Indonesia general election, 2019

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So the race is on, with both Jokowi and Prabowo having chosen their VP candidates to fight in a rematch of 2014. This election is being held amidst a mixed few years for Jokowi, who has managed to decidedly maneuver himself through Indonesia's political sphere and evade fears that he would be merely a puppet of the PDI-P matriarch, Megawati. The economy is a bright spot, although growth is not as high as the party bigwigs wish. However a decidedly noxious trend that had emerged over the past few years is a rise in Islamist and anti-Chinese agitation, radiating from the Sharia dystopia of Aceh and infamously ousting Jokowi's reformist Christian Chinese ally Ahok from his mayoral position following fabricated blasphemy charges. A horrendous wave of Islamist thugs from the Islamic Defenders Front have gone out of the way to inflame tension leading Jokowi and his reformist allies a bit worried, especially given that that the PDI-P (as a "left" party) has strong support in working class Muslim Javanese communities and they aren't comfortable making claims too strongly either way - they normally cope by saying banalities that can appeal to everybody, along with a heavy referencing of Pancasilia, the official ideology of Indonesia (formed by its mercurial first president Sukarno) which preaches tolerance of all religions and ethnicities.

Jokowi's running mate, in light of this new normal, is Ma'ruf Amin, the head of the gigantic Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama. NU is traditionalist (which here means anti-Wahabbi) and often associated with tolerant strands of Islam; but Amin is controversial for many reasobs, not least that he supported the ousting of Ahok and many believe him to be a bit of a panic pick by an incumbent desperate to undercut his more religiously inclined opponents (Jokowi himself, truly the Obama of Indonesia, suffers from a persistent rumour that he is a fake Muslim who secretly practices Christianity or that his parents were Christians). Polls (if they can be worth anything) suggest that Jokowi is popular, but he certainly isn't taking any chances, especially given the unity between his main two rival poles: the former ruling party of the Democrats and the conservative and religiously inclined nationalists Gerindra, official party of his rival (and war criminal) Prabowo.

I'll leave it at that for now, but I want to write up profiles of the 14 parties: the PDI, the strangely reinvented Golkar (Suharto's party), the Democrats, the four Islamist parties, the two pet parties of media moguls, the obligatary Atlas meme party that international posters all cheer for before they get like one percent of the vote (in this case it's a minority interests party so dedicated to youth votes you aren't allowed to join if you're older than 45), the two personality cults led by war criminals (one of which is Gerindra itself) and a new cult by Suharto Jr. If anybody here has specialist knowledge please tell me if I got anything wrong.

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Some further talk about Jokowi's running mate and his relationship with NU, and the moderate strands that you may know from its famous leader and ex President Wahid/Gus Dur. A member of NU since his youth, Amin found himself at strong loggerheads with President Gus Dur Wahid and his progressive, pluralist instincts, meaning he fell out with the then liberal cliques that controlled both NU and its client political party the PKB, almost leaving entirely because the leadership was not willing to condemn Ahmahdis. Instead he found himself drawn to the MUI, the umbrella organisation of all Sunni Muslim groups including the Muhammadiyah (the "modernist" faction: I.e. the purists and wahabbi lovers; as well as Hizb Ut Tahrir). In this role Amin was notable for authoring various extreme opinions: praising female circumcision, preaching anti Ahmahdi hatred and also drafting the "religious hatred" laws that President SBY passed. After a feint towards a moderate image, he made a shock win in the NU Congress against the late Gus Dur's chosen candidate Gus Mus, and has very much irritated the Wahid family ever since. This explains why Jokowi has been careful to keep NU and its client party close: the PDI aren't going to get the Muhammadiyah or their party, PAN, but they really need NU and its immense power in the religious schools. For his part, NU still has powerful moderate members, and Amin has been careful not to be to inflammatory lest he provoke a split, but his rise has been an unwelcome development, focusing more on economic justice than sectarian issues, especially since the sordid saga of Ahok which left a lot of the Islamists/nationalists/establishment wondering if they'd gone, um, a bit too far; attempts to make similar religious appeals in the recent local elections fell a bit flat. There's also the controversy that has enveloped the Islamic Defenders Front and its controversial leader, but I'll get into that later. Just a hint: would it shock you if a vigilante dude who enthusiastically strikes down supposed adulters and calls for their stoning might in fact be a teeny bit of a hypocrite?.

Is their interest in a longer profile of the big parties btw?

[BundouYMB]

Yes, I'm very interested. Indonesian politics are fascinating but it's hard to find good information online so I'd appreciate any insights you can share.

[PSOL]

Yes, I'm very interested. Indonesian politics are fascinating but it's hard to find good information online so I'd appreciate any insights you can share.

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