Scholars, however, have said that the quotes were taken out of context.
n a controversial move, the legal team of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has cited the writings of two Australian scholars to make the case that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo used New Order tactics to rig the April 17 election.
Scholars, however, have said the quotations were taken out of context.
In its legal petition that was read out in the court on Friday, the Prabowo camp accused the Jokowi administration of leaning toward authoritarianism. Jokowi, it said, had committed violations during the election process that were similar to what happened under Soeharto, the New Order leader who led the nation for 32 years.
One of the scholars is Tim Lindsey of the Melbourne Law School, who wrote a paper titled “Jokowi in Indonesia’s ‘Neo-New Order’”.
Teuku Nasrullah, one of Prabowo’s lawyers, highlighted the fact that Lindsey had labeled the Jokowi administration as the “Neo New Order.” Teuku said that Jokowi, like Soeharto, had persecuted his critics to retain his power.
He argued that, “the potentiality of an incumbent president committing election fraud is greater when the administration has authoritarian characteristics, which in Indonesia is exemplified by the New Order.”
The Prabowo team also cited an article written by Tom Power that, according to Teuku, had made a claim that Jokowi, like the New Order, had abused law enforcement agencies to weaken the opposition and had expanded the military’s role.
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.