Anies-Yenny Duet Discourse Strengthens, KPP: The decision remains in Anies' hands

Deputy Chairman of the Nasdem Party Ahmad Ali said that if Yenny Wahid was paired with Anies, they would complement each other.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

KOMPAS/NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

Yenny Wahid, one of the founders of the Wahid Foundation, presented her explanation during a book discussion entitled "Kata Bersama: antara Muslim dan Kristen" (Shared Word: between Muslims and Christians), at the Senate Hall of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, on Thursday (8/22/2019).

• A number of elite members of the Nasdem Party intensively met with Yenny Wahid, who is also considered as a candidate to accompany Anies Baswedan.
• Deputy Chairman of the Nasdem Party, Ahmad Ali, has proposed to Anies to select figures who are deeply rooted in NU boarding schools.
• However, like the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party, Nasdem still leaves the decision on choosing a vice presidential candidate to Anies.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The discourse on the duet of the presidential candidates from the Change Coalition for Unity or KPP, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, with Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh or Yenny Wahid was widely heard because of the intensity of a number of politicians from the Nasdem Party meeting with the daughter of the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid. Even so, the three political parties that are members of the KPP still submit the decision regarding the candidate for the vice presidential candidate to Anies. The three political parties are also committed to remaining solid and consistently supporting Anies even though the name of the vice presidential candidate that Anies will later choose does not come from coalition party cadres.

Team 8 KPP has completed the determination of one name for the vice presidential candidate (cawapres) for Anies. However, the name Anies' future running mate is still kept secret. According to the plan, the name of the vice presidential candidate will be announced after Anies finishes performing the pilgrimage.

Lately, Nasdem's elites have been meeting intensively with Yenny Wahid. Yenny is considered as one of the figures who should be considered as Anies' partner.

Also read: Presidential Candidates Will Develop Strategy

DOKUMENTASI AHMAD ALI

The Deputy Secretary General of the Nasdem Party, Ahmad Ali, had a discussion with Yenny Wahid in Jakarta.

One of the Nasdem elites who met Yenny intensely, one of them was Deputy General Chair of the Nasdem Party Ahmad Ali. When contacted by Kompas in Jakarta, Friday (23/6/2023), Ahmad Ali said, if Yenny is paired with Anies, they will complement each other. First, Yenny is a female figure of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and was born to a mother, Sinta Nuriyah, who has a strong history in Islamic boarding schools in East Java.

"I have repeatedly conveyed that if Mas Anies wants to win, he should choose figures from NU and East Java. If Mas Anies with Mbak Yenny, who is a nationalist religious figure, Mas Anies who has been considered supported by the right-wing group will return to the center," he said.

Furthermore, according to Ahmad Ali, judging from her track record, Yenny also has the capacity and extensive knowledge. Yenny is said to have a very open-minded and global way of thinking. The spirit of pluralism that exists in Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur is implemented so perfectly by Yenny.

If Mr. Anies wants to win, then he should choose figures from NU and East Java. If Mr. Anies and Ms. Yenny, who are both nationalist and religious, team up, Mr. Anies who has been seen as supported by the right-wing will move back to the center.

"Personally, I would be very happy if Mas Anies chose Mbak Yenny. That is my own opinion because I also know Mbak Yenny well. However, of course, because the mandate to choose a vice presidential candidate has been handed over to Mas Anies, we will wait for whatever decision he makes," said Ahmad Ali.

He is reluctant to disclose whether his desire to pair Anies and Yenny has been conveyed to the Chairman of Nasdem, Surya Paloh. "What is certain is that because this is Ahmad Ali's belief, I am fighting for that belief," he said.

Consistency test

Ahmad Ali also revealed that the decision for Vice Presidential candidate also becomes a consistency test for the supporting political parties of Anies. He disclosed that one point in the KPP charter is to give the authority to Anies in choosing the Vice Presidential candidate.

“Let the charter become a binder for us. Here it will be seen which parties are fickle and which are consistent. This, right, is watched by the people. Now the three political parties have agreed to hand over (the determination of the vice presidential candidate) to Mas Anies. So, if suddenly Mas Anies announces (the name of the candidate for vice president) and someone disagrees, well, it can't be like that," he said.

DOKUMENTASI SUGENG SUPARWOTO

The prospective presidential candidate from the Coalition for Unity and Change, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, gathered his Team 8 to discuss winning strategies for the 2024 Presidential Election at the Change Secretariat in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

Separately, Chairman of the Democratic Party DPP Membership and Cadreization Organization Development Board Herman Khaeron said, Democrats in principle left the decision to determine the candidate for vice president to Anies as stated in the coalition cooperation charter. He was reluctant to speculate that the candidate for vice president that Anies had pocketed would not come from a Democratic cadre, namely Democratic General Chair Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. “We actually avoid assuming that yes. We'll just have to wait until Mas Anies announces it," he said.

Whoever Anies' choice may be, Herman Khaeron believes that all three political parties will respect that decision. The three political parties, including Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, will maintain political ethics by continuing to support Anies.

Chairman of the Central Board of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Al-Muzzammil Yusuf, affirmed that the three parties are still very solid. The three parties have also agreed that the determination of vice presidential candidate will be handed over to Anies. "When Mas Anies returns from the Hajj pilgrimage, God willing, he will announce (the vice presidential candidate)," he said.

Economic challenges

Professor Didin S Damanhuri from the Faculty of Economics and Management at Bogor Agricultural University said that a potential presidential candidate should ideally choose a vice-presidential candidate who is capable of addressing economic challenges. This is because the global recession has affected several economic sectors, including the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate, decreased purchasing power, price hikes, business closures, declining investment performance, hindered business operations, and employee layoffs in companies.

SUMBER: IMF

Global economic growth in a number of countries

"In addition to increasing electability, the presence of a vice presidential candidate is also needed to consolidate the coalition parties and complement the shortcomings of the president," he said during a webinar entitled "The Puzzle of the Vice Presidential Candidate and Its Role in Building a New Economy", which was held by Narasi Institute on Friday (23/6/2023)."

Didin mentioned that Indonesia had previously had an ideal pair of president and vice president. Starting from the pair of Soekarno-Mohammad Hatta, Soeharto-Soedarmono, and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Boediono. Meanwhile, the pair of Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla, which is considered by some of the public as an ideal pair, Kalla's role is considered to be replaced by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

For the 2024 Presidential Election, he continued, a number of prospective presidential candidates have their own strengths and weaknesses. This can be seen from the track record they have made during their careers in politics. Therefore, the candidate for president must be very clever in choosing a candidate for vice president who can complement his weaknesses. "The vice presidential candidate must be able to complement it, especially when he has to deal with the global recession," said Didin.

At the same occasion, the Chairman of the Expert Council of the United Development Party (PPP), Prijono Tjiptoherijanto stated that the vice presidential candidate should have advantages that can complement what the presidential candidate does not have. Therefore, the vice presidential candidate should not become a rival to the presidential candidate.

KOMPAS

The presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan.

He hopes political parties and presidential candidates should start mentioning alternative names that not only appear in various survey agencies. Because, there are still many competent figures, but they do not appear on the survey radar. "Do not just follow the trend in searching for vice presidential candidates," he continued.

Founder of Coffee Shop, Hendri Satrio, stated that a running mate has two important roles, which are to increase the electability of the presidential candidate and to become a partner when occupying the government. Therefore, the selection of a potential running mate by the three presidential candidates, namely Anies Rasyid Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo, and Prabowo Subianto, becomes more difficult.

Also read: Positioned vice presidential candidate, Anies Assigns Team 8 to Arrange a Winning Strategy

Activist Syahganda Nainggolan assessed that all potential presidential candidates are still waiting for each other. They are waiting for other potential candidates to determine their running mate so that they can measure their strength for winning.