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Analysis: Prabowo’s meritocratic fantasy
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Presidential candidate and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
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elivering a speech at the World Government Summit back in February, President Prabowo Subianto proudly claimed his administration’s success in implementing a meritocratic government under his rule. Analysts, however, claim otherwise, as government officials appointed by the President since he took over tend to have notable ties to him without a transparent assessment of their competence.
Tending to the President’s meritocracy claims fails to bear any significant weight when his second-in-command, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, was chosen as his running mate not for political merit but merely due to his popularity as the son of Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Under Jokowi, the Constitutional Court controversially amended election rules, paving the way for Gibran to run as Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate. That ruling, delivered under a cloud of ethical violations by Anwar Usman, the court’s chief justice, who is also Jokowi’s brother-in-law, marked a turning point in the erosion of Indonesia’s hope of a meritocratic reality.
Since taking over from Jokowi, Prabowo has adopted his predecessor’s clientelist tendencies. His younger brother and business mogul, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, has enjoyed the liberty of becoming the country’s special envoy on climate change and at times the de facto second-in-command, often representing the President in his absence.
Alongside Hashim, Prabowo’s nephews are also active in the country’s politics. In the last few months of his presidency, Jokowi appointed Prabowo’s nephew, Thomas Djiwandono, as the deputy finance minister to facilitate the transition of the administration. President Prabowo has retained Thomas as a deputy to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
Thomas’ brother, Budi Djiwandono, and Hashim’s daughter, Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo, secured House of Representatives seats, thanks to their familial ties with Gerindra Party founder and chairman Prabowo.
Rahayu, alongside her brother and former House lawmaker Aryo Djojohadikusumo, are now also involved in the management of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), tightening the family’s grip over both the public and private sectors.
