Avoiding the Temptation of Electability and Popularity in National Leadership

Former Trade Minister for the 2011–2014 period, Gita Wirjawan, has urged a reordering of national leadership orientation. He stated that the nation must stop being intoxicated by electability and popularity, and instead shift to more decisive measures: integrity, capability, and ethics. The call was made during a Public Lecture Series welcoming the first Dies Natalis of Universitas Harkat Negeri (UHN) at the Tegal Campus on Monday (22/6/2026), which carried the theme ‘What It Takes: Southeast Asia, from the Periphery to the Core of Global Consciousness’.

UHN Rector Sudirman Said, in his opening remarks, assessed that the nation’s problem lies not in a scarcity of capital, but in a lack of courage to think big and honesty in evaluating its own leadership. ‘This nation does not lack capital. What is often missing is precisely the courage to think far ahead and the honesty to assess the quality of our own leadership,’ Sudirman said. He invited the audience to learn from Singapore, which leapt from a third-world to a first-world country within 40 years, while quoting a message he repeatedly heard from Gita. ‘Always remember Pak Gita Wirjawan’s message about how crucial it is to make massive investments in education. It is deeply regrettable if Indonesia’s abundant potential does not give rise to big ideas that are actually executed,’ Sudirman Said added.

Taking the stage, Gita asserted that Indonesia actually holds more than enough capital to lead the region. The problem, he said, is that this capital means nothing without courage. ‘To become a nation and region that is reckoned with in ASEAN, we possess so many modalities. A vast territory, a large population, natural resources, biodiversity, and diversity,’ he said. ‘What is needed is the courage to break through boundaries, the courage to appear as a civilised nation. The condition is that we dare to follow the path of strong nations that prioritise moral strength, intellect, ethics, cognitive capacity, and the ability to build narratives,’ he continued.

From that abundant capital, Gita highlighted a point he believes is often overlooked: the way this nation chooses its leaders. The obsession with survey figures, he said, has shifted the measure of leadership away from what should be decisive, prompting him to urge a thorough reorientation. ‘Future leadership must be rearranged. We must not be intoxicated by electability and popularity, but must shift our orientation to look at integrity, capability, and ethics,’ he stressed. He offered one concrete way out of what he called the trap of sensationalism, namely fixing education starting with the fate of teachers.