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Pressure mounts on Gibran as impeachment process continues
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Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka takes the oath during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Parliament building in Jakarta on Oct. 20, 2024. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
V
ice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is facing intensifying pressure as a group of retired military generals has formally petitioned the nation’s legislative bodies to begin impeachment proceedings against him, just as President Prabowo Subianto appears to be consolidating support from key figures once aligned with his political rivals.
In a letter obtained by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, the group, known as Forum Purnawirawan Prajurit TNI (the Retired TNI Soldiers Forum), called on the leadership of the House of Representatives and the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to begin the legal process of removing Gibran from office, citing alleged constitutional violations, ethical breaches and concerns over his qualifications and performance.
“We, the Forum Purnawirawan Prajurit TNI, extend our full support to President Prabowo Subianto,” the letter states. “[However], we urge the House and MPR to immediately process the impeachment of the Vice President based on the applicable law.”
The group claims that Gibran’s path to the vice presidency was marred by an ethics scandal involving a Constitutional Court ruling that lowered the age threshold for candidates. The controversial decision, issued during the administration of Gibran’s father, former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, was authored by then-chief justice Anwar Usman, Jokowi’s brother-in-law, who was later dismissed for a serious violation of judicial ethics.
They further questioned Gibran’s competence, arguing that his two-year tenure as mayor of Surakarta does not meet the demands of the vice presidency. The letter also resurfaced controversy over a pseudonymous online account, “fufufafa,” allegedly linked to Gibran, which was used to post derogatory and slanderous content.
Read also: Impeachment call, abortive reshuffle hint at internal TNI tension
“In his six months as vice president, Gibran has shown no capacity to assist the President. Instead, he has become a burden to Prabowo in carrying out the responsibilities of the state,” the letter reads. “For a country as large and complex [as Indonesia], it would be deeply naive to have a vice president who is unfit and unqualified to lead.”
