Indonesians will cast their ballot for the presidential and legislative elections on April 17 and, in the run-up to the vote, the political climate has become so polarized that some can’t seem to tolerate anybody with preferences different to their own.
In the North Sumatra capital of Medan, for example, a member of a campaign team for an unnamed party allegedly physically abused a middle-aged woman for supporting a different candidate in the region’s legislative election.
The suspect, 40-year-old Siska, reportedly abused 44-year-old Poniyati at her home. Both are residents of Medan Amplas Sub-district.
“We have arrested the suspect on charges of assault,” Patumbak Police’s Crime Investigation Unit Chief Budiman Simanjuntak said yesterday, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
According to the police, the incident occurred last Thursday when Siska gave a hijab (veil) to Poniyati in order to convince her to vote for the candidate and party she’s campaigning for. When Siska later found out that Poniyati did not intend to vote for her candidate, she went back to her house to ask for the hijab back. Tensions escalated between the pair and allegedly led to Siska physically assaulting Poniyati, though the police did not go into details about the abuse.
Poniyati reported the incident to Patumbak Police, and they later arrested Siska at her home. Police also confiscated some evidence, namely the hijab and ripped clothes from the assault.
The police did not reveal Siska’s political alliance or which candidate she was campaigning for.
Last week, in Jakarta, ride-hailing app Grab suspended (and eventually fired) a driver for kicking out a passenger for supporting President Joko Widodo over challenger Prabowo Subianto in April’s election.
