Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Foto diambil dari www.cnbcindonesia.com
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. The Constitutional Court will try a motion challenging its recent decision which amended the age limit of presidential and vice-presidential candidates.. The announcement came just hours after the court’s Honor Council removed Chief Justice Anwar Usman, who is also the president’s brother-in-law.
President Jokowi has called for unity and a more constructive “battle of ideas” as the February 2024 presidential election heats up. “Lately, we see too many dramas, too many K-dramas, too many sinetrons,” he said, drawing laughter during the 59th anniversary celebration night of Golkar, the country’s oldest party. “(The election) should be a battle of ideas, not a battle of feelings. If it’s a battle of feelings, it will bother all of us. I don’t need to go on because it will go nowhere,” he added. Jokowi made the address to Golkar politicians, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and leaders of the Onward Indonesia Coalition parties that back Prabowo.
President Jokowi mentioned Indonesia’s need for strong leadership to face future global challenges and mentioned presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto. He conveyed the global challenges that Indonesia would face, including global economic uncertainty and climate change due to extreme weather combined with war.
According to him, problem after problem continues to arise so strong leadership is needed. Jokowi explained that Indonesia really needs strong leadership because it will face external challenges that are difficult to predict, difficult to calculate, and sometimes appear suddenly and cannot be predicted.
President Jokowi responded to numerous allegations of government interference in the presidential election in 2024 during the opening of the National Coordination Meeting of Election Organizers in Jakarta. He believes that intervention in the democratic party is impossible. He warned against meddling in the 2024 presidential election. He also admitted that the numerous accusations that the government was attempting to interfere with the democratic process had taken him by surprise. According to him, intervening in next year’s elections on such a large and democratic scale will be extremely difficult because many elements of society and officials will be watching very closely.
An Indonesian presidential contender is facing a growing backlash over his decision to choose President Jokowi’s son as his running mate with the latest opinion poll showing him slipping to second place after six months of being the top voter choice.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto together with the current president’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka scored 34.7 percent, trailing behind the former Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and his running mate at 36.8 percent, according to a survey by polling firm Charta Politika published.
The slip in polls suggests Indonesian voters are becoming uncomfortable with what’s widely seen as attempts by the president, popularly known as Jokowi, to push his son into a key political race and establish a political dynasty. It could also act as a wake up call for Prabowo, who is making his third attempt for the presidency in elections due Feb. 14.
Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan in a forum held by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that Indonesia should take a non-aligned stance in matters of foreign cooperation. Therefore, he ensured that if he is elected as the next President of the Republic of Indonesia, he would not focus on cooperation with China, as what was done by the Jokowi’s administration who tended to collaborate only with China.
“We must always be balanced. From the beginning, when this republic was founded, we took a neutral and non-aligned stance,” he said. When asked about the approach that Anies would take regarding BRICS if elected in 2024, he answered that Indonesia was not interested in joining this inter-country organization. “With BRICS I don’t think we are interested on joining,” he said.
At the 2023 100 Economists Workshop in Jakarta, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said that foreign parties who do not want to build smelters and process raw commodity materials in Indonesia will not be allowed to enter Indonesia according to President Jokowi’s orders. He said that President Jokowi’s order to implement downstreaming and prohibit nickel commodity exports was appropriate. Foreign parties continue to refuse to build smelters will be unable to obtain raw materials from Indonesia, he added.
Activists and former justices in Indonesia urged a top judge to quit the Constitutional Court, calling him a threat to its credibility over ethics violations. Anwar Usman, the brother-in-law of President Jokowi, was on Tuesday removed as chief justice by an ethics panel for a conflict of interest and for failing to recuse himself from a case that favored nephew Gibran Rakabuming Raka. But critics said the panel allowing Anwar to remain on the bench at all would further dent the credibility of the court.
Anwar Usman said in response to the verdict that he would not back down, denying conflict of interest charges and saying that his good name had been slandered. He said the MKMK trial violated the rules because it was held openly and should have been held behind closed doors.
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has opened up a wide lead over his closest rival in a new opinion poll, despite controversy over his decision to pick outgoing leader Jokowi’s son as his running mate. An Oct 27 to Nov 1 survey of 1,220 people released on Sunday by Indikator Politik Indonesia showed 39.7 per cent of respondents would vote for third-time presidential contender Prabowo, while 30 percent would back the ruling party’s Ganjar Pranowo.
Indikator Politik Indonesia principal researcher Burhanuddin Muhtadi, when releasing the results of a survey titled “The Gibran Effect and Recent Electoral Dynamics,” said only 34.7 percent of respondents agreed that the selection of Gibran as Prabowo’s vice president showed that Jokowi had betrayed the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He explained that the survey also found that as many as 66.7 percent of people in Indonesia think Jokowi has the right to determine his political decisions.
Indonesia’s Election Commission announced that it has approved all three presidential candidates for next February’s election, including a former special forces general whose vice-presidential running mate is the son of outgoing President Joko Widodo. The commission said all of the candidates had passed the legal requirements. Last month, the Constitutional Court in a controversial 5-4 ruling allowed Widodo’s son, 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to run despite not meeting the minimum age requirement of 40 for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Eager to show their support for Palestine and how they would take the handoff from President Joko Widodo and run with his economic programs, Indonesia’s three presidential candidates are unfurling their platforms ahead of the election on Feb. 14.
Support for Palestine has quickly become a key plank amid the onslaught in Gaza, with all three reaffirming Indonesia’s long-standing support for Palestine. Southeast Asia’s largest economy is home to the world’s largest Muslim population. It is a secular country where Islamic-leaning political parties for many years have struggled to gain ground in national elections. Religious issues, however, sometimes play pivotal roles in determining how Muslims vote.
Julia Lau, Senior Fellow and Co-Coordinator of the Indonesia Studies Programme, and Editor, Fulcrum at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Made Supriatma, Visiting Fellow in the Indonesia Studies Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute said Indonesians are closer to directly electing their next president. Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo’s campaigns alongside their running-mates, Muhaimin Iskandar and Mahfud MD respectively, were registered on 19 October. A week later, Prabowo Subianto finally landed his pick: Gibran Rakabuming Raka, mayor of Surakarta and controversially, the oldest son of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). While poll ratings will fluctuate as election campaigning runs (28 November 2023 to 10 February 2024), there will likely be two rounds of voting for the presidential election (PE). The frontrunners, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle’s (PDI-P) Ganjar Pranowo and Prabowo Subianto, hover around the one-third mark in most electability surveys. Unless Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar (Team AMIN) drastically improve their popularity, they are likely to be kicked out after the first round.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has been outspoken about his stance on the European Union. Prabowo said he did not deny admiring the achievements of Western civilization over the centuries and the values it upholds, such as justice, equality before the law, and human rights. However, he is concerned that the West applies double standards, which is also a concern for developing countries. He claimed the statement was just a reminder as a friend.
Indonesia’s presidential front runner Prabowo Subianto has vowed to maintain the country’s neutrality in international relations, stressing that he would not align with any major power blocs or join any military alliances amid rising tensions between the United States and China, in the interests of the nation and its people. Prabowo repeated that “one thousand friends are too few, one enemy too many” at an event organised by Jakarta-based think-tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Bobby Nasution, Medan Mayor and son-in-law of President Jokowi, has been officially dismissed from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for supporting presidential and vice presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka. “Yes, he was dismissed because he was deemed to have violated party rules. This is to ensure that he takes responsibility and did not underestimate his role as a party member,” treasurer of the PDI-P Medan branch Boydo Panjaitan.
Dr. Lina Alexandra, an international relations expert from CSIS, noted how Prabowo showed his openness to working with China. Prabowo did not reveal concrete plans on Monday, and analysts note he will face limitations in leaning away from Washington towards Beijing, which is already Indonesia’s biggest trading partner. This is because the United States is still a major partner for Indonesia, especially in defense. As a former general, Prabowo “is also very keen, from the military perspective, to get more benefits from the United States, in terms of supplies”, said Dr Lina.
Indonesia’s leading presidential hopefuls are considering a push to end the state power utility’s monopoly as part of efforts to speed up the transition to greener energy, their teams told Reuters. All three candidates vying to win the Feb. 14 election in Southeast Asia’s largest economy have said they will prioritize cleaning up the power sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
To do that, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and former provincial governor Ganjar Pranowo, running neck-and-neck in recent surveys, would consider ending state-run Perusahaan Listrik Negara’s (PLN) monopoly in order to allow renewable power producers to sell directly to customers. Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, trailing in opinion polls, has called for improved leadership for the power sector but has not proposed breaking up PLN’s monopoly.
A year before stepping down as Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo is facing serious allegations of establishing a political dynasty through nepotism. The 61-year-old, known at home as Jokowi, is due to leave office in October 2024 after completing the maximum two terms as president. But critics and analysts say the leader, who has enjoyed consistently high approval ratings throughout his near decade-long tenure, is attempting to retain power through members of his close family.
Indonesians will vote for a new president on 14 February 2024. The incumbent, Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, has been closely allied with China since taking office in 2014. He has consistently tried to attract investment, particularly into mining and metal refining, transportation, and the building of the new capital city Nusantara.
Examining the three candidates’ engagement with Chinese officials to date offers an indication of their approach to China should they be elected in February. Of the three, Prabowo has interacted most with China. Between 2018 and 2022, he met several times with Xiao Qian, then Chinese ambassador to Indonesia. If elected, he is likely to continue engaging with China and has said he would invite Chinese investment in sectors including infrastructure and food security.
While attending the National Sarasehan dialogue of the Alumni Family Association (IKA) of Makassar State University (UNM), Ganjar Pranowo, the presidential candidate with electoral number 3, provided an evaluation of law enforcement during the President Jokowi administration. Ganjar rated the law enforcement a five out of 10 because it is currently obstructed. Ganjar was initially questioned about Indonesia’s current state of law enforcement, before being asked about the reasons for the decline in law enforcement. Manipulation and intervention, he claimed, played a role. “Both of those things erode independence. From impartial to partial,” said Ganjar.
Kornelius Purba, Managing Editor, The Jakarta Post said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo may have quietly struck a deal with Prabowo Subianto that includes a blank check for the defense minister in exchange for the vice presidential nomination of the President’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabumi Raka, and the continuation of Jokowi’s signature project: construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan. Suppose you have regularly followed President Jokowi’s enthusiastic remarks and actions to accelerate his dream project. In that case, you will very likely share my view that he is ready to write Prabowo the blank check, perhaps he has already done so. The blank check means Prabowo will get whatever he needs to win the presidential race on Feb. 14, 2024, including protection and support from the state apparatus such as the military and the police, who are supposed to remain neutral as they did in the five elections held after the sweeping reforms of 1998.
Muhammad Fauzan Malufti, a research analyst on defense matters at the advisory firm Semar Sentinel Pte Ltd said in their election manifestos, Anies Baswedan and his running mate, Muhaiman “Cak Imin” Iskandar, specifically underlined the importance of Indonesia having a blue water navy and an “automated air force.” In parallel, they want to increase women’s representation in the TNI. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and his vice presidential candidate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, have pledged to gradually increase the overall defense budget and strengthen the military reserve component. They also introduced the “optimum essential force” concept, which is likely to be the continuation of TNI’s current Minimum Essential Force modernization program, which will end in 2024. Meanwhile, the Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD pairing has adopted the “5.0 Defense System” concept, which emphasizes an anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategy, strategic power projection capabilities, and improvement in the country’s cyber defense aspect, including the formation of a Cyber Force as TNI’s new fourth service.
Yanuar Nugroho, the Visiting Senior Fellow, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and former Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of Indonesia 2015-2019 said a clear-eyed look at the various candidates’ proposals for improving Indonesia’s human capital development suggests that the devil will be in the implementation, not the targets per se. Now that the candidates for Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election (PE) have been formally registered, the official campaign will start on 28 November. Each pair has outlined their electoral promises in “vision and mission” (visi–misi) documents submitted to the National Election Commission (KPU). Are these promises for PE 2024 achievable? There are some key similarities. All propose eight “missions”, with Team Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka explicitly naming theirs Asta Cita (“eight ideals”), alluding to the fact that Indonesia will elect its eighth president. These missions can be categorised into four major areas: human capital including social protection, economic advancement including infrastructure, environmental protection, and law and governance.
