Both the international community and Indonesian citizens are eager to see what Indonesia's newly-inaugurated president, Prabowo Subianto, will bring as he takes office. While the former general likes to present himself as a grandfatherly figure, he has a questionable human rights record dating back to his time as a general under the authoritarian President Suharto.
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00:00From Singapore and South Korea, from China, Australia, and the UK, diplomats have descended
00:05on Jakarta to congratulate and get straight to business with Indonesia's new president
00:10on day one of his term.
00:12Since his landslide election in February, there have been questions about what an Indonesia
00:16under ex-general Prabowo Subianto will look like.
00:18Though he's pitched himself towards young people as a grandfatherly figure, he's never
00:22escaped accusations of human rights abuses while in the military.
00:26These include ordering the abduction of democracy activists in the late 1990s, the final years
00:31under former President Suharto, a strongman widely regarded as a dictator.
00:35The accusations were bad enough to get him discharged from service and denied U.S. and
00:39Australian visas.
00:41Analysts say at least part of the population is still unsure about him, despite his popularity
00:45and public support for democracy.
00:48People have a lot of doubts about Prabowo, because he was raised by Mr. Harto.
00:52He's known as a person who has problems with human rights, doesn't support democracy,
01:00and so on.
01:01That's probably the question.
01:03All this time, Mr. Prabowo has been opposed, not directly.
01:06For example, when asked by, if I'm not mistaken, one of the foreign reporters, you're considered
01:12anti-democracy.
01:15Mr. Prabowo said, I was elected democratically.
01:19Since when has Indonesia been democratic?
01:23But we don't know.
01:25That's probably the issue.
01:27But the international community is also looking to see what Prabowo will bring to the country.
01:31The diplomatic blitz that's come right after his inauguration Sunday is in line with his
01:35vision of an Indonesia with a bigger global presence, the world's fourth most populous
01:39nation come into its own.
01:41But in his inaugural address, he also repeated a pledge to keep Indonesia non-aligned.
02:03It's what he calls a good neighbor policy, seeking investment from both the Western camp
02:08on one hand, and China and Russia on the other.
02:11But some analysts see challenges ahead, as close economic ties with China and growing
02:15security ties with the U.S. and Australia create tension.
02:19On the streets of Jakarta, ordinary Indonesians, especially young people, are also thinking
02:23about what lies ahead for their country.
02:25Their feelings range from hope to uncertainty.
02:38I'm a journalist.
02:40I hope Prabowo will be more open to the media.
02:43I can't define whether I'm happy or not.
02:46I'm more concerned about whether they can realize their hopes and promises.
02:50Because the fear of the future, right?
02:52What about jobs?
02:54What about Indonesia's economy?
02:56That's what they need to solve, right?
02:58My hope is that they will be able to realize that.
03:01Because if not, we will lose our country.
03:04After eight months of waiting, the Prabowo era is here.
03:07And from day one, the global community and everyday Indonesians are watching carefully
03:11to see what it may bring.
03:13Klein Wong and Jon Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.