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 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
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
C. Uday Bhaskar
Opinion

Opinion

C. Uday Bhaskar

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’

C. Uday Bhaskar
C. Uday Bhaskar

Updated: 9:00am, 24 Apr, 2019

Why you can trust SCMP
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 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
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
READ FULL ARTICLE