Jakarta. Political analyst Ujang Komarudin from Al Azhar University Indonesia views vice presidential candidate Mohammad Mahfud MD's decision to resign from his position as the Chief Security Minister as an attempt to evade accountability for unresolved legal issues in Indonesia. 

During the presidential debate on Sunday, Mahfud mentioned that "Indonesia's 'legal sword' is dull and is at the root of the nation's problems."

"If it's dull, the one responsible is Mahfud. Don't evade and avoid responsibility," Ujang told Beritasatu.com on Wednesday.

"By resigning from the coordinating minister position, Mahfud won't be able to tackle the issues that were under his responsibility. If it's blunt, he should hold himself accountable, as political, legal, and security affairs play a crucial role in enhancing law enforcement in Indonesia," he added. 

However, Ujang views the decision to resign or not as Mahfud MD's right. He believes that Mahfud's resignation won't affect the cohesion of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration.

"If Mahfud is the only one resigning, it's just an individual decision. It cannot be prevented. As far as I can tell, the Cabinet stays cohesive, as everyone is dedicated to supporting Jokowi and VP Ma'ruf Amin until October 2024," Ujang said.

Ujang believes that Mahfud's decision to resign is likely due to political differences with Jokowi. This is related to the support direction of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has recently diverged from President Jokowi, especially in the 2024 Presidential Election.

Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo and his running mate, Mahfud, are competing against Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is Jokowi's oldest son, in the 2024 Presidential Election.

"In politics, what counts is not wisdom but alliances. It's about being in a different camp or not, having different interests or not. When he was appointed in the past, he was trusted by Jokowi. Now, perhaps in Ganjar's PDI-P camp, there's a divergence with Jokowi, making it uncomfortable and causing restlessness in the cabinet," remarked Ujang.

According to Ujang, Ganjar-Mahfud's camp is at a disadvantage in the 2024 elections by distancing itself from Jokowi's camp.

"PDI-P and Ganjar-Mahfud will be abandoned by Jokowi's supporters because it's clear they are no longer in the same camp," he said.

Mahfud declared his plan to step down from his position in Jokowi's cabinet on Tuesday. Mahfud said that he had reached an agreement with his running mate, presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, and decided to resign from Jokowi's cabinet at "the right time".

"With all due respect to President Jokowi, I am waiting for the timing (to resign) so that no one is offended," said Mahfud in Semarang, Central Java, on Tuesday. 

During the fourth presidential debate on Sunday, Mahfud criticized Jokowi's administration for frequently implementing misguided policies that undermined the interests of the general public in favor of investments and industrialization.

Following the debate, Mahfud expressed his gratitude to President Jokowi in a statement he read out.