Jokowi shrugs off Hashim threats

JAKARTA. President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo responded calmly to the vengeful agenda of Hashim Sujono Djojohadikusumo, the brother and top aide of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who said he intended to employ all of his political resources to limit the authority of the incoming government.

Hashim, a tycoon and the deputy chief patron of the Gerindra Party, in recent interviews said that Prabowo’s Red-and-White Coalition would be an “active, constructive opposition” to Jokowi, who will start his five-year term on Oct. 20.

By utilizing its control over a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives, the coalition, Hashim said, would have power over Jokowi’s agenda and retain veto power over appointments for more than 100 top positions, including chiefs of the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

“Yes, Mr. Jokowi, there is a price to be paid,” he told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

The plot is rooted in Hashim’s disappointment with Jokowi, who left his post as Jakarta governor to run for president and defeated Prabowo in the July 9 election. Hashim claimed to be the primary financial campaign backer for Jokowi’s governorship bid.

While acknowledging Hashim and Prabowo’s past financial support, Jokowi lambasted Hashim’s vengeful plot.

“[Hashim] should have thought like a statesman,” he said at City Hall on Thursday.

“Yes, [they financially] supported me, however, I do not know the exact amount,” he added.

Hashim’s planned retaliation has also garnered criticism from vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla.

“Our program is to advance the nation and improve prosperity. If [Hashim focuses on] thwarting us, it means he intends to go against the people. Maybe, he doesn’t understand the meaning of democracy,” he said on the sidelines of an event in Depok, West Java.

Hashim, in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, said that the coalition was seeking to push investigations into alleged wrongdoings committed by Jokowi, including the graft-ridden Transjakarta bus procurement in Jakarta and alleged irregularities in the Surakarta education budget while Jokowi was mayor.

“We will use our power to investigate and to obstruct,” he said.

Hashim’s agenda apparently failed to garner support from coalition members, including Golkar Party secretary-general Idrus Marham.

“[We] do not mean to obstruct. The coalition will always act critically to seek solutions. The coalition works based on a vision and ideology that aims to defend the state’s interests. The coalition is not a bully [pengganggu],” he told The Jakarta Post.

Bara Hasibuan, an executive of the National Mandate Party (PAN), reiterated that the party would not be involved in Hashim’s personal vendetta.

“For PAN, the presidential race has ended and the country needs to move on to reach a better future. The task of all the political elite is to help the country move on and not provoke the public to keep the conflict alive,” he said.

Phillips J. Vermonte, the head of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) department of politics and international relations, said that there was no need for Jokowi to be afraid of the threat from the coalition as he had some means to counter the attack.

He said Jokowi could utilize support from the public, as well as a team of experts in the presidential office. “He could establish a state palace institution filled with trustworthy people, so if he wanted to issue a regulation, it could help,” Phillips said.

He said that Jokowi could not solely rely on his Cabinet since he would have to compromise on some of the ministerial seats for political parties. “Meanwhile, the state institution is an arena where Jokowi has full control,” Phillips said. (Hans Nicholas Jong and Yuliasri Perdani)