Jakarta, January 23, 2024 – The second vice presidential candidate debate, on Sunday (21/1/2024), raised the issue of sustainable development, natural resources, environment, energy, food, agriculture, indigenous peoples, and villages, drawing public attention. Various attack games and mutual insinuations marred the debate.
The Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and panelist of the second vice presidential debate, Fabby Tumiwa, assessed that the fourth debate of the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres) had not prioritized content primarily related to the energy transition. This makes several vital issues related to the economy and the environment far from serious discussion.
“In my opinion, many candidates did not understand the panelists’ questions that the moderator read out. They did not seem to respond to the questions appropriately, and during the question and answer session, the vice president seemed to give insubstantial questions. Thus, I see that the three vice presidential candidates have not debated (debate ideas-ed), “said Fabby Tumiwa in the Kompas TV Special Report program on Tuesday (23/1/2024).
Fabby stated that the hot debate between the vice presidential candidates at the Jakarta Convention Center had also yet to discuss essential issues. This cannot be separated from the discussion format, which does not support exploring ideas effectively enough.
Vice Presidential Statement on Debate
The three vice presidential candidates in the second debate had similar views on the transition to green energy. Muhaimin Iskandar, the first Vice Presidential candidate, assesses that the current government’s commitment is not serious in carrying out the energy transition, as shown by the reduction in the target of new renewable energy (NRE) and the delay in carbon tax. For this reason, Muhaimin is committed to accelerating the carbon tax implementation while carrying out the NRE transition.
Vice Presidential candidate number 2, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, said that an equitable low-carbon development policy must stop dependence on fossil energy.
On the other hand, the third Vice Presidential candidate, Mahfud MD, only addressed the issue of resolving natural resources and energy, emphasizing the need for a thorough resolution from upstream to downstream
To find out the facts behind the statements of the three vice presidential candidates at the debate, IESR has held a Live Fact Check of the Vice Presidential Debate via Twitter, which can be accessed on IESR Twitter.
