Vice President Maruf Amin has ruled out running for another term in 2024, saying he’s too old and wants to make way for younger candidates.
The 80-year-old cleric and politician made the statement today when asked if he would be interested in being a running mate for any presidential hopefuls or parties seeking to woo Muslim voters.
“I have said that I am 80 years old now, [next year] I will be 81, I think I am too old. Therefore, I think it’s better to have younger [politicians], younger and fresher,” Maruf said in a press conference today.
“There are many who are ready to be vice presidents. Age must be taken into account. As for me, I think five years is enough serving this country.”
It does not seem that Ma’ruf will go the way of Biden either and shoot for the presidency in 2024.
Ma’ruf’s age was a point of contention when he was picked as President Joko Widodo’s running mate in 2019. Back then, Jokowi was widely expected to tap Mahfud MD (now Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs), only to surprise the country by choosing Ma’ruf, chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) – the highest clerical body in the country – in an apparent bid to curry favor among Muslims.
It’s fair to say that while Ma’ruf has steered a stable ship as Jokowi’s deputy, he has largely kept quiet and had hardly made any notable splashes while in office.
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan have emerged as the two strongest candidates for the presidency next year, replacing Jokowi who will have served the second of his five-year terms.
Ganjar and Jokowi are both cadres of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and the former recently secured a nomination from his party in his bid to succeed Jokowi. Anies, meanwhile, has the backing of the National Democrats (who are ostensibly in coalition with PDI-P – such is the fickle nature of party alliances in Indonesia), the Democratic Party, and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
