout in Jakarta in December, during which police say six FPI members were killed by cops in self-defense, even if evidence backing their claim is shoddy at best. FPI denied that they attacked first, claiming that their members are not armed and that the six victims were abducted and murdered by the police.
Other major news
NYE flood
2020 kicked off in the most auspicious of ways when the Greater Jakarta Area, as well as parts of Banten and West Java, were flooded on New Year’s Eve after the region saw the most intense rainfall since 2007. According to official data, 67 people were killed by floods and landslides while tens of thousands were evacuated from their homes.
West Papua seceding?
West Papua’s independence movement leaders on Dec. 1 declared a provisional government, with United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) leader Benny Wenda — who is living in exile in the UK — elected as interim president.
The declaration, made on the anniversary of West Papua’s independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961, came after the UN said it was “disturbed by escalating violence” in the past months in the province, including the killing of a child allegedly by security forces.
Indonesian authorities have accused Wenda and the movement of treason. Wenda has said that he is prepared to speak with President Joko Widodo about West Papua’s independence, but further talks have yet to be scheduled.
West Papua was militarily annexed by Indonesia in 1962 . It was formally incorporated into the republic following a UN-backed referendum in 1969, which has been widely condemned as fraudulent with Papuans coerced into voting in favor of Indonesian rule.
“The most prolific rapist”
British authorities sentenced Indonesian national Reynhard Sinaga, 37, to life in prison after he was found guilty of 159 sexual offenses against 48 men, though police believe that he committed offenses against 206 men, 60 of whom remain unidentified.
Reynhard, who has been dubbed the UK’s most prolific rapist, moved to Manchester in 2007 to study. He preyed on lone, drunk young men around nightclubs before drugging them and filming his assaults.
On Dec. 11, the Court of Appeal raised Reynhard’s minimum prison term from 30 years to 40 years, with his initial sentence believed to be “unduly lenient.”
New capital city on hold
Construction of Indonesia’s new capital city in East Kalimantan was officially suspended in September as the country shifted its priorities to mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Indonesia announced capital city relocation plans in 2019 with the goal of moving to the new location by 2024. The government has yet to announce a new date for the move.
Top Coconuts Jakarta stories of 2020
Indonesian man grieves as father fries expensive arowana pet fish for lunch
Indonesians quarantined in haunted house beg for release due to ‘nightmares’ despite lack of ghost
Top Coconuts Bali stories of 2020
‘You have no law’: foreigner chained after insisting he isn’t breaking rule for jogging during Nyepi
Hotels in Bali may start reopening in May as island expects to welcome Chinese tourists in June
Police searching for foreigner after video of his freestyle motorcycle stunt in Seminyak went viral
Colombian national found dead after going missing in Kuta Beach