What is happening?
How did the Straw Hat Pirates, a fictional pirate crew from the Japanese One Piece manga series, become a symbol of resistance against Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto?
In the archipelagic country, August is synonymous with celebrations of Independence Day, ahead of which citizens try to outcompete one another as they garland their streets with red-and-white festoonings, evocative of the nation’s flag. This year, however, a different mood has surfaced. Amid the growing unease with the direction of Prabowo’s administration, many houses began to display another flag next to the national Merah Putih: a Jolly Roger with the skull wearing a trademark straw hat of Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the crew in the One Piece universe.
In response, Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad condemned the raising of the pirate flag as defacing the national symbol and called it “a coordinated attempt to divide the nation.” These tensions should be understood in the broader context of democratic backsliding in Indonesia and growing public discontent with Prabowo’s governance.
What is the broader picture?
The ongoing flag controversy is reminiscent of the #IndonesiaGelap (“Dark Indonesia”) protests, which took place across the nation in early 2025. Young people took to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction with Prabowo’s policies, especially his administration’s austerity measures and effective erosion of the civilian supremacy principle in government affairs.
The spread of the One Piece flag triggered a range of reactions from politicians and officials. The central government views it as a serious matter that might violate national regulations. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan stated that raising the One Piece flag could be seen as a “provocation” and cited a law which prohibits hoisting the national flag beneath any other symbols. He said the government would take firm legal action against anyone intentionally using the One Piece flag to provoke unrest and tarnish the state symbol.
Firman Soebagyo of the Golkar Party was even harsher, claiming that the act was part of a provocative effort to overthrow the government. “These are provocations to bring down the government — unacceptable!” he said.
Despite the symbolism behind the One Piece flag as a form of critique, the government maintains that public support remains high. According to a national survey cited by Minister Budi Gunawan in July 2025, 81.2 percent of Indonesians said they were satisfied with the performance of Prabowo.
However, this statistical support contrasts with the grassroots frustrations that underpin the One Piece flag phenomenon. While macro-level satisfaction may be high, many Indonesians still face pressing concerns — mass layoffs, a tough job market, austerity measures, and controversial legislation. These issues may explain why symbolic expressions of protest continue to surface, even amid high polling numbers. In essence, quantitative satisfaction does not eliminate qualitative discontent.
In 2023, Netflix premiered its live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga series, which quickly became one of the most popular TV series in Indonesia. As a personal insignia of Luffy, the series’ protagonist, the straw hat Jolly Roger is supposed to reflect his character, manifested in his incessant pursuit of freedom even through rebellion. Consequently, ahead of Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day, it evolved to symbolize opposition to the perceived dilapidation of democratic norms in the nation.
Why is it important?
The flag controversy lays bare a growing generational divide in how Indonesians engage with power, protest, and patriotism.
For many young people, symbols like Luffy’s straw hat represent freedom, defiance, and justice — values they feel are increasingly absent from the current political order. Additionally, it shows that dissatisfaction with the government does not always manifest as riots or marches — it can take the form of visual rebellion, inspired by anime, spread on TikTok, and displayed from balconies and trucks.
The phenomenon builds on momentum from the #IndonesiaGelap protests, where young Indonesians condemned elite impunity and shrinking civic space. Rather than dismiss this as frivolous, the state should recognize it as a creative and pointed act of civic engagement. That a fictional pirate flag has sparked national debate suggests not just dissatisfaction with Prabowo’s leadership, but also a deeper contest over what it means to be patriotic in 2025. Indonesia’s democratic future hinges, in part, on whether youth voices are heard or caricatured.