Indonesian Chinese still face discrimination. Can one Muslim make a difference this election?

But for his maiden outing at the April 17 general election, Azmi, 47, has joined a party with progressive views and a commitment towards fighting for the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

Azmi’s membership in the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) is not surprising given his background. He was a student activist who rallied for the downfall of the late dictator Suharto in 1998 when deadly anti-Chinese riots raged across the country.

In 2012, the real estate entrepreneur set up the Museum Pustaka Peranakan Tionghoa (Chinese Indonesian Literature Museum) in South Tangerang city, which houses more than 30,000 books and documents produced or once possessed by members of Indonesia’s Chinese community. There are no exact official figures but ethnic Chinese are thought to make up about 2 per cent of Indonesia’s population of more than 260 million.

Azmi will be one of PSI’s 574 candidates, a small percentage of the 7,968 legislative candidates from 16 Indonesian political parties competing for 575 seats. PSI says about half of its candidates have at least a bachelor’s degree, and have held senior roles in diplomacy, law enforcement and the media. Their ages range from 20 to 74. Party members include well-known business analyst Christianto Wibisono and environmental activist Silverius Oscar Unggul.

“The way I see it, I am running for parliament as a representative of the nation, not just as an Acehnese. I am highlighting national issues that should be everyone’s problem,” Azmi said, adding that PSI’s agenda is to end intolerance in Indonesia. This would, he said, include underlining that ethnic Chinese, also known as Tionghoa, have a rightful place in Indonesian society.