Crowds swell and cheer as Indonesians cast early vote in Singapore

SINGAPORE — The crowds streamed in as early as 6.30am and swelled steadily through Sunday (April 14), as tens of thousands of Indonesians in Singapore cast their early votes ahead of a hotly anticipated general election.

Queuing in the blistering heat, voters broke out in raucous cheers for “Prabowo” and “Jokowi” near the Indonesian Embassy along Chatsworth Road in Tanglin.

Many whipped out their phones to take photos and record videos of the heaving queues.  

Incumbent president Joko Widodo, 57 — better known as Jokowi — and Mr Prabowo Subianto, 67, are going head to head in the coming presidential polls on Wednesday (April 17).

Voters will also, for the first time, choose the members of the country’s national parliament that same day.

More than two million Indonesians are expected to cast their votes at overseas polling stations between Monday and Sunday. Voting in each city takes place over a day.

Those in Singapore could do so from 8am to 6pm on Sunday, joining Indonesians in cities such as Seoul and Kuala Lumpur in casting their ballots.  

Out of about 180,000 Indonesians in Singapore, 127,000 or so are registered eligible voters. This means they can cast their ballot by post or at the embassy.  

On Sunday, the sea of voters caused a traffic bottleneck leading to the embassy, with vehicles slowing to a crawl at the nearby Grange Road and Chatsworth Road around noon.

At 12.30pm, TODAY observed that the snaking queue stretched more than 1km into the nearby Bishopsgate estate.

Domestic helper Ismini, 42, who goes by a single name, travelled from her Tampines workplace to join the queue at 9am. She cast her vote at around 12.30pm.

A design manager, who goes by the name of Jammy, said that casting their vote at the embassy allows Indonesians to soak in the atmosphere, but “it is not worth spending our Sunday to queue for this”.

The 43-year-old called on the Indonesian authorities to improve the system, such as by spreading out the voting over a few days. Still, he added: “Even though it is only one vote, at least I can share my thoughts with the government.”

Mr Mulyohandoko, 61, a regional manager, said that there was hardly a queue at the embassy when he turned up to vote in the 2014 polls.

In 2014, Mr Widodo beat Mr Prabowo at the polls by 6 percentage points.

Asked to respond to voters’ concerns over the long wait, Mr Ngurah Swajaya, Indonesia’s ambassador to Singapore, told TODAY that there were no significant problems or complaints from voters.

“They are still very excited and joyful, even after such a long wait of two or even three hours.”

BRAVING THE ODDS

Some Indonesians braved the odds to cast their vote.

Mr Bigman Sirait, 58, underwent surgery in Singapore to replace a heart pump last month and had to vote in an ambulance with a doctor by his side.

“I may be sick, but I will fight the battle,” said the priest. “What’s the point of confessing to be an Indonesian if I do nothing today? If I don’t exercise my right and… be counted, I am a coward.”

There were also prominent figures in the crowd, such as former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who held office from 2004 to 2014.

His wife, Mrs Ani Yudhoyono, has been undergoing medical treatment at the National University Hospital and is reportedly recovering from leukemia.

He said of voting in Singapore: “This is a new experience for me. I am happy because it is done well. I could see that the organisation is good… and the spirit of the Indonesian people is very good. I’m happy as a former leader and (hope) it brings good things for our country.”

The Indonesian Embassy told TODAY that 38,106 Indonesians had cast their votes in Singapore on Sunday. Another 8,149 of them had done so by post.

More than 192 million Indonesians from 34 provinces will go to the polls on Wednesday. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NURIA LING