M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
In a bold move two weeks before the elections, the Indon Education Minister and the Religious Affairs Minister issued a ban on students forced to wear “tudung in schools”.
Islamic politics plays a huge role in shaping hijab (Tudung) and uniform regulations in Indonesian schools.
Despite the ban on tudung, Indonesians were not affected in voting for candidates for the position of president.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's most prominent Muslim religious party, did not play a big part in Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo’s third bid to win Indonesia’s presidency.
His victory is primarily from the younger voters who followed him on social media. In the past two general elections challenging Jokowi Widodo, Prabowo was supported by the Muslim Ulama group and lost both elections.
Prabowo's K-pop dancing and TikTok influence helped him to the critical youth vote in Indonesia’s elections.
Dancing video:
People under 40 will decide who leads the world’s third-largest democracy when voting takes place on 14 February.
Anies Baswedan, lost to Prabowo, in which 205 million eligible voters cast their ballots.
NU, the most prominent Islamic party with more than 100,000 members, pledged to stay neutral in this election and distance itself from politics.
In a bold move two weeks before the elections, the Indon Education Minister and the Religious Affairs Minister issued a ban on students forced to wear “tudung in schools”.
Islamic politics plays a huge role in shaping hijab (Tudung) and uniform regulations in Indonesian schools.
Despite the ban on tudung, Indonesians were not affected in voting candidates for the position of president.
Ten years ago, Australian commentator Sam Duke described Prabowo as “Born to rule; trained to fight; determined to win.”
Prabowo is an alumnus of Kuala Lumpur’s prestigious Victoria Institution (VI) from 1962 to 1964.
In an official visit to Malaysia as Defence Minister in November 2019, Prabowo said it was like coming home.
“It is like ‘pulang ke kampung’ (coming home) for me. Kuala Lumpur reminds me of my younger days, where I went to school and grew up here,” he said.
Prabowo’s late father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, lectured at the University of Malaya. He intermittently held ministerial positions under presidents Sukarno and Suharto between 1950 and 1978.
As a vocal critic of Sukarno in the 1960s, Sumitro was in political exile in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Prabowo’s mother is the late Dora Marie Sigar, a Christian of Minahasan descent from Sulawesi.
The former three-star general was married to Titiek Suharto, Suharto’s second daughter.
Defence Minister Prabowo, 72, received around 58 per cent of the vote, according to quick counts by several pollsters, beating former Jakarta governor and opposition candidate Anies Baswedan.
Prabowo’s running mate is President Jokowi Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, whose controversial nomination as vice-president boosted Prabowo’s popularity.
Speaking at an indoor stadium in Jakarta, Prabowo hailed the “smooth and successful” election that showed he and Gibran had won.
He said his team “should not be arrogant” and “euphoric”, and that the outcome was “a victory for all Indonesian people”.
Prabowo, a former military general and defence minister, aims to increase Indonesia’s defence capabilities significantly. He hopes to see a “powerful economic and military Indonesia”.
Prabowo was bestowed with “Datuk Seri,” a title he received from Melaka Governor Tun Mohd Ali Rustam in 2022.
In an Instagram post, the then-Indonesian Defence Minister thanked Mohd Ali for the “Darjah Gemilang Seri Melaka” award with the “Datuk Seri” title.
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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