New VP has chance to score in ‘premier league’

A man of action: Gibran (right) gesturing to his supporters as Prabowo looks on during an event to watch the results of the general election that took place in Jakarta last week. — Reuters

Incoming vice-president Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, has a unique way of putting bureaucrats under him in Solo on notice to resolve issues.

Gibran, 36, mayor of Solo city, would park his official car at the spot where a problem cropped up to draw attention from relevant parties. He is expected to soon become the youngest vice-president of the world’s fourth most populous nation, a huge jump from being the mayor of a central Java city with a population of 520,000 in the last three years.

Gibran is the running mate of Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who is leading in the official count following the Feb 14 election. Official results are expected to be announced in about a month.

Before his speedy rise in politics, Gibran was running Chilli Pari, a food-catering business which he set up at the age of 23 after completing his studies in Singapore and Australia. In 2007, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in marketing at the Management Development Institute of Singapore.

Gibran is married to Selvi Ananda, 35, a Solo beauty queen. They have a seven-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter.

People who know him said Gibran has a quiet demeanour and does not speak much publicly, but is “a man of action” and has been known to address some of Solo’s problems in an unorthodox way.

Joko’s friend, Mayor Haristanto, 64, a private drawing tutor for Gibran and his younger sister Kahiyang Ayu when they were children, said Gibran remains “the quiet and calm person” from when he was young, but listens and acts promptly as a leader. As a child, Gibran, together with his sister, was always punctual and disciplined, he added.

Mayor, who owns a museum that collects items such as gloves and caps of notable local football players, asked Gibran to hold a screening of a football competition at the city’s public hall last year.“He was just silent, not replying to my message. But then he ordered the city’s agencies to coordinate and invite me to the meeting, preparing for the event,” Mayor said. He later thanked Gibran for holding the city’s first community screening of a football event with 10,000 viewers.

“Gibran used to play his role in Solo, and now his influence will soon expand to the country. He now enters a ‘premier league’,” said Ginda Ferachtriawan, 49, Gibran’s friend, drawing a comparison with football leagues. “I hope he can spread what he has done well in Solo on a wider scale.” — The Straits Times/ANN