Gibran Achieves Jokowi's Traces: Fruit Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Gibran Rakabuming Raka and his father, President Joko Widodo, greeted the people in the neighborhood around the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta in October 2019. (BPMI Setpres/Muchlis Jr)

JAKARTA Gibran Rakabuming Raka is currently the figure of the millennial generation most talked about by the Indonesian people. That was after he officially performed a duet with Prabowo Subianto as a pair of presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2024 Presidential Election.

Rumors about Gibran going forward in the presidential election contest next year have been smelled in the past few months. Mainly since President Joko Widodo's eldest son held an intimate meeting with Prabowo in angkringan in Solo.

Like a tit for tat, the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the age limit for presidential and vice presidential candidates is in favor of Gibran, who is indeed predicted to accompany Prabowo.

The Constitutional Court decided that the presidential and vice presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old or moderate or have served as regional heads. This is certainly a red carpet for Gibran, who is currently serving as Mayor of Solo.

Until finally on Sunday (22/10/2023) the Forward Indonesia Coalition announced that Gibran Rakabuming Raka was officially paired as Vice President Prabowo Subianto.

The declaration was made at Prabowo's residence on Kertanegara Street, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta even without Gibran's presence.

"Good evening, brothers. Recently, the Forward Indonesia Coalition consisting of eight political parties, namely Golkar, PAN, Democrats, Gerindra, Gelora, PBB, Garuda and the top which were attended by the respective chairman and the secretary general respectively we have held a consensus final, all agreed to carry Prabowo Subianto as KIM's presidential candidate for 2024-2029 and brother Gibran Rakabuming Raka as KIM's Vice Presidential Candidate," said Prabowo in Kertanegara, Jakarta, Sunday (22/10/2023).

Gibran's willingness to become Prabowo's vice presidential candidate is actually a bit attractive. The reason is that in 2018 Gibran was still reluctant to look at politics as his career. The man who was born in 1987 emphasized that he focused on doing business, as his father, Jokowi, had occupied before entering the political arena.

"No, not interested (to become a politician)," said Gibran when met at the inauguration of the outlets Sang Pisang and Markobar, in the Cikini area, Central Jakarta, Sunday (11/8/2018).

"My father used to be in business, so he followed my father," he said.

At that time, Gibran was called a figure who deserved to be used as a role model. How not, as the child of the number one person in Indonesia, Gibran was not politically attracted and chose to continue his career in the business world.

Gibran spent his childhood in Solo, his hometown. He studied at SDN Mangkubumen Kidul Surakarta and SMPN 1 Surakarta before moving to Singapore.

He continued his high school-level education at the Orchid Park Secondary School in 2002. After graduating, Gibran attended a bachelor's degree lecture at the Management Development Intute of Singapore (MDIS). It didn't stop there, the man who was born on October 1, 1987 continued his education at the University of Technology Insearch, Sydney, Australia and graduated in 2010.

After completing his education, Gibran went into the culinary business. His first business was Chilli Pari which was established in 2010. Chilli Pari provides catering for various purposes such as wedding parties, company meeting, and others.

Since then Gibran's business has continued to spread. In the culinary field, he founded Markobar, Goola, Mangkokku, Ready Mas, Livestockcopy and Pasta Buntel. Apart from the culinary field, Gibran also entered another business, namely Madhang, an application to bridge women who are good at cooking with buyers. Another Gibran business is iColor which serves the services of repairing Apple outlets.

Gibran's businesses almost always manage to confiscate attention. One of them is Goola, a sweet traditional drink without leaving old school characteristics, for example using a Chinese boyfriend to replace bubble tea and coconut milk as a substitute for cheese foam.

Goola became a conversation not only because of its delicious taste, but also because the start-up received an injection of capital of IDR 71 billion from Alpha JWC Ventures in August 2019. This disbursement of funds then became a question for many parties.

"We see great potential and Goola's initial success. With our experience and expertise, we believe Alpha JWC Ventures will be the right partner for the big mission and Goola's expansion plan," said Managing Partner Alpha JWC Ventures, Jefrey Joe, quoted by Antara.

Goola's business did not last long and includes one of four Gibran businesses that are out of business now. The other three that are known to be bankrupt are Ternakopi, Ready Mas, and Madhang.

Gibran reiterated that his interest is to develop business and far from politics, when Jokowi will run again in the 2019 presidential election.

"I have never been in politics and have not been a successful team," said Gibran at an event at Dian Nuswantoro University, Semarang, on September 3, 2018.

However, Gibran's establishment only lasted until 2019, when he finally came to the PDIP DPC Office in the Brengosan Area, Solo. Gibran firmly registered as a party cadre bearing the white-nosed bull symbol.

Gibran's actions in politics are fairly smooth. At that time, Gibran, who was only 33 years old, registered himself as a candidate for Mayor of Solo for the 2020-2025 period with PDIP as his political vehicle.

In the 2020 Pilkada, Gibran, who was paired with Teguh Prakosa, managed to beat the duo Bagyo Wahyono-Suparjo Fransiskus Xaverius by getting 86.5 percent of the vote.

Finally, the Gibran-Teguh pair was officially appointed as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Solo in an open plenary meeting held by the General Election Commission (KPU) Solo on January 21, 2021.

As if without significant obstacles, two years later Gibran Rakabuming Raka was supported by the Advanced Indonesia Coalition to become Prabowo Subianto's companion in the 2024 presidential election.

It is interesting to see whether good luck will again oversee Gibran when he accompanied Prabowo in the fierce battle which will be held on February 14, 2024.

Executive Director of the Indonesian Public Institute (IPI), Karyono Wibowo, said that Prabowo wanted to take advantage of Gibran's status as Jokowi's son, who is currently the current president.

"Why did Prabowo join Gibran? This is part of a strategy. To win the presidential election, Prabowo wants to increase support from outside his voters. In the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, Prabowo lost in Central Java and East Java. With the Prabowo-Gibran duo, it is hoped that it can increase votes," Karyono said when contacted by VOI.

In addition, what Prabowo wants to capitalize on is his father Gibran. Until now, Jokowi is still the president, the highest authority holder. Prabowo could use this power instrument," said Karyono.