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span class="inline inline-left">In it to win it: Hidayat Nur Wahid (right) and running mate Didik Junaidi Rachbini pose for the media after registering their candidacy with the Jakarta Elections Commission in March. JP/P.J. LeoMuhammad Hidayat Nur Wahid and Didik Junaidi Rachbini, whose careers have evolved from academia to politics, are now pursuing Jakarta’s top positions as governor and deputy governor.

Hidayat, 52, is not a new figure; he has been endorsed by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) for several top political positions. In 2004, his name was put forward to be a strong presidential candidate, challenging Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. But the party finally withdrew its support and joined with other parties to promote Amien Rais, who later lost to Yudhoyono.

In a recent survey by the National Survey Institute (LSN), his name came up again as a potential presidential candidate supported by 4.6 percent of respondents.

Now that Jakarta is looking for a new governor, the PKS is certain that Hidayat, with his clean reputation, has a good chance of winning the upcoming gubernatorial election on July 11.

In the previous gubernatorial election in 2007, the PKS, with police Gen. (ret.) Adang Daradjatun as a candidate, lost by only 5 percent to a coalition of 21 other political parties that endorsed incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo.

Hidayat has spent most of his life in academic circles, specializing in Islamic studies. After graduating from the Gontor Islamic boarding school in East Java and studying at the Sunan Kalijaga Islamic University in Yogyakarta, he spent 13 years in Medina where he earned doctoral degree from the Islamic University of Madinah.

He entered politics when he and a few colleagues formed the Justice Party (PK) in 1998. However, when the PK did not meet the electoral threshold, it changed its name and became a new political party, the PKS, in 2002.

While Hidayat led the PKS as president, the party successfully gained 600 percent more votes in the 2004 election, thereby increasing the portion of its votes to 7.43 percent from 1.5 percent in 1999.

The public praised him as a modest and generous politician who never adopted double political positions. He straightway resigned the position of PKS leader when he was chosen as chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) in 2004.

During his tenure, Hidayat received in 2009 a Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana medal for his service to the nation. As an assembly leader, he refused to utilize state benefits, like the Volvo car, expensive laptop and high-end hotel budget. He also refused to accept a memorial ring worth Rp 5 billion (US$530.000), and saved the MPR’s operational budget by 22 percent to the tune of Rp 59.7 billion.

Unlike Hidayat, who is already well-known at the national level, Didik rarely appeared in the news before his nomination as a deputy governor candidate. Didik, who is better known as an economist, used to be a House of Representatives member from the National Mandate Party (PAN).

However, in this gubernatorial election, Didik, 51, was asked personally by the PKS to accompany Hidayat, while PAN offered its support to Fauzi Bowo. The PKS considered Didik as having abilities in both macro- and microeconomics to help solve Jakarta’s problems.

Simliar to Hidayat, Didik also spent most of his life in the academic world, working as a lecturer and researcher at various universities.

As a lecturer, Didik actively wrote books and other publications on economics and politics. He also used to work as a researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Studies and Development (LP3ES), a publishing and research NGO specializing in politics and social economics.

Didik, who was born in Pamekasan, Madura, is involved with the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) as an expert member. In 1998, Didik became a member of the MPR as a group representative. In 1999, the former Association of Islamic Students (HMI) activist joined PAN, which led to him becoming a House member
in 2004.

Although both Hidayat and Didik come from strong Islamic backgrounds, Sharia law is not included as part of their vision and mission, although they do prioritize morality as an important aspect for the city’s development. (cor)