From Anime to Anger: Why Indonesians Raised Pirate Flag on Independence Day?

Indonesia is celebrating 80 years of independence from Dutch colonial rule, but the mood is not entirely festive. A wave of protests has emerged in an unusual way, through a cartoon pirate flag.

The flag, which shows a skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat, is linked to the famous Japanese anime One Piece. It has appeared on houses, cars, motorcycles, trucks, and boats across the country. In some places, it is even flown below Indonesia’s national red-and-white flag, which is widely displayed in August ahead of Independence Day.

What is the Pirate Flag?

In the anime, the flag belongs to Monkey D. Luffy, a character who dreams of becoming the pirate king. It is seen as a symbol of hope, freedom, and resistance to authority. In Indonesia, people are using it to show frustration with the government.

“Rising prices, job difficulties, and government incompetence have pushed people to express themselves through satire and sarcasm,” Radityo Dharmaputra, a lecturer at Airlangga University, told Al Jazeera. The pirate flag, he said, reflects “growing dissatisfaction in society, even with all the progress the government claims.”

President Prabowo Subianto took office in October, promising fast economic growth and social change. But challenges remain in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Youth unemployment is among the highest in the region, about 16 percent of 44 million Indonesians aged 15 to 24 are jobless. Meanwhile, foreign investors are pulling money out, and the government is cutting spending.

Majority of Indonesians Unhappy With Current State of Economy

A January survey by Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute found that only 58 percent of young Indonesians were optimistic about the economy, compared with 75 percent on average in nearby countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

The pirate flag protest is not the first sign of public anger. Earlier this year, the “Indonesia Gelap” or “Dark Indonesia” movement took off online. Citizens used the hashtag #IndonesiaGelap to complain about budget cuts and a proposal to give the military more power in government. That digital protest soon spread to the streets, with students leading demonstrations in several cities.

For many Indonesians, the straw-hatted skull flag is more than a pop culture symbol, it has become a banner of protest against rising economic struggles and a government they see as failing to deliver on its promises.

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