Written by: Averroes
(1.0) Introduction
Back in 2019, both Joko Widodo and Ma'ruf Amin were declared as victors in the Presidential elections, which they scored 11% higher (they won 55.50%) as compared to Prabowo and Sandiago Uno (44.50%). In Indonesia, unlike Malaysia is a race-based political spectrum country, their politics are revolved on who is more Islamic and less Islamic. Widodo is now in his 2nd-term as President.
There are stark differences between Widodo and Probowo. Generally, Widodo is percevied to be a jovial, fatherly-appeal and a man who has immense penchant for metal music and selfies. However, for Subianto, he is known for the opposite for his breaches on human rights.
Widodo is considered to be very secular from all the major parties and also acquainted with nationalist. However, his position is entrenched with an Islamic façade, together with Ma'ruf Amin who is a very conservative Islamic cleric. Ma'ruf is the leader of Nahdatul Ulama, a massively huge traditional Islamic organisation. Due to this, Widodo sought more Islamic support from the population and uttered Islamic vernaculars.
This is pristine contradiction toward Prabowo. If one were to discern his speeches, they had secular intonations. Barely, he would make speeches on matters of religion. He did not begin his speeches with any religious terms or praises. This is similar to his running mate, Sandiago, who is a young financier related to the urban lifestyle, living among the rich millennials. Though, Prabowo himself also made communications with Islamic organisations such as the the 212 Coalition.
Therefore, in Indonesia being the largest Muslim country on the planet, if they are able to present themselves as more Islamic or able to attract their attention, hence they would score to become the President. There is also the strong presence of polarisation among the Indonesian Islands, especially in Java that mostly supports Widodo, while Western Sumatra and Papua supporting Prabowo.
They use these Islamic rhetorics and played around religion as a toy (Islam Card) to lure more votes and support for them. This is the same phenomenon in Malaysia, where some politicians and religious figures use religion to justify their actions and to claim more support from the people.
(2.0) Constitutional Court Challenge
Prabowo planned to challenge the election results to the Constitutional Court. Only the Constitutional Court can decide over disputes related to the Presidential Elections. We will brief out the relevant laws in an order to fully grasp the situation at hand.
According to article 22E paragraph (2) of the Act of 1945, states that "An election was held to choose members of the House of Representatives, the House of Representatives Regions, the President and Vice President and Board Regional Representatives."
These elections could be run simultaneously, which did happen in 2019, as decided in the decision of the Constitutional Court No. 14/PUU-11/2013, which its purpose is to minimise state finance in the conduct of elections, high-cost politics for candidates and the for voters. It is also to prevent the abuse of power and the politicisation of bureaucracy.
Also, the Third Amendment to the 1945 Constitution inserted a new Article 24C into the 1945 Constitution providing the jurisdiction and powers of the Constitutional Court. In particular, subsection (1) provides that;
"The Constitutional Court of Indonesia possesses the authority to hear matters at the lowest and highest levels and to make final decisions on the review of legislation against the Constitution, the settlement of disputes regarding the authority of state bodies whose authority is given by the Constitution, the dissolution of political parties, and the settlement of disputes concerning the results of general elections."
However, the Constitutional Court found that, Widodo and Ma'ruf did claim the most votes and entirely refuted Prabowo and Sandiaga. Therefore, the General Election Commission (KPU) of the Republic of Indonesia declared Widodo and Ma'ruf as President and Vice-President for a period between 2019-2024. The Constitutional Court decision is considered final and shall be respected.
This decision ended mass uprisings and brutality in the streets as many accused and lamented the elections results were tainted with fraud.
(3.0) From enemies to Selfies
Months after the Constitutional Court decision, more clashes ensued after proposals for an anti-corruption law that could impede progress to crack down corruption, conspicuously the Komisi Pembanterasan Korupsi (KPK) the most reverred anti-corruption body and other legal changes that would potentially harm basic rights.
From Jokowi's view, pruning down anti-corruption agencies would allow a greater threshold for infrastructural development and huge projects. This because, every project would involve elements of corruption. This on one turn supposes the normalisation of corruption that assumes some level of corruption leaders to greater yields in economic growth.
However, situations became less tense after Subianto was appointed as the Minister of Defence. The appointment realises the importance of compromises and understanding between political foes and frictions. The main goal as President were to focus primarily on religious tolerance, social cohesion, the infrastructure, economic reforms and political stability.
Despite Prabowo's military involvements, he is still an intelligent individual who could converse multiple languages and may be of an assistance in defence diplomacy, according to Aaron Connelly, research fellow on Southeast Asian politics at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Singapore.
Though for Usman Hamid, Indonesia's Executive Dircetor for Amnesty International states that mingling with a former military leader would mean as to appease the abysmyal past that the Indonesian people had suffered from innumerable violations committed by Suharto, including torture and other ill-treatments.
Including opposition members in the government could pave way for more laws to be legislated and pass. This is true, on a theoretical observation, Canada and Malaysia is a minority government as of now. By having more opposition inclusivity, there would be more consensus and mutual understanding to push for more reforms and legal changes.
Overall, both of them are on good terms, Widodo described him as good friends on his social media posts, but we will never know what these two titans are thinking of each other and their unobtrusive plans in the political arena.
(4.0) Conclusion
To conclude, forming an alliance among rivals could be seen as a form of mature politics in reaching a shared understanding and mutual respect, however there would indeed be ulterior motives or an invisible political schism. As of now, if the intents of the two titans, Widodo and Prabowo is to bring development and changes for Indonesia, while setting aside their differences, then it is a commendable approach.
Though, significant progress on the moving of the Indonesian capital from the sinking Jakarta to Kalimantan is still underway and other issues such as the lack of transport infrastructure, low Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), terminal poverty, religious fanaticisms and other economic issues are factors that Indonesia could improve upon.
(5.0) References;
Lane, M. (2019) The 2019 Indonesian Elections: An Overview. Yusof Ishak Institute. 49, 1-9.
Siregar, F. (2015) The Political Context of Judicial Review in Indonesia. Indonesia Law Review. 208-237. Retrieved from, http://dx.doi.org/10.15742/ilrev.v5n2.140
Moh Priyo Manfaat. (2019) Simultaneously Election Impact On The Presidential System In Indonesia. Jurnal Daulat Huku, 2(3), 1-10. Retrieved from, https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/324220-simultaneously-election-impact-on-the-pr-502433a2.pdf
Taqyuddin Bakri, Mohammad Tahir, & Arum Pujiningtyas. (2021) Joko Widodo’s Speech after the Constitutional Court Decision; Representation of Ideology and Power. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science. 5(3), 1-6. Retrieved from, https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-5-issue-3/574-579.pdf
Kadir Johnson Rajagukguk, Sofjan Aripin, & Heri Wahyudi. (2021) Simultaneous General Election: It Is Fair for Democracy in Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan. 6(1), 1-9. Retrieved from, https://governmentjournal.org/index.php/jip/article/view/186/77
BBC. (October, 2019) Jokowi and Subianto: Why Indonesia's leader went from scorn to selfies. Retrieved from, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50122635
Al-Jazeera. (October, 2019) Indonesia’s Widodo appoints archrival as defence minister. Retrieved from, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/23/indonesias-widodo-appoints-archrival-as-defence-minister
Heydarian, R. (November, 2019) A revolution betrayed: The tragedy of Indonesia’s Jokowi. Retrieved from, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/11/24/a-revolution-betrayed-the-tragedy-of-indonesias-jokowi
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