The identity politics exploited in the 2019 presidential election is not only a scourge for opponents, but also the shadow of the winning team. Self confidence is undermined. The choice is only two: survive or release.
Moncek Timur Village, Sumenep, East Java was lively on Tuesday night, April 16, 2019. Communities clustered in coffee shops. Around the motorcycle exhaust that roared and roared without stopping.
Agus, a resident of Moncek Village, who participated in the excitement, said the atmosphere had heated up a few days earlier. According to him, the only talk about the 2019 Presidential Election was the cause.
The community is indeed allowed to show support to the candidate pair (Candidate Pair) President and Vice President during the silent period of April 14-16 2019. No wonder, at that time, Agus often found messages of support roaming on social media and instant conversation applications.
The loudspeakers in the Boarding School was also used. The call for the community to choose one of the pairs of candidates according to Kyai’s mandate was called for.
“Here, we use loudspeakers in boaring schools, which range few kilometers from community settlements,” Agus said.
Kyai Haji Taufik Hasyim, Chairperson of the Nahdatul Ulama Branch (PCNU) Pamekasan said the effort to win Joko Widodo-Ma’aruf Amin in East Java was carried out with various strategies. The NU structure at the branch level to the village worked.
“NU and Muslimat (NU) are solid. We walked door to door to people’s homes. Many recitations are on the branches. Not yet (again) in Muslimatnya, Fatayat. This must be the way for all,” he explained.
Muslimat NU is an autonomous body for women which was established on March 29, 1946. Fatayat is an autonomous body dedicated to NU youth who were established four years later.
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Kyai Haji Marzuqi Mustamar (53), East Java Region Secretary of the Nahdatul Ulama Region (PWNU) claimed that NU had succeeded in boosting Jokowi-Ma’aruf’s votes in East Java. The difference with the pair Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno, he continued, reached 30 percent.
“It must be admitted that the difference can be 30 percent, the symbol is in NU. Why can NU be integrated because there is Kyai Ma’aruf,” he told Jaring.id, Thursday, May 8, 2019.
With the second largest number of Permanent Voters List in Indonesia, voters in East Java are indeed the target of the second Presidential Candidate Pair winning team. 30 million more votes were contested.
The importance of East Java in the 2019 Presidential Election is also indicated by the frequency of visits of candidates and vice presidential candidates. According to data compiled by Tirto.id, Jokowi-Ma’aruf visited 42 places in East Java ranging from Islamic boarding schools, campuses to the location of the inauguration of infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Prabowo-Sandi camp was recorded as visiting 90 places in East Java. Islamic boarding schools until the tomb of the ulama was also visited. However, not all visits were responded with support. Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School in Jombang, East Java is an example.
“Prabowo (came) to Gus Sholah (K.H. Salahuddin Wahid). Jokowi, Sandiaga, Ma’aruf Amin (also) to Gus Sholah. Everything (coming) here, all is accepted, “said Iskandar (39) Head of the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School when met by Jaring.id, Thursday, May 9, 2019.
He added that there was no institutional support from Tebuireng to certain Candidate Pair in the 2019 Presidential Election. However, this support came from the grandchildren of the Founder of the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School. Iskandar explained that this was done without carrying the name of the boarding schools.
“The banner in front of the boarding school was (support on) 01 and 02. It was both his grandson (who did). They are different choices, “said Iskandar.
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The use of the NU structure to win Jokowi-Ma’aruf was criticized by Muhammad Al-Fayyadl, a teacher at Nurul Jadid Islamic Boarding School, Probolinggo, East Java. According to him, there was an attempt to force the will so that each Islamic Boarding School chose Candidate Pair number 01.
“There is a kind of circulation from his guardian. In Sidogiri I chose 01 because I saw Ma’aruf Amin. Later, NU will be humiliated if they lose, so there is an order to elect 01 (by) inviting alumni (Ponpes), “he said.
The effort to mobilize the NU structure to win Jokowi-Ma’aruf in East Java was deadlocked in some areas of Tapal Kuda. K.H. Ilyas Siraj (51) caretaker of Nurul Islam Islamic Boarding School, Sumenep, East Java, for example, expressed his support for the Prabowo-Sandi couple from the beginning.
The 2×3 meter banner with Prabowo-Sandi’s face is displayed on Islamic Boarding School Nurul Islam when Jaring.id visits on Sunday, May 5 2019. Cabinets in the santri room to loudspeakers are also not spared from stickers with Candidate Pair 02.
The strong position of NU in Sumenep, East Java, according to Ilyas, does not make the people to directly vote for Jokowi-Ma’aruf. Prabowo’s figure which he considered firm and authoritative was considered to be more suited to the character of the Madurese compared to the label of the ulama carried by Ma’aruf Amin or the populist impression that Joko Widodo displayed.
“All components are expected to provide support (for Prabowo) and therefore all are coupled. There are religious motives that cannot be avoided,” explained Ilyas Siraj who also served as Chairman of Sumenep Gerindra Branch Board.
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The condition of Aceh is not much different. The Secretary General of the Prabowo-Sandi Aceh Province Winning Team Wen Rimba Raya acknowledged that religious issues could not be released from the 2019 Presidential Election campaign. Baliho wrote “Save Aceh Islam for Indonesia” still standing when Jaring.id visited Prabowo-Sandi’s winning headquarters, Banda Aceh on Monday, April 29, 2019.
“I don’t want to be a hypocrite. (Issue) Islam is the only thing we sell to win Prabowo, “he said.
The issue of religion is not only exploited by the winning team of Prabowo-Sandi. A billboard on Jalan Teuku Muhammad Jam, Banda Aceh during the campaign period for example, framed Jokowi’s closeness with the clerics. The photo taken at the State Palace, Jakarta was given the phrase “Jokowi with Aceh Ulama”.
However, the effort to build a picture of closeness with the ulama was unable to control the vote of Candidate Pair number 01 in Aceh. One of the reasons, according to the Chairman of the Regional Campaign Team (TKD) of Aceh Province, Irwansyah, was the party supporting Jokowi-Ma’aruf, who was reluctant to have his voice eroded by a bad perception of Jokowi.
The supporting party and legislative candidates from supporting parties did not campaign much for Jokowi in Aceh. The track record of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), which has never garnered many votes in Aceh, is the reason.
“When the team’s top was not solid, it was not solid in the field. Generally speaking, they only want to save their party, “he said.
Based on the results of the 2019 Election plenary meeting by the Independent Election Commission (KPI) in Aceh, there were no candidates for the Indonesian House of Representatives from the PDI-P in Aceh who walked to Senayan. From the electoral district (Dapil) 1, PDIP only received 25,499 votes and in the District Election 2 there were 85,882 votes.
This figure is too little compared to the seven other parties that managed to get their legislative candidates to the Indonesian Parliament. The Golongan Karya Party (Golkar), which ranks the top, has a total of 325,421 votes. The United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) followed.
The collapse of PDIP’s votes in Aceh is in line with the results achieved by Jokowi. Based on data from the General Election Commission, out of 93.15 percent of the votes in Aceh Province which was calculated per May 21, 2019 at 21:30, the difference between Jokowi-Ma’aruf and Prabowo-Sandi reached 1,819,437 votes. In fact, in the Presidential Election five years ago Prabowo only won with a difference of 175,981 votes from Jokowi.
The Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning / Head of the National Land Agency (BPN), Sofyan Djalil realized that Jokowi will not achieve maximum results in Aceh in the 2019 Presidential Election since long ago. During his visit to Banda Aceh, April 5, 2019, he revealed the results of an internal survey showing that Jokowi’s electability in Aceh was no more than 18 percent.
This was not hurriedly responded to by the Aceh Provincial TKD. Irwansyah admitted that the Jokowi-Ma’aruf campaign engine did not work optimally.
“The leader must be prepared for everything, including defeat. Only this obstacle is technical. It should be handled, why is it not handled? “He said.
The duty to win Jokowi-Ma’aruf was not only assumed by TKD, but also to volunteers. At least there are three volunteer organizations, namely Kajak, Sekber and Cakra which are tasked with controlling Jokowi’s voice in Aceh.
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Gumarni, Cakra volunteer, said that not many teams worked to work on the sound barns in remote areas. He complained, “We move ourselves. Overwhelmed because the others don’t move. Only (conducting) meetings at hotels, in cities, “he told Jaring.id, Tuesday 30 April 2019.
The lack of political machine to win Jokowi also took place in the Horseshoe, East Java. Sri Untari, Secretary of the Jokowi Winning Team in East Java, said that his party had released the area which was the base of Prabowo’s support.
“We are exploring if there is no potential. What is insistent It’s strong affiliation to 02, yes, already, “he explained.
The regions considered to be the repertoire of Prabowo’s voice in East Java are actually the NU base. Nevertheless, Untari admitted that there was a faction in the largest religious organization in Indonesia so that his voice was not unanimous in supporting Jokowi-Ma’aruf in the 2019 Presidential Election.
“In Madura and Tapal Kuda it is impossible for factions to join us, but NU gives confidence in winning Jokowi (in East Java),” he said. (Abdus Somad / Damar Fery Ardiyan)
