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Jakarta race heats up but religion not yet major issue
It was Friday noon when a middle-aged man walked out from an old office building in Kalibata, South Jakarta, with a blue folder full of papers in his hand
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t was Friday noon when a middle-aged man walked out from an old office building in Kalibata, South Jakarta, with a blue folder full of papers in his hand.
Bagus Mulyono, a worker at the office, said the man was one of dozens of people who had registered themselves as potential Muslim candidates for Jakarta governor in opposition to incumbent Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama, a Protestant.
The office, he said, had been used for weeks by the Muslim Forum Secretariat as a registration post.
'He forgot to bring some required documents, so I asked him to return tomorrow,' Bagus, training coordinator for the gubernatorial candidates, told The Jakarta Post.
Since Feb. 20, the Muslim Forum Secretariat has run a selection process for potential candidates to be endorsed by Muslim groups in the Jakarta gubernatorial election on Feb. 15 next year.
The selection process was initiated by a number of Muslim figures including Islam Defenders Front (FPI) patron Habib Rizieq and Fahrurozzi Ishaq, who was 'sworn in' by the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) in December 2014 as a rival governor.
Things have begun heating up with several prominent people declaring their possible candidacy, including politician-cum-lawyer Yusril Ihza Mahendra, music producer Ahmad Dhani and businessman Sandiaga Uno.
Ahok has declared he will run as an independent with Heru Budi Hartono, the head of the city's Financial and Asset Management Board, as his running mate.
'The Papuan governor is a Christian, the governor of Bali is a Hindu. So as we are the majority here, Muslims should reclaim the governor's position in Jakarta as well,' Bagus said. Denying that the movement was exploiting the religious issue for political purposes, he said they were only 'obeying God's command.'
The secretariat has established 135 coordination posts throughout Jakarta and expect to have another 133 within the next few months. 'We are looking for the best Muslim candidates,' he said.
Around 7 million voters in Jakarta will be eligible to vote in the gubernatorial election next year.
Ahok became the governor in November 2014 to replace President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, who left Jakarta for the State Palace.
Websites and preachers at mosques have urged voters to vote based on the candidate's religion. Campaigns in a similar vein have also appeared on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp groups and other social media.
However, a survey released by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in January found that religion would not play a significant role in the election as 45 percent of 400 respondents were prepared to vote for Ahok.
In November 2014, many Muslims showed their support for Ahok, in response to an FPI campaign to prevent Ahok from being sworn in as governor. Several Muslim groups visited Ahok to offer support while others rallied at Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle to show that not all Muslims had a problem with a non-Muslim leader.
Dharma Rozali Azhar, a Jakarta resident, said he hoped that the election would result in the best candidate for governor, regardless of the candidate's religion or ethnicity.
Dharma considers himself to be a committed Muslim. However, the 27-year-old lawyer believes that mixing religion and politics is problematic.
'The country has adopted a separation of powers with three branches: the executive, legislature and judiciary. If you require your leader to be a Muslim, you must apply it in other branches as well, and that could cause difficulties,' he said.
He said he was undecided in his choice for the election, but he had problems with Ahok's tough eviction policy, not his religion.
Hamdi Muluk, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said the election of Jokowi and Ahok as Jakarta governor and deputy governor in 2012 was solid proof that Jakarta voters could see beyond religious and ethnic backgrounds when choosing their leaders.
He said the most important thing in voters' eyes was the candidate's ability to manage the city and how they responded to problems.
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