STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Indonesia’s presidential election is scheduled to be held in 2024. This will be a major election as incumbent President Joko Widodo will pass the baton to the next candidate after two terms.
Within this backdrop, Widodo – more commonly known as Jokowi – is insistent on cementing his presidential legacy by finishing the groundwork for the new capital of Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
Seen in the context of rising cost of living and inflation, this legacy project that some critics have called “vain” could be derailed as the administration focuses on social issues pertaining to the rising cost of living. In this regard, Jokowi has been seen as being adamant to set the stage for his most favoured candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, to continue his Nusantara capital legacy.
President Jokowi, when asked by reporters on Wednesday, hinted that another cabinet reshuffle is not out of the question. “Ministers have to work extra hard. They have to work on micro level, even super micro,” Jokowi said. Jokowi also said ministers were welcome to campaign for their political party ahead of the elections, but it must not interfere with their main duties.
The 2024 presidential candidate national electability survey by pollster Parameter Politik Indonesia released on Monday showed that Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo was the candidate with the highest electability, beating Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan. Ganjar received 25.4 percent votes in the survey, followed by Prabowo Subianto with 19.0 percent and Anies Baswedan with 17.8 percent.
A video of Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan political campaigning for his daughter Futri Zulya Savitri while distributing free cooking oil in government’s “Minyakita” program in Teluk Betung Timur District, Bandar Lampung City, last Saturday, has gone viral on social media.
In response to this, President Jokowi asked his ministers to focus on work. “I ask all ministers to focus on their work. The Trade Minister should take care of the most important thing, as I had tasked him with, how to lower the price of cooking oil,” said Jokowi.
A recent polling by Indikator Politik Indonesia showed that public satisfaction with President Jokowi’s performance reached 67.5 percent, Executive Director Burhanuddin Muhtadi said in a press conference on Monday. Respondents said they were pleased with Jokowi’s assistance for the underprivileged (38.1 percent) and infrastructure projects (20 percent) (Red/many sources).
