Signals from SBY
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), Indonesia’s sixth president and chairman of Democratic Party, talked a lot, as usual, in the past 48 hours. He talked about ‘closing the chapter with Jokowi and opening new chapter with Prabowo’ and ‘unfinished business with Megawati preventing Democratic Party to join Jokowi’s coalition’.
Bracing for More Populist Policies
Minister of social affairs Idrus Marham, who is also executive of Golkar Party, met President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo at the Bogor Presidential Palace Tuesday (Jul 24) to discuss the government’s plan to nearly doubling next year’s budget for cash assistance to 10 million families under the so-called Family Hope Program.
Prabowo-SBY’s Alliance?
The Chairman of Gerindra Party Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto and the Chairman of Democratic Party General (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) are expected to meet tonight (Jul 24) at the latter’s private residence in Kuningan, South Jakarta. The two Army retired generals will discuss a coalition for the 2019 race, including the running mate for Prabowo.
Bracing for Surprise (3)
Last night (Jul 23), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo held a dinner meeting with the leaders of six political parties from his ruling coalition at the Bogor Presidential Palace. They reportedly reached an agreement on the running mate for the incumbent. Jokowi himself, through his personal Facebook account, posted the picture of the meeting and saying harmony and unity are important assets for this country. Is this Jokowi’s way of delivering a message that his coalition is solid whoever he chose as VP candidate? Who’s the chosen one?
Less Political Parties in DPR?
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has just released their survey result regarding the electability of 15 out of 16 national political parties that’ll compete in the 2019 legislative election. LIPI found the ruling party PDIP leading the poll and that only six political parties will get seats in the House of Representatives (DPR).
Last Piece of Jokowi’s Consolidation in the Military
The talk about who will be the next Army Chief of Staff (Kasad) to replace General Mulyono, who will enter mandatory retirement age in early January 2019, has been started. However, considering the Army is still the largest vertical institution in the country with political and security influence down to the village level, and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo needs firm grip in the Army ahead of next year’s election, it’s natural to see the talk about the next Kasad is ongoing. The Kasad position, moreover, is widely believed as the last piece of the puzzle of the President’s consolidation of power in the military (TNI).
Paloh’s Nasdem, Jokowi & 2019 Race
Media mogul Surya Paloh, who is the chairman of Nasdem Party, is a big supporter of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and he’s one of influential figures within the President’s inner circle. It is interesting to watch Metro TV, a television station owned by Paloh, aired a weekly special program for Jokowi namely “President’s Corner”, in which they highlight Jokowi’s interesting activities during the week. In another program, Metro TV also aired a Q&A with Jokowi’s sons and son-in-law.
Bracing for Surprise (2)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has on Sunday (Jul 22) night attended the anniversary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) at the Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel. President Jokowi, in his speech, stated that he will announce his running mate for the 2019 presidential race within the next 1-2 weeks. Will the President surprising public with his choice of VP candidate?
A Divided Democratic Party
Has the 2019 presidential race been locked to a head-to-head between incumbent president Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and whoever Gerindra-PKS-PAN-Democratic Party will endorse as president and vice president candidate?
Sting Operation in Sukamiskin Penitentiary: Who’s at Fault?
Towards the end of last week, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted a Sting Operation inside the Sukamiskin Penitentiary, the facility used to detain almost all high-profile graft-convicts. The KPK managed to arrest six individuals and by Saturday named four suspects in the case, including the main convict in the Bakamla graft case Fahmi Darmawansyah and the Chief of the Sukamiskin Penitentiary Wahid Husein. The operation flashes attention to the institution responsible for the management of prisons: Ministry of Law and Human Rights.