Invisible VP Gibran under pressure, eclipsed by his father Jokowi

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is facing mounting pressure, mostly for underperformance, in the seven months since taking up the job. The latest sign of tension in his relationship with President Prabowo Subianto was when the latter asked former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to represent him at last week’s funeral ceremony of Pope Francis in the Vatican. This is a job normally reserved for the VP. There was no explanation for why Prabowo gave the assignment to Jokowi, Gibran’s father and the country’s president from 2014 to 2024.

Further damaging Gibran’s public standing is a petition from a group of retired military officers demanding that Prabowo ditch his VP. Interestingly, Prabowo’s office responded to the call from his former military peers. Many other groups have made similar demands in the past, but they were largely ignored by the presidential office.

Gibran rarely makes the news today. He is seen, but infrequently heard. He appears often with Prabowo in many official functions, but never makes statements, with the spotlight always on the President. Without any clear assignment from Prabowo, Gibran lives up to the Indonesian popular description of vice presidents as nothing more than a “spare tire” for the president.

When Gibran makes news, it is almost always for the wrong reason.

The latest is a petition demanding his impeachment signed by more than 300 military officers who have retired from service with ranks of colonel and general. In other words, they are senior officers and were influential during their active years. Many served alongside 73-year-old Prabowo, who was dismissed from the military in 1998 for insubordination.

Prabowo could hardly afford to ignore their eight-point petition, which includes the demand for the dismissal of Gibran on the grounds that his nomination was illegal in the first place.

Gibran, now 37, did not meet the minimum legal age of 40 years to run for the high office, but the Constitutional Court, then chaired by his uncle Anwar Usman, bent electoral law at the last minute in 2023 to allow anyone who had held an elected office to run, irrespective of age. Gibran had served as the elected mayor of Surakarta, Central Java.

If anything, the President appears to encourage the group to continue with their campaign, extending the shelf life of the topic on social media and in public discourse.

“The President respects and understands their thoughts. We know them, we are one alma mater, one struggle, one dedication, and we share the same ethical code and spirit of the Sapta Marga and Sumpah Prajurit,” Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, Prabowo’s special advisor on politics and security, said, responding to the petition, referring to the military and officers’ oaths.

On April 30, eight former Army officers from among the petitioners met with President Prabowo at the State Palace. There was no official statement after their meeting.

Any move to impeach the vice president must go through the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR). The president does not have the power to initiate the move, although he controls the assembly through the political parties in his coalition government. The reaction from Prabowo’s office to the petition can be taken as giving a green light for the initiation of a campaign to unseat Gibran.

Relations between Prabowo and Gibran are not exactly estranged. They make joint appearances, but Gibran has not played any significant role in the running of the administration. His youth and lack of experience must count among the factors explaining why he has not been given assignments that require trust, such as representing Indonesia in international gatherings.

Prabowo won the 2024 elections, his fourth attempt at the office, partly thanks to help from Jokowi, who urged his supporters to vote for him. Gibran also appealed to young and first-time voters, who made up more than 60 percent of votes. Prabowo is thus indebted to both father and son.

In contrast to Gibran, Jokowi has frequently made the news in recent weeks. While his Vatican trip received scant press coverage, he has been fending off allegations that his Bachelor of Arts degree from Gadjah Mada University is fake. Jokowi is now pursuing legal action against those who made the allegations.

Without any clear job description from Prabowo, Gibran has taken some initiatives of his own to try to assert himself in the public eye.

The latest is a six-minute video monologue about how to activate the demographic dividend that Indonesia is currently experiencing, as the gap between the working-age population and their dependents is at its maximum.

Critics saw the video, which went viral, as part of his campaign to sustain his public image and reputation in the run-up to the 2029 presidential election.

In November, he launched a complaint booth in the vice-presidential office and a Whatsapp number for the public to raise any complaints about the government. Without approval from Prabowo, the project was dead on arrival.

Gibran will have to watch his steps carefully as Prabowo will likely want to run for a second term in 2029. If this is the case, then their relationship will almost certainly drift further apart.