Part of an ongoing article series on Indonesia’s regional elections 2024.
Introduction
The recently held regional head elections (Pemilihan Kepala Daerah – Pilkada) in Indonesia are generally different from presidential or legislative elections. While the latter two rely on massive campaigns, regional elections tend to rely on informal approaches to connect with voters.
The role of religious figures as informal leaders is thus important to discuss: They serve as a bridge between candidates and voters.
As Pilkada candidates bank on their charisma and voters’ feelings, the position of informal leaders becomes even more important in shaping voters’ preference. At the same time, candidates need symbolic legitimation from local powers in order to boost their electability.
This eventually compels candidates to reach out to informal leaders for support and endorsement. In this regard, informal grassroots leaders serve as a nexus between parties/candidates and voters. It is this nexus that this article will focus on.
Ulamas, Village Heads and Thug Bosses as Brokers
At the grassroots level, informal leaders have played a significant role for centuries, retaining traditional authority and being venerated by the local population. They were heads of their respective polity before surrendering their authority to the national government after the independence proclamation in 1945. This process happened gradually.
These leaders may come from different backgrounds, such as ulama or religious leaders, village heads and preman (thug bosses), and they have been extensively discussed in existing literatures.
In some places, such as Bali, Papua, Maluku, Aceh and Madura, these informal leaders continue to exist and exercise a degree of influence. Although they have lost their formal political authority, they remain influential at the grassroots due to their alluring charisma.
In other words, these leaders still possess some degree of political capital.
In such areas, ulamas have been widely respected by the local population for many generations. In some cases, such deference has been given since the pre-independence era. The more followers an ulama has, the more influence he possesses. It also helps if he owns a large piece of land, widely perceived as a source of wealth and informal power in Indonesia’s traditional context.
Ulamas also draw their legitimacy from vast religious knowledge and bewitching spiritual skills. The people confer great admiration towards these ulamas, which sometimes extends to their family members. Such is how power dynamics occur between informal leaders and the local population.
Some have described them as “strongmen” due to their significant influence over people. Meanwhile, others have proposed that they are local patrons, owing to their immense power to confer protection in exchange for tributes from people.
Compared to these two perspectives, perhaps it is better to frame these leaders as brokers instead. These two perspectives do not seem to fit in contemporary time, considering Indonesia implements a democratic system that technically only recognizes formal leaders, i.e., those elected by the people.
Therefore, by using the paradigm of brokers, the position of informal leaders remains intact in a democratic realm, including in the context of Pilkada.
Regardless, it is interesting to elaborate on the brokers’ roles and dynamics during the campaign period of Pilkada 2024. Some were part of Pilkada candidates’ tim sukses (national campaign team), influencing the process through other means or remaining non-partisan.
Today, ulamas continue to be highly regarded by both politicians and voters. Politicians consider ulamas as particularly powerful and actively seek their endorsement. On the other hand, voters dogmatically “bow” to ulamas, owing to the latter’s possession of religious knowledge. They also consider this a beneficial force in the government’s decision-making process, which can improve their welfare and wellbeing.
Active or Passive Actors?
As covered before in this series, Pilkada 2024 were held in 545 regions: 37 provinces, 415 districts and 93 cities. In this Pilkada, both candidates and voters still considered ulamas and their lineage as a source of local powers. More importantly, ulamas that claim to be descendants of Prophet Muhammad (a sayyid) or possess the “habib” title have an even more elevated influence.
Generally, ulamas have both active and passive roles in managing political preferences. As active actors, these ulamas often nominate their family members to run for positions in public offices. Such candidates often draw on their family’s gripping charisma to win support. For instance, Taj Yasin Maimoen, a Central Java vice gubernatorial candidate who won the election, is the son of KH. Maimoen Zubair, a famed ulama in the region.
Conversely, ulamas could be passive actors that use their patronage for political bargaining. This phenomenon is rather common within the current Indonesian local politics when candidates conduct silaturahim (forging communal bonds/paying a visit) to ulamas to win their endorsement. Tributes of various kinds, often monetary, might be offered to secure the ulamas’ support.
In some regions, particularly Java, an ulama’s endorsement could increase one’s electability. The ulamas’ pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) often receive courtesy calls from candidates during the campaign period. Although these ulamas’ power is not absolute, i.e. it does not guarantee a certain political outcome, at least their suggestions could still influence the people’s voting pattern.
Another common example is candidates’ recruitment of ulamas to be part of their tim sukses. This is applicable particularly to those with the combined oratory, persuasive and charismatic skills. In this past Pilkada, some ulamas were observed joining tim suksesto support certain candidates.
However, commitment can be a problem. There have been cases where informal actors pledged support to one candidate only to mobilize their followers to support another. This often creates a complication for a tim sukses as it would incur losses in votes and resources. Therefore, further studies should be undertaken to analyze deeper the relationship between the informal actors and candidates seeking their support.
Case Study: Madura
Considering all the above, it is thus pertinent to zoom in on a concrete example that can further illustrate this discussion. Madura, an island located northeast of East Java, is selected as a case study due to its unique social and cultural characteristics.
Madurese tend to hold strong traditional, religious and kinship values. Informal actors such as religious figures (ulama, blater and tojing) have significant influence in shaping the political preferences of the community. Their roles often go beyond formal political boundaries and influence citizens’ political choices through social networks, religious studies and religious events.
These actors function as informal political leaders who can engage the public on multiple levels. For example, ulamas have moral authority and the ability to mobilize support, especially during elections, making them key players in local politics. They often engage voters through sermons and religious events.
Blater (strongmen) is another type of actor. They act as organizers, mobilizing groups and supporting political candidates through informal networks and displays of strength. Blater has a special place in the complex power dynamic of Madura, combining followers’ loyalty with political support for figures of their choosing.
The third is tojing who act as intermediaries, connecting political candidates or parties with voters. They serve as “vote brokers”, mobilizing support through personal and social networks.
Tojing possess strong community ties and exert influence based on social standing, economic power or family connections. Their influence stems from their ability to bridge the gap between political elites and ordinary people, often in areas with strong patron-client relationships like Madura.
The last type of local informal leader is village heads who hold significant influence in local politics, particularly in power distribution at the village level. They often serve as conduits for mobilizing political support due to their direct access to village communities. They can play a strategic role during elections, coordinating logistics, mediating community aspirations and connecting political elites with grassroots communities.
Adding to their appeal to contesting candidates is the territories they have influence over, both geographically and culturally. Specific to Madura, candidates usually recruit blater and tojing because they have great knowledge and understanding of their communities. Additionally, with their persuasive or coercive power, they can deliver more votes from rural areas. In Madura, both blater and tojing are greatly admired for their strength and ability to accord protection, often serving as “guardians” of the ulamas there.
Interestingly, ulamas can be active informal leaders who may either nominate themselves or their preferred individuals as candidates for the position of regent. They could mobilise their students (santri) and even pesantrenalumni to vote for these candidates.
Such a strong alumni network is one of the main factors that explain why the ulamasand their pesantren have an enduring presence in Madura. Many of these pesantren alumni have even become politicians or lawmakers, such as Mahfud MD, Achmad Baidowi and Hasani Bin Zuber. Such figures maintain connections with their alumni network and the ulamas that can be beneficial during political contests. Therefore, this network can be relied on by candidates to secure votes.
Moreover, the ulamas are highly regarded in Madura as the population still harbors great admiration towards them and their families, owing to their spiritual and religious authority. The ulamas in Madura continue to give out political endorsements, while also possessing large assets that benefit the surrounding communities. This creates a dependent relationship between them and the people, which then transforms the latter into a great source of votes.
The roles of the ulamas, blater and tojing in Madura thus demonstrate the extent to which informal leaders can influence elections, not only through shaping voters’ preferences but also by boosting candidates’ electability via endorsement and other forms of support.
