Anies Baswedan Visits SBY-AHY for Halalbihalal in Cikeas, Communication Said to Be Running Smoothly

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan met with Indonesia’s sixth President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Democratic Party Chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY). The meeting took place during a halalbihalal event hosted by SBY at his residence, Puri Cikeas, in Bogor, West Java, on Saturday evening (21/3/2026). “Yes, it’s true (Anies met SBY and AHY) on Eid al-Fitr day,” stated Anies’s spokesperson Usamah Abdul Aziz to Kompas.com on Tuesday (24/3/2026). He revealed that communication among the three figures has always run smoothly and without any problems. “Indeed, communication has been running well, as usual,” Usamah said. Information obtained by Kompas.com from Democratic Party elites also confirmed the meeting. Anies is said to have had a warm conversation with AHY and SBY. However, the discussion only occurred in an open space, while SBY and AHY were also meeting other guests. There was no specific discussion or private meeting among the three. It is known that Anies and AHY were once figures who appeared likely to pair up in the 2024 presidential election. However, that coalition eventually broke apart after Anies and NasDem Party Chairman Surya Paloh chose to pair with the Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB). AHY also failed to advance as a vice-presidential candidate. The Democratic Party ultimately joined the Advanced Indonesia Coalition (KIM) with the Gerindra Party, National Mandate Party (PAN), Golkar Party, and several other parties supporting Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka.