Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono gives a motivational speech to Democratic Party cadres in West Kalimantan in 2019. - Antara
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): The opposition Democratic Party leader Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono made a fresh bid to reinvigorate the party and his political fortune by growing more assertive against President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking on Friday (Sept 16) at the party’s national-leadership meeting, Agus called for members to ready themselves to act as a driver of change as the party sought to offer alternative solutions to the public’s needs.
“The door to change and reform is wide open. The Democratic Party must become the motor of this change,” Agus told a boisterous crowd in his closing speech.
Often referred to by his initials AHY, Agus said that the Democratic Party was currently building intensive communication with two other parties and seeking to form a political alliance with those which have the same spirit for change.
"The coalition and presidential and vice-presidential candidate pair must meet our criteria and correspond with the heart of the Democratic [Party]’s political struggle in 2024: changes and reform," he said.
Agus’ remarks served as "a strong signal” that the Democratic Party is looking to nominate him and pair him with outgoing Jakarta Governor and presidential-hopeful Anies Baswedan, political analyst Ahmad Khoirul Umam of Paramadina University noted.
“The narrative of change and reform can only be represented by political forces that are outside of the current regime. For this reason, the Anies-AHY pair is the most representative [of such a narrative compared to] the various possible presidential and vice-presidential candidates,” Umam said.
Umam said that Agus’ speech indicated that the Democratic Party still left the door wide open for negotiating the composition of a presidential and vice-presidential candidate pair with other parties, even though nominating Agus to run for the country’s top post was the aspiration of most Democrats.
Since early this year, Agus has been intensively looking for support from parties in an attempt to form a competitive political alliance in the 2024 general election.
The Democratic Party, which only has 9.39 per cent of the required 20 per cent of seats at the House of Representatives, must partner with other parties to be eligible to nominate a candidate pair.
The Democratic Party has approached another opposition party -- the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) -- and pro-government NasDem Party for potential cooperation in 2024.
While there is no formal agreement between the three parties, it appears that they are united by their apparent inclination to nominate Anies for the 2024 presidential race. Democratic Party has not named any presidential nominee for 2024 so far, but spokesman Herzaky Mahendra Putra noted that grassroots party members unanimously were pushing Agus to run for either the presidential or the vice-presidential seat in 2024.
Some senior members of Dems regional branches have also suggested pairing Agus with Anies, either as a vice president or president candidate.
“Anies, the Democratic Party and Agus are historically close. The Democratic Party became the first political vehicle for Anies to appear on the formal political scheme," central board executive in charge of electoral campaigns Kamhar Lakumani said on Friday.
"With a low single digit of electability, Agus made it to the top-five of prospective presidential hopefuls in a Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) survey in August.
"Meanwhile, Anies, with an electability rating around 15 per cent, has consistently been among the three most-electable potential presidential candidates in many opinion polls but has no political party to date.
In an unusual move, Agus, who has rarely taken a strong stance against Jokowi since he took over the Democratic Party from his father and former Indonesia’s president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), launched an aggressive campaign on Friday criticising Jokowi’s government.
Agus slammed the government for being incompetent in handling increasing inflation, for causing democratic regression and shrinking space for civil liberties and for allowing repressive law enforcement.
“It seems that critics are being silenced more and more [...] Our country must not be a nation that frightens, intimidates [and] criminalises its own people,” he said.
“We can conclude that Indonesia is not doing well today.”
Agus also took what many perceived as a dig at Jokowi, claiming that almost 80 per cent of infrastructure projects inaugurated by the President have actually been started by his father.
"We don't need appreciation either. But don't claim that 'this is greatness'.”
Agus went on to criticise Jokowi’s policy that offers cash handouts after his administration raised subsidised-fuel prices to reign in ballooning subsidies.
“Cash handouts, a product of SBY’s administration, were previously opposed by some, but are now being imitated [by Jokowi’s administration] and proven to be the main buffer of people's purchasing power," Agus said.
Political analyst Adi Prayitno of Parameter Politik noticed Agus' growing criticism of the government, saying that he seemed to capitalise on public discontent over Jokowi’s administration ahead of the 2024 presidential and legislative elections.
“Agus had never been seen as an outspoken opposition leader. If this strong political attitude is maintained, especially if it is coming directly from Agus, the Democratic Party could become more attractive to voters,” Adi said.
