IO, Jakarta – It still isn’t clear whether or not President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, will run for Mayor of Solo. Jokowi’s son-in-law, Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution, however, has registered as a prospective candidate for the Medan 2020-2025 Mayoral elections. He registered at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) North Sumatra Regional Representative Council (DPD) Office in Jalan Jamin Ginting, Medan.
Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution, husband of Kahiyang Ayu, arrived at the office with his uncle, Erwan Nasution. PDI-P is the first party to be visited by Bobby Nasution and he has already submitted his registration form. “PDI-P is the first party that I have registered with,” he said.
Before registering, Bobby Nasution admitted he first made preparations and went through the registration process in Medan PDI-P Branch Leadership Council (DPC). “To ensure we would run we needed preparation. Starting from preparing myself, seeing my abilities to seeing the issues of Medan City,” he said.
Preparations were carried out as Bobby Nasution admitted he had absolutely no experience in politics. He also stated that his father-in-law did not have a problem with him running as candidate for Mayor in Medan. Bobby Nasution is now searching for a deputy mayoral candidate who can balance out the team. “We are looking for a deputy mayor based on criteria, not person. We must be able to complement each other as I am not from a bureaucracy. Who is best? Who can solve the issues in Medan City?” he said.
Rumors of the prospective run of Gibran have been floating around since the rejection of the president’s son to register at the Solo PDI-P DPC, as a deadline had passed. As a result, Gibran chose to register through PDI-P DPD and finally met with PDI-P Chairwomen Megawati Soekarnoputri. As a newcomer in politics, Megawati suggested Gibran read the various books written by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, as to permeate Bung Karno’s national ideology. “Such as the books Indonesia Menggugat (Indonesia contests), Mencapai Indonesia Merdeka (Reaching an Independent Indonesia) to the book Lahirnya Pancasila (The Birth of Pancasila). All of Bung Karno’s books which are deemed a must and Mas Gibran also was urged by her (Megawati) to read those books in addition to the party’s statutes and bylaws,” said PDI-P DPP Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto from Megawati’s residence in Jalan Teuku Umar, recently.
A political expert from Universitas Diponegoro Semarang, M. Yulianto believes President Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is too reckless to run for Solo Mayor in 2020. Yulianto opined that Jokowi’s eldest son was too hasty in deciding to run in the Solo election, as Gibran’s decision has the potential to create a new political dynasty in Indonesia. “If let be, then this will be followed by other PDI-P political figures, copying the pattern in Solo and building a dynasty. This is regretful as it could harm the regeneration system in PDI-P,” he said.
Yulianto believes Gibran shows an overly desperation by running for Mayor in Solo, while his father is still President. It isn’t easy for a young man to lead a political party such as PDI-P, and it isn’t as easy as running a martabak company. “Don’t let it be just because you have power; you participate in a mayoral election in Solo. Because there must be communication built in a party and it must be able to carry out its commitment together with all of its elements within,” warned Yulianto. (Dan)