JAKARTA —
The electability of Ganjar Pranowo, the presidential candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), declined after the general chairman of the party, Megawati Soekarnoputri, called the presidential candidate he was supporting as a party official. However, in a national lecture at the University of Indonesia, Ganjar emphasized that a leader must be able to differentiate between his position as a political cadre and head of state or regional head.
“If you are elected as the eighth president of Indonesia, will you stick with the principle that my master is the people, the governor is just a mandate, and not a puppet of Megawati?”
This is a critical question asked by Naufal, a student at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia (FISIP UI) to Ganjar Pranowo, the presidential candidate from PDI-Perjuangan, in a question and answer forum after the national lecture on Monday (18/9).
Ganjar is the second presidential candidate to give a national lecture at the yellow jacket campus after Anies Baswedan received a similar opportunity last month. Anies is a presidential candidate from the coalition of the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Ganjar: “Did I serve the interests of the party while I was Governor of Central Java?”
Hearing Naufal’s question, the former Governor of Central Java raised his right thumb. He emphasized that there is no need to be afraid about statements about “party officials” or not. He even asked, whether during his two terms as governor of Central Java, he served the interests of the party?
“I am a party cadre but the president is not (a party cadre), the governor is not. That is serving. So we can differentiate, when we are in office, what we need to do. That’s why if you research about me, am I only siding with my party? , maybe almost you won’t find it,” he said.
Ganjar Pranowo was given a surprise in the form of a ‘hardcopy of his thesis’ at the University of Indonesia, during the National Lecture at the FISIP University of Indonesia, Jakarta, 18 September 2023. (Twitter/ganjarpranowo)
Not slowing down, Naufal asked again whether Ganjar could be driven when he became president in the future? “Driven by the people or the party,” he asked again. Ganjar again asked him to look at his track record while leading Central Java for the last ten years.
“Ten years is not a short time, and ten years means I was elected twice,” said Ganjar.
Ganjar answers questions about agrarian conflicts, except for the conflict in Wadas Village
A student who was a panelist in the national lecture, Della Azzahra Soepardiyanto, asked about Ganjar’s policies in dealing with agrarian conflicts. He mentioned last year’s data showing 212 cases of agrarian conflict, or an increase of five cases compared to 2021. Even though the increase is small, the area of conflict has increased to one million hectares.
According to Ganjar, the case data could be more than 212 cases of agrarian conflict. Agrarian conflicts, he said, arise because the government rarely mitigates and respects land owners; who should be invited first persuasively.
Ganjar Pranowo National Lecture at FISIP, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, 18 September 2023. (Twitter/ganjarpranowo)
However, Ganjar did not mention the agrarian conflict in Wadas Village, Bener District, Purworejo Regency, Central Java, which has occurred since 2019 and is still ongoing. Ganjar was deemed unable to resolve the case which was triggered by the village residents’ rejection of the government’s plan to open open-pit andesite mining, which will be the raw material for the construction of the Bener Dam.
In his speech, Ganjar emphasized that a leader must be optimistic, but he admitted that a leader is not an angel who can solve all problems perfectly.
Observer: Ganjar Successfully Reduces Negative Sentiment
Ray Rangkuti, a political observer from Lingkar Madani, said that Ganjar’s statements in a lecture at FISIP, University of Indonesia, slightly reduced negative sentiment towards the PDI-Perjuangan politician, that he only represented the party’s interests in becoming president.
He considered Ganjar’s statement to be more advanced than President Joko Widodo, who never wanted to deny that he was a party official. “Pak Ganjar did it even though his interests were electoral interests. Meanwhile, Mr Jokowi seems to no longer need to explain this. Two things can be reflected, firstly, he is not just a party official but also his courage to answer that,” said Ray.
He emphasized that according to the PDI-Perjuangan AD/ART, it is true that all cadres are party officers, but such things cannot be “sold” in society. The term “party official” is about political communication, because in fact Ganjar – or any party cadre – really works in the interests of the party. However, Megawati only made this statement internally, not publicly.
When announcing Ganjar Pranowo as the PDI-Perjuangan presidential candidate, Megawati called herself a “party official,” which immediately sparked a polemic. (fw/em)