Prabowo Says Gibran Fell Short of Constitutional Requirements, Urges Calm
With his vice president standing beside him, Indonesia's president explained the resignation, praised two years of work and warned against attempts to divide the country.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday spelled out why his vice president is leaving office: court rulings found that Gibran Rakabuming Raka did not fully meet the requirements the constitution sets for the job.
Gibran stood at his side in Jakarta's Merdeka Palace as Prabowo spoke. The president ended with a warning about groups he said want to divide the country.
A letter delivered by hand
Prabowo said Gibran came to see him at 10:15 a.m. local time and handed over a letter stating that he was stepping down. The vice president then went straight to the leadership of the People's Consultative Assembly, the body that will handle the vacancy, and delivered his letter there in person.
He could have sent an aide, Prabowo noted. He chose not to. The two men had been in close consultation for several days.
"With a heavy heart I accept the letter, and I respect and support the decision he has taken," Prabowo said, speaking in Indonesian. "To me, he has shown the conduct of a knight, full of responsibility, and of a statesman."
A different school system
The president addressed the reason head-on. Gibran, he said, believed he had completed his education through a proper process.
"But we all understand that education systems abroad differ from the education system in Indonesia," Prabowo said. Based on existing legal rulings, he added, there was a mismatch or shortfall in meeting the requirements laid down by the constitutional system.
Gibran decided to resign on that basis, Prabowo said, "for the greater interest, for the interest of the nation, the state and the Indonesian people."
35 provinces in two years
Much of the statement read as a tribute. Prabowo said Gibran had helped him since the campaign and that the government's results over two years could not be separated from his role.
The division of labour was Prabowo's own design. Gibran travelled to the regions, remote districts included, to check that programmes were being delivered. The president concentrated on national policy: regulatory fixes, efficiency, a clampdown on abuses and an economic system anchored in Articles 33 and 34 of the 1945 Constitution, while tracking a global backdrop that includes war in the Middle East.
By Prabowo's count, Gibran visited 35 provinces and 149 regencies and cities in two years and inspected 303 government project sites.
"He is still very young and has a long future ahead of him. I am sure he will succeed," Prabowo said, adding that he would keep supporting Gibran and his family. He recalled that he, too, had faced severe tests.
A call for cool heads
Prabowo closed by asking Indonesians to put the country first. "Let us create a sense of calm for our people," he said.
He urged vigilance against efforts to split the nation by groups that, in his words, do not want Indonesia orderly, peaceful and prosperous. Justice and prosperity, he said, come only in a calm and peaceful climate.
Attention now turns to the Assembly, which must manage the process of filling the vice presidency.
Read more: Indonesian Vice President Gibran Resigns After Court Rulings on Education Papers
Watch: Prabowo's full statement
Video: Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel (in Indonesian).
