JAKARTA — The Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Zulkifli Hasan, firmly rejected the “Dark Indonesia” narrative that has recently been voiced in several protest actions.
In his speech at the Halal Bihalal event and the announcement of the new leadership structure at the PAN DPP office, Zulkifli expressed his confidence that Indonesia’s condition is not “dark.”
“Indonesia today, and tomorrow, will shine like the sun at noon,” said Zulkifli Hasan in his address.
He acknowledged that there are still some who are pessimistic about the direction of the nation. However, Zulkifli believes that the best response to such criticism is not through empty rhetoric, but through hard work and tangible evidence.
“Some may say that Indonesia is dark, but we will respond with real work, with concrete evidence. Indonesia today and tomorrow will shine like the sun,” he asserted.
In line with this, intelligence analyst Amir Hamzah also criticized the spreading of the “Dark Indonesia” narrative, which he believes did not arise organically from the public. He suspects there is a political agenda behind the theme of the protests that occurred simultaneously in various cities.
“The protests that have taken place in many cities with the same theme in a short period of time show there is a plan behind it. This is not merely a spontaneous action by the public, but there are certain actors driving it,” said Amir.
He further added that this issue was intentionally raised to damage the image of President Prabowo and open opportunities for other political figures. According to him, this framing attempts to portray Prabowo as an authoritarian leader who is anti-criticism.
“There is an effort to shape the opinion that Prabowo is an authoritarian leader who is anti-criticism. In fact, this is more about political framing played by certain parties,” he concluded.
Thus, both Zulkifli Hasan and analysts agree that the “Dark Indonesia” narrative does not reflect the reality, and the public must wisely respond to and reject it in order to maintain the nation’s positive spirit and progress.
