W

hen vice-presidential candidate Ma’ruf Amin finally spoke up after being silent for around 30 minutes during the first presidential debate on Thursday, nearly 100 supporters from both camps watching the live telecast held their collective breath, quietly anticipating what he was about to say.

However, both sets of supporters, even those donning plain white shirts as a sign of support for the incumbent president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, burst out in laughter when all the cleric said was “I have nothing to add,” on a topic related to potential conflicts between law enforcement and human rights.

A similar moment of levity occurred when challenger Prabowo Subianto danced awkwardly and was given a shoulder massage by running mate Sandiaga Uno when moderator Ira Kusno did not give him permission to cut off Jokowi during the latter’s time. Laughter filled the room of a cafe in Kebayoran, South Jakarta, on Thursday evening.

There was no exchange of mockery, hatred or heated arguments during the live screening of the debate. The public screening, commonly called nobar, was held jointly by groups calling themselves KitaSatu and the University of Indonesia’s Millenial Alumni for Jokowi, which support candidate pair number one, Jokowi and Ma’ruf, alongside members of the Prabowo-Sandi Digital Team (Pride) and Prabowo-Sandi’s Friends, which throw their weight behind candidate pair number two.

There was no utterances of cebong or kampret, terms coined for derogatory purposes and used mainly on social media to address supporters of the opposing candidate.

What occurred on Thursday evening was young people sitting together in a relaxed manner to watch their picks for office battle it out on a giant screen.

Everyone laughed when their candidates slipped up and praised them when it was due. During every break, representatives from each group were invited to express their thoughts about the debate and then to lead their respective groups to sing a chant.

Afterwards they shook hands.

These scenes were in stark contrast to the unending fanatical debates and exchanges of condescension that have become commonplace on social media, where people are judged based on their political choices. Many have taken to Facebook or Twitter to voice their arguments about who is the better candidate, while also lambasting their opponents with the terms kampret or cebong.

In 2015, a year after the last presidential election that offered up the same presidential candidates, two supporters of the opposing candidates decided to meet in Senayan, Jakarta, to have a fight after quarreling
on Twitter.

The divisive nature of the election could even trigger family feuds, as many people have had to leave family WhatsApp groups because of differences of political opinion, said Fauzi Firmansyah, a spokesperson for Pride.

“As the young generation, we want to defy all that is happening on social media,” he said. “We may have different political views, but that doesn’t mean we have to be divided.”

“I also hate that cebong-kampret term. It’s so humiliating,” he added.

KitaSatu coordinator, Pradana Indraputra, said the event was an initiative by young voters to calm down the tension as the election draws nearer.

“We want to show that no matter how serious and dynamic the campaign period is, everyone should show respect and unity,” he said. “We hope that all supporters, particularly from the young generation, stay rational and protect the quality of our electoral process. This election is an investment in our future.”

Thursday’s debate was the first of five planned debates to be organized by the General Elections Commission before voting day on April 17.