TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The University of Indonesia's Student Executive Body (BEM UI) argues that the entirety of Indonesians fell for the seemingly heated Presidential election between incumbent Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin and opposition Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno.

BEM UI Chairman Manik Marganamahendra says voters and hard-line supporters for both sides were blatantly duped as Prabowo Subianto is now appointed in President Jokowi’s Cabinet as Minister of Defense.

Throughout the democratic election campaign process, Jokowi’s hard-line supporters were mostly labeled as “cebong” (tadpole) while Prabowo’s were labeled as “kampret” (microbats). Both carried a derogatory meaning behind them.

“For months a feud emerged among us, the people, just because of cebong and kampret. But today, we were duped for the fact that there were no interests from either candidate apart from their own [political interests],” said Manik in Monday’s rally oration in Central Jakarta.

Manik then questioned the significance of the people’s interests and how it is seemingly being abandoned as the general public was not involved in the discussion of the Criminal Code bill (RKUHP) by the House of Representatives (DPR).

LANI DIANA WIJAYA