Medan, Indonesia – Because the vice presidential candidates took to the stage for Indonesia’s second televised presidential debate on Friday, all eyes have been on Gibran Rakabuming Raka – maybe essentially the most controversial vice presidential candidate in Indonesia’s historical past.
Batting away expenses of inexperience and nepotism, Gibran, the 36-year-old son of present Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo, dominated the stage regardless of being up towards extra skilled candidates.
The decision amongst observers usually was that Gibran’s efficiency far exceeded expectations.
“My general impression was that any doubters who thought Gibran was a clueless light-weight have been confirmed utterly unsuitable,” Alexander Arifianto, a analysis fellow on the S Rajaratnam College of Worldwide Research in Singapore (RSIS), informed Al Jazeera.
“He was well-prepped for the talk and confirmed he has a wonderful grasp on financial points. A lot better than his two opponents.”
Since he introduced his candidacy in October, Gibran has confronted a storm of controversy, together with accusations of being a “nepo child” and a continuation of the dynastic politics which have lengthy plagued Indonesia’s politics.
With no political expertise aside from a two-year stint because the mayor of the town of Surakarta in Central Java, Gibran has been accused of driving on his father’s coattails – Widodo additionally served as mayor of Surakarta – and missing the bona fides of rival candidates Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, the deputy speaker of parliament, and Mahfud MD, a minister chargeable for coordinating political, authorized and safety affairs.
Gibran’s candidacy was facilitated by a controversial ruling by the Constitutional Courtroom of Indonesia in October that loosened the minimal age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Whereas the court docket upheld the minimal age threshold of 40 in precept, the judges carved out an exception permitting officers who’re not less than 35 to run if they’ve been beforehand elected to workplace – permitting Gibran to develop into Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto’s working mate forward of the February 14 election.
The ruling was notably contentious because the then-head of the Constitutional Courtroom, Anwar Usman, was Widodo’s brother-in-law.
Usman was faraway from his place after the Constitutional Courtroom ethics committee discovered him at fault for not recusing himself from the choice, though the ruling on the age requirement was allowed to face.
With questions swirling in regards to the legitimacy of Gibran’s candidacy and his suitability for workplace, his debut on the talk stage on Friday night had been hotly anticipated.
“Immediately: This debate was gained by Gibran. To this point, expectations for Gibran have been very low. Mainly, Gibran has by no means been examined. Within the first presidential debate, he appeared like an oddity: a highschool scholar surrounded by seasoned politicians and governors,” Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani in West Java, informed Al Jazeera.
“On this debate, his efficiency was significantly better than the 2 individuals I had anticipated to eat him for lunch, particularly Mahfud MD and Muhaimin. It was clear that he was ready, assured, and had mastered the fabric, maybe having been completely educated by his debate preparation workforce.”
The second of 5 televised debates, and the primary to characteristic the vice presidential candidates, was centered on the economic system, together with points corresponding to taxes, commerce, administration of the state finances, infrastructure and concrete planning.
Dandy Rafitrandi, an economist with the assume tank the Centre for Strategic and Worldwide Research, mentioned the questions set by a panel of consultants have been fairly particular and required every candidate to grasp financial subjects.
The candidates’ weak grasp of economics was noticeable at instances, Rafitrandi mentioned, together with when the questions turned to funding authorities tasks and programmes.
“Gibran defined a number of programmes, for instance, a free lunch programme [for civil servants] value 400 trillion Indonesian Rupiah [$25.8bn], however didn’t clarify the supply of the funding,” Rafitrandi informed Al Jazeera.
At one other level throughout the debate, Muhaimin mentioned that he and presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, the previous governor of Jakarta, needed to construct 40 new cities throughout Indonesia to rival Jakarta – with out explaining how these can be paid for.
The primary flashpoint of the night got here when the candidates sparred over Nusantara, Indonesia’s new capital metropolis, which is at the moment being constructed within the jungles of Kalimantan.
The plan, which was spearheaded by Widodo, entails shifting Jakarta, which is crowded, choked with smog and sinking on account of unlawful groundwater extraction, at a projected price of $1.3bn.
The undertaking has struggled to safe international funding, which was envisaged to cowl the vast majority of its hefty price ticket, and has solely attracted native buyers, one thing which Mahfud questioned Gibran about given his help for the plan.
Gibran replied that Mahfud may “Google” who was investing within the undertaking and attacked Muhaimin for being “inconsistent” after beforehand backing the scheme.
Mahfud additionally beforehand supported Nusantara, and solely Anies and Muhaimin have mentioned that they might cancel the undertaking if elected, arguing the cash might be higher spent elsewhere in Kalimantan and different components of the nation.
Nusantara is just not anticipated to be a deciding issue within the election, with some latest polls displaying that Prabowo and Gibran have a 20-point lead over Ganjar Pranowo, the previous governor of Central Java, and Mahfud MD.
“Gibran was the clear winner of tonight’s debate. It has set the bar excessive and it is going to be more durable for each Anies’s and Ganjar’s groups to meet up with them, particularly in the case of economic system and funding points,” RSIS’s Arifianto mentioned.
“Sadly, each Mahfud and Muhaimin are single-issue candidates who’re good just for their points [law and religious issues respectively] however not so good in others.”
Nevertheless, not everybody was impressed with Gibran’s dynamic efficiency, saying that it positioned fashion above substance.
“He was higher rehearsed in comparison with the opposite two candidates, which can doubtless impress some voters. Nevertheless, his responses lacked coverage substance, counting on a mixture of slogans and factoids,” Ian Wilson, a lecturer in politics and safety research at Murdoch College in Perth, Australia, informed Al Jazeera.
However whereas Gibran could need to get away from the “nepo child” tag, it might be tough to shake off his household’s picture altogether, Wilson added.
“Gibran confirmed that he’s, regardless of makes an attempt to model himself as a recent pondering millennial, very a lot nonetheless his father’s son, doubling down on a dedication to persevering with signature Jokowi insurance policies such because the Nusantara capital metropolis undertaking,” he mentioned.
