REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice presidential candidate No. 3 Mahfud MD argued that no state secrets were requested by Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan to Prabowo Subianto during the third debate of the 2024 presidential election in Jakarta, Sunday (7/1/2024) night.

Mahfud said that the data requested by the two presidential candidates related to the performance of the Ministry of Defense, which is currently headed by Prabowo Subianto as Minister of Defense, as well as the number 2 position and the openness of budget use.

“No state secrets were leaked there, just ask for budget transparency,” Mahfud said when he met with media crews between his activities in Jakarta on Tuesday (9/1/2024).

Mahfud also exemplified the country's secrets, including intelligence findings, intelligence plans, attack plans, and secrets of vital places. “If you ask what was the budget yesterday, what did it say (to buy equipment) used? It wasn't a secret. It is only explained that it is not used or used, but this (explanation) of the budget, that is all,” Mahfud said.

According to him, openness is important so that the public also knows and monitors government policies. “In my opinion, no state secrets were requested to be divulged yesterday. If I want to know which state secrets are being divulged, everyone watch it. What are the state secrets requested by one of the presidents? No. Those are all things that belong to the public and are already in the news. Nothing,” Mahfud confirmed.

The third debate of the 2024 presidential election followed by three candidates, namely Anies Baswedan (election number 1), Prabowo Subianto (election number 2), and Ganjar Pranowo (election number 3) raised issues of defense, security, geopolitics, international relations, and globalization.

Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan took advantage of the debate stage to question and criticize Prabowo's policies as Defense Minister during the second period of President Joko Widodo's administration.

Anies, for example, questioned the use of the Defense Ministry's budget, which he said reached Rp700 trillion. Then Ganjar asked about the fulfillment of the military's minimum essential force (MEF) which is targeted to be reached by the end of 2024. Ganjar and Anies also criticized Prabowo's plan to buy the former Qatari Air Force's Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft.

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