Megawati, Jokowi feud intensifies after his dismissal from party

Simmering tensions between Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appeared to have reached a new height, with her loyalists accusing him of seeking to divide and take over the party.

The feud between Jokowi and the PDI-P came to a head last week when Megawati formally expelled the former president, along with his son Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka and son-in-law Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution, for openly going against the party in the February presidential election.

The rivalry between Jokowi and Megawati quickly entered its new chapter with PDI-P executive Deddy Yevri Sitorus alleging that the former president sought to take over the party from Megawati in the upcoming chairmanship race at its national congress slated for April next year.

He was responding to media inquiries about reports that Jokowi had been seeking ways to have the PDI-P replace secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto with a party member allied with the former president so that he could influence the course of the leadership race. Hasto is known as a Megawati loyalist and a vocal critic of Jokowi.

“We are not denying it. [We, party members, have heard] the issue some time ago. And it appeared to have been deliberately revived in the lead-up to the party’s national congress,” Deddy said in a press conference on Thursday.

Speculations about Jokowi seeking to intervene in the party’s upcoming chairmanship race first emerged earlier this year when a Megawati speech suggested that someone was plotting to prevent her from being reelected and to take over the party’s chair position.

Megawati is the longest-serving party leader in the country.

Despite initially claiming to have considered retiring from the party, Megawati has decided to seek reelection at next year’s party congress after she was asked by PDI-P members to continue her reign.

In the same event last week, the party unveiled that Megawati had warned all members and functionaries to increase vigilance against external efforts to sow friction ahead of the congress.

The warning came after banners calling for Megawati’s removal as PDI-P chair popped up in several strategic locations in Greater Jakarta, with some of them bearing a message alleging that her chairmanship, which was recently extended without an election, is “illegal”.

The banners were referring to Megawati’s decision in July to extend her leadership to next year and to bring new people who have openly criticized Jokowi and his family members onto the party’s central board. Megawati was supposed to end her tenure this year.

Jokowi, who at the time was still president, was reportedly unhappy about her decision. He later removed then-law and human rights minister Yasona Laoly, a long-time PDI-P politician, who certified Megawati’s extension term and the new lineup of the PDI-P central board without notifying the president. The Palace at the time denied that Jokowi interfered with the PDI-P’s new organizational structure.

PDI-P executive Ronny Berty Talapessy in charge of legal affairs has called the appearance of the banners a systematic smear campaign against the party matriarch. He said the banners had angered all PDI-P members.

“The distribution of banners and flyers is an apparent effort to create an emergency within the PDI-P, and according to Ibu Megawati, this could be an effort to [divide] the party in the lead-up to the national congress,” he said recently.

Some observers have speculated that it is possible that Jokowi might have been or would be seeking to launch a counterattack against the PDI-P following his and his family members’ dismissal last week.

“Jokowi may have taken advantage of factionalism within the PDI-P to, if not take over the party, at least weaken rival factions within the party that are hostile and critical of Jokowi and his political dynasty,” said Airlangga Pribadi, political science lecturer at Surabaya-based Airlangga University.

“With Jokowi’s influence still quite strong in the current government [of Prabowo], Jokowi could persuade [some factions within PDI-P] with political concessions to build a loyal base in the party,” Airlangga told The Jakarta Post.

Megawati is also expected to declare whether the party will support the administration of President Prabowo Subiato or continue playing the role of the opposition.

Yerica Lai

The Jakarta Post

Asia News Network