Jakarta, IO – Who will be Anies Baswedan’s running mate for Governor of Jakarta? It depends on Anies and the National Awakening Party (PKB), particularly the parties that PKB will partner with.
If PKB chooses to ally with Gerindra, perhaps Kaesang Pangarep will be his pair; but if PKB teams up with PDI-P (the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle), it could be Ahok. Now, if PKB is back with PKS (the Prosperous Justice Party), the party might campaign for the Deputy position.
Having PKB nominate Anies is interesting enough. A harmonious scene between modernist Islamic groups, with Anies’ background coming from HMI (the Islamic Student Association), and Islam traditionalists: PKB represents alumni of the Indonesian Muslim Student Movement (PMII), an organization under the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) mass organization.
Anies might choose to have a deputy from PKS, as fellow modernists. But it’s also very possible for Anies to not reject Ahok. Anies is known for his moderate stance. However, to pair with Kaesang, Anies might refuse. He wouldn’t want to be associated with someone who is seen to endorse dynasty politics.
Meanwhile, PKB might choose to team up with PDI-Perjuangan, which means pairing Anies up with Ahok. PKB may see a significant chance of Anies winning if paired with Ahok.
If Anies partners with a PKS representative, it’s also possible for him to win, but it would require hard work. Anies’ and PKS’ voters are the same people.
PKB certainly wouldn’t object to teaming up with Gerindra and Kaesang, but Anies himself probably wouldn’t want to.
How about pairing with Ahok, then? Would Anies lose his fanatic Islamist voters?
I contacted one source qualifying all three categories: a fanatic Anies supporter, a compliant Muslim, and a mom.
I asked her a question: would she keep voting for Anies? Should he pair with Ahok? She answered, “He (Ahok) seems calmer now after getting out of prison, doesn’t he?”
That spontaneous answer showed less hatred toward Ahok. “Maybe he learned a lot in prison,” she added.
If Anies and Ahok re-team up, the Mega-Star phenomenon will be repeated. This time, PKB will be the star, not PPP any longer. Imagine an Arab-Muslim pairs with a Chinese-Christian. A very unique combination for Indonesia’s future.
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If Anies is elected again as Jakarta’s governor this time, his chance of becoming a presidential candidate in five years is very high.
He will only turn 60 years old by then, much younger than Prabowo Subianto, who is now 73 years old.
Anies certainly has a lot of “revenge” to do in Jakarta, as much of his time as the previous governor of Jakarta was consumed by handling COVID-19.
But is it possible for two men of integrity to lead Jakarta?