{"id":29043,"date":"2025-02-28T15:27:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T06:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/?p=29043"},"modified":"2025-02-28T15:27:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T06:27:02","slug":"psims-liga-2-victory-is-a-victory-for-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/2025\/02\/28\/psims-liga-2-victory-is-a-victory-for-the-people\/","title":{"rendered":"PSIM’s Liga 2 Victory is A Victory for the People"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mau bikin SIM, bayar polisi. Ketilang di jalan, bayar polisi. Touring motor gede, bayar polisi. Angkot mau ngetem, bayar polisi.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That was an excerpt from Bayar Bayar Bayar<\/em>, a song by the Indonesian indie punk band Sukatani. The track criticizes the Indonesian National Police for their tendency to extort money from the public in any dealings with them\u2014hence the title, which translates to Pay Pay Pay.<\/em><\/p>\n

Released in 2023, the song resonated with the Indonesian public, who had grown frustrated with the police force\u2019s tendency to ignore urgent cases unless they went viral or involved financial compensation. It served as a sharp critique, reminding officers of their duty to serve the public rather than their own interests.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, the song remained under the radar until 2025. However, following protests by Indonesian progressives over the government’s poor performance during President Prabowo Subianto’s first 100 days in office, Sukatani’s members faced police intimidation over the track. As a result, they were forced to issue a public apology and remove the song from all streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

This sparked support for Sukatani from Indonesian progressives and grassroots activists, who began chanting Bayar Bayar Bayar<\/em> during protests against the government. The song\u2019s resurgence further heightened tensions between the police and the public.<\/p>\n

These tensions set the stage for the 2024\/25 Liga 2 Indonesia final on Wednesday, where Bhayangkara Presisi Indonesia FC\u2014a police-backed team already controversial within Indonesian football\u2014faced off against PSIM Yogyakarta, a fan-favorite club and one of the seven founding members of the Football Federation of Indonesia (PSSI).<\/p>\n

PSIM supporters had already taken aim at Bhayangkara in the buildup to the final, with a Laskar Mataram<\/em> fan group vowing to chant Bayar Bayar Bayar<\/em> in support of their team during the match.<\/p>\n

The final had it all\u2014Rafinha\u2019s stunning free-kick in the 9th minute to open the scoring, a 1.5-hour delay caused by torrential rain and poor drainage at Manahan Stadium, and Felipe Ryan\u2019s powerful header in the 71st minute that leveled the match and forced extra time. Tensions escalated as Bhayangkara players resorted to dirty tactics in a desperate bid to salvage their fading reputation as one of Indonesia\u2019s footballing powerhouses. But in the 95th minute, Roken Tampubolon\u2019s exquisite chip sealed the Liga 2 title for PSIM, capping off a dramatic night.<\/p>\n

PSIM\u2019s Liga 2 triumph sparked jubilant celebrations, not only among Laskar Mataram<\/em> supporters but also across Indonesia\u2019s football community. Even fierce rivals Persis Solo and PSS Sleman\u2014once bitter enemies of PSIM but now united under the Mataram is Love<\/em> banner after the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy\u2014offered heartfelt congratulations. PSS fans took it a step further, joining the festivities in Yogyakarta, their iconic green-white-black colors blending with PSIM\u2019s blue and white in a rare display of unity.<\/p>\n

Fans of Persija Jakarta, Arema FC, Persib Bandung, and Persebaya Surabaya took to social media to congratulate PSIM, all eagerly anticipating an eventful away day trip to Yogyakarta next season. Even fans of Persiba Bantul, a local rival currently struggling in the lower leagues, joined in the celebrations.<\/p>\n

This united celebration of PSIM\u2019s triumph not only marked the end of Laskar Mataram<\/em>\u2019s 18-year exile from Indonesia\u2019s top flight and their 20-year title drought but also symbolized a victory for the people over the authorities.<\/p>\n

Indonesian football fans may have their rivalries, enemies, and differences, but their shared disdain for Bhayangkara\u2014seen as a soulless embodiment of an oppressive institution within the footballing pyramid\u2014was one of the few things they all agreed on.<\/p>\n

From their controversial 2017 Liga 1 title win\u2014secured after a disputed decision awarded them victory against Mitra Kukar\u2014to their habit of poaching key players from other clubs under the guise of \u201ca duty to serve the country,\u201d Indonesian football fans have plenty of reasons to despise the Guardians.<\/p>\n

Bhayangkara\u2019s relegation in the 2023\/24 season was met with widespread jubilation. Though their return to the top flight was met with dismay, PSIM\u2019s triumph provided a sense of satisfaction, as fans relished the victory over their most despised club.<\/p>\n

Sure, the Guardians won\u2019t be dropping back to the second tier anytime soon\u2014Bhayangkara\u2019s resources make them far too strong for Liga 2<\/a>. However, PSIM\u2019s title-clinching victory was seen as a win for the people, a symbolic triumph amid ongoing tensions between the public and the police.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mau bikin SIM, bayar polisi. Ketilang di jalan, bayar polisi. Touring motor gede, bayar polisi. Angkot mau ngetem, bayar polisi. That was an excerpt from Bayar Bayar Bayar, a song by the Indonesian indie punk band Sukatani. The track criticizes the Indonesian National Police for their tendency to extort money from the public in any dealings with them\u2014hence the title, which translates to Pay Pay Pay. Released in 2023, the song resonated with the Indonesian public, who had grown frustrated with the police force\u2019s tendency to ignore urgent cases unless they went viral or involved financial compensation. It served as a sharp critique, reminding officers of their duty to serve … Continue reading “PSIM’s Liga 2 Victory is A Victory for the People”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":25841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,26],"tags":[951,91,2431,1008,1431,1430,95,315],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29044,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29043\/revisions\/29044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}