Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi (left) talks with NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh (centre) and Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (right) during the state honours awarding ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Aug 14, 2024. - Antara
JAKARTA: Two months before stepping down from office, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo handed out honours in the annual awarding ceremony around the Independence Day commemoration to dozens of his cabinet ministers and other politicians; a move observers saw as rewarding them for their assistance and services for the outgoing President’s interests.
In a ceremony at the State Palace on Aug 14, Jokowi awarded a total of 64 individuals with various honours for their service to the state. This year’s awarding ceremony would be the last for the President before his tenure ends in October.
The long list of awardees included NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh, whose relationship with the President warmed after February’s presidential election. The party chairman-cum-businessman received the Medali Kepeloporan (pioneering medal).
According to the 2009 Titles, Honors and Awards Law, the medal is bestowed on an individual for distinguished services in the advancement of the economy, social or other fields and contributing significantly to the development.
The relationship between both politicians was tense during the election, as NasDem was among parties backing former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan. He ran against the eventual winner, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, with the pair seen to have received the President’s tacit support.
But Surya recently pledged his and his party’s support for the upcoming Prabowo administration.
Another name that caught the public’s attention was Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, who received the Bintang Mahaputera Pratama, one of the country’s highest civilian honours.
Budi’s award was condemned by members of the public due to his failure in preventing and mitigating the impact of the ransomware attack on the temporary national data centre, which caused disruption to public services in hundreds of central government and regional administrative institutions.
The government only restored access to the affected databases after the hacker group gave the decryption key to open the locked record.
Calling the medal for Surya a “cherry on top” for his reconciliation with Jokowi, political analyst Yoes C. Kenawas slammed the award for Budi, saying no achievement made Budi worthy of receiving the award.
“If it weren’t for the hacker’s mercy, perhaps the problem would not have been solved until today,” he said.
Most of the ministers from Jokowi’s cabinet in his first and second presidential term were also among the recipients of the awards on Aug 14.
Jokowi bestowed Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who recently resigned from Golkar Party’s chairmanship, and Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan with the Bintang Republik Indonesia Utama.
The award was the third-class of Bintang Republik Indonesia, the country’s highest civilian honour.
The top two classes of Adipurna and Adipradana are only bestowed upon the sitting president and vice president, respectively.
Various classes of Bintang Mahaputera honors were given to other cabinet ministers and politicians, including Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, then-investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia and People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo of Golkar.
Several politicians, deputy ministers and state institution heads were also awarded the Bintang Jasa, the nation’s third-highest civilian honour, including Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara, Deputy Environment and Forestry Minister Alue Dohong and Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers head Nusron Wahid.
Non-politicians in the long list of awardees include National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) ethnobotanist Yohanes Purwanto, who received the Bintang Mahaputera Nararya, as well as late Islamic cleric Ali Manshur Shiddiq and late rock musician Harry Roesli who were bestowed with the Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma.
The Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma is given to individuals with significant achievements and contributions to the cultural field.
Ali, a cleric of Indonesia’s largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, was known as the creator of Sholawat Badar, Islamic songs in praise of Prophet Muhammad.
Meanwhile, Harry, founder of Gang of Harry Roesly who died of cardiac arrest in 2004, was considered among the greatest Indonesian of all time for his contributions to Indonesian rock music.
Political analyst Ujang Komarudin from Jakarta-based Al-Azhar University saw this year’s awarding of state honours as politically motivated.
“The decisions were based on political assessments of the President’s subjective consideration. I saw that this might be part of the President’s effort to please his allies ahead of his end of term,” he said.
Last year, Jokowi also bestowed state honours on First Lady Iriana and Second Lady Wuri Estu Handayani.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the President handed out honours and awards for medical workers who lost their lives treating patients during the outbreak. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
