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Amid doubts, minority groups to vote for 'lesser of two evils'
“We would choose the lesser evil, not only for the Ahmadis but for other minority groups too,” said Kandali Achmad Lubis, external affairs official of the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI).
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Getting job done: Voters await their turn to be issued with a permit letter called the A5 form that will allow them to cast their vote at polling stations other than those at which they are registered in the Central Jakarta office of the General Elections Commission (KPUD Jakarta) on Monday. Voters can request the form until April 10 at the latest. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistya tama)
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mid the festivities on the campaign trails of the presidential candidates, minority groups feel they are being left out in the cold by both Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, who appear to be focusing their efforts on wooing the majority community.
Several minority groups in the country noted that in the five months since the election campaigns kicked off, neither of the candidates had specifically spoken about protecting minorities who often receive backlash and intimidation from intolerant groups.
The external affairs official of the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI), Kandali Achmad Lubis, said members of the congregation would still vote on April 17, explaining that they had agreed not to abstain from the presidential election to prevent “evil from taking power”.
“We have instructed them to keep voting and they are free to choose anyone,” he told The Jakarta Post last week.
Although he claimed that a majority of Ahmadis would vote for Jokowi, the groups were disappointed about Jokowi’s choice of running mate. Jokowi has paired up with senior Sunni cleric Ma’ruf Amin, who is the chairman of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), in a move critics said was meant to appease Muslim voters.
Ma’ruf had previously made controversial statements regarding minority groups. Human Rights Watch (HRW) recorded that Ma’ruf as MUI chairman had helped draft and issue discriminatory fatwa against minorities such as Ahmadis, Shiite and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Ma’ruf also issued a blasphemy fatwa against Jokowi’s ally Basuki “BTP” Tjahaja Purnama during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial elections, triggering a series of sectarian rallies and changing the political landscape in the country.
However, Kandali said the communities did not want to vote for Prabowo and his running mate Sandiaga Uno because of their strong alliances with conservative Muslim groups that have often been involved in discrimination against the Ahmadis and other minority groups.
