On Tuesday 0f this week Joko Widodo, often better known by his abbreviated name Jokowi was named President-elect of Indonesia. Jokowi collected 53% of the vote over his opponent Prabowo Subianto, who withdrew from the race prior to the completion of the count and is contesting the election! Currently, Jokowi is Governor of Jakarta, a post to which he will return, until the start of his official term as the 7th President of Indonesia, which begins on October 20, 2014.
Now the question becomes two-fold, first who is this Joko Widodo and the second does an election in Indonesia really matter. Well, maybe the second question should really come first, does an election in Indonesia matter, to answer that question let’s explore a little about Indonesia. From Wikipedia”
Indonesia is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising 13,466 islands.[8] It encompasses 33 provinces and 1 Special Administrative Region (for being governed by a pre-colonial monarchy) with over 238 million people, making it the world’s fourth most populous country. Indonesia’s republic form of government comprises an elected legislature and president. The nation’s capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world’s 16th largest by nominal GDP.
I highlighted two facts about Indonesia that I found interesting. First, while I knew that Indonesia was an archipelago, I didn’t realize that it was composed of that many islands! Secondly, I again I knew that Indonesia has a large population but I didn’t realize that it was right behind the US in population! Now for the second question, does the election in Indonesia matter? First let’s go back to the Indonesia that I remember and that’s the one that gained its independence from Netherlands in 1949, and was under the authoritarian rule of Sukarno and then Suharto until 1998. Since 1998, Indonesia has been a democracy, but according to The Economist – Jokowi will be a A new kind of president:
He will be like no leader Indonesia has had before, with roots in neither the army nor an established family. This sets him apart from his early patron, Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is the daughter of Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno and was president herself from 2001 to 2004. Instead Jokowi rose up through local government, a product of the far-reaching political decentralisation that was introduced after the overthrow of Suharto, Indonesia’s late dictator, in 1999. A former furniture-seller, Jokowi was elected mayor of Solo, a medium-sized city in central Java, before becoming Jakarta’s governor in 2012. He has a reputation for being a man of the people. Read More
So yes, this is an important election not only for the people of Indonesia, but for all of the fledgling democratic nation of the world!!
Now for a little history about Jokowi..again from Wikipedia:
Joko Widodo (born 21 June 1961) is an Indonesian politician who is currently the Governor of Jakarta and the President-elect of Indonesia. He is often better known by the abbreviated name Jokowi. He was previously the mayor of Surakarta (often also known as Solo in Indonesia). He was nominated by his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P), to run in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (often known as Ahok) as his running mate.[1] He was elected governor of Jakarta on 20 September 2012 after a second round runoff election in which he defeated the incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo.[2] Jokowi’s win was widely seen as reflecting popular voter support for “new” or “clean” leaders rather than the “old” style of politics in Indonesia, although he is over 50 years old.[3] His governorship lasts for five years and will end in 2017.
Here are some of the policies and programs that Jokowi introduced while he was Governor of Jakarta….
Blusukan
Not so much a policy as a general approach, Jokowi has actively carried out the practice known as blusukan of regularly visiting quite poor areas across Jakarta. During these visits he wears simple informal clothes and makes a point of spending time in markets or walking along narrow Jakarta lanes (gangs) to chat to people about problems like the price of food, housing difficulties, local flooding, and transport. Polling and media coverage suggests that Jokowi’s hands-on style has proved very popular both in Jakarta and elsewhere across Indonesia.[2
Healthcare program
Early after taking office in late 2012 Jokowi introduced a universal health care program in Jakarta, based on a Healthy Jakarta Card (Kartu Jakarta Sehat or KJS). The program proved to be very popular. However, the KJS program also generated controversy because implementation problems quickly became evident.[25] The demand for health services from hospitals across Jakarta jumped sharply putting great pressure on the limited services available. Demand for health services surged by 70% in the first few months.[26] The program involved an insurance program provided through the state-owned insurance company PT Askes Indonesia (Persero) and a plan to regulate health charges for treatment for over 20,000 services and procedures.[27] There was confusion over the details of the implementation of the system and long waiting queues for services caused dissatisfaction. The long queues even generated a market for middlemen who offered line-waiting services for up to Rp 150,000 (around $US 15 at end-2013 exchange rates).[28]The various problems led to criticism of Jokowi in the Jakarta regional parliament that he was promoting a populist, poorly-designed program. However Jokowi defended the popular KJS program and counseled patience.
Educational program
Jokowi launched the “Smart Jakarta Card” on 1 December 2012, in order to help poor students in Jakarta. This card gives allowance that can be taken in ATMs in order to buy school needs such as books and uniforms. The usage of the card is constantly monitored and is not allowed for consumptive purposes such as going to the cinema.[29]
Public transportation
On 10 October 2013, Jokowi inaugurated the construction of Jakarta MRT, which previously was delayed for years.[30] Subsequently, on 16 October 2013, Jokowi also restarted the construction of the green line of Jakarta Monorail.[31]
They sound like some good programs to me! So I wish the best of luck to Jokowi, and the people of Indonesia. His success will mean a lot to his people and the world!!!
Links
Complete biography of Joko Widodo at Wikipedia
Indonesia at Wikipedia