TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - It is not difficult to explain the rise of a new phenomenon in Indonesia's electoral history, and that is the massive participation of volunteers during the recent presidential election.
First, president-elect Joko Widodo was the only candidate facing an opponent who represented a dark past: Prabowo Subianto, the former son-in-law of the late President Suharto, but who is better known for his dubious human rights record.
His involvement in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in the days leading up to the reform era seems to have been 'obscured' by his portrayal as a strong leader. Prabowo portrayed himself as the antithesis of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was frequently seen as a ditherer. But Prabowo's resolve when he was in a position of command showed he was a leader who put orders first, with little room for discussion. Prabowo was never taught about the bottom-up style of leadership.
Secondly, Prabowo is the total opposite of Jokowi, a man who is always ready to listen to complaints from the 'common people'. Jokowi is popular and represents the ordinary people-people who hope for civilian leadership, and who dislike party political bureaucracy. It is the people who are active outside the bureaucracy and the parties who gave rise to the volunteerism phenomenon.
History will record that for the first time, there emerged a candidate who was able to garner sympathy from people who are non-partisan, who do not carry flags and many of them who had not even voted in previous elections. Although he was officially endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and four other political parties, he came from outside the party system.
Before he contested the 2005 Solo mayoral election, Jokowi was 'merely' a furniture businessman. Then, Jokowi and the PDI-P seem to have come together naturally, without the candidate feeling the need for power. This symbiosis led to his eventual election as governor of Jakarta.
Regrettably, when people tried to persuade Jokowi to run for the presidency, it was widely believed that the PDI-P did not initially support him. Some of the party leadership viewed Jokowi as an 'outsider' who was not sufficiently blue-blooded. One factor-if not the only one-that sustained Jokowi as a viable candidate was his electability or popular rating, which no other candidate could match.
Jokowi's allure and perhaps the concern over the rise of militarism, prompted volunteers to work in large numbers to defend their candidate. We were surprised when on July 5, more than 100,000 people flocked to the Bung Karno Stadium to attend the 'Two-Fingers Salute Concert' in support of Jokowi. On stage, musicians and artists performed for free, like members at a family celebration.
Elsewhere, supporters got busy on the Internet. Led by singers, movie stars and others from the entertainment industry, they created the #AkhirnyaMilihJokowi ('in the end vote Jokowi') hashtag, to persuade people yet to make up their minds. On Twitter, this hashtag became one of the world's top trending topics. Foreign musicians also offered support, including Sting and Jason Mraz. The public donated more than Rp100 billion to Jokowi's campaign bank account.
The president-elect made good use of the volunteers' hard work, which seems to have availed Jokowi with the confidence to 'free himself' from the shackles of party support. Jokowi should remember to be similarly determined when he forms a cabinet of professionals.
He should not repeat the mistake of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who for two terms was held hostage by the complex system of representation in his cabinet. Ministerial positions were doled out on the basis of Indonesia's geography and ethnic make-up, political party membership, gender, age, membership in mass organizations or religious affiliation, which ultimately ignored the main criteria, which is competence.
Jokowi's plan to draw up criteria for ministers, then find the right people, is a fresh idea that has fostered hope. With this approach, the appointment of ministers could be a change from the usual way of sharing out positions among members of the coalition.
At the start of his administration, Jokowi's most important job will be to reunite a divided electorate. Although 70 million people voted for him, 62 million others did not. He needs to approach them. Replacing the iconic two-finger salute from the campaign with that of three fingers-a symbol of Indonesian unity-is a commendable move. But that alone is not enough.
Jokowi will be tested over the composition of his cabinet and his work program, which needs to be pro-people. This will bring people together and enable him to carry out the mandate his constituents entrusted him with. (*)
