August 7, 2024
JAKARTA – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) appears to be at risk of losing the House of Representatives speakership amid the deepening feud with outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and claims that he might issue a regulation to prevent the legislative election winner from playing a strategic role in the House for the next five years.
The PDI-P may have won the largest share of House seats, but whether it will retain the speakership remains a looming question in the lead-up to the inauguration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who won February’s presidential election after receiving tacit support from former PDI-P member Jokowi.
Speculation has been rife following the February elections that the pro-Prabowo parties are seeking to amend the Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law, to give their camp a greater chance of securing the speaker’s seat and increasing their political sway after the change of government.
The issue reemerged last week after PDI-P lawmaker Deddy Yevri Sitorus said he received unverified information that a draft government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to revise the law governing the House speakership was now in the works by the Jokowi administration.
Representing the Palace, State Secretary Pratikno recently denied the claim, saying that the government had no plans to issue a Perppu to amend the MD3 Law and describing any suggestions that such a regulation was being devised to undermine the PDI-P as “imaginary”.
Deddy’s allegations have also been repudiated by political parties within Prabowo’s likely ruling coalition, including his own Gerindra Party.
Deputy House speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad of Gerindra claimed that PDI-P lawmaker Said Abdullah was the one who first proposed that an amendment plan be included in the House’s list of priority legislation this year. But he said the proposal failed to gain traction among political parties at the House due to concern that it could snowball into “unwanted changes”.
Abdullah later confirmed that he presented the proposal in September of last year but only to maximize the legislature’s role in monitoring the government’s use of state funds.
Read also: PDI-P asserts right to retain House speakership
Lodewijk F. Paulus, the secretary-general of pro-Prabowo Golkar Party, which is rumored to be eyeing the House speakership after winning the second-largest share of seats in the House in February, also denied that there was a new plan to revise the law. He declined to comment on his party’s stance if a proposal was tabled in the House in the future, only saying “whatever helps Golkar win the [next] legislative race”, kompas.com reported.
The mooted revision to the MD3 Law came amid reports that Jokowi has been unhappy about the PDI-P decision in July to extend the term of its sitting central board executives until 2025 and bringing in new faces who have openly criticized Jokowi, including unsuccessful presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and former pro-democracy activist Adian Napitulu.
The PDI-P and Jokowi parted ways after he tacitly endorsed his former rival-turned-ally Prabowo as his successor and let his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka run as Prabowo’s running mate against his former party’s own candidate Ganjar.
PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri has remained tight-lipped about her party’s stance on whether to join Prabowo’s incoming government, but she has been notably vocal in criticizing what she views as a string of attempts by Jokowi to undermine democracy to ensure the future of his own political dynasty.
She has also publicly accused the Jokowi administration of attacking her party politicians and candidates in November’s regional head elections through graft investigations in the final months of his presidency, such as her most trusted aide secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto, and Semarang Mayor Hevearita Gunaryanti Rahayu.
Read also: Pro-Prabowo parties distance themselves from race for House speaker
Analyst Agung Baskoro said any maneuvering by Jokowi to prevent the PDI-P from retaining the House speaker’s position would risk creating instability at the end of his presidency, given that “the PDI-P has a strong track record of playing the role of opposition, which once gave birth to the 1998 Reform movement”.
“I think both Jokowi and Prabowo must weigh this very carefully as it will only make the PDI-P become more aggressive in carrying out opposition campaigns against the government. It will also hinder Prabowo’s efforts to engage in communication with the PDI-P,” Agung said.
On the other hand, he said, Megawati must also be willing to open a communication channel with Prabowo or Gerindra because “the PDI-P will need a certain degree of political support for the next five years even if it decides not to join the incoming government”.