JAKARTA — With recent polls showing the race for the Indonesian presidential election to be a dead heat, some Chinese Indonesians have voiced concern over a return to the repressive era under former President Suharto should candidate Prabowo Subianto, Suharto’s former son-in-law, edge past his rival Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the ballot boxes.

Some Chinese voters whom TODAY interviewed said they are voting for Mr Widodo, but bracing themselves for the prospect of a Prabowo victory.

“People have that (impression) that Mr Prabowo was involved, whether it is true or not. You can’t erase that memory, ” said psychologist Elizabeth Santosa, 30, who lives in Jakarta, in reference to allegations of human rights violations by Mr Prabowo during the Suharto era.

“At the time, the Chinese were being repressed in all aspects — economically, culturally and politically.That was not so long ago,” added Ms Santosa.

Mr Prabowo was dismissed in 1998 from the military for his role in the kidnapping of anti-Suharto activists.

He has also been accused of instigating anti-Chinese riots that killed hundreds of people before Suharto’s downfall, though he denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged.

Last week, Mr Prabowo came under scrutiny again, after details of the military council’s findings on his dismissal were released.

However, that does not appear to be affecting the former army general’s popularity and he has been closing in on Mr Widodo who only three months ago had as much as a 38-point lead over him.

A survey conducted by the Kompas newspaper from June 1 to 15 showed Mr Widodo now holds only a seven-point lead over Mr Prabowo, though a sizable 22 per cent remains undecided.

In his campaign speeches, Mr Prabowo has often touted his leadership credentials, stating his desire to see a strong Indonesia.

Said Mr Jonny Djunaedi, a 46-year-old who works in the media industry in Jakarta: “The people who choose Jokowi want the transition to democracy to continue … I think people who choose Prabowo have the impression that he is tegas dan berwibawa (decisive and able), while Jokowi is soft and cannot be a strong leader.”

Meanwhile, a recent smear campaign by a tabloid distributed to Islamic boarding schools that accused Mr Widodo of being a Chinese and a Christian has also cast the spotlight on Indonesia’s Chinese minority.

The accusations “cut deep into the very core of contentious identity politics in Indonesia” and highlight the fervour of the closely fought election, said Mr Chen Jieyang, an associate research fellow at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

The issue also points to the political divides in Indonesian society, noted Mr Tobias Basuki, a political analyst at think-tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.

“Prabowo personally is not an intolerant person, but he represents and has publicly stated (a preference for) a return to the old constitution, which is not democratic. Hence, he represents a strong hand that would potentially not allow open discourse on various issues for society to work out its differences in a democratic political culture,” he said.