9 FEBRUARY, 2023
Who: Dr Nathan Franklin, Lecturer in Indonesian Studies, Charles Darwin University
Topics:
- Who the candidates are in the upcoming Indonesian election
- Australia/Indonesia political relationship
- Future of Indonesian politics
Contact details: +61 8 8946 6529 or email us at media@cdu.edu.au to arrange an interview.
Quotes attributable to Dr Franklin:
“There are three candidates for president. Namely, Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo, and Anies Baswedan.”
“Prabowo is an ex-general of the Indonesian special forces, Ganjar was the Governor of Central Java and Anies was the Governor of Jakarta.”
“They each have a running mate. Prabowo is paired with Gibran Rakabuming Raka (President Jokowi’s son), and this has boosted Prabowo’s prospects of winning.”
“Prabowo and Gibran are connected with the youth through a popularist campaign. Prabowo even has a popular dance move, known as the Gemoy dance.”
“Some of their photos on political advertising paraphernalia look like cartoons. So Prabowo has remade his image to be more likeable, given there are still some questions about his human rights record while a general.”
“The political relationship between Australia and Indonesia is good at the moment. Foreign investment, renewable energy, rare earths, battery manufacturing, and the South China Sea are common areas of interest.”
“Not much will change after the election. However, if Indonesia does not improve its governance practices, particularly in regard to corruption, police force integrity, and independence of the judiciary, then Indonesia will struggle improve its foreign investment prospects.”
“This will, and already has, impacted negatively on the development of Indonesia’s new capital city of Nusantara in East Kalimantan, as to date there has not been one foreign investor.”
“Indonesia’s politics is unpredictable. No one thought that Prabowo and President Jokowi would be allies, given that Prabowo refused to recognised Jokowi’s win in the last election. If Prabowo wins, it will be interesting to see if Gibran stays as Prabowo’s vice president at the following election. We might see him challenge Prabowo. So Prabowo might be a one term wonder.”
Contact details:
Emily Bostock
Acting Research Communications Officer
T: +61 8 8946 6529
M: 0432 417 518
E: media@cdu.edu.au