Now, before knowing more about the riots, you need to know about the presidential election.
On 17 April 2019, Indonesia gathered to vote for their next president.
The two candidates in the running were Joko Widodo, who had just finished a term, and Prabowo Subianto.
Joko Widodo (left), also known as Jakowi, is a politician and is the 7th president of Indonesia. He is different from previous presidents as he comes from humble beginnings, having born in a slum and worked as a furniture manufacturer before entering politics. Jokowi also makes an effort to meet people from all walks of life.
Prabowo Subianto (right) is a businessman and former army general. He is the son of a notable economist and ex-son-in-law to Suharto. Prabowo hinges on Islamic values for his campaign.
The Election
With over 190 million registered voters, naturally, it took a couple of weeks to tabulate the votes. Some votes even had to be transported by boat to villages.
As the country waited in anticipation, sentiments of disgruntled citizens were brewing. Each side keen to win this round.
Sensing the growing discord amongst both teams, the government ramped up security measures around the country.
And soon…
The results were released
The results were finally released on 21 May 2019.
Widodo won with 55.5% while Prabowo took home 44.5% of the votes.
Although Widodo won by 11%, the numbers also show that the country was/is quite divided over who they want as their president.
What came next was not a celebration but a tragedy.
Obviously that 44.5% did not take it well.
The riot
Instead of accepting the results of the elections gracefully, supporters of Prabowo took it to the streets to express their displeasure. This comes after Prabowo accused Jokowi’s team of fraud and warned that there would be protests.
The rioting has, so far, gone on for two days straight. The Straits Times reported that there were ‘burnt vehicles and policemen in stand-offs with provocateurs on the outskirts of the city’.
This escalated and resulted in 6 deaths and 200 and counting being sent to the hospital for treatment.
To show that such behaviour is not acceptable, Jokowi has made a statement saying that “That is not an option – the military and police will take firm action in accordance with the appropriate laws”.
Prabowo Subianto, the losing candidate, has asked his supporters to go home.
The rioters are suspected to have been paid to riot as the police found envelopes adding up to about S$570.
Damage control
To prevent things from spiralling out of control, the Jokowi’s administration has chosen to limit access to certain features on social media.
This is a time when tensions are high and false information may be spread, which could lead to even more being injured.
Such measures are necessary to put an end to the transmission of hate and distrust over media.
According to Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, he said in a press conference, “To avoid incitement and false news from spreading to the wider public, we are temporarily limiting access to certain features on social media.”
It’s, however, not a complete ban: uploading and downloading of images are slowed down or blocked on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as these images could inflame “emotions”.
In the meantime, let’s hope that the riots will end soon.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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