The Controversy Of Fufufa's Account And Gibran Rakabuming Raka's Reputation Bet

Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka with a gemoy political game, dancing at Mata Najwa's 13th birthday. (Instagram/@prabowo)

JAKARTA The controversy surrounding the case account named Fufufafa, which allegedly belonged to Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko Widodo and vice president-elect, has become public attention because of uploads that insult a number of political figures, including Prabowo Subianto.

The public believes that Gibran is the figure behind the Fufufafa Kaskus account after going through a search by netizens until he finds evidence showing Fufufa's relationship with Jokowi's eldest son.

Until now, the owner of the Fufufafa account is still a mystery, but a number of observers predict that this incident has the potential to damage Jokowi, Gibran and Prabowo's relationship. Not only that, this issue could also pose a serious threat to Gibran in carrying out his duties as vice president.

The old upload of Fufufafa's account first surfaced since the end of last August. Until now, this account is still a public discussion, because his uploads have attacked Prabowo Subianto several times. One of them when commenting on the news entitled 'Prabowo Never Takes Pension Money from the TNI Since 1998'.

Fufufa's account then wrote: "It turns out that dismissals can also be retirees" and Dismissal soldiers, divorces, children waving, supporters are radical, gakall coalition parties are out of support".

The statement was uploaded on December 13, 2018, before the 2019 presidential election when the relationship between Prabowo and Jokowi was not as close as it is now. Jokowi, who was paired with Ma'ruf Amin, defeated the Prabowo-Sandiaga Uno duo five years ago. However, after the presidential election, the former governor of DKI Jakarta invited Gerindra to the government carriage and appointed Prabowo as Minister of Defense.

Another upload that netizens paid attention to was when Fufufa's account made a negative statement against Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Until now, Gibran Rakabuming Raka has denied the ownership of the account, although netizens believe they have evidence showing that the Fufufafa account belongs to the former Mayor of Solo.

"Yes, ask the owner of the account. Why to me?" he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Daily Chairperson of the Gerindra Party, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, said that Pak Prabowo was not too dizzy.

The polemic of Fufufafa's account, which until now has not been confirmed who the owner is, is believed to be able to heat Prabowo's relationship with Jokowi and even Gibran in the future. When Jokowi is no longer in power, it is not impossible that it will have a big impact on Gibran, according to Indonesia's Executive Director of Political Opinion Dedi Kurnia Syah.

The emergence of old uploads of Fufufa's account will make the public aware that Gibran's political career is not entirely based on his capacity, but thanks to the support of political relations as the eldest son of the number one person in Indonesia.

"If Joko Widodo is no longer in power, then Gibran will no longer have a protector," said Dedi.

He added that the emergence of Fufufa could be part of a political maneuver that tries to weaken Jokowi's dominance which has been considered strong in controlling his political opponents. If not controlled, the issue of Fufufa has the potential to pose a serious threat to Gibran in carrying out his duties.

"It could be that the emergence of Fufufafa is part of the marker that Jokowi and Prabowo are starting to be unharmonic, and part of a political maneuver trying to block Jokowi's strength, which has so far been dominantly holding his political rivals hostage," added Dedi.

Both the Gibran and Prabowo camps seemed reluctant to take seriously the controversy over Fufufa's uploads. But overall, this issue remains a matter of debate and attracts great attention on social media, particularly regarding Gibran's political impact and digital integrity as vice president-elect.

The emergence of Fufufa is also seen by a number of groups as strengthening the signal of disharmony between Jokowi and Prabowo. Moreover, recently, the ripple of the relationship between the two was detected by the public, especially after Prabowo was said to be one of the figures who opposed the plan to revise the Pilkada Law by the DPR in mid-August.

An artificial intelligence (AI) belonging to Drone Emprit analyzes conversational data on social media related to the Fufufafa polemic. According to analysis, this issue could damage Gibran's reputation in the public eye, especially if the accusations circulating were not taken seriously and handled. The positive image that has been built so far could be disrupted by the controversy related to the Fufufa account.

"If the public considers Gibran to be involved or unable to control the situation, this can reduce support from voters who previously supported him," wrote Drone Emprit analysis.

Still from the same analysis, this polemic can also create polarization between Gibran's supporters and his political opponents, who will take advantage of this issue to attack and discredit Jokowi's eldest son.

If Fufufa's issue is not handled properly, it will not only reduce public trust in Gibran but also cast doubt on his ability to lead and make good decisions.

"This lost belief could have an impact on the effectiveness of his future leadership, especially in the face of complex political and social challenges," wrote data analyst Drone Emprit.

According to Drone Emprit, Gibran should provide clarification, explain his position, and show his commitment to transparency and accountability. Because, this strategy is important to ease tensions and restore public trust, as well as to show that he is able to face the challenges that exist.