“Anies Baswedan should remember that he himself is non-pribumi [non-indigenous],” a young businessman shared his anger to his friends on Tuesday morning.

The new Jakarta governor sparked public anger when he touched on the politically sensitive issue in his first public speech after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo swore him and his deputy Sandiaga Uno in at the State Palace on Monday.

Before commenting further, let me make it clear first: I did not vote for Anies. But I promised on Sunday to my second son that I would follow his mature political stance. Starting from Oct. 16, Anies is my legitimate leader for the next five years because he was democratically elected. “That is the basic principle of democracy,” my son told me.

But the governor’s statement is indeed irritating. Knowing his status as an internationally recognized intellectual, and considering his direct involvement in the tense and divisive Jakarta gubernatorial election, it is very hard for many Indonesians to accept his argument that he did not intend to hurt and attack Chinese Indonesians in his remark. Anies might also target other minority groups. That is the sentiment of many people, as much as I have gathered from social media.

The former Paramadina University rector obtained his political science doctorate from Northern Illinois University in 2005, a master’s in public policy from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University.

In 2008, United States magazine Foreign Policy ranked him among its top 100 public intellectuals in the world, and the World Economic Forum included him in its Young Global Leaders 2009. In April 2010, Tokyo-based international affairs magazine Foresight included Anies in its “20 Persons 20 Years” issue.

Was it merely a slip of the tongue or a stupid mistake? Such a historic oration should have been carefully crafted. It was a prepared speech, although he added to it with some off-the-cuff remarks. It is probably ridiculous, but many suspect that Anies has been preparing himself for the 2019 presidential election and therefore he should capitalize on the major elements of his victory in the Jakarta election.

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