JAKARTA - Jakarta National University (UNAS) academic Firdaus Syam assessed that Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has the potential to become a "new sun" in the 2029 presidential contest.
"Minister of Defense Sjafrie has the opportunity to be a new sun in the 2029 presidential election in terms of political culture. This is because he holds a strategic position and has a fighter character because he comes from East Indonesia," said Firdaus in a public discussion held by the DPP Indonesia Youth Congress entitled Position of Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin in the 2029 Presidential Election: Strategic Position and Political Capital at Tamarin Hotel, Central Jakarta, Monday, March 2.
According to Firdaus, Sjafrie has the character of a fighter and fighter. He assessed that the East Indonesian political culture is synonymous with courage and fighting spirit, by citing a number of figures such as B. J. Habibie and Jusuf Kalla.
Meanwhile, millennial political researcher and author of the book Democracy and Islamic Populism, Gian Kasogi, stated that Sjafrie is a political elite with a strategic position and is in the core network of President Prabowo Subianto.
On the other hand, the latest survey by the Indonesian Public Institute (IPI) shows a number of new faces entering the presidential candidate exchange in 2029. IPI researcher, Abdan Sakura, said names such as Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, North Maluku Governor Sherly Tjoanda, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi, to the Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa in the top 10 presidential candidates.
In the survey, Sjafrie was ranked seventh with an electability of 7.5 percent, followed by Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa (4.9 percent) and Sherly Tjoanda (3.8 percent). Sjafrie's electability is in close competition with a number of regional heads, such as Anies Baswedan (8.5 percent), Pramono Anung (7.8 percent), and Dedi Mulyadi (7.9 percent).
Abdan explained that the factors that affect electability include leadership, reputation, track record, media publication, integrity, as well as vision-mission and work programs. In Sjafrie, the indicators of leadership and reputation were recorded at 44 percent, the track record of leadership at 17 percent, the recommendations of the environment and media at 12 percent, and integrity at 10 percent.
Meanwhile, the peak of electability is still occupied by Prabowo Subianto with 22.3 percent, followed by Gibran Rakabuming Raka (12.2 percent) and Ganjar Pranowo (9 percent).
The IPI survey was held on January 30-February 5, 2026, with 1,241 respondents aged 17-65 years in 35 provinces using the multistage random sampling method with a margin of error of 2.78 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
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