Exclusive, Chairman of the PPP Advisory Council Romahurmuziy Says Presidential Election This Time Almost Happened All The President's Men

According to PPP MP Chairman Romahurmuziy, almost all of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who will compete in the 2024 presidential election are President Jokowi's person, only Anies Baswedan is not. (Photo Irfan Medianto, DI Raga Granada VOI)

Of the six people who will run in the 2024 presidential election, almost all of them are President Jokowi's person. According to the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the United Development Party (MP PPP), Ir. H. Muhammad Romahurmuziy MT, only Anies Baswedan was identified as not President Jokowi's person. In the second round, if the pair that pass are Ganjar Pranowo – Mahfud MD and Prabowo Subianto – Gibran Rakabuming, what is called All The President's Men has become a reality.

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The commotion about who will run in the 2024 presidential election has been felt since mid-2022. A number of names have emerged as presidential and vice-presidential candidates from political parties. Of all the political parties in the DPR RI, only PDIP has the golden ticket, meaning it can nominate its own presidential and vice presidential candidates without needing additional support from other parties. Because the votes obtained were more than 20 percent of all DPR RI members, as regulated in the Election Law. Meanwhile, other parties whose seats are below 20 percent must form a coalition with other parties in order to reach 20 percent or more to nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates.

The pair Ganjar Pranowo and Mahfud MD registered with the KPU on the same day (20 October) as the pair Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar (AMIN). Ganjar – Mahfud was proposed by PDIP, PPP, Perindo and Hanura. Meanwhile, the AMIN pair was supported by the Nasdem Party, PKB, PKS and the Ummat Party. And the last person to register as a presidential candidate was the Prabowo - Gibran pair (25 October) who had to wait for the Constitutional Court's decision on the presidential/vice presidential candidate's age lawsuit. Until finally the Constitutional Court granted part of the lawsuit which paved the way for Gibran to become Prabowo's vice presidential candidate. The Prabowo – Gibran pair is supported by Gerindra, Golkar, Democrat, PAN, PSI, Garuda, Prima and Gelora.

Of the six people who will compete as presidential and vice presidential candidates in the 2024 presidential election, according to Rommy, as he is usually called, almost all of them are President Jokowi's person. “Only Mr. Anies Baswedan is not President Jokowi's person. Prabowo, Ganjar, Mahfud and Muhaimin, especially Gibran, are all presidents' person," he said.

Of these three pairs, it is predicted that those who will qualify for the second round are the Ganjar-Mahfud and Prabowo-Gibran pairs. "If Ganjar-Mahfud and Prabowo-Gibran pass in the second round, then all the president's men will have come true," said the former General Chair of the United Development Party.

In Romahurmuziy's observations, Jokowi is indeed a politician who almost never loses. The president's influence has penetrated almost all political parties in Indonesia, known in Javanese as cawe-cawe (promoting), aka intervention. Even though Jokowi denies that he is promoting someone, it is clearly visible that in their movements political parties are very dependent on the president. Including the matter of finding presidential and vice presidential candidates who will be nominated. “When there are no more opponents, he will experiment against himself. Mr. Jokowi as a PDIP cadre against Mr. Jokowi who is Gibran's father, hehehe. Now Mr. Jokowi is playing seriously against himself, because there is no equal opponent," he told Edy Suherli, Ramidy and Irfan Medianto from VOI who visited him at his private residence in the Condet area, East Jakarta recently. He talked about why PPP left KIB, PPP nominated Sandiaga Uno and other political issues. Here is the full excerpt.

Chairman of the PPP Advisory Council, Romahurmuziy, regretted Constitutional Court's controversial decision regarding the age of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. (Photo Irfan Medianto, DI Raga Granada VOI)

Three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates have registered with the KPU to take part in the 2024 presidential election, what are your views on these three candidate pairs?

I congratulate the three pairs and congratulations to the Indonesian people who already have candidates for presidential and vice presidential candidates who are the result of selection from 272 million people. It is to one of these three pairs that we will entrust this nation's future. Currently still in the selection process, of course there is controversy, there are pros and cons to joining a number of pairs. For the sake of the future of Indonesian democracy, we must convey who they (presidential/vice presidential candidates) are so that the people do not choose the wrong captain. If we choose the wrong democratic country that we are building, it can be distorted, it will appear to be democracy but in reality it is not, or pseudo democracy.

What do you want to express from this reality?

I saw that the candidate pairs who ran based on the decision of the Constitutional Court left a lot of controversy. If we look at the opinions of constitutional experts and political observers who are honest and impartial, none of them confirms the decision of the Constitutional Court. Even one of the Constitutional Court judges, Mr. Arif Hidayat, expressed his disagreement with the decision, saying openly that there were indeed serious problems at the Constitutional Court when it made this decision. That the decision is binding, we cannot let everything pass. The DPR must show steps as a guardian of the constitution. There should have been changes to the PKPU following the Constitutional Court's decision, but what was done was only the issuance of an official note by the KPU. We will wait after the DPR finishes its recess in early November 2023.

There are two serious issues in the Constitutional Court's decision, firstly  the question of the ethics of decision making. That there is a legal principle of nemo judex in causa sua, a judge cannot decide that he has a conflict of interest there. There is also a TAP MPR regarding prohibiting KKN which was stated in Law No. 28 of 1999 concerning State Administrators who are Clean and Free from Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism. When making this decision, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Anwar Usman made it easier for his nephew Gibran Rakabuming to run for the 2024 presidential election. The problem is that he did not participate in decision making in three previous similar lawsuits.

Now there is an Honorary Council of the MKMK Constitutional Court, Jimly Asshiddiqie as chairman, what are your hopes?

I hope that the decision that MKMK makes is as heroic as Mr. Jimly's speech when he was inaugurated. Even though his son is a Gerindra legislative candidate who is running for Prabowo-Gibran. The DPR set the age of 40 not to prevent young people, but to mature, which is led the country. Regarding the Constitutional Court's decision, judge Sadli Isra was of the opinion that the Constitutional Court was trapping itself in a political vortex. That shouldn't happen, because judges must have a statesmanlike spirit. This is called cheating democracy. We remind Mr. Jokowi and the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

On various occasions President Jokowi often says "ojo kesusu" (don't rush) in this context is he "kesusu" (in a rush)?

After the Constitutional Court's decision, a number of memes emerged. The contents; "Ojo kesusu, ojo grasa grusu, because my son arep melu" (don't rush, don't be in a hurry because my son wants to take part in the presidential election). It was spread across many creations, that was the public reaction to the controversial Constitutional Court's decision.

PPP initially formed a coalition with Golkar and PAN to welcome the 2024 presidential election, but apparently left and supported Presidential Candidate Ganjar from the PDIP coalition. Can you explain the strategic considerations behind this?

According to the PPP Chairman, this KIB has no future, because Golkar already has a candidate: Mr. Airlangga. Meanwhile, Mr. Zulkifli Hasan has appointed Mr. Erick Thohir as vice presidential candidate. Meanwhile, PPP has its own vice presidential candidate, namely Mr. Sandi. The candidates in the KIB have low electability, there is no shadow of victory. Politics is about seeking victory as well as upholding the truth. PPP needs political certainty, that's why we withdrew and approached PDIP after they named their presidential candidate. Then the figure of Mr. Ganjar himself is close to PPP. He is the son-in-law of the PPP Chair in Purbalingga Regency, Central Java. When I was campaigning for the 2009 legislative election, I was in the same electoral district as him, in fact we lived in the same house even though we were from different parties.

Many parties, including PPP MP Chairman Romahurmuziy, hope that the MKMK led by Jimly Asshiddiqie can restore the dignity of the Constitutional Court. (Photo Irfan Medianto, DI Raga Granada VOI)

So it's not just a pragmatic consideration to promote Ganjar Pranowo?

Very unpragmatic, in fact it is very emotional and historical. The deputy governor, Mr. Ganjar (Gus Yasin) is a PPP cadre. Before Pak Ganjar was appointed as the Presidential Candidate by PDIP, I once spoke to him about being proposed to the KIB, but he was not ready because his party had not yet decided.

PPP is nominating Sandiaga Uno for the vice presidential position, what are his considerations, not another figure who has been involved in PPP for a long time?

To run as a presidential and vice presidential candidate, you must have capital. Firstly, integrity capital, there are many in PPP. Then the second is popularity and the third is electability. Well, we don't have figures who are popular and also have high electability. Mr. Sandi was appointed in June 2023. However, he had been active with PPP since the previous year. So it can't be said to be sudden (suddenly). After touring the regions, finally 16 DPWs proposed Mr. Sandi as vice presidential candidate to the PPP DPP.

In the end, Sandiaga's name was not chosen as vice presidential candidate, Mahfud MD was appointed as vice presidential candidate. Apart from academics, he is a bureaucrat who is considered to represent elements of Islam.

Are you from PPP represented by his figure?

Mr. Mahfud represents a number of interest elements. Firstly, Mr. Mahfud is Nahdliyin, according to a survey by one of the national media, 46 percent of Indonesian citizens claim to be NU members. So currently there is no choice for them, Ganjar Mahfud or Anies Muhaimin. The problem is that Prabowo Gibran's partner has no NU attribution. Second, Mr. Mahfud represents an anti-corruption warrior. I may be bad, the people may be bad, but we need a clean leader. Third, he is a public official who has integrity. He has remained a public official for 23 years and has never had any legal problems. In 1999 he first became a public official on the recommendation of Mr. Hamzah Haz.

So there is no rejection for Mahfud MD?

Absolutely not, even the day after being appointed as vice presidential candidate, Mr. Sandi immediately moved on to provide support. No need to get emotional (bring your feelings). The condition for young colleagues who want to enter the political stage is not to be too emotional. Because in politics, opponents can become friends at any time, and friends can become opponents at any time. So, don't hate your opponents too much and don't love your friends too much. Eternal interests are important and that's not unique only to Indonesia, but it's like that all over the world.

Currently, Muslims are spread across various parties such as PPP, PKS, PKB, PAN, PBB, Ummat Party, etc. Do you think that ideally Muslims should be spread across many parties or gathered in one party?

Currently, the Islamic-based political parties are PPP, PKS, PKB, PAN, which are already in parliament while PBB and the Ummah Party are still outside. If the point of view is idealism, Islamic teachings should be united. But unity is a platform or interest. Now that it is spread across various parties, the seat of political Islam has become bigger. Currently there are 170 seats for Islamic political parties even though the number of voters is not that many.

The current reality is that there are many parties whose constituents are Muslim, and it is inevitable that there will be mass fighting between parties based on Islam?

Politics is a game, but you have to be serious about it. It is inevitable that we fight for votes in the same niche.

We observe that there are two categories of political parties targeting the Muslim base, modern and traditional. Which group does PPP fall into?

PPP is a traditional one. Ideally, there are four political parties in Indonesia: the Traditional Islamic Party, the Modern Islamic Party, the Right Nationalist Party and the Left Nationalist Party. This composition was almost close during the New Order, only the process was forced. But now the numbers are booming. With a constellation like this, it is more challenging to find a voice in society. We hope that in the current era the number will decrease naturally, one of which is by raising the parliamentary threshold. But the problem cannot be high because there will be a lot of wasted votes. If the parliamentary threshold is 10 percent, only PDIP, Golkar and Gerindra will enter. Others will lose their voices.

It was reported that Megawati and President Jokowi had a less cordial relationship after Gibran became Prabowo's presidential candidate after the Constitutional Court's decision. Do you see the same thing, how is the GPN-Mahfud camp facing all of this?

I saw Mr. Jokowi's constitutional and organizational resistance to his party's decision. Whether Mrs. Megawati responded with sadness, I don't know. The thing is, he didn't reveal it openly. All ranks of the PDI Perjuangan were relatively silent, or they commented just fine.

What President Jokowi did in sending his son to become Prabowo's vice presidential candidate is a betrayal of the PDIP. This also betrays his history of starting from the bottom as a PDIP cadre. This is worrying when legal institutions are tricked with an approach to power. This was stated by the constitutional judge himself conveying what he experienced to the public. This is an alarm, a red alert for our democracy. Suddenly the Constitutional Court became a low-quality institution. The term Sadli Isra, MK is playing politics in the current presidential election. We are waiting for the MKMK's role to be able to examine the presumption that the MK is being used for power, to pass someone who will advance to the presidential election stage. Many legal experts have urged Chief Constitutional Justice Anwar Usman to resign from his position. And if he steps down I think it would be honorable. We must continue to voice this, the more people speak up, we hope that Mr. Jimmly can act impartially in making decisions later.

The MK as a judicial institution was pulled into the political arena to smooth Gibran's steps. If he wins the presidential election, is it possible that Gibran's wife Selvi will become first lady, because we know that Prabowo doesn't have a wife?

If that's what the people want, they can't accept it or not. We cannot possibly force Mr. Prabowo to remarry in a short time, that is a personal matter. That's why we brought up the Ganjar Mahfud couple, who has a complete family, so there's no confusion about the first lady.

Do you think President Jokowi's influence still counts?

We will definitely count it because Mr. Jokowi still has power over the army, navy and air force. He is also still the boss of the police, prosecutor's office and state intelligence agencies. Jokowi is also the boss of 271 regional heads who are appointees (PJs) amounting to more than half of the current districts/cities. That's why I always speak out to the public to ensure that there is no abuse of power. As Lord Acton said, power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. That's why we guard our beloved president from using his power improperly.

President Jokowi said he supports all candidate pairs in the 2024 presidential election, your response?

There is speech in front of the stage and action behind the stage. In front of the stage, Mr. Jokowi will act like a statesman, supporting all candidate pairs. But backstage who knows. When the name of his cabinet was allowed to be used as the name of the coalition of parties supporting 10 Prabowo-Gibran's camp, it had a very strong meaning. That means it's hard for him to go there. When there is a Constitutional Court decision he cannot interfere, remember that the judge is Gibran's uncle. Don't make this apology to young people. We are not anti-young people. But if the question is only leading 5 sub-districts in Solo, are they ready to lead this republic? Remember that his father went through a very long and tiring road. Even though the selection is direct, the selection is questionable.

Prabowo Gibran's team will continue President Jokowi's program, what about Ganjar Mahfud's team?

Regarding the program and vision and mission, it has been handled by the coalition parties. We continue what was good from the previous leader, what is wrong we correct. For example, regarding the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, whether this is feasible or not, this must be accounted for from a scientific perspective. And also for other questions that need to be asked. One of President Jokowi's statements stated that IKN Nusantara is part of China's One Belt One Road (OBOR). When we place the nation's capital, it becomes the policy of other countries. People find justification when they say that Indonesia is a subordinate of China. This must be straightened out, that's what Ganjar Mahfud will do.

If we compare the current conditions 5 years ago to be calmer, hopefully this situation can last until voting day, what's the difference?

The problem is that the two strongest candidate pairs come from the incumbent presidential coalition. Since last year, if we have observed the news about the president, it was all the president's men who wanted to run in the presidential election. Even though not all of them have come true, the majority have now come true. Of the six people running for the presidential election this time, only Anies is not the president. Prabowo, Ganjar, Mahfud, Gibran and Muhaimin are all presidents. If in the second round Ganjar-Mahfud and Prabowo-Gibran pass, then all the president's men will have come true.

So whoever wins, President Jokowi is the winner?

Yes, that's it, and I always say that when it comes down to the Ganjar-Mahfud vs Prabowo-Gibran pair, that means Jokowi vs Jokowi. Mr. Jokowi is a politician who has never lost. When there are no more opponents, he will experiment against himself. Mr. Jokowi as a PDIP cadre against Mr. Jokowi who is Gibran's father, hehehe. So remember the advice of my mother who is also a politician, politics is a game, even if it is a game, play it seriously. Now Mr. Jokowi is playing seriously against himself, because there is no worthy opponent.

   

Muhammad Romahurmuziy, Taking Lessons from the Legal Process that Has Taken Place

It turns out there is a strong reason why PPP, said PPP MP Chairman Romahurmuziy, left the United Indonesia Coalition. (Photo Irfan Medianto, DI Raga Granada VOI)

For Muhammad Romahurmuziy, Allah SWT's destiny for him is never wrong. He, who has now returned to the political scene by serving as Chair of the Advisory Council of the United Development Party (MP PPP), has learned lessons from the legal events that befell him and the sentence he underwent some time ago. In the past he was completely devoted to politics, now he can share his attention with other matters, apart from politics.

Rommy can no longer be separated from the world of politics. Having stopped because he was serving time in a corruption case involving buying and selling positions at the Ministry of Religion, after being released from punishment he returned to the world that made his name famous.

He is like a fish that has found its pond. Moreover, at PPP he received a very strategic position as Chair of the PPP Advisory Council. “I am returning to the political stage. All this time I have been a victim of legal politicization. "That's the risk of a politician," said the man born in Sleman, Yogyakarta, 10 September 1974.

According to Rommy, he will not give up the world of politics because it is through politics that he can fight for values. "I remain a politician because politics is a struggle to realize values and today that is what I am carrying out," he said.

When asked whether it was difficult to return to the political stage, he bluntly answered no. "If it's hard, of course it won't be this easy for me to be involved again on the political stage like today," said Rommy, who still can't fulfill all the requests for interviews from journalists and podcast programs that are currently mushrooming.

Apart from politics, Rommy can now devote more time to the business sector he has been involved in since he was young and also to the educational institutions inherited from his family. “I am returning to the business that I started before entering the political stage. "And I am also concerned about educational institutions because they have inherited educational institutions from their parents," he said.

Family Time

PPP MP Chairman Romahurmuziy learned lessons from the legal incident that happened to him. (Photo Irfan Medianto, DI Raga Granada VOI)

What happens in life for Romahurmuziy is destiny from Allah SWT. And it's never wrong. There is always wisdom and lessons to be learned. "I always believe that God's destiny is never wrong," said Rommy, who completed his undergraduate education in the Engineering Physics Department, Building Physics Specialty, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Bandung Institute of Technology (1999).

Rommy really enjoys and is grateful for the destiny that God has ordained for him. “I then had more time with my family. When I am with my family it is when my child needs me. "I really enjoy and am very grateful for everything that God has destined for me," he admitted.

And as a servant he learned the lesson from what had happened to him. "Everything has wisdom behind the events that have occurred," explained Rommy, who continued his Master's degree at the ITB Industrial Engineering and Management Department, Techno-Economics Specialty, ITB Postgraduate Faculty (2002).

And what is no less important, the business which until now almost remained in place when he was more focused on the political stage, is now spinning faster. "So the business that I carried out while I was a politician was relatively running in place, but it turns out that after I returned to it, it started to spin faster. Oh yes, apparently I have been ignoring my other potential. "That is the entrepreneurial ability that I have been working on since I was young," he said.

So far, Rommy said he has paid more attention to the world of politics. Meanwhile the business world tends to be secondary. "It turns out that when I was only in politics to fight for a value, what I received from God as a tool in the form of this potential was not exploited optimally," he said.

According to Rommy, there is nothing difficult in life as long as you accept God's destiny sincerely. “I learned to be sincere with what hit me. Nothing difficult and mediocre and what I have come back with various insults. Never mind us ordinary people, the Prophet who was infallible also experienced insults and blasphemy, why are we bothered by all that," said Rommy while giving the message that if you want to be a politician, you shouldn't get emotional.

More Traveling 

For those who want to enter the political arena, said PPP MP Chairman Romahurmuziy, don't get emotional easily, aka carry your feelings. Because in the world of politics, friends can become opponents and vice versa, opponents can become friends. (Photo Irfan Medianto, DI Raga Granada VOI)

According to Rommy, he is now back on the political stage even though he is not running as a legislative candidate. The choice not to become a legislative candidate was not without reason. By not being a legislative candidate, he can visit more PPP cadres and party activities in various places throughout Indonesia. "If I become a legislative candidate, I will focus more on the electoral district (Dapil). Now you can travel around Indonesia more. For example, yesterday I went to Jombang, Rembang, Tuban and Bojonegoro for two days and then to Jogja. I can visit five areas. If I become a legislative candidate, I will just stay in my electoral district in Kebumen, Banjarnegara and Purbalingga," said Rommy, who chooses running on a treadmill when in Jakarta and cycling when he returns to Jogja.

In Rommy's terms, currently he is mostly in the air. “I'm more in the air now. If you are a legislative candidate, how can you accept interview requests? "So I tried to fight for something in a broader and more effective way through the air, because nowadays there is more political penetration through social media," explained Rommy, who is still waiting to be assigned to TPN Ganjar Mahfud.

Even though he is busy with politics and business, family for Romahurmuziy remains the main thing. “Dining together is the best time to exchange ideas with family. Only now, because my only daughter has continued her studies in America, I make video calls with her almost every day. Now with advances in technology, communication is no longer an obstacle. This is different from the past, which was still limited. There are also no problems with transportation because there are lots of cheap tickets if you buy them in advance via the application," said Henny Widiyanti's husband.

"When those fighting in the presidential election narrow down to the pair Ganjar-Mahfud vs Prabowo-Gibran, that means Jokowi vs Jokowi. Mr. Jokowi is a politician who has never lost. When there are no more opponents, he will experiment against himself. Mr. Jokowi as a PDIP cadre against Mr. Jokowi who is Gibran's father,"

Muhammad Romahurmuziy