Anies Baswedan: It Would Still Be a Long Story if There Wasn't a Deadlock

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - On September 2, the Coalition of Change for Unity declared its presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar respectively, at the Majapahit Hotel in Surabaya, East Java, drastically shifting the party coalitions for the 2024 general elections. The Democratic Party eventually jumped ship from the camp supporting Anies while the Forward Indonesia Coalition that nominated Prabowo Subianto lost the National Awakening Party (PKB) to the Coalition of Change.

Anies Baswedan said Muhaimin was chosen as the negotiations of the parties within the coalition resulted in a deadlock. The coalition previously consisted of the National Democrat (NasDem) Party, the Democratic Party, and the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS). The Democratic Party which proposed its Chair Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as a vice-presidential candidate pushed for an immediate declaration. NasDem in the meantime wanted to make the announcement just before the presidential candidate registration closed in October.

The Democratic Party then gave Anies a deadline of September 3 to declare his running mate. Being left with no other choice, NasDem approached PKB Chair Muhaimin who was also left hanging about whether he would become Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate or not. The interests of NasDem and PKB aligned and the parties agreed to nominate Muhaimin as Anies’ partner in the race.

Anies-Muhaimin is the first pair to declare their candidacy for the 2024 presidential election as other nominees, Ganjar Pranowo and Prabowo Subianto, continue to search for appropriate partners. “We have more time to prepare,” Anies Baswedan told Tempo reporters at his residence in Jakarta, on September 7.

During the one-and-a-half-hour-long interview, Anies shed light on the negotiations with his supporting parties that ended in an impasse. He also answered questions regarding the graft cases in which Muhaimin Iskandar had been implicated in and his relationship with President Joko Widodo.

Why did you decide to pass up Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as your vice-presidential candidate?

If only there wasn’t a deadlock in the final moments, my option still would be AHY (abbreviation for Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono). If only there wasn’t a deadlock in the coalition of Pak Prabowo and Gus Imin (Muhaimin Iskandar), perhaps he would still be with Pak Prabowo and associates. It was no longer possible to find a way out from the deadlock.

How long did the deadlock go on?

For a week until August 29. There was tension and the differences could no longer be reconciled.

But do you still want a run with AHY?

Under the circumstances, it doesn’t matter what I want. This is about our change agenda. Change can come only when there is authority. To gain authority, we have to win this democratic process. To take part in the democratic process, we need the support of at least 20 percent (of parliamentary seats). So, I realized that whoever fit that criterion, we had to be prepared and mature enough (to embrace him). We were at the level where we were talking about state affairs, and policy-making, not about our feelings regarding whether we wanted to sit together with given parties in the same house. I realize that in these phases, we must be prepared to work with anybody as long as we share the same values, vision mission, and commitment to governance.

You told AHY “Let’s welcome the fate.” What did you mean by that?

Democrats joined our coalition with the hope that AHY would become the vice-presidential candidate. They also said that they would grab more suitable options if such options became available. NasDem had also said the same. We were ready to ally with the Democratic Party provided (the candidacy) of AHY was not a requirement. One side said “don’t make a requirement,” another side said, “Don’t reject.” Well, I said we understood his aspiration to be a vice-presidential candidate. That’s why I said, “Let’s embrace our fate.”

Democrats interpreted the statement as a commitment to make AHY your running mate…

I said we had to come to a mutual agreement. A presidential candidate can’t possibly decide his pair by himself. Who signs the decree? The parties. And it has to be accepted as an agreement. Now, finding candidates A, B, C, D, E, F, and G also has technocratic reasons, namely voter bases. Voter bases have to vary. It doesn’t matter if we like it or not. Then segments. So, there were many technocratic factors as to why NasDem did not immediately decide to nominate AHY. Therefore, we want to reach a mutual agreement to make sure that we all are in the same boat. We can’t go on without this (process).

Our primary mission is to earn the mandate to drive the change movement. It means we must continue with the efforts to salvage the coalition. But this mission would head for failure without a consensus. Then Pak Surya Paloh (NasDem Chair) informed me of a new option where pairing with Muhaimin could save this mission.

For the change mission or to get a ticket?

To bring about change, we must have a mandate. To gain the mandate, we have to win this democratic process. To win the process, we must have a ticket. That’s the sequence. For us, it’s not about the ticket only. This is our mission to bring about change. I’ve conveyed this repeatedly. We want to revive the freedom of speech. We don’t want to be afraid anymore. How? Change the laws. So, this is the mission that I must safeguard, by keeping the coalition alive.

Things would still be fine if there wasn’t a deadlock. Pak Surya Paloh then invited the PKB to come aboard and Muhaimin was ready to become my partner. At that time, it would be morally wrong for me to accept (his nomination). Why? Because we still had the coalition and we were still trying to define our destiny. The efforts came to an end on that Tuesday evening.

Is it true that people are afraid of meeting with you?

I don’t know why people are feeling like they are in Wakanda. Many people declined to meet openly.

Why?

That exactly is what we must change. This is an independent republic. Anyone should be able to meet or discuss with anyone. National leadership must create a climate of openness. We shouldn’t be living in fear in a free country. People even call Indonesia Wakanda.

The government’s approval rate is quite high whereas you are promoting change as your campaign pitch. Wouldn’t it become a boomerang?

Are basic necessities affordable? Are health care services convenient? Are education services satisfactory? The answer is no. The president’s approval rate indeed is high. But the problems the public face are real. The Generation Z feels how hard it is to find jobs. That’s why I’ve said we want to bring change. Trade and basic needs policies must change so as to narrow the basic food producer-consumer price gap. It means making producers prosper and consumers able to afford it at the same time. This is the aspect that did not get serious attention. That’s the fact.

Read the Full Interview in Tempo English Magazine