Anies Meets SBY in Cikeas, What Did They Discuss?

Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan attended a halalbihalal event held by Indonesia’s sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, or SBY, in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java. The moment of Anies’s presence was shared by Merry Riana, who serves as Special Staff to Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, also known as AHY, on her Instagram account @merryriana.

In the post, Merry shared several photos and videos. One of the videos uploaded by Merry shows the Yudhoyono family conversing with Anies. SBY and AHY are seen standing in front of Anies, while Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, or Ibas, is nearby the three of them.

Anies Baswedan’s spokesperson, Angga Putra Fidrian, stated that Anies and the Yudhoyono family discussed only general matters. “About family, about Eid al-Fitr, and about the current situation,” Angga said when contacted on Wednesday, 25 March 2026.

Anies Baswedan’s relationship with the Democrat Party, led by Agus Yudhoyono, became strained during the 2024 presidential election contestation. In early 2023, Anies had accepted the Democrat Party’s nomination to run as a presidential candidate for 2024.

At that time, the Democrat Party, along with the Prosperous Justice Party and NasDem, formed the Coalition for Change for Unity as the coalition supporting Anies in the 2024 general election.

However, towards the end of presidential candidate registration, Anies instead ran with the General Chairman of the National Awakening Party, Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar. The decision to pair Anies with Muhaimin is suspected to have been made by the General Chairman of the NasDem Party, Surya Dharma Paloh.

The Democrat Party then withdrew from the Coalition for Change and revoked its support for Anies Baswedan in September 2023. The party, symbolised by the mercy star, eventually joined the Advanced Indonesia Coalition and supported Gerindra Party General Chairman Prabowo Subianto—who won the 2024 presidential election.