Ahok-Djarot Dodge Bullets From Rivals in ‘Tag Team’ Debate: PDI-P Secretary General
Jakarta. The second gubernatorial election debate in Jakarta on Friday evening (27/01) was characterized by attacks against incumbent pair Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who had to withstand a series of intense questioning from their tag-teaming rivals.
The secretary general of the PDI-P, or the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle — that backs Ahok and Djarot in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, Hasto Kristiyanto, said the current governor and deputy governor came out of the grilling in flying colors.
"A lot of the questions seemed to have been pre-empted to attack number two [Ahok-Djarot's assigned number in the election], but they dodged them well. What they did was offer concrete solutions for Jakarta's problems," Hasto said.
"Under Ahok and Djarot, Jakarta’s bureaucracy is now free from extortion, public services are improved and city administrators are determined to improve their performance," Hasto said, adding that the capital’s rivers have also been cleaned up, new parks built and most hospitals integrated with the Jakarta Smart Health Card system.
Hasto said Ahok-Djarot's rivals — former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and his running mate Sylviana Murni and former education minister Anies Baswedan and running mate Sandiaga Uno — had used the wrong strategy by going all out against the confident Ahok and the calm Djarot.
"They were concentrating too much on attacking Ahok-Djarot that they forgot to tell the public about how they themselves are going to solve Jakarta's problems. Ahok's performance on the other hand was very measured, he was never emotional," the senior politician said.
Hasto was also impressed by Ahok-Djarot’s closing statement, when they declared that the people are the boss and they are their servants.
"The other candidates were stuck in rhetoric about battling injustices. Ahok-Djarot have already battled them and won in a lot of cases," Hasto said.
The politician also pointed out that Agus had wavered on his answer when Ahok questioned him on the rehabilitation of the Ciliwung river banks.
Anies meanwhile had used the wrong data on school participation, or APM. "Anies was too eager to criticize Ahok, he had used the wrong APM data," he said.
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