NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Chris Wilson: Everyman v oligarchs for president

By Dr Chris Wilson
NZ Herald·
2 Apr, 2014 04:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Indonesian presidential candidate and political outsider Joko Widodo is polling at 41.5 per cent. Photo / AP

Indonesian presidential candidate and political outsider Joko Widodo is polling at 41.5 per cent. Photo / AP

Opinion

Former funiture salesman gets ordinary Indonesians excited about election.

A former furniture salesman is about to revitalise democracy in the world's fourth largest nation. Indonesia goes to the polls between now and July this year. Approximately 188 million people are eligible to vote and on July 9 they will choose a new president. Indonesia is, by most measures, a political success story. From the mid-1960s until the late 1990s, the country was ruled by one of the strongest and most resilient dictators in Asia. Fifteen years after President Suharto was forced to resign in massive street protests, Indonesia is now the most democratic state in Southeast Asia.

The country is not without its problems, of course. Democracy has vastly enhanced freedoms and accountability but has seen the entrenchment of corruption. Politicians, police officials, even judges of the highest courts in the land have been arrested for using their influence to extract rents. The benefits of recent economic growth have been overwhelmingly enjoyed by a small proportion of the population.

Between 2010 and 2011, the wealth of the richest 150 grew by 75 per cent while at the same time Indonesia slipped rapidly on the United Nation's Human Development Index. American scholar Jeffrey Winters describes Indonesia as an oligarchy in which a tiny group of the nation's elite dominate the lion's share of wealth and political power. The top 500 oligarchs are 600,000 times more wealthy than the average citizen.

Many Indonesians believe the current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has done little to reverse this inequality or to reduce corruption. He has appeared uninterested in dealing with a series of scandals, many involving his own political party. When Indonesians are asked what they see as the most important issues in the election, they say eradicating corruption is the most pressing, well ahead of its nearest rival, increasing employment. The Indonesian people have grown tired and frustrated with this "rule of the elite for the elite".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Until a week ago, it appeared the upcoming elections would change little. The main candidates for president were two former generals, both of whom are considered to have been involved in serious human rights abuses and one of whom holds a personal fortune worth approximately US$150 million.

Their main opponent was Indonesia's former richest man, whose company is accused of causing the world's largest mud volcano which has swallowed villages and fields in East Java. Unsurprisingly, none excited the ordinary Indonesian voter. But then came a political outsider with popular support so great that one of the political parties had to nominate him as their candidate.

Joko Widodo, popularly and affectionately known as Jokowi, is a former furniture salesman. He rapidly rose from mayor of the city of Solo, to governor of Jakarta and is now the unbackable favourite for the presidency. He is currently polling at 41.5 per cent, two and a half times higher than his nearest rival, former general Prabowo Subianto.

His policies in local politics have been wildly popular - healthcare plans, moves to reduce flooding and improve public transport in the capital (Auckland's rush hour pales in comparison to Jakarta's traffic congestion). He arrives at government offices unannounced and reprimands inefficient or uninterested public servants.

Minorities appreciate he ran for the Jakarta governorship alongside a Chinese Indonesian Christian and that he has refused to bow to pressure from Islamist street organisations to replace Christian officials in local government. Voters love his "everyman" image, his modest shirts and his willingness to talk to ordinary people.

Even better, he listens to them. They see him as humble and trustworthy, they believe he has only agreed to run because of popular support, not used his wealth and influence to further his own ambitions. Indonesia expert David McRae sums up his popularity; it is the "first time in a long time that people have seen themselves reflected in a politician".

Discover more

Opinion

Paul Thomas: A world turned upside down

29 Mar 01:56 AM
World

Aboriginal 'songline' show hits sour note

29 Mar 12:56 AM

There are reasons to be sceptical, of course. A similar optimism was felt when Yudhoyono was elected, and most now feel disappointed at the end of his tenure. And several observers remind us that Jokowi has not indicated how he would approach foreign or economic policy as the leader of the nation.

He has, though, been the executive of two cities, including the capital, and has demonstrated both his determination to improve governance and his capacity to get things done. But any programme of reform and, in particular, a commitment to the interests of the disadvantaged will face opposition within Parliament.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The fractured nature of party politics in Indonesia leads to governments made of broad coalitions. Yudhoyono was required to include politicians from several different parties within his Cabinet, one factor in his failure to further political and economic reform.

But, in a country where wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small group of politicians and businesspeople, the rise of a "people's president" is one of the world's political good news stories. It may herald a new era in which candidates for the highest office are those who have worked their way through lower levels of government rather than members of the Jakarta elite with wealth and "hard man" personas.

Several parties are now running taxi drivers and other candidates from more "common" backgrounds to take advantage of the "Jokowi effect". Oligarchy has undermined Indonesians' faith in democracy over the past decade. Perhaps I am too optimistic, but Jokowi's almost certain victory in July could foretell a regeneration of democracy in the world's largest Muslim country.

Chris Wilson is a lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Auckland.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Serious-to-critical': Crash shuts SH1 in Northland, delays expected

06 Jul 08:48 AM
Crime

'No bad blood': Inmate apologises for shanking prison officer

06 Jul 08:00 AM
Wellington

'Exercise caution': Investigation into Kiwi's death in elephant attack

06 Jul 06:58 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Serious-to-critical': Crash shuts SH1 in Northland, delays expected

'Serious-to-critical': Crash shuts SH1 in Northland, delays expected

06 Jul 08:48 AM

Emergency services were called to the scene about 7.45pm.

'No bad blood': Inmate apologises for shanking prison officer

'No bad blood': Inmate apologises for shanking prison officer

06 Jul 08:00 AM
'Exercise caution': Investigation into Kiwi's death in elephant attack

'Exercise caution': Investigation into Kiwi's death in elephant attack

06 Jul 06:58 AM
Police respond to assault at pool: One hospitalised, charges laid

Police respond to assault at pool: One hospitalised, charges laid

06 Jul 06:31 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP