As the public scrutinizes the performances of the presidential candidate pairs during the first election debate, many people have expressed disappointment over how both tickets failed to achieve any breakthrough on substantial issues.

The first debate with Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin against Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno, conducted around the themes of law, human rights, corruption and terrorism, has failed to impress activists and analysts whose work revolves around the topics.

The critics argued that the event appeared only as a formality and that there was “nothing new”, let alone any comprehensive solutions offered by the candidate pairs.

As a presidential contender, Prabowo was expected to question the incumbent about his administration’s record and efforts over the last four years. However, he failed to do so, said the Gadjah Mada University’s Corruption Studies Center director Zainal Arifin Mochtar.

“Prabowo failed to explore his privilege as a rival who can offer initiatives for change and at the same time Jokowi failed to explain what his administration has done over the last four and a half years,” Zainal said on Friday.

Concerning corruption, Jokowi cited legal reforms, firm law enforcement and better internal and external supervision of the bureaucracy, while Prabowo said he aimed to “solve the root cause of graft” by increasing the incomes of civil servants and law enforcers.

Both presidential candidates also vowed to strengthen the Corruption Eradication Commission, although no one gave specific details about what they would do.

“If I were Prabowo, I would ask Jokowi to explain why corruption still exists even after he has served for more than four years in office. It should have been so simple,” he said.

Thursday’s debate also confirmed some analysts’ predictions that foretold the candidates would tip-toe around human rights issues, often seen as the weakest points of both Jokowi and Prabowo.

Jokowi has been attacked by opposition activists for allegedly improperly prosecuting clerics and other staunch critics of his administration, while Prabowo himself has been implicated in the alleged kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998.

In his opening statement, the incumbent renewed his 2014 presidential campaign vows, namely to continue efforts to solve past human rights abuse cases. Prabowo, meanwhile, did not mention anything related to human rights in his speech.

It was almost as if the two presidential candidates had agreed beforehand not to discuss such issues, said Putri Kanesia of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence. “Both candidate pairs appeared to choose to play a safe game. They also left out important issues in human rights, such as the death penalty, protection of minorities and vulnerable groups [...] or the forced closure of churches,” Putri said.

With regards to human rights protection, Jokowi and Prabowo both promised to protect citizens from religious-based discrimination and violence, as well as to uphold the rights of disabled people.

Institute for Criminal Justice Reform executive director Anggara said the candidates failed to talk about resolving overlapping laws that regulated criminal offenses, as they instead focussed on harmonization of national laws and local ordinances.

Anggara cited the example of a 2014 law on the protection of witnesses and victims that stipulated the fulfillment of rights for victims in criminal cases. However, the mechanisms to do so were still scattered throughout several other laws.

While answering questions about counterterrorism efforts, both candidate pairs asserted the importance of assessing the root causes of terrorism to address the issue and of improving deradicalization measures.

Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict direct

or Sidney Jones said neither Jokowi nor Prabowo touched on significant issues in the topic, such as the need for better rehabilitation programs for deportees and for paying more attention to women in extremist networks.

“Neither candidate had anything interesting to say at a time when it is clear that lots more can be done,” Jones said.

Debate Round 1: Fact check

Joko “Jokowi” Widodo

Statement:

According to Indonesia Corruption Watch, the Gerindra Party fielded former corruption convicts as legislative candidates.

TRUE

In January, the graft watchdog said six Gerindra legislative candidates had served prison sentences for corruption. Among them was the head of the party’s Jakarta executive board, M. Taufik, who is running for a seat on the province’s legislative council.

Statement:

Regarding equality [for disabled people], I can share as an example that we gave Asian Para Games medalists the same cash bonuses that we gave Asian Games medalists.

TRUE

Asian Para Games medalists received the same cash bonuses from the government as their Asian Games counterparts.

Each individual gold medalist competing in a singles event received Rp 1.5 billion (US$ 98,716), while for doubles the amount was set at Rp 1 billion and Rp 750 million for team events. Their coaches received between Rp 450 million and Rp 600 million each, and their assistants between Rp 300 million and Rp 375 million.

Silver and bronze medalists, as well as their coaches and assistant coaches received between Rp 100 million and Rp 500 million.

Statement:

With the online single submission (OSS) system, Pak [Sandiaga], as a businessman, can go to the office and will only have to wait two hours. After that, the requested permits will be issued and you can start your business immediately.

THEORETICALLY TRUE, BUT

The OSS is a web-based business licensing system intended to cut red tape involved in obtaining business permits. It was initially operated by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister from its launch in July to December, before being handed over to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) on Jan. 2.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said the time needed to issue a permit depended on its type. “If it’s only a basic permit for service businesses, it shouldn’t take a long time.”

“I hear many complaints from businesspeople that it takes a long time for permits to be issued, especially when they involve other parties, such as regional administrations, as they have additional procedures that need to be followed,” he told The Jakarta Post.

In December, the head of the Aceh chapter of Apindo, Dahlan Sulaiman, complained about the lengthy process, saying that he had yet to obtain an extension for his business location permit three months after registering in the OSS.

Hariyadi added that poor management by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister had contributed to the sluggish process. “The problem should have been resolved when the system was handed over to the BKPM.”

_____________

Prabowo Subianto

Statement:

It is OK for regional leaders, including governors, to clearly state their support for Jokowi-Ma’ruf. However, there is a village head in East Java who was arrested for declaring his support for Prabowo-Sandiaga.

PARTLY TRUE

In December, the Mojokerto District Court found Suhartono, the village head of Sampangagung in Mojokerto, East Java, guilty of disbursing money and mobilizing people to welcome vice-presidential candidate Sandiaga Uno, who was set to pass through the village. Suhartono, however, was not found guilty for declaring his support for Prabowo-Sandiaga.

Judges had sentenced him to two months in jail and also ordered him to pay a Rp 6 million (US$422) fine for violating the 2017 Election Law, which prohibits village heads from carrying out any action that may benefit or harm election candidates during a campaign.

However, a number of regional leaders — most of whom were elected in the 2018 regional elections — voiced their support for Jokowi’s presidential bid after being inaugurated by the President.

Statement:

I know terrorists are sent from other countries and they often disguise themselves as Muslims, even though they are controlled by someone who is not a Muslim or even foreigners.

FALSE

Institute of Policy Analysis of Conflict director Sidney Jones said there was a small fringe of homegrown extremists that had been plaguing the country since the early days of Darul Islam in the 1950s.

“It is wrong to assume that the leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, the men who carried out the 2005 Tentena bombings [in Central Sulawesi] or those involved in the Surabaya bombings [in 2018] were manipulated by outsiders,” Jones told the Post.

She added that poverty was obviously not the main driver of terrorism across the country, because if it was, “Indonesia would have a far bigger terrorism problem than it does.”

Statement:

How can the governor’s salary be Rp 8 million, when he or she has to manage a province, for example Central Java, which is larger than Malaysia, with a large regional budget?

TECHNICALLY TRUE, BUT

Governors also receive allowances.

Government Regulation No. 59/2000 on regional leaders’ wages stipulates that all governors receive a monthly wage of Rp 3 million. Moreover, a 2000 presidential decree on state officials’ allowances mandates that a governor will receive an allowance of Rp 5.4 million every month.

According to Government Regulation No. 109/200, a governor also receives an operational allowance, the amount of which depends on the amount of locally-generated revenue (PAD).

The governor of Central Java, which recorded PAD of Rp 11.9 trillion in 2017, can receive up to Rp 17.85 billion in operational allowances. In total, the Central Java governor can receive up to Rp 17.9 billion every month.

It is also misleading to compare the province with a country.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the total area of Central Java is 32,544 square kilometers. Meanwhile, the total area of Malaysia is 329,847 sq km, according to the CIA’s World Factbook.

Central Java’s population is indeed larger than Malaysia with 34.2 million people in 2017, as recorded by BPS — compared to Malaysia’s population of 31.8 million people, according to the CIA’s estimate in July. 

- JP/Kharisar Kahfi

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