Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – As racial and religious tensions escalate ahead of the second-round election for Jakarta governor, an analyst says it is unlikely that voters will take the issue of race and religion into consideration in deciding whom to support in the poll.
Tamrin Amal Tomagola, a sociologist from the Jakarta-based University of Indonesia, said that the capital had always been made up of migrants from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. "Clear separation between groups of different religions and ethnicities in the city did exist, but it is long-gone," Tamrin said at a discussion recently.
The sociologist explained that in the early years of Indonesian independence in the 1950s, migrants from both outside and from within Java Island began flocking to the capital.
Initial moves to Jakarta triggered a chain of migration, in which families, friends and relatives soon followed their more pioneering acquaintances. The migration resulted in members of the same ethnic groups residing within the same areas.
"Tied into ethnicity are similarities of religious identity. Those coming from Manado and Ambon, for example, were mostly Christian," Tamrin said.
The partition and the sentiment that went with it, however, fell apart during the New Order era, which saw rapid economic and infrastructure growth.
Members of different religious and ethnic backgrounds were blended and later segregated into economic classes. "What we see today in Jakarta is a society that's divided based on socioeconomic class, and on purchasing power," Tamrin said.
Jakarta will hold a runoff election in September between incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and out-of-towner Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Jokowi finished first in the initial round of the election held on July 11, while Fauzi came in second.
Jokowi's running mate Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, has been targeted by a barrage of racial and religious slurs.
Jeirry Sumampouw, an election observer from the Indonesian Election Committee (TePI), said that issues relating to ethnicity, religion, race and intergroup relations, locally referred to as SARA, did not surface prior to the July 11 election. "The fact that SARA surfaced after the July 11 election can be seen as a part of political tactics," Jeirry said.
An exit poll conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) showed Jokowi was supported by 39 percent of Muslim voters, while Fauzi was backed by 35 percent.
Jokowi also won the majority of Christian voters's support at 76 percent, while 16 percent still believed in Fauzi.
The same poll showed Jokowi led his runoff opponent by 3.2 percentage points among the city's low-income voters, as well as among middle- and upper-class voters at 9.2 points and 19.1 points, respectively.