Anies Baswedan Meets East Java PWNU Chairman, Denies Talking About The 2024 Presidential Election: I'm Still The Governor

DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan was a speaker in a discussion in Surabaya, Friday (12/11/2021). ANTARA/Hanif Nasrullah

SURABAYA - Anies Baswedan emphasized that he is still focused on his duties as Governor of DKI Jakarta. This was conveyed by Anies when asked about his plans to run as a presidential candidate in the 2024 General Election.

"Because I am still the governor of DKI Jakarta," he said on the sidelines of his activities in Surabaya, as reported by Antara, Friday, November 12.

Anies revealed that he was busy all day meeting with the Chairman of the East Java Nahdlatul Ulama (PWNU) Regional Management KH Marzuki Mustamar in Malang.

"From Malang, we headed to Surabaya together," said the number one person in the DKI Provincial Government.

Anies reasoned that he invited KH Marzuki Mustamar to go from Malang to Surabaya because both of them were speakers at a discussion entitled Opportunities and Challenges for Indonesia in a Pandemic Period: Examining Investment Growth and Economic Rate from the Perspective of Local Governments.

The former Minister of Education denied his meeting with the Chair of the East Java PWNU and his recent activities frequently meeting with a number of charismatic kiai in a number of regions in order to ask for his blessing related to his candidacy efforts in the 2024 Presidential/Vice Presidential Election.

"In the discussion earlier, I shared my experience on how to grow micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Jakarta, which continue to grow during the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic because we have directed them to reach a wider market through online sales," he said. Anies revealed that his visit to East Java was to intensify cooperation in the field of food products.

"99 percent of the food needs of the people of DKI Jakarta are supplied from outside. Most of DKI's food commodities come from East Java," he said.

According to him, there are plans for cooperation related to commodities such as rice and eggs with a number of regencies around Surabaya which have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"God willing, this cooperation will be intensified. The point is that East Java food producers and Jakarta consumers must be mutually beneficial. We try to directly reach out to the producers to get a higher selling price and the people of Jakarta to get a lower price," he said.