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Jokowi’s win possible opportunity for Australia
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Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (R) shakes hands with Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Bogor presidential palace in Bogor on August 31, 2018. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
D
espite the threat of protests and court action by opposition candidate Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia has once again pulled-off a remarkably successful election process, involving 193 million voters, with almost no violence or threat to the nation’s democracy.
The official result will not be announced until May 22, but based on what is known as “the quick count” the likelihood is that the incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will enjoy another five-year term, providing Indonesia with continued stable government for the foreseeable future.
Over the next few months the president will be absorbed by the inevitable “horse-trading” as factions and fractured coalition parties maneuver to grab a slice of the presidential pie. Jokowi will also need to give thought to the two main issues confronting him at the start of his next — and final — term in office: religion and the economy.
Having thrown his former deputy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, under a bus over blasphemy charges that landed him in jail, Jokowi decided to appoint an Islamic cleric as his vice-presidential running mate. The appointment of the powerful Ma’ruf Amin was a politically pragmatic, yet blatantly political, decision to win over the conservative Muslim vote and it worked.
Jokowi will now, however, have a vice-president with very little interest in, or knowledge of, finance and the economy and who prefers to focus on social and religious issues including his opposition to gays, same-sex marriage and some ethnic minority groups.
Meanwhile, what will really matter to Indonesia and what will decide Jokowi’s legacy is the economy. With 95 million people under the age of 35, the challenges facing the President’s team will be huge. Young Indonesians are now aspirational, technically connected through social media and want a better education along with secure and better-paid jobs.
Currently, the Indonesian economy has “bumbled” along at around 5 percent growth, a rate most nations would cheer about, but where in Indonesia it barely ensures there will be enough quality jobs for these young people. Here is where the opportunity lies for Australia.
