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Agus, Ahok, Anies to jostle over development plans in debate
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From left to right, Anies Baswedan, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, Sandiaga Uno, Sylviana Murni, Djarot Saiful Hidayat and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono in a wefie picture uploaded on Anies' Path account on Sept. 24. (tempo.co/Anies Baswedan's Path)
T
he Jakarta General Election Commission (KPU Jakarta) will raise social economic development issues in the first debate between the three candidate pairs competing for the capital’s top post.
KPU Jakarta chairman Sumarno said on Wednesday that the debate would be held at the Bidakara Hotel in South Jakarta from 8 to 10 p.m. on Friday.
The debate will be the first of three held by the commission to give equal opportunity to all governor and deputy governor hopefuls to deliver their visions and missions, as well as their perspectives on various issues in Jakarta.
All three tickets — former Army officer Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and his running mate, former governor’s assistant for culture and tourism, Sylvia Murni, incumbent Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama with his running mate incumbent Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat and former culture and education minister Anies Baswedan and business tycoon Sandiaga Uno — are required to attend all debates held by the KPU.
Sumarno said the commission had chosen social economic development as the first general topic for the debate, which will be divided into three sub-themes.
“The first session relates to job opportunity and the social gap,” he said.
Sumarno said the candidates would also present their visions and missions on the environment and transportation in the capital, especially issues related to spatial planning, infrastructure, traffic and flooding.
The four issues are the main problems in the city of 10 million, with eligible voters of more than 7 million.
He said the candidates should also be able to deliver their ideas on education and security. “We would like to know their perspectives on character education and conflict resolution,” he said.
As a metropolitan city, Jakarta is home to many income segments and groups. They are often involved in horizontal conflicts, especially youngsters.
Although student brawls have significantly decreased, the city administration and the Jakarta Police have yet to resolve brawl cases in kampungs in several areas such as Johar Baru in Central Jakarta and Manggarai in South Jakarta.
“The moderator of the first debate will be Ira Koesno,” Sumarno said, referring to a seasoned television journalist at SCTV.
Betty Epsilon Idroos, the voter education and campaign division commissioner, said the two-hour debate would be aired live on TV One, Net TV and Jawa Pos TV.
“It will be divided into six sessions. It will air for 90 minutes with 30 minutes of commercial breaks,” she said.
The commissioner said the moderator would explain the rules at the beginning of the debate. “They are not allowed to ask questions outside the theme,” she said.
She also reminded that each candidate pair would be allowed to invite 100 supporters each.
All candidates have expressed confidence about their upcoming debate performances.
Ahok said he had prepared for the debate. “We practiced yesterday,” he said.
Meanwhile, Agus said he was also ready for the debate. “I am confident about the debate,” he said, adding that he also would seek tips from his father, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The same sentiment was also delivered by Anies, who said as a candidate, he was naturally ready for a debate.
“This is a dialogue process in front of the pubic. We will present our perspectives in offering solutions [to the matters],” he said, as quoted by kompas.com.
