Political Morality: Indonesian Presidential Election 2019 and Islamic Populism

Abstract

Varied political communities in Indonesia have been established upon different types of nationalism such as religious nationalism, ethno-nationalism as well as civic nationalism. While the challenges and competition between these varied nationalisms are inevitable. This is not a new phenomenon. The competition among these groups had crucial consequences for the formation of the Indonesian imagined community since the time of nation-building of the young country. This, in turn, has certainly impacted on Indonesian politics in different periods from the Guided Democracy (1957-1966), New Order era (1966-1998) and Reformasi (1998–the present) eras. Although Indonesia today has achieved some goals of political reform, which has been geared toward democracy, its democracy is perceivably limited. Numerous significant challenges against the reform are lingering around the political and economic power of elites, religious and ethnic conflicts as well as radical movements against democratic values. The latest political tension caused by the Islamic movements against the former Jakarta governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok, the biggest Islamic movement since 1998, evidently shows barriers to strengthening the country’s democracy and multiculturalism. Consequently, this incident reflects a rising trend of Islamic populism in Indonesian politics, which also played a significant role in the 4th direct presidential election. This paper explores political morality in Indonesia, particularly Islamic populism in political campaigns during the Indonesian presidential election 2019, between No. 1 candidate and his running mate, Joko Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin, and their challengers, Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno.