Strong suspicions of government involvement in supporting the Prabowo-Gibran ticket, backed by Gerindra, Golkar, PAN, Democrat, PSI, and Gelora, are fueling rampant political dynasty motives under the oligarchic control. #aminkanindonesia
JAKARTA | KBA – The widespread attitude of “anyone but Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka” among the public, as the February 14, 2024, vote nears, is unsurprising due to the growing disenchantment with the number 2 presidential-vice presidential pair from the outset.
This began with the controversy surrounding Gibran’s nomination as vice-presidential candidate following the Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling on the 2017 Election Law, allowing President Joko Widodo’s son to run in the presidential race despite being under 40 years old.
“Firstly, the initial choice of Gibran, through the MK process, was already ethically questionable. And then there was the ethical violation, with Gibran’s uncle, Anwar Usman, a judge at the Constitutional Court, being sanctioned,” explained Dr. Dimas Oky Nugroho, Chair of the National Cadres Association, to KBA News on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.
Secondly, the performance of both Prabowo and Gibran in the four pre-election debates did more to repel than attract public support.
“The number 2 pair, both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, seem to have issues managing their emotions and sometimes the substance of their arguments. That was apparent,” stated the initiator of the Indonesian Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP), a leadership exchange program for young Indonesians with various friendly countries.
The culmination of the MK process and the debates has further alienated the public from this pair, especially Gibran, who is now seen as a liability to Prabowo Subianto.
“Gibran has become a liability to Prabowo, causing Gen Z to shift away. They might have initially liked Prabowo, but seeing Gibran there, they lose sympathy and eventually migrate to either 1 or 3,” explained the Doctor of Political Anthropology from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia.
Furthermore, the third reason is the strong suspicion of government involvement in supporting the Prabowo-Gibran ticket. This has even led to a decline in Jokowi’s popularity.
“Their reliance on Jokowi’s popularity, thought to boost electability, is now backfiring due to Jokowi’s involvement in the same mire. Thus, Jokowi’s popularity is being eroded due to the behavior displayed by the number 2 pair, especially Gibran, who has made the public unsympathetic,” he explained.
These reasons led to the massive support for the “Anyone but Prabowo-Gibran” sentiment at the recent Electoral Festival in Jakarta, where most young attendees spontaneously declared their stance against Prabowo-Gibran, including the emergence of the “Four Finger Salute” movement on social media as an expression of not choosing this pair.
However, he offers an additional perspective on the latter phenomenon. “But the Four Finger Salute could also be seen as a strategy by number 3 (Ganjar-Mahfud) to undermine number 1 (Anies-Muhaimin), especially in areas like West Java where number 3 has less prospect,” he concluded.
As previously reported, at the Electoral Festival in Jakarta, PSI politician Ade Armando warned Anies-Muhaimin supporters to be ready to support Ganjar-Mahfud MD or vice versa in the second round. Even PDIP supporters must be ready to support PKS if they want to back Anies in the second round.
If the presidential election goes to two rounds, either the Anies or Ganjar pair will pass through, given one ticket is held by Prabowo-Gibran, who Ade Armando believes has high electability and is optimistic that the number 2 pair supported by PSI can win in one round.
Responding to Ade Armando’s statement, hundreds of attendees unanimously agreed it’s not an issue for Anies and Ganjar supporters to unite in the second round, as their main goal is not to support Prabowo-Gibran.
Meanwhile, the Four Finger Salute movement was initiated by the National Presidium of the Green Party of Indonesia, John Muhammad, through his social media account, @johnmuhammad_, and then followed by netizens, posting photos with the four-finger symbol captioned ‘One three plus us’ and hashtagged #NotPrabowoGibran. (kba).