Jakarta – A survey has revealed that faith and ethnicity have become less relevant for the country's young voters who are expected to cast their votes in the 2014 elections.
The survey, conducted by the Indonesian Youth Alliance for Change (API Perubahan), found that 47.2 percent of respondents interviewed in the country's 10 major cities – a total of 450 respondents – said they could accept a non-Muslim candidate as the country's president. While another 47 percent of respondents said that Indonesia must have a Muslim president, 5.6 percent were undecided.
API Perubahan conducted its survey between Nov. 5 and Nov. 15 in 10 cities by interviewing 450 respondents between 17 and 45-years-old. The survey also showed that 52.3 percent of respondents rejected the notion that the country's president had to be male.
To further challenge the conventional wisdom that the country's president must be a Javanese, 89.5 percent of respondents said the next leader could come from another of the country's ethnic groups. "Our respondents have shown that they no longer care about such factors when they select leaders," API secretary general Dendy Susianto said.
The country's young voters, Susanto said, had become more open as they had access to information from the media about the credibility and track records of politicians.
The survey also gauged which politicians were most electable in the 2014 presidential election.
Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was the respondents' favourite with a 37.4 percent approval rating from respondents. State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan came second with 27.8 percent, while rector of Paramadina University Anies Baswedan was in a distant third position with 12.9 percent.
National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Wanda Hamidah said the survey's findings were good news, particularly for women. "Women can now be more confident to get involved in politics because they can also gain public trust to be leaders," said Wanda, a councilor at the Jakarta City Council.
Meanwhile, political analyst with the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) Siti Zuhro said that the survey had validated the notion that voters today no longer responded to issues of faith and ethnicity.
Siti said that the most recent example was the election of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an Indonesian of Chinese descent, as Jakarta deputy governor. Basuki was elected despite a smear campaign launched against him that highlighted his religious and ethnic background. Siti, however, dismissed the notion that Jokowi should run as a presidential candidate in the 2014 election.
"Let Jokowi finish his duties as Jakarta governor. His turn [to enter the national political scene] will come in the 2019 general election," she said. (riz)