JAKARTA: Former Indonesian president Joko Widodo has not yet decided on his next political move after being officially dismissed from the country’s largest political party on Monday (Dec 16) for backing Prabowo Subianto in February’s presidential elections.
The simmering tension between Jokowi – as he is more affectionately known – and his former party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), came to a head with the issuance of dismissal letters to himself and his two family members: Elder son Gibran Rakabuming Raka and son-in-law Bobby Nasution.
Gibran is the current vice-president of Indonesia while Bobby is mayor of Medan.
“I respect that decision and I’m not in a position to defend myself or provide any judgement because what’s done is done. Time will tell,” Jokowi told the media at his residence in Solo a day after he was officially dismissed from PDI-P.
The party had announced on Monday that its chairwoman – former president Megawati Soekarnoputri – had expelled Jokowi along with his two family members in a decision that was formalised in three dismissal letters.
“Effective as per the issuance of the dismissal letters, the PDI-P has no connection with and is not responsible for anything done by the dismissed individuals,” the party’s council head Komarudin Watubun was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post, adding that he was following direct orders from Megawati to officially announce the expulsion.
Aside from the three, 27 other party members were also expelled.
The letters – signed by Megawati and PDI-P’s secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto – stated that Jokowi, Gibran and Bobby had violated the party’s code of ethics with regards to party discipline. The trio were expelled from PDI-P for “openly going against the party’s decision to back its presidential pair” and instead “supporting the rival pair from the KIM (Prabowo’s Advance Indonesia Coalition)”. Gibran was Prabowo’s running mate in February’s presidential elections.
Meanwhile, PDI-P had backed Ganjar Pranowo as their presidential candidate along with former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD.
The Jakarta Post reported that Jokowi’s dismissal letter highlighted that the former president had “abused his power to intervene at the Constitutional Court”, considered to be a “serious violation of the PDI-P’s code of ethics”.
This incident referred to the court’s controversial ruling which revised the age limits for candidacy for public office, effectively paving the way for Gibran to compete in the presidential race in February as Prabowo’s running mate.
Jokowi’s brother-in-law Anwar Usman was also demoted from the role of chief justice after the court’s ethics committee found him guilty of misusing his position to influence the court’s decision.
Prior to the souring relationship, Jokowi is known to have relied on the PDI-P as his political vehicle when he became the mayor of Surakarta, governor of Jakarta and a two-term president with the support of party chairwoman Megawati.
“I’ve said this before, I’m a one-man party,” Jokowi told the media, when asked if he had returned the PDI-P’s membership card and his next political move, adding that he has no plans to form his own party yet.
Meanwhile, Gibran has also acknowledged his expulsion from PDI-P.
“This is my personal decision made so I can focus on helping President Prabowo,” Gibran told the media on Tuesday in East Jakarta, adding that he appreciated and respected PDI-P’s decision.
While no longer affiliated with PDI-P, Jokowi and Gibran told the media that they are not rushing to join another political party.
“Just wait and see,” both Jokowi and Gibran had said separately, as quoted by local media.
While Gibran and Bobby have signalled alignments with Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, the 63-year-old former president is still contemplating his next move amid past reports that Gerindra as well as another key political party Golkar had expressed interest in welcoming him to their fold.
Bobby, for one, announced that he had joined Gerindra in May and won the North Sumatra gubernatorial election last month on its ticket.
“Gerindra is open (to welcoming Jokowi) but we of course cannot force him to join,” Prabowo, who is also the chairman of Gerindra, told the media when Jokowi visited his residence in south Jakarta for a private meeting on Dec 6.
The party’s secretary-general Ahmad Muzani had said that it will be a “big honour” for Jokowi to join the party.
“We are open to everyone, what more someone who is of high calibre like Jokowi, who was a former president and has made contributions that everyone recognises,” he was quoted as saying by Kompas on Dec 5, highlighting the party’s congress scheduled to be held in February next year.
“Of course we will accept him with open arms,” Golkar party’s secretary-general Muhammad Sarmuji meanwhile said on Dec 5, as reported by Tempo.
