Indonesia Proposes International Protection Mechanism for Creative Works
Indonesia has proposed an international mechanism to govern intellectual property (IP) rights between creators around the world with platforms distributing their works to push for transparency on royalties. The mechanism, called “Jakarta Protocol”, is expected to “create an international regime that creates a copyright ecosystem based on transparency, according to Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas. “[The initiative’s] main goal is to balance the rights of creators with global platforms that represent global consumers using their works,” the minister said on Monday, as quoted in a statement issued by the Law Ministry. On Monday, Supratman met with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) general director Daren Tang as part of the latter’s three-day visit to Jakarta. WIPO is a United Nations agency established in 1967 to promote IP protection worldwide. Tang welcomed the Jakarta Protocol proposal, suggesting that Supratman raise the idea at the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) forum in Geneva, Switzerland in December. The committee examines and provides recommendations on international legal copyright frameworks. “Indonesia has a great potential to be a powerhouse of creativity and innovation,” Tang said.(Jakarta Post)
PDI-P Abandons Its Opposition Role After Pardon
President Prabowo pardoned two popular figures who had been convicted of bribery. In a move that surprised many in Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto has decided to give legal clemency to both the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Hasto Kristiyanto, and former trade minister Thomas ‘Tom’ Trikasih Lembong for their respective graft convictions. Hasto, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on July 25 following a lengthy legal process that began in December 2024, was originally found guilty of aiding fellow PDI-P politician Harun Masiku in bribing a General Elections Commission (KPU) official in 2019 to secure a vacancy at the House of Representatives (DPR). Meanwhile Tom, who was given a four and a half year prison sentence for orchestrating a corrupt sugar import scheme a decade ago, will have his legal conviction ‘abolished’. This decision will essentially erase Tom’s legal process altogether. He is not just forgiven for his crime, abolition means the crime will be wiped away as if it never existed in the first place. As noted by the Jakarta Post, “the semantic difference between amnesty and abolition might seem futile, but the political implications of the President’s pardons are certainly noteworthy.
Both decisions come at a time of heightened political tension regarding former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s enduring influence in Prabowo’s administration. One striking similarity between Hasto and Tom is their shared history as critics of the ex-president. Tom stood behind Anies Baswedan, another Jokowi critic, as the former Jakarta governor’s campaign manager in the 2024 presidential election. Meanwhile, Hasto, as the PDI-P’s second-in-command, famously expelled Jokowi from the party after his rumored behind-the-scenes maneuvering that enabled his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to run in last year’s polls as Prabowo’s vice presidential pick.
The moves add to a perception that former President Jokowi is steadily losing influence, despite his widespread support among Indonesians.
In an act of political reconciliation, Prabowo’s acquittals, especially Hasto’s, extend beyond goodwill and appear rather as a compromise to mend relations between his administration and the PDI-P, the sole opposition party in his government. After the pardons were announced, PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri was seen posted up with two of Prabowo’s closest aides in Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi in Bali, where the party is currently holding a ‘technical guidance’ workshop for thousands of its members, which was later converted into a national congress to re-elect Megawati as PDI chairwoman until 2030.
During the workshop, Megawati also formally announced the party’s motive to abandon its opposition status, amid longstanding speculation on the future of the party, and ordered all members to support the current administration. “Ibu [Megawati] emphasized that we [now] support the government,” said senior PDI-P politician Deddy Yevri Sitorus. In keeping in with the balancing theme discussed in this month’s commentary, Mega told party supporters that PDI-P would “stay neutral”. “We are an ideological party that stands on the side of truth, aligns with the people and firmly acts as a balancing force to ensure national development stays on the path of the Constitution and serves the interests of the people,” she said. (sources: various media including the Jakarta Post and Reformasi Indonesia)