JakartaPost-Apr 30, 2025
Six months after stepping down from the nation’s top post, former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been the target of a barrage of lawsuits, which analysts say underscores the accumulated disapproval over his presidency. The hearings on two civil lawsuits, the first alleges that Jokowi used fake diplomas to qualify for public office the second alleges that he defaulted on his promise regarding the production target for the locally made car brand Esemka began last week at the Surakarta District Court in Central Java, Jokowi’s hometown, without his presence. Jokowi at the time of the first hearings was departing for the Vatican to attend the funeral of Pope Francis on behalf of President Prabowo Subianto. The former president was represented by his lawyers in the two lawsuits that were filed separately earlier this month. The first case is brought by legal practitioner Muhammad Taufiq, who contests the legitimacy of his high school and university diplomas and, by extension, the legitimacy of his administration as then-mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, from 2005 to 2012. The lawsuit regarding Esemka was filed by 19-year-old Surakarta resident Aufaa Luqmana, who alleged that Jokowi misled the public about the Esemka, a car project which he once championed and said would be mass-produced and widely available for purchase. After ten years in power, during which he remained untouchable, political analysts say that now, without the shield of presidential power, Jokowi has found himself confronting more open hostility from multiple fronts. Analyst Dedi Kurnia Syah of the think tank Indonesia Political Opinion said the surge of legal action against Jokowi stems not only from his diminished authority after leaving office but also from accumulated disappointment over his ten-year rule. Dedi, however, noted that not all lawsuits are entirely aimed at seeking accountability, noting that allegations concerning fake diplomas and the Esemka car project may be aimed at diverting attention from more serious allegations involving Jokowi and his family. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2025/04/30/jokowi-faces-storm-of-lawsuits-six-months-after-stepping-down.html.
