Exclusive, Syarief Hasan's View Of Political Dynasties In Indonesia

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly, Syarief Hasan, revealed the reason the Democratic Party left the Change Coalition. (Photo Savic Rabos, DI Raga Granada VOI)

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election and general election, the issue of political dynasties in Indonesia has re-emerged. According to Prof. Dr. Sjarifuddin Hasan, MM, MBA, or better known as Syarief Hasan, member of the Demokrat Party High Council, there is nothing wrong when someone continues in the leadership footsteps of their parents. The Deputy Chair of the MPR RI has views and opinions so that the bad stigma of the practice of political dynasties can be changed.

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The involvement of President Jokowi's two sons and his son-in-law on the political stage is of concern to many parties. The problem is that Jokowi's sons admit that they are not interested in politics, they want to focus on business. However, this establishment only lasted a few years, Gibran Rakabuming Raka also entered the political scene because he wanted to become Mayor of Surakarta. Bobby Nasution, his son-in-law, also didn't want to miss out on the contest in Medan City. Finally, the youngest, Kaesang Pangarep, became a cadre of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI). In just two days, he served as general chairman of the political party with the red rose logo.

In Indonesia, it is not only the Jokowi family who have entered the political stage. Long before that there was the Soekarno family, the Suharto family, the SBY family, and many others in other areas. In foreign countries, there are the Kennedy, Nehru, Gandhi, Marcos, Ziaul Haq, and so on whose dynasties have also joined the political stage.

For Syarief Hasan, it is legal for a child to continue in his father's political footsteps. "For regeneration, we must give young people the opportunity to become the successors of the previous generation. Regeneration must follow the process that is taking place in the party or government. "Because this process will determine whether the regeneration process is natural or not," he said.

According to Syarief Hasan, the key word is a procedural and not sudden process. "Apart from that, people who are expected to become successors must also improve their personal competence, have the capacity, capability and integrity to become future leaders. Abroad, it also happens that children of leaders become future leaders, but they also emphasize the process, not suddenly appearing and being pulled along. "That's what will remove the bad stigma of political dynasties," he explained.

Syarief Hasan emphasized that the heavy burden of someone who follows in their parents' footsteps as a politician is not light. He had to fight to escape from his father's big name. Apart from following the process, improving your competence and knowledge and sharpening yourself is mandatory in order to develop. Don't just rely on your parents' big names. Apart from political dynasties, he also talked about the 2024 presidential election, the Demokrat Party's target in the 2024 legislative election. Also about AHY's failure to match with Anies Baswedan. And don't forget about cooperatives and MSMEs which still need to be supported by the government. This is an interview with Edy Suherli, Savic Rabos, and Irfan Medianto from VOI who met him at the DPR/MPR Building, Senayan Jakarta not long ago.

During this presidential election campaign, Syarief Hasan asked the presidential and vice-presidential candidates to protect their supporters to carry out politics peacefully. (Photo Savic Rabos, DI Raga Granada VOI)

Three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates have received serial numbers from the KPU, how do you see our current political condition?

There are those who view the current political climate as starting to get a little heated, but there are also those who view it as still normal. This is the dynamic of democracy. We are now in the middle, after yesterday's announcement of the presidential/cawapres serial numbers, the next step is outreach to the public. Whatever happens, national unity and unity must be upheld by all parties. Elections are only part of our goal as a state, namely to bring prosperity to all people.

Before meeting with the people, the presidential and vice presidential candidates must prepare their vision and mission for the future in building the nation in the next five years. It must be clear, open and comprehensive. If it is done well, I am sure the people will respond well. They will channel their aspirations to the most suitable candidates. We hope that the campaign period until the voting will be peaceful. It is indeed difficult to avoid friction between one another, but political party officials and presidential/cawapres candidates must play a role in calming the masses. Differences in views between one political party and another are inevitable, they do not need to be exaggerated. We must agree to strengthen unity and eliminate differences.

AHY was once predicted by the Democratic Party to run as vice presidential candidate, what was the basis for nominating AHY? At that time, the Democratic Party seemed very determined?

Actually, we have forgotten because it has become the past. It is true that the Democratic Party proposed AHY's name to accompany Anies Baswedan to run in the 2024 presidential election. The basis is data, so if Anies chooses AHY as vice presidential candidate it will benefit him. At the party level, according to the Democratic Party survey at that time, it was ranked 5th. Meanwhile, AHY himself was among the names that emerged as vice presidential candidate, he was in the top 4, including the highest for the vice presidential candidate market at that time. Still according to survey institutions, if they were a couple, Anies-AHY would be a pair that would be hard to beat. But we have all seen the final process. AHY is not yet married to Anies Baswedan.

We have also explained about AHY to our friends at the Change Coalition. If you don't agree with AHY, that's okay, we will accept it. But please let us know which name will be adopted. When Muhaimin Iskandar was appointed as Anies Baswedan's vice presidential candidate, we were not informed. That's what made us uncomfortable and in the end we decided it was better to be outside the Change Coalition.

Anies Baswedan was given a mandate by the Nasdem Party to find out for himself who was a suitable vice presidential candidate, but in reality he couldn't decide on his own, he had to consult with the party that nominated him. How do you see this reality?

That was also one of our considerations as to why we left the coalition.

Next, the Democratic Party approached Prabowo, interestingly there was no opposition before it was finally officially announced to support Prabowo, what actually happened within the Democratic Party?

When we met at the Democratic Party High Council forum, chaired by Pak SBY. Everyone realized that there was no choice anymore. At that time there were only two choices, joining PDIP or Prabowo (Gerindra). In reality, communication with PDIP was not smooth, whereas with Prabowo it was very smooth. Prabowo was very open to accepting us. Due to this fact, we chose to approach Prabowo.

After joining Prabowo, what is your next target?

We hope that the Prabowo – Gibran pair can win the 2024 presidential election. We are not too ambitious about what position we will get after being elected. Because winning the election means entering the government, and we will also participate.

Syarief Hasan explained the reasons for the Democratic Party nominating AHY as vice presidential candidate. (Photo Savic Rabos, DI Raga Granada VOI)

The battle in this presidential election is tough, what are the chances that Prabowo Gibran's partner will be the winner?

With the entry of Gibran as vice presidential candidate, survey results do show that there is a decrease in Prabowo's electability, but this is still in a safe position. Hopefully Prabowo-Gibran can win the hearts of the Indonesian people.

One thing that became the focus was when the Constitutional Court issued a decision which was considered to provide a "red carpet" for Gibran, this was very controversial. How do you see it?

The Constitutional Court's decision regarding the age limit for presidential/cawapres candidates is indeed very controversial. However, we must respect it because the Constitutional Court's decision is binding. The KPU accepted this decision. Regardless of whether there are those who reject it, that's part of the dynamics that occur.

Among the six people who are presidential and vice presidential candidates, only Anies Baswedan is not someone close to the president, whoever wins is Jokowi, how do you see this?

I want to see it objectively, this presidential election will be held directly. So whoever is elected is not the Village Head (Jokowi), if they have a close background, that's fine. Whoever is elected will be the people's choice.

Regarding political dynasties, how do you view political dynasties that occur both at home and abroad?

For regeneration, we must give young people the opportunity to become the successors of the previous generation. Regeneration must follow the process that is taking place in the party or government. Because this process will determine whether the regeneration process is natural or not.

For someone to have the lineage of a leader, what are the conditions to be able to get rid of the stigma of a bad political dynasty?

Apart from that, people who are expected to become successors must also improve their own competence, have the capacity, capability and integrity to become future leaders. Abroad, it also happens that the children of leaders also become potential leaders, but they also emphasize the process, not suddenly being thrown into action. That is what will remove the bad stigma of political dynasties.

So the keywords must be procedural and not suddenly appear?

Follow the process naturally, so as not to become a carbitan leader. And slowly you have to escape from the shadow and greatness of your parents, older siblings or a generation above them. Prove that you can be a leader, don't just be satisfied with your parents' big name.

The central figure in the Democratic Party is SBY, is there another figure who could follow?

Currently, one of the figures who will continue this is the General Chair of the Democratic Party, Mas AHY. Now he has started leading the party. As Chairman of the High Council of the Democratic Party, Mr. SBY is still involved. One day, when Mr. SBY can no longer be involved, Mas AHY can become his full replacement.

For the legislative elections, how big is the Democrat Party's vote target, how many DPR RI seats do they want to win?

The Democratic Party is targeting a vote acquisition of 15 percent for the 2024 legislative election. To obtain seats in the DPR RI, we are targeting 90 to 100 seats.

Currently, which areas are voting grounds for the Democratic Party?

In West Java we are good, Sumatra is also good. In other areas we are average. If in an area where previously we couldn't get a chair we can get a chair, that would be great. Meanwhile, in potential areas the results can be doubled, I think the target of 15 percent of the vote or 90 to 100 seats in the DPR RI is not impossible. Pray that we can achieve it.

First-time voters are among the largest, what is the Democratic Party doing to attract them?

Mas AHY's figure is an example of how we provide portions to the younger generation or millennials. We provide the broadest opportunities and roles for the millennial generation to get involved. After Mas AHY was elected as General Chair, most of the Democratic Party DPP administrators were from the younger generation, the millennial generation like Mas AHY. The programs are also very close to the millennial generation. So we are optimistic that we can attract millennials to reach out and get them involved.

Political costs in Indonesia are very high, how do you see this reality?

This is a consequence of direct elections. The education level of the Indonesian people is still not very high. That's where the costs increase. Then Indonesia's vast territory also means high costs. Sometimes people don't want to just meet with props, they want to meet their legislative candidates directly. This also makes costs high.

Allegations of political fraud in Indonesia often occur, but proving it is difficult, what can be done to minimize this?

Rules and supervision must be enforced. If there is technology that can be applied it can also help. When someone casts their vote, it is immediately connected to the KPUD to the Central KPU, if there is a vote it will be safe. While calculations are also crucial, if done manually there is a risk of fraud. It's different when it's done with technology, it can be minimized. With good systems and supervision, fraud will be reduced.

You are the former Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs, cooperatives in Indonesia are not developing, what are the obstacles?

I am also concerned that cooperatives in Indonesia are not growing, but shrinking. Cooperatives are indeed institutions that are required to make a profit, but the system remains a family one. In my experience as Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs, we don't need to go too deep into the cooperative household, we just monitor it. Then make it easy for them to take care of administration such as permits. The government must side with cooperatives, starting from supervision to access to finance. If this is done, many cooperatives will emerge and the old ones will also survive. At that time there was one Indonesian cooperative which was the best cooperative in the world.

MSMEs have proven that during the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday they were strong and could survive, while others collapsed, what is the government's attention to MSMEs currently?

The government's attention is already there for MSMEs. It just has to continue to be improved. The government must pick up the ball so that MSMEs can be expanded. Cheap credit must be distributed to MSMEs. If people don't work, the government has an obligation to help. Helping MSMEs is one of the tips for making people work. The government must provide assistance, it must be more massive in helping MSMEs.

Is BLT better or providing assistance to MSMEs?

BLT (Direct Cash Assistance) is for those who have a real emergency and it is temporary, only three months. The aim is so that people's purchasing power does not fall at all. If they have eliminated BLT, there will be no more. If MSMEs are assistance for business and can move the wheels of our economy. Our economy is really supported by these MSMEs. Therefore, the government must pay attention to, develop and provide assistance to MSMEs.

 

Syarief Hasan's Healthy Tips, You Can Do Them Too

Exercise has become Syarief Hasan's habit, every day he spends 1 to 1.5 hours exercising. (Photo Savic Rabos, DI Raga Granada VOI)

It turns out that this is a tip that Syarief Hasan uses to stay healthy and fit even though he is no longer young. He exercises every day. “Sport has become a habit for me. Every day I exercise, the average duration is one to one and a half hours. "For me, that's enough, I'm sweating all over my body," he admitted.

When asked what sport her politician husband Ingrid Kansil played, he admitted that he did fitness and swimming. “What I do most often is fitness. I just did it at home, I happened to have the equipment at home. "For entertainment, I usually swim," said the man born in Palopo, South Sulawesi, 17 June 1949.

Many people exercise, but the most difficult thing is to be consistent. What do you do to be consistent in exercising? "It's hard to be consistent, but if we do it regularly, it feels like we're missing something if we don't exercise. Yes, because it has become a habit, I do it every day. "The effect is that I remain fit and healthy, thank God," said Syarief, who was a successful professional before entering the political stage.

More Romantic

Syarief Hasan spends a lot of time with his beloved wife Ingrid Kansil and family after their daughter continues her studies in London. (Photo Savic Rabos, DI Raga Granada VOI)

From his marriage to soap opera star and presenter Ingrid Kansil, Syarief Hasan was blessed with a daughter named Ziankha Amorrette Fatimah Syarief. Now the daughter has grown up and is continuing her Masters degree in London, England.

Because his daughter has continued her studies in London, after completing activities at the DPR/MPR Building and other political party activities, Syarief spends time walking or eating with his beloved wife. "To relieve fatigue from busy work at the office and political parties, I fill my time by walking with my wife, having dinner together and staying in touch with my in-laws," he said.

Even though he is busy with political affairs, Syarief still finds time for education. Occasionally, in the midst of his political activities and being the leader of the MPR RI, he still receives requests to become a doctoral examiner at the campus where he was appointed as a professor at Makassar State University. “To become an examiner I have to read a lot of references. That's what I do to be optimal as an examiner," he said.

According to Syarief, there are differences between the worlds of education and politics, but there are also similarities. "In political parties the competition is tight, in the world of education too. At the party we have to be polite and full of ethics, that is how we socialize. Meanwhile, in the world of education, we are encouraged to continue to increase our knowledge. And any profession must continue to increase knowledge, including on the political stage," he explained.

Registered as a legislative candidate from the Democratic Party, Syarief Hasan often visits his prospective constituents in Bogor City and Sukabumi Regency. “As legislative candidates we have to visit constituents. Absorbing aspirations and capturing whatever problems they face," he said.

Regarding aid, according to Syarief, it is relative. He did set aside some basic basic necessities. “There's not much I can do. Even if I brought cooking oil, it wouldn't be possible to meet their needs for a month. Yes, just as a sign of love," said Syarief.

Demonstration In Support Of Palestine

While visiting his daughter in London, Syarief Hasan was invited to take part in a demonstration supporting Palestine. (Photo Savic Rabos, DI Raga Granada VOI)

Not long ago Syarief Hasan was observed taking part in a demonstration supporting Palestine in the city of London, England. Why did you come so far to join the demonstration in London? “Yesterday I had a working visit to Czechia for two  days there. After the event in Czech, I didn't go straight home, but visited my daughter who was studying for a master's degree in London. Because it's close if you come from Czech. The others are returning to Indonesia, I will stop by in England first," he said.

So, when we were in the country of King Charles III, there happened to be a peaceful demonstration in the city of London regarding support for the Palestinian people who continue to be oppressed and bombarded by Israel. "In the afternoon I came, it turned out that the next Saturday there was a demonstration agenda to support Palestine. My daughter and her friends came along. I was invited as well, so I also took part in the demo. Defending Palestine is the theme," he said, adding that the daughter was currently studying post-graduate at the London School of Economics.

What Syarief Hasan noted was that the demonstration carried out in the city of London was orderly and safe. “The demonstration was orderly and very safe. This could be an example, it's okay to convey aspirations, but it doesn't have to be destructive. Once finished, disperse peacefully. "People there are allowed to demonstrate on weekends," he concluded.

"For regeneration, we must give young people the opportunity to become the successors of the previous generation. Regeneration must follow the process that is taking place in the party or government. Because this process will determine whether the regeneration process will take place naturally or not. Apart from that, the people who are expected to become successors will also must improve self-competence, have the capacity, capability and integrity to become future leaders,"

Syarief Hasan