Mirage of Power

To avoid growing unrest and speculation, it might be better if President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo firmly stated, "I will not postpone the election, nor will I serve as president for a third term"

Power is alluring and dazzling. An over-confident leader tends to perpetuate power on the pretext of carrying out people’s will. This political mirage easily distorts the optical visibility of the rulers. Moreover, big data allows it to be a means of engineering citizens' aspirations.

Mirage is a phenomenon of optical illusion that occurs in a vast open land (desert) due to refraction of light, making a non-existent object look as if it existed. This vast land in the political specter is similar to big data which a power may easily distort to claim justification for legitimacy.