Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto walking onstage on Nov 20, 2024, prior to the start of the nationalist party’s press briefing in Jakarta on the 2024 regional head elections. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) plans to dismiss 27 members who did not toe the party line and back its candidates contesting the simultaneous regional head elections on Nov 27.
“The party’s central board has received input for the dismissals of at least 27 people,” PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said in a statement issued on Wednesday (Dec 4) after a press briefing.
He stopped short of mentioning which members faced dismissal, saying only that the party would announce its decision on Dec 17.
Hasto said the decision to axe recalcitrant members was part of the PDI-P’s efforts to consolidate ahead of its congress next year, and expressed his hope that the party would continue to enforce discipline among its members.
The statement about the potential dismissals comes after the party fired prominent member Effendi Simbolon for refusing to endorse Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Pramono Anung in the 2024 regional head elections.
He instead threw his support behind rival candidate Ridwan Kamil, who was backed by political parties in the pro-government Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM).
Effendi’s dismissal adds to the growing list of prominent PDI-P members who have either resigned or been expelled by the party for endorsing rival candidates, most of who had the endorsement of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Jokowi, who was the PDI-P’s candidate in every regional and general election he contested, broke away from the party late last year after he allowed his card-carrying son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run alongside Prabowo Subianto in February’s presidential election.
The former president was also seen to indicate his tacit support for the candidate pair running under the banner of the KIM, led by Prabowo’s Gerindra Party.
Other high-profile PDI-P politicians that joined Jokowi in supporting Prabowo-Gibran included Maruarar Sirait and Budiman Sudjatmiko, who later joined Gerindra.
Maruarar, who was a PDI-P lawmaker in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2019, is the son of the late PDI-P senior politician Sabam Sirait, a close friend of party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Meanwhile, Budiman’s ties to the PDI-P date back to the early days of its precursor, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
As the head of the leftist People’s Democratic Party (PRD) from 1996 to 2001, Budiman played an important role alongside the Megawati-led PDI in opposing the authoritarian regime of president Soeharto in the late ‘90s.
He went on to become a PDI-P member in 2004, and won the 2009 and 2014 legislative elections as the party’s representative for an electoral district in Central Java. He lost his legislative bid in 2019 to represent East Java. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
