Prabowo Subianto, a former-general-turned-defense minister, is set to become Indonesia’s next president after taking a huge lead in unofficial results and declaring victory in Wednesday’s general election.

This is the third attempt for 72-year-old Subianto at the presidency, having lost to current President Joko Widodo twice, in 2014 and 2019. Widodo, popularly known as “Jokowi,” is leaving office as a hugely popular leader with an 80% approval rating after serving the maximum two terms.

Subianto joined Jokowi’s government as defense minister in 2019 and has since tried to emphasize that any bitter rivalry with the president is a thing of the past. He aligned his campaign with Jokowi’s popularity by promising continuity with the president’s agenda, including populist domestic programs, and economic modernization.

Subianto also controversially named Jokowi’s eldest son, 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate, after the minimum legal age to hold office was lowered from 40. Although Jokowi did not formally endorse any candidate, Subianto has widely been considered as Jokowi’s implicit preference to become president.

However, it remains to be seen what shape Subianto’s policy takes after these preliminary results become official and he takes office.

“The key thing here is that Prabowo’s alignment with Jokowi has very much been an electoral strategy, not necessarily a governing strategy,” Doug Ramage, an analyst with BowerGroupAsia, told Reuters news agency.

What were Subianto’s campaign promises?

Subianto’s election manifesto was based on a platform titled “Developing Indonesia,” which included pledges of an 8% economic growth target and improvements to the palm oil production chain.

His campaign also ran on promises to raise salaries for civil servants, police and military officers, and provide more affordable housing, along with a pledge to eradicate extreme poverty in two years.

Subianto also pledged to continue working on a project to move Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to a planned city called “Nusantara” in the province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The plan, known as the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) project, had been ratified by Jokowi in 2019.

Aditya Perdana, a political scientist at the University of Indonesia, told DW it is likely that Subianto will be able to fulfil the promise to continue work on the IKN, although “balancing the interest and the investment from the West and China in the new capital project will be a challenge.”

“The next government has to be able to manage it so that it will not heavily favor one side,” he said.

Another cornerstone campaign promise by Subianto was a free lunch program for schoolchildren and free extra nutrition for pregnant women to combat stunting.

Indonesians wait and see

Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Jakarta-based think tank Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), said Indonesians will be watching to see whether a Subianto government “will run their policies and populist programs during the first year in office and whether the state budget will support it.”

One of the public’s immediate concerns is food prices and the availability of staples like rice and sugar. “Market players are also looking forward to know who will take over the offices of ministry of agriculture and trade, as this will play an important role,” Yudhistira said.

On the global economic front, Yudhistira said the next administration will face headwinds, as overall economic growth around the world is expected to slow over the next two years.

“The Chinese economy as our largest trading partner is also facing problems domestically. There is a property crisis, there is a slowdown, retail domestic consumption is also weak in China, this will certainly provide challenges” for Indonesia’s government in the future, he said.

Trying to soften strongman image

Subianto has tried to soften his public image, including with a recent social media campaign portraying him as a “cuddly grandpa.”

However, the image makeover belies his murky past with links to Indonesia’s Suharto dictatorship, which ended in 1998. For 15 years, Subianto was Suharto’s son-in-law.

Subianto is accused of involvement in several human rights violations while operating in Timor-Leste in the 1980s and 90s as commander of an Indonesian special forces unit during Indonesia’s occupation of the now-independent country. Subianto has denied those allegations.

He is also accused of commanding a unit that was allegedly involved in the kidnapping and torture of pro-democracy activists during the end of the Suharto dictatorship in the late 1990s.

Although he was never formally charged, Subianto was dishonorably discharged from the military after the incident and went into exile.

For two decades until he became defense minister in 2019, Subianto was banned from entering the United States because of the alleged Timor-Leste human rights abuses.

But it appears Indonesians are willing to leave Subianto’s past behind, as one voter told DW: “Give him a chance, why not, he’s already elderly.”

Source: DW

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Jakarta, Surabaya (19/11 – 20)

With the elimination of their national team on Saturday, Indonesia’s capabilities to put on its finest show as the host of the 2023 Under-17 World Cup will be tested. Indonesia has been given a second chance to host a global football tournament once again, with the 19th Edition of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, a moving spectacle held in Jakarta, Surabaya, Surakarta and Bandung, from 10 November to 2 December 2023.

This opportunity arrived just months after FIFA stripped out Indonesia’s hosting rights for the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. The bid wa doomed by protests and political turmoil, surrounding the potential participation of Israel in that tournament. The likes of Bali’s governor Wayan Koster and Central Java’s governor Ganjar Pranowo, currently a candidate for President, pushed against hosting the Israeli team as Indonesia maintains a political stance in support of the independence of the state of Palestine.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told the nation while “their support for Palestine has always been solid and strong”, the citizens of Indonesia “should not mix sports and politics”. Nevertheless, FIFA pulled the plug in March and the tournament was subsequently relocated to Argentina.

Assumed to serve as compensation for the loss of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup hosting rights, FIFA officially appointed Indonesia as the new host of the 2023 Under-17 World Cup in June, as a result of concerns about Peru’s preparedness. So far the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World looks adequate, with the hastily appointed new host.

“What is important is that we prepare ourselves to be a good host,” Indonesia’s soccer federation president Erick Thohir stated. “We are all optimistic that this will go well. FIFA has openly stated that they appraise our standards as higher than those of the countries which usually host the Under-17 World Cup,” Thohir added.

As of 18 November 2023, all group phase matches came off smoothly. Some of the matches scheduled for Bandung were delayed because of bad weather, but that’s about it. Many of the teams visiting from overseas praised the quality of the stadiums and pitches.

Brazil U-17 tactician Phelipe Leal was amazed by Jakarta International Stadium.  “This is very crazy. This is a big stadium, it is beautiful and I am very surprised that they can make a stadium like this,” he said.

As of 18 November 2023, there have been 126 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match, making it one of the most entertaining Under-17 World Cups in history. Several players have already lit up the tournament with their qualities. Fans in the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World Cup may already see the next Mesut Oezil, Sadio Mane, Lionel Messi, or Neymar in the form of Noah Darvich of Germany, Amara Diouf (Senegal), Claudio Echeverri (Argentina), and Rayan (Brazil).

Entering the knockout phase, which will start on Monday, there are, however, certain concerns.

The occupancy of stadiums will be open to question, now that the Indonesian national team was eliminated in the group stage. FIFA sets a target of 10,000 spectators per match in this year’s Under-17 World Cup.

When the Indonesian national team was on the field, that target was easily achieved. There were 30,583 fans when Indonesia played Ecuador. Then, 17,239 supporters showed up for the match of Indonesia vs. Panama and 26,454 cheered on the home team at the last game of Indonesia.

Other matches are struggling to meet the 10,000 target, as the Indonesian tournament has averaged just 8,454 spectators per match. It is actually quite common for an Under-17 World Cup tournament to only record a modest attendance.

Four years ago in Brazil, there were only 3,358 fans per match. But now with the Indonesian team no longer a contestant, it is normal to assume that the currently average of 8,000 fans per match might significantly dip.

Hopefully, that will not be the case, as Indonesia is a football-loving nation. Fans of the sport should not miss their chance to watch the best 16 teams in the world competing in what will be a great knock-out phase, and witness the players who could well be taking over world football in the next 10 years.

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Indonesian Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and Vice Presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka registered on Wednesday, Oct 25, the last open day, with the General Election Commission, the recently-forged Prabowo-Gibran team accompanied by millions of sympathizers; there were lengthy traffic jams.

Prabowo-Gibran thus complements the two other teams of presidential and vice presidential candidates who registered on the first day: Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD. The three couples have undergone medical tests and the results will come out this afternoon (Oct 27).

Since the advent of what is known as Reformasi, or a “reform era” following the retirement of President Soeharto in 1998, this is the first time a presidential and vice presidential election contested by three pairs of candidates.

It is noteworthy to observe that all three pairs definitely intend to avoid any “polarization”, which might pose a concern were there were only two pair of candidates. More interestingly, Anies and Ganjar are trying to curry favor from the Nahdliyin (as Nahdlatul Ulama is known), through the choice of their vice presidential candidates.

These days many rumors are circulating about the three couples, and while their veracity cannot be confirmed, it seems that the public is genuinely enthusiastic about this “party of democracy”. The younger generation, who are usually apathetic about general elections and choose to abstain, are starting to speak out and express their opinions. It seems they are enjoying this event.

It cannot be denied that the appearance of Gibran, President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, as Prabowo’s companion has given rise to narratives about dynastic politics, a candidate too young to run, and his father’s interference. It is said that Prabowo offered Gibran the candidacy seven times before the young man finally acceded. While people tended to harbor doubts about Gibran, they came around stop when he delivered his oration. The intelligence and insight of this young man is clearly visible.

On the other hand, the appearance of Gibran as Prabowo’s Vice-Presidential candidate strengthens rumors of tension between Jokowi and Megawati Soekarnoputri, the General Chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as Prabowo is General Chair of rival Gerindra Party. It has been suggested over the last two days that President Jokowi is going to replace Budi Gunawan, the Head of BIN (State Intelligence Agency), who is known to be a close ally of Megawati. BIN will be a crucial factor, especially when the general election is held.

“I don’t know yet. I stand behind any decision of the President,” declared former Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General Dudung Abdurachman, who is likely to be replacing Budi Gunawan, at Jakarta, Wednesday (Oct 25).

Survey institutions in Indonesia provide various survey results. However, let us look at the results of a world survey from Ipsos Public Affairs of France, dated October 21, 2023. The three sets of candidates have equal compatibility figures: Anis-Muhaimin 28.91%, Prabowo-Gibran 31.32%, and Ganjar-Mahfud 31.98 . However, a number of voters are still undecided – “swing voters” who have not yet come to a decision; usually it is this bloc that will decide which one to vote for after the debates between presidential and vice presidential candidates.

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“I am glad that our bilateral cooperation runs well, and we must continue to improve it. Hopefully, we can strengthen this cooperation in the future,” the Indonesian vice president stated.

Amin expects trade and industry cooperation between the two countries, reaching US$82.5 million (around Rp1.23 trillion) in 2022, to be increased in future.

“I hope we can increase this achievement by developing new (forms of cooperation in) leading sectors, such as halal products,” he remarked.

Amin noted that Indonesia, with the largest Muslim population in the world, has several superior halal products, such as food, beverages, and cosmetics.

“Let us start exploring cooperation for these products, one of which is by developing mutual recognition of halal certification of the two countries,” he stated.

Furthermore, Amin and Aripov discussed the opportunity to cooperate in palm oil and fertilizer industries as well as to bolster collaboration between the Chambers of Commerce of the two countries.

The Indonesian vice president also lauded the opening of the Tashkent-Jakarta direct flight route that could facilitate logistics transport and boost bilateral trade cooperation.

“It (the new flight route) can support export and import activities of the two countries. I hope (the number of flights in) the route can continue to be increased in the future,” he remarked.

Furthermore, he assessed that Indonesia and Uzbekistan both have vast tourism potential, including in terms of historical and religious tourism. Hence, he expects that the two countries could continue to explore and develop the potential together.

“Your Excellency (Aripov), thank you for your good reception and this productive discussion. I hope the results of this discussion can be followed up soon by related stakeholders of our respective countries,” he added.

Source: ANTARA

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