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Can a Hindu become president of Indonesia?
In a Muslim majority nation like Indonesia many up to now still question whether it is acceptable according to Islam for women to lead.
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Kindergaten students visit the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) Museum in Jakarta, Oct. 27, 2017 as part of celebrations marking the 89th Youth Pledge day on Oct. 28, 2017. The youth pledge proclaimed the foundation of unified Indonesia, the unity of the homeland, nation and language. (JP/Seto Wardhana.)
When 42-year-old Rishi Sunak became the United Kingdom’s prime minister on Oct. 25, he was greeted with congratulatory messages from world leaders as well as a plethora of memes and commentaries, many of them in relation to his ethnic Indian origins.
There was one in Indonesian: “Only in London. The King is Christian [Charles], the Prime Minister is Hindu [Sunak], the Home Secretary is Jewish [Grant Shapps] and the Mayor [Sadiq Khan] is Muslim. There is no Pancasila, no Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, it’s just directly practiced”.
Pancasila is Indonesia’s state foundational philosophy, while Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) is our national slogan.
Dahlan Iskan, former state-owned enterprises minister (2011-14), expressed his envy of the British in a column (Linggaupost, Oct. 27), that they could accept Sunak who was a double minority. “In Indonesia, we rejected Basuki Tjahaya Purnama aka Ahok, former governor of Jakarta, due to his being ethnic Chinese and Christian. Sunak on the other hand, was accepted unanimously”.
Was he? Sunak was not elected by public vote, but because of the Conservative Party 2019 Manifesto, whereby he took over the electoral mandate secured that year by Boris Johnson. That is simply how the system works in the UK. Curious to know more? Check out constitutional scholar Stephan Clear’s piece “Is it legitimate for the Conservatives to continue in government without an election?” (The Conversation, Oct. 25).
So was Dahlan being naïve in going gaga over Sunak becoming the first British prime minister of color? Yes and no. Despite Sunak not being directly elected, it is still an historic event. Yet while the UK has come a long way from when Tory MP Enoch Powell made his “Rivers of blood” speech in 1968 against immigration, the UK still has racism issues to deal with. In fact, some doubt that Sunak’s policies will benefit underrepresented communities.
