Anies Baswedan Becomes Jakarta's New Governor
Jakarta. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurated Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno as governor and deputy governor of Jakarta for the 2017-22 period, in a ceremony that took place at the State Palace on Monday (16/10).
Anies, former education minister, was born in Kuningan, West Java, in 1969, and is widely recognized as an academician. Sandiaga, born in Pekanbaru, Riau, also in 1969, is a well-known businessman.
Anies ran in Jakarta's gubernatorial race after Jokowi dismissed him from ministerial office in July last year.
Anies-Sandiaga won 57.96 percent of the vote, nearly 16 percent more than former Jakarta governor and deputy governor — Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat.
The pair was backed mainly by the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The Indonesian Unity Party (Perindo) led by Harry Tanoesudibyo — Donald Trump's business partner in Indonesia — supported Anies's candidacy in the runoff election.
"I hope, he [Anies] and his deputy [Sandiaga] will work well for the benefit of the people of Jakarta. We pray that they succeed, because problems in Jakarta are very complicated," Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto said.
Observers were concerned about the future of Indonesia's democracy when religious and ethnic tensions contributed Anies's win.
On the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto urged Anies and Sandiaga to fix the post-election divisions.
"I expect him to fix the divisions that have emerged," Novanto said.
The chairman of the Golkar Party said Anies must also continue the programs started by Ahok, including the LRT (light rail transit) and MRT (mass rapid transit) development and reduction of traffic jams.
Tags: Keywords: