TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Your letters: Indonesia's new president
The two candidates campaigned hard to win the hearts of Indonesiaâs vast population in order to win the presidency, and the election passed without violence
Change Size
T
he two candidates campaigned hard to win the hearts of Indonesia's vast population in order to win the presidency, and the election passed without violence. This is called true democracy. Prabowo Subianto should take his defeat like a man. Hurling ridiculous accusations at the winner is a waste of time and energy. In Asia we say belum hoki pak, loosely translated as, 'it's not cricket, sir'.
Prabowo should not give up; instead, he should try again in five years from now. Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo was elected by the majority of Indonesian voters, and both candidates deserve our sincere congratulations.
But now Jokowi has to prove to the people that he is fit for the presidency, and whether he deserves the presidential office. It is certainly not easy to govern this gigantic country with a population that comprises more than 350 different ethnic groups with their own cultures, languages and religions. Can he eradicate poverty? Can he rid this country of small- and big-time thieves, namely corruption? What about Indonesia's foreign policy? What about securing the safety of its people by ridding this country of terrorists?
What about freedom of religion? Can he remove the dangerous individuals who use religion as an excuse to harass and kill minorities?
Well Mr. Jokowi, prepare yourself and appoint your ministers with the utmost care because many sitting in the current Cabinet have enriched themselves on the backs of Indonesia's poor.
Lynna van der Zee-Oehmke
Bogor, West Java
Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has won and by a margin that guarantees that any case brought to the Constitutional Court is dead on arrival. The court has already stated that if the winner should obtain more than 51 percent of the vote, it is not interested in any challenge.
Even graft has not offered a chance to Prabowo Subianto to appear credible. So, a second election is not taking place. Hell, if it did, it would be a landslide for Jokowi following Prabowo's betrayal of his supporters. 'I will accept the count, I will accept defeat,' he said on numerous occasions ' until Tuesday.
There is no way anyone can stage a military coup, no matter how delusional he is. Sure, there are some loons in the Indonesian Military (TNI) but at worse, the Army would split down the middle killing a coup stone dead. I don't even see that happening. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the current President and commander in chief, to be followed by Jokowi; neither man would allow a coup to happen or see riots take hold.
It is also arguable whether Prabowo's withdrawal from the count is legal, but he has lost a lot of popular support over this latest maneuver and, frankly, he appears clinically insane right now. I foresee his fragile Red and White Coalition against reform breaking up and the parties siding with Jokowi ' and fast. Hatta Rajasa seems to have abandoned him already.
In the meantime, congratulations to the president-elect! I was praying hard for you.
Atom
Jakarta
