JAKARTA – Prof. Ir. Widi Agoes Pratikto, M.Sc., Ph.D., was initially among those who did not support the idea of Anies Baswedan running for the Jakarta gubernatorial election to be held in November 2024.

This is because the Emeritus Professor from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), who was a member of the Advisory Board for the Anies-Muhaimin Victory Team in the 2024 Presidential Election, previously deemed the presidential candidate number one as no longer suitable to run in local elections.

“Because Anies has moved up a class,” he said when contacted on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.

He also believed that after the 2024 Presidential Election, Anies should have nurtured the spirit of change from outside the government. Anies could freely meet people in various regions including volunteers, sympathizers, and supporters throughout Indonesia to keep his chances for the upcoming presidential election alive.

However, he eventually thought that this could not be fully accomplished by Anies without holding a public office. Hence, the academician, who once served as the Secretary-General at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), believes that Anies indeed should run for the Jakarta governorship.

“It’s indeed a dilemma. But gradually, I thought it would be good for Anies to run for Governor of DKI as it creates momentum. I call it momentum,” explained the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT).

As known in Physics, momentum or impulse is a vector quantity that can be expressed as the product of an object's mass and its velocity. Therefore, mass and velocity are the primary factors that influence the magnitude of a force on an object.

“Momentum is m x v. V is velocity. There's velocity if there's force, if there's energy. The energy here is the office. The mass, that’s Mr. Anies. Mr. Anies needs to be taken everywhere,” he continued.

Thus, he added, the importance of this momentum should also be recognized by volunteers who still think Anies should lead change from outside the government post-presidential election, so he doesn’t need to aim for the governor’s office.

“I was once young, idealistic. But idealism without modality, without momentum, is pitiful. Can you imagine Anies staying at home (all the time), people coming for Eid visits. He can hold events for 4, 5, 6 months. But after that, it’s over,” he revealed.

However, the former Secretary-General of Developing 8 Countries (a multilateral economic cooperation organization) clarified that modality or momentum is not solely about the salary or facilities attached to an official.

“The modality doesn't have to be a salary. For instance, Anies attending the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) as governor is different from the Anies who established it,” he asserted.

And more importantly, the governor’s office will make the change movement championed by Anies resonate broadly and also be directly felt by the community, especially the residents of Jakarta. Because Anies is believed to bring various other innovations to advance Jakarta like in his first term.