Dance helps Indonesian Defense Minister win over young voters

Defense Minister Prabowo, who declared himself the winner of Indonesia's presidential election, is popular among young people partly because of his signature adorable dance.

According to preliminary results released by Indonesia's Election Commission on February 16, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto won 57% of the vote, more than double that of his closest rival. Although the final count is expected to be announced next month, Mr. Prabowo, 72, is almost certain to win by a large margin and become Indonesia's next president.

In his victory announcement on February 14, Mr. Prabowo expressed his joy with his signature "gemoy" dance. This is a simple, somewhat awkward dance, imitating some Indonesian martial arts moves, but it has become a craze among the country's youth and has become one of the important factors helping Defense Minister Prabowo gain sympathy from young voters.

Dance helps Indonesian Defense Minister win over voters — Mr Prabowo performed his signature gemoy dance when he declared his victory on February 14. Video: *BBC*

“Gemoy” is slang for a chubby person, which fits Prabowo’s appearance. The Indonesian defense minister first performed the dance when he announced his presidential candidacy last year, and videos of him dancing the “gemoy” have since gone viral on TikTok. At least one Prabowo dance video has received two million likes on TikTok, prompting other candidates to copy him.

Since then, Prabowo has been performing the dance regularly in a natural and cheerful manner, making social media users excited and praising him for being cute.

Cheryl Anelia Tanzil, a spokeswoman for Prabowo's campaign, said the word "gemoy" comes from Gen Z, a group of first-time voters who make up a large number of voters this year.

"In the eyes of young people, Mr. Prabowo appears as himself, which makes the difference. Maybe not everyone knows about that lovable side of him," Cheryl said.

Prabowo has repeatedly danced freely in front of cheering crowds. During a campaign event in Jakarta in January, Prabowo was repeatedly asked to perform the gemoy.

"Please perform the lovely dance!", the crowd shouted.

"Jump? I'm afraid of being scolded," Mr. Prabowo replied.

“Not at all!” the crowd chanted. “Okay, music,” Mr Prabowo replied.

He then danced to "Oke Gas", his upbeat campaign song, to the delight and excitement of his supporters.

The videos then flooded TikTok, as young voters shared them with delight. The social network TikTok now has 125 million users in Indonesia, mostly young people, second only to the United States in the world.

"TikTok is the most popular app among young first-time voters, so it has a huge impact as a campaign platform and a place for candidates to disseminate information about their campaigns," said Anita Wahid, an expert who has worked with TikTok on issues related to online information security.

Prabowo's campaign team took advantage of this to focus on social media platforms, with the Defense Minister appearing in many TikTok videos, dancing or shooting hearts at viewers.

For young voters like Irene Putri Aisyah, 22, the easiest way to find information about Mr Prabowo is through TikTok dances. She attended his rallies, cheered when he performed the gemoy and posted the images online.

During his victory declaration, Prabowo told supporters that young voters made up an important part of his support base.

Many Prabowo supporters say they chose him for his optimism and perseverance, as he ran for the Indonesian presidency for the third time.

"He is old but he can understand our generation," said Albert Joshua, 25, a voter who supported Mr Prabowo.

The Indonesian Defense Minister is also known as a cat lover and his pet cat, Bobby, has its own Instagram account. He also opened a cat photography exhibition, which mainly featured Bobby's pictures.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto holds his pet cat Bobby. Photo: Instagram/bobbythek4t — Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto holds his pet cat Bobby. Photo: *Instagram/bobbythek4t*

According to Meta data, Prabowo’s main Facebook account and its affiliates spent $144,000 on advertising in the past three months, two to three times more than the spending of his two rivals, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan.

Minister Prabowo's campaign also attempted to portray his "cute image" as street billboards and the Internet were flooded with cartoon images of his chubby appearance.

“That’s how they soften his image in the eyes of young people. So far, that tactic has been quite successful,” said Yoes C Kenawas, a researcher at Atma Jaya University in Indonesia.