JAKARTA – If he leads Jakarta again, Anies Baswedan is believed to enact policies, host events, or develop projects that will not only make Jakarta residents proud but also all Indonesian citizens, as he did during his first term in office.

“There will be something new, and perhaps he can create projects again that will make the Indonesian nation proud,” explained senior political analyst Smith Alhadar when contacted on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.

“Anies often thinks out of the box. There are many things he did unexpectedly during his five years governing Jakarta. And it’s hard to counter his ideas,” added this advisor at the Institute for Democracy Education (IDe).

For example, Smith mentioned the international event of the electric car race, Formula E, which was successfully held despite not receiving support from the central government. Similarly, the development of the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS).

“The JIS is essentially a national project. It also helped elevate Anies on the international stage because he used local talent (for the JIS construction). And uniquely, the JIS was built to FIFA standards but with a new characteristic model,” he said.

He also highlighted another of Anies’s quite phenomenal policies. That is, Anies's policy of partnering with agricultural center regions that will supply the needs of Jakarta residents.

“The farmers there are happy because the prices are quite fair and there is a guaranteed buyer from Jakarta during the harvest,” revealed Smith, who co-authored the book Anies Baswedan: Ideas, Narratives, Works, Responding to the Nation’s Future Challenges with Abdurrahman Syehbubakar.

As a political analyst, he sees the cleverness in Anies’s policymaking. Anies’s policies often have national and even international dimensions. Thus, it's no wonder Anies is nicknamed 'the governor with a presidential feel.'

“That's the intelligence of Anies as a politician-intellectual. So, it's not only Jakarta residents who benefit. He will certainly work for justice for the people of Jakarta. But his actions will also have national and international dimensions,” he explained.

He believes these national and international dimensions will also remain a focus for Anies if he becomes governor again. Especially in the context if Anies wants to compete again in the 2029 Presidential Election.

“And there’s no other way to remain relevant, except to run in the gubernatorial election. If we put it in the context of him wanting to contend in 2029,” concluded Smith Alhadar.