From the highlands of Papua to the beaches of Bali and the slums of Jakarta, millions of Indonesians in all their diversity went to the polls yesterday to elect their president.

The peaceful poll was only the second time the 234 million strong Southeast Asian giant - comprised mostly of Muslims but also millions of minorities - directly voted for its president since the 1998 fall of dictator Suharto.

At the popular Jimbaran beach on the Hindu-majority tourist island of Bali, locals near the scene of Islamic militant bombings in 2005 that killed 20 people said they hoped peace would hold in the country.

"I voted for a leader who can make this country safe," said Made Suparta, whose beach restaurant was one of several hit by the attack.

"For six months (after the bombing), my restaurant was practically dead. We made food for the mosquitos," said the 49-year-old, dressed in a traditional batik sarong and headdress. "Thankfully, things have improved," he added.

Bombings on Bali in 2002 and 2005 by the militant Jemaah Islamiyah network killed a total of over 200 people, many of them foreign tourists.

Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - who exit polls place as firm favourite to win - is widely credited for overseeing a crackdown on the group, ensuring over three years without a major attack.

"If Bali is safe, then the tourists will come. Our welfare will be secured," said 33-year-old Anak Agung Ari, a hotel receptionist who claims descent from one of Bali's mediaeval Hindu royal families.

In the dusty Kebon Kacang slum in the shadow of the downtown highrises of the capital Jakarta, tourism was far from the concern of local voters.

"My hope is that the price of basic goods goes down. My husband is unemployed, so there should be more employment opportunities after this election," said Juju, 52, who earns between 5,000 and 10,000 rupiah (50 cents and one dollar) a day selling coffee at a street side stall.