PRABOWO SUBIANTO has been declared the elected president of the Republic of Indonesia by the General Election Commission (KPU) on April 24, 2024.
As we know from the presidential debate content that we all watched during the campaign period, Prabowo is indeed known to have knowledge and language skills that are relatively above average for public officials in our country.
And this was further emphasized by Prabowo when he did an interview with Al Jazeera which you can watch in full at the following link.
In the interview, he revealed his views on his controversial victory, which his two opponents accused of winning through systematic cheating, then his controversial past that we all know about the May 1998 tragedy that we have just commemorated for the 26th time was discussed, and Prabowo’s hopes as our president in the coming years.
For me, it’s all maybe cliché and boring. I’m not that interested.
A Reader Since Youth
But when Al Jazeera’s Instagram account posted a reel of Prabowo being in his private library, I immediately paid attention.
Prabowo proudly said: “You know, one of my passions is reading.”
He explained his childhood as a child of a father who worked as an educator and official. His father was Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, an Indonesian statesman and one of the most influential economists in this country. He held ministerial positions during the Old Order and New Order eras.
His fondness for reading books became a means of entertainment, recreation, education, and learning.
“I dreamed that one day if I had the necessary resources, I wanted to have a library,” he said.
I thought that was a bit odd because he appeared to be standing in the middle of a room filled with bookshelves. Isn’t that a library?
But aside from that, I appreciate that because from the choice of message and focus on literacy in this Al Jazeera content, the people of Indonesia, especially the younger generation who have low reading interest, are subtly invited by their elected president to also like reading quality books.
A Fan of Historical Works and Biographies
He claims to like the works of Alexander Dumas and Sir Walter Scott.
Dumas (1802-1870) was a French novelist and playwright best known for The Three Musketeers and the revenge-themed novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
Then Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian and biographer known as the dean of writers of historical novels.
Once he became a soldier in the Indonesian Armed Forces, Prabowo read many biographical and historical books, including biographies discussing revolutionary figures from Mexico such as Pancho Villa (1878-1923) who was known as a guerrilla war leader and strong supporter of agrarianism.
Prabowo also liked the biography of Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) who is known worldwide as the leader of the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910-1920.
Furthermore, Prabowo said that one of the books that influenced him the most was Manual of The Warrior of Light by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho.
“I recommend that book (Manual of The Warrior of Light) to anyone, especially young people who want to succeed in life,” he explained.
Learning from the Best Generation
“I think what influenced me was that my family, my parents, my grandparents, my ancestors, were all involved in the struggle for Indonesian independence,” he said.
Then Prabowo recounted that his extended family also sacrificed during the revolutionary period of independence. His father’s eldest brother, Subianto, was killed in battle. And his name was then given to Prabowo as a reminder that he too was expected by his parents to be able to serve the people of Indonesia and sacrifice as much as possible for the nation and country.
Prabowo then discussed what he considers to be the best generation. “The best generation of Indonesians are those who fought for the independence of this nation,” he said.
He felt fortunate because he was able to grow up with this best generation as his mentors and leaders.
Gemoy Dance as a Temporary Gimmick?
Here I feel that Prabowo may have indeed won in an unusual way. He did not hesitate to use a gimmick that seemed ridiculous. There was no impression of intelligence when on social media he became widely known for his gemoy dance.
I think he used the gimmick and gemoy image earlier only as a differentiating factor to make it easier for people to support him. Imagine if at that time he had also shown an intelligent image like Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan. Perhaps most of the grassroots people would have failed to ‘relate’ to the content of the presidential debate.
Prabowo also touched on the oversensitivity of Indonesians’ pride when foreigners speak negatively about them. According to him, Indonesians need to understand that being negatively commented on or demeaned is part of life. (*/)
