Jakarta governor candidates face online backlash over past sexist tweets

JAKARTA: Two prominent candidates in the running to be Jakarta’s next governor have been criticised for past tweets deemed sexist and demeaning to women.
Soon after the candidates – former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung – were registered this week for local elections taking place in November, netizens dug up and shared their old tweets, some of which have been deleted.
In November 2010, Mr Pramono apparently posted a tweet comparing information counters with breasts. “The similarity between counters and breasts: if you want to know, just take a peek, #justrelax ah,” he wrote on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X.
In Oct 2010, he is said to have made a play on words in Bahasa Indonesia – again making a reference to breasts – when tweeting that he hoped to avoid a traffic jam travelling from Bandung to Jakarta. 
Mr Pramono said he hoped to avoid “pamer susu montok” – a phrase that refers to women with generous cleavages showing off, but is also an abbreviation of “padat merayap susul menyusul mobil rontok”, which refers to a traffic jam. “#justrelax ah,” Mr Pramono added in his tweet.
The following year, he posted another tweet about women in sexy clothes.
Mr Pramono is the candidate for Jakarta governor of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the country’s largest political party. He will face off against Mr Ridwan, whose candidacy is backed by a coalition of 15 political parties, including incoming president Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra. 
They are competing with independent candidate Dharma Pongrekun for the coveted role, which is seen as a stepping stone to Indonesia’s presidency.
Mr Ridwan was similarly called out for inappropriate tweets made in the past.
In 2010, he apparently made a play on words, implying that the DPR, Indonesia’s House of Representatives, stood for “Dada Paha Rata” or women with flat chests and small thighs. 
In two other tweets that year, he made the same “pamer susu” pun as Mr Pramono when caught in a traffic jam in Jakarta, and posted about the practice of students peeking up the skirts of female schoolmates using mirrors.
“#wheninelementaryschool peeking up skirts using pencil shavings with mirrors,” he wrote in the latter tweet.  
The following year, Mr Ridwan reportedly made another sexist tweet. “Banking Tip: Before opening an account, look at the size of your customer service representative’s chest. If it’s too big, be suspicious. Immediately move to another bank,” he posted.
Netizens have circulated screenshots of their tweets and criticised both men. “In this Jakarta election, perverted people gather together,” one netizen commented. 
Responding to the backlash, Mr Pramono was unapologetic and said that around 2010, many people used Twitter to post jokes.
“I used #justrelax and it was all about the jokes and I’m sure everyone in that generation did the same thing. So that’s what happened at the time,” Mr Pramono said on Wednesday, (Aug 28), as quoted by local media Kompas.  
 
“Do I regret doing that? No, because I have never blasphemed anyone, demeaned anyone,” added Mr Pramono, who is Cabinet Secretary in President Joko Widodo’s government.
Mr Ridwan, on the other hand, faced additional criticism for another tweet in 2010 that referred to the parliament as “Dewan Penipu Rakyat #DPR”, which translates to “people’s deceit council”.
The tweet was recently reposted by actor Fedi Nuril, who commented, “Dear @ridwankamil. It turns out that you are a visionary. How does it feel to keep competing in the elections in the style of the People’s Deceit Council?”
Mr Ridwan has expressed regret for his past tweets and called on netizens to move on. The tweets were made before he became a public official and was using the platform more freely, he said.
“As is the nature of the platform, I expressed myself freely. Sometimes full of scathing criticism, sometimes sarcastic, often with a mocking tone,” he wrote in an X post on Sunday (Aug 25).
“Forgive me for my past. Let’s move on,” he added.
Analysts have told CNA the stakes are high for Indonesia in November’s local elections and outcomes could shape the political landscape and determine how the national government of incoming president Prabowo works with regional governments.