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Gibran denies photo op with TNI officers was politically motivated
Gibran claimed that the photo was taken long before he was picked as vice presidential candidate for defense minister Prabowo Subianto and that the TNI officers also posed with other regional leaders in the room.
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Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka greets supporters after registering his vice presidential candidacy with the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta. Gibran, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s eldest son, is running alongside Defense Minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto on the 2024 ticket of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM). (Antara/Rifqi Raihan Firdaus)
Mayor of Surakarta and vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka has dismissed an allegation that he staged a photo opportunity with senior Indonesian Military (TNI) officers in order to make political gains ahead of next year's presidential election.
Gibran claimed that the photo was taken long before he was picked as vice presidential candidate for Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and that the TNI officers also posed with other regional leaders in the room.
"These officers, they were in a leadership program and they also asked for a photo op with other regional leaders," said Gibran, the eldest son of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
Senior journalist Goenawan Mohamad posted over the weekend on X, formerly known as Twitter, a photo showing Gibran standing in the middle and flanked by a group of senior TNI officers.
Under the photo, Goenawan wrote a caption that reads "Senior Army officers came all the way to Solo to see Gibran, the vice presidential candidate ready to win. TNI neutrality?"
Goenawan, who in the late 1990s served as chief editor of Tempo weekly, had been a staunch supporter of President Jokowi and was a key figure in his presidential bid in 2014.
In recent weeks, however, Goenawan has made an about-face and become a vocal critic of Jokowi, especially after the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that changed the provision in the Elections Law that would pave the way for Gibran to run as Prabowo’s running mate.
