ok fine. thoughts about the election
none of which i will expand on (i am lying)
Hello Internet,
I know what you’re thinking.
You’re thinking: Faye, why didn’t you write a super funny and smart and jaw-dropping newsletter extraordinaire about the Indonesian elections?
And I respond: I think that every thought that has needed to be thought has been thought. Also, I re-activated my Instagram for three days before the elections. I’ve shared enough.
Regardless, I know you’re all foaming at the mouth to hear the thoughts of your favourite retired political blogger (who still hasn’t even gotten her undergraduate degree), so I’m doing my community service and slamming all my thoughts into a short newsletter for you. Just you, dear beautiful reader.
I’d like to emphasize that I truly don’t think I have much to add to the current conversation, but I think I have a super fun topic for my next personal essay (super different from this, lol) and so I needed to get this out of the way.
Now, if you must know the SparkNotes version of how I feel, here is one giant side-thought and then six other brief side-thoughts. Do not expect anything significant.
(the first one is long but everything else is like four sentences max)
(1) ARE WE LOOKING FOR A NEW PRESIDENT OR A NEW FATHER?
I actually wrote a short essay in early January that I never published, titled Calon Presiden or Calon Ayah, to explore the dad-ification (NOT daddy-fication), of the Indonesian presidential candidates. It was essentially a campaign strategy analysis on Gen Z, but I didn’t end up finishing Ganjar’s section. I couldn’t really find the Big Answer that I was looking for. Interested to hear thoughts, though!
Regardless, here are some excerpts:
[excerpt from the introduction]
I’m bringing all this up because, as I’m sure my Indonesian readers have been informed of over and over again, Gen Z and Millennials make up the vast majority of voters in this year’s presidential and legislative elections. It’s why the campaigns of all three presidential candidates (and every single legislative candidate) have been such deeply painful attempts at connecting with young people. Prabowo is dancing across stages to seem “gemoy” while his VP candidate Gibran attends the Golden Disc Awards (and leaves early), Anies is incessantly on TikTok live while his VP Muhaimmin is… doing whatever he does (fingers crossed it’s practicing for his next debate) (edit: it was), and Ganjar is telling everyone about his porn-watching habits on an Alpha Male type podcast while Mahfud MD is… also doing whatever he does. (Yes, Ganjar definitely talked about watching porn because he believes it will cater to young people, come on).
[excerpt from the Abah Anies section]
And suddenly, Mr. Anies is no longer Mr. Anies. He is Abah Anies. Abah, meaning father. To watchers and supporters, he becomes more than a presidential candidate — he becomes a father to anyone seeking guidance. Now, all you have to do is click on a recent post to see hundreds of Abah Anies comments.
One could argue that the Abah Anies moniker is largely a joke. Do people really see Anies as a father figure?
Well, why do we use the term founding fathers?
Our founding fathers aren’t classic father figures, but they are role models, and that is exactly why Abah Anies works. Many of the struggles impacting young voters are, strikingly, struggles where children would often rely on parental guidance — seeking jobs, navigating cultural divides, and addressing food insecurity.
In times of uncertainty, people often look for figures they can trust, who embody wisdom and provide a sense of direction. In the case of Abah Anies, the transformation from Pak Anies to Abah Anies signifies a shift in perception among young people, elevating him from a mere political candidate to a symbol of reassurance and mentorship. It's not necessarily about viewing him as a literal father, but rather as a figure who embodies qualities that people traditionally seek in a paternal figure: wisdom, empathy, and a sense of responsibility.
And so: Abah Anies is here to answer your problems. Abah Anies is here to save the day. Those who are lost, come to Abah Anies.
[excerpt from the Ayahbowo section]
Here’s something to remember: Prabowo has run for president twice in the past, as well as vice president once in 2009, during which he used his military background to market a strongman approach. Infamous for his temperament, Prabowo was General Prabowo, military hero (read: war crim- eh tercidyuq) who would bring Indonesia to forever glory. The campaign failed everytime.
This time, his campaign team elected on a vastly different track: Prabowo was now gemoy, or cute. Everywhere, you’ll see animated caricatures of “cute” Prabowo. Instead of the standard peace sign for the #2 candidates, he used the Korean heart sign. Prabowo danced across stage (the Financial Times called him the Dancing Grandpa).
As tensions increase between Anies and Prabowo, poor Dancing Grandpa has become the target of attack after attack from Anies (and also Ganjar, but the poor guy is mostly just caught between the star-struck lovers).
On the debate stage, cameras find Anies smiling as he baits Prabowo to lose his temper on stage multiple times. At some point, Anies will deliver a snide comment, and the cameras will catch Prabowo shaking his head disappointedly or looking forlorn. Whether that’s an act or not, I don’t know.
What I know isn’t an act is the online response. Suddenly, Twitter and TikTok pages are flooded with young women crying over the “cruel” treatment of Prabowo onstage.
I just feel so bad, one user wrote, he’s great on the field, he’s just shy on stage :(
He reminds me of my grandfather, another user wrote.
(2) WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT BONG BONG X BOWO…
Like… Prabowo is using the exact same technique used by the winning campaign for Bong Bong Marcus of the Philippines.
(3) VOTING LOGISTICS IN INDONESIA… I LOVE DEMOCRACY….
Every few years, I just get so emotional about the logistics behind our elections. Like, just look at these photos from 2019, published by Al Jazeera. Also, these ones from The Guardian.
People bring ballots using helicopters, horseback, and canoes. They hike for hours on end to make sure everyone votes. It’s. So. Freaking. COOL.
God, I’m tearing up again just thinking about it.
When our leaders fail, remember that citizens are a crucial part of democracy. And so when you can’t believe in our leaders, believe in our community.
(4) I MIGHT GO TO JAIL FOR THIS TAKE BUT CAN WE JUST LET PEOPLE GOLPUT
I just think that golput (golongan putih, or protest vote) is a perfectly respectable position, because that’s what it should be — a position!
To be clear, we should never be apathetic to politics, but if you have an informed perspective that prohibits you from voting, then that’s your prerogative!
I think that protest votes are (or should be) an intrinsic part of democracy, because they reflect dissatisfaction with established political systems or candidates. So everyone should go to the TPS, and use their ballot, but they don’t have to pick a candidate.
That said, I still struggle about whether having significant socio-economic capital would change this right. Part of me thinks that having privilege would make golput less justifiable, because we are often not directly impacted by the policies we fear. Additionally, this demographic often possesses the resources and influence to effect change and mitigate the adverse effects of policies they disagree with, which many marginalized communities may be unable to do.
IDK!
(5) CAN WE BAN AUSTRALIANS FROM TALKING ABOUT INDONESIA
I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I am 100% kidding. Mostly because I think that if we ban Australians, we should also ban anyone who went to an international school, and that would include me, and I am a little to self-absorbed to let that happen.
Anyway. I just can’t believe there are still panels about the Indonesian elections that only have these random white Australians who studied in Malang/Jogja for less time than Habibie was president.
(6) THESE ELECTIONS SUCK BALLS
For a lot of reasons, and one… big… reason, that I didn’t get into.
To make matters worse, I hated the candidates. Truly. Why would they do this to me.
Also, I definitely have a lot of thoughts on the KPU counting process, the proposed policies of the ‘winning’ candidate, and the campaigns of the other candidates, but I also think that the thoughts have been thought and the speeches have been speeched and the articles have been article-d.
Coverage of the elections have been pretty good, so I’d say it’s better to read from real professional official journalists/academics/commentators rather than myself.
Happy to answer questions in the comment section, but I’m mostly just focused on tracking the elections on kawalpemilu.org, which everybody should also do!
In other life news, there is currently a mouse in my dish washer that I have to deal with, so I will now simply click send without editing this newsletter. Hopefully, I didn’t write anything that will make me the subject of widespread cancellation online.
The next newsletter will have nothing to do with politics, so please adjust your expectations accordingly. Love y’all, for real.
Until the next newsletter,
Faye