Do we like them?Do we like Anies Baswedan?
Our score: 5 out of 10. A decent public servant with real achievements, but a campaign that leaned on hardliners and a personal line on LGBT people that stops short of full support.
Anies comes from an academic family: his father lectured at the Islamic University of Indonesia and his mother was a professor. He earned a PhD in political science in the US, became rector of Paramadina University at 37, and started the Indonesia Mengajar program, which sends graduates to teach in remote areas. He was education minister from 2014 until he was replaced in 2016, reportedly after falling out of favour over his political ambitions.
The formative stoush was the 2017 Jakarta race. Anies won after the incumbent, Ahok, was convicted of blasphemy, and many attribute his win to the politicised accusations against Ahok. He was accused of fuelling Islamic zealotry during the campaign. Once governor, he planned to reverse Ahok-era rules that hardliners saw as discriminatory, and the head of Nahdlatul Ulama warned that religion shouldn't be used as a political tool. Even a lawyer for the hardline FPI leader said of Anies: “It means he was just using us.”
His inaugural speech used the word “pribumi”, which critics said revived colonial-era racism and which a 1998 presidential instruction bars from government use. Anies said he was talking about the Dutch colonial period. A civil suit over it was thrown out because the court found no legal relationship between the parties, so the substance was never tested. Separately, the anti-graft agency questioned him for about 11 hours in 2022 over the Formula E race contract; the report names no charges or suspects.
On the harm test, the record is thinner than you'd expect for a career this long. In December 2023 he reportedly said he personally disagrees with LGBT identity, while arguing the state shouldn't discriminate in public services or jobs. That is better than a campaign against the community, but it falls short of support, and the condition that people not flaunt it isn't one we'd set. We found nothing from him on trans rights specifically, and no sourced record on climate beyond a thin platform.
The recent chapter is about the 2024 election. He finished second with nearly 41 million votes, took the result to the Constitutional Court alleging heavy government pressure and misuse of social aid, and asked for a rerun. The court rejected the petition in full and he accepted the outcome. Since then he's been quieter, then louder: in May 2026 he posted “Frankly, things are not okay.” An analyst quoted by the Star reads that as a calculated bid to stay relevant for 2029.
The real good stuff is there. As governor he was by and large seen as successful in steering Jakarta through COVID-19, improved public transit, and championed bike lanes and a “zero down” home ownership scheme. He won a 2021 Transportation Hero award. Critics say he did little on affordable housing, air pollution and flooding, and expert surveys were split even as residents were happier.