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Year: 2023

Indonesian leader’s son brushes off ‘nepo baby’ tag in feted debate showing

Indonesian leader’s son brushes off ‘nepo baby’ tag in feted debate showing

Medan, Indonesia – As the vice presidential candidates took to the stage for Indonesia’s second televised presidential debate on Friday, all eyes were on Gibran Rakabuming Raka – perhaps the most controversial vice presidential candidate in Indonesia’s history. Batting away charges of inexperience and nepotism, Gibran, the 36-year-old son of current Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo, dominated the stage despite being up against more experienced candidates. The verdict among observers generally was that Gibran’s performance far exceeded expectations. “My overall impression was that any doubters who thought Gibran was a clueless lightweight have been proven completely wrong,” Alexander Arifianto, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore (RSIS), told Al Jazeera. “He was well-prepped for the debate and showed he has an excellent grasp on economic issues. Much better than his two opponents.” Since he announced his candidacy in October, Gibran has faced a storm of controversy, including accusations of being a “nepo baby” and a continuation of the dynastic politics that have long plagued Indonesia’s politics. With no political experience apart from a two-year stint as the mayor of the city of Surakarta in Central Java, Gibran has been accused of riding on his father’s coattails – Widodo also served as mayor of Surakarta – and lacking the bona fides of rival candidates Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, the deputy speaker of parliament, and Mahfud MD, a minister responsible for coordinating political, legal and security affairs. Gibran’s candidacy was facilitated by a controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia in October that loosened the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates. While the court upheld the minimum age threshold of 40 in principle, the judges carved out an exception allowing officials who are at least 35 to run if they have been previously elected to office – allowing Gibran to become Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto’s running mate ahead of the February 14 election. The ruling was particularly contentious as the then-head of the Constitutional Court, Anwar Usman, was Widodo’s brother-in-law. Usman was removed from his position after the Constitutional Court ethics committee found him at fault for not recusing himself from the decision, although the ruling on the age requirement was allowed to stand. A ruling by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia in October changed the minimum age requirements to run for president or vice president [File: Beawiharta/Reuters] With questions swirling about the legitimacy of Gibran’s candidacy and his suitability for office, his debut on the debate stage on Friday evening had been hotly anticipated. “Straight away: This debate was won by Gibran. So far, expectations for Gibran have been very low. Basically, Gibran has never been tested. In the first presidential debate, he looked like an oddity: a high school student surrounded by seasoned politicians and governors,” Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani in West Java, told Al Jazeera. “In this debate, his performance was much better than the two people I had expected to eat him for lunch, namely Mahfud MD and Muhaimin. It was clear that he was prepared, confident, and had mastered the material, perhaps having been thoroughly trained by his debate preparation team.” The second of five televised debates, and the first to feature the vice presidential candidates, was focused on the economy, including issues such as taxes, trade, management of the state budget, infrastructure and urban planning. Dandy Rafitrandi, an economist with the think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the questions set by a panel of experts were quite specific and required each candidate to understand economic topics. The candidates’ weak grasp of economics was noticeable at times, Rafitrandi said, including when the questions turned to funding government projects and programmes. “Gibran explained several programmes, for example, a free lunch programme [for civil servants] worth 400 trillion Indonesian Rupiah [$25.8bn], but did not explain the source of the funding,” Rafitrandi told Al Jazeera. At another point during the debate, Muhaimin said that he and presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, the former governor of Jakarta, wanted to build 40 new cities across Indonesia to rival Jakarta – without explaining how these would be paid for. The main flashpoint of the evening came when the candidates sparred over Nusantara, Indonesia’s new capital city, which is currently being built in the jungles of Kalimantan. The plan, which was spearheaded by Widodo, involves moving Jakarta, which is crowded, choked with smog and sinking due to illegal groundwater extraction, at a projected cost of $1.3bn. The project has struggled to secure foreign investment, which was envisaged to cover the majority of its hefty price tag, and has only attracted local investors, something which Mahfud questioned Gibran about given his support for the plan. Gibran replied that Mahfud could “Google” who was investing in the project and attacked Muhaimin for being “inconsistent” after previously backing the scheme. Groundbreaking for Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara took place last year [File: Bagus Saragih/AFP] Mahfud also previously supported Nusantara, and only Anies and Muhaimin have said that they would cancel the project if elected, arguing the money could be better spent elsewhere in Kalimantan and other parts of the country. Nusantara is not expected to be a deciding factor in the election, with some recent polls showing that Prabowo and Gibran have a 20-point lead over Ganjar Pranowo, the former governor of Central Java, and Mahfud MD. “Gibran was the clear winner of tonight’s debate. It has set the bar high and it will be tougher for both Anies’s and Ganjar’s teams to catch up with them, especially when it comes to economy and investment issues,” RSIS’s Arifianto said. “Sadly, both Mahfud and Muhaimin are single-issue candidates who are good only for their issues [law and religious issues respectively] but not so good in others.” However, not everyone was impressed with Gibran’s dynamic performance, saying that it placed style above substance. “He was better rehearsed compared to the other two candidates, which will likely impress some voters. However, his responses

Defense Secretary Austin makes personal holidays calls to deployed US military service members

Defense Secretary Austin makes personal holidays calls to deployed US military service members

While Americans pack for a busy weekend of holiday plans, thousands of military service members continue to protect the United States at duty stations around the world. On Thursday and Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks made personal phone calls to thank those who are serving abroad during the Christmas season, according to a press release from the Department of Defense. The military’s top brass thanked the men and women for their service and sacrifice at home and abroad, especially during the season. Austin and Hicks also acknowledge the “immense sacrifice” that members of the military and their families make throughout the holidays. WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT HELPS INJURED SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS According to the press release, Secretary Austin spoke with service members from the following units: According to the press release, Deputy Secretary Hicks also spoke with service members from the following units: Throughout his term, President Biden along with First Lady Jill Biden, have marked major holidays by taking time to call members of all six branches of the military. CHRISTMAS CAPITAL OF TEXAS CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS WITH 1,400-PLUS EVENTS ACROSS 40 DAYS At Thanksgiving, President Biden shared on X that they spoke to members of the military, calling them “the best of us.” GI CHRISTMAS CARD TO 8-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER IN 1944 CAPTURED FEAR, HEARTBREAK AND HOPE AMID WWII HOLIDAYS “This Thanksgiving, Jill and I spoke with members of our Armed Forces to offer our sincere gratitude for the sacrifices they make every day to protect our freedom,” the president wrote in an X post. “They’re the best of us. “ The president and first lady on Friday also carried on another tradition with their third annual visit to Children’s National Hospital. The first lady read Clement Clarke Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas” before the Bidens chatted with children and their parents. “Jill and I spent time here — the same as you parents did — with our children, because of their circumstances,” Biden said. “You know that old expression, ‘where there’s life there’s hope.’ Hopefully you kids come back when you’re out of the hospital and hang out with other kids, so you know what it’s like.”

DR Congo’s provisional election results show lead for President Tshisekedi

DR Congo’s provisional election results show lead for President Tshisekedi

Electoral authorities announce results of voting by diaspora in the US, Canada, South Africa, Belgium and France. Democratic Republic of the Congo has begun to announce the results of general elections marred by chaotic organisation and credibility concerns. Electoral authorities on Friday announced the results of voting by diaspora Congolese in South Africa, the United States, Canada, Belgium and France ahead of the release of the full outcome on Saturday. The votes, which represent a small proportion of the electorate, showed President Felix Tshisekedi with a sizable lead over his opposition rivals. Voters also cast their ballots to choose the next crop of national and regional lawmakers, and local councillors. The provisional results come after voting in the mineral-rich Central African nation was extended into Thursday after some polling stations failed to open to the public and some voters could not find their names on registers. The unscheduled extension prompted fierce pushback from opposition candidates, some of whom labelled the move unconstitutional and called for a new election. Tshisekedi was considered the frontrunner going into the election, in which he faced a divided opposition that included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege and business magnate and former provincial governor Moise Katumbi. Despite the electoral commission announcing that polling stations were not authorised to open beyond Thursday, voting continued in some places, especially remote areas, into Friday. Independent observers have raised concerns about the vote, with the US-based Carter Center describing “serious irregularities” at 21 out of 109 polling stations it visited and noting “a lack of confidence in the process”. Denis Kadima, the head of the country’s electoral commission, on Friday rejected criticism that the extended vote lacked credibility. The DRC, which is one of the world’s poorest countries despite holding vast reserves of copper, cobalt and gold, has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent. Tshisekedi’s election as president in 2018 win was marred by accusations of vote-rigging and fraud. At least 34 people were killed and 59 others wounded in protests against the outcome, according to the United Nations. Adblock test (Why?)

US accuses Iran of being ‘deeply involved’ in Houthi attacks in Red Sea

US accuses Iran of being ‘deeply involved’ in Houthi attacks in Red Sea

White House says Tehran is providing Yemeni rebel group with weapons and tactical intelligence. The United States has accused Iran of being “deeply involved” in attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea. Tehran’s support for the Yemeni rebel group includes both weapons and tactical intelligence, the White House said on Friday as it presented newly declassified intelligence purporting to show Iranian involvement in the attacks. “We know that Iran was deeply involved in planning the operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” White House national security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “This is consistent with Iran’s long-term material support and encouragement of the Houthis’ destabilising actions in the region.” “This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” Watson said. The White House said that visual analysis showed nearly identical features between Iran’s KAS-04 drones and the unmanned vehicles used by the Houthis, as well as consistent features between Iranian and Houthi missiles. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the White House’s claims. The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in what the group has described as a show of support for Palestinians facing Israeli bombardment in Gaza. The attacks have effectively rerouted a large portion of global trade by forcing freight companies to sail around Africa, imposing higher costs and delays to deliveries of energy, food and consumer goods. More than a dozen shipping companies, including the Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company, France’s CMA CGM and Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, have suspended transit through the Red Sea due to the attacks. Washington earlier this week announced the launch of a multinational force, involving more than 20 countries, to protect vessels transiting the Red Sea. Last week, a US guided-missile destroyer shot down 14 attack drones believed to have been fired from Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen. The Houthi leadership has warned that they will strike back at “American battleships” and “American interests” if they are attacked. Tehran has said it supports the Houthis politically but denies sending the group weapons. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month rejected Israeli accusations that the Houthis were acting with its guidance when they seized an Israeli-owned ship and denied responsibility for a drone shot down by a US guided-missile destroyer. The Houthis, which have effectively maintained a United Nations-brokered truce with the Saudi-backed government since last year, rose up against the Yemeni government in 2014, triggering a devastating civil war. Adblock test (Why?)