Jakarta. Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto told his rival Anies Baswedan on Tuesday that he would not become the Jakarta governor if there was no democracy in place.

Both presidential hopefuls -- along with Ganjar Pranowo -- are having their inaugural debate in Jakarta ahead of the February 14 election.  

Anies was responding to a panelist question on the Indonesian people’s distrust towards political parties. Anies said that the people had been doubting Indonesia’s overall democratic process. Prabowo then countered Anies’s statement, saying he was exaggerating. The defense minister even brought up how Anies won the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. 

The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) -- which Prabowo is chairing -- at the time nominated Anies who had to compete against incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, who was supported by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). 

“You are complaining about democracy. But remember, Anies. You were elected as the Jakarta governor against the ruling government. I was the one who championed you,” Prabowo said at the debate.

“If democracy failed, it would be impossible for you to be the governor. If [President] Jokowi was a dictator, you would not have become the governor. I was in the opposition at the time, Anies. You came to my house, we were in the opposition, and then you were elected,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo also questioned why Anies as a governor was incapable of keeping Jakarta’s air clean. According to Prabowo, the Jakarta government received approximately Rp 80 trillion ($5 billion) in its annual budget. The highly populated capital is home to 10 million people. Despite the colossal budget compared to the more populated West Java, Jakarta was still grappling with poor air pollution.

“West Java received a regional budget of Rp 35 trillion with a population that is fivefold that of Jakarta, reaching 50 million people. But during your time as the governor, Jakarta often ranked as one of the world's most polluted cities. How come you have not done something concrete to reduce pollution with a budget worth Rp 80 trillion?” Prabowo asked Anies.

Anies later blamed the poor air quality on the wind. According to Anies, the wind had caused the pollution produced by coal-fired power plants set up outside Jakarta to move to the capital. He added that Jakarta had air quality monitors in place, thus enabling it to detect the pollution. He added: “Air pollution does not have an ID card. The wind moves from one place to another.”

His response left Prabowo unsatisfied.

“That would be difficult if we blame the wind. What I’m asking is what have you done to reduce pollution in five years with such a huge budget? Many Jakartans were suffering from respiratory infections. If we easily blame the wind and rain, perhaps there is no need for a government,” Prabowo said.

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