Indonesia's incoming V-P has chance to score in 'premier league'
The Straits Times|February 18, 2024
Known as man of action’, Solo mayor is on cusp of moving up to national leadership post
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja and Linda Yulisman
Indonesia's incoming V-P has chance to score in 'premier league'

Indonesia's incoming vice-president, Mr Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, has a unique way of putting bureaucrats under him in Solo on notice to resolve issues.

Mr Gibran, 36, mayor of Solo city, would park his official car at the spot where a problem cropped up to draw attention from relevant parties.

He is expected to soon officially become the youngest vice-president of the world's fourth-most populous nation, a huge jump from being the mayor of a central Java city with a population of 520,000 in the last three years.

Mr Gibran is the running mate of Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who is leading in the official count following the Feb 14 election. Official results are expected to be announced in about one month's time.

Before his speedy rise in politics, Mr Gibran was running Chilli Pari, a food catering business which he set up at age 23 after completing his studies in Singapore and Australia. He obtained in 2007 his bachelor's degree in marketing at the Management Development Institute of Singapore.

He is married to Ms Selvi Ananda, 35, a Solo beauty queen. They have a seven-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter.

People who know him said Mr Gibran has a quiet demeanour and does not speak much publicly, but is "a man of action" and has been known to address some of Solo's problems in an unorthodox way.

Mr Widodo's friend, Mr Mayor Haristanto, 64, a private drawing tutor for Mr Gibran and his younger sister, Kahiyang Ayu, when they were children, said Mr Gibran remains "the quiet and calm person" from when he was young, but listens and acts promptly as a leader.

As a child, Mr Gibran, together with his sister, was always punctual and disciplined, he added.

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