While some political observers have been focused on Indonesia’s 2019 presidential election, the West Java gubernatorial race, which will conclude on June 28 (the same date as regional elections that will take place across Indonesia) is also being closely watched for the huge impact it will likely have on the political landscape – it’s considered the most important in the country after Jakarta’s.
And if the end of last night’s debate is any indication, it could get ugly (or uglier, rather).
The four candidate pairs running for West Java’s top seat met for their second debate last night at the University of Indonesia. They tackled a wide variety of substantive issues including the environment, energy and land rights, but there is no doubt that what the debate will be remembered for is a moment at the end of the closing statement given by candidate pair #3, Sudrajat and his running mate Ahmad Syaikhu (who together go under the forced abbreviation “Asyik”).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb6nUzvLfYk&app=desktop
At the end of his speech, Sudrajat says, “Choose number 3. If we are victorious, God willing we will replace the president in 2019.” He holds up the three-finger salute and then Syaikhu unfurls a shirt reading “2018 Asyik Menang, 2019 Ganti Presiden” (2018 Asyik is Victorious, 2019 Replace the President).
And then the crowd goes nuts. Loud cheers are drowned out by boos, people get up out of their seats and the presenters are left scrambling to try to calm the audience down so that the fourth candidate pair, Deddy Mizwar and Dedi Mulyadi, can give their closing statement. But Deddy declines to give their statement given the atmosphere in the room, with security guards still trying to restore order among the crowd.
The presenters plead with the audience to calm down, saying that the eyes of Indonesia and the world are watching. The Chairman of West Java’s Election Board (KPU), Yayat Hidayat also attempts to talk the crowd down without much luck. PDI-P candidate Tubagus Hasanuddin then takes the mike, saying that this is a forum for the West Java election, not the presidential election, so don’t get sucked into fighting. Eventually things calm down just enough that Deddy Mizwar is able to finally give his closing statement.
The reason the audience got so heated over Sudrajat’s statement and the t-shirt is because it invoked the controversial #2019GantiPresiden slogan used by those opposed to President Joko Widodo and his administration. The slogan gained infamy following a viral video showing people wearing shirts wearing the slogan harassing Jokowi supporters at Jakarta’s Car Free Day on April 29.
Sudrajat’s ticket is backed by PKS, an opposition Islam-based political party that has pushed the #2019GantiPresiden slogan though they claim not to be its originator.
Hasanuddin, who is backed by Jokowi’s party, PDI-P, used very strong words to denounce Sudrajat’s actions at the debate.
“If seems to me that this is an act of terror because (the presidential campaign hasn’t even started), this just creates a heated atmosphere and will not do any good.The presidential election will only start next year. If starting from now, especially during the regional elections, the political situation will be like this,” Hasanuddin told reporters after the debate as quoted by Detik.
The West Java KPU and Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) said they would both be investigating Sudrajat and Syaikhu’s actions to see if they constituted a violation of campaign law and said they would reach a decision within seven days.
Sudrajat remained defiant after the debate, saying that he was simply exercising his democratic rights to free expression.
However the stunt was likely more of a desperation move, done in the hopes of tapping into anti-Jokowi sentiment in a bid to improve his electoral chances. The latest survey from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) showed Deddy Mizwar and Dedi Mulyadi in the lead with 41.4% while Ridwan Kamil and his running mate Uu Ruzhanul Ulum were in second with 33.5%. Sudrajat and Syaikhu were far behind with 6.9% of the vote and Hasanuddin with his running mate Anton Charliyan in last with 2.4%.
