After having attracting the ire of government officials, lawmakers and analysts, Golkar Party’s proposal to allocate Rp 15 billion ($1.6 million) to each legislator to fund development projects in their constituencies has now stirred up a wave of Web-based criticism.
Micro-blogging site Twitter is now abuzz with tweets on the controversial pork barrel proposal, spawning the popular hash tag #tolakdanaaspirasi.
As of Tuesday evening, the topic had drawn more than a thousand tweets, while the keywords “dana aspirasi” (aspiration fund, what Golkar calls its plan) showing 820 hits.
Denouncements of the plan have not just come from regular netizens, but also from prominent public figures.
“If the pork barrel is approved, I’m sure Indonesia will be poorer. Hey Bakrie, deal with the Lapindo mudflow,” wrote shannifernanda, referring to Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie and Lapindo, one of his family’s companies, which is widely blamed for a devastating mudflow in East Java.
Acclaimed filmmaker Joko Anwar has also weighed in. On Sunday, he urged his more than 50,000 followers on Twitter to take up the cause against the proposed fund.
“Brothers and sister, I need your help. Let’s make #tolakdanaaspirasi a trending topic, so that the taxes we pay aren’t embezzled,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, several Facebook groups criticizing the plan have cropped up.
The fastest-growing one is Tolak Dana Aspirasi DPR (Reject the House’s Pork Barrel Plan), which has the tag line “We have to act and prevent the manipulation from happening.” As of Tuesday evening it had 272 fans and counting.
The group has posted links to articles and blogs all objecting to the proposal.
Outspoken political pundit Wimar Witoelar said the barrage of criticism on social media sites suggested there were “more people opposed to the pork-barrel plan than in support of it.”
Wimar, who has 50,000 followers on Twitter, said “people on Twitter still have common sense and logic.
“An idea like the pork-barrel fund could only appeal to those who have been tainted by money politics,” he added, lambasting Golkar for trying to muscle the plan through the House. “It’s a ridiculous idea. But the people on Twitter are still in their right minds, unlike those lawmakers.”
Wimar also lauded the use of the micro-blogging site to quickly and effectively weigh in on the pressing topics of the day.
Charta Politika analyst Yunarto Wijaya said the social resistance mounted through these sites could serve as a grass-roots movement to influence government policy- and decision-making.
“The opposition to the pork barrel highlights the revival of civil society involvement in politics,” he said.
The wider movement was spearheaded by people like Islamic scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla and economist Poltak Holtadero, who both boast large numbers of followers, Yunarto said.
“These leaders are able to mobilize society, prodding the people into thinking clearly,” he said.
Yunarto said discussions of current issues on social media could also serve an educational function, by informing those who knew little about the issues and granting them an understanding beyond what politicians could offer, which was usually “disguised in formality and legality.”
Social media now played a supervisory role over the country’s politics, he said.
“It serves as a pillar of democracy when the three branches of government fail to function,” he said.
