Gelora Party: Ukraine Crisis Should Not Be Used As An Idea To Postpone 2024 Elections

Secretary General of the Indonesian Gelora Party, Mahfuz Sidik. BETWEEN PHOTOS/Puspa Perwitasari/ama/16 (BETWEEN PHOTOS/PUSPA PERWITASARI)

JAKARTA - Secretary General of the Indonesian Gelora Party Mahfuz Sidik asked certain parties not to use the Ukraine crisis as an idea by linking it as one of the factors to delaying the 2024 General Election.

“I am worried that the Ukrainian crisis might later be used to justify wild ideas and become new political jokes. There are opinions that try to link the Russia-Ukraine conflict as one of the factors to delay the 2024 General Election," Mahfuz said in his statement in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Sunday, February 27.

According to him, these thoughts are increasingly irrational and do not educate the public. He realized that the Russo-Ukrainian conflict would last a long time and trigger a rise in commodity prices. especially energy such as crude oil and natural gas.

"However, it should not be used as an additional reason for delaying the 2024 General Election. So it seems that there will be many new ideas that are increasingly irrational and this does not educate the public. In the current crisis situation, we must prioritize rationality," he said.

Mahfuz assessed that the Russia-Ukraine conflict was a war for supremacy between global powers, after the west's failure to pressure China in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

According to him, Russia still sees threats from three neighboring countries that are considered pro-western, namely Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Because of that, he assessed that after Ukraine was finished, the three countries could be annexed by Russia.

"If we look at it, when the United States withdraws troops from Afghanistan, it is not withdrawn, but relocated to Central Asia. It could be used for its interests in the Russian region, because geopolitically and geostrategically, Russia is the entrance to the western and eastern regions," he said.

Mahfuz assessed that Russia would not bow to western pressure, even though it was given economic sanctions. According to him, the sanctions could actually trigger an increase in world oil and gas prices, the impact of which will also be felt by Indonesia.

"So there is indeed a fighting game between global powers who are trying to fight from the side of supremacy, after the pandemic has not had a systematic impact on China," he said.

He considered that the conflict had unwittingly triggered an economic recession and global inflation and would also occur in Indonesia and would increase the pressure on economic problems in the country.

He is worried that when someone reads about the global situation like that, it will be linked to Indonesia's economic situation which is also not good.

"They will take a pragmatic advantage by leaving the country without a systemic solution to this crisis situation," he said.

Mahfuz assessed that for their political interests, these people deliberately allowed the economy to get worse and worse, and the prices of basic necessities would skyrocket.

According to him, this will certainly be a justification that the state does not need to finance the implementation of the 2024 General Election which requires a budget of around Rp. 100-150 trillion, so that it can be allocated for other needs that are in direct contact with the community.

"That's their way of thinking, instead of spending Rp. 100-150 trillion to finance the election, it's better to use it for something else because we can just postpone the Pilkada and replace it with an Acting. Hopefully this is just my suggestion, but it could be such leaps of thought occur," he said.

He admitted that he did not agree with the idea of postponing the election being initiated to the public, for fooling the public because the state seemed to have no idea to solve the threat of economic pressure.

According to him, the pandemic situation has indeed become an economic crisis that is also experienced by all countries, so it does not need to be linked to the Ukraine crisis.

"The pandemic has created a case of cooking oil, how do mothers react when they stand in line, they no longer turn on the producers but blame the state and government," he said.

Mahfuz asked that the people who came up with the idea of postponing the election could participate in providing solutions to overcome the current economic pressure, not on the contrary to make illogical and irrational leaps of thought.