Fight for Indonesia's top job is a family affair

While Joko Widodo's wife and children have reluctantly been pushed into the limelight, rival presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto's campaign for Indonesia's top job has always been a family affair.

Mr Prabowo's brother - oil and gas tycoon Hashim Djojohadikusumo - is leading the charge to get him elected as the next president of South-east Asia's biggest economy.

"I grew up hearing stories about our ancestors' sacrifice for the country... and saw how much health and wealth my father (Hashim) sacrificed for his brother's political career," said Ms Rahayu Saraswati, Mr Prabowo's niece, who gave up her nascent acting career to become a parliamentarian for his Gerindra party.

Ms Rahayu's brother, Mr Aryo Djojohadikusumo, 31, was also just elected to Parliament and much of Mr Prabowo's success comes down to the financial support and nous of Mr Hashim. The 61-year old tycoon has invested tens of millions of dollars and personal time in the presidential campaign.

He has lent Mr Prabowo, his elder brother, his private jet to campaign across this vast archipelago and has regularly lobbied in the United States to lift his brother's travel ban, which stems from the latter's human rights record.

Mr Aryo and Ms Rahayu are only the latest generation of a family with deep political pedigree in Indonesia.

Mr Prabowo's grandfather, Mr Margono Djojohadikusumo, was a renowned economist at the time of Indonesia's independence, while his father, economist Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, was a Cabinet minister under presidents Sukarno and Suharto.

And Mr Prabowo himself, now 62, was linked at one time to another prominent political family when he married the daughter of former president Suharto, Ms Siti Hediati Haryadi or Titiek. They are now divorced.

Today, Mr Prabowo is drawing into the well of his family's history with help by his brother and other close relatives to get elected as Indonesia's president.

"There has been a lot of family support for Mr Prabowo for a long time, coming from a deep belief in Prabowo," family friend Dharmawan Ronodipuro told The Sunday Times.

They are on the front line of the battle to defend Mr Prabowo from persistent criticism of his human rights record.

Ms Rahayu is part of a team making a documentary about the 1998 political crisis to clarify allegations about Mr Prabowo's role in the alleged kidnapping of pro-democracy activists.

Mr Hashim has also defended his brother, a former special forces commander, vociferously.

"My brother is not a psychopath nor an extremist," Mr Hashim told a meeting of foreign journalists and diplomats recently.

At last Sunday's rally, Mr Prabowo's ex-wife, Ms Siti Hediati, was in attendance.

"Do you want Indonesia to be prosperous and peaceful? Choose candidate No. 1," she urged the crowd who chanted for her to reunite with Mr Prabowo.

Their only son, Mr Ragowo "Didiet" Hediprasetyo, 30, is a fashion designer based in Europe.

To give Mr Prabowo moral support, both Ms Siti Hediati and Didiet were in the audience during the second presidential debate that was beamed live on TV.

This article was first published on June 29, 2014.
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