Indonesia VP hands resignation to parliament as Jokowi backs Prabowo

Detailed summary

Indonesia's vice president handed his resignation to parliament's upper house on Thursday, ending days of speculation about his political future, while his father, former…

Indonesia's vice president handed his resignation to parliament's upper house on Thursday, ending days of speculation about his political future, while his father, former President Joko Widodo, voiced support for current leader Prabowo Subianto.

The expression of support after the departure of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Indonesia's highest profile resignation since that of President Suharto in 1998, could soothe signs of strain in the political alliance of Prabowo and predecessor Widodo.

"We will continue to support President Prabowo's administration, especially programmes that serve the interests of the broader public," the highly popular Widodo, known as Jokowi, told reporters outside his home in Solo in central Java.

The rift between Prabowo and Jokowi, who twice defeated the powerful former general for the presidency before throwing him support in the face of term limits, had looked set to further destabilise the government, analysts said.

Prabowo's government is battling scandals over signature political programmes and doubts about its prowess to manage Southeast Asia's biggest economy, where the political turmoil has sapped investor sentiment.

Scrutiny is growing over the government's fiscal plans and broader policy direction, while downgrade risks still linger for the stock market, with the rupiah IDR= weakening about 0.6% to plumb a fresh record low of 18,255 against the dollar.

Minutes before Jokowi's remarks, Gibran arrived at parliament in Jakarta, the capital, where he met leaders for 20 minutes, handing in his resignation and asking parliament to process it, said Ahmad Muzani, the speaker of the upper house.

Gibran made his decision "through my own volition ... for the interests of the government and nation," Muzani told reporters while reading out the resignation letter.

Senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Gibran quit for personal reasons and cited "growing public sentiment", in the letter of just five paragraphs.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Daily Maverick. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.