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Does First Lady Iriana’s motherly instinct have a place in politics?
Gibran won the nomination because Prabowo and the political elites of the Onward Indonesia Coalition needed the coattail effect from Jokowi and the support of the state apparatus to pursue their interests.
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Thumb-up: First Lady Iriana reacts as journalists ask for her comments on his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s vice presidential nomination during the commemoration of National Santri Day at the Heroes Monument square in Surabaya on Oct. 22, 2023. (Kompas.com/Andhi Dwi)
Apparently, for the first time since her husband President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo came to power in 2014, First Lady Iriana has had to face mounting public criticism for her alleged complicity in the making of her son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the running mate to Prabowo Subianto in the February 2024 presidential election. If that is true, is it just because she was following her motherly instinct, or is it an example of her wrongdoing?
Such allegations are surprising because people have so far known Iriana for her simple lifestyle. We have hardly heard any negative rumors about her, unlike some of Indonesia’s previous first ladies, especially Tien Soeharto, the wife of Soeharto who ruled the country for 32 years.
You may say it is an exaggeration to connect Iriana with the story behind Michelangelo’s famous sculpture Madonna della Pieta after reading a recent report in the highly credible weekly magazine Tempo on the alleged role of the first lady in the quick rise of her eldest son Gibran in the national political landscape. You are the judge, after all.
President Jokowi, his wife, their sons Gibran and Kaesang Pangarep and daughter Kahyang Ayu, as well as their spouses, are widely perceived as members of a clean first family. That is probably the reason why many people were so disappointed or even outraged when they found Jokowi was deeply involved in helping Gibran win a golden ticket to contest the presidential race. Isn’t it possible that the first family is so sophisticated in hiding its wrongdoings?
Until now I still put my faith in the first lady. It is Jokowi who has the lion’s share in kickstarting the decline of Indonesian constitutional democracy.
The President could have prevented his brother-in-law Anwar Usman from abusing his power as the Constitutional Court chief justice to exempt Gibran from the minimum age limits to run for vice president. In fact, Jokowi opted to wash his hands of it all.
I wrote this column not to defend Iriana. The status, rights and obligations of the first lady are not specifically regulated in Indonesia, unlike in the United States and many other countries.
