Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Pilkada DKI Jakarta 2012

Tomorrow is the second (and determining) round of election for Jakarta's provincial governor. I am bad in politics so I will keep away from that topic. Plus the fact that I am not really following the news to follow the aspirations, the campaigns, the ideas of the 2 candidates. Just like for any election, change is always risky and status quo seems to be a more comfortable choice. If current condition is good, voting for a change may risk for a change for worse while voting for status quo may risk the loss of potential improvement. If current condition is bad, we can hope for improvement by voting for a change. However, nobody knows if the change we vote for turns out to be worse.

It is unfortunate that I would be unable to vote. Perhaps, I am no longer "fit" to do so anyway since I spend most of my time away from this city. However, based on the current trend of what the incumbent has done vs what the challenger has done in their previous roles (the challenger pair are actually leaders in 2 different regions in Indonesia), I would take the gamble to vote for a change this time. The campaign has turned to be quite sad with all the black campaigns as the challenger picks a minority representative (non-Muslim and a Chinese) to run as the deputy. Seriously, please keep race and religion away from nation building. And that should also apply to the minority, do not vote someone just because he/she comes from the minority group. Judge them based on their capabilities.

Jakata (and Indonesia) is a multicultural society and honestly, I hope it stays on that way with the different races and religions can live in peace and harmony. So I am not in favour for the one advocating black campaign.

Anyway, it is pretty interesting to see what Indonesians can do. Please see the video below. Usually, when I read/watch news about mass gathering in Jakarta, it is always about demonstration or riot. It is heartening to see a huge group is gathering for a good cause in peace and in creativity.


All the creativity started from the following video: a cover of One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful. The lyrics describe Jakarta's current condition accurately. From my own experience, I took photo for electronic ID card last December. The ID was only completed recently which means it took 8-9 months to complete. A bit ridiculous eh? Other than that, the video was pretty well made and the song was pretty well sung which I guess further launched the initial popularity of this video.


The creativity does not stop there. I have seen jokes saying that "We all hate Jokowi-Basuki. let's all damage and poke holes on their faces in the voting slips!". In Indonesia, you actually poke to vote (the one you poke is the one you are voting for).

From far, I can only pray, may God bless whoever which will bring Jakarta and her residents to better livelihood :)

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