Indonesia's Jokowi touts legacy ahead of election, in swansong speech 'justifying his presidency'
Indonesian President Joko Widodo used his swansong speech in parliament to emphasise his legacy and urge continuity for his economic agenda to help the country become a developed nation in two decades, observers have said.
Sporting traditional dress from the Tanimbar Islands in Maluku, Widodo on Wednesday covered a range of topics in his address on the eve of the country's Independence Day, including the need for continued economic growth and the coming election on February 14.
"He was far more emotional this time and he was kind of setting up his legacy too, about who will continue his successful presidency," said Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer in international relations at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani in Bandung. "It was more like a farewell speech and more of a swansong, basically justifying his presidency."
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Widodo said his "commodity downstreaming" policy was the foundation of Indonesia's goal to become one of the world's biggest economies by 2045, at which point the country's income per capita would reach US$25,000.
Industrial downstreaming involves the processing of raw materials into products of higher value, rather than exporting them in their raw form.
Indonesia proclaimed its independence from Dutch colonial rule on August 17, 1945. To achieve its goal of "Golden Indonesia 2045" would require a major reform of its education and vocational institutions, Widodo said.
Noting that the challenges ahead would be daunting, he added: "It takes courage and trust to make difficult, unpopular decisions."
The president set a modest growth outlook next year, with gross domestic product expected to grow 5.2 per cent in 2024 and fiscal deficit projected to be 2.29 per cent of GDP.
"Jokowi set out a clear direction for the country's goals, namely to achieve a golden Indonesia and for Indonesia to become a developed country," said Adinova Fauri, an economic researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, using the popular nickname for the president.
He added that the economic focus of the speech was quite narrow, focusing only on growth. "Crucial issues such as climate change and inequality were not touched on at all."
Widodo, however, appeared to have made a convoluted reference to his critics ahead of the February polls amid a heated political climate.
"Things are heating up, and the trend among politicians and political parties, when asked about the presidential candidate or vice-presidential candidate, is to answer: 'There has been no direction from the village chief yet'," Widodo said on Wednesday, using the term Pak Lurah to refer to officials in charge of villages or wards in Indonesia.
"I kept thinking, 'Who is this Pak Lurah? Later I realised what Pak Lurah meant, it meant me. I answered, 'I am not a village chief, I am the President of the Republic of Indonesia'. It turned out that Pak Lurah was a code."
Widodo said he was not the chairman of a political party or party coalition, the bodies that have the authority to choose the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Widodo has twice won the presidency and his growing political clout means he may be able to influence five of the seven governing coalition parties in their choice of candidates.
Despite this, critics said Widodo did not have a "special place" in the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Struggle, which is the only party eligible to nominate a presidential candidate for 2024 without forming a coalition with other parties.
All candidates will be announced by November 25, although presidential candidates who already have official party support include the current Minister of Defence Prabowo Subianto, the governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo, and the former governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan.
Subianto lost twice to Widodo before being appointed the latter's minister for defence after the 2019 presidential election. Opinion polls indicate he is leading the presidential race, ahead of Pranowo and Baswedan.
It has been widely speculated that Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo's son, may become Subianto's running mate, in an alliance designed to cement Widodo's political dynasty.
"I think his Pak Lurah remarks were a rebuke to other politicians for dismissing him as a kingmaker who plays a major role in selecting his own successor," said Alexander Arifianto, a research fellow at the Indonesia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
"By remarking he is the president of Indonesia, Jokowi seemed to imply he is the actual person in charge of selecting his successor and that other Indonesian elites must take cues from him and not ignore his wishes," he said. "I do think it was a jab at the political establishment."
Additional reporting by Associated Press
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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