Jakarta election exposes deep divide
JAKARTA: Jakarta voters head to the polls on Wednesday to elect a governor for Indonesia’s teeming capital after a campaign that incited political and religious tensions in the world’s mostpopulous Muslim country.
Surveys have shown the race tightening to a statistical dead heat, with incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, closing in on rival Anies Baswedan, a former education minister.
Purnama is standing trial on blasphemy charges stemming from the divisive campaign that also featured mass rallies led by hardliners and alleged plots to overthrow President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi.
The Jakarta election is viewed as a larger choice ahead of a 2019 presidential poll between the secular policies Indonesia has practiced since its post-World War Two independence and a hardline political religion that has strengthened in recent years.
“This is a test case for Indonesian pluralism, if it can withstand the pressure of the religious groups, the populists,” said Wimar Witoelar, a political analyst.
“Indonesia is at a crossroads, and I mean Indonesia, not just Jakarta.”
A survey conducted April 12-14 by polling firm Indikator showed Anies with 48.2 per cent support versus 47.4 per cent for Purnama, with 4.4 per cent undecided. The business community is worried about a possible violent backlash from the losing side in the election, which could affect the investment climate and endanger Widodo’s fit-and-start economic reforms.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy grew 5.2 per cent in 2016 and the government expects a repeat of that this year. Indonesian stocks are up 12.6 per cent on the year, making the Jakarta market one of Asia’s best performers.
Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, chief executive officer of the country’s largest state bank, Bank Mandiri, said in an interview that whoever won “we (should) make sure it doesn’t affect any of the long-term policies, especially on the openness and... ease of doing business and attracting investment.” Purnama, who replaced Widodo in 2014 as Jakarta governor after serving as his deputy, saw his popularity soar as he tackled decrepit infrastructure, flooding and endemic corruption in the traffic-clogged city of over 10 million.