The thumping win by Anies Baswedan in the bitterly fought election for Jakarta governor signals twin threats to Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo - from rising Islamism and the renewed clout of Indonesia’s old political and business elites.
Baswedan thanked supporters after taking a decisive lead in the unofficial count on Tuesday afternoon, but not before his political patron, Prabowo Subianto, claimed victory first - thanking the scions of Indonesia’s establishment by his side.
"Our focus is social justice, ending inequality and our commitment is to safeguard diversity and unity,” Baswedan said.
The conciliatory tone contrasted with the fractious nature of a campaign that challenged Indonesia’s religious and ethnically tolerant traditions, and comments made by Baswedan on the eve of the election.
Baswedan compared the poll to the Battle of Badr, a pivotal fight in the early days of Islam that consolidated the Prophet Muhammad’s power, a win ascribed to divine intervention.
FRINGE BECOMES A FORCE
The Jakarta election was marked by the blasphemy trial of Baswedan's rival, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who allegedly mocked a verse in the Koran used by his opponents to claim Muslims could not vote for anyone with different religious beliefs.
Purnama is a Christian and ethnic Chinese in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.
Huge, well-funded anti-Purnama protests in November and December sunk his high approval ratings. They were organised by hitherto fringe Islamists drawn from violent vigilante groups and Salafists influenced by Saudi Arabia’s puritanical brand of Islam.
Conservative clerics took the anti-Purnama message to the mosques throughout the campaign, said Eva Kusuma Sundari a senior official in Widodo’s party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
“This is a major defeat for us. The landscape is changing and it’s not favourable to us,” she said.
"We have to figure out our own understanding of this political religion without giving up our constitutional and nationalistic approach."
Tim Lindsey, an Indonesia analyst from the University of Melbourne, said Islamist groups had “emerged from the fringe to become a force”.
“This is a rehearsal for [the 2019 presidential election] and it sends a very clear message that if you play the Islam card it’s going to help you,” he said.
“If groups like these can get hundreds of thousands on the streets, you are going to want to use that power.”
Slamet Maarif, a spokesman for the Islamic Defenders Front, one of the main forces behind the push to prevent a Christian from leading Indonesia's Muslim majority capital, said the group was already eyeing the 2019 poll.
"We will maintain the existing unity of Muslims. And we will prepare Muslim unity for 2019," he told Reuters.
SUHARTO'S ELITES
Widodo, who grew up in a shack by a river in rural Java and became a successful furniture seller before entering politics, was the insurgent candidate who defeated Prabowo in the 2014 presidential election.
Popularly known as Jokowi, he became the first Indonesian from outside the elites to assume the country’s highest office.
He was catapulted to national prominence after becoming governor of Jakarta, with Purnama serving as his deputy.
His fit-and-start reform agenda has antagonised some in the business establishment who chafe against his calls for more foreign investment and increased competition in some sectors of the economy.
Among those standing alongside Baswedan and Prabowo as they claimed victory were moguls Aburizal Bakrie, Hashim Djojohadikusumo and Hary Tanoesoedibjo. All were prominent businessmen with links to the three-decade authoritarian regime of Suharto before he was ousted from power in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.
Tanoesoedibjo, who is President Donald Trump's business partner in two resort developments in Indonesia, once worked for Suharto's son, Bambang Trihatmodjo.
Bakrie is a former chairman of the Golkar Party, which Suharto created as the parliamentary rubber stamp for his 32-year hardline rule. His family conglomerate, Bakrie Group, is prominent in the mining industry, oil and gas, and property development.
Prabowo, a former general and son-in-law of Suharto, was banned from entering the United States over his alleged human rights abuses as a military commander tasked with disrupting the student protests that eventually toppled Suharto and ushered in Indonesia’s democratic era. Djojohadikusumo is Prabowo's younger brother. Their father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, was the architect of Suharto's economic plans.
Considered a spent force after his defeat in 2014, Prabowo now has a platform to raise money and increase his profile ahead of another tilt at the presidency in 2019, said Wimar Witoelar, a political analyst and former presidential spokesman.
“[Baswedan] will be indebted,” he said. “The Jakarta government will be a pawn in the political play for 2019.”
Reuters
Thu Apr 20 2017
Widodo, who grew up in a shack by a river in rural Java and became a successful furniture seller before entering politics, was the insurgent candidate who defeated Prabowo in the 2014 presidential election. - REUTERS/Beawiharta
Warga emas nyaris maut digigit tikus
Doktor yang melakukan ujian awal mendapati buah pinggang lelaki itu telah rosak selain mempunyai platelet darah rendah.
Pelajar Columbia sifatkan NYPD kejam, ngeri
Polis New York City menahan berpuluh-puluh penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin yang bersembunyi di Hamilton Hall, Columbia.
AWANI Ringkas: Selesaikan isu bekalan air, susulan cuaca panas
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [3 Mei 2024]
Antara fokus Awani Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Nursyazwani Saiful Sham
Microsoft umum pelaburan AI, infrastruktur awan AS$2.2 bilion di Malaysia
PM arah Agensi Pintu Masuk dan Sempadan Malaysia jalan tugas serta-merta
Siti Bainun kekal bersalah abai, aniaya Bella
Microsoft umum pelaburan AI, infrastruktur awan AS$2.2 bilion di Malaysia
PM arah Agensi Pintu Masuk dan Sempadan Malaysia jalan tugas serta-merta
Siti Bainun kekal bersalah abai, aniaya Bella
Delegasi Hamas akan ke Mesir untuk rudingan gencatan senjata - Ismail Haniyeh
Delegasi Hamas akan ke Mesir bagi meneruskan perbincangan secara tidak langsung dengan Israel untuk gencatan senjata di Semenanjung Gaza.
Pembinaan semula Gaza ambil masa berdekad lamanya
Pembinaan semula infrastruktur kediaman yang musnah di Gaza akan mengambil masa sehingga 2040.
Sudah lebih 40 hari Aliff tidak bercakap dengan Bella, anak-anak
Aliff berasa takut untuk mendengar suara Bella setelah sekian lama tidak menghubungi isterinya itu.
Aliff Aziz 'buka mulut’ isu ditangkap khalwat dengan Ruhainies
Enggan tuding jari pada Bella Astilah yang didakwa menjadi dalang, sebaliknya, anggap itu kesilapan sendiri.
Dana RM30 juta untuk misi sedia program peningkatan kemahiran belia India - Steven Sim
Inisiatif itu akan menekankan latihan di bidang-bidang kritikal yang memenuhi kehendak industri dan keperluan negara.
HRD Corp peruntuk RM10 juta program kemahiran belia India
Dana RM10 juta yang diperuntuk di bawah HRD Corp bagi pelaksanaan inisiatif Kemahiran India Malaysia (MISI) Kementerian Sumber Manusia (KESUMA)-Unit Transformasi Masyarakat India (MITRA) akan diguna bagi menyediakan program peningkatan kemahiran kepada golongan belia komuniti itu di negara ini
Gempa bumi Indonesia, Tasikmalaya paling terjejas
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang cedera dan 27 keluarga lagi terkesan selepas satu gempa bumi dengan magnitud 6.2 melanda Daerah Garut di Jawa Barat pada pukul 11.29 pagi waktu tempatan, Ahad.
Piala Asia B-23: Empat senario Indonesia buru tiket Olimpik Paris
Indonesia kini boleh bermimpi untuk beraksi di pentas Sukan Olimpik Paris tahun ini kerana mereka sekurang-kurangnya telah dijamin aksi playoff menentang Guinea.
Piala Asia B-23: Indonesia hantar Korea Selatan pulang dari Qatar 2024
Penjaga gol Garuda Muda, Ernando Ari muncul wira selepas menafikan dua sepakan penalti bagi mengakhiri cabaran Young Taegeuk Warriors.
Kanak-kanak perempuan 4 tahun sudah jadi tunang orang
Sebuah rakaman video pertunangan kanak-kanak perempuan berusia empat tahun di Indonesia menjadi tular di media sosial.
METMalaysia terus pantau perkembangan letusan Gunung Ruang
Pihak METMalaysia juga melaksanakan simulasi untuk mengenal pasti potensi berlaku tsunami akibat letusan itu dan ancamannya kepada Malaysia.
Piala Asia B-23: Indonesia ajar Australia cara main bola
Walaupun Australia mendominasi perlawanan pada separuh masa kedua, kehandalan benteng pertahanan Indonesia mudah mematahkan serangan demi serangan.
Piala Asia B-23: Dua kad merah saksi kehandalan Qatar ketepikan cabaran Indonesia
Pengadil, Nasrullo Kabirov, terlebih dahulu menghadiahkan sepakan penalti yang disudahkan Khaled Ali Binsabaa pada minit ke-44.
Kemalangan di lebuh raya ragut 12 nyawa di Jawa Barat
Sekurang-kurangnya 12 orang maut dalam nahas di sebuah lebuh raya di Karawang, Jawa Barat pada pukul 7.30 pagi waktu tempatan hari ini.
Sebahagian umat Islam di Jogjakarta sambut 1 Syawal hari ini
Imam Masjid Aolia, Sholeh Pranolo berkata, lebaran tahun ini disambut lebih awal atas dasar 'keyakinan dan perjalanan spiritual'.
Prabowo mahu tingkatkan persahabatan, kerjasama Indonesia-China
Menteri Pertahanan Indonesia Prabowo Subianto zahirkan harapan untuk meningkatkan hubungan persahabatan dan kerjasama di antara Indonesia dan China.