Jokowi’s 36-year-old son rises to VP, securing the outgoing leader’s Indonesia legacy

Indonesia is set to get its youngest-ever vice president in Joko Widodo’s son, which may allow the outgoing leader to wield influence beyond the end of his final term.

The rise to power of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, has been dizzying. Four years ago, he was a wedding caterer who also sold Indonesian-spiced pasta wrapped in leaves. In 2021, he ran largely unopposed to become the mayor of Solo, a city of about half a million people, about a seven-hour drive from the capital Jakarta.

On Wednesday, he stood alongside Prabowo Subianto as the latter declared an election victory that will soon put the pair in charge of a country of 270 million people.

“Three months ago, I was a nobody,” Gibran said in the packed stadium in Jakarta. “But what’s clear is that, thanks to all your prayers and support, Prabowo and I can stand here today.”

Gibran’s rise was widely seen to be orchestrated by Jokowi, in part, to cement his legacy and ensure his policies are sustained after his decade-long term as president ends in October.

The question is whether Prabowo will stay true to his pledge of continuing Jokowi’s policies – that aim to transform the $1-trillion economy, Southeast Asia’s largest, into a high-income one by 2045 – and whether Gibran, who has only three years of political experience under his belt, would have the maturity to navigate Indonesia’s complicated politics.

Gibran’s election campaign itself was marred by controversies that he responded to either dismissively or jokingly. That’s a departure from the soft-spoken Jokowi, who often described himself as “legowo” – a Javanese word that means he would peacefully accept whatever comes his way.

Last October, for example, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of exempting those with regional political experience from the 40-and-above age requirement to run for the nation’s top two offices, paving the way for Gibran’s candidacy. As critics derided the move that day, Gibran posted “Awokwokwok” – essentially laughter in Indonesian – alongside an emoji of a face with tears of joy, on X (formerly Twitter).

A week later, he was named Prabowo’s running mate. The chief justice who presided over the ruling, Jokowi’s brother-in-law, was later dismissed for the ethical breach.

Adding the son of a hugely popular president to the ticket gave Prabowo a big poll boost – and was perhaps key to his resounding first round win. At the same time, it fueled more frustration over what is perceived as Jokowi building a political dynasty.

Gibran was one of the first names considered as Prabowo wanted to have a young running mate, Eddy Soeparno, vice chairman of Prabowo’s campaign team, said in a Thursday interview, defending the choice. “So we downsized from five to three, three to one. And Gibran was the final name that came up,” Soeparno said. “It was Prabowo’s intention to push for Gibran and he managed to do so successfully.”

In his victory speech, Gibran was grateful. “I thank Prabowo for giving room for young people to be part of the journey to a Golden Indonesia,” said he said.

After Prabowo announced Gibran as his running mate in October, Jokowi said his only role there was to give blessings to his son’s aspiration. Yet in a closed-lunch meeting with activists that same month, the president acknowledged that he wanted to pair Gibran with Prabowo, whose popularity then was rising, to ensure he could continue to influence policymaking, according to a person familiar with the discussion, who asked not to be named speaking about private matters.

A representative for Jokowi didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Businessman and Mayor

Gibran studied in Singapore and Australia before starting his catering business in the family’s hometown Solo.

He expanded into selling snacks before opening roadside stalls across the country to sell traditional cakes called martabak. His shaved ice business Goola – which shuttered during the pandemic – received a $5 million investment from Alpha JWC Ventures in 2019. His rice bowl enterprise Mangkokku got $2 million from the same funder in 2020 followed by $7 million in 2022, along with other investors.

After he became mayor of Solo, Gibran worked with small businesses to expand their export markets by hosting expos and pushing them to sell online.

He leveraged his business experience on the campaign trail, pledging to focus on unlocking Indonesia’s demographic potential by making it easier for young people to become entrepreneurs and learn new technological skills.

While his father has focused on a minerals downstreaming policy – pushing for more raw commodities to be refined onshore before being exported – Gibran is calling for a “youth downstreaming.” That’s where students are encouraged to become data scientists, artificial intelligence engineers and blockchain designers to equip them for higher-paying jobs.

“Indonesia has extraordinary energy that’s not often talked about, that is the energy of the youth,” he said in a Jan. 28 speech.

Even as Gibran sets out a vision for the young people, some Indonesians are growing concerned over Jokowi’s political dynasty.

On Wednesday, after the world’s biggest single-day voting pointed to their victory, Gibran and Prabowo celebrated with their supporters. But it wasn’t Gibran’s name that was trending on X in Indonesia. Instead it was of Jan Ethes, his seven-year-old son and Jokowi’s grandson.

One X post shows a woman holding up a banner that says: “I don’t want my grandchildren to be ruled by Jan Ethes.”

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(With assistance from Claire Jiao, Grace Sihombing and Chandra Asmara.)

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This story was originally published February 15, 2024, 11:13 PM.