And Ministry Of Defense Officials Laugh When Prabowo Says Don't Ask, Debat Kumaha Engke

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (four left) together with Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force Marshal TNI A. Gustaf Brugman (three left) during the handover of five NC-212/DOK ANTARA units.

Presidential Candidate Prabowo Subianto invited laughter from the media crew during a press conference after handing over five NC-212i aircraft at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, Tuesday, December 12. At that time, the Minister of Defense (Menhan) was asked about the preparations for the debate that would be held in The Office of the General Election Commission (KPU) of the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta, tonight at 19.00 WIB. Prabowo reminded the media crew to ask questions about the delivery of planes and issues related to defense. "The question is about the aerospace. Don't ask questions about debate, okay. Debate, Kumaha engke (how will it be)," Prabowo said, provoking laughter from the ranks of the Ministry of Defense officials, the Indonesian Air Force, and journalists at the location of the press conference as reported by Antara. Kumaha engke is a sentence in Sundanese which means'see how it will be'. From morning to evening, Tuesday, Prabowo chose to keep working. At 10.00 WIB, Prabowo handed over five NC-212i aircraft made by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) to the Indonesian Air Force. The five planes that were handed over were part of the nine units ordered by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense to PT DI for the Indonesian Air Force. During the event, Prabowo reiterated the importance of strengthening the main weapon system (alutsista) of the air, considering the vast territory of Indonesia and is an archipelagic country. "We are proud because this aircraft is a product of our defense industry and this aircraft has been used in our country for a long time, maybe this is the first product of PT DI, I think," said Prabowo. He said the NC-212i aircraft that were handed over to the Indonesian Air Force on Tuesday had a number of advantages, including that the plane could land on the grass runway and sand runway. After attending the event at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Prabowo continued his journey to the Ministry of Defense Office on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Jakarta, and worked as usual. After working hours, Prabowo returned to his private residence on Jalan Kertanegara 4, South Jakarta. From his house, Prabowo left for the Indonesian KPU to participate in the presidential and vice presidential candidates debate with the vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The inaugural debate of the presidential and vice presidential candidates will begin around 19.00 WIB. The first debate of the 2024 presidential election, Tuesday night, raised the theme of government, law, human rights (HAM), eradicating corruption, strengthening democracy, improving public services, and community harmony.

The KPU has also appointed three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates as participants in the 2024 presidential election, namely Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar (number 1), Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka ( serial number 2), and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD ( serial number 3).