From Surakarta village to Merdeka Palace

In the presidential election held last July 9, a former furniture maker from Surakarta in Central Java, Joko Widodo, was declared the winner over retired general Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo was once married to Siti Hediati Suharto, daughter of the late Indonesian strongman who ruled the nation for some 30 years after the fall of President Sukarno.

The National Election Commission’s final tally gave Joko Widodo, more popularly known as  Jokowi, 53.1 percent or 70.9 million votes as against 46.8 percent or 62.5 million for Prabowo, a slim margin of some 8 million votes. Prabowo claimed “massive, structured and systemic fraud” in the voting and vowed to challenge the results before the Constitutional Court. (Does this phrase sound familiar, something that we hear after every election in our country?) While there is talk of going to court, this step may no longer be pursued since Prabowo has publicly stated that he is withdrawing from the contest. At any rate, even outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono suggested that perhaps the ex-general should accept the result, adding that “conceding defeat is noble.”

Most foreign observers and reputable polling institutes found the election “generally fair and free.” The Prabowo protests were characterized as simply “reflecting the attitude of elites who do not easily accept defeat.”

Prior to the 2004 presidential election in Indonesia, the president and the vice president were selected by the country’s top legislative body, the People’s Consultative Assembly. Megawati Sukarnoputri and H. Muzadi were chosen president and vice president after the incumbent Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), the partially blind cleric, was impeached in the middle of his term.

In the 2004 election, which was Indonesia’s first experience in directly electing the nation’s chief executive, Megawati Sukarnoputri ran against a number of candidates, among them Yudhoyono, a former general. Yudhoyono bested all the other candidates with almost 40 percent of the vote, defeating Megawati in a second round contest, and was inaugurated in October 2004, for a 5-year term.

In 2009, Yudhoyono was reelected for another 5-year term that will expire in October this year. The constitution prohibits a third term for any candidate.

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Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with a population of more than 238 million. The Philippines boasts of more than 7,000 islands, where one can enjoy “more fun and frolic” than in most other places—this, according to Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez. Indonesia has 13,466 islands covering some 33 provinces and a Special Administrative Region (SAR) spread out over three different time zones. We are a predominantly Catholic nation; the only one in the region before East Timor (Timor Leste) became an independent nation. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation, mainly Sunni.

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The family ties with Indonesia go back almost 45 years, when my father Modesto Farolan was appointed ambassador in 1968. Three years earlier, in 1965, an event took place that drastically changed the course of Indonesian history. The event codenamed “The 30th September Movement” was a coup attempt by communist elements aimed at eliminating the top Army leadership and establishing a government more acceptable to the leftists and the Indonesian Communist Party, which was the largest outside Europe.

Six ranking generals were assassinated, including Lt. Gen. Achmad Yani, the Army commander. The conspirators failed to get Defense Minister Abdul Nasution and overlooked Major General Suharto, head of the Strategic Reserve Command. Suharto would lead a counteroffensive that resulted in a bloodbath, with the slaughter of some half-a-million people, including the basic cadres of the Communist Party. This turn of events forced Sukarno to hand over governmental powers to the military under Suharto.

It was in the midst of these tumultuous developments that my father arrived to assume his new post after a stint in Switzerland. One of his first initiatives was to secure a permanent home for our embassy in Jakarta. And with his connections in Malacañang, he was able to wangle approval for the purchase of two substantial pieces of property in what was then considered as Embassy Row in the capital. One would serve as the residence of the ambassador and the other as the Philippine Chancery. The house on 30 Jalan Imam Bonjol in Jakarta’s Menteng district would be his home for almost 10 years. During his stay, he would serve as dean of Jakarta’s diplomatic corps.

When President Cory Aquino sent me off to Indonesia after retiring from the Armed Forces, Penny and I moved into the same house and when I first entered the place, I could sense his presence by the scent of cigar smoke that seemingly lingered and reflected an essential part of his life.

When I arrived to assume my new position, many of his old friends would come up to me and express surprise. They thought he had returned for a second tour of duty. The warm welcome they extended was a measure of their affection and sincere fondness for my father. As I went about my own activities, Penny would become very much a part of the Asean Women’s Circle, under the patronage of Madame Juni Alatas, spouse of then foreign minister Ali Alatas.

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The two candidates who slugged it out in a hard fought and ugly presidential campaign represent different sectors of Indonesian society. When he takes over in October, Widodo will be the first Indonesian president whose origins do not reflect military ties, elite political connections or a western educational background. According to The Economist, he has a penchant for loud rock music and claims to be a fan of Metallica, Lamb of God, and Led Zeppelin. He is listed by Fortune Magazine as one of the “world’s 50 greatest leaders.”

Perhaps his greatest attraction for most Indonesians has been his untainted reputation first as a successful furniture businessman, then his seven years as an effective and progressive mayor of Surakarta, and most recently, his record as a hands-on governor of Jakarta for the last two years. A typical day for him means spending time at the marketplace, talking to people about problems like the price of food, housing difficulties, flood control, and transport inadequacies. (Once again, do these problems sound familiar to many of us?) His reforms in healthcare, education and financial innovations in budgetary practices significantly doubled Jakarta’s income and working capital.

On the other hand, Prabowo reminded people of the long and brutal years of the Suharto dictatorship, during which time he was accused of human rights violations as head of Special Forces in East Timor.

One last word. In 1971, it was also a governor of Jakarta, Maj. Gen. Ali Sadikin, who won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service for his efforts in improving urban living conditions in the capital region.