Jakarta – Speeches by Anies Baswedan and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) regarding the comparison of road construction under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Jokowi sparked controversy. The reason is that Anies Baswedan’s statement in the 21st Anniversary of the PKS was deemed not based on existing data.
According to Anies, the construction of road infrastructure during the Jokowi administration era to connect population mobility and drive the community’s economy was less compared to the era of the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia, SBY. Meanwhile, according to AHY, Jokowi is only concerned with infrastructure development.
In response to this, the Daily Chair of the Indonesian Unity Party, Tuan Guru Bajang (TGB) Muhammad Zainul Majdi, what Anies Baswedan previously said was incomplete because it did not include village road construction data.
“As a presidential candidate, he should have explained it in full. He did not mention about village roads that were built during President Jokowi’s time for 9 years until the end of 2022. There are more than 316 thousand kilometers,” said TGB.
According to TGB, village roads are far more important because of their impact on society in order to realize social justice for all Indonesian people. Namely one of the instruments is to increase prosperity at the village level.
“That means accelerating economic activity, increasing economic activity and increasing the portion of the economy earned by the village community,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the PDIP DPP, Said Abdullah said that Anies’ criticism that the construction of toll roads during the Jokowi era was no better than the achievements of national road development during the SBY administration was incorrect.
According to him, Anies’ criticism is fairer when comparing Jokowi’s achievements with those of himself, who served as Governor of DKI Jakarta for the 2017-2022 period.
“The hole itself was closed, he shot another person. President Jokowi’s legacy was not covered up. The people have enjoyed (Jokowi’s achievements). Anies’s legacy is still, Jakarta is totally stuck,” said Said.
On a different occasion, Secretary General of the DPP PDI Perjuangan (PDIP) Hasto Kristiyanto said it would be better for Anies to see only his work while leading Jakarta from 2017 to 2022.
“Mas Anies told me to just look at Jakarta,” said Hasto at the PDIP DPP Office, Central Jakarta.
On the other hand, Observer and Director of Indonesian Political Parameters (PPI) Adi Prayitno invites the public to be clear about studying the facts of the comparison of the two to avoid unilateral claims.
“Infrastructure, for example, in the two periods of Jokowi’s administration, the construction of 1,540.1 km of toll roads throughout Indonesia could be completed within 7 years,” he said.
According to him, the development of toll road construction in the Jokowi era was very rapid when compared to the SBY era, which was considered not as massive as it is today.
