Jokowi made the remark during a speech before the members of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) in Jakarta on Wednesday, where former vice presidential candidate Sandiaga was in the audience.

“The [Hipmi] chief patron [Bahlil Lahadalia] said earlier that among those in attendance is the candidate that will very likely succeed me. I believe that is true, but I won’t mention specifically who it is, but he just stood up [after being addressed] earlier,” Jokowi said, referring to Sandiaga, who once served as Hipmi chairman.

The President started his speech by saying that he could not name all the senior Hipmi members and former chairmen, saying that he only remembered one name, “Bapak Sandiaga Uno”, who stood up and was applauded by the organization members.

Jokowi, however, appeared to downplay his remark, telling reporters on Friday that he merely “took the bait” from former Hipmi chairman and the current head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Bahlil Lahadalia. “I just played along with the bait from the head of the BKPM. We would support anyone [in the 2024 race], but it’s still quite a long time ahead. The [2019] presidential election has just ended,” said Jokowi at the Merdeka Palace on Friday.

Sandiaga, in his response to Jokowi’s remark, said as quoted by kompas.com, “Maybe the President was joking, or maybe he just wanted to encourage me. He’s a good man.”

When asked about the possibility of running in the next election, Sandiaga said he would “never stop fighting”.

The Gerindra Party politician previously left his deputy Jakarta governor post to run in the 2019 presidential election with the party’s patron, Prabowo Subianto.

Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) political observer Firman Noor said the remark could have been another attempt made by Jokowi to consolidate power after the 2019 presidential election.

“It is concerning because a positive remark to a figure seen as a rival [during the election] can reduce the number of people seen as in opposition to the government. It can drop the country’s democratic quality even further,” he said on Sunday.

State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Budi Gunawan, an influential figure at the State Palace, also gave a positive signal for Sandiaga. 

Budi, who also serves as Indonesian E-Sport Association chairman, inaugurated Sandiaga as the association’s supervisory council member in a ceremony in Jakarta on Saturday. “Our honored guest, who is also willing to be a member of our supervisory board: Bapak Sandiaga Salahudin Uno. I don’t think it’s a problem to start the campaign early,” Budi said jokingly in his speech, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He later correlated Indonesia’s demographic dividend, which could be up to 52 percent from the total population, with the younger generations' penchant for e-sports.

Jokowi and Budi made their remarks amid speculation that Gerindra would team up with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the 2024 election after leaders of the two parties were involved in a series of meetings last year.

Regardless of their motives, observers believe that their remarks could boost Sandiaga’s position for the 2024 presidential election.

The University of Indonesia’s Center for Political Studies (Puskapol UI) executive director Aditya Perdana said Jokowi could have made his remark in recognition of Sandiaga’s experience in the 2019 election, which positioned him as one of the strongest candidates for the next election.

“Sandiaga had previous experience in mobilizing campaign funds [in the 2019 presidential race], and that is a factor that could be discussed. I think Jokowi noticed that as well." (mfp)

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