Citizen Demontration Pati Regency, Central Java, which responded to the decision of the Regent of Sudewo to increase the land and building tax rate can be read from several perspectives. But there is one fundamental problem in policymaking Regent of Pati, namely the involvement of citizens in policymaking.

Meaningful public participation in decision-making is now completely lost. From the central government when making new laws to local governments when they want to increase tax collections. Leaders deliberately marginalize, even alienate, citizens during policy-making. So it is not surprising that a wave of protests appears in every reckless decision.

The protest in Pati Regency is a form of demosprudence introduced by legal thinkers from the United States, Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres, in the article "Changing the Wind: Notes Toward a Demosprudence of Law and Social Movements" (2014). Demosprudence refers to the interaction between the formation of laws or policies and social movements. The goal is to give birth to political, social, and economic changes. That way, social movements can open up space for citizens who were originally marginalized to become active subjects in policy formulation.

The protest of the residents of Pati Regency made their aspirations heard and accommodated. Regent Sudewo canceled the increase in land and building tax rates. The mass action has restored the spirit of democracy in the region.

We learn from the events in Pati Regency that democracy cannot be simplified just in procedural practices in the voting booth. People's sovereignty runs continuously after the general election. The actions of the people who protested against the policies of the Regent Sudewo show that the administration of government must contain principles by the people and for the people.

Sudewo's decision on taxes must also be seen as an arena of criticism that local government regulations and decisions are not just hierarchical power relations. Once the leader decides, the people seem to have to submit and obey. However, when there was a protest from the people, officials became resistant. The law must be able to be a tool of movement.

Amna A. Akbar et al. in the article "Movement Law" (2021) stated that movement law rests on solidarity aimed at transforming citizens' political and legal awareness. Consequently, scholars or scholars must reposition their attitudes with more humility and courage.

The law of movement requires collaboration between social movements and scholarly groups. The law movement not only campaigns for the importance of legal reform, but also works to understand strategies, tactics, resistance experiments, and contestation. The movement model in Pati Regency can strengthen the sovereignty of the people which rests on the grassroots.

Lessons from Starch

The decision to increase taxes in Pati Regency provides an important lesson about governance involving citizen participation. The government may want to get wider benefits in the implementation of local government with the tax increase. But the people objected.

The art of organizing government is to find a balance between the interests of the government and the good of citizens. At this point, the public must be involved in the formulation of every public policy. Public participation can be a devil advocate for the government as a discussion partner.

Public aspirations that contain criticism of government policies must be placed as part of the dialectical space between the state and its citizens. Criticism should not be seen as a negative sentiment so that officials give unbiased feedback to the public.

The administration of government in the era of social media requires every official to be more self-aware in conveying narratives in the public space. If the narrative is made carelessly, let alone contrary to the general view, the risk can trigger a political crisis like in Pati Regency.

Political support during the general election did not stagnate. It runs dynamically depending on the leader's performance. Public officials must have empathy for the situation in the community. The demonstration in Pati Regency is a valuable lesson that the formation of laws or policies must involve the people.

Ferdian Andi, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy and Legal Studies (Puskapkum), Doctoral Program Student of the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

This article has been published on TEMPO Disway with the title "Demosprudensi dalam Unjuk Rasa di Pati", Wednesday, August 20, 2025.