Recap of the Indonesian 2024 Election Part 2 (Participation of Human Rights Violators on the Election Stage)

This writing continues my previous opinion about the 2024 elections in Indonesia, especially the presidential election moment, which is filled with political intrigues that are interesting to discuss. If you're interested in reading the previous part of my personal perspective piece, you can click here

Human rights, for me, are one of the most important issues to discuss. Why? Because human rights are inherent to every human being and therefore cannot be infringed upon by anyone. This is why every country, normatively, is obligated to regulate and ensure the protection of the fundamental rights of every citizen. Furthermore, this can be found in legislation, for example in the KUHP as the criminal code and the KUHAP as criminal procedure code.

Human rights are originating from God at the time of their creation, as stated in Indonesia's Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights. It is mentioned there that human rights are inherent to the essence and existence of humans as creatures of the One Almighty God. When it comes to 'the divine' as the highest entity whose power cannot be surpassed by anyone, it means that no one can exceed God's authority to violate the human rights of others.

Unfortunately in the country of Wakanda (just satire btw), a human rights violator from the elite class does not face maximum legal and social sanctions. Instead they even run for president? It sounds crazy but that's actually what's happening here. I won't mention their name explicitly here because—of course—I still value my own and my family's life as well. I wouldn't want you all to suddenly read news about "a man committed suicide and found dead from a gunshot wound to the back of his head" LOL.

_{Such unimportant news LOL}

The Copycat Campaign Strategy of Marcos Jr. in the Indonesian Election

The dynamics of the 2024 Indonesian election are quite different in my opinion, as the majority of voters are filled by millennials (Gen Y) and Gen Z. Based on data from the General Election Commission, there are a total of 204 million registered voters in Indonesia, dominated by Gen Y (66.8 million) and Gen Z (46.8 million).

By the way, a few years back, I heard a story about the 2022 elections in the Philippines which was won by Bongbong Marcos. Apparently, he ran his campaign by presenting an image of himself as a cute and loveable elderly figure. He often appeared on TikTok (as a social media platform predominantly used by young people) and showcased his face edited into dancing videos, which were of course posted through his team of social media influencers.

His charming strategies used during the campaign successfully overshadowed the fact that he is the son of Ferdinand Marcos, a dictator and kleptocrat known for his cruelty. Perhaps my friend @bien could explain in detail how the situation unfolded, both before and after the election. I've only been getting information from news portals and documentaries I've watched.

_{With such a high percentage of young voters, all candidates are racing to create campaign strategies to attract these young voters, ranging from ethical approaches to the dirtiest tricks in the book. Image source here}

It turns out... the same thing can also be seen in the 2024 Indonesian election where one of the presidential candidates, whom I discussed in a previous post regarding their nepotism practices, is using the same campaign strategy as Marcos. Rumor has it that this candidate even hired campaign strategists who successfully won for Bongbong Marcos in the Philippines' 2022 election.

Why are human rights violators dangerous to be made leaders?

Apart from both using charming campaign strategies, Marcos Jr and this elderly Indonesian presidential candidate are also children of perpetrators of human rights violations in the past. This presidential candidate, who is a former Indonesian military general, is rumored to have committed human rights violations in the past and was not punished for it.

He is considered responsible for cases of kidnapping and forced disappearance during 1997-1998, which resulted in 13 victims remaining missing and their whereabouts unknown. Most of these victims were students who were protesting for justice during the Indonesian crisis of '98 led by Soeharto, his father-in-law. Once again, I don't think this is a coincidence

_{The statue of Julius Caesar, one of the first dictators in the history of humankind. Image source here}

Perhaps young people today don't feel the darkness of 1998, so they can easily empathize with the cute grandfather figure they see on their TikTok fyp. But those of us who are older experienced firsthand how terrifying that era was. We were afraid to voice our opinions because the next day we might not see the sun again. My message to young people: try searching for names like 'Widji Thukul,' 'Munir,' or other '97 activists on Google, and you'll find snippets of the terrifying stories of their disappearance and death caused by how vocal they were back then.

Someone with a track record of human rights violations and dictatorship is unfit to be a leader. Our country is a democracy and we need a leader who can advocate for freedom of speech and dialogue. The next question is, will the pattern of '98 repeat itself anytime soon?

Again, only time will tell...

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Thank you for taking the time to read my post

Have a great day

El-Nailul