Memory Of SBY-JK Inauguration 2004: PKS Politician Hidayat Nur Wahid Rejects Luxury Hotel Facilities

PKS politician who is also Chairman of the MPR RI 2004-2009, Hidayat Nur Wahid. (pks.id)

JAKARTA - The charisma of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Jusuf Kalla (JK) were able to impress Indonesia. The two of them managed to become elected President and Vice President of Indonesia in 2004. The victory was greeted with fanfare.

The inauguration ceremony was planned to be grand and luxurious. The government has provided luxury hotel facilities for all state officials. However, not all officials accepted the accommodation. The chairman of the MPR RI, Hidayat Nur Wahid, for example. He refused luxury hotel facilities.

The 2004 Indonesian Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections were full of dynamics. This event was the first time that all Indonesian people were involved in directly electing the number one and number two people for Indonesia. The ambitions of national political parties have also increased.

They started to turn on their political machine to recruit the best candidates for President (Capres) and Candidates for Vice President (Cawapres). The result is that the big names of national figures as presidential and vice presidential candidates are present as the choice of the Indonesian people on the ballot paper.

Two of them are the most famous names. Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi in serial number two and SBY-JK in serial number four. The results were quite fierce. The first round was won by SBY-JK with 33.57 percent and Mega-Hasyim was in second place with 26.61 percent.

Hidayat Nur Wahid (far left) after the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla as RI President and Vice President 2004-2009. (Antara)

That amount made the two fight in the second round. However, SBY-JK is far superior. They were able to win the political contest with 60.62 percent of the vote. While his opponent Mega-Hasyim only got 39.38 percent of the vote.

This means that SBY-JK can progress as the new President and Vice President of Indonesia. The victory was the result of the collective work of the SBY-JK winning team. Each has its own role in the campaign. SBY especially. He received a ration to ignite the enthusiasm of Democratic Party cadres on various occasions.

“In March 2004, when the campaign for the legislative election was being carried out, I gave a briefing to the main cadres of the Democratic Party in Cikeas. My briefing was entitled Honorable Win. In order to win honorably the conditions are tough. It takes hard work and very persistent effort.”

"On that occasion, I conveyed the key elements to win the election, including strategic goals to achieve the target, then the main agenda that must be carried out, then efforts to strengthen people's support. Then the important factors to win the election, and then the last is the ethics of struggle or code of ethics that must be guided and carried out together," said SBY in the book SBY: Selalu Ada Pilihan (2014).

Reject Luxury Hotel Facility

SBY-JK victory is not yet complete. Both of them had to perpetuate the inauguration ceremony beforehand to officially become President and Vice President of Indonesia on October 20, 2004. SBY-JK's inauguration plan was hailed as grand and lively.

The inauguration is planned to take place at the plenary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) at the DPR/MPR RI Building. The event will be attended by all invited guests. From state officials to officials of neighboring countries.

The luxury is shown from the planned facilities used. Especially luxury hotels. The owner of the power plan to spend billions of rupiah to rent a luxury hotel for invited guests. Even the luxury hotel chosen must be near the location of the inauguration.

This option was chosen so that the distance between the SBY-JK inauguration participants was not too far. Moreover, so as not to be affected by traffic jams in Jakarta. However, not all officials accepted the proposal. Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW), one of them.

The politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) doesn't want the MPR's face to be ugly because they are staying at the Mulia Hotel, a royal suite class. For the chairman of the MPR, having the facility to stay at a luxury hotel is a waste. Moreover, a line of representatives of the people already have official residences. Things are different if the invited guests come from abroad or outside the region. The facility must be prepared, but no need for a luxury hotel.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Yusuf Kalla wave to journalists after the inauguration ceremony as Indonesia's new head of state at the MPR/DPR Senayan Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (20/10/2004). (Antara/Saptono/pras)

The rejection he took was considered a form of public awareness. HNW wants the MPR to be the true representation of representatives who are fighting for the fate of the Indonesian people. Because of this, HNW firmly wants to show that its leadership in the MPR is far from luxury and a waste of people's money. As a first step, he chose to refuse the facility to stay at a luxury hotel for SBY-JK's inauguration. This step was followed by several other members of the MPR.

“Initially, rumors and slander developed that the MPR extended lengthy sessions just to increase hotel stay facilities, earn pocket money, and spend the state budget. They sarcastically say that the end of all this is just a fight over the Volvos.”

“Well, I answered concretely by turning down the Volvo and the luxury hotel room. The goal is for the MPR to win the trust of the people. We must have a commitment to side with the people. If the MPR has tarnished its face and is not trusted by the public, how can we carry out political oversight effectively?” explained HNW in his interview with Tempo Magazine entitled Hidayat Nur Wahid: Urusan Pribadi Tidak Layak Dibiayai Negara (2004).