Former Indonesian General Bangs Head on Podium Setting Fiery Rhetoric

Former Indonesian general Prabowo Subianto set fiery rhetoric by banging his head on the podium while urging the crowd to defend the country from foreign interests. Strong ties with hardline Islamist groups have bolstered support for Prabowo, who is taking on President Joko Widodo in a battle on Wednesday to lead the world's third largest democracy.

However, critics say Prabowo's campaign message, similar to US President Donald Trump's in 2016, played up potential threats to Indonesia. He often says the country is on a verge of fragmentation, at the mercy of unspecified foreign powers. Prabowo told a massive rally in a stadium in central Jakarta that the Indonesian motherland is being raped.

In 2014, he headed the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party and gained enough support to run and came within six percentage points of beating Widodo. This time, Prabowo has consolidated support from hardline Islamist groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and religious parties, fueling concern about the influence of conservative Islam on future policy-making should he win. A political analyst says in the scenario of a Prabowo presidency, he will have to reward his supporters and the political Islam side will take credit for his victory. "Having said that, he understands the concerns of the influence of Islam and will try to balance that with his own and his Christian family's opinions."

Prabowo is likely to offer opportunities for supporters in the country's budding sharia economy such as curbing businesses that offend Islamic sentiments like alcohol or sensitive publications.