Opinion | In Indonesia, the genie of hardline Islamism has been let out of the bottle. Can Joko Widodo put it back in?

The case of Ahok, the ethnic Chinese governor who enraged hardline Muslims, still haunts Indonesia’s latest election. The question is whether President Widodo, the likely winner of the election, will use his term to restore ‘smiling Islam’

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Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (second from left) and his running mate Ma'ruf Amin (left) sing the national anthem with presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto (second from right) and his running mate Sandiaga Uno (right) before the last presidential debate in Jakarta on April 13. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 24 Apr 2019Updated: 9:00am, 24 Apr 2019

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, conducted a complex national election with commendable efficiency on April 17 and while the official results will only be announced by May 22, the unofficial but usually accurate quick counts indicate President Joko Widodo has won a second five-year term.

The scale of the election and the fact that it was successfully completed in a single day rank as extraordinary achievements. More than 150 million Indonesian citizens – 80 per cent of the voter base – spread across three time zones in this vast nation of more than 17,000 islands turned out to vote for presidential, parliamentary and regional candidates.

The current presidential contest is between Widodo and his rival from 2014: Prabowo Subianto, a retired general and former son-in-law of the late Indonesian supremo Suharto. Most pre-poll surveys showed that Widodo would win this election and that the only question was about the margin of the victory. However, with both Widodo and his rival claiming victory based on quick counts, the matter may again be referred to the courts. There is a sense of déjà vu, of events unfolding in the same pattern as in 2014.

To prevent a mass protest by the hardline Islamic support base of Subianto, security minister Wiranto and national police chief Tito Karnavian have cautioned that security forces will act decisively against any attempt to disrupt public order. However, a mass protest is unlikely for now.

Still, this not-so-veiled warning draws attention to a distinctive aspect of the 2019 election: the role of Islam and how it has impacted Indonesian politics and the polity in recent years. This has been a central concern since Indonesia attained independence in 1945. Resisting the demands of right-wing clerics who wanted Indonesia to be an Islamic nation that would adhere to sharia, president Sukarno (1945-66) opted for the more inclusive, secular template of Pancasila.

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