Indonesia election 2024: Gibran gets grilled by rivals on new capital, hits back with acronyms in debate

Indonesia’s first vice-presidential debate got heated as Gibran Rakabuming and rivals clashed over economic and infrastructure issues

Gibran faced tough questioning over his experience and Solo’s development while he defended his father’s new capital project

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Indonesian vice-presidential candidate Muhaimin Iskandar speaks during a debate with his opponents Gibran Rakabuming (left) and Mohammad Mahfud (right) in Jakarta on December 22. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:00pm, 23 Dec 2023Updated: 5:17pm, 8 Jan 2024

Indonesia’s second presidential debate on Friday saw Gibran Rakabuming, incumbent President Joko Widodo’s eldest son and the running mate of front runner Prabowo Subianto, manage to hold steady as he was besieged by his rival vice-presidential candidates on questions ranging from his father’s new capital project to his own short political track record.

Gibran, the 36-year-old mayor of the city of Solo in Central Java, also launched onstage offensives by questioning his rivals – Mohammad Mahfud, the coordinating minister of politics, legal, and security affairs and running mate to former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, and Muhaimin Iskandar, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and running mate of ex-Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan – on their climate and economic policies, using jargon and abbreviations that analysts said was designed to puzzle his much older competitors.

The debate quizzed Indonesia’s vice-presidential candidates on their knowledge of economic, finance, trade and infrastructure issues. Gibran kicked off the discussion by highlighting his and Defence Minister Prabowo’s economic policies, which include continuing Widodo’s ban on exports of raw critical minerals and expanding it to agricultural and fisheries products, as well as building a new capital city in Borneo.

Mahfud, whose ticket represents the ruling Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), said they would make corruption eradication a priority while achieving an ambitious goal of seven per cent economic growth. Muhaimin said he and Anies would heavily tax Indonesia’s 100 richest people and dedicate 150 trillion rupiah (US$9.7 billion) to boost the skills of young Indonesians.

While the debate started tranquilly, candidates started to get snarky after Gibran was asked by panellists if his development priority would be infrastructure or the quality of Indonesian workers, should he and Prabowo be given the mandate to lead Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

“Both are important. We don’t really need the state budget to build [the infrastructure and the quality of our workers]. For example, our new capital city [in East Kalimantan]. Many people don’t understand that not 100 per cent of its development will come from the state budget, only twenty per cent of it will. The rest will be covered by private and foreign investments,” Gibran said of the US$30 billion project.

Mahfud responded: “I know that we must build the new capital as it’s Jokowi’s legacy, but as far as I have read, until now there has not been a single foreign investment coming in.”