[GELORA45] Anies Baswedan: the ousted minister who may be Jakarta’s next governor

[jonathango...@yahoo.com [GELORA45]]

 Anies Baswedan: the ousted minister who may be Jakarta’s next governor 
http://sea-globe.com/anies-baswedan/ By: Paul Millar - POSTED ON: April 13, 2017
 
 Dropped from his role as minister for education and culture by Indonesian 
President Joko Widodo last July, academic-turned-agitator Anies Baswedan seemed 
an unlikely candidate for Jakarta governor. Now, he is but one winning vote 
away from claiming the capital’s top job
 
 Illustration by Antiochus Omissi Who is he?
 Once the rector of Jakarta’s prestigious Paramadina University and the former 
minister of education and culture, Anies Rasyid Baswedan was listed as one of 
the world’s 20 people to watch in coming decades by Tokyo-based monthly 
Foresight in 2010. Now, the grandson of renowned revolutionary and diplomat AR 
Baswedan is just weeks away from the second round of an election that may make 
him governor of Indonesia’s capital – and set him on the path to greater things.
 Why is he in the news?
 With former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s son falling in the first 
round of Jakarta’s fierce vote for governor, the second ballot on 19 April is 
down to Baswedan and Chinese-Christian incumbent Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama. 
A prolonged blasphemy trial has certainly hampered Ahok’s campaign, and 
Baswedan is expected to pick up many votes that would have gone to the 
establishment-backed Yudhoyono. However, a slew of corruption allegations 
brought against him in mid-March may slow the ousted minister’s meteoric rise.
 What are the allegations against him?
 Baswedan has been reported to Indonesia’s respected Corruption Eradication 
Commission (KPK) for allegedly misusing public funds allocated for the 
country’s appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2015. The report came from 
anti-corruption activist Andar Mangatas Situmorang and accuses the former 
minister of abusing his position at the Ministry of Education and Culture to 
embezzle funds. Although Baswedan was quick to dismiss the charges as a 
“political joke”, the anti-graft body will investigate the report.
 Who are his supporters?
 Now rarely seen without his white shirt and traditional Indonesian peci – a 
black hat favoured by devout Muslims – he appears happy to pander to his 
increasingly irate Islamic base. “Anies is now using Islam more and more than 
before,” said Leo Suryadinata, a visiting senior fellow at the Institute of 
Southeast Asian Studies. “Islam is still a very important factor [in Indonesian 
politics]… those who are religious and don’t know much about politics, they 
will support Anies.”
 What happens if he wins?
 Although Ahok and his predecessor, Joko Widodo, have become the face of 
incumbent power, their position as reformers of Indonesia’s notoriously 
dynastic political scene leaves them vulnerable to both the political 
establishment and to disappointing the voters they once inspired. According to 
Suryadinata, a win for Baswedan will herald a return to the established order. 
“Anies is supported by entrenched interests, but he himself is not a very 
strong person,” he said. “If Anies wins, it will be the victory of entrenched 
interests.”