Indonesian VP in high school diploma scandal resigns

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s vice president resigned Thursday in the midst of a scandal over his high school diploma, adding to pressure on a government facing widespread dissatisfaction over the economy, graft and wildfires.

Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 39, submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto and to parliament, the speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly told reporters.

There had been repeated calls for Gibran to step down following a Supreme Court ruling last month to annul his high school qualification, obtained abroad.

Speaker Ahmad Muzani said Gibran met the leaders of parliament Thursday “to submit his letter of resignation from his position as vice president of the Republic of Indonesia.”

Gibran told them he had submitted the same letter to Prabowo.

Indonesia’s vice president does not have many constitutionally defined powers apart from acting as the president’s representative at official events and taking over if his boss is incapacitated.

Indonesia’s currency, the rupiah, fell to a record low to the dollar amid the speculation preceding Gibran’s departure, while the Indonesia Stock Exchange rose 2.2 percent.

Youngest-ever VP

Gibran became the youngest person ever to hold Indonesia’s vice presidency.

Then, two years into his term, detractors went to court to challenge his high school certificate — a prerequisite for the job.

Gibran had completed his schooling in Singapore before going on to study for a marketing degree there.

When submitting his candidacy to the General Elections Commission in 2024, he filed a certificate stating his overseas education was equivalent to a vocational high school in Indonesia.

Last month, however, Indonesia’s Supreme Court ruled to invalidate the document, prompting moves in parliament to unseat him.

Gibran has consistently defended his credentials.

“If I didn’t graduate from high school, then I obviously wouldn’t have been able to go to college. I studied up to a bachelor’s degree in Singapore,” he has said.

Prabowo now has 14 days to submit two names from which parliament will have two months to pick Gibran’s replacement.

Researcher Arya Fernandes of Indonesia’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies told Agence France-Presse Prabowo will likely seek “a candidate who is acceptable to all coalition members to avoid triggering divisions within the coalition” that includes Jokowi’s party.

“The vice-presidential candidate nominated by Prabowo could potentially become his running mate in 2029, or emerge as a political competitor.