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espite its arguable economic achievements, many viewed the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as having failed in law enforcement, especially against perpetrators of religious-based violence.

Surveys, including those from the Wahid Institute and Setara Institute, showed an increase of religious violence every year during Yudhoyono'€™s two five-year terms.

The administration never comprehensively settled cases of religious-based violence, including the attacks against Islamic minority groups of Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik, Banten, and Shiites in Sampang, East Java. The illegal closure of churches, such as GKI Yasmin in Bogor and HKBP Filadelfia in Bekasi, by local government administrations bowing to pressure from intolerant groups, also displayed how the central government had no effective authority over local administrations regarding what was widely perceived as discrimination. Followers of local beliefs have also suffered discrimination.

The failure to tackle religious intolerance and violence has contributed to the image of Yudhoyono as a Mr. Doubtful. Despite his military background, he still came across as a weak leader.

Of course, the President has repeatedly expressed his concern about the religious violence, but his ministers and security apparatus do not view his concern as an instruction to take action against the perpetrators. This attitude by the President sent a signal that if you want to be free from responsibility for a crime, use religious reasons and a handful of supporters.

And with the upcoming presidential election, people are seeking a leader perceived as a contrast to Yudhoyono; a president who will stop religious violence and hate speech. Many opinion polls rank Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, the current Jakarta governor at the top of popularity lists of presidential candidates, followed by Prabowo Subianto, the chief patron of the Gerindra Party.

Gerindra has released its religious stance in its 50-page manifesto. On page 40, it says: '€œThe state is also expected to guarantee the purity of religious teachings, which are acknowledged by the state, from all forms of heresy and deviation from religious teachings.'€

On religion, the manifesto concludes: '€œRealizing the importance of religion and harmony among religious followers, the Gerindra Party will always guarantee religious freedom, guarding the purity of religious teachings and cultivate harmony among religious followers'€.

'€œPurity'€ and '€œheresy'€ are two words often used by radical groups as reasons to commit violence against minority groups. Groups like the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and Islamic People'€™s Forum (FUI), which recently organized a national anti-Shia in Bandung, often use heresy as a reason to attack other groups that have different interpretations of Islamic teaching.

Gerindra'€™s official Twitter account recently responded to a question on how the party viewed religious minorities, such as Ahmadis and Mormons. The official reply was that the party would set up an institution to make those groups '€œgive up'€.

Prabowo, a former lieutenant general who was dismissed from the military because of his alleged role in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998, recently hit the headlines due to his readiness to cooperate with the FPI.

According to the above indications, it is easy to predict the fate of religious minorities in the country if Prabowo is elected president. His administration would cooperate with groups that are notorious for violence. He would not make these radical groups '€œgive up'€ their violence; rather, Gerindra'€™s manifesto suggests they would be '€œpurified'€. Making so-called heretical groups '€œgive up'€ would potentially violate their members'€™ human rights; something that Prabowo'€™s critics and political rivals have often accused him of.

In contrast to Prabowo'€™s stance, Jokowi, who has been nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), wrote an article entitled Mental Revolution, which appeared in the national daily, Kompas, on May 10. Jokowi clearly stated that intolerance of people'€™s differences was one of the main problems in society, leading to people taking the law into their own hands.

Based on first president Sukarno'€™s teaching known as Trisakti, Jokowi suggested that the country'€™s education system should be directed to developing a civilized identity for the nation that would uphold moral values among religions and cultures.

Now, voters are left to choose between the two different stances, especially regarding religious tolerance and harmony, espoused by Jokowi and Prabowo.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.