Ethnicity and Power, The Case of Indonesia’s Presidents

Indonesia is one of many countries that got benefit after the World War II ended, it gained its independence after occupied by the Dutch for more than 350 years. After Indonesia declared its independence, Soekarno became the first president, he was in the office from 1945 to 1967. He was also the Founding Fathers of Indonesia, along with Mohammad Hatta who served as the vice president. Both Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta were Javanese, the largest ethnic group in Indonesia which politically and culturally dominant.

There is a myth that widely spread all over the country that says the president of Indonesia must be Javanese and Muslim. I think it’s similar with what happens in USA where most of the presidents were WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). Obama was the first president to break the myth. In Indonesia since 1945 up until now Indonesia has 7 presidents and all of them were Javanese and Muslim. A lot of people has different reasons about this case. Some people says it’s because Javanese is the largest ethnic group in the country, therefore the possibility of getting involved in the political situation is higher than any other ethnicities.

Some people also says that it has something to do with the typical Javanese behavior, usually they are very careful when they are about to speak because they don’t want to offend anyone, they try their best to avoid any conflicts or confrontation, and mostly they are modest. Besides, Indonesians tend to vote people who has the same ethnicity as them. They simply don’t trust people outside their ethnicity and they are afraid that the candidate does not have the same values as they do. Most Indonesians also have certain prejudices about other ethnic groups, that is why they prefer to choose people who share the same background.

If we look at Indonesia’s motto, Unity in Diversity, we can see the contrary. There are more than 300 ethnic groups scattered all over the country but there is only one ethnicity that is very dominant in many aspects such as politics, culture, and many more. Last year, a Chinese Indonesian was elected as a governor of Jakarta, the capital city, and it raised many opinions, there was even some violent protests opposing him. Due to his ethnicity he also frequently became the subject of racist statements. He was the first Chinese and Christian that elected as the Governor of Jakarta.

For me it’s sad because even though the motto of Indonesia is Unity in Diversity but the people does not really unite and does not really accept the difference and the diversity itself. They still have prejudices against some other people who does not have the same ethnicity or background as them. It is just unfair to judge people by their background. In order to be a more successful country we should see about what they do or what they have accomplished. On that way people from other ethnic groups will also have the same chances and equal opportunity in many aspects.