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Five reasons why Indonesia's presidential election matters

Report???
Is that a joke??

We all know how lawless Indonesia is...

ahahaha this phukimak dude brain seems twisted. saw and commented some of his. later on made me wonder because the way he think feels a bit... what should i say... :D

anyway, @Phukimak consider this as some fellow countryman advice...
please, this is international forum, keep the embarrassment of your fellow countrymen low :D

you can start by keep things to not out of proportions and like you said, use your head

i still wish you well :D
 
Indonesia’s Democracy Test
By ELIZABETH PISANI. JULY 15, 2014

LONDON — Last Wednesday, Indonesians cast ballots to elect their seventh president. The choice: a small-town furniture salesman who stepped down as Jakarta’s reformist governor, or a well-heeled former general who harked back to an autocratic past. The race ended tight, but the most credible evidence points to a victory for the former governor. It is a testament to the maturity of voters in the world’s third-largest democracy that they resisted cheap nationalist rhetoric to safeguard their democratic rights.

The same maturity was not immediately on display among the political elite. On the basis of an early sampling of results that, in past elections, has proved accurate, Joko Widodo, the former governor, has declared victory; but the military man, Prabowo Subianto, is refusing to concede. The national electoral commission does not have to release official results until July 22. So what happens between now and then will further test the nation’s commitment to democracy.

The fear is that the apparent loser, Mr. Prabowo, could try to use conflicting results, from less reputable polling organizations, to sow statistical confusion as a prelude to manipulating the final outcome. He would do so at his peril.

During his campaign, Mr. Prabowo said he would like to review many of the country’s recent democratic reforms. But now, it seems likely that a majority of voters have chosen his opponent. That alone suggests that Indonesians will defend their democracy. It would be very difficult to steal an election in this climate; any effort to do so would surely lead to huge public protests.

Indeed, Indonesia’s 250 million people have embraced democracy more rapidly and successfully than seemed possible just a decade and a half ago, when they threw off the 32-year autocracy of President Suharto.

Suharto had held Indonesia’s thousands of islands and hundreds of ethnic groups together with two uniformed armies, one military and the other an army of bureaucrats controlled from Jakarta, the capital. But when the aging general, battered by the Asian financial crisis, fell from power in 1998, he left the country in a precarious situation. Almost everyone was disgruntled, not least the bulk of the military, many of the Muslim-majority nation’s religious leaders, and inhabitants of the regions richest in natural resources. Their various stabs at securing power led to conflict and bloodshed in many parts of Indonesia in the first years of this century.

Over time, however, Indonesians’ talent for reaching amorphous compromises won out. Voters pushed different interest groups into sometimes unlikely coalitions; the country’s deeply transactional political system wove a fabric in which the military had to answer to civilian power. Radical Muslim groups came to depend on cooperation with secular parties, and regions were tied to Jakarta through funding streams.

At the same time, post-Suharto governance was decentralized across more than 500 districts, each with an elected head, its own parliament and set of ministries. The system is chaotic, inefficient, expensive — and wildly popular, especially outside Java, the main island.

Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
Today, voters love to grumble that their local leaders behave like minor kings, doling out jobs and contracts to family and friends. But they also know they can use their votes to demand services and, if they don’t get them, they can throw their leaders out. To Indonesians accustomed to being governed from afar, first by the Dutch and then by a largely Javanese bureaucracy, this accountability is new, and very precious.

It is through this decentralized system that Mr. Joko rose as an efficient mayor of the small central Java city of Solo, captured a second term with 90 percent of the vote, and went on to be elected Jakarta’s governor in 2012. And it is this decentralized system that Mr. Prabowo would like to dismantle.

A military man born into one of Indonesia’s grander families, and formerly married to one of Suharto’s daughters, Mr. Prabowo sees the world as a chain of command; his presidential campaign revolved around his own capacity to lead Indonesia with a firm hand.

In recent years I have heard many rural Indonesians — men more than women — talk of the need for an “iron fist” in Jakarta. After a reflective chat, however, they often conclude that the freedoms they enjoy now — a combative press, the ability to negotiate wages, the power to change leaders — are more valuable than the military-backed “stability” that Suharto imposed and that Mr. Prabowo nostalgically recalls.

Mr. Joko is anything but an “iron fist.” His campaign was understated and chaotic, not least because he kept stopping to listen to people. Mr. Prabowo’s campaign, on the other hand, was slick, disciplined and full of grandiose posturing.

While railing against the disproportionate power of American corporations, Mr. Prabowo hired the American campaign consultant Rob Allyn, a Texas Republican who in 2000 worked on a campaign that discredited John McCain as a primary candidate. Soon afterward, he supplemented his campaign trail theatrics with a smear that miscast Mr. Joko, a Javanese Muslim, as an ethnic Chinese Christian. That tactic clearly played a role in reducing Mr. Joko’s early polling lead to a gossamer-thin margin by the day of the election. But that margin should be enough to redeem Indonesia’s democracy.

Mr. Joko, after all, lives much closer to the ground upon which the majority of Indonesians tread than his rival does. He knows that patient reform of the country’s sclerotic and unresponsive bureaucracy will change lives in a way that bellicose anti-imperialist grandstanding will not; as mayor and governor, he delivered such reforms, with visible results. Mr. Joko did not respond to Mr. Prabowo’s smear campaign, nor make much of his opponent’s questionable human rights record as a general. He seemed always to have had faith that Indonesians would vote to defend their democratic freedom, and would resist a return to autocracy.

His faith currently seems well placed, but he has one more hurdle to pass: to ensure that the apparent election results stand. The rest of the world should make it clear that other countries are ready to forgo doing business as usual with anyone who would subvert Indonesia’s democratic process.

Elizabeth Pisani is the author of “Indonesia Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/opinion/indonesias-democracy-test.html?_r=1
 
Report???
Is that a joke??
We all know how lawless Indonesia is...

@Phukimak: i think we cannot entirely discount your statement as false.. it happens from time to time when one gets the upperhand in one area and try to misuse his/her power.. we see that in Banten where this province essentially is a government based on dynastic rule

if you or your relative happens to reside in some rural area.. i can get it, definitely it may happen... but if you live in any town in any part of indonesia, let alone in major town (Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Makassar, hell.. there are two dozen of other cities can be categorised as major town) you SHOULD report this, as this is serious violation and i'm pretty confident that you can get a response.... one of my friend had a business trip from Balikpapan to Jakarta, and she insist to vote, with all the redtape and pingpong call, she can still vote (by getting that form when you can vote in different area)....

my guess is that you have to change a little bit of your mental setting, yes Indonesia as a country is nowhere near as organised/managed as developed countries... but to think that indonesia is as lawless..as say Burkina Faso where you get serious violation of your right and you consciously get away with it... we can safely assume that you actually perpetuate and even worsen the problem

on a side note... i vote for Jokowi but with credible doubt... i think we can say that all politcal parties in indonesia are inherently corrupt.. but there are two other parties with this specific strain that make it worse than all other parties.. these are PDIP and PKB... i have no sympathy let alone respect to the elite of these parties, they hijack democracy for the benefit of their dynastic rule... PDIP is Sukarno's dynasty... the mother is the chairman, the daughter and son are highranking official, and the brother is a sitting congressman... PKB is like Latin soap opera on steroid,,, one branch of family ruled the parties, then kicked out by another branch of family.. then become political refugee stranded and scattered in various party
this is the political party than backs Jokowi,,, i hope with all my pray that this man can stomach all the bullshXt and nonsensical move made by PDIP and PKB
 
From my readings on the Indonesian presidential election, both Probobo Subianto and Joko Widodo have unique leadership capabilities. Both of them are unifying leaders, with the capacity in solidarity making. There are issues that need Indonesia's attention, primarily the separitists in West Papau (formerly known as Irian Jaya) known as the Action for Free Papau Movement (OPM) , then there is the issue of national territorial integrity as Malaysia has challenged Indonesia's control of Camar Bulan and Tanjung Datu in the western part border of Kalimantan. And the new President needs to be vocal, clear, transparent on Indonesia's position in the South china sea, as the dominant power in ASEAN. I believe that Indonesia has an active and crucial role to play in ensuring that all parties partake in a binding Cod of Conduct in the Seas. The new President needs to address these territorial issues immediately, and begin efforts to improve the economy, particularly to reign in the investment potential(s). Whatever the case, Japan is prepared to work with the new President of the Republic of Indonesia.
 
@Phukimak: i think we cannot entirely discount your statement as false.. it happens from time to time when one gets the upperhand in one area and try to misuse his/her power.. we see that in Banten where this province essentially is a government based on dynastic rule

if you or your relative happens to reside in some rural area.. i can get it, definitely it may happen... but if you live in any town in any part of indonesia, let alone in major town (Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Makassar, hell.. there are two dozen of other cities can be categorised as major town) you SHOULD report this, as this is serious violation and i'm pretty confident that you can get a response.... one of my friend had a business trip from Balikpapan to Jakarta, and she insist to vote, with all the redtape and pingpong call, she can still vote (by getting that form when you can vote in different area)....

my guess is that you have to change a little bit of your mental setting, yes Indonesia as a country is nowhere near as organised/managed as developed countries... but to think that indonesia is as lawless..as say Burkina Faso where you get serious violation of your right and you consciously get away with it... we can safely assume that you actually perpetuate and even worsen the problem

on a side note... i vote for Jokowi but with credible doubt... i think we can say that all politcal parties in indonesia are inherently corrupt.. but there are two other parties with this specific strain that make it worse than all other parties.. these are PDIP and PKB... i have no sympathy let alone respect to the elite of these parties, they hijack democracy for the benefit of their dynastic rule... PDIP is Sukarno's dynasty... the mother is the chairman, the daughter and son are highranking official, and the brother is a sitting congressman... PKB is like Latin soap opera on steroid,,, one branch of family ruled the parties, then kicked out by another branch of family.. then become political refugee stranded and scattered in various party
this is the political party than backs Jokowi,,, i hope with all my pray that this man can stomach all the bullshXt and nonsensical move made by PDIP and PKB

I called it lawless because Indonesia law can be buy with money..
We all still remember Ahmad dani son case.
Hatta rajasa son case

Not to mention another sectarian case..
 
I called it lawless because Indonesia law can be buy with money..
We all still remember Ahmad dani son case.
Hatta rajasa son case

Not to mention another sectarian case..

Yeah, but don't concentrate on that only, look at a bigger view... What about Akil M, Anggoro & Anggodo brothers, Lutfi Ishak, Ratu Atut, Hartati Moerdaya and others?.. their money can't save them, can they?

It's not magic. Be grateful for the progress we have done so far, have some faith.
 
Yeah, but don't concentrate on that only, look at a bigger view... What about Akil M, Anggoro & Anggodo brothers, Lutfi Ishak, Ratu Atut, Hartati Moerdaya and others?.. their money can't save them, can they?

It's not magic. Be grateful for the progress we have done so far, have some faith.

Of course their money can save them... Lol
They can decorate and buy facilities on the jail..
 
Of course their money can save them... Lol
They can decorate and buy facilities on the jail..

Really?... you must be work there then, a warden perhaps. LOL.

Anyway,

Yudhoyono to convene Prabowo and Jokowi today

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will convene two pairs of presidential candidates today, ahead of the official announcement of electoral results on July 22. The meeting will be held at 5 pm at the State Palace.

"The president has invited the both presidential pairs," presidential spokesperson, Julian Aldrin Pasha, said on Sunday. "He will share the table two presidential candidates while the Vice President (Boediono -ed) will seat with the vice presidential candidates," he added.

Among the invitees are also leaders of the state institutions. Pasha said that all those invited had confirmed to come, including some ministers as well as chiefs of General Elections Commission (KPU) and Elections Monitoring Body (Bawaslu). The pairs contesting in recent election are Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jusuf Kalla.

Jokowi-JK pair is currently leading with 5,2 million votes or 4,28% margin. The final result will be announced in July 22.

Yudhoyono to convene Prabowo and Jokowi today | Republika Online
Data Real Count, Prabowo-Hatta Tertinggal 5,2 Juta Suara | Republika Online
 
I called it lawless because Indonesia law can be buy with money..
We all still remember Ahmad dani son case.
Hatta rajasa son case
Not to mention another sectarian case..

@Phukimak: that one is true, but i am talking about Violation of your/your relative voting right...
you know PDF, i assume you are quite informative, you can report this to Banwaslu, or heck you can even report it to the press or to any presidential campaign team that you are about to vote so they can pressure KPU to work better

the day when we just talk and talk and talk in cafe and whining & ranting about corruption or everything that gone wrong in Indo has long gone, take action, move our lazy fat brain to work, because now we can do that unlike in the past

by not doing anything about it, we are a complicit, and become part of it
 
@Phukimak: that one is true, but i am talking about Violation of your/your relative voting right...
you know PDF, i assume you are quite informative, you can report this to Banwaslu, or heck you can even report it to the press or to any presidential campaign team that you are about to vote so they can pressure KPU to work better

the day when we just talk and talk and talk in cafe and whining & ranting about corruption or everything that gone wrong in Indo has long gone, take action, move our lazy fat brain to work, because now we can do that unlike in the past

by not doing anything about it, we are a complicit, and become part of it

For tionghoa/ chinese... It's better we stay low...
We still remember clearly 98, and we don't wanna be get involved if there's any chaos happen In the next two day..
Now, we all waiting for the official results... And hope for the best, if things escalate to the worst scenarios.. We just need fly to Singapore and stay until situation under control..
 
For tionghoa/ chinese... It's better we stay low...
We still remember clearly 98, and we don't wanna be get involved if there's any chaos happen In the next two day..
Now, we all waiting for the official results... And hope for the best, if things escalate to the worst scenarios.. We just need fly to Singapore and stay until situation under control..

now i know why you are so bitter about it
look, i understand your position and view, and perhaps I don't quite capture what kind of limbo Chinese Indonesian went through during '98..
but believe me... if we do nothing... and by we, i mean all of us indonesian, we are not doing anything good for this country
we can't just sit around wait for some kind messiah to save the situation

and by doing. it could be anything, we all now have the luxury that the previous generation didn't have,,, relatively free press, various political parties that cater lots of ideologies, non government watchdog, or even government body watchdog

i can't talk on behalf of Chinese Indonesian as i'm not one, but things have change albeit imperfect, and we should do our bit to help it...
 
For tionghoa/ chinese... It's better we stay low...
We still remember clearly 98, and we don't wanna be get involved if there's any chaos happen In the next two day..
Now, we all waiting for the official results... And hope for the best, if things escalate to the worst scenarios.. We just need fly to Singapore and stay until situation under control..

1998 is different. The country was in chaos then, in politics, economy, social. People weren't ready and mature enough after Suharto's sudden fall.

It's been 15 years since then, a lot have changed.. and there's already 4 presidents from Habibie to SBY with 3 peaceful elections. Both Prabowo and Jusuf Kalla have been on the losing side before. Are there Tionghoa massacres in 2004 and 2009 after the election? NO.

Confucianism has been recognized by the state, Chinese new year celebrated as holiday for all. Tionghoas have been appointed as ministers, generals, governor in the last decade.. Why you people keep talking about new massacre of chinese in this time of age?... I don't even have a dream to pinch a tionghoa.

You should hear what your fellow Tionghoa said :

Khoe Seng-seng: Chinese-Indonesians are Not Fleeing the Country
THURSDAY, 10 JULY, 2014 | 19:12 WIB

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Khoe Seng-seng, an Indonesian of Chinese-descent reputable for his legal battle against conglomerate Sinar Mas Group, has dismissed rumors that many Chinese-Indonesians are planning to flee the country lest rioting may break out after the July 9 presidential election.

"We remain calm,” he told Tempo on Thursday, July 10, 2014, adding that he was not concerned about any post-election riot.

He said the gossip that an uprising similar to the one in 1998 might recur was nonsense, particularly in connection with the rumored threat that rioting was imminent if Chinese-Indonesians failed to vote for a particular presidential hopeful.

He asserted that the fact that many Chinese-Indonesians were now travelling overseas was not attributed to the rumors of possible uprisings. “That’s not true. They are traveling abroad due to the school holiday season and the Lebaran holiday,” he said.

National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Alvin Lie seconded Khoe’s statement, saying that Chinese-Indonesians were traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong during the election day for holiday as opposed to shunning possible rioting.

“The issue is inaccurate and it may exacerbate the situation,” he said.

Khoe Seng-seng: Chinese-Indonesians are Not Fleeing the Country | Metro | Tempo.Co :: Indonesian News Portal
 
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Guys, I read on Chinese media, some Indonesian Chinese were threatened to vote for some particular candidate, they were scared, is it true?

it is true, or maybe u can say that was what they feel.

There is a case in which babinsa or 城管 in china, they were asking which candidate they will choose, those 城管 were pointing their finger to certain candidate, that's make it look like they were forced to choose that candidate. Anyway, they were already punished.;)


Why you people keep talking about new massacre of chinese in this time of age?... I don't even have a dream to pinch a tionghoa.

You should hear what your fellow Tionghoa said :

You don't, but some of you still have some grudge toward chinese, u can find it in some of the members here, :partay:

About fleeing abroad, that's just some precaution, better flee know then regret it later.:victory1:
 
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1998 is different. The country was in chaos then, in politics, economy, social. People weren't ready and mature enough after Suharto's sudden fall.

It's been 15 years since then, a lot have changed.. and there's already 4 presidents from Habibie to SBY with 3 peaceful elections. Are there Tionghoa massacres in 2004 and 2009 after the election? NO.

Confucianism has been recognized by the state, Chinese new year celebrated as holiday for all. Tionghoas have been appointed as ministers, generals, governor in the last decade.. Why you people keep talking about new massacre of chinese in this time of age?... I don't even have a dream to pinch a tionghoa.

You should hear what your fellow Tionghoa said :

Khoe Seng-seng: Chinese-Indonesians are Not Fleeing the Country
THURSDAY, 10 JULY, 2014 | 19:12 WIB

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Khoe Seng-seng, an Indonesian of Chinese-descent reputable for his legal battle against conglomerate Sinar Mas Group, has dismissed rumors that many Chinese-Indonesians are planning to flee the country lest rioting may break out after the July 9 presidential election.

"We remain calm,” he told Tempo on Thursday, July 10, 2014, adding that he was not concerned about any post-election riot.

He said the gossip that an uprising similar to the one in 1998 might recur was nonsense, particularly in connection with the rumored threat that rioting was imminent if Chinese-Indonesians failed to vote for a particular presidential hopeful.

He asserted that the fact that many Chinese-Indonesians were now travelling overseas was not attributed to the rumors of possible uprisings. “That’s not true. They are traveling abroad due to the school holiday season and the Lebaran holiday,” he said.

National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Alvin Lie seconded Khoe’s statement, saying that Chinese-Indonesians were traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong during the election day for holiday as opposed to shunning possible rioting.

“The issue is inaccurate and it may exacerbate the situation,” he said.

Khoe Seng-seng: Chinese-Indonesians are Not Fleeing the Country | Metro | Tempo.Co :: Indonesian News Portal


Kid... Just like 65, they said after they killed all Chinese communist there won't be any casualties against Chinese.. Than again it happened again in 98...

Just because after 98 doesn't mean there won't be any casualties against Chinese...

The Chinese always be the scapegoat for the political, or economy reason..
Now china have the economy power, it would be stupid if the government keep anti-china image..
They need investment money.


It also would be naive if tionghoa/ Chinese don't prepare for the worst...
Remember, still many of the elites party or government is part of new order ( soeharto era )
Prabowo, wiranto, bakrie, surya paloh...
These people good to cover their shit on media.

Like the old said..
Pray for the best prepare for the worst..
 
For tionghoa/ chinese... It's better we stay low...
We still remember clearly 98, and we don't wanna be get involved if there's any chaos happen In the next two day..
Now, we all waiting for the official results... And hope for the best, if things escalate to the worst scenarios.. We just need fly to Singapore and stay until situation under control..

It's not that clear cut as before. Since Sby time, i know several Chinese that already involved either directly or indirectly in politic. Either as participant (caleg) in local election or in the last president election, become witness for Jokowi side in their TPS.

Imo only the older generation who directly experience the PKI purge era still afraid of anything that have connection with politic.
 

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