Makassar – Makassar State University (UNM) students held an action by raising the One Piece flag ahead of Indonesia's 80th Independence Day.
"This flag is a criticism of the government today, that there are still many problems that have not been resolved", said UNM Student President Samry during a demonstration to reject the Draft Criminal Procedural Code (RKUHAP) at the AP Pettarani Fly Over in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday August 5.
Samry said the current state of Indonesian society was not okay at all. So the public has responded by raising the Jolly Roger flag.
"This flag is a response to seeing Indonesia becoming increasingly dark and anxious. We are submitting a criticism of the government", he said.
According to Samry, the government should be more open to public criticism regarding the nation's condition, especially current economic problems.
"The government should not be repressive towards civil society members who express their aspirations. Moreover, if we look at the law regarding national symbols, it does not regulate and there are no violations of the law regarding the flying of a flag, unless the flag is higher than the Indonesian flag", he explained.
People hunting One Piece flags
A number of flag traders said that ahead of the 80th Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17, many Makassar people are preferring to look for One Piece flags rather than the red and white flag.
One of the flag traders, Rosdiana, was surprised when a number of people came looking for a pirate flag depicting a skull wearing a straw hat from the anime series One Piece.
"Just this morning, there were two people looking for a One Piece flag early in the morning, one young, the one other a bit older. They didn't end up buying a red and white flag and left straight away", said Rosdiana.
According to Rosdiana, sales of the red and white flag this year have been relatively low compared to previous years.
"It's been very quiet this year compared to previous years. This is my seventh year selling. I've only sold a little over a dozen, whereas usually I'd sell up to five dozen at a time like this", he said.
Meanwhile, another trader who did not want to be named said that many buyers only asked for the One Piece anime pirate flag. "At first I didn't know about the One Piece flag, but now many people are looking for it", he said.
Separately, Makassar Metropolitan District Police Chief (Kapolrestabes) Senior Commissioner Arya Perdana said that the police had conducted patrols while educating the public to continue flying the red and white flag.
"We will educate the public to prioritise flying the red and white flag", Perdana told CNN Indonesia.
"Even if you really want to fly a flag other than the red and white, it's best not to fly it alongside the red and white flag out of respect for our national flag", he concluded. (mir/dal)
Notes
A recent trend on social media ahead of Indonesia's 80th Independence Day has been the displaying flags from the Japanese anime One Piece on houses and vehicles, which many have interpreted as an expression of public discontent with the Prabowo Subianto government. One Piece tells the story of a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who is determined to become the Pirate King. Based on a comic book published since 1997, for its fans some of the stories represent resistance against injustice in which the protagonists confront corrupt governments, sadistic military forces, human rights violations, genocide, racial discrimination and attempts to manipulate history.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Gelar Aksi Protes, Warga Makassar Buru Bendera One Piece".]
