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Jokowi must do more to quell intolerance

At the end of his second year in power, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) can boast of many achievements. But his administration has failed on one important count: Stemming a rising tide of intolerance towards minorities.

Hardline Muslim groups protesting against Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese-Christian, last month. The Jokowi government has been largely silent in its response to attacks on minorities. Photo: Reuters

Hardline Muslim groups protesting against Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese-Christian, last month. The Jokowi government has been largely silent in its response to attacks on minorities. Photo: Reuters

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At the end of his second year in power, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) can boast of many achievements. But his administration has failed on one important count: Stemming a rising tide of intolerance towards minorities.

Since Mr Widodo took power, ambitious infrastructure projects that were long abandoned by previous administrations are being realised.

Lifting the fuel subsidy crucially freed up resources while a further boost came from the recently launched successful tax amnesty programme.

Mr Widodo’s vision of better connectivity across the Indonesian archipelago may be slowly coming to fruition as he dials back on a Java-centric approach and pays more attention to the country’s outer islands.

He can also feel more confident, given the political support that he now enjoys. Most of the opposition parties have joined his coalition, and his approval rating has steadily stayed at more than 60 per cent over the past year or so.

However, while the physical side of “pembangunan” (development) has been taken care of, other aspects seem to have been abandoned.

As ports, roads and bridges are being built to connect islands, cities and communities, an invisible wall is rising between the country’s majority and various minority groups.

Increasing marginalisation, discrimination and attacks on the latter highlight growing intolerance in the country. The strongest example of these are the ongoing attacks against the current Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known an Ahok), a Chinese-Christian.

In arguing against a call to ban Muslim support for him, he mentioned a verse from the Quran, and this was consequently classed by numerous Muslim groups as blasphemous.

Even after he publicly apologised and some moderates tried to defend him, there is now a call to put him on trial and prosecute him.

Worryingly, this campaign is growing and Ms Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis and Conflict, suggests that there are signs that extremists with links to the Islamic State movement may be involved.

The call for a massive street demonstration today to push for Mr Purnama’s indictment is particularly alarming and has the potential to turn violent.

The aggression against Mr Purnama is only one of many against members of minority groups. Churches frequently face forced closures — typically with issues of land rights being cited and usually involving pressure from local communities.

A Buddha statue was recently taken down after a clash in Tanjung Balai in North Sumatra, after a Chinese local complained about the noise from a local mosque.

Her remark was quickly misrepresented, spread on social media and resulted in attacks on monasteries and temples. Followers of the minority Muslim group Ahmaddiyah in various regions have had to ask for special police protection after facing intimidation, physical attacks and forced conversion.

The pattern of intolerance has also extended beyond religion. A recent study has found that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is the most disliked group in the country, followed by communists and Jews — both traditionally disliked by Muslims.

Triggered by a headline in a conservative daily that considered LGBT a “serious threat”, expressions of disapproval and disgust against the community have been wildly shared on social media.

Politicians and government officials have joined militant Islamists and religious groups in fanning anger against LGBTs, by banning gay emojis, excluding LGBT artistes from performances and closing a transgender Islamic boarding school.

Two trends are noteworthy in analysing these events. First, the Jokowi government has been largely silent, unresponsive or vague in its response. Second, the driving force behind these movements is hatred.

Still, we need to distinguish the cases from each other quite carefully.

On the attacks against Mr Purnama, there is a clear government failure. More should have been done to rein in the racist attacks against him.

The fact that all this has transpired in the capital ahead of next year’s gubernatorial election makes the absence of strong government condemnation against the hatred even worse.

Granted, Mr Purnama was his deputy when Mr Widodo was the governor of Jakarta and that the President personally may not want to be seen as clearly siding with an electoral candidate. But Mr Widodo should have understood how a racist campaign against an office-holder could have damaging repercussions for the country and taken a stronger stance.

As it stands, the street rally is expected to attract tens of thousands of people and is led by the Islamic Defenders Front.

IS supporters are reported to be joining the protest. Mr Widodo has called on protestors to refrain from violence as police raise Jakarta’s security to the highest level.

Indonesia is a secular state, and the state constitution acknowledges the various religions and the right to exercise them, and to ensure tolerance.

It is evident that the state institutions and apparatus have failed to ensure and uphold this and, in many cases, have been dictated to by the will of the local majority.

As Mr Widodo now has more allies on his side than when he started his presidency, it is imperative for him to exercise their political influence and address the issue. This is where he needs to demonstrate leadership and take a unified governmental stance to protect the religious minorities.

In the case of Ahmaddiyah, regardless of the debate as to whether it is a deviant sect, the state simply has to protect its citizens.

The theme of the various discriminatory attacks is clear: Hatred, and it is highly flammable.

It is incumbent on the President to act decisively and publicly to stem the spread of racism and hostility against minorities.

In the end, the physical and infrastructure progress will be of little or no use to a people divided by hate and fear.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ulla Fionna is a fellow at Iseas — Yusof Ishak Institute whose research interests include Indonesian politics.

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