M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
Malaysian politicians used race and religion in GE 2022, while Indonesian candidates refrained from using the race and religion card in its recent General Elections.
Indonesian politicians were hailed for shunning race cards in the presidential race.
Douglas Ramage, managing director of the Indonesian branch of BowerGroupAsia, said Indonesian politicians did not use polarising and divisive language in their campaign speeches.
Douglas praised Indonesian candidates for avoiding racially charged rhetoric before last month’s general election. See FMT’s video.
Indonesia’s defence minister Prabowo Subianto declared victory in the presidential race on Feb 14 after unofficial counts showed him leading with about 58% of votes.
“What strikes me is that all three candidate pairs did not reach for any use of polarising language. No one sought an advantage based on race or religion,” Ramage told FMT.
Ramage is a leader at an international strategic advisory firm, BowerGroupAsia. BGA is a strategic advisory firm that specialises in the Indo-Pacific.
In Malaysia, Ramage pointed out several political leaders were accused of playing up 3R issues concerning race, religion and royalty in the lead-up to the six-state elections last August.
This was despite warnings from the Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain and Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil.
Ramage said this at an exclusive event hosted by BowerGroupAsia and the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service Association. He also shared insights about what to expect from the Prabowo administration regarding policymaking and economic activities in Indonesia.
Ramage said Indonesia could hold free, fair and democratic elections after the fall of Suharto’s authoritarian regime by learning from other Southeast Asian countries.
“The Indonesian government looked at the Philippines and saw that putting the president and vice president on opposing tickets created instability in its voting system.”
Indonesia held its first direct presidential election in 2004, following an amendment to its constitution that previously required both the president and vice-president to be elected by the People’s Consultative Assembly.
Ramage said Indonesia also prevents presidential candidates from catering to a specific group of people by making it compulsory for the winner to garner more than 50% of votes on election day.
“The election system requires you to run to the middle. It requires candidates to appeal broadly to Indonesian voters. This is why, in national elections, candidates running on platforms more concerned with religion, or those proposing more formal linkages between Islam and the state, have tended not to attract most mainstream voters.”
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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