Perceptions of Inequality in Indonesia: A Matter of Partisan Politics?

Abstract

Indonesia is a highly unequal country. According to Oxfam, the richest one percent of Indonesians controls 49 percent of the country’s wealth. Such disparity is a contentious political issue in a country where corruption scandals are routine, and where a large slice of the wealthiest citizens are from the minority ethnic Chinese community. During President Jokowi’s first term in office, levels of inequality improved incrementally. Yet his political adversary and rival in the 2019 presidential elections, Prabowo Subianto, continues to resurrect rhetorical tropes about economic disparities that he has used for almost a decade, which paint Indonesia as a nation of poor, downtrodden slaves exploited by a wealthy elite. In this article, we first look at the state and trajectory of inequality in Indonesia. Next, we reflect on political narratives about economic injustice and inequality in the context of recent election campaigns, and particularly the 2019 presidential election. We then draw on recent survey about how Indonesians themselves feel about inequality, and to consider whether problems of income disparity matter to voters, and whether they matter more to particular constituencies.