Indonesia’s minister of maritime affairs and fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti is famous for many things: her highly successful hardline policy on illegal foreign fish poachers (that involves blowing up their ships), her efforts to improve marine sustainability that have been praised by notable environmentalists like Leonardo DiCaprio and the numerous memes and tributes made about her because she is unquestionably the coolest minister in all of ASEAN.
There’s now a small but not insignificant chance that Susi may soon be famous for something else – becoming Indonesia’s first female vice president.
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The last few months have been filled with endless speculation about the 2019 presidential election, with one of the most discussed topics being who President Joko Widodo might tap to be to be his running mate, since the constitution does not allow his current vice president, Jusuf Kalla (who also served as VP under Susilo Bamabang Yudhoyono) to serve as VP for a third term.
Jokowi has not tipped his hat towards any particular potential running mates, and analysts have speculated on strategic choices ranging from SBY’s son Agus Yudhoyono to National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar and even the outlandish but still real possibility of Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto (who is still the most likely candidate to challenge Jokowi in 2019).
A few have mentioned Minister Susi as a potential VP pick previously, but rarely seriously. Although she enjoys very high satisfaction ratings among the general public (largely due to her nationalistic foreign boat firework shows), she would bring little to the ticket in terms of strategic political alliances or appeal to Islamic voters (both considerations analysts have said Jokowi would likely prioritize).
But with recent polls showing Jokowi trouncing Prabowo by a wide margin in a head-to-head matchup, he may have more latitude to make his VP pick than previously estimated and Susi may turn out to be a viable dark horse option considering
Jokowi recently made a teasing joke about Susi after she gave orders to both the Minister of Transportation and Minister of Public Works and Housing regarding the dredging of a river, saying it indicated she wanted to give orders like a president or at least a vice president.
Despite his joking tone, some took this as a signal that Jokowi was actually consider Susi for his VP. Soon media outlets were asking Susi herself whether she’d be up for the job
“I’m ready,” she said, as quoted by Detik yesterday. But added, “If he orders me.” She said that she was focused on her work as minister and that any other questions about her possible vice presidency should be directed at Jokowi.
Several recent polls that have asked respondents how much they like certain potential VP picks showed that Susi is certainly in the mi. A survey by the Cyrus Network showed that the fisheries minister was the favorite VP pick for 4.9% of respondents, below Agus Yudhoyono, former military chief Gatot Nurmayanto, Prabowo and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan. But she did beat out several other national political figures including former constitutional court chief Mahfud MD, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Puan Maharani (daughter of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri).
An even more recent poll from Litbang similarly showed Susi being picked by 4.8% of respondents, compared to Jusuf Kalla with 15.7%, Prabowo Subianto with 8.8% and Gatot Nurmantyo with 5.3%.
One potential stumbling block that may put Susi out of VP contention is that a law introduced in 2017 that outlined new requirements for serving in public office contains an article requiring requiring anybody serving as president or vice president to have a high school degree.
Despite owning her own highly successful fishing business that she eventually built into her own airline (the eponymous Susi Air), the fisheries minister never actually graduated from high school.
A small political action group calling itself JOSS (which stands for Jokowi- Susi Pudjiastuti, but also means energy) that is pushing the president to pick Susi said they would lobby to have the law amended, arguing that her accomplishments as minister were better proof of her talent and hard work than any diploma.
A representative of Jokowi’s party, PDI-P, recently confirmed that Susi was one (among many) names being seriously considered for the VP role. One of the parties in PDI-P’s ruling coalition, NasDem said that they were open to supporting Susi being Jokowi’s running mate but another party, Hanura, said she was not appropriate.
While Susi is certainly still a long-shot for Jokowi’s VP pick, her popularity with both local voters and her wide-spread approval among the international community, as well as a dearth of potential political liabilities, may prove to be an attractive package to the president, depending on who challenges him in 2019.
