Gibran Rakabuming Raka reportedly expressed his intention to resign amid growing political pressure over controversy surrounding his educational qualifications.
Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto. This was announced by Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi during a press conference on Tuesday, 10th of November.
Hadi confirmed reports that Gibran and Prabowo had met earlier that morning, noting that the meeting lasted approximately two and a half hours.
“During the discussion, the Vice President—together with President Prabowo Subianto—expressed his intention to resign, in light of the evolving dynamics surrounding recent rulings by the Constitutional Court (MK) and the Supreme Court (MA),” said Hadi.
“However, I would also like to clarify that it is incorrect to say the President rejected this intention. Instead, the President offered various pieces of advice during the discussion. The Vice President also requested the opportunity to prove the validity of the documents he holds through the Administrative Court (PTUN) process,” he added.
Gibran’s decision to resign from the vice-presidency comes amid mounting political pressure within parliament.
Fifty members of the House of Representatives (DPR), representing six political factions, have pushed for the exercise of the “Right to Express an Opinion” (Hak Menyatakan Pendapat—HMP) to address the controversy surrounding Gibran’s educational qualifications, a matter that has already been ruled upon by both the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung or MA) and the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi or MK).
In its ruling, the Supreme Court declared that the equivalency certificate for Gibran’s secondary education, which had been used as a requirement for his 2024 presidential election candidacy, was invalid.
This ruling reinforces an earlier decision by the Constitutional Court, which stated that there was no evidence of documents confirming Gibran’s completion of an education equivalent to secondary school in Singapore or Australia.
In response to the rulings by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, the House of Representatives has moved to invoke its “Right to Express an Opinion”, as stipulated under the Law on the People’s Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council and Regional House of Representatives (UU MD3).
This right covers three matters, one of which concerns alleged legal violations by the President and/or Vice President, such as treason against the state, corruption, bribery, other serious crimes, disgraceful conduct, or no longer meeting the requirements to serve as President or Vice President.
The Vice President has also responded to the Constitutional Court’s ruling concerning the controversy surrounding his secondary school diploma. He argued that if he had not graduated from secondary school, he would not have been able to pursue higher education.
“Well, if I hadn’t graduated from high school, I wouldn’t have been able to go to university, would I? I even completed my undergraduate degree in Singapore,” Raka said on Wednesday, 7th of November.