One of the themes regarding national defense and security became more interesting because one of the presidential candidates was the Minister of Defence, Prabowo Subianto, who is still in office. Candidate number 2 received many questions regarding national security, defense equipment systems, and other supporting equipment. Some observers say that the defense and security aspect is too dominant. Thus, the substance of other themes was somewhat neglected to be explored and discussed.
Responding to the third debate, Indonesian president Joko Widodo hoped there would be an improvement in the debate model format for the next session to be more effective with the focus on the vision, mission, as well as policies that will be adopted by each candidate. Besides, there should be rules to prohibit attacking presidential candidates personally.
After the third session of the debate, the successful teams for the three presidential and vice-presidential candidates claimed that their candidates were better. Regardless of how great, intelligent, careful, and straightforward the candidates are, there is still room to be evaluated by each presidential candidate. So, they don't get caught up in subjective arguments. Therefore, the debate format should be revised and perfected according to the input from relevant observers after the third session of the debate. However, it is natural to exchange sarcasm with fellow candidates when criticizing the presented policies and visions. The main task of the success team is to provide the latest input and correct information to their candidates to further improve and enrich their leaders' insight, knowledge, and vision in the arena of public debate.
Moreover, the Indonesian General Election Commission must also take a firm stance regarding the incident where several members of the successful team of one of the presidential candidates approached the moderator on the arena stage. It should be put into consideration to maintain the neutrality and independence of the moderator. However, whatever happens in the remaining two debates on January 14 and February 4, it is hoped that they will be better and more insightful, especially since the themes will be more related to social, cultural, and environmental aspects. It’s a very interesting theme if discussed politely, modestly, and meaningfully.
