JAKARTA; Three Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) politicians have resigned from the party, distancing themselves from Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as the House of Representatives prepared to resume its sitting session on Tuesday, potentially setting the course for growing calls to impeach him.
Senior politicians have resigned from the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) and pledged their loyalty to President Prabowo Subianto, distancing themselves from Gibran, whose political future may now hinge on the House of Representatives as lawmakers return from recess on Tuesday.
On Monday night, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni announced his resignation as PSI secretary-general.
“There is only one reason: I want to [serve] full time and fully concentrate on assisting President Prabowo Subianto [in my role] as forestry minister,” he said in a statement.
The announcement came around the same time that Deputy Culture Minister Giring Ganesha and Deputy Population Minister Isyana Bagoes Oka also ended their nearly decade-long memberships of the PSI.
The PSI, chaired by former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, endorsed Prabowo and his running mate Gibran, Jokowi’s eldest son, during the 2024 presidential election.
Jokowi is a PSI member, while Gibran does not belong to any political party.
The relatively young and small party has no seats in the House. However, in recent weeks, it has emerged as the only party openly opposing growing calls for Gibran’s impeachment from political parties represented in the legislature.
The resignations came a day before the House resumed its sitting session on Tuesday after a month-long recess. Lawmakers are expected to consider Gibran’s future as vice-president following a Supreme Court ruling invalidating the education certificate he used to qualify for the 2024 election.
In recent days, more political parties in the House have considered legislative action in response to the court ruling, which has intensified calls for Gibran’s impeachment.
Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party said on Sunday that the House had received input from several political parties on the possibility of impeachment.
He said formal discussions could begin when the House resumed its sitting session on Tuesday.
“It is still being discussed informally across [parties in the legislature] because the legislative session hasn’t started yet. They have requested an official discussion within a formally regulated forum,” Dasco said.
Gerindra has yet to issue a formal position on Gibran’s future as vice-president.
Several parties in Prabowo’s ruling coalition, which commands a majority in the House, have expressed their intention to take legislative action in response to the ruling. Possible measures include launching an inquiry, exercising interpellation rights or invoking the House’s right to express opinions.
Under the Constitution, the first two mechanisms allow the House to question and investigate government policies, while the third provides lawmakers with a formal avenue to express allegations that a president or vice-president is no longer fit to hold office, potentially initiating impeachment proceedings.
Golkar Party lawmaker Ahmad Doli Kurnia on Monday proposed that the House exercise its right to express opinions, Antara reported.
“We’ve communicated with other political parties,” he said.
Andreas Pareira, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the only party outside the ruling coalition, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that his party had mobilised support from other parties in the House to determine Gibran’s fate.
Political analyst Agung Baskoro said calls for Gibran’s impeachment would eventually gain momentum, given that several political parties had voiced their positions.
“At this point, the relationship between Jokowi and Prabowo is being tested and is quite crucial,” he said.
The House Commission III, which oversees law enforcement, is also planning to use the sitting session to deliberate on a wiretapping bill.
The move follows a high-profile case implicating former police chief and Jokowi loyalist General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who was arrested last week for allegedly intercepting communications involving Prabowo and other prominent figures over the past year without authorisation.
“We will put the wiretapping case into our focus as the recess ends,” Commission III lawmaker Sarifuddin Sudding of the National Mandate Party (PAN) told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The commission will hold a meeting with the police on Thursday to discuss the wiretapping scandal involving Listyo, including the motives and alleged masterminds behind the unlawful surveillance. Police are also investigating possible treason.
The arrest of Jokowi’s ally has added to growing tensions between Prabowo and the former president.
Political analyst Yoes Kenawas said the wiretapping case had given Prabowo the “upper hand” over his predecessor.
If the unlawful interception is proven to have benefited Jokowi’s camp, Yoes said the former president’s political future “will be at Prabowo’s mercy”.
