Control the past, then the future. Thus spoke Orwell

It has been argued that the next Indonesian president could be good for Australian interests; for national progressives, it’s doubtful.

It is not just computer applications that are being updated. Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo is playing with the future by rewriting history and throwing the past into the trash. A task made easier by voters’ ignorance.

The remake began when Jokowi appointed Prabowo Subianto, his main rival in the 2014 and 2019 elections, as defense minister. The loser was thus able to benefit from a public forum within the government.

Some saw it as a political masterstroke based on the writings of Chinese general Sun Tzu (probably 544496 BC) of keeping friends close but enemies closer.

The move left Prabowo as the only real thorn in Jokowi's side, as he had recruited smaller parties into his coalition.

Prabowo's promotion also gave the notoriously flammable political wannabe something to do. He could now talk openly about guns and bombs with men in uniform, as he had done before he was dismissed.

It was in the midst of the 1998 revolution that saw the authoritarian Suharto – also a former general – leave the presidency after 32 years of despotic rule.

The rebirth of democracy has not been a good year for Prabowo. He was stripped of his ribbons for alleged insubordination after Soeharto's replacement vice president, Bacharuddin Jusuf (BJ) Habibie, took control.

Prabowo then went into exile in Jordan after his divorce from Soeharto's daughter Siti. He returned in 2008 after the death of his former father-in-law and attempted to enter politics, failing each time to join an established party.

So he created his own and called it Gerindra (Greater Indonesia Movement). It now has 86 seats in the House of Representatives, where it is the third party and its president-elect.

The Western media calls him “extreme right,” but that's too easy. He is certainly nationalist and imbued with a certain fascism.

In February elections this year, Prabowo won a convincing victory over two opponents with 55 percent of the popular vote. (The constitution prevented Jokowi from running for a third term.)

Prabowo's supporters now erase all mention of his alleged human rights abuses which resulted in him being refused entry into the United States and Australia at the turn of the century.

The bans have been quietly lifted. Other subtle changes are underway, including the use of general, retired qualifiers to refer to Prabowo, even by the supposedly neutral academic journal. The conversation.

Wikipedia now refers to him as a “retired honorary army general.” In Indonesia's partisan media, this title has become commonplace, with no mention of past misdeeds, such as the capture of 13 student protesters by his commandos and never seen again.

Since 2007, their parents have been silently protesting every Thursday in front of the State Palace in Jakarta to ask what happened to their sons. Jokowi had promised an investigation. But that didn't happen.

Prabowo responds that he has never been charged, which is true, and that it is time to focus on the future. This is the usual response of all those who do not want their past to be probed.

Jokowi went further by restoring his successor to the rank of honorary four-star general. When he was discharged from the Army in 1998, he had three stars.

NGOs have taken legal action to overturn the sentence, but neither Prabowo nor Jokowi appeared in court.

Then the police came with their greatest honor, Bhayangkara Main Star (meritorious service star) reward to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the Indonesian National Police, going beyond their duties.

Curious Praise: A 2022 Survey watch The police are considered the least trustworthy law enforcement agency. In the last century, it was the army that ran the police. Separation is incomplete; Soldiers can often be seen alongside police officers acting as security guards at sporting events.

How can all this happen in a society where one can easily view Prabowo's biography on the Internet? This is a question that also arises in the United States, where the most convinced Republicans ignore his lies and his failures in his attempt to conquer power.

The situation is not yet so bad in Indonesia. One theory about Prabowo's support blames 32 years of bibliophobia under Suharto; rote learning in schools and widespread censorship kept voters away Critical mind and to gently accept the party's propaganda.

As Orwell wrote: He who controls the past controls the future.

It is supposed to be compulsory for 50 million students to follow 12 years of schooling, or six years of primary school and three years of middle and high school.

Public school would be free for the first two cycles, but uniforms and subtle accessories make education expensive. Many children drop out of school in their mid-adolescence to work or help their parents.

A 2018 report According to the Lowy Institute, the system was a “high-volume, low-quality enterprise that fell far short of the country's ambitions for an internationally competitive system.”

He blamed lack of money and mismanagement, but “it's all about politics and power.”

There are few signs the situation is improving, although the public may be ahead of its leaders. Compass newspaper investigation claims More than 88 percent of respondents agreed that “political education was crucial to be pursued as a democracy-enhancing section.”

By the time Prabowo, 73, is inaugurated on October 20, the world's third-largest democracy will welcome its eighth president.

By then, the embarrassing version will have been erased.