They actually accused him of being Chinese descent, originally christian (instead of Muslim), communist, and Zionist.
As Indonesian Election Day Approaches, Jokowi Draws Obama Comparisons As the presidential race between Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto shape up, it’s clear that whoever eventually takes the helm in the world’s largest Muslim democracy will inherit a host of economic issues important to Indonesia’s national interests such as increasing the government’s role in the economy. Yet the parallels between Wednesday’s elections and the 2008 U.S. presidential election between Obama and McCain are uncanny. Just like Barack Obama in the days of his historic presidential campaign, Jokowi has been perceived as a political game-changer in Indonesia. Just as Obama was sworn in as state senator in 2005, Jokowi entered national politics only very recently in 2012 when he was elected as Jakarta’s governor, and before that was involved in local community politics as well. In this election, Jokowi has also found his opponent in a candidate from the military—Prabowo is a former general barred from visiting the U.S. because of allegations of human rights abuses committed back in the old army days (it may be unfair to draw a direct parallel between McCain and Prabowo, however, given the former’s record for speaking up for human rights abuses.) In comparison to Prabowo, who embodies the old guard in the fact that he is Suharto’s son-in-law, Jokowi represents a fresh new option with a corrupt-free humble reputation. He also has a record for championing basic services, implementing universal healthcare while in office in Jakarta—a key achievement during Obama’s own presidency. As if the similarities aren’t already too eerie, Jokowi has been the victim of smear campaigns insinuating that he is Christian or Chinese—and till today, some still allege that Obama is un-American and a Muslim. A popular criticism against him is that he is too inexperienced to rule the nation and so picked an older running mate of 19 years, experienced former Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, to counter these criticisms. Jokowi too is the more popular candidate on social media, found a recent survey—similar to the wave of online support Obama found in 2008. Don’t try, however, to apply any of that to understanding how the stock markets will work in the weeks leading up to and after the Indonesian presidential elections. A graph from a recent DBS Research report shows that Jokowi, the current market favorite, and his actions during the campaign have led to a rallying of the JCI. http://www.forbes.com/sites/yunitao...ay-approaches-jokowi-draws-obama-comparisons/