Monday, May 24, 2010

Anas Urbaningrum, a new Hope for Indonesia

Yesterday evening, the congress of the ruling Democrat Party (PD) has elected Anas Urbaningrum (40), currently the chief of the party's faction in the House of Representative (DPR) as Chairman of the party.

This is a big surprise considering that the two other candidates have better advantages i.e. Marzuki Alie (54) is the the Speaker of the DPR, and Andi Malarangeng (47) is the Minister of State for Youth and Sports  supported by the son of President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) i.e. Eddy Baskoro.

Moreover, Anas did not use the mass media for campaign, while his rivals, especially Andi Malarangeng, have used them very intensively.

Brief information about Anas ::
Anas was born in Blitar, East Java, 15 January 1969. He studied Political science at the Airlangga University, Surabaya-East Java, and Gajah Mada University (Post graduate) in Jogyakarta, active in student movements as Chairman of the Islamic Students Association (HMI) from 1997 to 1999. Married with four children. He was a member of the General Election Commission from 2001 until 2005, afterward he join the party's leadership and became member of DPR in 2009.

Considering that PD is the party of President SBY, therefore leads the coalition government, and has the largest number of seats in the DPR,  the victory of Anas is not only important for his party but also for Indonesia that badly needs fresh young leaders to replace old politicians who are currently running the country.

14 comments:

Tay823 said...

Wow the odds were certainly against Anas. Do you know who his main supporters were? I certainly hope this new addition to the politics of Indonesia offers a fresh perspective for the people.

Unknown said...

Tay823,
The main supporters are the grass roots in the party. Our President as the top party leader supported Andi who loose at first round, then he and the other top party brass supported Marzuki.
You are right it gave a fresh perspective for the people.

colson said...

What to me looks really promising is the fact someone was elected against the wish of the party leader/president. That's to mee seems to be good news.

As for the man himself I've not the ghost of an idea: is he really clean and 'different' or is he just an unexpected youthful face of the old ruling elite?

(If he has been born in 1979 he is 30 or 31 y/o now, isn't he? That would mean he at least is really young. That would be positive too.)

Unknown said...

Colson,
My apologies, Anas was born on 1969 not 1979. Thank you for telling me about this shameful mistake.
Although it is still not know whether he is really clean or not at but I would like to take a look on the positive sides i.e. he is fresh and supported by the grassroots. Thus, we can hope for changes.

Unknown said...

new broom sweeps clean so the saying goes..but mature coconut is creamier..hahaha ..so combination of old and young is always good.

Unknown said...

Umihoney,
Yes the old and young ones should work closely together, during which more young, smart and brave ones should be given chance to take important roles.

Unknown said...

Will he help Indonesia?

Unknown said...

Hi Peter/Kiwi,
At the age of 40, Anas is currently the youngest chairman of political party in Indonesia. Considering that his party has majority seats in parliament and leads the coalition government we can expect he will be able to work much harder and much smarter for the development of Indonesia.

boyin said...

well let's see and what's the contribution that he came to bring it in as I am not quite fancy with anything about politic.

Ruben said...

we hope that Democrat will be a party that represent changes to political party in indonesia.

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Unknown said...

@Boyin,
I am not a fan of Anas or PD but I am just fed up will all current high ranking politicians. So I think that someone at the of 40 can bring some changes. Thank you for dropping by.

@Carl,
Yes, let's be positive and hope that PD can grow healthily.

Unknown said...

I can understand why many people find it unacceptable, but, however,many gay men are hairdressers. Its an occupation they have been traditionally attracted to.

I think Islamic traditions are being used to squeeze these men out of their occupations. They could be made to wear male clothing like they would have to in the West while working.There is a place for transvestites to go while dressed in women's clothing - to strip joints or gay clubs - not to work!

Unknown said...

Wrong story I think! My apologies.

Unknown said...

Peter,
You are right my friend, you have commented on my other post. But it's okay.

Re: Transvestites ban
You may have been right that some people only want to get rid of the transvestites from their jobs of cutting and styling hair.