President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should interfere in Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s plan choose the President’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate in the Feb. 14, 2024, presidential election.

Gibran, 35, who is a new kid on the block of politics, still needs to learn the ropes and prove wrong the critics who only see him as a product of Jokowi’s political dynasty. Within six years, he could possibly emulate his father's mercurial rise.

The Surakarta mayor stands a good chance of becoming a serious contender in the 2029 presidential election, when he is 42. Giving in to the temptation of power by accepting the offer to run for vice president could be disastrous for his young political career.

The Constitutional Court may have no reason to turn down a judicial review motion filed against the minimum age limit for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, which the prevailing law sets at 40 years. President Jokowi can spare his son from harm.

The President must prove his statesmanship and ignore familial ties by publicly telling Gibran to fully concentrate on developing Surakarta, Central Java or another province if he contests the regional election in November next year. The message should be crystal clear and straightforward.

Many believe that a more natural and logical next step for Gibran would be to run for governor of Central Java or even Jakarta. Jokowi contested the Jakarta election in 2012 after becoming a two-time mayor of Surakarta, then seizing the highest office in 2014.

 Many people believe the fact that Gibran is Jokowi’s son is the prime reason behind Prabowo's offer. Prabowo, who is also the chairman of the Gerindra Party, might be impressed by Gibran’s achievements as mayor, but the Jokowi effect must be the number one consideration. Prabowo has of course benefited from this effect: His electability rating has steadily increased thanks to his proximity to the President over the past few months.

Prabowo cannot simply give the ticket to Gibran, as he must first secure the approval of his allies, namely the National Awakening Party (PKB), Golkar and the National Mandate Party (PAN), which are all members of the ruling coalition. It will be a tough undertaking for Prabowo to convince leaders of the three parties to accept Gibran, and he may have to pick someone else as his running mate.

Born in Surakarta on Oct. 1, 1987, Gibran is the eldest child of President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana. Gibran, a graduate of the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), was a businessman before turning to politics, like Jokowi. The two are members of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has nominated Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo for president. 

Many are impressed by Gibran’s track record as mayor, especially in dealing with the aspirations of the people. He has also dares to act against intolerant groups. Some have even predicted he could perform better than his father as a leader.

Gibran’s vice-presidential nomination will upset many. House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani will be among the harshest critics. Her mother, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri chose Ganjar as the party’s presidential candidate at the expense of Puan, knowing that her electability rating stagnated at less than 5 percent. In 2014, Megawati made way for Jokowi, helping him become president.

In the latest opinion survey conducted by Kompas, Ganjar remained on top, with Prabowo close behind, and presumptive presidential candidate Anies Baswedan trailing far behind.

Another person who will envy Gibran’s fast track to VP nomination is Democratic Party (PD) chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. The eldest son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has for months been struggling to prove himself as a worthwhile running mate to Anies, but NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh, the man who helped Anies get nominated, appears to have a candidate other than Agus in mind.

Puan seemed relaxed after hearing reports of Prabowo offering Gibran the VP nomination. Last week she said the PDI-P would also look into the possibility of picking Gibran as Ganjar’s running mate if the Constitutional Court rules in favor of demands to lower the minimum age limit for presidential and vice-presidential candidates to 35.

Gibran’s VP nomination will create a huge gap between him and the 71-year-old Prabowo, not only in terms of age but also experience. As a relative newcomer to politics, Gibran will most likely depend heavily on his father to deal with a seasoned politician like Prabowo.

Like millions of Indonesians, I think Prabowo is looking to choose Gibran as his running mate to increase his chances of victory. Prabowo will be running for president for the third time, after having contested the 2009 election as Megawati’s running mate. In all those races, Prabowo lost, which is why he is determined to win the upcoming contestation.

If Prabowo and Gibran win, Jokowi will retain a large amount of power after leaving office. On the contrary, if the pair lose, the damaging impact will be felt not only by Jokowi, but also by Gibran. Jokowi could become a public laughingstock, particularly for his political opponents.

Jokowi’s approval of Gibran’s candidacy would also mark a major setback for Indonesian democracy, countering aims to level the playing field. If this scenario materializes, Jokowi will be remembered as a product of democracy who hijacked and undermined the system, which is paradoxical compared with Suharto, who quelled democracy because he had no faith in it.  

Hopefully, Jokowi can resist such a desire for the good of the nation and his son.

 ***

The writer is senior editor at The Jakarta Post.

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