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Jakarta Post

Rivals gnash teeth in final clash

All three Jakarta gubernatorial candidates fell short of producing a wow factor, but went on the offensive on Friday evening, making the final showdown a fierce show of heated rivalries five days before election day.

Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, February 11, 2017

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Rivals gnash teeth in final clash Let the people decide: Jakarta gubernatorial candidates and their running mates, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (left to right), Sylviana Murni, Anies Baswedan, Sandiaga Uno, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, and Djarot Saiful Hidayat, get prepared before their final debate in Jakarta on Friday night. Jakartans will go to polling stations on Feb.15 to vote for their next governor. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

All three Jakarta gubernatorial candidates fell short of producing a wow factor, but went on the offensive on Friday evening, making the final showdown a fierce show of heated rivalries five days before election day.

Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and running mate Sylviana Murni launched attacks against incumbent pair Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat, targeting Ahok’s character, which Agus referred to as “difficult to change.”

Sylviana also attacked Ahok in connection to a viral video in which Ahok was seen calling a woman a thief for asking why the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) could not be cashed in. Sylviana asked a rhetorical question about how would Ahok empower women when he was rude to a woman in public.

Ahok fought back by saying Agus-Sylviana “do not have programs so they can only make slanderous statements.”

Ahok and Djarot repeatedly attacked Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno, saying the pair had a knack for making “unrealistic promises.” They called out AgusSylviana for the same thing: creating unrealistic programs and “confidently promising them to the people.”

Agus-Sylviana also attacked Anies on his “inconsistencies”, referring to Anies’ turnaround toward Gerindra Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto. Anies was with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s camp and criticized Prabowo in 2014, but is now on a ticket endorsed by Gerindra.

The Anies-Sandiaga ticket was the least offensive among the three, but the camp painted a bleak picture of the current situation in Jakarta, saying in their closing that “most Jakartans want a new governor, they want change.”

The third debate dealt with population and life improvement issues. The candidates also addressed drug abuse issues, child protection, women’s empowerment, greater access for the disabled and housing.

All candidates discussed their pet projects mentioned in earlier debates, Agus with his Rp 1 billion per community unit (RW) program, Ahok with his childfriendly integrated public spaces (RPTRAs) and Anies with the OK OCE entrepreneur center.

When the moderator, Alfito Deannova of CNN Indonesia asked about the candidates’ programs to curb drug abuse, each camp referred to their pet projects.

Agus started the first session by saying the city was not friendly to children, women and people with disabilities, especially in relation to public transportation.

To support his claim, Agus cited a figure showing the capital ranked fifth, just below West Papua province, among cities with the worst malnutrition. He also claimed drug abuse in Jakarta was the highest in the country.

Agus then offered his solution, saying he would provide counseling for women and children in the many community health centers (Puskesmas) in the city.

Ahok, meanwhile, said women and children were an integral part of family life. He said to solve social problems, including those related to women and children, there needed to be more gatherings in public places. He promoted RPTRAs as places for families to gather.

Anies also touched on Jakarta’s bleak situation concerning women and children.

On the disability issue, all candidates promised better transportation facilities for the disabled, while Ahok promoted his TransCare program, in which people with disabilities could ask to be picked up at the nearest bus stop.

Anies criticized the newest Transjakarta route, Corridor 13, which he said included 10 bus stops but only one with a ramp.

On drug abuse, Ahok and Djarot promised to close entertainment spots involved in drug abuse cases after two warnings.

Agus, meanwhile, highlighted his military background in curbing drug abuse, while Sylviana said religious education was necessary.

Anies promised to make a bylaw to hand down harsh punishments to anyone convicted of drug trafficking. “We have addressed this in the previous debates, issuing bylaws that will severely punish drug traffickers,” Anies said.

Ahok and Djarot quickly criticized Anies’ plan, saying that criminal charges were the territory of the police and that city administration should only work on prevention.

Anies and Agus again attacked Ahok on forced evictions, as seen in the first and second debate. In response, Ahok and Djarot showed pictures of the Ciliwung River after undergoing normalization and Kalijodo after the forced evictions.

Analysts said the first and second debates had some influence on swing and undecided voters, with Ahok and Anies benefitting the most, while Agus has until now seen his popularity decline after each debate.

Saturday is the last day of the campaign period. The candidates will enter the cooling-off period from Sunday to Tuesday.

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